23 Funky Finds at Asheville’s Sweeten Creek Antiques

By: AskAsheville about 8 years ago

The Asheville Antique world is growing by leaps and bounds. Along with beer city USA and foodie city USA; antique city USA is definitely sneaking up on us. Of course there is the Antique Tobacco Barn, a new spot name Reliks and many others; but Sweeten Creek Antiques is one of our personal favorites. Even their website is antique lol, but it has directions if you wish to get there. We stopped by there the other day and got to experience the whole store. Well kind of. We did not have enough time at each booth, but we got to browse them at least. Here are 23 “Funky” and maybe even “Not So Funky To You” Finds at Asheville’s Sweeten Creek Antiques:

The original Statue of Liberty! This was actually the smaller version, the one France originally sent us; but the USA was insulted and told them to shove it! So it ended up here. Now she is looking for a home.

I know, I know, trolls are everywhere around Asheville. But these guys are cute!

Oh yeah, I just love vintage pornography lol. Now we know the filth grandpa used to read.

A vintage wooden and wicker wheelchair. This is all Asheville will be using in the future. Homemade, handmade wheelchairs made from organic wood.

Asheville stoner quotes made into art!

The Bee Happy booth… reclaimed, recycled and repurposed furniture and home decor. This spot is a store in itself!

A sign calling for Players! There is no shortage of these type in Asheville. Especially the women hahaha 😉

This dude is either a victorious gladiator, or a headhunter from the mountains of Western North Carolina. Yeah, we have them too. Celebrate diversity!

Some stolen furniture from the Biltmore Estate. I will ship it to my condo in London.

Got to hang with King Louis XIV during intermission. And yes, those are dreads he is wearing. A cute and colorful corner that just brightened my whole day 😉 A wicker baby carriage. If you are ultra local grown, you will have one of these, handmade in Asheville, instead of one of those commercialized ones you buy at Wal-Mart or Babies R Us. Surely some hippie put this thing together. Don’t trust it! These four chicks kept staring at me. Then I noticed they all had wigs on. Ahhh, the man cave. Every man needs one, or to be a member of one. Headless tie dye and painted mannequins. Say goodbye to blowup dolls! These 3 ladies are the organizers for both the GoToplesss, and GoBottomless campaign in Asheville. A handmade pirate ship! Just what I need floating around in my jacuzzi. Painted bison heads. Now I know what I am going to be for Halloween. You can also use these for satanic rituals so no animals are harmed in the process. A couple of Fedora hats! Great. Now I could look like “That Hipster” anywhere I go. A chest (slash) suitcase (slash) dresser (slash) closet. We were so much more creative back in the days. Lime green bar stools, just in case Austin Powers stops by. Or better yet, Foxy Cleopatra! Yeah baby!!! A vintage nativity scene. I guess there was no room for them at the Inn either, so now they live here; just waiting in anticipation for another virgin to get pregnant. A merry-go-round with a pole. Just what I wanted for my bedroom. My ladies portable stripper pole has got to go. We gonna ride the white pony! And… in the kids PG section, they have lots of toys including this stuffed animal that says “I Love You!” This whole building is awesome. If you are in the Asheville area and looking for lots of wonderful merchandise; this is the place to be!

4 Asheville Artists Featured on Artisan’s Art Walls

By: AskAsheville about 8 years ago

Artisan Cafe and Coffeehouse in Candler had recently re-invented their interior with beautiful design and decor. But something was missing. The walls were empty and screamed for local Asheville area art. Kris, the owner, decided to call them “Artisan Art Walls” and reached out to a few folks in the area. Today the place is filled with creativity from several artists. Artist Dave Brockman has filled the largest area with custom artwork.

Alligator Jane is the newest Artist featured at Artisan. After several shows in Asheville, her work is now displayed at several venues, and they also ship to customers nationwide.

Artist Stacy Hana believes that “everyone has an artist within” and teaches painting with a focus on seniors and children. As a graduate from Peace College, and then furthered her art potential at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro NC.

asheville photography barbara gershenson

Barbara Gershenson is a photography Artist with a collection of pieces from her traveling experiences across the United States of America.

Artisan Cafe and Coffeehouse in located at 1390 Sand Hill Road, Candler NC 28715 and has openings for three more local Artists to feature their work. All of this art is for sale. 10% of all sales will be designated to MANNA Foodbank, and the Artist keeps the other 90%. Stop by, check out the great work, and try some of their delicious food while you are at it.

Morehouse Interiors, Bringing Creative Collaboration to your Home

By: Adrian Etheridge about 9 years ago

Morehouse Interiors Studio Stroll Invitation AskA (Foreword by Adrian Etheridge, of ASE Photography)

It was the week before finals and amidst my frenzy to find a job for the summer, I happened across a flyer advertising a communications intern position with a “local interior design firm specializing in collaboration with local artists.” In a fit of excitement, I emailed the contact immediately, crossing my fingers for a job that would combine my skills in photography and social media with my love for interior design – not to mention the added of intensive of working closely with local artists (as art is my passion.)

