Broad Ripple Magazine May 2022

MAY 2022

MAGAZINE

The Sound Gardner SARAH GARDNER’S SOUND BATHS OFFER IMMERSIVE SENSORY EXPERIENCES FOR REST & RELAXATION

THE 50TH ANNUAL ONEAMERICA BROAD RIPPLE ART FAIR RETURNS MAY 14-15 MUSIC AND MENTAL HEALTH

Local Musician AYERS Uses His Skills to Help Others Flourish

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MAY 2022

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THE 50TH ANNUAL ONEAMERICA BROAD RIPPLE ART FAIR RETURNS MAY 14-15

8

MAKING MOVES

Pilates Indy Has Been Serving Indy Residents for 20 Years & Counting

REAL-TIME ANALYTICS Scan the QR code to see this magazine’s real-time reach and distribution numbers.

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THE SOUND GARDNER

Sarah Gardner’s Sound Baths Offer Immersive Sensory Experiences for Rest & Relaxation

16

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTTM Peterman Brothers

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MUSIC AND MENTAL HEALTH

Local Musician AYERS Uses His Skills to Help Others Flourish

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ELDERFLOWER DESIGN

Gwen Knabe Creates Unique Event Installations that Stand Out

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THE 50th ANNUAL

ONEAMERICA

BROAD RIPPLE ART FAIR RETURNS MAY 14-15 Writer & Photographer / Michael Durr

It’s time to kick off festival season and what better way to do that than at The 50th Annual OneAmerica Broad Ripple Art Fair to be held at the Indianapolis Art Center on May 14 and 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Imagine yourself walking the sidewalks of Broad Ripple in 1971, sporting your bell bottoms, midi skirts or tie-dye and making your way to the first-ever Broad Ripple Art Fair. It is true that the times have changed, but, certainly, something that has remained constant over the past 50 years is the quality of the art and entertainment that will be on display at this family-fun event.

“Even when I was a teenager the Art Center has been free to the public. I used to bring a blanket and sit in ARTSPARK near the river and enjoy the grounds. It was a place to come where I felt welcomed and could hang out,” says Shannon Bennett, VP of events and innovation at the Indianapolis Art Center.

It wasn’t long after that she realized she could work in this environment and be an advocate for the arts in her community.

Bennett’s tenure with the Indianapolis Art Center has shifted and grown with her and she is so happy to be heading up this year’s Art Fair.

This year’s Art Fair includes 150 artists ranging from college

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ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP FRIDAY, MAY 13 PREVIEW PARTY 6–8 p.m.

Pavel’s Global Jazz Ensemble Rob Dixon and the From the 317 band

SATURDAY, MAY 14 10 a.m.–Noon REACT Fishers School of Rock Noon–5 p.m.

Rob Dixon and the From the 317 band The Doo band The Blue Side

SUNDAY, MAY 15 10 a.m.–Noon REACT Carmel School of Rock Noon–5 p.m.

Pavel’s Global Jazz Ensemble Living Proof The Bashiri Asad Band DJ: Rusty Redenbacher Sound: Pyramid Sound Company Stage: Tipton Staging

YOU CAN GET TICKETS AT INDYARTCENTER.ORG/BRAF AND BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE INDIANAPOLIS ART CENTER ON INSTAGRAM @INDPLSARTCENTER.

INDY ART CENTER MAY 14 + 15 Get Tickets: iNDYARTCENTER.ORG/BRAF Kick off festival season with the Indianapolis Art Center’s largest fundraiser of the year!

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students to resident artists. Indy Jazz Fest will be coordinating many of the musical performances along with opening acts from School of Rock. There will also be performances from REACT, formerly Young Actors Theater.

You can also expect an abundance of youth and teen activities taking place, one of which are seed bombs. Kids will love rolling up a ball of clay with wildflower seeds in the center and taking their creation home, planting it and a short time later watching beautiful wildflowers bloom in their own backyards!

In addition to the incredible art and entertainment, there will be some amazing food and drinks provided by a variety of local establishments.

The Indianapolis Art Center, designed by Hoosier Architect Michael Graves, has evolved over the years, and the Broad Ripple Art Fair is just one of many events taking place on the grounds this summer. Be sure to look at upcoming gallery installations, class schedules and special events.

“Once you get into the Arts Center and get a feel for it and love for it, it becomes a place you don’t want to leave,” Bennett says.

