Throwback Thursday: Halloween Costumes

With Halloween being only a day away, we felt it was only right to dedicate this week's Throwback Thursday to the Halloween costumes of yesteryear. While we certainly have our own unique brand of costumes living in a city full of art students, there's just something rather remarkable about these vintage costumes. Maybe it's just that the black & white of the photographs make them seem especially nostalgic or the fact that even though times were much simpler then, it's evident that people still dedicated a great amount of thought & effort to making elaborate costumes. Either way, we can't get enough of all these amazing costumes! Check them out to get some inspiration for your own costume this year & have a Happy Halloween!  

Rooms With A View: Dr. Fabre's Micropolis

Although we're relieved to have a respite from all the hard work, we can't help but feel a tinge of sadness that Rooms With A View has now come to an end. Every detail of our room was carefully planned & constructed & it was truly a wonderful experience seeing it all come together. For those of you that didn't make it out to the Jepson this weekend to see it, our room was based on Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre (1823-1915), an entomologist from the south of France. From an encaustic piece featuring golden cicadas to a dome full of beautiful butterflies to entomology drawers full of specimens ranging from colorful to creepy, bugs filled just about every nook & cranny of our room. So without further ado, we present: Dr. Fabre's Micropolis. 

Bare Walls // Primed & Painted // Installing Panels & Molding 

The completed walls

Installing: The Wall Unit // The Lighting // The Doors

Rooms With A View: Custom Furniture

After countless hours & an unmeasurable amount of hard work, our Room With A View is officially complete & open for viewing at the Jepson Center for the Arts. And while we're going to wait until the end of viewing period to reveal finished images of the room, we do want to go ahead & share with you a little bit about what went into the making of this room. They say it takes an army & we certainly had one helping us throughout this entire process. But we absolutely could not have done it without the guys at Coastal Wood Design & Forsyth Metal Works. They took our custom furniture designs & brought them to life & the room really wouldn't be what it is without them. Check out what went into making each piece below & then head on over to the Jepson Center to see our room, "Dr. Fabre's Micropolis," which will be on display through Sunday, October 26th.  

The Desk:

Constructed with grain matched, figured walnut slabs, which were then fitted with a 2" think Lucite leg. The Lucite is mounted with brass hardware that is faced with hand-turned, walnut washers. Through the Lucite leg, you can see the hand-stitched, leather file system. Both the file holder & pencil drawer are made of solid walnut, faced with hand-polished brass. The desk has been finished using a tung oil, as opposed to a stain, which is completely natural & green. 

The Pedestal:

Constructed from reclaimed heart pine from a Kentucky tobacco barn, the pedestal was then pickled & finished with a spray lacquered top & waxed bottom. 

The Wall Unit:

The hand-fabricated steel frame holds concealed shelves at a random height configuration. The steel has been finished to have an antique brass look. The wall system is balanced by a cabinet on one side & specimen drawers on the other, as well as a central portal to display art. All of the wood components are constructed using locally-sourced, domestic maple plywood.

Get To Know: The Naked Tart

If you've stopped by our café recently, you may have noticed a few tasty-looking newcomers in our cold case. These would be the healthy & delicious creations of Diane Hughes (pictured left), also known as The Naked Tart. Based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, Diane & her team at The Naked Tart specialize in making raw, organic tarts, or as they call them, "a yummy blessing in disguise." And believe us when we say it, they are a yummy blessing, indeed. We're sure that if you try even a single bite of one of these delectable desserts, you'll be as completely hooked as we are! We currently offer chocolate, coffee, lemon, pecan, raspberry, & vanilla tarts, and have plans to carry seasonal flavors as they become available.

We recently had the chance to catch up with Diane & find out a little bit more about her & the inspiration behind The Naked Tart. Read on below to discover her story.


Tell us a little bit about yourself.  
I grew up in upstate NY, studied graphic design in college and later ran a successful photography business for 20 years.

How did you get started making these tarts? 
After over coming health issues related to gastrointestinal problems, I became fascinated with the idea of using food as medicine. I realized that by eating organic whole foods and staying away from gluten and processed sugars that I just felt better. I wanted to package that goodness in a dessert and share it with the world. After 20 years as a photographer I was ready for a new adventure.

Why is it so important to you to keep your tarts raw, organic, gluten-free, etc.?  
When something is cooked or heated over 118 degrees, the enzymes are destroyed and the vitamins and minerals in the foods are altered. Enzymes are what digest our food.  If they are destroyed, we have to rely on our own body's enzymes. As we age and if we are not healthy, our enzymes are lacking and therefore, our food is not getting properly or completely digested and we are not getting the nutrients from it. When food is raw, it remains in its natural state, full of all the healthy goodness. It's easy to digest and therefore it's easy on the tummy. You're not left with that "oh I'm so full" feeling.

What are some of your other favorite things to bake or cook?  
I have a great recipe for raw chocolate pudding and and raw thai rolls. I can also make a yummy raw lemon dressing.

What inspires you?  
Helping people feel good. I love the emails and Facebook messages I get from my customers thanking me for creating these tarts and how addicted they are to eating them. Some people get really upset when the tart they want is not on the shelf. The change of seasons has also inspired me to create new flavors. Fall is my favorite time of the year and I am inspired to make sweet potato, pecan and fig tarts.

*Images courtesy of Diane Hughes*