yoga, yoga! lululemon athletica and the practice in western plaza

Have you heard about the brand new yoga studio that just opened in Western Plaza? It's called The Practice, and it's next door to KeyFit and just down the way from Runners Market, Bike Zoo and Hard Knox pizza. They have a pretty exciting class schedule including the only 6am(ish) classes offered in town as well as some great power lunch classes daily. They have a limited website that will likely be expanded soon. You can go there to find the weekly class schedule.

And guess what else? lululemon athletica (technical yoga/run/fitness apparel for men and women) is coming to town, and the Knoxville showroom will be opening soon! The Metropulse blogged about this exciting news awhile back, and we've heard that news of the location and opening date is imminent.

Well, in honor of the two above mentioned happenings, lululemon and The Practice are hosting a trunk show this weekend! There are complimentary classes and goodies for sale both Friday and Saturday. The image below has all the deets. Can't wait!! Oh, and the lululemon Knoxville showroom as a facebook page where they've started to announce upcoming events.

Yoga! Yoga!

The Salvage Show: A first for First Friday

First Friday is just around the bend, and I'd like to cordially invite you to an exhibition organized and curated by yours truly.
















If you are unaware, I'm the Architectural Salvage Coordinator for Knox Heritage and am also an artist. I'm merging these two worlds into one the night of April 1 for The Salvage Show.

There are twenty artists involved in this exhibition who are making fine art or functional design pieces using materials from Knox Heritage's stash of architectural salvage. The idea is to re-create something new from the materials that can't be used in their original manner anymore.

Here's a sneak peek of what you'll see at the show:






















Reclaimed Lamp by Shawn Poynter
















Pearls for Swine by Katie Ries
Sweetgum balls, felted wool, wooden curtain rings



Dale Mackey's piece


Stool by Brian Wagner


I'm very excited about this exhibition and hope you can join us. If you are so inclined to purchase something, proceeds will benefit Knox Heritage, which is a non-profit, as well as the respective artist.

The Salvage Show
April 1, 2011, 6-9pm
ONE NIGHT ONLY
110 South Gay Street (3 doors to the right of the Emporium)
Knoxville, TN


RSVP on Facebook, if you'd like.


The artists are:

Micah Antanaitis
Hollie Cook
Laurence Eaton
Ethiel Garlington
Michelle Garlington
Briena Harmening
Kelly Hider
Tracy Jackson
Forrest Kirkpatrick
Dale Mackey
Hali Maltsberger
Beth Meadows
Sara Miller
Shawn Poynter
Katie Ries
Veronica Siehl
Jessie Van der Laan
Brian Wagner
Michael Watson
Chad Williams

PS: shameless self-promotion- I am also showing at Magpies that night from 5-7pm
846 North Central St.
Knoxville, TN 37917
Come eat cupcakes with me.

black market square

Black Market Square opened over the weekend, but I was out of town so I stopped by last night to check it out.

The concept of Black Market Square is really cool. Owner Michelle Simpson wants a boutique that sells trendy, unique and fashionable clothing at an affordable price point. I think all, or nearly all, of the pieces she sells are priced under 60 bucks. That's pretty great considering that the majority of the other boutique stores in Knoxville are a lot pricier. The difference is, I guess, that Black Market Square does not offer designer labels. Think H&M or Forever 21, but more individualized and thoughtful. You can definitely nab a great outfit at Black Market Square and not feel like you're wearing what everyone else is wearing at the moment.

It's a cute place to pick up a party outfit or something to wear out to drinks with friends. Last night I noticed a few fun nautically inspired tops and dresses and some really great cuff bracelets. Simpson said that new arrivals come in constantly, so it's going to be a good place to check out frequently. I should have spent more time looking at the Men's side of the store, but I didn't. So I am sorry I don't have much to report for the guys. For the girls, there is a great selection of tops, dresses and jewelry. My favorite items in the store are definitely the cowboy puddle jumpers that greet you as you walk in. I think I need to go back and get myself a pair.

The store itself is spacious and clean. Simpson did a great job with the renovation. It definitely has a Market Square vibe, and I hope it does well there. With the Bliss shops and Reruns and the addition of other new to the square shops like Rala and Swagger, it seems like Market Square is finally becoming a destination with more to offer than just food. I am excited to see so many new options downtown. Black Market Square is open 10 to 9 Monday through Saturday and 11 to 5 on Sunday. I definitely recommend that you stop by and check it out this First Friday, or sooner. It's at 23 Market Square, over near La Costa.

