09/08/2026
Hey everybody! Ok so the dust has settled and we’re taking a much needed vacation before the store opens for good but before it does I wanted to make sure and thank EVERYONE for making this a dream come true! We couldn’t have done this alone! Big thanks to every Kansan and others who showed up in support both in presence and with your shopping! It was an amazing opening day!
First of all to my better half and co creator James Williams…
Happy FIVE YEARS MARRIED Boo Boo! Thank you for everything you have done for us as a family. Not only do you love us for us unconditionally, but you worked to the BONE about broke your shoulder helping getting this store ready and I’m eternally grateful! We did it baby our dream is alive and well!
Next we want to thank Candie Khayne-our business manager for being the glue in all the cracks! Candie has a heart of gold and a passion for helping small businesses that we could NOT have made it without! She spent countless hours with us making sure we were prepared on every front not just in business but as our friend helping us navigate this! Candie even brought us into the Small Biz fold and we’re so grateful! Then the day of my anxiety was getting to me and her awesome husband Tray had a feeling and sent her to us right on TIME at the opening! Candie left a very busy Connect with Source to make sure everything was ok and jumped right in, checking people out and running to the store for us! Thanks Candie we love you!
We are so in love with everyone at Connect With Source they are still our favorite store in Wichita and owner Giovanni Von Cartier was there with encouragement telling us how proud of us he was, reminding us to rest and drink water every step of the way. He and Tray'Von Smithkins even came on their days off and helped us work at the store! Tray also helped us with our first plant at the store bringing it back to life! I almost killed the pathos we got from y’all but they’re doing better now that they’re not in distilled water 🤦🏼‍♀️ so THANK YOU! The rest of the Connect with Source family-co owner Jonathan, Gabby and Calypso Dawn constantly shared our posts, loved on us and gave us the encouragement we needed to get through! Thank you fam! And if you’re reading this and have never been? Go show the most community based store in Wichita some love!
We are absolutely so grateful to James E. Deckard for handling the zoning for retail-without him there would be NO stores! You are good people and we’re so grateful! The universe kept bringing us together until we all made it happen, having the most badass alternative strip mall in town and we DID IT! Without visiting Ghoulish Gatherings to be apart of there would be no The Artisan Asylum yet so thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Adriana Decandia even categorized almost every crystal in our collection along with Giovanni AND she made a spreadsheet! Also if you haven’t checked it out yet please go support The False Wall Theatre for some magic in your life!
We have SO MANY artists to thank because the dream was to bring us all together and if they hadn’t placed their faith and trust in us the dream would have never happened! Not only did our artists step up in a big way to make amazing pieces down to the wire for our store to have a successful opening but most came the day of and stayed and helped run the store! Honesty Beat owner of Zaftig Dollie was there early and got me on track to welcome everyone when my nerves were shot! She also took great photos and reels of the store when I couldn’t as did most of our artists! Carissa Underhill is our resident tea maker (with more exciting herbs to come) and her husband Trevor stayed and helped with the shop mascot our puppy Dochas while I checked people out-she even taught me how to get him to not be so mouthy! Rory Eden Art was there most the day donating their time completely free to help our customers make beautiful watercolor bookmarks! They’re also starting TWO kids art clubs soon to be held in store! Samantha DeWald and Alison Eckas are co-creators and make our AMAZING sensory potions! They not only brought goodies for the potluck-they stayed most the day helping meet and greet and hang out! Angela Gayle Egley owner of Me Soy Happy Candle Co and her mom Foye supplied so many different amazing goodies along with some amazing aromatherapy Angela supplies all our plants for sale and Foye has the best eye for TINY seed bead bracelet making and diamond art! Chelsea Clark owner of Waking Wisp was such a great friend to me through all of this PLUS she captured an amazing reel for us and we’re so grateful because we had no time to touch our cameras that day! She made the coolest thematroup along with some amazing cross stitch and dangling art keychains as well as mystery art envelopes! I LOVE mine! I DEFINITELY owe Paul McIntosh owner of Nature Incarnate a HUGE thanks because he staged my booth and helped James finish setting up! Not to mention helping me with Dochas! Thank you for being such an amazing friend and artist! We also want to thank our out of state artists Jenna Adam Nichols from Oklahoma and Jacqueline Loeser from Maryland for trusting us so far away with your handmade treasures! You both make such unique and awesome jewelry making our jewelry case really pop along with Witch's Wares & Tarot!
A lot of our other artists showed up to stay and hang out. There was a moment I was introducing around 10 of them to each other and as I watched everyone getting to know each other and the community coming together James and I both shared a cry because this is everything we’ve ever wanted when this dream started years ago and we ALL made it happen! I’m so proud of each and every artisan in our collective and we’re so grateful to all of you for being apart of so thank you! If I didn’t mention you personally or forgot to tag you please know you didn’t go unnoticed or forgotten, this has just gotten really long and the family wants to go play in the park lol. See y’all the 19th when we open for good!