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THE 50th ANNUAL ONEAMERICA BROAD RIPPLE ART FAIR Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, 2022 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Indianapolis Art Center Preview Party: May 13, 2022 From 6–8 p.m.

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Katie Wright

MAKING MOVES

PILATES INDY HAS BEEN SERVING INDY RESIDENTS FOR 20 YEARS & COUNTING Writer / Seth Johnson Photographer / Michael Durr

Pilates Indy is all about helping clients get a better understanding of how their body moves, whether that happens to be an Irish step dancer or a professional football player.

“It’s amazing how few of us understand how our body is supposed to move,” says Pilates Indy founder Katie Wright. “Like, we get by. But the more you understand the mechanics of your own movement, the easier life becomes.”

Started in 2002, Pilates Indy offers private, semi-private and group Pilates mat and equipment sessions, along with private Gyrotonic® sessions and Gyrokinesis® classes. With two locations in Broad Ripple and Greenwood, Pilates Indy offers Pilates instruction for everyone, whether you’re new to exercise or a professional athlete.

Originally from New Hampshire, Wright first discovered Pilates while taking part in a dance camp at the age of 13.

first Pilates certification under the direction of Dolly Kelepecz, Wright eventually made her way to Indianapolis to enroll in school at Butler University. While still a student at Butler, she first started teaching Pilates privately, and hence, the seed for Pilates Indy was planted.

“I initially opened a small studio in the basement of my apartment,” Wright says. “I graduated from Butler in 2002. In a matter of two weeks’ time, I graduated, bought a house and incorporated my studio. I was like, ‘Alright, let’s do this!’”

As word got out around the city about Wright’s Pilates instruction, she quickly found the need to expand out of her home. This led to the first Pilates Indy studio, located at 10001 Broad Ripple Ave. on the second floor.

“When I started out of my house, I was teaching mat classes all over the city, while taking clients in my home,” Wright says. “I just discovered that there were more clients than I could personally help. So I was like, ‘It’s time to do some expansion.’ ”

Having been at the Broad Ripple location since 2005, Wright has “I was introduced to Pilates and found how much it changed my greatly expanded upon her staff. Now at Pilates Indy, she can offer dancing and really connected me to my core,” Wright says. “I was one clients a variety of instructors to fit their personalized needs. of those who was not able to turn and went from doing single turns to triples in about a week. So I was like, ‘There’s something to this.’ ” “We have a wide range of instructors, from apprentices to certified instructors to our master-level instructors,” Wright says. “So if After going out to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and gaining her someone’s coming in with a bunch of injuries or a recent surgery, 8 / BROAD RIPPLE MAGAZINE / MAY 2022 / BroadRippleMag.com

I’m going to put them with a more experienced trainer. But if I have someone coming in that’s pretty healthy and they’re like, ‘I need to maintain my budget,’ then I’m like, ‘Well, why don’t you try out one of our apprentices?’ And I always try to leave the door open and say, ‘If this is not your match, just say something, and we’ll try something else.’ Because we have the flexibility within the studio to do that.”

When a potential client initially reaches out to Pilates Indy, Wright makes sure they know that the studio is open and welcoming to all.

“We want you to come in at wherever you are and better yourself,” Wright says. “There’s no certain level you have to be at to come in. All you have to do is want to move and want to feel better.”

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With this in mind, the current clientele at Pilates Indy is diverse in just about every sense of the word.

“Right now, I have as young as 11 and as old as 90, so it’s very diverse,” Wright says. “No one is too small. No one is too big. I have clients that are a little over four feet, and I have some that are six-foot-six.”

For those curious about Pilates but not ready to fully dedicate financially, Pilates Indy also offers a variety of options, including their “Try 3 and SEE!” program.

“Some people really like private sessions, some people really like mat classes and some people really like equipment classes,” Wright says. “So we came up with our ‘Try 3 and SEE!’ program. It gives you a chance to try three of each item, and then choose for yourself. Because I don’t think it’s my position to choose what you like.”

At the end of the day, Pilates Indy simply wants to help Indy residents revel in whatever it is they love doing most.

“You do Pilates to enjoy every other aspect of your life,” Wright says. “It is functional, core training that I think is somewhat of a fountain of youth.

It makes it so that you can go off and do your run. You can do the 50-mile bike ride. You can recover from marathons faster. Just in general, [it makes you] feel better.”