Happily, I landed this dreamy internship, and have more than enjoyed working there the past few weeks. Caitlin Morehouse – who indeed specializes in collaboration with local artists, as the decorated walls of our studio show – is an artist herself who “believes that the less we look for boundaries between the two, the more beautiful spaces we can create.” She loves finding the art that speaks to clients and collaborating to turn their interiors into livable, personal works of art. With her quirky taste in vibrant and bold pieces (be them vibrant upholstery fabrics, ceramic backsplash tiles detailing a landscape, or handmade sardine-plastered bowls) getting a behind-the-scenes look into designing a home has been quite exhilarating.

Our fabric library is ever-growing. If you’re looking for beautiful, quality fabrics then come to our studio, pull up a chair, and enjoy flipping through our many sample books.

And now, we of Morehouse Interiors are happy to announce that this year we set up shop in the quirky River Arts District of Asheville, NC. In looking for a studio space, Caitlin’s vision was for it to “be a creative space in the truest sense. A place for people to get inspired and turn inspiration into various artistic collaborations; from hanging paintings to reuphostering a sofa.” Studio 254 in Riverview Station allows us to do just that, with a place to showcase some of the work of local artists with whom we collaborate for interior design projects, as well as sell interesting pieces and products we find at the High Point Market and other local venues. Soon, we will also begin using the front room (a wall splits our spacious studio into two parts – the back office and the front meeting room and gallery) to create vignettes of possible design combinations, again using the work of local artists and craftsmen with whom we collaborate. We will exhibit this last exciting feature on our blog once it is up and running, so keep your eyes peeled.

“Gallery Icon,” aka our front meeting room, gallery, and vignette area.

However, the best part of residing in the River Arts District is the connection with the community that we get to enjoy. This weekend, June 14th and 15th, the RAD will host its biannual Studio Stroll, and we are excited for our first year of participation. Our studio – Studio 254 in Riverview Station on 191 Lyman St. – will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, and we invite everyone to stop by to check out our eclectic space filled with our one-of-a-kind pillows, Cardboard Safari Animals (think deer head mount made of cardboard), Valerie Schnaufer ceramics, Caitlin’s own artwork, and much more. We will even have refreshments. (No, we are not trying to bribe you, unless it’s working.) Asheville, we hope to see you this weekend.

One of the artists represented in our studio: Valerie Schnaufer.

Yes, this really is a handmade African sardine bowl plastered with sardines.

Yes, there really is a handmade African sardine bowl plastered with sardines.

Caitlin’s personal work is among the ranks of the art hanging in the studio. Surreal, pastel, bold.

Even if you cannot attend the Stroll, there are many different ways to follow our work from our Pinterest storyboard documenting Studio 254’s design transformation (along with many other product and design boards) to our on-location Insta-pics.

Caitlin Morehouse

– Caitlin Morehouse & The Morehouse Interiors Team

Ikebana International Conference in Asheville

By: AskAsheville about 9 years ago

It all started with a text from my mom, she is the contest chaser in the family, always entering us into these drawings. She told me that I had won 2 tickets to go to the Ikabana International 17th North American Regional Conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Asheville North Carolina. And there was also a Facebook post on AskAsheville from Craig at Pristine telling me that I had won some tickets and to take him. I then received an email from Holly Headrick at WLOS telling me where to pick up the tickets. There were demonstrations from the likes of Jennie Sterling, Emiko Suzuki, and Akihiro Kasuya. We went through the aisles and viewed the beautiful art, arrangements and styles. When I got back home, I jumped on the website to learn more about Ikebana. We met some new friends while we were there, and hope to see them again, somewhere around the world! Ikebana Asheville Chapter #74 usually meets the fourth Tuesday of each month February through October at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 10am.

Fun Times at Montford Music and Arts Festival in Asheville

By: AskAsheville about 9 years ago

So many great events happen during the Spring and Summer in Asheville. Montford Music and Arts Festival is one of those times that feature music, art, food, drinks and a wonderful community gathering. We always start by walking down the street and getting an overview of what is going on, meet a few people and get in festival mode. The music on the stages featured many local artists in the Asheville and WNC area. Asheville on Bikes had a “Bike Corral” where you could park your bike, saving you from looking for a parking spot. Plus, we are all Strive Not To Drive minded lately, so it fit in perfectly. Here is a personal photo I took of two of my older sons walking my baby daughter down Montford Ave during the festival. And, we got to meet a real-life fairy! Well I guess Asheville is known for that already, but I am always happy to see one of these breeds.

We also took a few 8 second Vine videos of Music, Dancing and even a Dragon! The Montford Music and Arts Festival happens every year for the last 11 years. Make plans to come out and enjoy the fun with us for 2015.

asheville art