We Love Turning Leaf Wood Art

Avindy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:31:00 GMT

Happy February and happy Friday!! In case you didn't have a chance to read our last blog post, we will tell you why we are so excited for February. We have decided to use the month for lovers as an opportunity to "Share the Love" by showcasing some of our favorite stores that carry Avindy jewelry. We decided to do this because we feel really lucky to have all of the support we do from our retailers. Without them, it would be pretty hard to share our creations. Sure, we could and do have an online store, but it is our belief that until you see our pieces in person, you can't appreciate the detail and love we put into each handmade work of art. Some of the items we make are very tiny and intricate. A web photo just doesn't do most of our jewelry any justice (even if we do say so ourselves). Anyhow, enough about us! Lets get onto the feature of the day!!

Everyone say hello to Turning Leaf! Ok, so I want to tell you that we sent out a pretty basic questionnairre to supplement what we already know about these stores/galleries. The one we received from Sherry Darling, owner of Turning Leaf, was toooooo cute!! I'm thinking that I will share some of their history then just copy and paste her interview questions straight in. I'm not sure there is anyway we can make what she wrote any better. There is actually a lot of really interesting history here, but there is so much of it, that I am going to have to pick and choose the most intriguing parts.

Sherry Darling and Gary Gardner had enjoyed living on a small yacht for several years. They cruised the islands during the spring and early summer months then returned to Florida during hurricane season and winter. Florida has some rather intensive heat and a huge population of mosquitoes so they looked for a retreat in the mountains. In 2001 they bought a lovely log home in the mountains, but were disappointed when trying to decorate their new home as almost everything they found was imported from China, Indonesia, Mexico or elsewhere.

Soon a gentleman approached them as he was planning to open a gallery in Blue Ridge and wanted to feature Gary’s Fine Turned Wood Art and Sherry’s Appalachian style baskets. When Sherry and Gary toured the facility they were both oddly affected by the idea to open a small gallery of their own and the gentleman was very supportive as he was leasing the space and hoped to create a center for the arts.

Turning Leaf Wood Art (now Turning Leaf - A Fine Art GAllery) opened in the fall of 2003 in the gorgeous little mountain town of Blue Ridge, Georgia. Blue Ridge is located approximately 100 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia and 85 miles east of Chattanooga, Tennessee. They started off with 3 artists in a small gallery before embarking on opening their much larger dream gallery located in the heart of Blue Ridge's charming downtown district. They now have the ability to host 50 artists and have transformed themselves from a wood art gallery to also include a selection of original paintings, rare and unusual pottery, several exquisite jewelry lines, beautiful fiber arts, unique baskets, awesome gourd art and so much more! They are proud to admit that they exclusively offer American made works—which is quite hard to come by now a days.

What a lovely story! Apparently the story goes along with the personality of Sherry. We know you are just going to love her responses! After reading, you will understand why her last name is Darling.

How long have you been selling Avindy products? We have been proudly offering the “Avindy” line of jewelry since early 2005. We often call the line “ahhhhhvindy” (pronounced as a quick deep breath of air as we found that the line would take a woman’s breath away). We also have what we fondly refer to as “the AAA club” which stands for “Avindy Addicts Anonymous”.

Why do you love Avindy? What’s not to love? Avindy jewelry is exquisite, unique, exciting, affordable, vintage, feminine, stunning, imaginative, essential, fresh, and created with quality materials, quality workmanship and much love!

Do you have a favorite piece that you wear yourself from Avindy? If so, explain. I have a LOT of “Avindy” but never enough! I am particularly fond of the double wrap necklaces as they are so versatile. They can be worn in many different ways in order to change the focal point and to compliment many different wardrobe styles.

See?? We told you! DARLING! Make sure you check out their website, and if you are ever in the area of Blue Ridge, Georgia make the gallery a destination. You won't be disappointed.

www.turningleafwoodart.com
651 East Main Street
Blue Ridge, GA. 30513
706.632.6625

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We Love Turning Leaf Wood Art