Pilates Indy is located at 1001 Broad Ripple Ave, 2nd Floor in Indianapolis.

Learn more about Pilates Indy at PilatesIndyInc.com or give them a call at 317-205-9502.

10 / BROAD RIPPLE MAGAZINE / MAY 2022 / BroadRippleMag.com

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SARAH GARDNER’S SOUND BATHS OFFER IMMERSIVE SENSORY EXPERIENCES FOR REST & RELAXATION Writer / Amanda Gibson Photographer / Michael Durr 12 / BROAD RIPPLE MAGAZINE / MAY 2022 / BroadRippleMag.com

I

f a sound bath sounds interesting to you, you’d be with the majority in the Midwest. Despite Sound Baths being around for over 2,000 years it’s still a relatively new concept to many of us.

“A sound bath is a passive meditative modality designed to shift your awareness through the use of sound,” says Sarah Gardner of The Sound Gardner. “This immersive sensory experience has a profound physiological effect on the human body, downshifting brainwave states and eliciting a parasympathetic response, which promotes deep rest and relaxation.”

If you’ve wanted to meditate but can’t seem to get into the correct headspace, it’s highly encouraged for you to try this experience with Gardner. Attending a Sound Bath session is unique because anyone can do it and it requires nothing of you.

“The most you have to do, you’ve already done by showing up,” Gardner says.

If it sounds pretty strange, here is what a session will look like — Gardner will vocally walk you through a few expectancies, all while creating a safe space for you to receive the maximum amount of relaxation and all of the benefits that come from being in the same room as the sound waves played from the bowls. The sound waves slow down our brainwaves.

Summer Is Here

THERE ARE FIVE BRAINWAVE STATES, AND DURING A SESSION IT’S NOT UNHEARD OF TO GO THROUGH ALL 5.

1. GAMMA

You may walk into a session in Gamma as you’re in high alert.

2. BETA

You may experience this as soon as you start to listen to Gardner and start to concentrate on the headspace you will enter.

3. ALPHA

Usually occurs as soon as the bowls start getting played. In this state, you can find your nervous system becoming calmer and your heart and blood pressure lower.

THE URBAN HIPPIE

4. THETA

This is a positive mental state. It’s here where creativity is encouraged and it’s the same state as someone who is in a deep meditative state.

5. DELTA

This is a state of deep sleep or REM sleep. Your body and your brain are restoring. During this state, compassion and empathy are promoted.

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partnering with Colts Owner Jim Irsay. wasn’t finding quite what she was looking for. She made the purchase of her first bowls Each bowl is usually made out of some and started facilitating her own. sort of gemstone. Her first set of bowls was “If you fall asleep, you probably needed it,” quartz, but if you find yourself in one of her It’s been 18 months of listening to feedback, Gardener adds. sessions this month, she’ll be playing from growing and seeing the traction, joy and bowls that are made with specific stones that open-mindedness from others that means Gardner started The Sound Gardner The Sound Gardner is going to keep growing. align with different chakras that each bowl in September 2020 at the height of the is made for. Chakras refer to energy points pandemic, but that’s not where her journey in your body. There are seven chakras: root, She has partnered with three studios: with sound baths started. In 2017, she was sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye Baptise in Carmel, Barr Ripple in Broad in Nashville living a totally different life and the crown.

Ripple and North Mass Boulder around than she is living now. She was recovering Mass Ave that are open to the public. She from an eating disorder, in a career that She plays whatever intuitively comes to didn’t align with her, and she recognized she offers private sessions if you’re having a her, and lately you can find her playing a lot get-together, and she has a big focus in the needed to make drastic life changes. From from the root bowl and the heart bowl. Root corporate space. One recurring corporate one restorative practice to another, she found herself in her first sound bath session. client is Salesforce, where Gardner facilitates because it’s the chakra responsible for us feeling safe and secure, and the heart which In the following weeks, she had quit her job, for their inside sales team. is responsible for love and compassion, and stopped drinking and booked a one-way trip most importantly self-love. May is mental Gardner says she’s already living her dream to India. health awareness month, and this is a practice but would love to continue to grow her that should be added to your routines.

