Hi y'all.

June is officially Pride month in Raleigh, and on Sunday I attended an inspiring event by CurEat, In the Parlour Pride, with chef Bill Smith (who brought some delicious tomato sandwiches), Caroline Morrison of Fiction Kitchen and Lesley Anderson of Poole’s Diner.

It was an open conversation that showed the good -- how empathy and authenticity thrives in the hospitality industry -- and the bad -- how the now-repealed HB2 emboldened hateful actions even in seemingly safe spaces.

I'm a straight cisgender woman, but as a believer in equality, that means standing up for equality in all ways, not just the ways that I identify. I don’t have to be an LGBTQ+ person to help promote the safety and rights of my neighbors seeking to live as their authentic selves -- and you don’t either.

It's a reason I changed the Minerva Media Co. and Raleigh Convergence values statement from just celebrating diversity to add "examining ways we can make Raleigh safer and more welcoming to all." 

But I'm not the first to include diversity, equity, equality or safety in a mission statement. As Raleigh Pride noted in a letter on their Instagram post, Pride was born out of "an outcry to exist without persecution." Their letter ends with the question asked at Stonewall: "Why don't you guys do something?"

Here are some ideas that came up at the event that I expand on:

When the panel was asked about why the hospitality industry is so affirming and supportive of LGBTQ+ people, there wasn’t a clear answer, but some commonalities included a low tolerance for BS and a lot of empathy.

What if companies with diversity in their mission statements and values examined what that looks like in practice? What cultural practices could be updated to support and affirm the many ways employees identify? Caroline mentioned being questioned in a corporate job about wearing a suit instead of a dress -- showing a culture that a dress code wasn't about just professionalism, but about putting people in a box.

How can corporate and organizational cultures shift so this doesn't happen? 

It can be as easy as auditing policies and documents that ask for gender to be inclusive or requesting people put their preferred pronouns on name tags at events. It can be affinity groups like Pendo's, engaging leadership and the broader workplace's community.

No matter what roles you're in at work or in the community, you can say something when hearing a slur or something that degrades the value of another person because of who they are, a suggestion from Caroline at the event.

What else would you add to the list? What ways can the Raleigh Convergence continue to examine ways we can make Raleigh safer and more welcoming for all? Email me your suggestions. 

To equality for all,
Sarah Day

Sarah Day Owen Wiskirchen, Editor & Publisher

📸: Devin Desjarlais Photography

Now that summer’s nearly here, and the farmers market that will move to Moore Square started earlier this month, anticipation for Moore Square is high.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll see at Moore Square later this summer, now that renovations are nearly complete.

Moore Square director, Jenna Kostka, shared some info on the square and future programming plans.

Moore Square history: Moore Square was envisioned as one of the five original green spaces for the city of Raleigh (another still existing is Nash Square). Raleighites first started using Moore Square in 1792.

Where is Moore Square?: The square is between Hargett Street (adjacent to Marbles Kids Museum), Person Street, Blount Street (across from Brewery Bhavana), and Martin Street (across the street from City Market).

How big is Moore Square?: The square itself is four acres and contains two large event lawns with a capacity for 400 people.

What else will be there? (From Jenna):

• “Visitor Center with a gift shop and Moore Square History Exhibit.

• A quick service restaurant called “Square Burger” run by Empire Eats.

• 2 “Grove Room” spaces designed by artist Brad Goldberg including a beautiful set of NC Granite tables that can seat 40 people.

• A dignified granite seat wall border.

• Natural children’s play area we call the “Treehouse”.

• An interactive water feature.

• Martin Plaza, a 30ft wide sidewalk along Martin St. perfect for vendors, food trucks, and more!”
  
  

What types of events can you expect at Moore Square?: Jenna said a major focus is business partnerships to offer free or low-cost events, such as the Moore Square Market, the Wednesday farmers market that runs 20 weeks that started earlier this month.  

