Photo courtesy of Ella Mitchell (C ’27)
Chloe Wright, Editor-in-Chief
Every day, students, community members and University employees swarm Stirling’s Coffee House. Whether it’s for the drinks, food or desserts, customers have been flocking to the campus café for more than 30 years. But now Stirling’s is a host for more than simple coffee and conversation. A brightly-decorated table showcases local artistic talent, all ready to belong to a new home.
Tucked between the snack section and ice cream cooler, the Stirling’s craft table offers café-goers unique items handcrafted by Sewanee’s talented and enthusiastic community. Students and Sewaneeans can sell their homemade art, crafts, stationary and much more in the Stirling’s lobby.
According to the Stirling’s Manager, Julia Stubblebine, all anyone has to do to sell their work is to set up shop. “If there is room to sell, they can put up something as long as it doesn’t take up too much space,” she said. “Other things just show up.”
Potential sellers also need a way for people to pay them because Stirling’s and the craft table operate separately. “Nothing can go through the Stirling’s register,” Stubblebine said.
The craft table, apparently, started as a happy accident. “I think I accidentally started the whole crafts table when I started selling some flower bouquets in 2021,” said Stubblebine. “And then some students asked if they could sell some things. And it’s just taken off from there.”
Expect to see jewelry of any kind: maximalist and minimalist; earrings and necklaces; bead art and charms. Alayna Cupples (C ‘28) has been selling her earrings and necklaces at Stirling’s for around a year. She first started making jewelry when working as an art director at a kid’s camp in high school. She fell in love with making friendship bracelets there. “It’s really therapeutic for me,” she said. “It’s kind of like meditation, you’re just repeating the same action again and again, so it’s easy just to not think about it.”
Sports Editor, Irene Boehm (C ‘28), never made jewelry before selling at Stirling’s, but she became interested when she noticed a gap in the market here. “I was looking for a side hustle and I also noticed the jewelry being sold there was all very similar with an earthy/maximalist sort of theme,” she said. “I saw this opening in the market to sell preppier style jewelry uncontested.” After she watched some YouTube tutorials, she began to sell her stylish, simplistic necklaces at the craft table.
You’ll also find stationary sold by Maggie Barker (C ‘26). She loves creating her festive holiday cards and colorful, decorative pens so much that she picked up an art minor at Sewanee to accompany her psychology major. Her bold colors and faith-based messages are signatures of hers. She said her art reflects her bold and extroverted personality.
“I’m very loud. I’m very extroverted…So my color palette is definitely one of my things that people know me by, especially in the art building over there,” Barker said.
Art has a significant meaning to Barker. In 2023, she lost her 16-year-old sister Reese in a car accident, and Barker has taken to developing her artistic talent to exercise her grief. “Faith plays a big part in my life. Just ever since, like I said, my sister passed away,” she said. “She was a big faith person as well, and I’ve gone to church all my life, and so that’s been a motivator for me, seeing those words of motivation on there. I know that she’s with me every step of the way.”
Like Barker, visual artists are no stranger to the Stirling’s craft table. Ava Bowron (C ‘27) sells her flowery, vintage collages here and has been collaging since middle school. She said she found her style around the COVID lockdown. Sewanee’s art classes helped her discover how she wants to collage, too. “The collage and assemblage class with Professor Wohl definitely helped me find more of my style and create one of my favorite collages yet,” said Bowron.
One of her challenges is balancing time to create art and finish schoolwork, but she still enjoys making her collages, zines and pins when she has the opportunity.
Another Stirling’s artist Myers Bell (C ‘27) has a distinct style: cute, squiggly, and cartoonish cats and critters. They have drawn Sewanee’s mascots (and their own creatures, such as a wizard cat and shy whale shark) using their unique and colorful technique. They have always been interested in drawing since their middle school friends inspired them and needed to make extra cash to pay for their cat’s food. “People said they liked my art and would buy it, so it worked out conveniently!”
While they haven’t taken an art class here, they love seeing the artistic community enjoying the stickers and magnets they create. “My favorite ones sold are the ones I see on peoples computers, water bottles, and even magnets on cars! It makes me so happy to see people enjoy my art, and that’s what makes me want to keep doing what I do,” Bell said.
Unfortunately, petty theft is a concern for the Stirling’s artists. Bell has said that people have taken some of their stickers before without paying.
But Stubblebine relays that there is always a risk of petty theft because all of the craft payments go through their sellers, not Stirling’s. “Since no one is there to monitor that,” she said. “But I don’t think it happens very often.”
For Barker, petty theft has changed the way she charges for her stationary. “That’s why I try to keep it under, like, three dollars because then I’m not worried about it, you know? Plus, if someone gets a free card, then it may make them smile that day,” Barker explained.
Students and Stirling’s goers are not the only ones to have their work up for sale. Stubblebine sells her peony, tulip and various flower bouquets alongside the community’s arts and crafts. She says she sells more bouquets in the spring than in the winter and that people enjoy seeing the flowers after the cold winter months. “Flowers always bring me such joy. And I love to spread that around.”
Next time you’re craving a Sewanee Afternoon or a sweet treat, look behind the line to the cashier, and you may find your new favorite knick-knack.