The Hilltop Monitor sat down with Patti Stark, owner of Serenity on the Square, to discuss her lifestyle in the health and wellness sector, the best part of owning and operating a business on the Liberty Square and her love for all things yoga and meditation. 

Stark fondly recalled her journey to her current holistic lifestyle in a warm yoga studio on a Friday afternoon. She credits high stress levels as what led her to this new lifestyle thirty years prior. 

“I worked in a nonprofit at the time and one of my friends was a therapist… we were talking one day and she said, ‘ you don’t necessarily need therapy, you need meditation,’” Stark said. “She got me hooked up with some classes, and the first class I went to [I thought] ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve been missing this my whole life.’ I was supposed to be doing this.”

Stark noted that after meditation sessions, she felt her anxiety and heart palpitations decrease. 

“It seemed like every three or four months something else would be introduced that was different from what I was doing, it was more natural or holistic,” Stark said. “Every time something new came in and I did it and it worked, I was like, ‘I have to share that,” 

After Stark’s epiphany, she began leading meditation, life coaching and energy balancing. The previous owner of Serenity on the Square invited her to teach classes and, shortly after, decided to sell the business. It seemed only natural that Stark take over. 

“[Everything] happened too easy… I felt like it was my calling, you know, to create a place where people could come and really discover who they are,” Stark said. 

After taking charge of Serenity on the Square eleven and a half years ago, Stark noted that her favorite aspect of her business is still teaching and helping others. 

“I still love to teach a meditation or a yoga class or do a life coaching session with someone,” Stark said. “I love teaching because then I can really see people, the lightbulbs go on and I remember what that felt like.” 

Serenity on the Square offers a plethora of health and wellness services available to Jewell students accompanied by a Jewell-specific student discount. Additionally, Stark revealed that a collaboration between Serenity on the Square with yoga and coffee is in the works. Updates are available on their Facebook page.

On a recent trip to Liberty’s historic town square, you may have noticed several new sculptures. The rotating sculpture display is in its third year. The Liberty Arts Commission, per their website states that “We serve as a catalyst – to support, sustain, and strengthen our community by increasing awareness, opportunities, and public involvement in local arts and cultural activities”

What started out with only one sculpture in 2017 has grown to nine in the current year. The sculptures are located throughout the downtown Liberty area, with one located on three out of the four corners of the square, one located next to the Clay County Archives building and three around City Hall and the police station. This group of sculptures will stay up until September of next year when a new group will take their places.

The sculpture program is an attempt to connect Liberty residents with art, both local and national. The current group of sculptures comes from across the country. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Missouri, Michigan, New Mexico and Washington D.C are represented.

The sculptures this year are all made of steel varieties, with some including other materials like stained glass, enamel and concrete. While most of the sculptures are neutral in color, some are vibrantly colored with red, green, blue and orange. Given the steel material, most of the sculptures are quite modern, providing juxtaposition with the 19th century town square. The mix of the old and new shows both cognizance of both the past and future on the part of Liberty, something that gives both visitors and residents a glimpse at the town’s values.

In addition to choosing and guiding the installation process for the sculptures, the Liberty Arts Commission has created an app called Otocast with which one can follow a walking tour of the nine sculptures. Aside from guiding the walking tour, the app also lets individuals vote on their favorite sculpture. The arts commission then chooses the highest rated sculpture to purchase for permanent display.

The most recent purchased sculpture, “Open Heart” by Matthew Duffy, is now exhibited in Canterbury Park, located off of Withers Road.

The installation process for each sculpture was documented by the arts commission and posted to their Facebook page, providing the general public with pictures of the artist with their work and tidbits of information about each sculpture.

The process for applying to display a sculptures is quite rigorous. For the 2019 application, artists had to submit the artist’s name, an entry title, media, dimensions and weight, date completed, description of each entry, value, three digital images of each submitted work, artist statement and brief artist biography, current professional resume and proof of insurance.

Additionally, the commission asked artists to consider materials, durability and safety in creating their work, given the outdoor and public nature of the display.

While each individual artist was responsible for transporting and installing their work in Liberty, the arts commission did offer a $2,000 honorarium to defray costs. The artist is allowed to sell the work during the time in which it is displayed, but the work cannot be taken until after the year-long display period is over.

The commission worked diligently this year to ensure the installation of each sculpture had finished before the start of the annual Liberty Fall Festival, happening the weekend of Sept. 27. There, the sculptures can be admired by the thousands of visitors the town receives for the festival, and the arts commission will be able to promote themselves at their festival booth.