Other events generally fall under these categories (from Jenna):

• "Move Moore!  Wellness programming that engages all ages, levels, and backgrounds. Examples include: Shape Up! Fitness series, Yoga Classes, Moore Square Market.
• Moore Kids!  Programs geared towards families with children. Examples include: Giant Game Nights, Children’s Vendor Fairs, Children’s Reading Hour, Wonder Create Explore, Imagination Playground.
• Moore Square Live!  Programming that brings people together to enjoy the park and be entertained. Examples include: MooreBuskers, Play Moore Music Festival (see more about that here), Roaring Raleigh Lawn Party, Raleigh Rockers Breakdancing Demonstrations, Moore Movies.
• Create Moore! Programs that encompass the exciting arts and cultural experiences that make Downtown Raleigh a thriving and inviting place. Examples include: Art Cart, Culture Pop Ups, Handmade Holiday Market
• Tell Me Moore!  Programs that expand the mind and educate on current events, history and a variety of other topics. Examples include: Book Cart, Ideas on Tap, History tours, Raleigh Roots History Festival, Moore Square exhibit."

• Friday, Aug. 2: 5 p.m. - Square Roots Exhibit Opening; 6 p.m. - First Friday “Culture Pop Up” celebrating Scotland.
• Saturday, Aug. 3, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. - Grand Opening Celebration
• Sunday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m. - Moore Movies - Iron Giant (presented by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
• Monday, Aug. 5 - 9 a.m. - Children's Story Hour; 10 a.m. - noon - Imagination Playground (think oversized blocks for kids to get creative with)
• Wednesday, Aug. 7 - 10 a.m. - noon - Game On! Giant Board Games for all!; 6 p.m. - Raleigh Rockers breakdancing demonstrations.; 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. - Moore Square Market
• Thursday, Aug. 8 @ 4 p.m.- 5 p.m. - Art in Nature
• Friday, Aug. 9 @ 10 a.m. - noon - Game On! (a selection of games on the lawn)

If it seems like that’s a lot of information -- it is! What do you want to know more about with Moore Square? Hit reply and tell me.

This Q&A has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Sarah Day: Liz, tell us where we might have seen your work and what makes it distinctive.

Liz: I have a company called Liz Kelly Pottery and I make functional handmade pots. They’re food- and beverage-focused. They have layers of decoration, they’re very fluid and organic, they have a sophistication but an accessibility about them as well.

I brought some examples (note: see more on her Instagram @liz.kelly.pottery) I implement a variety of techniques to build up a lot of contrast, so I’m able to have some fun, expressive, organic yet industrial-type details.

Contrast is really what makes my work sing, as well as something to relate to through humor or symbols that we connect to, and a lot of florals.

I sell around town, I’m in about 6 stores, everywhere from the airport, lots of downtown Raleigh, I have pots in Stanbury restaurant, which she mentioned, which get a lot of eyeballs.

Sarah Day: When we were talking earlier, you mentioned that your path started with pottery as a teenager, but then you came back to it a little later in life. What about this craft drew you back in?

Liz: I first encountered clay when I was 16 years old and took workshops at the NC State craft center, beginning at the age of 16. I watched for my birthday, I was in there the moment I could and then I lived there as much as I could.

When a craft person meets their medium, it’s this magic moment. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t talented and wasn’t making anything pretty.

Clay is the perfect medium for a stubborn, persistent, tenacious person and it rewards those qualities, so that’s why I really stuck with it.

It’s become such a big part of my identity over the years. I lived in Hawaii for about 5 years, which barely has soil at all, and I really missed clay. It was good to have that absence so I could feel how important it was to me. When I came back to North Carolina I plugged back in as soon as possible.

Sarah Day: Let’s talk a little bit about your path to entrepreneurship. Where did you learn the tools you needed to be a business owner?

Liz: My road to entrepreneurship started about 10 years ago. I came back to North Carolina, I started going to college at the NC State design college and I had an eye out towards my goals and I saw what I could align myself with to get there. I saw Visual Art Exchange, whose mission statement at that time was for emerging artists, and I saw a store called the Epona & Oak in City Market that sold handmade goods by a lot of Raleigh artists. I ended up working at Epona & Oak, I began working at Visual Arts. I aligned myself with these people who I saw as a learning path. I also grew up in a business, my family had a family business called Custom Canvas Works and I spent my whole childhood there working and earning money, and I got a foundational work ethic there.

