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ARTS & CULTURE
ARTS & CULTURE & CULTURE ARTS & CULTURE
Yvonne (L) and Eric Boltz have launched Boltz to Nutz Farm.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY MARKET WAGON
Growing Hope Growing Hope After su ering a bicycle injury that left him paralyzed, Eric Boltz is creating an inclusive After su ering a bicycle injury that left him paralyzed, Eric Boltz is creating an inclusive gardening experience in Loveland. gardening experience in Loveland. BY SEAN M. PETERS
BY SEAN M. PETERS
When Eric Boltz was struck by a car in 2017 while bicycling, the paralyzing injuries he sustained a ected not only him but also his family.
But even in di cult times, great ideas can emerge.
“Our life started over at that moment,” says Yvonne Boltz, Eric’s wife.
Eric was paralyzed from the chest down. Today, he describes the rst two years after the accident as part of a prolonged grieving process. Going to physical therapy and meeting other people who’d su ered similar injuries, Eric says he saw a lot of people at very low points in their lives, many with limited resources.
On top of commiserating with his fellow patients, Eric says he was subjected to some truly awful hospital food: lots of white bread and processed meats along with what the hospital kitchen claimed was jambalaya but that Eric and Yvonne recognized as Rice-A-Roni with sliced hot dogs and Ragu tomato sauce.
“I did learn you can order hard-boiled eggs to get real eggs,” Eric tells CityBeat. “Because otherwise, you’ll just get the powdered stu .”
Yvonne, a long-time patron of farmers markets who had developed knowledge about sourcing food, decided to take her husband’s recovery diet into her own hands. She says she has always subscribed to the notion that good nutrition is the basis for health and sees this as a critical moment in the next phase of their lives. If they needed real food and herbal medicines of quality, why not source those themselves? So their quest for a wheelchair-accessible farmhouse began.
Five years after the accident and after much healing, plenty of construction and a lot of innovating, the Boltz family now owns and operates Boltz to Nutz Farm, a wheelchair-accessible raisedbed market garden in Loveland. e couple sells their products through an online service called Market Wagon, which connects customers with more than 80 local farmers, artisans and chefs and delivers the farmers’ products twice weekly. is frees up Yvonne’s time to pursue farm tasks rather than sit at farmer’s markets hoping to make a sale, she says.
Market Wagon’s online platform accounts for 65% of the Boltz to Nutz Farm’s revenue as Eric and Yvonne expand it into a full-time operation. But fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and limited animal products aren’t all that the farm o ers.
“One of the side e ects of my injury is that I’ve become hyper-empathetic,” Eric says.
Now Boltz to Nutz Farm is moving into its next phase, which especially focuses on recently disabled folks. e couple soon will start o ering adaptive cooking classes and retreats in a building at the farm to showcase the ways in which they’ve overcome Eric’s hurdles navigating life in his wheelchair.
Yvonne and Eric have been working to make their community kitchen more feasible for people with limited mobility or limited use of their limbs, as boiling water or moving about can be
When Eric Boltz was struck by a car in 2017 while bicycling, the paralyzing injuries he sustained a ected not only him but also his family. But even in di cult times, great ideas can emerge. “Our life started over at that moment,” says Yvonne Boltz, Eric’s wife. Eric was paralyzed from the chest down. Today, he describes the rst two years after the accident as part of a prolonged grieving process. Going to physical therapy and meeting other people who’d su ered similar injuries, Eric says he saw a lot of people at very low points in their lives, many with limited resources. On top of commiserating with his fellow patients, Eric says he was subjected to some truly awful hospital food: lots of white bread and processed meats along with what the hospital kitchen claimed was jambalaya but that Eric and Yvonne recognized as Rice-A-Roni with sliced hot dogs and Ragu tomato sauce. “I did learn you can order challenging. ey’ve developed a few inventions they say they can’t yet disclose publicly but that will help someone to navigate the kitchen despite mobility impairments. With Yvonne’s master’s degree in chemistry and Eric’s Ph.D. in materials science, they say they’ll provide disabled home cooks – a vastly overlooked demographic – with the tools, experience and ideas to thrive. “Having good nutrition or having access to a place where you can even just cook – because stu is expensive,” Yvonne says. “We can all get together and cook, eat, we can all contribute to our abilities and take home ve nutritious meals for the week.” e rst public introduction to their kitchen is an open house on Aug. 14. When Eric and Yvonne eventually o er regular cooking classes and sessions, those will be limited to six at a time. e couple is looking into establishing a 501(c)(3) nonpro t to fund these sessions. “We want to be able to fund these cooking classes because a lot of people
hard-boiled eggs to get real eggs,” Eric tells CityBeat. “Because otherwise, you’ll just get the powdered stu .”