The sculpture program is a great way to introduce Liberty to new local and national art, beautify the city and serve as one of the many ways the arts commission shows the city’s support and appreciation of the arts. 

The Historic Liberty Square provides a vast array of restaurants and businesses that can make for a great outing for the typical cooped-up William Jewell student. One such small local business is the Morning Day Cafe, a fairly new addition, which first opened in July of 2014.

The cafe describes itself as “an artsy, quirky café, coffee shop and breakfast pub that’s totally focused on creating food that’s natural, unprocessed, chemical-free and locally sourced.”

Morning Day provides a uniquely conscious menu, making sure to cater to the needs and bellies of the surrounding community. Owner Miranda Barchers says that the most popular dish is the “Hot Mess” – a stack of breakfast potatoes with poblano cheese sauce, sauteed onions and peppers and sunny-side-up eggs.

In terms of beverages, Morning Day provides a full bar, has bottomless locally-roasted coffee and also smoothies, teas and espresso drinks on the menu. Barchers also says that the best seller is the Mexican Mocha, made with beans sourced from Guatemala and roasted locally, organic house-made cinnamon syrup, dark chocolate, organic espresso and choice of milk.

The sources of the culinary goodness are proudly presented, as their produce and meat are obtained locally. Their eggs, bacon, pork and beef come from Baham Farms in Kearney, MO, and the microgreens come from Simply Sprouts – right here in Liberty.

The brunch atmosphere is great for a cheap and healthy date, a simple meeting or you and a book. Morning Day strives to create a place that reflects what they preach.

“I want to give [customers] a relaxed, kind of all-inclusive atmosphere. Something that they can take a break from the stress of their life and just relax… I want people coming from all walks of life to be comfortable there,” said Barchers. “My staff is all unique and very accepting.”

With colorful chairs and local artwork on display, the vibes at Morning Day are bright and inviting. As the Cafe says, they are your “community cafe,” and that is extended to the community of William Jewell students as well.

“One thing we really pride ourselves on is being community-centric. A part of that is our artwork displayed,” Barchers said.

Each month, the cafe has a local artist that they support, by displaying their works in order to promote them to the community. All that they ask of the artist is that they can receive a piece of their artwork. Those 11 art pieces are on display for the month of December and then a silent auction is held – all of the proceeds go to their annual charity.

Barchers wants the Cafe to be a regular spot for Jewell students. Since their opening, Morning Day has offered a 10 percent student discount.

“We try to be a place where you can catch local events, and we also keep up on the events Jewell is holding as well. We’re a place where Jewell students can plug in, hang out, and just get to know the community,” said Barchers.

Whatever your dietary restrictions or stomach desires, Morning Day Cafe is a quick walk from campus and will be sure to satisfy and make you feel good about the community and your bodies.

Photo courtesy of morningdaycafe.com 

Before 2011, Burnett was a paraprofessional and Talley was a teacher at the same elementary school. Burnett and Talley had just become moms for the first time. Amidst the friendship that developed between them over a shared bond of the exhaustion from parenthood, a dream became to form.

In 2011, Burnett and Talley created an Etsy shop – selling jewelry and accessories. When the sales began to come in, they began to consistently reach their revenue goals and decided to leave their previous jobs to become full-time business owners. Now, the two own Wild Juniper in addition to running an Etsy shop and an online blog through Shopify.

Burnett said she loves owning a business with her friend – it creates vulnerability and, in that, an opportunity to grow in friendship and as business partners. She also is excited to build relationships within Liberty and in an online community. However, owning a business is no easy feat, according to Burnett.

“Being an entrepreneur is being humble enough every single day to face something new that you have no clue how to do but being brave and consistent enough to work at figuring it out and becoming an expert at it,” Burnett said.

Darcy Sweet, junior psychological science major, has worked at Wild Juniper on the square since 2017. She loves working with Burnett and Talley and hearing about them was one of the reasons she began working there. Sweet said the store sells a lot of earrings and necklaces and recently began carrying boutique style clothing. The store has a line of headbands and hair clips for babies. In addition to loving their employment, Sweet also says she enjoys the products.

“They have a lot of cute studs, and they just have unique jewelry, and it’s on the more affordable side which is really good,” Sweet said. “Erin and Rachael are very dedicated and hardworking, and they are just awesome people.”

Burnett said she and Talley are very excited about the direction in which the store is headed, with their placement on the Square. Sweet also said the Etsy store is still doing well, and she is happy with their success.

“We have no shortage of dreams and ideas for this business,” Burnett said. “Our number one goal is to make a lasting impact and be a true voice in the communities we are in and the audience we have built.”

Photos by Harper Vincent.