I want to publicly give everyone an explanation as to what led me to create this business. Hopefully what you read will give some of you some sort of direction if you feel like you have been wandering and feeling lost. I know for awhile I definitely was feeling that way too, but I am slowly finding my way….
I have had so many questions from others and I feel I can answer a lot of them with this article. Plus, I was just recently called out and gently told that I really needed to own up to this a bit more. I reluctantly agreed. So, I am going to try and keep this as short as I can so as to not take up too much of your time.
Please understand that I did not get up one day and decide to open a Farmers Market/Gift Shop/Art Gallery in De Leon, Texas. This establishment was not on my bucket list, I assure you.
Long story short, I went through a period of loss ( losing both parents within 3 weeks of each other) among a few other variables and that served as my catalyst of complete upheaval in my life. The “do over” button got pushed.
There was one point in time shortly after that when this same location was a coffeehouse and they decided to have yoga class here. So, in the name of me trying to put one foot in front of the other to get on with my own life…I started coming to yoga class…and I was hooked after that. The instructor would teach the class and then the owner at the time, would make me a breakfast burrito. Bacon, egg, cheese, and avocado. These two things were my lifeline at the time and I will be forever thankful for them.
One thing then led to another and this building came up for sale and I was in a position to buy it. I had a tie to the location but really didn’t know if I wanted to go that route. Did I really want to start a business in a little town?
However, I had already learned the hard lesson that it does not matter how many zeros sit in your bank account, because those same zeros will not prevent your heart from being ripped out of your chest while it is still beating. For those of you reading this that know exactly what I am talking about, I don’t think I need to go into further detail. You are getting it and probably nodding your head right now.
I think quite a few of us got that lesson taught to us in 2020 as well.
With my next chapter in my life, I wanted something more permanent. Something with substance. Something that would serve as a “yoga mat and breakfast burrito” to others. I wanted a way to be happier. I spent years in the corporate sector and knew I was never going to back to the daily grind either. The one that encourages profits over people. The one that also tells you to make as much money as you can so everything else in your life will suffer. That way you can buy stuff that you think will make you happy.
I assure you, I wasn’t happy….
Someone once told me that in order to find your purpose in life, find what makes you tick and then go from there.
Easier said than done, right? With nothing to lose and everything to gain, I put pen to paper and listed everything that made me lose my proverbial shiznit and then looked to see if I could incorporate those things into a business, aka this location.
Ya’ll know what I speak of? Everyone has something that makes them look at the other party and basically say, “take my money.”
My shiznet list consisted of art, artists, art galleries, animal rescue, and farmers markets (things for sale at a farmers market just feed me for some reason. I think because the items are made with love…I dunno…)
The last piece of that puzzle also included giraffes and alpacas as pets, but there was some stupid rule about exotic animals within city limits…blah blah blah….
Hence The Chaos Trading Company was born. Artisans with their own story of healing have their creations here. Animal adoptathons are here, art classes are here (check out our monthly schedule on our home page,) yoga classes are here, and so is a farmers market every 2nd Sat of the month from 10am-2pm. So, basically if you decide to come here, you will see what makes me tick. I am also very mindful (at least try to be) that anyone associated with this company is able to find what makes them tick too.
That means more to me than a million in the bank.
I hope whatever you experience here makes you start ticking too. That doesn’t have to mean buying anything. I really don’t care if you do.
If anything, come hang out and pet the pups that need new homes. Look at the inspirational art. Come tell me all about your plans for your next chapter, I want to hear them. I want you to walk away from here knowing there is something bigger than you that guides your steps. All you have to do is find what makes you tick, and start putting one foot in front of the other. And if hanging out and petting pups is not your thing….then that is cool too. Hopefully when I do get the giraffes out back you will want to come then. But, until then, I honestly hope you find whatever it is you may be looking for.
Sarah Childers
PS – If you are too far away to visit, and you want some items that feed your soul too, we just started what is called, “Farmers Market In A Box.” These are items that we sell in our Farmer’s Market every 2nd Sat of the month.