Yvonne, a long-time patron of farmers markets who had developed knowledge about sourcing food, decided to take her husband’s recovery diet into her own hands. She says she has always subscribed to the notion that good nutrition is the basis for health and sees this as a critical moment in the next phase of their lives. If they needed real food and herbal medicines of quality, why not source those themselves? So their quest for a wheelchair-accessible farmhouse began.
Five years after the accident and after much healing, plenty of construction and a lot of innovating, the Boltz family now owns and operates Boltz to Nutz Farm, a wheelchair-accessible raisedbed market garden in Loveland. e couple sells their products through an online service called Market Wagon, which connects customers with more than 80 local farmers, artisans and chefs and delivers the farmers’ products twice weekly. is frees up Yvonne’s time to pursue farm tasks rather than sit at farmer’s markets hoping to make a sale, she says.
Market Wagon’s online platform accounts for 65% of the Boltz to Nutz Farm’s revenue as Eric and Yvonne expand it into a full-time operation. But fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and limited animal products aren’t all that the farm o ers.
“One of the side e ects of my injury is that I’ve become hyper-empathetic,” Eric says.
Now Boltz to Nutz Farm is moving into its next phase, which especially focuses on recently disabled folks. e couple soon will start o ering adaptive cooking classes and retreats in a building at the farm to showcase the ways in which they’ve overcome Eric’s hurdles navigating life in his wheelchair.
Yvonne and Eric have been working to make their community kitchen more feasible for people with limited mobility or limited use of their limbs, as boiling water or moving about can be challenging. ey’ve developed a few inventions they say they can’t yet disclose publicly but that will help someone to navigate the kitchen despite mobility impairments. With Yvonne’s master’s degree in chemistry and Eric’s Ph.D. in materials science, they say they’ll provide disabled home cooks – a vastly overlooked demographic – with the tools, experience and ideas to thrive.
“Having good nutrition or having access to a place where you can even just cook – because stu is expensive,” Yvonne says. “We can all get together and cook, eat, we can all contribute to our abilities and take home ve nutritious meals for the week.” e rst public introduction to their kitchen is an open house on Aug. 14. When Eric and Yvonne eventually o er regular cooking classes and sessions, those will be limited to six at a time. e couple is looking into establishing a 501(c)(3) nonpro t to fund these sessions.
“We want to be able to fund these cooking classes because a lot of people
Boltz to Nutz Farm will soon be offering adaptive cooking classes and farm retreats.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY MARKET WAGON Boltz to Nutz Farm will soon be offering adaptive cooking classes and farm retreats.
with disability or mobility issues get stuck in the Medicaid poverty trap,” Yvonne says. e “Medicaid poverty trap” is something Eric saw many of his fellow recovery patients struggle to free themselves from. Someone whose mobility is severely inhibited as a paraplegic, for example, will need assistance using the restroom every day for the rest of their life. If that person doesn’t have a partner or other close family or friend to help, they’d have to hire an aide at a cost that’s typically only attainable to signi cantly wealthy patients.
