The Yachats Gazette, June 30 2012, Issue 11

 New BOUTIQUE IN TOWN: SASSAFRAS

 The Yachats Gazette spoke with Barbara Grundemann, proprietor of the new Sassafras Boutique, located at 245 Aqua Vista Loop in Yachats. near Highway 101.

TYG: Where does the word “sassafras” come from?

Barbara: I chose the word “sassafras” because it was my favorite word when I was a kid.  There’s a tree called the sassafras tree, and it has medicinal values... sassafras bark is really good for teas, and it also makes sarsaparilla, which is the drink they made before root beer.

TYG:  I just wanted to say that apparently lemongrass has some interesting properties too.

Barbara: It does, yes!

TYG: Lemon grass helps, like, cardiac stuff, I think? I learned that from the menu of the Thai restaurant up in Newport.

Barbara: Oh that’s great! So, the sassafras tree also has three distinctly different leaves. It’s the only tree like that in the world, that has different leaves on the same tree.

TYG: How is that possible?

Barbara: It’s really interesting. One looks like a regular leaf, one looks like a kid’s mitten, and the third one has three points.

TYG: What kind of clothes do you sell?

Barbara: I sell women’s resale clothes, some consignment, and some that I’ve just bought myself—from other people, and at yard sales, and at different stores... and some that I’ve found in my own closet that I don’t wear any more. [laughter]

TYG: So this weekend was your opening weekend. How did it go?

Barbara: It went well! Friday was really great. A lot of people in town came by—the nice woman from the Wine Shop stopped in, and people from the local bank, and welcomed me—it was really wonderful.

TYG: What did you sell the most of?

Barbara: Let’s see, what did I sell... I sold some really nice women’s clothing, dressy stuff... that’s what I sold the most of.

TYG: What are your business hours?

Barbara: My hours are going to be Thursday through Monday in June, 10 to 5, Sundays open at noon. And in July I will open up every day but Wednesday, and probably 10 to 6 instead of 10 to 5.

TYG: Do you work with anybody else?

Barbara: Right now it’s just me, but I have a couple of friends who said they’d come and help me out when I need a day off. And I have lots of friends who came and helped me with painting, and with putting things up on the walls, and all the construction and stuff.

TYG: Now that does really make sense. I mean, practically nobody can do that alone.

Barbara: It would have taken a lot longer, for sure. [laughter]

TYG: I must say, that interestingly corrugated lamp up there is a very impressive piece.

Barbara: Oh, thank you—that I brought from my home. I hardly ever used it, although it has very nice design detail.

TYG: Those plants up there are nice also.

Barbara: Yes, I love to have plants. I have lots and lots of plants.

TYG: Those shoes are really interesting! I’ve never seen shoes that come down to a point like that.

Barbara: Oh, those are kinda like cowgirl shoes.

TYG: I also like that interesting piece up there....
Barbara: The mannequin? My daughter gave me that. She had gotten it from a friend of hers. She was going to art school in Portland, and so they played with it.... A lot of mannequins don’t have the faces painted like that....

TYG: I must say, that lamp is particularly beautiful....
Barbara: You’re a guy like me, you love design.... [laughter]

TYG: What is your background?
Barbara: One of my first jobs was working for K-Mart, in the shoe department.... And for the last 20 years I was a massage therapist, mostly full time, and I love it, but it’s hard on the body, and it’s also kinda lonely, because you’re only with one person, and you’re really not talking. [laughter] So when I moved to the coast from Portland, I realized that trying to find just one job was not easy, so I did many things, and one of them was working at Coastal Breeze in Nye Beach. And I really enjoyed that... talking with people, seeing where they’re visiting from, and selling them stuff [laughter].... So when I decided I wanted one job, I decided that this would be the type of job that I would enjoy.

TYG: Where are you from?
Barbara: Right now I live up Beaver Creek, in the Seal Rock area, but I’m hoping to move closer. I’m probably going to move to Waldport and live with a friend in a couple months, and then we’ll see. I’d like to live in Yachats, and be able to walk to work, or ride a bike!

TYG: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Barbara: Well, I’m going to work on getting more jewelry, and I’m going to have more local artists’ cards and things like that... and things that tourists and visitors might need, like extra hats and mittens, and things like that....

TYG: What are your hopes for the store?
Barbara: Well, my hopes are to serve the community of Yachats, the women of Yachats... because in the last year three of the stores that had women’s clothing, the women who owned them retired and moved on, so I knew that there was a need for it.... And I just hoped to be able to be part of the community.

 A DAZZLING ARTIST: CAROL SUMMERS

The Yachats Gazette spoke with Carol Summers, watercolor artist and treasurer for the Yachats Arts Guild.