You can click on the picture below and choose what you want sent to you. It can either be a one time thing, or you can choose for it to happen every month and we can send what we have in stock ( which is mostly seasonal.)
Click on the picture above and go pick out what you want in your box.
In my youth I always showed signs of artistic talent, both musically and in the art of drawing. Both seemed to define who I am and brought me untold hours of enjoyment. Although a junior high school art teacher told my mother that I should be encouraged to pursue art, I took the road of music for the most part, both instrumentally and vocally. The closest I came to pursuing drawing and painting was during my senior year of high school when I sent in a sketch from one of the “Can you Draw Me?” magazine ads and received a positive response to my efforts. My parents agreed to purchase the course of study, and for a time I explored sketching in various mediums in the first lessons. As most of us experience, “life” got in the way, and my artistic endeavors basically came to a halt, aside from some crafting here and there.
For many years of my life spent raising my children and working full time, my creative efforts were dormant. Then, couple of years after my retirement in 2011, my world was turned upside down. My 37 year old son was injured from a bullet, rendering him paralyzed from the neck down and depending on a ventilator to breathe for him. I spent a traumatic seven months by his hospital bedside, praying that he would regain some movement and continue the will to live. Sadly he passed away November 22, 2013, after those months of battling the physical and mental anguish of his situation. As family was gathered around his beside, he made it a point to tell us to “Always remember to stop and smell the roses.”
He was fun-loving and daring himself, and we wanted us to continue living “big” and taking every opportunity to “smell the roses” we come across in this life.
Those words were powerful to this introverted and shy mother of his, and I will never forget them. Losing my son took everything out of me for a good long time, but I was gradually able to begin to smile and enjoy life again, traveling and trying new adventures. In 2018, after my oldest daughter had begun painting (pursuing her own talents set aside by life circumstances), I found a great desire to smell this rose that had been given to me 68 years earlier at my birth. I bought a few brushes and beginning set of oil paints, along with a couple of small canvases, and tried my hand at my first painting. I loved the feeling of putting the paint on canvas. My first attempt wasn’t bad – not GREAT, but promising. I was encouraged in my heart and by others to continue, and was quite shocked as my brush began to work and paints blended on the canvas to create some lovely effects. I could hardly believe that I was actually painting some really good first pieces of art!
Over the past four years, I have enjoyed creating paintings for my own enjoyment, as gifts, and have painted a few commissions for family and friends. I will be forever grateful those who have encouraged me along the way. It’s definitely been a learning process, and I continue to grow as an artist as I try my hand at various subjects and methods. For now, I tend to enjoy most, bringing life to the canvas in the form of various animals, birds and flowers. God has provided a never-ending source of subjects to explore! And perhaps my son has something to do with my love of painting living things, as I’m doing my best to “smell the roses” and enjoy this life I have been given here on this earth. Life truly is very short, and we don’t know when our time here will end. “Never forget to stop and smell the roses!”
Pasture Eyes By Peggy Ray – $250
16×20 oil on canvas, framed
This upcoming featured artist is a bit out of the box this time and it is anything but flowers and portraits. His name is Ethan Mertz and the opening of his exhibit is going to be Oct 15th from 6pm-8pm. His exhibit will be on display until Nov 5th.
Ethan Mertz is an artist residing in Dallas, Texas who received his BFA from the school of the art institute of Chicago.
Through painting, he creates architecture that strives to shape the area between the material and immaterial lines of life. Influenced by ideas of Pareidolia and apophenia, he conveys his life’s experience in portraiture. By way of landscape, he depicts fantasies of the distant future. These mediums work together and against each other to illustrate ideas he views as largely indescribable.
Ethan has the uncanny knack of interweaving what looks to be something you would only see in your dreams. If Salvador Dali’s and Pablo Piccasso’s creative psyche merged, I think this is what it would look like. Each piece prompts the viewer to search within them the meaning to his expression and infuse their interpretation along with it, whether it is good, bad, or neutral.
