Finding your travel comfort zone is different for each person, as everyone navigates a new, partially vaccinated country still reeling from the pandemic. As in 2020, close-to-home staycations continue to dominate, but some people are venturing farther, even internationally, in this brave new world. If you find yourself torn between staying put and jumping on […]
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Art in Pandemic Times
Event cancelled. It was a familiar refrain for local artists as galleries, First Friday Art Walks and studio tours shuttered last March to accommodate COVID-19 regulations. Ironically, while the pandemic quiet provided area artists more time for painting, photography and kiln firing, it resulted in fewer outlets to showcase and sell their art. It’s a […]
Local Donut Business Creates Devoted Fans
Located in Port Orchard, family business Dude’s Donuts has people traveling from all over the state to devour simply amazing, gluten-free and vegan donuts. The husband-and-wife team of Easton and Amanda Shepard opened Dude’s Donuts shortly after deciding they were going to start a family. “We had been playing with the idea of starting a […]
Unsung Hero — Harriette Bryant
Harriette Bryant founded OurGEMS (Girls Empowered through Mentoring and Service) in 2008 while mentoring nine eight-grade girls at Ridgetop Junior High School. They asked her if they could continue the next year, which lead to mentoring through their senior graduation. “I feel it was a calling to give back because of those who gave to […]
Naya Patterson — Young Designer with a Mature Attitude
Young Naya Patterson created her company, Make Believe Photography, in 2014. She got the idea for the name from her previous competition horse, “Make Believe,” as the equestrian world is full of photographers who are constantly needed for sales, competitions and barn photos. Patterson’s first two horse trainers happened to be into photography so it […]
World’s Best Organic Spirits in Our Own Backyard
Twelve years ago, Keith Barnes, whiskey lover and full-time creative director for his own spirit marketing company, sought out to make world-class whiskey. His personal whiskey collection contains over 1,700 bottles from around the world, but he wanted to see if he could make something different and better with organic ingredients — and that is […]
Sculptor Turns Stone into Art that Calls to Be Touched
When you first see Sharon Feeney’s stone sculptures, you might think she’s been making art most of her life. But, in fact, she began sculpting in stone a mere 14 years ago. How it all began “is actually sort of a woo-woo story,” Feeney said with a smile. “I was a social worker, working with […]
New Recycling Option: Contact Lenses
When it comes to recycling, you may not often think about something as small as your contact lenses. Did you know, though, that 45 million Americans who wear contact lenses flush anywhere between 1.8 and 3.36 billion lenses down the toilet or sink per year? As a result, contact lenses could be contributing to the […]
A Lush Garden Makeover
You’ve seen the photos in ads for miracle makeovers: the plain little face “before” and voilà! the lovely visage “after.” That same message can be applied to gardens, as was the case with this miraculous makeover of Susan and David Crossland’s garden in Bremerton. In just six years, they transformed a plain little house (circa […]