Knoxville Inspired No. 3

You may remember from last week my call for submissions for Knoxville inspired artwork. I received a startling response of one, but, hey, it's quality that I'm after, not quantity.

Today's featured artist is Dale Mackey. She has been so inspired by Knoxville, she's screenprinting t-shirts about it, in a very clever manner, I must say.

design is by Shawn Poynter

She told me she's also done a lot prints of the same design on cardstock as well. She sold both the cards and the t-shirts at Yee-Haw's handmade trunk show a few weeks ago. If you missed that one like I did, you're in luck because there's another one September 18-20th.

I added some of her other creations below. You may see more if you click this.


Sidenote: I have a crush on the drawing below of the pineapple. So good!


If you're interested in contacting Dale about her work, you may email her at mackeyda@gmail.com. From an artist's point-of-view, it means the world to hear from rando's that dig your art, so give her some lovin'.

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I'm still taking submissions, and this time I'm extending it to all Knoxville artists. If you're an artist and want to be featured on the wigsphere.com, email me at aemeadows@gmail.com.

Tell your Friends

There are times when one must leave the hustle and bustle to do something that takes their mind off of the roller coaster that is life. Sometimes you just need a place to get away.

But what do you do when you don' t have the time or cash to travel?

I'm here to fill you in on places of wonder and delight, B's Narnia within Knoxville: Thrift/Junk/Antique Stores.

Why there so many of these establishments in Knoxville is for a different post. I'm just here to say I am thankful for the plethora of places where others people's trash becomes my treasure. (Note the alliteration. Aren't you excited?)

There is Green Acres on Alcoa Highway, Am Vets down Magnolia, the four stores on Chapman Highway, and a road practically paved with cheap, used goods down Central from Broadway to the Habitat Thrift Store. (If your mind just jumped where I think it did, get it out of the gutter!)


I think it's safe to say these stores are places where all are welcome- homeless, hipster, unemployed, artist, fraternity/sorority members who are having a pub crawl down the strip- basically anyone trying to save a buck or two, which is everyone these days.

The photos shown here are of the store Friends on Central. If you've never been, it's three floors of old musty wonderful stuff. Don't forget to check the creepy Christmas room in the basement while you're there!

Enjoy your mini vacay.

note: I blame Old City Java coffee for the cracked out nature of this post

photos by, guess who: Tracy Jackson

Attention Knoxville Shoppers!

Have you been stagnating for months? Are you unsure of the current season (rainy spring or hot summer-who can tell these days?) Well if you're in need of an image revamp, look no further than your friendly neighborhood 100 Block! 

A new boutique (French for 'place to buy stuff') has just opened opposite NAMA and Little Havana. It's called Eleven, and has the goods for ladies and the gents - denim, t-shirts, shoes, dresses ... you know the drill. 

The owners are recent grads, and, while one of them is busy in LA running his record label, Pete the counterpart is holding down the fort. They have great taste, and offer clothing beyond the usual homogenous-southern-college-town-cargo-shorts-and-polo look ... if that's even something you're interested in. 

There are music-themed t-shirts designed by their record label Ubiquity, and with each t-shirt bought, you can download 5 free songs from the label on iTunes. 

Also of note, they carry extremely rare Nikes that are basically the bee's knees of footwear (Pete showed me some that sell for $750). 

So get on down to Eleven this weekend. They had a soft opening a couple weeks ago, but things are definitely in full swing. 

The Splendor of Alcoa Highway and Highway 321

As much as I love Knoxville, I have a secret. Every month I get a little antsy and have to leave our wonderful city for a moment. Thankfully, I don't have to go very far to take that much needed, deep breath.

Almost every month for the past seven years, I've taken Alcoa Highway to Hwy 321 through Maryville and Townsend to The Great Smoky Mountains. Just thinking about it now makes me want to blow off work and head that direction.

I've grown accustomed to driving this route, and I know it by heart. Besides the natural beauty that you come across along the way, there are numerous other gems at which I stop from time to time. There are also others I've never been to, but my goal this summer is to take: "An Alcoa Highway/ 321 Vacation"

Here are some hot spots:

1) Green Acres Flea Market (Alcoa Highway) - I'm going for the first time this Saturday and am so very excited. Not that I'm in the market for one, but I hear they have a lot of belt buckles.

2) Foothills Milling Company (Maryville) - Get your Mr. or Mrs. (or in my case, my parents) to take you here for dinner sometime. It expensive, but delectable.

