Arkansas Glassworks

Arkansas Glassworks 

     Jay King, owner of Arkansas Glassworks in Little Rock, has been building and repairing stained glass windows for 43 years, or more than two-thirds of his life.

     “I graduated from high school in June of 1972 and started working for my uncle the day after the 4th of July,” Mr. King said.

     It was an inauspicious beginning.

     “He said, ‘This is a glass cutter. This is how it cuts glass. This is a pile of broken stained glass windows. Get to work.’”

     That daunting start for a teenager who’d grown up in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, and the Jersey Shore grew into a love and knowledge of the art that’s left King’s mark on churches in Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

     In 1972 the place was Chicago, and his uncle, John Yaskot, owned Hawk and Handsaw, which specialized in gleaning stained glass and other antique architectural elements from the city’s old Victorian buildings just before the wrecking ball hit.

     “Hawk and Handsaw is from Shakespeare when Hamlet says, ‘When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw,” a proverb that means I know one thing from another. As for stained glass repair work my uncle John really didn’t know a hawk from a handsaw. But my older brother, Bill, worked there too, and we all kind of learned together. My uncle did know the value of stained glass. Chicago had a lot of it. The city was built up after the great fire in 1871.”

     Jay said the massive rebuilding came at a time when Victorian architecture was popular. Stained glass was in vogue too, and many European-trained stained glass artists opened studios in Chicago. Starting in the 1950s, many of the Victorian homes and arts-and-crafts bungalows with this beautiful old stained glass were being razed. Later this dovetailed nicely with a demand for stained glass in San Francisco.

     “The 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco came at the end of the Victorian Age,” he said. Victorian architecture was still the rage when that city was rebuilt. The two disasters that “book ended” one another provided stained glass from Chicago for renewal projects popular in San Francisco during the 1970s.

     “A lot of my uncle’s customers came from San Francisco. I remember one who would pull up in front of the shop with a semi truck and buy just about everything in the shop. It would all go straight to San Francisco. My uncle got into it when buildings were wrecked in the ‘50s. He’d slip them $20 to let him take out the glass before they wrecked it. First he just took the glass, but after a few years he saved mantles, moldings, and other architectural elements, anything they could get before the wrecking ball hit. Later he was edged out by antique dealers who made deals with property owners long before the wrecking crews got on the scene.”

     After a year and a half in Chicago, Jay moved to Austin, Texas, where for his first eight years, he worked at Renaissance Glass.

     “When I moved to Austin, there were only two people besides myself working at Renaissance. They didn’t know much about repairing stained glass, and I didn’t know about building stained glass."

     During his eight years there, Jay repaired stained glass, learned how to build windows, and watched the staff grow to 21 employees. Renaissance was one of the larger studios, but stained glass was a booming business in Austin, and there was plenty of work for the many glass studios that mushroomed in the city.

    After eight years building and repairing stained glass windows, Jay felt like he needed a “break,” and he got it in more ways than one.

    “The first thing I did was take a break from stained glass. I started doing store front glass. I was building it and also breaking out the old windows. I started experimenting with the way glass breaks.”

     That was the beginning of a number of art glass pieces and his entry into Austin galleries where he showed his work and helped hang the work of other glass artists. After his obsession with glass cracks, he began photographing the cracks the sidewalks around the city. Looking at one absolutely gorgeous work of art in his Little Rock studio, one would never guess that it’s based on the way concrete cracks and erodes in an Austin sidewalk. 

   While all this was great fun, he had to make a living, so Jay returned to stained glass, but not to one studio.  “I was a hired gun. Wherever the big stained glass jobs were, I went there, and I did a little stained glass on my own. It was pretty much a gypsy life. But I did work on one church for all of 1987. That was a revelation. It was real satisfying, to build all the windows in a church. I really liked that.

     “That was the time of the energy crunch in Texas. Austin was totally overbuilt. Few million dollar homes were being built. By 1988, there was no work.”

     After five months with nary a job in sight, he decided it was time to move.

“I came to Little Rock with my tail between my legs."

     During those first years in Little Rock, Jay built stained glass windows at home in his house in North Little Rock, did glazing work, ran a metal shop building storefronts for American Wholesale Glass, and later drove a glass truck for the North Little Rock company when it closed the metal shop.

     Jay started Arkansas Glassworks in 1993. Why? “I wanted to get back into stained glass full time, make more money, be my own boss, and not have to wake up at 4 in the morning to be at work at 5. 

     The first couple of years were pretty lean, but it all worked out for the best. Now his work may be seen in homes in Pleasant Valley, the Heights, the Quapaw Quarter and other neighborhoods all over Little Rock.

     His windows for churches are typically traditional in nature, including symmetrical designs, arches, and centered medallions. But one of his favorite Arkansas churches is Faith Baptist in McCrory, which has a more contemporary design with various hues of blue, purple and green blending into one another.

