Drive-in art! - Friday night at Spectrum Art and Jewelry - ArtSmartCar!!

The second Friday of each month from 6-8PM, Star Sosa holds a Second Friday of the Month Party, thinly disguised as an exhibit at her excellent Spectrum Art and Jewelry Gallery at the Forum Shoppes in Wilmington. The party (ooops, exhibit) this month was focused based on the Spectrum's General Manager (and AAiR - awesome artist in residence) Nancy Noel May's ArtSmartCar, a car so cool it has it's own website AND so trendy it's own blog . The ArtSmartCar is wrapped (courtesy of Image Monster, though I'm sure they didn't do it for free) with one of Nancy's works. When Marge and I arrived a bit later than usual around 7:30 - we'd been at the NBCC/WWAY-TV3 Business After Hours in Northwest (see previous blog post) the poor car was by itself (in the fire lane) under a tent and in lights outside in front of the gallery, while all the guests were inside - maybe because that's where the wine was?

So we went inside and what did we see, besides all the happy people? Star and Spectrum Marketing Director and all-round good buddy Nicole Wilkinson (who is also an Art Professor at Brunswick Community College) were actually selling stuff! Yippee! No recession here!

As we always do, Marge and I had a good time at Star's party (there I go again, it's an exhibit and art showing!). We weren't the only ones, either. Look at the photo below to see more happy people:

And some more in this shot:

We had a special treat near the end of the event when Nicole brought out one of Spectrum's most recent marketing pieces, a card they created using SendOutCards, which if you'd like to know about that, please do check out the web site for Fat City Cards, our SendOutCards distributorship.

Great Benefit Tonight - Spectrum Art and Jewelry

If you're looking for a special gift for someone artistically inclined, if you would like to support a good cause, or if you'd just like to hang with some cool folks, head over to Spectrum Art and Jewelry early this evening, December 12th from 6-8PM for their December Open House & Fund Raiser.


Join them for hot cider and holiday treats and meet the good folks from the Brigade Boys & Girls Club. Buy a whimsical hand painted ornament and $10 will be donated to the club to continue their great work mentoring local kids. Take time to check out Spectrum's great collection of gift ideas, starting as low at $12.


While you're there you might also be able to see Spectrum's General Manager and RAA (Resident Awesome Artist) Nancy Noel May's SmartArtCar in the parking lot.

See you there!

Holiday Bazaar at Blue Moon Gallery

We've been looking forward to a trip to the Blue Moon Gallery and Gift Shops in Wilmington so this weekend's Holiday Bazaar was a great time to go. Before we arrived we had to run some errands around town and then decided to explore a different way to get from our last errand to the gallery. Well, as luck had it, we passed right by a Krispy Kreme store with a 24-hour drive through window.

Actually, we didn't exactly drive by, because when we were halfway through the intersection where we had to execute a tricky right-handed double slide U-turn, I just happened to notice there was no line at the drive through window. Being a child of the moment, and wanting to respond to clear signals from the universe, I hooked another U-ie and while Marge held her breath, got into the parking lot and up to the order box. All we really wanted, and ordered was a single large cup of black coffee to share and a couple of glazed donuts, but it seemed silly to only order two, so I ordered a half-dozen, and then, well wouldn't ya know, the order box lady said, "For only $1.55 more you can make that a whole dozen, Hon." So I did

The coffee was hot and so were the donuts. I explained to Marge that one Krispy Kreme is really like half a regular donut because they make 'em so light, but after I had four (count that as really only two regular donuts), Marge put the box on the back seat. (Which, as you can imagine, made it much tougher to reach back to snag another one or two while keeping one hand on the wheel and two eyes on the road. But I managed.)

Eventually we did make it to Blue Moon Gallery, which is what this is really all about, and once my lips stopped twitching from the sudden sugar assault, we went in. Marge didn't feel like it was picture day for her so there's me below, heading into the gallery.

If you've not been to the Blue Moon, you're missing out. There is a legit art gallery, but the gift shops with little booths and displays for artists, craftspeople, and a few other copacetic businesses is the big draw for Marge and I. The displays change regularly and the folks who work at the gallery are always very nice.

We wandered around a bit just soaking in all the art and culture (see Marge below in an unwitting shot - "Sorry, Meg.")

One of the non-art or craft permanent displays is the Old Wilmington Tea Co. and today the owners were on hand to dispense samples of their teas and scones made with their tea-based recipes.

The festive Old Wilmington Tea Company's booth is a popular stop just inside the gallery entrance. Check out their website at http://www.oldwilmingtontea.com/ or call the company at 800-404-5124.

