Evergreen Design Co

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Y O U N G E N T R E P R E N E U R : K A T I E G R E E N M U N

A high schooler discovers calligraphy during the COVID pandemic

@evergreen.designco

We had the incredible opportunity to visit the studio of the calligraphy artist and owner of the local business, Evergreen Design Co., Katie Greenmun this spring. She showed us her craft and allowed us to observe her in action. Katie started her business during December of 2020 like many other businesses that popped up during that time when people were confined to their homes. That is when she sold her first piece, and hasn ’t stopped since. She is a full time student so this is her artistic relief from stress and classes.

Katie is currently doing custom pieces, custom wedding invitation suites, and her own work as well. She loves doing calligraphy the most vs. doing full watercolor paintings and it is evident within her skill, even though she is still a highly skilled watercolorist. When she sits down with her calligraphy utensils; she is home. Katie has a love for the Lord, and likes to use verses that speak to her from the Bible for her pieces the most. She also loves to use song lyrics to favorite songs.

We loved watching this young lady in action and can ’t wait to see where her artistic passion takes her in the future. Contact her through her social media pages now to place an order or purchase one of her original pieces, and keep your eyes peeled for her Etsy shop coming soon!

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Y O U N G E N T R E P R E N E U R : G A B E B U T L E R

SCHOOL BUS CONVERSION

A childhood dream of bus-life becomes a reality

SAM: When did you get the bus and begin the bus conversion?

GABE: I got the bus on November 15 of 2021, and have been working on it ever since then. I work full time for the Service Authority, so I work on the bus every weekend and in my spare time. SAM: When did you really start to get into bus conversions? GABE: Two or three years ago. I always thought it was cool, but I never really started blueprinting and really laying stuff out until two years ago.

SAM: Can you tell me about what made you decide that you wanted to do a bus conversion?

GABE: Well, I really liked the idea of not being bound. If you want to go here one day, you go there. If you want to go there one day, you go there. If you want to take a friend, you can. If you want to just be by yourself, you can. I just like being able to take your house with you when you go to places. Not only does it save money, but to me, it's cool. I really like creating and the bus has given me the opportunity to design and to really think about the process of space saving, different layouts for your plumbing, your electrical, and different stuff like that. It has taught me so much so far. I used to know nothing about solar and now I can do whatever I want to solar.

It's one of those things that I' ve always seen and been like, wow, how did somebody do that? And then now, knowing what it takes, and knowing that I can do that, it really has empowered me and makes me feel pretty good about my abilities.

Gabe and his girlfriend, Riley, standing on the bus roof showing off the newly installed solar panels

Gabe has made so many big updates in his bus conversion like installing solar panels and making it an "off-grid" bus, installing plumbing throughout including a water tank and water heater, and has framed out the entire bus to prepare for the rest of the insulation and paneling to go up. His next big update includes a rooftop deck, finishing the bathroom with a zero entry tile shower and double sinks, and then finalizing the cosmetic details like the kitchen cabinets, and flooring/paint. The bus is truly a tiny house!

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"NOW, KNOWING WHAT IT TAKES, AND KNOWING THAT I CAN DO IT, IT REALLY HAS EMPOWERED ME AND MAKES ME FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT MY ABILITIES. " -gabe butler

SAM: Do you feel like there have been any classes or things that you ' ve done that has prepared you for the bus conversion that you 're thankful you did?

GABE: I think taking architecture blueprinting in computer design really was helpful. When you think about designing a part for example, you think about it in terms of how to take it apart vs. how to build it. That class taught me that. If you think about how you would take it apart, it helps you think about the process and helps you realize what needs to be done and what would make it easier to fix it in the long run. I guess, taking classes that force you to think in reverse, like that, especially with a mechanical aspect are super helpful.

The photo above was taken the day Gabe picked up the bus, and the photo below was taken recently looking at the same angle of the bus with all the updates that have been made.