     Another is Salem Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, which one congregant said is a favorite local church for weddings because the rose hues from the windows make the brides look so beautiful. Many of the churches order pre-made painted medallions, but Jay designed 12 original medallions for that Pine Bluff church. He has also designed and built stained glass windows for churches in Stuttgart, Carlisle, Little Rock, Greenbrier, Jacksonville, Bald Knob, North Little Rock, Arkadelphia, Sparkman, and McGhee, and has done restoration work on existing stained glass windows all over the state.

     “The main thing I like to do is to provide affordable windows to churches who often believe they really can’t afford stained glass. I like to work with small churches in small towns. I prefer the smaller congregations.

     “It’s always fun toward the end of the job when I’m installing the windows. It’s an event. People in the congregation often come by. They ooh and ah. Sometimes I go to dedication ceremonies. When people come up to me and say thank you, it makes me feel good. You work so long in a church, there’s a real sense of accomplishment when it’s done.

     “I worked on a mosaic that took almost an entire year. It’s a lot more work than stained glass. It represents a year of my life, and I wanted it to look good. A lot of times the windows I do are memorial windows. You are building them not just for the congregation, but for the remembrance of family members. When you get a positive response, it goes a long way.  I did a window for a church in Greenbrier, and a lady who was a member of the congregation said she’ll look at that window and it is her focal point when she comes to church services and she feels a sense of awe. It made me feel good to know my work is affecting people’s worship in a special way.

     “In the smaller churches, people tend to know one another well, and it seems like they pull together to get things done. Whether it’s agreeing on the design and colors for windows or larger issues. In 2005 I was in Dumas working on windows at First Baptist, and all the churches came together to provide shelter for people trying to get away from Katrina. All the motels were full, but one member of the congregation told me to come down anyway. He invited me into his home for the night and fed me a great breakfast." 

    Most of the glass Jay uses for his churches is made in the United States from three companies that sell quality glass and provide hundreds of different colors and textures from which to choose.

     Opalescent glass, which is used a great deal in church work, has a base of white, he said, and can have different colors within the base. Cathedral glass has a base of clear, so that even if a glass is dark, a dark blue, for example, it’s color is pure and jewel-like. Wispy glasses are sort of half opalescent and half cathedral.

     “You can mix the different types of glass for great effect in windows. Often churches are trying to attain an inward direction. You don’t want your eyes to wander outside the church windows, and consequently, we use a lot of opalescents.”

     Most of his residential work utilizes clear bevels. “Most studios use only one or two bevel manufacturers, but I wanted to get as much variety in my bevels as possible, so they come from many sources.  When I first went into business, I assembled a great many bevels from different manufacturers. With residential glass, I build windows around bevel clusters, a group of bevels that comprise a central design."

     Customers browse the bevel books and select the ones they want, often helping to design their own windows, sidelights, or front doors.

    Jay also sells glass for kitchen cabinets. “German simulated hand-blown glass gives a unique touch to china cabinets or kitchen cabinets. It has a beautiful reflection to it.”

    His stained glass windows start at $100 a square foot for very simple designs. The average price runs $110 to $130 a square foot. Beveled windows typically run about $10 more per square foot.

   Jay has had art shown in juried exhibitions in Arkansas, and has taught stained glass in American quilt patterns at the Ozark Folk School. His shop is located at 900 S. Rodney Parham. Call him at 993-0012 for more information or visit arkansasglassworks.com.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine

Evergreen Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine

      Acupuncture and herbal medicine have been proven to be safe and effective treatments for dozens of ailments, but only if administered by folks with the proper training, said Martin Eisele, who has had thousands of hours in training in both.

     For example, if you read in a news story that a study has shown a particular herb is good for

a particular ailment, don't run to the drug store and buy that supplement.  One, it might be the

wrong strength or type of that particular herb.  Two, it might interact with medicines your doctor

has prescribed.  Finally, some supplements do not even contain the herbs they claim to have.

     As for acupuncture, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health recognizes it is as safe and effective for treatment of 20 to 30 different health problems.

     But the public should be aware that there are a number of people in Arkansas who have had very little training who are performing acupuncture, Mr.  Eisele, owner of Evergreen Acupuncture in Little Rock, said.  He is a licensed acupuncturist.

     "All Arkansas licensed acupuncturists, L.Acs., are required to have four years training

at a nationally certified school.  That amounts to 4,000 hours of training.  And we have to take two national certification tests in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine."

     "As opposed to that, chiropractors only have to have 100 hours of training in acupuncture.  Physical therapists are now doing acupuncture, calling it 'dry needling,' and they take a minimum 16-hour course."

     So, that is 16 hours of education or 100 hours of education versus 4,000 hours of education.

     "And (licensed) acupuncturists are required to have continuing education," Martin said.

     When performed correctly, acupuncture is safe and has a low rate of minor adverse effects. In fact, a National Institutes of Health review states that "one of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures for the same conditions."  

     However, when acupuncture is performed by untrained people there can be serious adverse outcomes.

