Each last Saturday of the month, we feature one special artist as part of our commitment to spreading the Local Love.  Our August Coffee with the Artist will feature Tom Ashmore.  Tom is a self-taught woodworker, who says he is still learning the art of woodworking.  He started woodworking about 40 years ago, and he added intarsia to his art for the last 25 years.  It's a very old art form that uses different colored woods and grain patterns to form a three dimensional picture.  Each piece is cut and contoured to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. 

He does many different types of woodworking, including band saw boxes, furniture and furniture refinishing.  His wife, Michelle, is also a woodworker.  They have lived in La Crescent for the past 30 years.  They have two daughters and five grandchildren.  

Come out and meet Tom Ashmore this Saturday, August 25th for free coffee with the Artist!

Linda is an energetic, creative artist and educator with K-12 and higher education teaching experience, with knowledge to encourage and inspire creativity in her students as well as how to deepen their appreciation for art. She is well regarded for her skills and background in creating art, curricula, and lessons that engage and challenge students of all ages and abilities. Her influences are the result of growing up surrounded by the bluffs and rivers of the La Crosse area and travels across the country, and beyond. Her experience encompasses a wide range of media including painting (oil, water-mixable oil, acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media), drawing (graphite, charcoal, pastel, oil pastel, pen and ink, colored pencil), ceramics (low fired and high fired), and photography (digital, black and white). She is inspired by artists of the Renaissance and Impressionist period, and integrating materials and ideas of the present day into her works of art. She is passionate about teaching what she has learned with her many eager and talented students.

Education: Master's in Education-Professional Development (Art Education Emphasis)
Bachelors of Science - Studio Art (Painting and Ceramics)
Minor: Photography

Last July was my very first trip to market for Treehouse.  I looked at the World Market Center towers in Las Vegas with wonder in my eyes.  The product possibilities seemed endless.  Floor after floor, booth after booth of great products just waiting to hit our shelves.  I strapped on my walking shoes and marched in with Cathi, our store manager, Justin, my husband, and Duane, my father.  I had recently recovered from pneumonia, so I had to wear one of those masks to protect myself from all the new people and possible germs from around the world.  Wow, was I stylin'!

So what goes into planning for these events? Prior to any shopping, of course we always do some budgeting.  We look at our gift and home decor categories: home decor: farmhouse, primitive, everyday, seasonal, etc, kitchen, luminary, health and beauty, wedding and anniversary, baby, children, birthdays, special occasions, graduation, sympathy, Christian gifts, man cave, furniture, wall art, stationary, gift wrapping station.  We compare our square footage for each area to make sure everything will fit.  Now that we have been open for over six months, we can really get a feel for the sales per square foot for the areas and use our reports to calculate the turn of the products to determine weather we should expand a section or shrink it, buy more or stop, etc.  Each section has a budget we stick to.  We bring our client requests with us and scout out items and brands they are requesting, and hit the floors.  

What is our product criteria? We love going to shows because you can as Cathi would say "touch it, feel it, smell it, and taste it!"  So, true.  We must do a lot of catalog shopping, but when we get opportunities to go to trade shows, we do most of our ordering because we can tell the quality.  We don't want to be carrying what everyone carries.  We look for the step up qualities and for the unique.  We like to carry gifts in all price points so we have variety for our clients.  The price point for the quality has to be right or the product won't move.  We always ask ourselves, "do we have a client for that?"  It's not always what we would buy, but always would our clients buy that product for that price?

We have so much fun hearing all the benefits of the new products coming out and seeing the season's first!  We are always ordering several seasons in advance.  Now we are already ordering next year's spring products.  Most of Fall and Christmas is ordered in January, and we have already started receiving Fall and Christmas.  

We have been to the Minneapolis Mart and the Atlanta Gift Show as well.  We meet fabulous vendors who really help us make it happen.  I will be attending the Las Vegas Market at the end of this month.  I will get you all some behind the scenes photos to see!
 

Las Vegas

 

Atlanta

I love that familiar sound of 4th of July. You can feel the excitement in the air with the anticipation of beautiful sparkling lights and the soul shaking boom of fireworks to celebrate the sacrifices made for our freedom. 

What a day for family, grilling, boating, and enjoying our Midwest summer weather. I am so thankful for those who have served and continue to serve our blessed country. I am forever grateful to the families of those who sacrifice time with their sons, husbands, mothers, and daughters, grandfathers and grandmothers, brothers and sisters of those who serve. Let us never take for granted our freedoms.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July! May God continue to protect our soldiers and bless the United Sates of America!