After fifteen wonderful years, we at Green Label Organic: Sustainable Threads will be closing our wholesale business, as well as our store in Floyd.
Green Label Organic has been a joyful adventure from the very start. We began with the hope of doing something positive for the planet and for the people of the community. Of course, we were also seeking a way to help sustain ourselves, so we decided to apply our unique skills to reach these goals.
Rain combined her knowledge of all things organic, her commitment to the environment, and her extraordinary business skills with my knowledge of the clothing and T-shirt industry. Together, we created a line of organic cotton clothing with positive messaging that was Made-in-America. We made it our company’s mission. As we like to say; we were “green” when green was still just a color! We began our company from an extra bedroom at home. Within two years, however, we had a 3,000 square-foot warehouse that was buzzing all day long.
Our green, organic, and made in America concept, combined with our graphic designs, rapidly took us to places we never imagined were possible.
We have sold nationally to Whole Foods Markets and REI Outfitters. We were even carried by a few branches of Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Dillard’s department stores. Over the years, we have sold to more than seven-hundred and fifty different retailers. And thanks to the internet, we had customers all over the world.
But now it’s time to retire. Not from life, but from the daily administration of running our business. We have grandchildren to love and places to see, and that will be our focus. We want to thank our thousands of customers, so many of whom have become our friends. We met you at trade shows, green festivals, and music events. We saw you every year in our store. We connected with you online from Seattle to Sweden.
Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for all the positive feedback and support you have given us for the past fifteen years. As we enter our final year of business, we will be offering tremendous bargains on our remaining inventory. Please come in to say hello and farewell, and perhaps pick up just one more of those super soft organic cotton T-shirts you have loved for so long. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our gratitude in person. As we say goodbye, we ask that you always Respect Labor, Respect the Planet, and Respect Yourself. That has been our company motto for these past fifteen years.
To visit us and browse our final inventory, visit the store location at 210 W. Oxford Street in Floyd. Or, shop online at greenlabelorganic.com. Gratefully, Rain & George Lipson
Originally from Wisconsin, Tim and Julie are coming to Floyd from their most recent home in Lake Norman, just north of Charlotte, North Carolina.
To Tim and Julie, however, family was also very important. Before making the commitment, they wanted their children and their children’s spouses to see the place. The kids were excited, but possibly a little skeptical when they heard the story of the winery. Once they visited Villa Appalaccia, however, they understood. “This place is totally you!” they all agreed. Not only did they accept the idea, they loved it. So much so that daughter Alicia and her husband also plan to move to the area.
During their first season, Tim and Julie met a lot of Villa Appalaccia’s long-time, regular patrons, and they loved hearing everyone’s comments and suggestions. Because the Blocks believe that communication with customers and community is very important, Julie has also begun sending out a monthly newsletter during the season; letting people know what’s going on at Villa Appalaccia.
For now, while continuing to make improvements to the winery’s various amenities, the Blocks plan to maintain Villa Appalaccia’s reputation for fine, high-quality wines. They will also keep the ambiance and the feel customers have come to love. They want the winery to remain a fresh, comfortable place to spend time.
Villa Appalaccia is located at 752 Rock Castle Gorge in Floyd, Virginia: between mileposts 170 and 171 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. They feature Italian style wines, and bread and cheese plates.
In 2006, the town purchased a desolate piece of farm-land from the Lineberry family. The plan was to create a place to get away. A place to enjoy and reminisce. A multi-purpose space for all ages in the community.
Many who shared this goal gathered community input, raised funds, and organized projects. Finally, they brought volunteers and professionals together to build the beautiful park that exists today.
With assistance from the Town Committee, Partnership for Floyd constructed the scenic Library Trail; creating a pathway leading from the Jesse Peterman Memorial Library to Warren G. Lineberry Community Park. The two organizations plan to explore ways of extending the trail throughout the Park, as well as around the Jesse Peterman Memorial Library. This would create additional natural-surface walking trails to engage more residents and visitors.
The Events Committee have designed a family environment in which young children can play in the Park while the adults relax and enjoy the new improvements. These bi-weekly events include great live music, movies, inflatables, face painting, food, and fun activities for the entire family. Adults, children, neighbors, and friends can all come together, listen to music and watch movies.
