26 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 7, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com Ridgewood coffee shop gives a helping hand to local artists THE COURIER/Photos by Salvatore Licata Norma’s coffee shop has a “support local art” campaign. BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@sal_licata1 It is not easy for local artists to get their names heard but Norma’s, a coffee shop in Ridgewood, is doing everything they can to help. Denise Plowman and Crystal Williams started their “support local art” initiative in their coffee shop after they opened on Catalpa Avenue two years ago. They allow the artists to promote their work, free of charge, and then give the proceeds from the sales to the artists—without taking a cut. “It was our dream to open up Norma’s,” Plowman said. “This gives us an opportunity to help other locals’ dreams come true.” The shop is fi lled with all types of creative works, ranging from jewelry, books, greeting cards and paintings to handcrafted pins and miniature aprons. Currently, the store holds the work of about 12 different locals. Sarah Feldman, the fi rst designer showcased in Norma’s, said the store helped to rejuvenate her jewelry business. “I stopped making jewelry for a while but decided to set up some of my work in Norma’s when Plowman and Williams asked me to,” said Feldman, who now operates the jewelry website princepeacock.com. “It got me so motivated once I heard my stuff was selling. It’s a great feeling to have people come up to you in the neighborhood and say, ‘Wow, you’re the jewelry girl!’” Plowman said more and more artists have asked to display their work just from hearing about her store’s campaign through word of mouth. She said the art has been fl ying off the walls and that she always gets comments about how great the pieces are. “There’s a lot of creative people in this neighborhood but not a lot of exposure for them,” Plowman said. “I think it’s important to do this to help them grow.” St. Michael’s Remember Me Run of 2014 Who Am I is a question long asked that has had many answers. It is a question that seeks the mysterious and probes the essence of humanity and of the individual. It invades the essence of why we are alive, the purpose we serve, and the good we may claim to justify our existence. Who Am I also demands a response as to the duties, obligations and responsibilities we have for others. They may be members of our family, friends, associates, workmates and the public in whose welfare life as we know it is lived. Our eyes reflected in the mirror may be a window into the soul and assuredly they hold no lies. Simply we have the choice of accepting their truth or of lying to ourselves. The First Responders who entered the Towers on September 11th answered that troubling question fully understanding the truth of their situation. Confronting individually the question they ran forward as a group. Not one fled turning away from their breathen collectively defining not who they were but who each was. Cancer patients and the visually impaired daily must face their reality and determine who they are in a world where others are gifted with health and sight. Our sympathies encompass each but absent their infirmaries we have no means to comprehend their plight. Heavy is their burden and awful their days must be. On Saturday, September 13th St. Michael’s will host the Remember Me Run of 2014. The Run will honor the lives of the First Responders of 9/11 and dedicated to raising funds for Shareing and Careing and Visions. Helping those who need our support is a duty and responsibility that St. Michael’s has served since 1852. The question of Who Am I is a personal search. What it asks reaches beyond the limits of our bodies to our place in the world. For those who run, walk or stroll in honor of others the question has in part been answered. Ed Horn, Director St. Michael’s 24th July 2014 ADVERTORIAL
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