Vol. 4, No. 2
Complimentary
TOP SHOT- West Virginia freshman and Salisbury School graduate Morgan Phillips recently placed first and second in the NCAA championships while the Mountaineers won their fifth straight national title. See story on page 18
Real Estate and Construction
This month’s Salisbury Star features businesses that contribute to our area’s growth as well as businesses that service homes and businesses once they are built. Pages 8-11. EPOCH- The Epoch Dream Center looks to create lasting memories for children. Page 4
INDEX
Avery Hall................................... 13 Bulletin Board.......................24-25 Business Digest...................12-14 Business Directory...............32-33 Church........................................ 34 Delegate’s Report........................ 5 Education .............................26-29 Entertainment............................ 23 Final Word.................................. 35 Fruitland Chamber.................... 16 Gee Dunsten.............................. 17 Health....................................30-31 Personnel................................... 15 Real Estate................................. 17 Sports....................................18-22 Salisbury University.................. 29 Student Profile........................... 26 The Great Outdoors.................. 21 Veronica Correa......................... 33
May 2017
CRAFT BEER MEETING - Maryland State Comptroller Peter Franchot and Del. Carl Anderton visited Evolution Craft Brewing in Salisbury recently as part of a day long tour of the Eastern Shore. The two wanted to speak with John and Tom Knorr, owners of Evolution Craft Brewing about recent legislation that hurt the craft beer industry. Pictured, Evo finance head Jasmine Moore, Evo owners Tom Knorr and John Knorr, Comptroller Peter Franchot, Evo brands rep. Carter Price, Comptroller’s Chief of Staff Len Foxwell, Del. Carl Anderton, and Eastern Shore Intergovernmental Affairs Representative Thomas “Bunky” Luffman in the Evolution Craft Brewing barrel room after an informal craft beer meeting. Submitted photo
Designer Austin Vestal brings romantic fantasy couture to the plaza in Salisbury
By Mary Bargion
Spring has us in its firm but gentle grip. Soft greenery whispers goodbye to the red tulips and purple iris that have packed their bags for the long trip home. A sense of freedom is in the air, and with it, exciting innovation. A spring stroll on the Downtown Plaza is warranted. Walk slowly until you see a large glass store front with the names Corsets & Cogs and Axe to Grind. This is dual-duty shop of Austin Vestal, tailor, designer, engineer and professional knife sharpener. (If you need a restaurant kitchen full of knives sharpened, he’s your man.) Look closely in the window that’s just around the corner from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. The antique manikins are sporting outfits you probably wouldn’t see in department stores. Vestal is a 22 year-old artisan from Salisbury, who, in the last couple of years, has parlayed his expertise in engineering, fine tailoring and visionary design into a successful one-man show. His clients arrive by word of mouth to buy “off the rack” or to be custom fitted.
salisburystar.com
Vestal works from a number of patterns he has created over the years. He feels details and decoration are two important elements for a well-turned-out client. “Every quarter there is a steady growth,” he said about his two businesses. “I’ve been able to see consistent growth as I become part of the community.” For a while the shop was located across the Plaza in a smaller space. This year he moved into 1,000 square-feet that was a former gift shop with a bonus clearstory window. Vestal has been strongly influenced by the Maryland Renaissance Festival and the significance of leatherwork, historic costumes, language and the roiling romance of the times between the Tudor and Renaissance periods. (Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in 1596.) He spoke about a day that changed his life. “I was walking by a tavern at the fair and heard all these voices with Northern European accents they had created for their persona discussing Norse myths,” he said. “I was hooked.” The rush of romanticism and escape began to show in his life and soon he was something of a Renaissance man himself. A former assistant manager for Hancock Fabrics before it pulled out of town, he learned about fabrics, sewing and corset stitchery, a specific art form in which he became an expert. Gone are the rigid whalebones and breathless lacing; instead Vestal offers the wearer corsets with pretty colored ribbons that could be worn as outerwear, shaped and fastened with flexible (sprung) steel bones.
They produce a silhouette Vestal finds attractive: skirts with flyaway petticoats peeking out from under purple piping, long dramatic gowns and even a demure two-piece silver-gray outfit with buttons covered in black lace. Can you spell “imagination”? The dystopian designer works in this vein. The ethic is called Steampunk, technically a sub-genre of science fiction, but the fashion “look” incorporates 19thcentury industrialization (the steam) and the rebellion about said industrialization (punk). Designs might include a nod to Jules Verne - a lot of brass, copper, wood and cogs, with accessories such as a leather outfit set off by a large silver chain draped across the body like a baby metal python. Prices range from $225 up for custom corsets and skirts run $60 to $120. Aristocrats in this fantastic scenario come to the table with oversize hats, double-breasted coats, lots of gear, goggles with spikes and fantabulous futuristic decoration. Vestal explained the look. “It’s kind of like society has never progressed from the Victorian era – what would it be like if vacuums and cars hadn’t been invented? Where the Victorians were obsessed by color and flowers, Steampunks lean toward brown and black. To the uninitiated the vibe is a “pumped-up” version of the comingof-age Victorian society as Gothic on steroids. Vestal said he likes “realistic” models and works with women’s sizes 12 to 8, or
Continued on page 4