The Hug Box - Newnan

December 1, 2017

PLEASE NOTE COWETA LIFE IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THE PLACES, PEOPLE, OR THINGS WE COVER. PLEASE CONTACT EACH BUSINESS OR PERSON DIRECTLY IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. SENDING AN EMAIL THROUGH OUR CONTACT PAGE WILL NOT GET YOU IN CONTACT WITH THE BUSINESS BUT WITH COWETA LIFE. WE ARE NOT ABLE TO REPLY OR FORWARD EMAILS MEANT FOR THE BUSINESSES WE COVER. THANK YOU!

Update: The Sub Box now has a physical location in downtown Newnan located at 2C Jackson St. Newnan.

Imagine having a bad day. You open the mailbox and inside is a hug from an old friend. A beautifully packaged box filled with treats to make you smile along with a sweet note of support.

This is exactly the kind of service The Hug Box provides every day.

We were so excited to get the chance to speak with Vicki Wahl Sanders, founder of the Hug Box.

The idea for a gift box that is more personal than the standard basket stuffed with generic items came to Vicki fifteen years ago.

At the time, she was steeped in corporate culture working as a graphic designer. While she found many positive aspects to this job, it didn’t touch on her desire to give back to her community.

The opportunity to embark on a new journey came four years ago when she unexpectedly lost her job.

She remembered the idea of sendable hugs that she had jotted down in her journal so many years ago.

The Hug Box became a business where she could put her desire to give back into practice.

As we looked at the shelves of beautifully personalized gift boxes, we were astounded at the care that went into selecting each item in the boxes as well as the packaging.

Every aspect of a Hug Box, from the ribbon it’s tied with to the carefully crafted goodies inside, is focused on sustainability and supporting local businesses.

The artisans that produce the unique, one of a kind products that go into each Hug Box are located somewhere in the United States and source their materials ethically and sustainably.

Vicki also looks for artisans that use all natural materials and give back to the community.

The pretty and simple packaging is all made from recycled materials.

“I didn’t print on it in the hope the receiver will reuse it." says Vicki.

Her graphic design background shows in the cute and cohesive branding of The Hug Box.

When you decide to send someone a hug, you can choose an occasion, such as cheer up or new baby.

Nestled in your box are handmade gifts, like organic tea or a hand knit coffee sleeve, that can’t be found at just any store.

Vicki wanted to include things that are useful and will make your friend think about you and the warm feelings a hug inspires every time they use the item.

Vicki is also happy to help you put together a custom box for your loved one.

At the moment, a portion of the Hug Box sales go to Camp Sunshine and Atlanta Pet Rescue. Vicki plans to continue to increase her charitable donations as her business grows.

We loved the passion she has for spreading warmth and joy in the world and supporting small businesses.

You can make someone’s day with a packaged hug by visiting her website.

You can also find The Hug Box on Facebook and Twitter.

Handcrafted in Coweta - Katie's Carriage

August 24, 2016

Wendy Foskey, owner and designer of Katie’s Carriage, is very modest when it comes to her intricately designed dog carriages.

For many dog owners, their animal represents a companion they can take on walks, play ball with and snuggle.

For a select few dog owners, their canine companion is all these things and also a show dog.

Show dogs are just like any other dog. They run and play and give sloppy kisses until show day, when they don their couture finery and walk the runway, competing against other show canines for top prizes.

Generally, dogs participating in shows will walk alongside their owners who are dressed to match them.

Wendy Foskey’s custom made carriages have changed the focus of the audience and judges so that their attention is unwaveringly drawn to the dog.

When we drove up to Wendy’s home studio, we could already hear her six little dogs barking.

They are tiny fur balls that look like stuffed dogs come to life. “All together they weigh under twenty pounds” Wendy told us.

Wendy’s first carriage was made for Katie, her aging show dog. Katie was no longer able to walk comfortably on her own, so Wendy created a vehicle that would be beautiful as well as functional.

Wendy’s skills have come a long way since that first carriage. The skills she has acquired to make the stunning creations she turns out today are mostly self taught.

Walking through her studio, our eyes were dazzled by the array of glittering baubles and silky fabrics.

Each carriage is inspired by an overarching theme. From Gone With the Wind to Indian architecture, Wendy uses these larger themes as a jumping off point.

Sometimes the theme is chosen by her client, and sometimes an entire theme is inspired by a single piece of jewelry or fabric.