     Martin said that "every acupuncture point has directions." Licensed acupuncturists have studied these directions, including where to insert the acupuncture needle and the proper depth.

     But before treatment of any kind, a proper diagnosis must be made.  That is an important part of the four years of study in certified schools. 

  

                                                                     Martin Eisele 

   Traditional Chinese medicine seeks the causes that inhibit healing and works to treat these underlying causes so that the body can heal itself. 

   It is a system of medicine that has evolved over thousands of years of practice.  It is rooted in the concept that "Qi" (pronounced "chee), or vital energy, needs to be in balance for good health.

  "There have been very specific studies - about headaches, nausea, backaches … .  In the more modern studies, they are doing things like studying the brain with EEGs" to show which acupuncture points light up different parts of the brain. "Or they measure chemical reactions in the brain."

   NIH literature states that high quality clinical trials have shown that acupuncture is good for a number of ailments from stroke rehabilitation to tennis elbow.

    "A lot of people seek out acupuncture because they are tired of taking pain medication or do not want to take pain medication. On the flip side, even if someone is taking medication, acupuncture can, in a lot of cases, get them through their illness. For instance, I treat a lot of people who are going through treatment for cancer.  Acupuncture can be beneficial to help them be stronger, help with nausea, fatigue and the emotional trauma of being diagnosed with cancer.

    "I never tell people to change their medicines unless it is a pain medication when they are not in pain.  Any other medication, I tell them to go back and talk with their doctor."

    Martin is certainly not opposed to Western medicine.

   "My dad was a doctor.  My grandfather was a pharmacist. My great-grandfather was a pharmacist. I prefer to work with (patients') doctors to get them better. And I do have a number of doctors who refer to me, including some OB/GYNs who are seeing women who have fertility problems."

   No matter what problem a patient presents with, Martin also treats them for stress.  

   "I treat everybody for stress," he said.  Acupuncture is known for treating stress."

    It is increasingly used to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in military hospitals.  

    There is a drawback to acupuncture that ought to be discussed - fear of needles.

  "People are really freaked out about the needles," Martin said. "Some are needle phobic and some, needle sensitive."

    Acupuncture needles are extremely thin and flexible and do no bear any resemblance to needles that are used for injections or to draw blood.

   "It is really relaxing if it is done right," Martin said. 

   And, then there are some problems that can be treated with "ear seeds," little pieces of seeds or metal taped to certain points on the ear to exert pressure there.  If ear seeds are used, they can be just as effective as acupuncture, he said.

    Martin is, of course, trained in herbal medicine, which is also a root of traditional Chinese medicine.

     But he does not like to buy herbs from China.

   "I source them from several different companies, mostly American companies that follow the growth of drugs. They are followed from the ground into the bottle - in all aspects and they are controlled.

    "One of the companies I use, they started with the same acupuncture teachers I studied with.  Actually the company was started by a Western medical doctor. There are Chinese companies you have to be wary of."

    Martin caters each remedy to the diagnosis at the time a patients comes into his office.

   "Each stage might represent something different in Chinese medicine."

    Even in something as simple as a cold, certain herbs may be used in the beginning of treatment and different herbs as, for example, the color of phlegm changes over time.

    Herbal medicine is used to treat a wide range of maladies, including musculoskeletal pain, digestive disorders, stress and anxiety.

    Part of the diagnosis concerns whether problems arise "from the inside of you or the outside of you."  

     Qi is always in flux.  "Yin" and "yang" are terms used to describe qualities that need to be in harmony for the body to function properly. When the yin and yang aspects of Qi are in harmony with one another, it leads to health.

    This may sound arcane, but Shoppe Talk deems that it is grounded in good sense - the kind you might get from your Southern grandmother.  

    Your body might be deficient in something, causing an imbalance, or you might be assaulted by pollution or toxic chemicals that are detrimental to health.  You may eat too much or drink too much or eat trashy food with empty calories.

     As well as observation, Martin asks a number of questions before coming to a diagnosis.

     "We are looking at the full scope of someone's life.  The questions we try to ask are what are you eating, how is your digestion, how is your sleep, how is your energy, how is your stress.   We look at elimination.  We look at the big picture. I talk to almost everyone about their diet."

    Some people are reluctant to take Chinese herbs, but those same folk might buy over-the-counter supplements.

   "Buying at a store or over the internet, it's not safe to do. They are medicine, and they can be misused.  You have to have the right diagnosis.  You have to know the background, what kind of medication they are taking.  Some people take cinnamon to improve blood pressure or cholesterol, but it  might not be the right thing for them. Some people take ginseng.  Chinese ginseng is fairly hot and warms the body.  American ginseng is cooler and is used in a different way.  You have to know  which ginseng you are using for which situation.  And then combining herbs is more complex."

     Although herbal medicine and acupuncture are great tools for treating a number of ailments, sometimes Martin turns folks away at the door. 

