This summer, a new bar named “Fern Bar” will be coming to Downtown Kansas City. Fern Bar is an agave and sugarcane-centric bar. Although the bar is stil being renovated, it appears there is a strong sense of what the future business will be. On Fern Bar’s website, it states that the Fern Bar is “willing to create a culture of community and hope, to stand out, to stand up and say: There’s a better way to do things,” and driven through a team of world-class hospitalists, they are to be housed in an inviting and connected space This short introduction to the bar shows a dedication to its craft and an introduction to its mission. So far the company has established some branding principles, a logo, its future location at the Crossroads, and some possible menu items. 

During the last week of March, Fern Bar held an early pop-up event in anticipation of its future opening. At this event, the business was able to showcase all the hard work that has been put into Fern Bar thus far. The pop-up contained a variety of drinks that were in the spirit of its agave-forward mission. The drinks I tried were the margarita and the Daiquiri. The margarita was made from Libélula tequila Joven, Tapatio Blanco, Duckett curacao, lime, and agave. The Daiquiri was made from Probitas blended rum, Gustoso Mexican rum, Uruapan Charanda Blanco, lime, and Demerara. These drinks were bright, refreshing, and thoroughly developed. They were also served in glasses that were visually alluring. Tacos Valentina, a local taco restaurant, and Casio Mccombs, a local DJ, were also present at the event. The event was held at Big Mood Natural Wines, a warm and eccentric wine store in the Crossroads. This was fitting as Fern Bar will be opening its upcoming location at 2045 Broadway Blvd in Downtown Kansas City. 

Interacting with the owner of Fern Bar, Bryan Arri, at the event was insightful. He’s an enthusiastic individual passionate about great cocktails. He shared parts of his vision for Fern Bar at the event as well as expressed his thanks for those who came to support him and his new business. The event appeared to be successful. Personally, I enjoyed the food, drinks, and music that were present. Other people looked as if they were enjoying themselves as well. There was also a line extending through the door for the majority of the night. Although it is not yet known what exactly Fern Bar will look like, the spirit and community of  Fern Bar seems supportive. Although there is no set date for when the bar will be opened, it is estimated for late summer of 2023. Until then, I will be looking forward to re-visiting!

Kansas City is home to a handful of truly amazing plant shops. The two I visited this weekend were Virgil’s Plant shop on Cherry Street and Verdant which is in the Crossroads. Both shops offered gorgeous plants and surroundings.  

Virgil’s offers a wide variety of plants, as well as plant care tools and merchandise. They have just about any house plant you can imagine. These plants all seemed high quality and well taken after. Virgil’s Plant Shop caters to a wide audience. They have both cheap plants for the average plant parent as well as rare and expensive plants for the plant connoisseur. Notably, they had an Albino Monstera plant that caught my eye. While it was a beautiful plant, it was far out of my price range. I focused more on the large variety of cute and affordable succulents. Something else that makes Virgil’s unique is the potting station. For a small fee, the lovely employees at Virgil’s will pot your new plant for you. In the front right corner of the store, they also have a neon sign which is perfect for people to use for photos. Something that I believe gave Virgil’s a lot of charm was the polaroids they had up around the shop of past customers sitting in that space. Another thing I appreciated about the shop was its well-designed merchandise. Their tanks and t-shirts reading “Loosen your Roots” among other sayings are also available online at the store’s website. I really enjoyed visiting this shop for the first time and certainly plan on returning. 

Verdant also offers a large variety of plants and flowers. In addition, this plant shop also offers small home furnishings such as handmade ceramics and candles. Their candles are made by Convivial, another local business located in Kansas City. My favorite scent at Verdant was Lavender Seed. Something that I thought was really cool is that once you burn through your candle and bring it back to Verdant, they will give you 50% off your next candle purchase. Another thing that makes Verdant different is that they also offer flowers. The flower bouquets they had in the fridge within their shop were beautiful and well-balanced. The bouquets I enjoyed the most were the mini bouquets on the top shelf. I also appreciated the dried flowers they had for sale. This is a great alternative for someone who enjoys plants and flowers but has a hard time keeping them alive. Generally, the shop, its plants and its employees were very welcoming and I enjoyed my time there. They had a lot of small details throughout the shop that made the environment warm and inviting. Many of their ceramics and various other products are available on their website. 

Hoerman’s work is predominantly digital, stylized as bright and playful while maintaining dark undertones. In their artist statement, they refer to their work as “macabre with a candy coating.” Oftentimes, Hoerman’s illustrations feature invented characters with corresponding environments around them. In one piece, a character named Pesto the Possum boxes with a mantis named Marrow. 

Hoerman uses a variety of mediums throughout the collection. One mixed media piece titled “Create Xing” is a deer-like creature painted on cardboard, holding a metal stop sign. They use ink and graphite to show their creative process. Next to their finalized digital pieces, they display sketches they made on paper. Allowing the audience to perceive the beginning of an idea before the final polished piece shows a certain amount of vulnerability from the artist which not only contributes visually but is also conceptually appealing. Displaying their process is fitting, as the show is meant to depict the intimate thoughts and feelings of Hoerman. 

“These pieces are my dreams, my hopes, my fears,” Hoerman details in their artist statement. “These are my defying thoughts and defining memories.” 

They also refer to the works as a collection of memories. Hoerman invites viewers to explore these memories in hopes that onlookers might find joy in the works or even relate to them personally.

Photos by Claire Henry.

Ryan West, a sophomore digital media communications major, is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, GIFT and is also working on developing a new design club at William Jewell College.

Along with being a full-time student, she owns her own business called “Ryan West Creatives.” Her business caters to individuals in need of creative products, such as web design, social media marketing, graphic design and photography. Her past work includes senior portraiture, engagement photography and design work for JoeShmoe’s coffee shop.

After attending Summit Technology Academy for her junior year of high school, she realized she was interested in photography and graphic design. Now, digital media is a passion of hers that she hopes to pursue as a career.

“I quickly fell in love with the different styles of design and learned how to make design ‘work.’ With photography, I’ve grown an eye for what looks best, especially with location, angles, posing and even outfits that the subjects wear.”

Her long-term goals include evolving her business and eventually becoming a digital media professor. West said no matter where she ends up, she would like to help people. Whether that’s helping them to grow their small business or capturing moments in their lives through photography, West wants to positively impact others through digital media.