According to Eric, private insurance and Medicare do not cover the cost of an aide, so the person would have to go on Medicaid to pay for the service. at means they would need to spend their assets, which also limits how
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY MARKET WAGON “We want to much income they can make in order to be able to fund these cooking remain quali ed. One of the rst recommendations Eric says he received in the hospital was to classes because get on Medicaid, but to do so, he would a lot of people with disability or have had to put everything he owned in Yvonne’s name and then get a divorce to stay nancially within the program’s limmobility issues its. Only then could he go on Medicaid get stuck in the Medicaid poverty and get anything he needed. “ e for-pro t medical system really shows its aws when you have a chronic trap.” with disability or mobility issues get stuck in the Medicaid poverty trap,” Yvonne says. e “Medicaid poverty trap” is something Eric saw many of his fellow recovery patients struggle to free themselves from. Someone whose mobility is severely inhibited as a paraplegic, for example, will need assistance using the restroom every day for the rest of their life. If that person doesn’t have a partner or other close family or friend to help, they’d have to hire an aide at a cost that’s typically only attainable to signi cantly wealthy patients. According to Eric, private insurance and Medicare do not cover the cost of an aide, so the person would have to condition because you are a ‘loss center,’” Eric says. “ e best situation for the insurance company is for you to die, because they will never make money on you.” e Boltz family hopes to share the peace of mind their farm brings, along with aiding anyone in need of assistance in the kitchen and beyond. ey’re also looking into accommodating guests over weekends to get the full farm experience. “ ere’s this massive tapestry of life,” Eric says. “As long as you’re spinning nice threads in your vicinity, that’s the best you can do. at’s what we’re trying to do here, and maybe people will pass it on and replicate it elsewhere.” go on Medicaid to pay for the service. at means they would need to spend their assets, which also limits how
“We want to much income they can make in order to be able to fund these cooking remain quali ed. One of the rst recommendations Eric says he received in the hospital was to classes because get on Medicaid, but to do so, he would a lot of people with disability or have had to put everything he owned in Yvonne’s name and then get a divorce to stay nancially within the program’s limmobility issues its. Only then could he go on Medicaid get stuck in the Medicaid poverty and get anything he needed. “ e for-pro t medical system really shows its aws when you have a chronic trap.” condition because you are a ‘loss center,’” Eric says. “ e best situation for the insurance company is for you to die, because they will never make money on you.” e Boltz family hopes to share the peace of mind their farm brings, along with aiding anyone in need of assistance in the kitchen and beyond. ey’re also looking into accommodating guests over weekends to get the full farm experience. “ ere’s this massive tapestry of life,” Eric says. “As long as you’re spinning nice threads in your vicinity, that’s the best you can do. at’s what we’re trying to do here, and maybe people will pass it on and replicate it elsewhere.”
To shop from the Boltz’ garden and To shop from the Boltz’ garden and learn more about Boltz to Nutz Farm and all of their upcoming events, learn more about Boltz to Nutz Farm and all of their upcoming events, visit boltz2nutz.com. visit boltz2nutz.com.
Yvonne Boltz holds produce grown at Boltz to Nutz Farm.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY MARKET WAGON Yvonne Boltz holds produce grown at Boltz to Nutz Farm.
CULTURE CULTURE Linking Up: The Permanent Jewelry Trend Has Come Linking Up: The Permanent Jewelry Trend Has Come to the Queen City, and LINK x LOU Is Leading the Way
BY MAGGY MCDONEL
Lindsey Brafford launched LINK x LOU’’s Lindsey Brafford launched LINK x LOU’’s Cincinnati venture. PHOTOS: PROVIDED BY LINDSEY BRAFFORD Cincinnati venture.
PHOTOS: PROVIDED BY LINDSEY BRAFFORD
At long last, the permanent jewelry trend has attached itself to Cincinnati.
Queen City eastsider Lindsey Brafford started her permanent jewelry business in Cincinnati in June. Bra ord is a liated with LINK x LOU, a popular permanent jewelry company that launched in Denver in April 2020 and now has locations all over the country. is fast-moving trend – which loops jewelry like bracelets and necklaces around body parts forever – has become immensely popular, and in her short time of doing it in Cincinnati, her popups have been selling out in 15 minutes. Local businesses also have increasingly requested LINK x LOU Cincinnati at their pop-ups, Bra ord says.