“It was an energetic catalyst that completely corporate client list. With a background as an athlete, she’d love to see herself changed my life,” she says. facilitating sessions for professional athletes You can find Gardner’s class schedule at immersivesoundexperiences.co and The Sound and convey the benefits of participating in 2020 was a year of life changes for many. It Gardner on Instagram @thesoundgardner. a sound bath to them the day before they was a time when Gardner was once again looking for a sound bath to attend but compete. Perhaps one day we’ll see Gardner It’s not uncommon to find yourself in Delta, or asleep, during a sound bath session.

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Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Brandi Caplinger

Skilled trade careers offer steady work because people will always need plumbing, heating and cooling in their homes and offices. In addition, many people love to work with their hands. The team at Peterman Brothers recognizes this, and in October of 2020 they began Top Tech Academy, their own internal trade school that offers both HVAC and plumbing courses. Offered twice per year in the spring and fall, Top Tech is a five-month accelerated program where students undergo a mix of classroom learning, hands-on training and field

experience. Applicants who are accepted into Applicants must be 18 or older, with a high the program choose to study either plumbing school GED or equivalency. or HVAC, depending on their area of interest.

The most common feedback they get from applicants is that they’re seeking job security.

During the academy, students ride with technicians for job shadowing. They also partner with other students to do inspection “We also hear, ‘My dad was a plumber,’ or, ‘I helped my grandpa work out in the garage,’ calls. Over time they graduate to having or, ‘I really like working with my hands,’” their own van and doing customer calls.

Wernert says.

This month they will open the application process for next semester, which will start After applying, candidates complete a phone the first week of September. Currently screen with the recruiting team. Wernert they take 12 plumbing students and shares a recorded video that outlines expectations of the students as well as what 15 HVAC students per semester. It’s a the students can expect from the program. highly competitive program, and as word has spread, interest has grown. The first semester, 600 people applied. Last semester, “That’s got a lot of critical information that can make or break their decision on that number doubled. whether to accept an offer,” Wernert says.

“We take the top 2%,” says Dani Wernert, In-person interviews follow. Applicants will learning and development specialist. either get accepted into the program, put on a If you think you don’t have a shot of making wait list or be asked to apply the next semester. it because you didn’t graduate in the top 2% of your high school class, think again.

One huge draw to the program is that Peterman Brothers pays students.

“Applicants need not have experience in the trade specifically,” Wernert says. “We’re “While they’re in school with us, they’re looking at personality and behaviors. We getting paid an hourly rate,” Wernert says. “It’s want to know that you’re going to treat our a full-time job. They are Peterman Brothers customers right.” employees with us on day-one of school.”

They study Patrick Lencioni’s book, “The Ideal Team Player,” which focuses on three factors - being humble, hungry and smart.

In addition, students graduate with a guaranteed job. They make an 18-month commitment to Peterman Brothers and if they fulfill that commitment, tuition is paid as well.

“It’s like a three-legged stool,” Wernert says.

“If you have two of the virtues but not three, “We’ve found that it’s absolutely worth the that stool is going to fall over.” investment,” Wernert says. “Every new class impresses us.”

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Music and Mental Health LOCAL MUSICIAN AYERS USES HIS SKILLS TO HELP OTHERS FLOURISH Writer / Steven Rutherford Photographer / Travis Hinkle

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E

ly Ayers, known professionally as AYERS, is an Indianapolis-based independent artist and so much more. AYERS is a mental health advocate. He’s a dedicated dad to his 4-year-old daughter Natalie.

He’s a rehab facility manager and mentor. He’s a survivor. As he explains, “There’s not a musician in the world who isn’t dealing with something and the only thing getting me through is creating music.”

He’s an old friend I’m happy to see alive.

AYERS has a past riddled with flashes of brilliance, pain, addiction, and the fallout that comes from struggling with substance abuse.

Through every trial and tribulation, music has always been his form of therapy. His mental health challenges, battles with addiction and strained relationships have all been on public display - an open diary presented to the world. Sharing art is an act of courage, and AYERS’ dedication to telling his full story stands apart as courage of the highest order.

His music lives in a starkly introspective blend of genres he calls indie-hip-pop. In literature we call that a metaphor. In hip-hop we call that a bar. It’s a description that so accurately reflects the music industry’s obsession with self-medicating artists, pill-popping culture, and the glamorization of mental illness we hear in so much of music today. He hopes that by sharing his story, he’s able to save even just one person’s life who may be battling with their own mental health differences.

