When my best friend moved to Nashville at the beginning of 2015 I knew I would get to see a lot of Tennessee because visiting her would be a must. Over the years I've seen music, vineyards, caves, country side, and more country music history than I knew existed, yet my favorite experience was wandering through a small arts festival in the spring.
We've always been drawn to street markets, you know the kind I'm talking about, that seem to be set up over night in what was just a parking lot, or an abandoned underpass the day before. You can always find an apothecary, bee keeper selling honey, and for sure obscure art that reminds the world creativity has no bounds.
It was at one of these such fairs I rounded the corner to discover an airstream strung up with the most beautiful balsa wood lights and trinkets. I had discovered One Man, One Garage.
Just like his name implies, it was one man, with a very long beard, and a doze amazing art projects begging to be taken home. Some were so intricate I couldn't believe a person designed them on such a small scale. Dirigibles hung from string, miniature cathedrals covered tables, planters and picture frames sat on shelves. A sucker for twinkly lights, I was immediately smitten with a string of asian inspired lanterns over Christmas bulbs. Much to my surprise, not only were they affordable, I was actually supposed to put them together myself! The genius of One Man, One Garage is not only are his gifts fun to take home and create with your own hands, but made of balsa wood they are light and lay flat... which made it super easy to throw in my suitcase (which is great for a person like myself that travels super light).
I spent a good hour chatting with him, and deciding what to buy before I admitted to myself I wouldn't be able to go home with out my string of lanterns. To this day they are one of my favorite pieces in my house.
You can check out his Etsy site here, though if you are ever in Nashville I would suggest you look him up as he is super nice and fun to chat with in person.
It's been years since I met him, so this is in no way an endorsement he asked me to make. I simply love his stuff, and for the price, and the fun factor, I recommend it as a great gift for anyone in your life!
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