We also saw our friend Jeanette Borton who has a permanent display inside the gallery but was set up and working on an adjacent patio. Jeanette makes very high quality baskets using pine needles. Often the baskets incorporate other materials like shells, agates, or stone. If you are interested in more info about her work, you can reach Jeanette at 910-790-5342 or jaborton@bellsouth.net.

Gary Longardo, who we don't know, works in several media - my fav is the metal two-level desk with chain legs below.

Artists with permanent booths at Blue Moon include Ivey Hayes

and William Hubbard.

One of the most stunning displays is the booth for Simply Must Have!, specialty gifts and home decor. Captivating things in that booth. E-mail smusthave@yahoo.com.

On the way out I also noticed a small wall display with handmade soy candles which were very attractive.

We had a nice time, saw some friends, looked at a lot of cool art, and even bought a few Christmas presents. Win-win-win.

And there are still 4 Krispy Kremes left, for now.

Raspberry Cat Presents a Purrfect Venue for the Arts

Plans are moving forward rapidly for Mary Ann Sauer's (aka The Frame Lady) Raspberry Cat Gallery & Gift Shop in Cross Creek Commons in Leland. On Thursday evening, October 23rd, approximately 35 artists and artisans from our region met to hear Mary Ann and guests speak about both the potential of the North Brunswick area centered in Leland and the reality of the great opportunity it presents today!

Rhonda Norris, Executive Director of the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce spoke about the many businesses opened and coming to our area. Bruce Brown, Managing Broker of the Leland office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty (hey, that's me I'm writing about) started by assuring people that he is not and never was Henry Winkler and then talked about population growth, demographics, and "playing to win" as opposed to "playing not to lose". The final speaker, Decorator Theresa Sholey (in the photo above during her presentation), who is working with Mary Ann to design and decorate the display areas and pieces, talked about displaying gallery members' arts and works. Mary Ann followed up with a presentation of her vision of the gallery, the history of the the project, and the support she's already received from the artisan community. At the end of the evening there was a great deal of excitement about Raspberry Cat and an impressive number (I'm not telling because I don't want to jinx it) indicated their immediate willingness to sign on. We'll keep you posted on what promises to be a very cool custom gift shop in the heart of Leland's Route 17 shopping area. For more info, call Mary Ann Sauer at 910-383-1343.

Events Around Town (Wilmington and Leland)

Yesterday afternoon, rather than eat at home before the VP candidate debate, Marge and I attended 3 local events. We missed a REALTOR event at Parkside at Mayfaire, but did attend a ribbon-cutting in downtown Wilmington, and two REALTOR-only events in Leland, one at Waterford and the other at Brunswick Forest. Along the way we stopped at a new gallery in Leland.

Sharon Bryant was the hostess at the ribbon-cutting at Commercial Interior Resources at 228 N. Front St in Wilmington. This well-attended event (actually two ribbon cuttings, 3PM for the North Brunwick Chamber of Commerce and 4PM for Brunswick Chamber - not sure if/when Wilmington Chamber has one) had plenty of food and liquid refreshments - my personal fav was the fresh salsa.

Landon Morrison was one of the hosts at Waterford of the Carolinas yesterday afternoon. Just a few of the garden homes are left near the front entrance to Waterford, convenient to the fast rising retail commercial section that's right on 17. Catering at this event was by Joe Caldropoli's Coastal Catering & Events - the shrimp was outstanding! The 3 bedroom, 2 bath garden homes start at about $260K and include 2 car garages and fenced back yards - nice.

After leaving Waterford we went to Brunswick Forest for a tropics themed party by the outdoor pool at the community's new Wellness Center. Lots of excellent food, a martini bar for martini fans, and live music. The weather was beautiful, the Wellness Center is, of course, top shelf, and eventually quite a good-sized group gathered. We sat at a table with a bunch of Leland Office Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty agents. The Brunswick Forest Wellness Center has indoor and outdoor pools, weight and resistance rooms, a huge aerobics room, six lighted tennis courts, and a whole lot more.

Attention artists and fine local craftspeople! Mary Anne Sauer, aka The Frame Lady, is starting an exciting new venture in Leland at Cross Creek Commons (directly across 17 from the entrance to Magnolia Greens). Mary Anne's frame business, Accent on Framing is in the building at 1107 New Pointe Blvd. and now an additional 1,500 square feet previously used by Montage Gallery is available for Mary Anne's new venture, The Raspberry Cat Art & Gifts. Mary Anne's concept is to provide shared open gallery space for up to 20 select artists and craftspeople to display and sell their work. There are several enticing aspects of her venture, such as no commission on sales, personal web site pages, full point of sales services, and a buncha other cool stuff. Getting to the point here - if you're an artist or crafts person looking for a reasonably priced display/sales location or an additional location to one you already have, in the new center of the fastest developing commercial region in the state, call Mary Anne today at 910-383-1343.