Much of our early conversation is spent as an homage to another Indianapolis artist-producer-engineer, Willis Clark, his long-time friend and collaborator. His musical debut came in 2014 when the two released their joint project, “Summer Break.” The lead single was immediately popular across north Indy, but for AYERS it is only a constant reminder of a dark part of his life. “‘Peace, Love & College Avenue’ is my most played song and unfortunately it feels like I can’t escape that,” he says.

This is a song I fondly remember being mentioned on. It holds a much different weight for the now-sober AYERS. At the time he reflected on how he was lying and stealing from those closest to him. The singer explains that even through his darkest times, Willis was always there for him. “He’s the only one who rode it out,” AYERS says thankfully. The standout single still shines but remains a haunting memory of his past ways. Eventually he recognized the only way he had a chance at survival was to move cities.

AYERS relocated to Chicago where he interned at a recording studio and started his journey into audio engineering. He later moved to Florida, then Los Angeles to continue his music career and audio education. While living on the west coast he still produced and recorded music, which offers further glimpses into his ongoing journey toward better mental health. That’s where he met his partner Aly, who helped him get his life back.

He returned to Indy with his family last year. He makes a point to share how grateful he is to Vicky and Drew Mack for giving him a job opportunity at a rehabilitation facility on the Indy’s northwest side.

Today he’s the manager and serves as a mentor for people throughout their recovery journey. To make it through his own recovery, AYERS had to be OK letting go of pride and ego.

“You have to risk everything,” AYERS says. “People are scared to talk about these things. I’m willing to lose face, I’m willing to go to the most vulnerable places to help them have a chance.” AYERS speaks with conviction to the idea that you have to allow your ego real silence.

As AYERS outlines his experiences, he wants people to know this about his music.

18 / BROAD RIPPLE MAGAZINE / MAY 2022 / BroadRippleMag.com

“ YOU HAVE TO RISK EVERYTHING. PEOPLE ARE SCARED TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS. I’M WILLING TO LOSE FACE, I’M WILLING TO GO TO THE MOST VULNERABLE PLACES TO HELP THEM HAVE A CHANCE.” — ELY AYERS

“It’s the courage of still being here,” he says. “It would be a waste of talent and life to not do music.”

I’m continually floored at how he distills such powerful, complex experiences into wisdom. “I realize I had a God-sized hole I tried to fill with everything,” he says.

He and I found ourselves at a point in our conversation, after diving into all the vulnerable and difficult places, where things feel hopeful. He lights up sharing about his performance for the Phoenix Organization, an active sober community with chapters across the nation, that invited him to play and share his story.

AYERS has a certain serenity that holds the full complexity and recognition of where he has come from, with an openness for where he can still take his ambition.

“It’s OK,” he says. “I made it through 100% of the bad days.” That simple truth is one he wants to share with everyone, especially folks who are navigating their own mental health journeys. “My purpose is to risk it all so that the guys here have a chance.”

Andy Warhol was always frustrated that writers never wrote about what a piece means. For AYERS, music means surviving.

Creating music means he has a chance to make his mistakes mean something. He has the chance to share his grief. He has a chance to transform all the pain caused from his struggle with his mental health into something that could help save someone else. This piece is about my friend getting his life back and using his new life to help others. His music is just the icing on the cake.

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Owner Gwen Knabe

and decide where we want to go.”

Knabe’s work has grown to include backdrops and other décor to create a custom environment for any event. She happily works with any size of gathering, for any purpose. In the past three years, she has designed weddings, corporate events, business meetings, graduations and many other celebrations.

“It’s everything,” she says. “Full spectrum!

Weddings, baby showers, bridal showers and grad season is huge! If there is something that you want created, whether it’s to emphasize and make a gathering more grand or it’s just to make someone feel special, then we will make it happen.”

ELDERFLOWER DESIGN GWEN KNABE CREATES UNIQUE EVENT INSTALLATIONS THAT STAND OUT

Writer / Molly Dykstra Photographer / Sam Zachrich

2019, she left her career as a retirement planner and Elderflower Design was born.

Gwen Knabe, owner of Elderflower Design, started her business in an unexpected way.