Once Wendy has been inspired, there is little that can stop her from achieving her finished piece. We listened in fascination as she recounted some of the innovative methods she has come up with to achieve a desired result.

The final products show her devotion to detail. Hand beading representing hundreds of hours of work sparkles on one carriage. Another is adorned with thousands of yards of tulle.

Attention to detail and perfectionism are present in every single piece of art she completes. “I have a really good relationship with my seam ripper” Wendy tells us jokingly.

When you look at one of her carriages, it feels as if you could look forever and still not take in all the details.

One of her main goals with each creation is to bring attention to the dog without having it get lost in the carriage.

Each carriage takes months to complete, and since she does everything by hand, she can only fill a few orders a year.

When we visited, she was just putting the finishing touches on two carriages to be used in a dog cotillion.

She showed us how she inserts two foam pads into each carriage so the dogs will be comfortable and visible. Each carriage also has a Fabuleash as a safety feature to keep the dogs from falling out.

The unique designs from Katie’s Carriage are beginning to gain attention in the pet fashion world. Wendy’s carriages have been showcased at New York Fashion Week, and she counts Lisa Vanderpump among her happy customers.

You can find out more about Katie’s Carriage by visiting her on Facebook or following her on Twitter.

Handcrafted in Coweta - Bliss Creek Farm

August 6, 2015

As you may have noticed by now, we love attending local markets and fairs. They are such a great place to find amazing artists and delicious new products we can’t believe we lived without. Bliss Creek Farm’s handmade soaps falls squarely into this category.

We discovered these hand created goat’s milk bath products at the weekly Newnan farmer’s market on the square.

To Linda Schmidt, the creator of Bliss Creek, soap making is more than a hobby it is a labor-intensive process that she undertakes with love.

She and her husband George are involved in every step of the process from delivering the newborn kid goats to wrapping the finished bars in the Bliss Creek label.

Linda allowed us to come into her home studio to learn about her soap making process and tour Bliss Creek Farms.

Driving up to Bliss Creek Farms, we felt as if we had been transported into a Disney movie. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we were greeted by a throng of friendly farm animals.

Linda is an energetic woman with a warm personality and musical laugh. She led us into her basement studio that she affectionately called ‘the dungeon’. Our noses were immediately met with a bouquet of delicate fragrances.

All the Bliss Creek soap recipes are proprietary blends carefully created and tested by Linda and her family before being made available for purchase.

Bliss Creek Farm soaps are made the old fashioned way with a cold process method.

Lye and one hundred percent goat milk are combined to begin a chemical process in which the molecules are broken apart and reconstituted as a creamy, silky soap.

The cold process of soap making is a precise one. Too much of any ingredient can result in an inferior soap.

As she shows us her digital scale and hand blender, she tells us the process is not unlike baking. The soaps do look good enough to eat!

Beginning with high quality ingredients is also important to producing the best results, so Linda is very careful to source the best oils and butters for her soaps.

Linda began making soap around twenty years ago.

She found handmade soap in a Canadian store and decided she could make it too, so she ordered an instructional book and begin to make soap.

It was only after she began raising goats, that she realized the difference milk made.

Milk makes a silkier soap that is more nourishing to the skin. Goat’s milk has the advantage of having a higher butter fat content and being rich in vitamins and minerals that are good for the skin. Linda learned her craft through much trial and error. She laughingly recounts her first attempt at making goat’s milk soap.

She missed a vital step that accelerated the chemical process and left her house smelling burnt for months.

Learning about the soap process was fascinating, but getting to meet the baby goats was the highlight of our visit.

We firmly believe that your life is incomplete if you have never gotten to hang out with baby goats.

There were four kids ranging in age from three to nine weeks, and they could not have been more adorable.

They are energetic and curious. They love to play and snuggle. We could have watched them play and explore for hours.

Each of the Mini Nubian goats had long, floppy ears and very distinctive personalities. They are extremely intelligent animals. The Bliss Creek goats all know their names and are sometimes a little too clever.

We watched as Clementine opened the door to the milking room by sliding back the bolt and nudging the door open with her nose.

She can also unscrew the lid on the feed jar for an illicit treat.

We were surprised to learn that the goats love being milked.

They get to stand and munch on extra delicious food while they are milked and apparently having extra milk drained from their udders relieves uncomfortable pressure.

