Noel Studio

Here I am at Noel Studios in Zionsville. Yes, I'm that little old lady clutching her purse (who IS that?!). Marty and I met at the Eagle Creek Coffee Company yesterday and then went to an open house at "The Sanctuary", where the artist Nancy Noel had some of her pictures displayed and some for sale.

Let me tell you about the coffee place first. It's on a corner on Main St., which if you know Zionsville at all you realize that its location is a prime spot, right on the brick road that runs through the most attractive part of town, and where many small shops are located. It is fairly large and cozy at the same time. At 11:00 am it was nearly full of people of all ages sitting at small and larger size tables. Customers go to the counter to order breakfast, lunch or a snack, and one of many excellent coffees or other beverages. The waitresses are young and welcoming and take their time, calling out your name when your order is ready so you can pick it up or they can bring it to you... let me tell you, though, this is nothing like a fast food restaurant. Marty had a breakfast burrito and coffee (Mr. Healthy), and I splurged with a coffee mocha and a blueberry scone, yum.

From there we walked half a block to The Sanctuary to check out the open house. It is an old First Methodist Church, completely restored and brought up to code. The building is a wonder in itself and a "must see" if you are ever in the area. The walls were covered with Nancy Noel's art, some of the pictures huge and all beautifully lighted. She has a large collection featuring Amish children, another of angels (mostly small children with wings... you have to see them to appreciate), another of African women in tribal dress, and one of animals. Many of her prints were on sale because they were being discontinued.

Whoever is in charge of marketing for Noel is a wizard. Her website for online ordering is excellent, and she generates both email and newsletters on a regular basis. Besides originals and prints, one can buy notecards, personal calendar/journals, or books, and framing can be done on site. We saw her as we were leaving; she had arrived to sign prints that were purchased that day; she's a lovely woman in her late 40s or early 50s.

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day in Zionsville, the first one in a while, and spending time with Marty is always fun. He's always excited about something and/or learning something new, and yesterday it was his new wide angle camera lens. After a leisurely look at just about everything there was to see, Marty went home to football games and I drove back south, stopping at the WalMart in Bloomington, where everybody in southern Indiana was working hard to help the economy and bring up the value of WalMart stock.