And then going to the NC State College of Design, I learned a lot about branding, learned about process, learned about theory that I integrate into my entrepreneurship.

Sarah Day: Tell us more about the transition between working part-time and then making the leap into being all-in on your business?

Liz: I’ve always had two or three jobs. Most of the time, that main job has been in restaurants and bars. I really identified with the service industry, which is a great way to get to know your town, you see all the faces.

I always had that job, I kept even one or two shifts a week, for years and years. I was really nervous about transitioning over to just doing pottery and I hung onto that job, for too long I would say, until the owners of the restaurants were like, ‘Liz, you don’t actually have any availability. You might need to just do pottery now, because other people do need to work here.’

I was conservative in that jump, because I identified so strongly with the service industry and that work ethic and that sense of family. I was just really nervous. I’m the head of household, I have a 13-year-old, I’m a homeowner, I have a lot of financial responsibilities, so I really need my bases to be covered.

But since I made that transition, my business has doubled, I have more energy, which is weird, because I’m working more, but it’s all going back in. it’s been nothing but good things since I made the jump.

Sarah Day: I was really inspired by how you talked about your identity as a mother and how that intersects with your identity as a creator. Could you share more about that?

Liz: Probably Liona’s earliest memories I was doing pottery, because I think 2 1/2 or 3 when they really start to have those memories. It’s been a part of her life, and she’s seen me grow up as an adult as she’s grown up and seen me always come back to this and always working on it and developing it.

I include her in every aspect that I can. I want to share my experience with her, I want to share how hard I work, I want to share my successes with her. She sees how our lifestyle has changed as the success has come in, and she’s super supportive, she’s up late stamping bags for me, she’s telling me what to do differently on my social media. She’s the one who taught me at shows to tell people that my stuff is dishwasher- and microwave-safe, like, at the age of 5.

It’s really important for me to not have a barrier between my business life and my mother life, and have her in every aspect, so she knows what it takes to hustle, and to get those rewards, and what it takes to be a passionate adult, living it out. I feel like she’s seeing that.

And I know it’s true because when I get my Mother’s Day cards, she writes about it. And she writes more entrepreneurial in a Mother’s Day card than you would expect in a Mother’s Day card… I just see it as one big team and she knows she’s a part of that team, and we all give and take.

Sarah Day: Could you share some of the challenges you’ve had along the way, both from a professional and creative perspective? What did you learn that you think others could learn from?

Liz: My biggest challenge that I have a little bit of regret about is my lag time for getting self confidence and that it took me so long to wean off having another source of income.

I think being hungry is good and jumping in is good, and I emphasize the being hungry part because I feel like that is a quick inroad to authenticity for what you do and your efforts and how you interact with other people.

I wish I’d been a little bit more confident. I wish I’d recognized what I had to offer and how it would be received and not hold back at all. I think overhead keeps you honest. If you commit to things, it makes you dig in and try that much harder. I was nervous about that too, but taking on a few bills just gives you that momentum to push you in your direction.

One thing we say around the studio is that you start off saying yes to everything until you can say no. But there’s this part in the middle after you’ve said yes to everything you have to transition and pull back a little bit and refocus. There’s this point where you get really busy and you’ve diversified and you need to focus back. And I’ll say about that part, if you don’t make goals, you don’t know if you made progress.

So I think you really need to take time out to reflect and make goals so you can tell yourself, ‘hey you did the thing that you said you were going to do, and you’re working real hard and you’re scattered but you’re making progress, good job.’ I think that’s really important for that growth, uncomfortable, transitional stage.

I think limit-setting goes with the goals too. If you don’t have limits, you might just work 24 hours a day. But if you’re like, ‘this is my goal, I hit it,’ you can reward yourself and say ‘ok cool, we can step back and renew.’ I think that’s a challenge when you’re really passionate about what you do, to have some kind of limits.

Where to find Liz’s work in Raleigh: Root & Branch in the airport, Edge of Urge, Escazu, coffee cups at Capital Club 16, Holder Goods, pop-ups and her studio.