TYG: What kind of art do you do?
Carol: My art is watercolor, and some colored pencils.

TYG: Cool. Why do you do the kind of art that you do?
Carol: I just love colors, and I found that playing with water colors and watching the reaction of colors mixing with water is really fascinating.

TYG: I’ve used water colors a bit myself.... Where do you do your art work?
Carol: I do my art work some at home, and I have two art classes that I go to. One is the Yaquina class Monday mornings in Newport, and then I carpool down to Florence for a class with Susan Weathers.

TYG: What is your personal background... where did you live before Yachats?
Carol: Well, I was a court reporter at the courthouse in Eugene. I retired in 2002. We moved to Yachats in 2003. But I grew up in Oregon, down in Myrtle Point.

TYG: I guess we have something in common—we both are, or used to be reporters. [laughter] What does a court reporter do?
Carol: A court reporter records every word that is spoken in the courtroom during a trial.

TYG: You probably used a voice recorder, right?
Carol: I used a machine shorthand. The machine looks like a little typewriter, but it’s more like a little piano.

TYG: I’m guessing that now it’s probably a lot easier, because they have these [voice recorders].
Carol: They do have, and in most courts in the state voice recorders are used, but in Eugene, Salem, and perhaps some in Portland, they still use court reporters, which I think is the best way to have an accurate record in the courtroom.

TYG: Why do you think it’s more accurate than a voice recorder?
Carol: Because the people who operate these tape recorders sometimes forget to turn them on [laughter], among other things.

TYG: When did you start painting in water color?
Carol: In 2005. I’d never tried to draw or paint before that.

TYG: Wow. Not even as a child?
Carol: No, not really.

TYG: Weird.
Carol: Yeah, it is. When I went to school we didn’t have any art classes. ...There used to be a place called the Tole Tree, right across the street from us. When we moved here, I started taking lessons in decorative art with acrylic paint. Then in 2006 I started water color.

TYG: How has your art work been selling?
Carol: A little here, and a little there. [chuckling] I have a number of places where I show my art, including Yaquina in Newport, and Touchstone here in Yachats, and I have a show running in Vancouver, Washington, and we now have the Yachats arts exhibit at Ona restaurant, and one at Toad Hall. And I’m going to have one at Siuslaw Library in September.

TYG: That’s a lot of places!
Carol: That’s a lot of places! That’s a lot of pictures! [laughter]

TYG: That’s amazing! I know there’s going to be an art show coming up. Can you tell me a little about it, and what your role is in it?
Carol: Yes. I’m the treasurer for the art guild, but I also help in many other ways. This summer’s show is June 29 through July 8, 9:30 to 5:00 every day. This is unusual for us, because usually we’ve just had weekend shows. This one will run for ten days.  We will have another show in October that will just be a three-day show.

TYG: Thank you so much for your time!

BLOOM! LIVENS UP THE YACHATS LANDSCAPE

The Yachats Gazette conducted an e-mail interview with Sandy Mier, art workshop & classes organizer.

TYG: When/Why have you started this business?
Sandy: BLOOM! an artscape opened for business in the summer of 2010. I had been volunteering as a curator for some coffeehouses in my home neighborhood.  As I looked forward to our family’s annual migration to Yachats, the idea of BLOOM! just blossomed.

TYG: How has the business been doing?
Sandy: BLOOM! started small since an art business was new to me.  This is our third summer season, and we are growing.  Family and friends have been so supportive, and the Yachats community has been very welcoming.

TYG: Where is the business located?
Sandy: BLOOM! is located in a  cozy studio within the GreenHouse MarketPlace, on the inland side of Highway 101 at the north edge of Yachats.  We are lucky to be surrounded by four art galleries and just a footpath away from the Gerdemann Botanic Preserve.

TYG: Do you employ anybody else besides yourself?
Sandy: BLOOM! is my project, but I get a lot of help from my friends!  Guest artists are invited to teach workshops and share their art talents. We aim to offer a variety of art classes and creative events—what I call a “bouquet” of creativity.

TYG: Where are you from and what is your experience with art?
Sandy: My home base is Phoenix, Arizona, but Yachats has been our family’s summer destination for twenty years.  We are sunbirds—migrating annually from the desert to the sea.

One of my first significant art experiences was a high school art class.  The teacher said that art was an important part of daily life.  We didn’t need to be professional artists to live artfully.  This has been a major influence for me through the years.  Also, I was lucky to teach many very creative students as a Special Education teacher.  We focused on abilities, not disabilities.

TYG: What does “BLOOM” stand for?  It’s in capital letters, and I don’t understand why.
Sandy: BLOOM! stands for growth.  All caps say energy and excitement; and gets your attention!