Thanks to a very supportive community, the Events series has grown; gaining momentum every year. Beginning June 6 and concluding on August 29, the 2019 series has an action-packed agenda of activities and fun for the entire family. The full schedule will be released in April, so be sure to check for updates online at www.FloydSmallTownSummer.com, or on Facebook at floydsmalltownsummer.
By the time that stretch of the Parkway was completed, the little store and gas station was ready for business. It was a place where travelers could rest and replenish. Borrowing from the identity of the area, Boyd and Spangler called their store Tuggles Gap. These men, however, were more than just business partners. They were family. General Boyd’s daughter, Irene, had married Ward Spangler’s son, George. In the years that followed, George and Irene added the restaurant and motel buildings. They ran the business for almost fifty years while raising their family and living in the basement of the restaurant. This was during the heyday of the Blue Ridge Parkway, before air travel became common. Most Americans stayed close to home for vacations; visiting where they could reach by car.
Reminiscent of bygone days, Tuggles Gap still offers weary traveler a home-cooked meal served with a smile and a comfortable place to pass the night. Today, there are two motel buildings, as well as a sixty-seat restaurant, that serve the community of Floyd and its visitors. The inside of the restaurant features thirteen interior doorways created when additions and expansions were built onto the original structure. Amazingly avoiding collisions and spills, the restaurant staff navigate through these narrow passages in a dance that has become known as the Tuggles Gap tango.
The restaurant menu features Southwestern American and traditional American favorites, along with the occasional selection of eclectic specialty dishes. The restaurant is proud to get some of their fresh fruits and vegetables from the area’s farmers, where localized agriculture is a way of life for many. The Tuggles Gap motel is home to twelve comfortable and affordable rooms that are kept fresh and clean for visitors seeking rest. When you stay overnight at Tuggles Gap, you will wake to the smell of fresh coffee and your cooked-to-order breakfast, wafting from the restaurant. For those simply seeking to re-fuel, grab a snack, and get back on the road, Tuggles Gap is still the place to stop. They sell premium and regular unleaded gasoline, as well as a variety of on-the-go snacks and drinks.
Tuggles Gap is sitting atop one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world; in the serenity and beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With its scenic vistas and the pastoral loveliness of its farmlands and orchards, many would consider it paradise. If you close your eyes and listen closely, you can imagine the soft footfalls of long ago.
example, there is a framed, charcoal drawing behind the white oak counter near the cash register. The drawing is by talented local artist, Emily Williamson, and was created in a few hours one balmy Autumn day in 1999.
In the midst of Floyd County, is the small-yet-significant town of Floyd. This lively town sparkles with amazing and unique shopping opportunities. Among of all these jewels, however, is an unexpected treasure. The Gallery of the Floyd Artists Association can be found in “The Station”, downtown Floyd, at 203 S. Locust Street. That’s just across the street from the famous Floyd Country Store; the hub of local Country Music activity. Now entering its twelfth year, The Gallery was founded in 2007 by six members of a weekly drawing group.
Working together, they built their business in a renovated space below the Sun Music Hall, in The Winter Sun building. It was a great location, and the space came complete with large, framed panels to show their work. Before long, the group began offering adult and children’s classes, holding receptions with local musicians, and exhibiting the work of local guest artists.
For more information about these events, the work of the members, gallery classes, membership, being a guest artist, or for directions, please visit the new web site online at www.anewleafgallery.com. Displays at The Gallery include paintings in oil, acrylic, and watercolor; many featuring local landscapes, barns, and mountain pastures. The artists also provide note cards, book marks and prints containing their work. The Gallery also features occasional guest displays of local pottery, felting, wood turning, metalwork, leather pieces, and other original, three-dimensional work.
They are also thrilled with their new look and their new name, and eagerly await visitors each day. They love sharing their enthusiasm and talking about all the talented local artists featured on the walls. The members wish to invite everyone to this wonderful area so they can experience the fine art of so many talented members and guests. They also invite everyone who appreciates fine art to join them for all the regular events and new exhibits. To receive regular information about events, leave your email address at the counter when you visit.
One of these boys presented to the Omnibuild carpenters on the history of the circular saw. The other presented on how a router could be used with a jig to scarph lumber into strong sections; long enough for a mast. These two students had been interning at “The Boat Shop”; helping to build a 22-foot sailboat that the school will take to the Chesapeake Bay on their year-end trip in May.
