Barbara Everhart is a self-proclaimed "glassware diva," and her passion for all things glassware has led her to three new careers as a creator of handpainted glassware, proprietor of two online businesses for handcrafts, and owner of a new art boutique in Rockford.
When Everhart's glassware began to sell a couple of years ago, she established online shops on
Etsy and
Artfire. Then last November, she opened
EverMyHart's Enchanted Emporium, or E3, a two-story shop at 25 Squires Street Square that sells only original artwork created by Michigan artists.
Everhart says E3 represents 37 Michigan artists currently, plus her own art. The store features a "vast array of wall art -- photography, pencil, pastels, watercolors, acrylics and oils," she says. "I walked in the space on October 24 and signed the lease the next day."
The shop has a wide selection of treasures: handpainted silk scarves, purses made from men's suits and sport coats, metal sculpture, pottery by two different artists, hand-sewn baby bibs, pillows, quilts and table runners, and more.
"I have a stone and wood lamp that looks like a fireplace by Jim Boersma," Everhart says. "And acrylic paintings of lighthouses, birds, and landscapes by Holland artist Scott Hamburg. I also have prints of his works of the original Tiger Stadium and Wrigley Field."
Other items include photography of Michigan by Chip Sanch with original inscriptions by his wife Lynn Sanch; Jilly's Jems jewelry, a nonprofit whose earnings go to melanoma research; natural soaps made from rainwater by Karen Avery of The Rainbucket; and Michigan Stone Knobs drawer pulls by Dave Mannes.
"It was always in the back of my mind to have a shop where people could find Michigan artwork by Michigan artists," Everhart says. "Rockford was always my first choice."
Store hours: Mon. - Sat., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sun. noon to 5. But if it's nice weather and there are people out and about, the shop stays open later.
Source: Barbara Everhart, EverMyHart's Enchanted Emporium
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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