Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff

SPLISH SPLASH
Eva Schwartz makes me want to get dirty. That’s the best way to appreciate her craftsmanship. Schwartz has a fine nose for combining natural scents, which she captures in unctuous bars of handmade soap.

BIRD IN HAND
The rogue well may be capped on the Gulf floor, but there are still millions of gallons of crude oil bobbing out there off the coast. And that means years of mitigating the disaster.

PERFECT STORM
As we approach the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, there’s no shortage of books that have been published memorializing the tragedy. But a few stand out from the pack, transcending the narrative account of events and offering enduring social commentary and perspective.

Finds 07.21.10

Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff

DOWN WITH SCARVES
The idea of wearing a scarf during a Louisiana summer may seem somewhere between impractical and downright stupid. But Artesia’s summer scarves are lightweight enough even for days when it’s 110 in the shade.

HE ALMOST KILLED THE QUARTER
A few years before New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison dived into the rabbit hole of the Kennedy assassination, he made a name for himself through a series of sometimes nightly vice raids on Bourbon Street bars and strip joints in 1962.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION
A dozen years ago, Marcello’s Wine Market was doing a wine tasting during Festival International. Bernard Bats, a frenchman from Gascony, the great armagnac region of southwest France, approached Carlos Todaro about buying some of his brandy.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff

Button+Bloom
Naturally unique best describes Button+Bloom’s handcrafted accessories. Lafayette native Haley Williams began by designing floral bridal hairpieces and has expanded her online store to include everyday hairpieces and jewelry.

ECREVISSE BY ELISE
Elise Sonnier has been making art since she was a child. Stitched collages, painted quilts, you name it, she was mixing media. This year, she was contemplating a long slow summer vacation from her art teaching job at the Episcopal School of Acadiana and after a few days of indolence, she got antsy.

FAULT LINE
The blame game between BP, Halliburton and Transocean was part of the inspiration for a recent collaboration between the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Lenny Kravitz, Mos Def, Trombone Shorty and actor Tim Robbins.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff

GRAIN OF TRUTH
Rice is life in Acadia Parish, and no one is more serious about it than the cooks who compete in the annual Chef de Riz (Rice Chef) competition in Crowley.

CRYING COUNTRY
If you like your country music with more old school tumbleweed and Texas twang than fast-burning plastic of the modern age, then you should pick up Yvette Landry’s new solo CD Should Have Known.

POETIC JOURNEY
A paean to the power of language and its transformational effect on the inner life, Wendi Romero’s Pilgrimage to Self: Leaving, Walking, Returning is a journey of spare, often deeply personal poems that pulse simultaneously with both a deft touch and metaphysical heft.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff

DEEP FRYED
Looking for some truly one-of-a-kind kicks? Try Shi Shi in Lafayette for a pair of vintage Frye cowboy boots. They’re available in a variety of heel heights and colors, from basic browns to sassy summer whites.

KNUCKLE SANDWICH
Not many people know that Guitar Shorty, nee David Kearney, was Jimi Hendrix’s brother-in-law, that he played with Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, or that he won an episode of The Gong Show by performing upside down while balancing on his head.

RESCUE T
Worried about the Gulf and want to help? Don’t just talk it, walk it in a “Save the Gulf” T-shirt.