3) The Drive-In (Maryville)- This is the best place to go for some redneck culture shock. It's fabulous, really. I think on Saturdays, they even set up a little flea market on the premises.


4) Various flea markets, thrift stores, craft stands, and antique malls (between Maryville and Townsend) You could spend a whole day stopping in places like this along the way. There are a couple of quaint places where the locals sell wood carvings, mountain honey (mmm) and boiled peanuts. You run into some very interesting people to talk to as well.






(A word of advice: if you see a handwritten sign on the side of the road that says "hot boiled peanuts," you should pull over.)


5) Nawger Nob (Townsend) Local arts and crafts and good people to talk to

6) Deadbeat Pete's (Townsend) Sometimes the food is hit or miss, but this is one of my favorite places to eat. They have a backporch that overlooks the Little River, they serve drinks in mason jars, and their signature burger "The Deadbeat Pete" has guacamole on it. This is the best place to go after, say, tubing down the river.

7) The Dulcimer Shop (Townsend) Beautiful, handcrafted dulcimers. Oh, baby. I could die happy in this store.

8) And finally, the Collosus of Clout, The Great Smoky Mountains.

Now I'm wondering if they'd notice my absence from work today...

All photos by the illustrious Tracy Jackson

Stay Classy Knoxville

There's a relatively new shop in town that unfortunately I'm just now getting to. Its the understatedly hip men's store, Swagger. 


You've probably whizzed by the Bearden location many a time. It's located at the intersection of Kingston Pike and Lyon's View, just across the street from Fresh Market. Next time you're in the area be sure to stop in for a look-see. If you're on the prowl for some of the immensely popular TOMS Shoes, look no further. Swagger has the largest offering and widest selection in Knoxville. 

While TOMS are fast becoming a mainstay of the popular culture, Swagger also doles out a multitude of sneakers, appealing to a slightly different audience. They have some very hard to find brands, including J-Shoes, Clay and Creative--not to mention customizable Air Force One's, done in-house. Check out their blog for info, including deals and trivia (seriously). 


Following the more urban thread, the owner Jeremy will open a skateboard shop in the downstairs called Menace and Moonshine. Here is a pic of the still very much in progress skate shop, that opens in June. The goal is to offer everything a skater could ever want, and compete with the Knoxville skater standby, Pluto. 


The owner Jeremy is a California educated, Knoxville native, who shares the Wigshop's affection for Knoxville, and is making great strides in bringing forward a different kind of culture to the masses. 

Bliss Home moves west / sunsphere open!

I just got a postcard in the mail today about Bliss Home's grand opening party celebrating it's new location in The Gallery shopping center in Deane Hill (think Chili's, Stir Fry Cafe, the American Cafe, etc.)

I had no idea Bliss was expanding, but I'm thrilled they are. I love the Home store, even though I can't afford most of the furniture. I like to stop by for accents and artwork, which is a bit more affordable. My bank account would be in big trouble if they opened a regular Bliss store next door as it's walkable from my house.

I'm not sure when the new Bliss Home will be open to the public, but they're grand opening celebration is a week from tonight.

Does anyone have more info?

[additional opening news by ck]:

Look at this!


Time to go have a martini inside a disco ball.

Mary in Western Plaza

I'm a girl (it's true). And while I would never qualify myself as a girlie girl, it's fair to say that I like to look good. I'm into hot shoes and high fashion. I'm into paying good money for high quality products (I think fashion is an investment), and I'm also into looking good on a budget.

I hate the mall. Hate it. And I don't tend to like strip malls, and I certainly don't like outlet malls. Sprawl makes me anxious. I cant help it. But this is Knoxville, and we've got to take what we can get. And we're just not going to get the sort of fashion boulevards that cities like LA, Chicago, New York, Atlanta or Austin have. It's not in our cards. This is why you will rarely ever find me in West Town mall, but you will frequently find me hitting up the strip mall (plaza is the fancy word for it) boutiques.

Tulip is out for me. Why? Not really because it's a little too high fashion and too expensive for me (because it is both of those things), but because the people who work there are rude. And I'm not down with that. Kristi is kind of out for me because I don't tend to find items I love there. I do like their Nars makeup counter (Nars is nowhere else in Knoxville), but Kristi and Tulip share ownership; and just based on principles (Tulip is rude) I try to stay away.

I like Bar Denim Blues (a lot, actually), but that's a specialty shop and I force (yes, force) myself to limit my annual denim consumption. I also like the jeans and the staff at Classy Lady, though that's also a specialty shop and I will never in my life need another prom dress (and the shop's name makes me cringe: sorry).