We have his work below for you to peruse at your leisure. For name and price, just click on the picture. Please let us know if you are interested in a certain piece and we can send you more information about it. You can email us at thechaostradingcompany@gmail.com. We can also ship to you. Please keep in mind that most of the collection is made up of larger pieces.
This upcoming featured artist is a bit out of the box this time and it is anything but flowers and portraits. His name is Ethan Mertz and the opening of his exhibit is going to be Oct 15th from 6pm-8pm. I highly encourage you to attend and make sure to pick up your $1 off house margarita’s from the Blue Moon voucher before you leave. Ethan has the uncanny knack of interweaving what looks to be something you would only see in your dreams. If Salvador Dali’s and Pablo Piccasso’s creative psyche merged, I think this is what it would look like. Each piece prompts the viewer to search within them the meaning to his expression and infuse their interpretation along with it, whether it is good, bad, or neutral.
Below is his artist statement so you can get to know this artist a bit better:
Ethan Mertz is an artist residing in Dallas, Texas who received his BFA from the school of the art institute of Chicago.
Through painting, he creates architecture that strives to shape the area between the material and immaterial lines of life. Influenced by ideas of Pareidolia and apophenia, he conveys his life’s experience in portraiture. By way of landscape, he depicts fantasies of the distant future. These mediums work together and against each other to illustrate ideas he views as largely indescribable.
Beach Girl
His exhibit will run from Oct 15th to Nov 5th and all work is for sale. Please send an email to thechaostradingcompany@gmail.com with any inquiries. It will also be available for in person viewing on Friday and Saturdays from 10am-6pm. We hope to see you there!
Dare to dream is about seeing different perspectives in life, it can be the same picture, but everyone sees it differently. Dare to dream of the world you want, dare to change your perspective!!
Free is very dear to my heart!! We all experience loss of our loved ones, but having faith is what always gets my heart through! This piece is dedicated to *superhero*Uncle Jimbo* Aunt Twyla and * Debbie
It’s my way of having faith and letting go!
Over all my faith in God is what has moved me to start my journey with art on a new level. I truly hope my art brings joy and interests anyone else just looking for Faith while we Live our lives in this big amazing world. Thank you so much for choosing my art to be in your exhibit.
The process of creating art has the potential to be complex in its simplicity. The artistic process can at times be complex, or simple, and at times the process can be both.
Art can function as a means to further explore aspects of the multifaceted nature of both the creative process as well as the human experience.
The creative process allows for introspection. The artworks create avenues for dialogue, allowing for the understanding of multiple perspectives as well as respect for and appreciation of divergent thinking.
“Conclusion,” By Elizabeth Jacome“Blank Space,” by Elizabeth Jacome
My sister Mary Beth Hensley and I started taking art lessons shortly after our mother died in 2014. We wanted something to do together to fill the hole our mother left. We both quickly fell in love with painting. We still meet with our group on Tuesdays to paint and learn together. My passion is florals and landscapes. I love oils, like acrylics and have a love hate relationship with watercolor! I often get my ideas from a photo or another picture, but they quickly shape into what my mind thinks should be there. I love the freedom of painting what I feel and not just what I see. I am an accountant by day and painting is my way to relax and have a creative way to express myself. My husband, dog Sadie Mae, and I live in the country outside of Abilene in the small community of Tuscola. I love dogs and all our wildlife on our little mountain. I just turned sixty and cannot wait to see what will come from my brush next!
“Mermaid Garden,” by Kim Jackson“Lisanthus,” by Kim Jackson“Bluebonnets,” Under Dead Tree by Kim Jackson
With motherhood came the realization of how absolutely important it is to take a moment for oneself and take in the surroundings.
Within that breath comes the beauty of it all. The scents, the sounds, the scene, all coming together to weave a tapestry of peace in one moment. I love to photograph those moments and save them, like treasures in a box, for a time when I need that breath, but I’m stuck in a room full of people. Being able to pull that moment out of my pocket brings me peace when I need it the most. I hope that it brings others peace as well.
A locally sourced and artisan inspired market and classroom... 