This is what reimagining education looks like in Floyd. Springhouse Community School offers an independent, learner-centered 7th-12th grade program. The mission of the school is to reimagine the purpose and practice of education. This boat-building project started with a conversation between Jenny Finn, Head of School at Springhouse, and David Reece who is an educator, sometimes carpenter, and lifelong lover of all things nautical.
Courses quickly took shape around the effort. Opportunities with the school’s nascent Community Internship Program became apparent, and with generous donations from community sponsors, as well as a successful Kickstarter campaign, the project set sail. In some of the multi-disciplinary courses this year, students at Springhouse are exploring concepts in math and science through the lens of the sailboat. They are also learning about sailing and the nautical world. In classroom explorations, students may build scale models of sailboats while computing the dimensions from plans for the actual boat.
On another day, they may be found weighing ten students at a time in a class-made plywood box by marking the level of submersion and calculating the displacement. Other students might be researching the coastal ecology of the Chesapeake Bay, or learning to calculate distances on a nautical chart. Learning by doing is one of the four core practices at Springhouse.
Students can quickly find theoretical concepts relevant, as the ideas take on physical and practical expression. Concepts in physics are not just represented with a formula, they are experienced. Math problems are not just for a worksheet, they are tied to real and tangible projects. Seventh and eighth grade students at Springhouse are out in the community, doing internships once a week. Students in grades nine through twelve intern two days per week. Some intern with places like the National Park Service, Floyd Parks and Recreation, and Slaughter’s Grocery. Others intern at “The Boat Shop.” Springhouse didn’t have a workshop or maker-space, so one was created from and old dairy barn that was offered for the project.
But it gets pretty cold in Southwest Virginia. To keep warm, the students built a space inside the barn that could be heated with a wood stove; essentially a tunnel of plastic sheeting over light framing. The boat-building is well underway. Every aspect of boat construction from lofting and joinery to sail-making and finish work is being carried out by students who are continually challenged to learn new skills.
At the end of the day, they come back to the school, usually covered in sawdust, eager to share what new progress has been made. To earn academic credit, every student must complete a project connected to their internship with the support of a mentor. They must then present their work to a relevant audience. That is why the minivan arrived at the construction site that day. Who better to appreciate a presentation on the history of the circular saw than a group of people that use the tool every day?
In addition to sharing the history, this student also spoke about his first-hand experiences with the tool. “Before this internship, I had never used a circular saw and it was very scary the first time I used it. It helped that I was spotting one of my friends using it, so I knew what to expect.” The work crew chuckled in an encouraging way as they lent warm attention to the young student.
As the presentations wrapped up, the students were clearly relieved. But they were also proud to have presented their work to people outside the immediate school community. Afterward, they debriefed their presentations with the mentor; discussing what went well and what they could improve upon when they present their next projects in the coming trimester. After a tour of the construction site and a glimpse into real-life work in the trades, they headed back to the van; keen to get back to the boat, and real-life work of their own.
When The Station was newly renovated in 2009, Silvie Granatelli, Susan Icove, and Gibby Waitzkin agreed to rent a small space for opening a “fine” crafts gallery. They named it Troika, after a type of horse-drawn Russian vehicle that featured three horses harnessed together. The three women created the gallery as a vehicle to showcase their vision; a kaleidoscope of exquisite crafts.
In 2011, however, a large and airy corner at the front of the building became available; directly across from the renowned Floyd Country Store. Troika expanded, taking up residence behind the big windows facing Locust Street. In the new space, the Troika ladies were able to grow their inventory to represent the creations of over fifty craftspeople. They had space for local, regional, and national artists who did everything from pottery, to woodworking and glassblowing, to fiber art and jewelry.
Abby and Annie plan to bring their own vision to the gallery. First, they added their own work to the shelves. Annie is a jeweler who crafts unique, wearable art inspired by nature, as well as by her southwestern Virginia heritage. Her work incorporates sculptural forms molded in precious metal clay, often finished with gemstones, to create one-of-a-kind pieces of fine silver jewelry.
In addition to bringing their own work to Troika, Abby and Annie plan to have a featured artist each month, along with a reception. They kicked off 2019 with an opening show; “Mud and Metal” which focused on Annie and Abby’s work. It was a roaring success. The gallery overflowed with local patrons and friends.