And so Obligato has been the place for me, but I cant commit to being a die-hard fan of the place for two reasons. The first is that I've been there when the staff has been wonderful and accommodating, and I've been there when they've been flat out rude. It's inconsistent. And the thing is, no one want to go spend 200 to 500 dollars somewhere just to be made to feel like shit. It's the Pretty Woman theory. Hey!: high end boutiques! Hey! Be NICE to your patrons! They will actually spend money at your store! I do like what Obligato has to offer brand-wise, but the other issue I take is that the store is stocked almost solely with sizes zero and two. I dont know if we're deluding ourselves here, but not every woman in Knoxville is either a) in a sorority or b) teeny tiny. I wish Obligato would stock more regular sizes (like a 6 or, dare I say it, gasp, an 8). My theory is that about 10 percent of their selection is sized above a 4, and those are the pieces that always go first. Leaving 90 percent of nothing that I (and a lot of us) can wear. Anyway, Obligato is a good store. Don't get me wrong. I bought a great pair of Kasil jeans there before you could find Kasil anywhere other than LA. And they were moderately priced. But those are simply my issues.



And so there's a new favorite in town, and it comes in the form of Mary in Western Plaza (4485 Kingston Pike, (865) 450-9242). This shop is incredible! It's got a huge variety of jeans, including Citizens and Sevens. It's got tons of great labels like Diana Warner, TiBi, Nanette Lepore, CK Bradley, Velvet, BCBG, Theory, Yoana Baraschi, French Connection, Free People, Frenzii, 12th Street by Cynthia Vincent and Morrell Maxie (and two of my favorites - Oh Deer! shoes and Hanky Panky undies). It's got the cutest dresses and tops; it's got regular girl sizes! AND the staff is sooooo very friendly and accommodating. They really are wonderful. Every time I shop there, I leave with a smile on my face even if I dont purchase anything. Mary's tagline is "Collections for every pocketbook," and that could not be more true. If you have a strict budget, you can find something cute at Mary. If you have money to burn, you can find something at Mary. It's a wonderful boutique. Really and truly. I'm about to leave work and head over there right now.

As I prepare to head into retail heaven, I will leave you with the immortal words of Vivian: "You people work on commission, right? Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now." Hey Knoxville boutiques, take a hint from Mary: Be nice to your customers!

Bar Denim Blues

Perhaps you've notice a sexy new strip mall on Kingston Pike in Bearden. This would be "Cherokee Plaza at The District of Bearden." I am not making this up; that's the official name.

It's an effort not to call a spade a spade. Who wants to shop at a mucky old strip mall when you can have a plaza? A crisp, clean, fresh plaza with cupcakes! And blue jeans!

I'll admit, I hate strip malls and malls in general; and I avoid them as often as I can. This plaza, however, is rather easy on the eyes. And just looking at it, I dont feel nearly so creepy or wasteful as I might normally. Let's call this Western Plaza 2.0. Cleaner, happier, more productive...

I digress.

Lord I love me some expensive blue jeans. Call it a character flaw, but I just do. I cant get enough Sevens or Citizens. I just feel good in them.


View Larger Map

Enter Bar Denim Blues, at 5508 Kingston Pike No. 130, Knoxville 37919, happily situated in the heart of Cherokee Plaza next to Kristi (new location) and the Cupcakery, a soon-to-open haven of deliciousness with roots in St. Louis, MO.

Bar Denim Blues is a jeans junkie's dream-come-true. I stopped in last Saturday with my girlfriend Jess. We had spent the early afternoon strawberry picking in Madisonville and were severely under-dressed for this shopping experience. But we wanted to see all the jeans! And jeans we saw! Hundreds of them! Brands galore!

We didnt stay long, but we were offered champagne. Had I been interested in trying on some jeans, I would have had a glass. Ladies, I'm sure you'll agree: you've got to feel hot when trying on jeans, and the post strawberry field dirtiness wasn't doing it for me. Believe me, though, I will go back. And jeans I will try on.

I didn't take the time to do my research, so I didnt ask the official price point or list of brands, but by glancing at some tags I know enough to say that we're in the 200 dollar range. Which is high, I admit, for a lot of people. But if you like you some good, fancy jeans (and I know a lot of women and men out there do), you're going to love Bar Denim Blues. I think it's the sort of store Knoxville was looking for.

And that's how you write a post that's not about downtown. (Who gets THIS reference?!).