   "I sometimes tell people 'don't waste your money.'  We know when to refer out. I refer to physical therapists, doctors, psychiatrists, OB/GYNs and to the emergency room.

     "If someone has a blood pressure of over 200, I send them to the ER.  I tell them, you don't need to be here."  

     Martin received his training in Oriental Medicine at Southwest Acupuncture College in Boulder, Colorado.  He interned with Dr. Jeffrey Dann, an internationally known expert in Japanese Meridian Acupuncture.  After completing a four-year program of study, he graduated with a master's degree in Science and Oriental Medicine in 2001. He continued his education in Shanghai, China, at Shu Guang Hospital and at the Shanghai Acupuncture and Meridian Research Institute.  He is licensed by the state and nationally certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.  Evergreen Acupuncture is located at 2 Van Circle near the intersection of North University and Evergreen Drive. 663-3461.

Little Rock Accountant Terri Layne Ivy

Terri Layne Ivy 

     If your idea of an accountant is a taciturn type more at home with numbers than

people, you need to meet Terri Layne Ivy, owner of  Ivy Tax & Accounting.

     "I'm probably not your typical accountant.  I love being around people.  I am extroverted.  I

want to help them," Mrs. Ivy said. 

      "I have a heart for small businesses.  I get such a kick out of seeing small businesses

grow."

      Terri has been an accountant for 23 years.  She was graduated from Arkansas State University at Jonesboro with a bachelor of science degree in accounting and has held her certified public accounting license for about 15 years.

      She does tax returns - personal, corporate, partnership, business and trust.  She offers bookkeeping services, help with Quickbooks and does payroll and payroll taxes.  She sets up corporations and nonprofits. 

     "I would love to help you.  It's important to find someone you feel comfortable with and someone you trust, someone you know who is going to be in your corner if anything happens. That is the kind of relationship you need with whoever your accountant is."

     Terri is a whiz at Quickbooks. 

     "I have worked Quickbooks for years.  I just go out and fix their problem. I enjoy doing that.  A lot of small businesses may have an idea about Quickbooks.  It's a small-business software package.  It's pretty user friendly.  Quickbooks, if you know how to use it, can be the heart of your business. You teach them where the expenses go, profit and loss, balance sheets, assets … . When you have everything in the right category, your financial statements will be correct. I enjoy teaching them and showing them how to do that."

     Terri is her own boss and wouldn't have it any other way. 

    "I won't work full-time for anybody.  I get one shot at being a mom, and I can do (an accounting task) at midnight as well as 10 a.m.  I get the work done."

     She meets with her clients and determines what level of services they require.  

     "Many of my creative clients are awesome at being creative, awful at paperwork.  One woman started out with a flea market booth, then moved into a small building, then into a large building."  

     The woman knew how to grow her business, but needed Terri to keep the paperwork in order.   "She can't do it, and I can't paint furniture," Terri said with a laugh.

     Some folks are just overwhelmed.  "I say just bring me everything, and I'll sort it out.

    "In some companies, I do everything - make deposits, write checks. They are out-sourcing their accounting department.  There is a lot of advantage to that.  I don't need benefits or vacation pay.  I just need to get the work done.

     "I like dealing with different industries.  So it's fun.  It might be a bakery one day, an automotive place the next or a corporate place.  And if there is a day I don't want to talk with anyone, I can just sit and do bookkeeping all day. I get the best of both worlds."

    Terri said there are many changes this year with the Affordable Care Act, or "Obama Care."

    "Some people who have never needed a CPA, they may need one this year. This is new.  No one has ever done this before. And some of the tax breaks changed.  There have been changes in depreciation."

    This is Terri's eighth year working on her own.  

    "I just love it.  Not every day, but most days.  I am a Christian, and I feel like this is God's gift to me.  I can be with my kids. If I can help someone and be a blessing to them, I want to. There are so many good people in the world.  If I can make a little living out of it and help you too, I will."

     You may reach Terri at 681-9880.

Profile: Terri Layne Ivy

Terri Layne Ivy 

     Where were you born?  Little Rock.

     Where do you live?  Pleasant Valley.

     Tell us about your family.  I have been married almost 22 years.  I have a 12-year-old daughter, Ashley, a 10-year-old daughter, Emily, and a 5-year-old son, Christopher.  My husband's name is Chris.  He is a CRNA, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

     Do you have any pets?   We have two rescues, Malt-zhus, part Maltese and part Shih Tzu.  Spencer looks like a Shih Tzu, and Ricky is Maltese looking.  They are brothers, two years old.  We got them when they were about six months old.  

     Do you have favorite actors?  I love old movies with happy endings. I like Cary Grant and Bing Crosby.

     A favorite movie?  White Christmas.

     Is there anything you would like to learn how to do?  I'd love to learn how to sew.  My mother could sew anything.  One time we went to the store (there was a dress I wanted),  and she drew a picture of it there.  She came home, made a pattern and made me that outfit. 

     What do you like to read?  I like to read biographies.  I like to read Christian fiction, and I like good mysteries.