GABE: I would say not losing the motivation to keep going. It's really hard to not get overwhelmed, because you have so much to do in so little time to do it. It is just hard to stay focused, and not lose the motivation to just be like, Alright, I'm done with this. I mean, if you start it, then you need to finish it. We' ve gotten so close and it's getting even closer to being done as time goes.

SAM: What has been your favorite and least favorite part of the build?

GABE: I really enjoyed the framing and the solar stuff so far. I have enjoyed learning the big stuff along the way. It is what keeps you motivated to keep doing new things and learning new things. I hated doing the paneling and small stuff. It's just so time consuming for such a small thing. With a bus, you just have so many odd dimensions that you have to go around with the odd contour of the bus. You also have to account for the windows.

SAM: What is your plan for the bus? Do you plan on keeping it? Do you plan on doing another one?

GABE: I would like to finish it and I want to live in it and see if I enjoy the lifestyle. Nobody actually knows until you do it. If I do enjoy the lifestyle, which I most likely will, I'd like to use this bus learning curve and potentially sell it when I'm done using it. For my next build, I’d like to do a smaller conversion, like a van. That way if I were to have a house, I could just travel on the weekends or go on road trips in the van vs. the size of a house with a full size bus. SAM: Who are some people that inspire you and why?

GABE: Definitely my mom because of how hard she works to maintain what we have, the lifestyle that we have, and just the ability to do things that we do, even as hard as times are, she really is a motivator to me. It is amazing to see someone that can be that strong, and at the same time, take care of multiple people and constantly have a house that's warm, and a house that's full of food and a house that’ s safe for people to be here and is so welcoming. Also, seeing people my age on social media that are living similar lifestyles and have the same challenges as everybody does is also inspirational. Seeing them be successful with converting their buses into houses and being able to live without caring about what people think is a really big motivator for me.

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Y O U N G E N T R E P R E N E U R : A S H L A N D A L L R E D

AMA SWEETS

A generational baker shares her love for all things sweet

@a.m.a.sweets

SAM: When did you start baking and begin your business, AMA Sweets?

ASH: I started in June of 2019. I really started baking with my grandma, my mom's mom, and she baked a lot before she had cancer. I just learned from watching her. A lot of my cake recipes are from her. I make a carrot cake and a red velvet cake and both of those are her recipes. Then I got some of my recipes off of Pinterest starting out and then I would tweak them and find what works and what doesn't work. I started posting on Instagram and seeing if people would buy the baked goods locally, and then just expanded slowly from there.

SAM: Did you learn how to bake from anyone/anything besides your grandma?

ASH: Honestly, I have learned through trial and error. I also watched youtube videos and did lots of experimenting! Baking is a stress reliever for me.

SAM: What is your favorite dessert to eat that you make?

ASH: I really love to eat cheesecake. That's what's sitting over there that I made homemade. Strawberry cheesecake is so good and that one has an Oreo crust to it as well.

SAM: What is the most difficult part about baking?

ASH: I think the difficult part is the time that is involved. It's a lot of time and trial and error. If you do something minorly wrong, you have to start over. It's a lot of science involved in it, and I love science. I think that's why I like it so much, but a lot of people don't like it because if you do one small thing wrong, it's a disaster.

SAM: What do you like to make the most?

ASH: I really like making cakes, and cheesecake type things. Cakes are a lot of work to make and they 're probably the most time consuming thing to bake, depending how many layers you 're doing. Cakes are what I started out doing and I really like the decorating aspect of it.

Photos contributed by Ashland from one of her previous weddings

SAM: What do you dislike making the most?

ASH: I don't know if I really dislike making anything. I feel like some things I get frustrated with if they don't turn out quite right. Sometimes in my cupcake recipes or cake recipes, I'll forget one ingredient or not quite measure it properly, and it never rises up properly. I pretty much like to bake anything though. I like to experiment with a lot of different things.