“It’s been absolutely incredible, and I am just so thankful for the response. But I just knew going into it that Cincinnati would be the perfect market for it,” Bra ord tells CityBeat.
Bra ord says that she rst heard of permanent jewelry when Over-theRhine clothing boutique e Native One hosted a pop-up in December. Bra ord made her rst purchase at that pop-up — two bracelets — and was “instantly hooked,” she says.
After that, Bra ord checked to see if there were any permanent jewelry spots nearby every time she traveled, and she ended up getting bracelets in Nashville and Denver. She says that one day a realization hit her.
“Why don’t we have this in Cincinnati? It would be such a great market for it,” she remembers thinking.
Bra ord, who previously was in the human resources and events industries, trained at the LINK x LOU headquarters in Denver for a week to learn all about the permanent jewelry process.
It’s pretty simple, she says. If a Cincinnatian want to get “linked,” they can stop by a pop-up or schedule a party, pick out their jewelry and have it sized to the perfect t. Bra ord then will weld the chain together with a small loop. Bracelets, necklaces and rings are available, but bracelets tend to be the most popular. Patrons can choose among a few di erent options of 14-carat white and yellow gold jewelry at di erent price points, depending on the style. Rings are priced at $55; bracelets are $75-$135; necklaces (which are o ered in 16”-20” lengths) $175-$325. ere is also an option for an anklet in the large link style for $175.
Bra ord says most people tend to get two bracelets, and the most popular combination she does is a large link ($135) and twist ($95) bracelets in yellow gold.
“Since they are all custom t, it’s perfect for someone with very small wrists where bracelets won’t stay on or just someone who doesn’t want to deal with a clasp,” Bra ord says.
Once the jewelry is welded, it is permanent and should last through anything from showers to pool water to spray tans. Bra ord says, “I’ve had mine for a year and I’ve put them through anything you can possibly put them through, and they still look brand new.” ere are times when a person may have to take the jewelry o , but Bra ord says they can take a pair of scissors and cut the small welded connection. She o ers one free reattachment; any future reattachment would cost $20. is trend has taken o in recent years and has gained steam on TikTok, and Bra ord has a theory as to why. She says it has become very popular to leave jewelry on all the time, “but with fast fashion, a lot of those pieces are tarnishing very quickly.” Bra ord adds that quite often, even expensive jewelry is not high quality and could possibly cause irritation to those with sensitive skin.
She also theorizes that the lack of a clasp may be a draw to this craze.
“For women with an active lifestyle – someone who is constantly on the go – they’re not going to want to deal with a clasp,” Bra ord says. “So I think that claspless jewelry is something that works really well for the modern-day woman.”
At long last, the permanent jewelry trend has attached itself to Cincinnati. LINK x LOU pop-ups are posted three days ahead of a planned event.
Queen City eastsider Lindsey Braf- Once the event link is live, customers ford started her permanent jewelry can sign up for a 15- to 20-minute slot business in Cincinnati in June. Bra ord to get their jewelry. Be fast, Bra ord is a liated with LINK x LOU, a popu- says — these pop-ups tend to ll up lar permanent jewelry company that quickly. Bra ord says slots have been launched in Denver in April 2020 and getting fully booked out within 15 minnow has locations all over the country. utes of the link going live. is fast-moving trend – which loops ose who don’t want to sit around jewelry like bracelets and necklaces refreshing your Instagram feed or Brafaround body parts forever – has become ford’s website for information about immensely popular, and in her short the next pop-up can also schedule a time of doing it in Cincinnati, her pop- private party for ve friends. Bra ord ups have been selling out in 15 minutes. comes for free; customers only pay for Local businesses also have increasingly the jewelry. requested LINK x LOU Cincinnati at Bra ord says that a lot of bookings their pop-ups, Bra ord says. for private parties are wedding-related,
“It’s been absolutely incredible, and but she’s also led parties as relaxed as a I am just so thankful for the response. wine and charcuterie girls night. But I just knew going into it that Cincin- Since launching LINK x LOU in Cinnati would be the perfect market for it,” Bra ord tells CityBeat. cinnati, Bra ord says that the market’s response and potential have exceeded
Bra ord says that she rst heard of her expectations. permanent jewelry when Over-the- “It has been absolutely more than I Rhine clothing boutique e Native ever could have imagined. When I rst One hosted a pop-up in December. started I thought ‘is this just something Bra ord made her rst purchase at that I really love, and I’m into?’ but I really pop-up — two bracelets — and was thought it would stick and it has,” Braf“instantly hooked,” she says. ford says.