     Do you have a favorite author?  Jan Karon and Lawrence Sanders.  I got '41 by George Bush for Christmas, so that's what I am going to read next. 

     What do you do in your leisure time?  My family and I like to go to Disney World and to go to Branson.  We love supporting the Arkansas Baptist Eagles, and we are very active in our church.  We go to First Baptist.  All three of my kids go to Arkansas Baptist.

     What would you do if you won a large lottery?  I would get out of debt, take a really long vacation and see who I could help out.  And just enjoy my family.  I'd still work a day or two a week.

     What's the strangest thing in your fridge?  A bottle of amoxicillin that's about five years old.  My husband asked why I didn't throw it out.  I said there might be an emergency.  And we have four different kinds of pickles.  Everyone likes a different type. 

     

The Freckled Frog

Handcrafted Gifts Made By Arkansans  

    Handcrafted items, made exclusively by Arkansans, are all The Freckled Frog sells.  The downtown shop offers gifts starting at $3 and $5, including a selection of hundreds of rings, earrings, bracelets and soy candles.

    "We have new ornaments and magnets from Annette Costa at Fire Fragments," Erika

Robbins said. Ms. Robbins and Sadie Nuffer own the popular shop at 419 Presidential Clinton Avenue.  

     "Tiffany O'Brien of Electric Dose has buttons and prints, onesies, long-sleeved t-shirts,

short-sleeved t-shirts, hoodies, sweat shirts, tea towels and t-shirts for dogs," Erika said.

      "We do have a big stock of long-sleeved and regular t-shirts by Erin Lang of Arkie Style, all for $25," she said.  "And we have Hillcrest Waterbugs shirts and hoodies."

   "We have Kate Walters' Scribbles by Kate.  She's done stuff for us since she

was 12, and now she is 15.  They are screen-printed t-shirts and tanks that are Little Rock

themed."

     The shop carries really cute onesies by Virgeen Healey at Posh Designs.

     "Lauren Hoover just brought in a huge batch of awesome fingerless gloves.  I am just

looking at these, and I picked out one I want.'

    "We are stocked with all the latest Nativ gear.

     "We have more than 100 $5 wire rings, over 100 $5 earrings, $5 hemp bracelets and $3 wish necklaces."

 "Sadie has  been working on crystal bullets.  They are spent rounds with 

crystal points we gathered at Jessieville coming out of the ends. She does wire-wrapped crystal pendents and earrings and leather rings.  And, she just cranked out a big batch of vinyl earrings."

     The Freckled Frog offers free gift wrap.  The shop is adjacent to Cache restaurant and across from Boulevard Bread in the River Market.  Shop hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.  514-2060 or 351-5245. 

uBreakiFix

uBreakiFix

                                                  Matthew, Joyce and Ron Harb 

     The uBreakiFix store in Pleasant Ridge Town Center is going like gangbusters.

     Co-owner Ron Harb opened the repair store July 11, and only three months later, opened his second uBreakiFix in North Little Rock.

     "We fixed a computer and two phones yesterday, people just walking in," Mr. Harb said in an interview the day before his shop at the corner of JFK and McCain boulevards officially opened. 

      Shoppe Talk has had experience with the staff at the Pleasant Ridge location and can attest that they are an industrious, enthusiastic bunch of young folks who do not mind taking time to explain problems with a computer in simple terms.  To a man, they were kind and helpful and obviously at the top of their game.   Sitting in the pleasant waiting area, Shoppe Talk also saw lots of customers streaming in and out.  Happy, satisfied customers, many of whom were pleased to have had their cell phones repaired while they waited.

     "It's been doing awesome.  People are really responding to the customer service we provide," Ron said.  "We fix Macs, PCs, game consoles. I've got TVs on the bench right now.  If it's got a power button, we can

fix it.

      "And if we can't, it's free.  We do free diagnosis, and if we don't fix your device, it's free."

     In addition, if it's not in a customer's best interest to fix a phone or computer, uBreakiFix will relay that information as well. 

    "Many times it's more efficient to fix, especially when you have a place you can go with your beloved device.  We fix our stuff right there.  We don't send it out, unless it's a motherboard issue. Ninety-nine percent of our repairs are done on site with great techs and great parts."

     And the cost?  "We can do it faster and cheaper and better."

     Ron added that uBreakiFix guarantees the lowest price - with a like competitor. (Your cousin Fred doesn't count.) 

    The shop also offers a full line of accessories, such as top quality chargers and headphones. 

    And it has a 90-day warranty on repairs nation-wide, which means any uBreakiFix store in the country will honor the warranty given by the Little Rock store. That's handy, if you have a problem with a phone or computer while working out of state or on vacation. 

   When Shoppe Talk remarked on the genuine friendliness of the staff at Pleasant Ridge, Ron said, "We love what we are doing."  You can tell.  It's sincere, and they have a vision and a passion about uBreakiFix.  