We found it amusing that every time someone went in the milking room the goats mobbed the door trying to get in.

We were very excited to get a milking demonstration from Linda.

The goats are thoroughly cleaned and milked. The milk is then immediately strained and chilled.

The free-range chickens wander in and out of the goat pen.

They are very friendly and will come right up to you.

We also found out that the popular conception of goats eating everything from laundry to tin cans is a myth.

They only eat specific things, usually preferring plants, and we learned that they will not touch anything another goat has licked.

Linda and George work very well as a team. She makes the soap and he takes it to the markets to sell it.

You can find Bliss Creek products, including soap, lotion, bugspray, bath salts, tea soak, aromatherapy sprays, free range eggs and goat’s milk, for sale at different markets around the area.

The products are also for sale on the Bliss Creek Farm website.

Follow Bliss Creek on Facebook to keep track of new scents and upcoming markets and keep up to date on current news in goat dairy products.

Handcrafted in Coweta - Paperlark Studio

January 14, 2015

Happy 2015! We hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season! Ours was a whirlwind of joyous chaos and we are happy to be back to normal life. This week, we are excited to bring you a profile of another amazing Coweta artist and a look behind the scenes of her business.

Regulars to Market Day on the square of downtown Newnan may be familiar with Paperlark Studio. Paperlark offers beautiful greeting cards, invitations, tote bags and tea towels. Miranda Winslett, the owner and designer, invited us into her home studio to get an inside look into her creative process.

We were warmly greeted at the door by Miranda and Bella, her sweet poodle mix who she introduced to us as her lazy coworker.

Miranda’s eye for mixing colors and patterns is evident as soon as you walk into her studio. The pale pink walls are decorated with prints of Miranda’s favorite quotes and swatches of brightly colored fabric displayed in embroidery hoops.

The small studio is neatly organized and brimming with Paperlark products.

We love Miranda’s aesthetic. Her products combine flowery fonts with bold graphics and charming prints.

We particularly love her South Mouth collection, which features sayings from Miranda’s southern grandmother over a silhouette of the state of Georgia.

We were surprised to learn that Miranda’s background is actually in journalism.

She put her journalism degree from Georgia State University to work at a Covington, Georgia newspaper.

Here, she learned the foundations that would later help her in starting her own business. Sales, public relations, social media, writing and marketing have all helped her make her business into a successful one.

Miranda’s love for design began at a young age. She started sewing early and she has always loved the creativity that comes with making a scrapbook.

Working with paper in all different forms has always been a passion.

Her love of working with paper products lead her to create invitations for her family and friends. Those first invitations got such positive reviews that she decided to start selling them.

She opened her Paperlark store on Etsy and found that her creative designs were popular.

In May 2014, she was able to leave her part time job to pursue her Paperlark dreams full time.

She loves the evolving nature of her business. She is constantly refining her products based on customer input and her evolving sensibilities.

She says that she learns something new with every experience that adds to her creative process. Inspiration can strike anywhere and often does.

She laughingly told us of how sometimes she is stopped short by a particular pattern or color that catches her eye and she must take a photo. She uses these photos to inspire new designs.

Her talent for combining colors and patterns with fresh, and often sassy, maxims is what makes her products unique.

The texts on her bags, cards and tea towels made us laugh. She loves to take old sayings and put a new and funny twist on them to make original quotes.

Working daily with paper has not put a damper on her love for stationery. She is still obsessed with scrap booking and loves to buy stationery from other artists.

It is very important to Miranda to invest in the future of the planet through the use of eco friendly materials for her products.

She uses post consumer recycled Kraft paper for her cards and digitally prints her totes and tea towels. This method of printing leaves no harmful byproducts and produces a higher quality print on fabric.

Her family is integrally involved in her business. Each new idea she has is workshopped through them before she makes it available in her store.

Miranda has just started doing craft shows and fairs. In addition to market day, she has also began offering her products at annual shows.

Her next project for 2015 is to expand her line into wedding invitations, programs and escort cards. You can keep up with her new products and get paper crafting advice and tutorials on her blog.

Be sure to also follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where she does occasional giveaways.

You can look at more of her lovely products and purchase her invitations, totes and tea towels online in her Etsy store. She is always happy to work with you to make a custom product.

We can’t wait to see what designs she creates in 2015!

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