The 44th Friday Four

Today’s Friday Four is a little different. Rather than 4 highlights of the week, I am sharing some news.

I will not be renewing my studio lease in West Branch after the holidays. 

This may or may not come as a surprise to you! I went into this year with the mindset of trying things, and of not having any regrets. I worked really hard to create a space that brought joy and connection, and I've loved hosting you all here.

However, due to family reasons I need to pull back on how much I am working on nights and weekends right now. Does this mean the business is closing? Nope! I am just going back to a pop up model. Will I re-open again? Maybe! This year has given me so many opportunities to learn and grow, and I don't know what the future has in store for me.

That's part of the magic of life, we get to make choices and try things on. I have really enjoyed my time in West Branch, and I will continue to sing the praises of this place and the people who are making it a vibrant downtown! So if you know of anyone looking for a great little storefront for their business, please have them reach out to Jessi Simon (the Main Street Director in West Branch) at mainstreetwestbranch@gmail.com. 

If you haven’t been by yet, come on out to an open class in the space during the next 6 weeks! Or watch the schedule to sign up for one of the 2025 pop-up classes around Iowa! I’ll still be taking private requests to travel for celebrations, team builders, and whatever creative classes you might need (and am always open to collaborating on projects).

Thank you for your support during 2024, and for reading the Friday Four!

With much gratitude,

Erika

The 43nd Friday Four

Thanks for catching up with the Friday Four series, simply the 4 weekly highlights from behind the scenes at Tura Lura Co. in West Branch.

Let’s get into it!

1. Hosting Pour + Restore this season really amplified how much I missed mindful movement. Having kids, a global pandemic, and navigating EDS really threw me out of my movement routine. And Pour + Restore brought me back to the basics, in the world of yoga. As I eased into my practice, I noticed how much it was helping. Not just in my body but with my patience, also with my kiddos who tend to hang around and participate when I’d do my morning moves. Building routine can be hard, so I made small goals and celebrated achieving them. One of the things I believe is that we are all teachers and we are all learners. While I get to share knowledge on lots of creative practices with Tura Lura Co. I like to also put myself into a space of being a student. So, I did some Continuing Ed as a 200 RYT then I got a certification for mindfulness and am working on Children’s Yoga for at home. I think 2025 is going to bring some more creative movement to my life, and I’m really excited for that!

2. Who needs a Ladies’ Night Out for laughter and a good time? On November 6 we are having a fun event in West Branch for just that! This will be the last Perfume Pour Bar of the season! Because with fall here, people are loving their handcrafted candles! The next Candle Pour Bar is on Thursday, November 14 at 6pm. I’ll be at the Vue (tix here) in Iowa City for Let’s Glow Girls! This one is fun because they are mixing up some handcrafted cocktails and mocktails as part of your ticket, and you can purchase some dinner or apps from their menu. I’m bringing back a big holiday raffle for this event, because I love to have those moments at the end of the event where it feels like “you get a car” and “you get a car”! While I am not raffling off any cars, I will have some fun holiday prizes.

3. Then the final available and open class to sign up for in 2024 is the day after Thanksgiving, we have a little gathering in West Branch to kick off the holiday season, with hot cocoa (of course). That’ll happen at 11am so if you have some family in town for the holiday, feel free to sign up to do something a little fun before the holiday shopping season begins. This year, I get to host my family from out of state for the holiday! I love hosting Thanksgiving. In fact, it’s my favorite holiday! As a long time vegetarian, I don’t cook that much for this holiday (since it is all about the turkey) but hosting gives me an excuse to have good conversation, decorations, and some fun games! Plus, an opportunity to be intentional about exercising gratitude. Yay!

4. Final thing for Friday… I am almost at my cap for 2024 parties! The calendar has filled up and there are so many fun ones on the books to celebrate in the Opera House in West Branch! If you wanted to throw a little creative party for your crew in a Hallmark Movie town - let’s try and chat as soon as possible!

Happy Friday!

Erika

The 42nd Friday Four

Thanks for catching up with the Friday Four series, simply the 4 weekly highlights from behind the scenes at Tura Lura Co. in West Branch.

Let’s get into it!

1. The fall chill has hit us in Iowa! Every morning this week we bundled up for the day, and every evening we are getting cozy with heated blankets. One thing you might not know about me - I am always cold. Once fall hits (until April/May) I typically have wool socks on, winter boots, multiple layers of clothes, a space heater going, and am wrapped in a blanket or shawl. And my favorite thing is to add to to this get up? You guessed it. A lit candle flickering nearby.

2. Speaking of candles, you may have noticed this is the first fall I am not actively selling any candles. I transitioned away from casting concrete last year for my artisan candles, and started dwindling down in all the production to help preserve my hands. I will still make a small batch now and then, for a special occasion, but my true love is teaching people how to make their own. Not everyone can get to a class with me, so last year I recorded a brief video on how to make these at home and made a supply list to share. It’s completely buried on my website, so I wanted to pull the link out and share it today. Making candles can be such a fun and intentional thing to do. I hope you get to experience the joy of it!

3. If getting all the supplies from the list above is too much work, there are plenty of companies that can send you a kit to make one solo. I recently added a new supplier to get some raw products from, and discovered they have a few really cute Candle DIY Kits. There are also soap and beauty DIYs from this company, so you might find a super fun holiday gift in there for you, or someone you love!

4. And if you want to make a candle with me, look at the upcoming classes! On Thursday, November 14 at 6pm I’ll be at the Vue (tix here) for a super fun evening. Then the day after Thanksgiving, we have a little gathering West Branch to kick off the holiday season, with hot cocoa of course. And the final open Candle Pour Bar is December 7 in West Branch for a Christmas Past! Only 10 more Fridays in 2024… let’s make them GREAT!

Happy Friday!

Erika