After that, Bra ord checked to see if there were any permanent jewelry spots nearby every time she traveled, and she ended up getting bracelets in Nashville and Denver. She says that one day a realization hit her. “Why don’t we have this in Cincinnati? It would be such a great market for it,” she remembers thinking. Bra ord, who previously was in the human resources and events industries, trained at the LINK x LOU headquarters in Denver for a week to learn all about the permanent jewelry process. It’s pretty simple, she says. If a Cincinnatian want to get “linked,” they can stop by a pop-up or schedule a party, pick out their jewelry and have it sized to the perfect t. Bra ord then will weld the chain together with a small loop. Bracelets, necklaces and rings are available, but bracelets tend to be the most popular. Patrons can choose among a few di erent options of 14-carat white and yellow gold jewelry at di erent price points, depending on the style. Rings are priced at $55; bracelets are $75-$135; necklaces (which are o ered in 16”-20” lengths) $175-$325. ere is also an option for an anklet in the large link style for $175. Bra ord says most people tend to get two bracelets, and the most popular combination she does is a large link ($135) and twist ($95) bracelets in yellow gold. “Since they are all custom t, it’s perfect for someone with very small wrists where bracelets won’t stay on or just someone who doesn’t want to deal with a clasp,” Bra ord says. Once the jewelry is welded, it is permanent and should last through anything from showers to pool water to spray tans. Bra ord says, “I’ve had mine for a year and I’ve put them through anything you can possibly put them through, and they still look brand new.” ere are times when a person may have to take the jewelry o , but Bra ord says they can take a pair of scissors and cut the small welded connection. She o ers one free reattachment; any future reattachment would cost $20. is trend has taken o in recent years and has gained steam on TikTok, and Bra ord has a theory as to why. She says it has become very popular to leave jewelry on all the time, “but with fast fashion, a lot of those pieces are tarnishing very quickly.” Bra ord adds that quite often, even expensive jewelry is not high quality and could possibly cause irritation to those with sensitive skin. She also theorizes that the lack of a clasp may be a draw to this craze. “For women with an active lifestyle – someone who is constantly on the go – they’re not going to want to deal with a clasp,” Bra ord says. “So I think that claspless jewelry is something that works really well for the modern-day woman.” LINK x LOU pop-ups are posted three days ahead of a planned event. Once the event link is live, customers can sign up for a 15- to 20-minute slot to get their jewelry. Be fast, Bra ord says — these pop-ups tend to ll up quickly. Bra ord says slots have been getting fully booked out within 15 minutes of the link going live. ose who don’t want to sit around refreshing your Instagram feed or Brafford’s website for information about the next pop-up can also schedule a private party for ve friends. Bra ord comes for free; customers only pay for the jewelry. Bra ord says that a lot of bookings for private parties are wedding-related, but she’s also led parties as relaxed as a wine and charcuterie girls night. Since launching LINK x LOU in Cincinnati, Bra ord says that the market’s response and potential have exceeded her expectations. “It has been absolutely more than I ever could have imagined. When I rst started I thought ‘is this just something I really love, and I’m into?’ but I really thought it would stick and it has,” Brafford says.
LINK x LOU offers a variety of permanent jewelry.
PHOTOS: PROVIDED BY LINDSEY BRAFFORD LINK x LOU offers a variety of permanent jewelry.
PHOTOS: PROVIDED BY LINDSEY BRAFFORD
To register for a LINK x LOU To register for a LINK x LOU Cincinnati pop-up or to schedule a private party, visit Cincinnati pop-up or to schedule a private party, visit instagram.com/linkxlou.cincinnati. instagram.com/linkxlou.cincinnati.
