Our first outing to Scottsdale was to scout out the Mandala Tearoom which was to serve as our venue for the upcoming One Shoe Diaries exhibition. It was a great little tearoom/cafe that served an organic vegan menu selection so Sharon was in heaven. It was also had a nice outdoor patio on the sidewalk that was perfect for setting up our easels. We met the owner, Jennifer Miranda, that night for the first time and she was a very nice, and her mother was a good soul. She was very sweet and genuine, Sharon clicked with her quickly. On our way own we stopped at the Four Peaks brewpub for a pint. Their Kiltlifter Scottish Ale was very nice. The pub itself was not much of a pub, but a larger scale restaurant built around their microbrewery. I wish we had time to revisit for dinner as the food looked great!
The exhibition went pretty well, the traffic was very light as we were not on the main route of the Art Night event. But we still had a great time, we met some very interesting people. Some a little pretentious and pompous but mostly very nice and engaging. Our hosts, the Shoes That Fit volunteers Sharon and Stewart were really good people, they had several friends show up to support us, not so much with any donations but they did take time to come out and help make the night a success.
We did make friends with two young women who operate a gallery in Chandler, Arizona. They were so nice, we had a lot in common and felt a good connection with them. We are going to work out details so that we can return and exhibit the One Shoe Diaries at their gallery sometime this fall. We are very excited to exhibit and hang out with them again. They were good people.
Overall we generated a lot of interest in our story and built generated good exposure for our coffee table book, now I just have to create it! :)