    "A lot of people want to work for us. It's a great place to work, and they get to do what they just really enjoy doing.

     "Some places act like they are doing you a favor, and you have to make an appointment … .  We see ourselves as a customer care service company that does repairs."

      Ron owns the Pleasant Ridge store with his wife, Joyce.  His son, Matthew, also works there.  

    "Joyce is the president.  We call her 'Madam President.' It's a family business, and everybody at uBreakiFix is like family."

     Ron got into the repair franchise after a 40-year career in the bond business. He opted for uBreakiFix after research into the success of the business and after meeting the two young men who started it.

     "Justin Wetherill and his friend David Reiff started it in '09 in a bedroom (at Justin's home).  Then they took over the house."  After about four months they had their first store.  "A little over a year ago, they decided to franchise."

     And now it's a $1 billion business. Ron said uBreakiFix now has 97 stores.

    "We are the undisputed industry leader," Ron said.  "We test our parts. We buy from the highest quality vendors. "It's thrilling to be working with some bright, hardworking young people who have a vision and know where they want to take the company.  We were so impressed with what they developed.  And we are thrilled to be a part of it."

   The Pleasant Ridge shop has performed "above expectations," Ron said.  "The customers feel the same way we do.  They enjoy the service.  They can watch TV and wait on a repair.  It's a good feeling."

   Ron and Mrs. Harb are working on opening a third store.  "That's the model for us.  The more stores we open, the stronger our brand recognition."

    The Pleasant Ridge Town Center store is located at 11525 Cantrell Road, #915, between the Sky Modern Japanese and Little Greek restaurants.  It is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. You may call it at 225-4349. 

    Ron said that he and Joyce wanted the first one to open in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center.  

   "It's delightful.  There's just a lot of traffic out there and great shops.  Lou and his team do a really good job of managing the property," he said of Lou Schickel, developer and owner of Pleasant Ridge.   We really wanted to be there for our first store.  It's a very nice neighborhood."

This story first appeared in the November 2014 issue of Shoppe Talk.  It was written by Bobbi Nesbitt.  The photograph is by Kelley Naylor Wise. 

100th Birthday of Daisy Bates Celebration

     The 100th Birthday of Daisy Bates Celebration will be held noon to 2 p.m. November 11 at the Clinton School of Public Service.  

     Ernie Green, one of the Little Rock Nine, is the speaker for the free event.

     Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was a civil rights activist in Little Rock who played a leading role in the integration of Little Rock Central High School by the Little Rock Nine in 1957.   She died in Little Rock on November 4, 1999. 

     Mrs. Bates and her husband, L.C. Bates, moved to Little Rock in 1941 and published the first issue of the Arkansas State Press that same year.  The eight-page weekly advocated for civil rights and published accounts of black Arkansans' achievements. 

     Daisy Bates and L.C. Bates.  Mr. Bates is wearing a press badge and camera, apparently representing the Arkansas State Press, their newspaper.  (The white man is not named in this undated photo.  Do you know his identity and the occasion?) 

     Mrs. Bates in Little Rock Circuit Court after being fined $25 for refusing to produce the membership rolls and financial records of the Arkansas NAACP, of which she was then president.  Her lawyer, Robert L. Carter, seated with her, said he would appeal the judgement. 

     After nine black students were selected to attend Little Rock Central High School, Daisy guided and advised them on enrollment in the previously all-white school.  At the time, she was head of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People's Arkansas branch.  Her home became the headquarters for the successful integration push.  In 1957, the Associated Press named her Woman of the Year in Education. 

     In later years in Washington, D.C., she worked for the Democratic National Committee and served in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson working on anti-poverty programs. 

     Little Rock named 14th Street, the street that runs to the north of Central High, for her and also named the Daisy Bates Elementary School in her honor.  In 1984, she was given an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Arkansas.      

   

An Evening with Nathan Englander 

      An Evening with Nathan Englander will be held 7:30 - 9 p.m. October 29 at Temple B'nai Israel, 3700 North Rodney Parham Road.  Mr. Englander is an award-winning author who published his first short story collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, in 1999.  Since its publication, Nathan has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Bard Fiction Prize, and four of his short stories have appeared in editions of

The Best American Short Stories.

      His second collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, won the 2012 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Nathan is also the translator for the New American Haggadah.

    The event is free.  It is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Arkansas in partnership with the Sisterhoods of Temple B'nai Israel and Synagogue Agudath Achim. A reception and book signing will follow.

  For additional information, call Marianne Tettlebaum at 663-3571 or visit federation@jewisharkansas.org. 

Artists Scrounging Opens September 20 with Reception at Gallery 360

                       Mother, mixed media, Melissa "Mo" Lashbrook 

              Artists Scrounging             

          Twenty three artists will be participating in "Artists Scrounging," an exhibit of art made from found, recycled and re-purposed materials, which opens with a reception 6:30 p.m. September 20 at Gallery 360.  The event is free and open to the public.

