Welcome to our very first episode of Do Tell, a storytelling podcast featuring great stories from great storytellers. Our very first guest is the woman who conceived the idea of this podcast. She herself is an accomplished Storyteller the founder of the nonprofit STEAP, Inc. That’s STEAP which stands for storytelling education and arts programs. The mission at STEAP is to connect communities with stories. They are dedicated to creating programs that widen social awareness and cultural appreciation across diverse communities.

Karen-Eve Bayne is an international businesswoman, former General Manager of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, founder of the Do Tell Storyfest and STEAP. "To be of service and make good things happen" is her personal mission. As an impresario and implementer, she wants to think big and do the work while having fun. She has a successful career as a project manager and leader, committed to the richness of diversity and enhancing our communities.

A native of Henderson County, NC, Karen-Eve is a performing artist, fiber artist, storyteller, mentor, and leader with a passion for connecting others to the arts and to their own passions and purposes. She does this by encouraging, coaching, mentoring, leading with compassionate hard work. KE enjoys making art, comfort foods, yoga, and gardening with her partner in Hendersonville NC.

Our guest today is Knox Crowell, a trained graphic artist and illustrator with an interest in the local history of his hometown of Hendersonville, NC. A former director of the Henderson County Heritage Museum, he constructed and painted many of the museum's displays. He is a native of Hendersonville and his family has been in Henderson County for generations.

Knox has painted nearly half a dozen murals over the years in the area. And he restored one of the oldest and well-remembered murals in the town, the Jump Off Rock mural which adorns the Brooks Tavern building on 3rd Avenue. Jump Off Rock is a large stone outcropping on top of Davis Mountain which rises above Hendersonville just a few miles to the west of downtown. It has long been a tourist destination because of its beautiful views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. The mural advertised the site and encouraged visitors to make the short drive to enjoy the vistas.

He said it was a challenge to bring the iconic wall art back to its former glory and he will tell us about how he did it and the obstacles he faced.

Knox will also give us a lot of the history of Jump Off Rock and Laurel Park, the community where Jump Off Rock is located, and where he grew up.

This week we are going to visit an historic section of downtown Hendersonville, NC where a beautiful new mural has just been completed. The 7th Avenue district of Hendersonville is undergoing a tremendous revitalization. For many years the area has been dominated by industrial buildings and warehouses that were strategically positioned near the main railroad terminal and depot. During those times, it was not a destination for locals or visitors who didn’t have some business to transact there. But that has been changing rapidly over the past few years as new businesses catering to the general public have sprung up. Restaurants, bakeries, cafes, bars, breweries, and even a distillery have opened to make the neighborhood a must-see stop in enjoying downtown Hendersonville.

In addition to the eateries, there are some very interesting retail shops new to the area. One of those stores is the Old Lab Designs and Mercantile, a beautiful and unique shop with quirky vintage items, high quality, high fashion women's clothing and accessories, gourmet kitchen and pantry items, and unique gifts for men and women alike. The owner is Janna Watson and she is realizing her vision of bringing rich texture to the streets of the town, not only in the items she sells in the store, but also the store building as well. When Janna first moved in, the building epitomized that industrial look of the area, with its rough and crumbling red brick walls with very little inviting character. She was determined to spruce it up and make it much more beautiful and help the area become more inviting.

So she decided to adorn both sides of the building with murals. She commissioned a talented artist from Miami, Paulina Guajardo, to paint the murals and she was able to finish it all very quickly over two short trips. Paulina is a Mexican-born artist and her mother is a renowned Mexican artist in her own right.

Paulina and Janna join us today to talk about the new murals and the inspiration for them.