She was planning an engagement shower for a friend and wanted to have a balloon arch as a focal point. Since she couldn’t find a local designer to create one, she made it herself. Not only did she enjoy creating it, but it was so beautiful that people immediately asked her to design them for their events. As more and more people saw her balloon garlands, both in person and online, she started receiving so many orders that it became her profession. By February

From the beginning, she and her husband’s background in financial planning has been a great asset. They both recognized that her talent for creation and eye for design was the foundation for her to successfully pursue her dream. Setting up and taking down installations is often a team effort and the pair work long hours on projects together.

“It feels like a true partnership,” Knabe says.

“We can sit down and strategize together

While some items are available for rent, many others are created specifically for the event and don’t need to be returned.

Packages can be made to fit any budget.

They often include stunning balloon garlands and backdrops which can be used for a variety of purposes including photo backgrounds, signs or seating charts.

Everything is created in-house and by hand.

Knabe cuts her plywood backdrops to size and shape using jigsaws and a CNC router.

She then paints the design and attaches backing materials to make them stable.

Eventually, she hopes to have a library of these large and durable works of art, but storage is becoming an issue. Currently, Knabe is scouting properties to find a new home for Elderflower Design to solve this problem. This new location will also allow clients to drop by and may have an event space on site that could host smaller gatherings.

Like most businesses in the hospitality industry, the pandemic impacted Elderflower Design. This business, however, managed to stay open and provide a beautiful way for people to continue to connect.

“It was interesting to see the different approaches people took to their celebrations or events during that time,” Knabe adds.

“We had a lot of people who really wanted to celebrate the small things that were happening. With that, we were able to offer

mostly balloons outside of people’s homes or door drops just to bring them a little more cheer for the things they wanted to celebrate, to have something to look forward to during a time that was stressful for so many different reasons. It was nice to be able to provide some of those moments.”

is growing rapidly, and she plans to hire another part-time employee soon.

As people have found themselves able to gather once again, Knabe feels that they are “craving camaraderie among their friends and family.” As a result, her business

Knabe is happy to have discovered, and pursued, her passion for events and creating art.

While Elderflower Design generally works in Indianapolis and the surrounding cities, Knabe is open to traveling further to serve the needs of her clients.

“This really is my dream job,” she says.

“If you see something on Pinterest or Instagram at an event that is really big and showy and you wonder, where could I even get that for my event? We are the people who can do that.”

To find out more about Elderflower Design, visit them online at elderflowerdesign.com.

Gwen Knabe can be reached at 317-4318401 and examples of her work can be found on the Instagram, Facebook and Twitter links on the website.

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The country’s second-ever cash-pay surgery center offers Hoosiers fixed and transparent pricing for surgery.

Local business owner Jeff Williams noticed the cost of health care was rising tremendously for his small business.

Williams didn’t want to increase his deductible for his employees, nor did he want to increase his rates by a high margin. Instead, Williams partnered with longtime friends Dr. Ron Piniecki and Dr. Eric Inman, both anesthesiologists, to revolutionize the way patients pay for their surgical care.

The fixed payment method means patients know their all-in total cost for surgery prior to the procedure and don’t receive a surprise bill in the mail. Pricing includes the facility charge, surgeon fee and anesthesiologist fee. Patients pay a one-time consultation fee of $150 that is credited to the cost of the surgical procedure.

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Not only is the pricing up-front and transparent, but patients also pay, on average, 30% to 60% less than they would at other facilities in Indianapolis. Williams says WellBridge can offer their patients

those savings by not adding hidden facility fees. For instance, the WellBridge cost for ear tubes is $2,380, while the Indianapolis average is $6,804.

WellBridge Surgical offers general surgery, orthopedics, gynecology, otolaryngology, urology, podiatry, and gastroenterology procedures. Patients contact WellBridge and are paired with a surgeon based on their specific surgical needs. The prices of surgical procedures are listed on the WellBridge Surgical website. The patient will know their total cost immediately.

“Dr. Piniecki and Dr. Inman have worked at some of the biggest hospital systems, so they know most of the surgeons in Indianapolis,” Williams says. “We’ve partnered with some of the best surgeons in the city.”

“Our first surgical patient was a smallbusiness owner,” Williams says. “He and his wife were so thankful to find us. They have insurance but they never knew what they would pay for care. It made us feel like we were proving our theory right.”

Hoosiers pay the fourth-highest surgical costs nationwide according to a 2020 RAND Corporation study. WellBridge aims to make a difference with the uninsured, individuals with high-deductible insurance plans, and those with self-funded plans.

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