     The exhibit will run until November 1.  Gallery owner Jay King will be accepting art for the show until September 10.

      Artists in the show include Amy Edgington, Laura Fanning, Melissa "Mo" Lashbrook, Kelley Naylor Wise, Michelle Canulla, Nina Sharkey Culpepper, Jessica Crenshaw, Ming Donkey, Jay King, Wade Wise, Gerald Brown, Fabio Adrian Delgado, Mike Church, Lynn Frost, Steph Brouwers, Debra Young, Michael Crenshaw, Everett Gee and others. 

    Gallery 360 is located at 900 S. Rodney Parham.  Mr. King may be reached by calling 993-0012 or emailing audiolingo@gmail.com. 

Arkansas Potter Joe Bruhin

  Joe Bruhin 

   creates beauty out of clay and fire and wood.

     If that sounds simple, it is not.  After the initial creation of clay pieces, a firing requires 10 days of continuous stoking of a cord of wood a day - with a mind to temperature, humidity, ash content, salts, placement of pottery in the kiln, the path of the flame and the process of cool down. 

     Only then do his amazing vases, plates, jars, tea bowls and saki cups emerge from the two wood-fired kilns Mr. Bruhin built on his property in Fox, Arkansas. 

     For 28 years, this art inspired by traditional Japanese forms has earned the appreciation and praise of museums and collectors across the nation.

    Joe's pottery may be seen in a number of collections, including the permanent collections of Historic 

Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas Arts Center, where he had a one person museum exhibition in 2007.  Two Little Rock galleries will have some of his pottery on display in June and July: The Edge Gallery, 301-B President Clinton Ave., and Gallery 360, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road.

      Joe's first kiln was built in 1986, and he still uses it.

     "I fired it last year.  I'm going to fire it once a year now."

      He recycled 4,000 bricks from the old Falstaff Brewing Corporation site in St. Louis, which had kilns used to roast barley, and these bricks eventually ended up in this first kiln in Fox.

      "The brick was in really good shape.  I was living in St. Louis then.  I took my Volkswagen van and got 120 bricks at a time.  I stored them in my basement in St. Louis."

     In 1985, Joe and his first wife, Terry, bought 40 undeveloped acres of land in Fox in the heart of the Ozarks and built a cabin with stone and wood from their land.

     The next project was the kiln.  "I rented a big Hertz truck and brought back the bricks in two trips.  After it was made, we called it Falstaff, since the bricks came from the brewery. Back then, there were not many wood-fired kilns in the country."

    The type of kiln he built is called a "noborigama," which is a three-chambered kiln in which he experimented with ash and salt finishes.  

    Joe sent out an invitation in June 2013 to his noborigama kiln opening and studio exhibit that pictured Criselda, whom he married that previous February, crouched in the kiln opening holding 

up an absolutely gorgeous vase from the latest firing.       

     In recent years, Joe has invited the public to be there when the kilns are opened and their contents revealed.  There's something special in seeing the finished vessels for the first time.

     The second kiln Joe built is an anagama-type structure that was first used in China circa 1,000 B.C.E. and then was brought to Japan via Korea about 500 years later.  "Anagama" is a Japanese term meaning "cave kiln."  Joe describes it as a long tube with no dividers and said the most

traditional ones are built partially underground, as is his.  He named this kiln "Cave Light."

      "Somebody called me from Louisiana.  They had an over amount of brick, had ordered too much.  They had 70 pallets of brick with 450 bricks to a pallet.  They said they thought about taking them to the dump, but they asked if I wanted them."

     He did.  And he set about building a 40-foot long anagama kiln with 4,000 new bricks he took from the Louisiana company.  

    "Mine is half under the ground.  Twenty foot of that is the flue, a horizontal flue on a 30 percent slope.  I fire for 10 days.  Basically, it's a cord of wood a day.  The wood is small, about two inches in diameter and 18 inches long.  You're putting in about 20 pieces every two or three minutes.  The

anagama is harder to fire.  It takes a month to load the kiln, fire the kiln and cool the kiln."

     Joe's advice if you want to operate a wood-fired kiln:  "Have lots of children,"  he said with

a chuckle. It's a labor-intensive occupation, and some of them might want to stick around and 

help, he said, adding that that is what some Japanese potters do, operate as a family enterprise.

     "What I am doing is kind of a Japanese thing.  It is not an easy thing to do."

     But Joe gets lots of help from volunteers, whom he hosts at his home for the once- or twice-a-year firings. 

     Jay King, owner of Gallery 360, has been friends with Joe for more than 15 years and has helped with firings twice.  

     "A firing with Joe is an exercise in reading signs. Fire, smoke, wind - all these play a role. Joe has the reading of the signs down, but his helpers have to learn them. It's intense at first, then it becomes a ritual and, for Joe especially, a deeply rewarding spiritual exercise," Mr. King said.

     Joe said a crew of at least four people is needed to fire the anagama.  We usually take an 8-hour shift."

