Lipscomb alumna keeps Japanese and Tennessee traditions alive
Chris Pepple |
Their shop is called Shimai, a word made from two kanji characters (one meaning older sister and one meaning younger sister). Lipscomb alumna Michele Herbert and business partner Becca Ganick feel as close as sisters after all of their years of working together. They taught together for over 20 years at Watkins College of Art and Design and at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts before retiring and opening Shimai in the shops at the Loveless Café.
By constantly creating something new for her shop, Herbert, a 1979 Lipscomb graduate who often helped create sets for Lipscomb’s theater productions, keeps a Japanese tradition alive in a historic Tennessee setting. She creates Raku, a form of Japanese pottery dating back to the 16th century. Once a week, Herbert and Ganick fire pottery on an outside gas kiln heating each piece to over 1900°. They remove the pieces with long tongs and places them in a container filled with a combustible material causing fire to shoot up from the container as part of the process. The pieces appear to have a unique glaze when completed.
Herbert also incorporates clay pieces into her paintings. “What makes my paintings unique,” Herbert claims, “is that they are all mixed-media pieces. They are oil paintings with clay embellishments. I add clay pieces to all of my works. I also collaborate with my husband, Chip, on unique collage pieces.”
Shimai offers customers a wide variety of pottery, paintings, photography and wearable art created by local and regional artists. The shop is part of the Loveless Motel Shops located on Highway 100 near the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Loveless Café and shops maintain the same country charm that has made it a Southern landmark since it first opened in 1951.
Current owner Tom Morales, CEO and owner of TomKats, wants to keep the Loveless as close to the original setting as possible while meeting the needs of the ever-growing number of customers. The Loveless, named by USA Today as America’s “top down-home dining spot” for all of 2005, filled the original motel rooms with shops and then decided to expand. Jesse Goldstein of TomKats states that Tuck Hinton Architects were hired to design the shop additions to maintain the highest quality possible while keeping with the original style of the hotel and café. Goldstein comments, “We finished that phase of our expansion and wanted to put in local artisans who could really contribute to our atmosphere and provide a quality shopping experience for our diners.”
Tuck Hinton Architects also worked with Lipscomb University in designing Beaman Library, Allen Bell Tower, Student Activities Center, Crisman Administration Center, the Swang Business Building addition, Allen Arena, the baseball and recreation fields and the Ezell Center. Design work done by the firm has received over 90 regional, national and international awards. They are working with Morales to guarantee that any renovations or additions done around the Loveless preserve the historical atmosphere maintained through the years. In October, 2005, Shimai opened in one of the newly added shops at Loveless and helps carry on the Tennessee tradition of catering to the needs of the local residents and the tourists who come by for a unique dining experience and a shopping delight.
--Chris Pepple