     He said firing the kiln is his favorite part of the pottery process.  "I enjoy loading the kiln.  But, it's all good. It's my devotion.  I certainly don't do it for money."

     In 2003, Joe helped with a firing in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and that is where he met Japanese ceramic master Shiho Kanzaki of Shigaraki, a city heralded as one of the six oldest pottery centers in Japan.  At the time Joe met him, Mr. Kanzaki, a leading figure in the pottery world, was in the States for the 10th anniversary of the firing of an anagama kiln he'd built on the property of Karl Beamer, a ceramics and sculpture instructor at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a fine potter in his own right.

      "I just loved Shiho's work.  When I met him, he showed me and gave me 

dimensions for building this kiln," Joe said.

     Shiho is a Buddhist and his pottery, like Joe's, is a spiritual adventure.  

     Joe built and first fired this anagram kiln in 2006. 

     "I built it exactly the way Kanzaki said it was to be built."

      Joe sent the Japanese master photographs of the kiln and the pots that were coming  out of it.  That's when Kanzaki invited Joe to Japan.  "He said I needed no money, just a  plane ticket." 

     Joe's friends helped with the plane ticket, and he was in Little Rock ready for his  trip to Japan.  He was staying at Jay King's home in the Foxcroft subdivision of Little Rock when the tornado sirens began screaming. The lights went out, and Jay's cell phone had no juice.  They debated going directly to the airport, but decided that Joe needed some rest before his trip.  So Jay set a kitchen timer for an hour and woke up.  Set it for another hour and woke up, and so on through the night.  

    Jay drove Joe to the airport in time for his flight and was astonished the next day to see the swath of destruction that they had driven through only the night before.  But Joe  was on his way to Japan and one of the best adventures he'd ever embarked upon. 

    Japan was everything Joe ever wanted to experience and his host, Shiho, was most generous.

     "I lived in his house and he fed me.  He made available to me a tea ceremony.  We traveled.

I was there a month.  It was the second most wonderful experience of my life."

      Shigaraki had three to four hundred pottery galleries, Joe said.  It is a town where literally

millions of pots are on display daily.

    "I had so much fun.  Shiho makes bicycles as a hobby.  And we rode.  I've had some spiritual experiences.  I traveled in India.  But, Japan, there is such a wonderful feeling there.  It's just different.  You might as well be on another planet.  Mostly I was out in the small villages.  There is just something in those mountains there.  It was just a really strong feeling there.  I've seen the Himalayas.  I love India too, but Japan just had a real mystic-type feel to it.  I miss it.  If I were younger … ." 

     "And the food.  I loved all of it.  I was just really happy there.  My body felt good, my mind felt good."

      And he was pleased with the Japanese tradition of hospitality.

     "They take care of you.  Shiho really did take really good care of me."

      Shiho, who had taught himself English, helped Joe through his process of firing 

the kiln.

     "I watched.  I helped him load the kiln.  I fire my kiln exactly as he fires his kiln.  He'd have guests come over.  When the guests would come, I would bow and serve tea.  It was just a really good experience."

     At home in Arkansas, Joe burns yellow pine in his kilns, wood that he has cut from his land.

    "The next firing, I'm going to throw some ash in and try a little hickory and some oak too and see

how I like that."

     When Joe was in Japan, he said it took about $5,000 worth of wood to fire Shito's 

kiln.  

     Having your own source of wood on your own land definitely has its advantages.

     Joe is not always pleased with what comes out of his kiln.  In fact, he's downright picky. 

     "I might put 350 pots in there (the anagama) and get 30 that I like, that make

my standard," Joe said. 

    "The pots I like the best are in the fire box.  It's also the most dangerous place.  They

can fall over, get cracks.  When the wood is thrown in, you can hit a pot.  It's really close. It's a little dangerous.

     "The next pieces I like are on the top on the first step.  There's the firebox, and there

are four steps maybe 20 inches in diameter.  So there are four different levels in the kiln."

     The ancient process of firing an anagama kiln produces stunning surfaces through  natural ash deposits and manipulations of fire rather than the application of glazes.

     In recent years, Joe has been getting into a Buddha place.

     That place is the land and the beauty of nature and the enjoyment of small things that have no monetary value.

      "In the last few years, I've been trying to improve my environment. I've been gardening,

building rock walls.  I remodeled my porch and made a great big arch gate.  It's inspirational

to have your living environment nice as you can make it.  It doesn't matter if I am making 

clay pots, gardening or building a stone wall.  It's all the same.  My goal is for it to all have

the same importance.  I spend maybe less than ten percent of my time on the potter's

wheel.  The living environment is as important as the pottery,  Now, I get more joy

looking at the stone wall, listening to the cardinals chirp outside."

   "My whole reason to work is if I can inspire anyone.  An artist's responsibility is to

manifest inspiration for others."

This story was written by Bobbi Nesbitt and first appeared in the June/July issue of Shoppe Talk.