Recently, Clovis has seen a large influx of new bakeries and sweet shops, which we might have to *review* soon, but in the midst of researching local businesses for my son’s 5th birthday party, I ran into Jessica Marie Barriere via Craigslist.

I checked out her online portfolio / blog over at Vanilla Expressions and was immediately impressed with her work. Her cakes are like miniature works of edible art and it was very apparent that Jessica had an eye for detail.

After emailing her back and forth a couple of times, we finally met at the Java Loft, a local bookstore and coffee shop. I had showed her a couple pictures of what I liked and what the cake needed to have. I certainly wanted a 2 tiered cake with a yellow and black theme. I gave her a lot of creative license as I wanted to see what sort of creative ideas she had and how they would translate on the cake itself.

I had asked Jess to bring the cake to our home the day before the party. The expression on my son’s face was priceless! The cake was completely covered in fondant and the decorative details were lovingly carved with expert precision. Every detail of the cake was completely hand made; from the chocolate ganache filling, to the chocolate lettering.As an Independent Cake Decorator, Jessica’s work is phenomenally done and had such flair and fine details as if the cake was crafted by a veteran artisan. You can contact Jessica with the below details for a quote:

Mrs. Jessica Marie Barriere
Confectionery Artist
Vanilla Expressions
575-904-9500
http://vanillaexpressions.blogspot.com

I, like most women I know, am an avid shopper. Lately though, shopping has taken a back burner in my life. Between bills, Christmas shopping and traveling, my financial well has been thoroughly dried.

It’s hard to ignore a %50 off EVERYTHING (except furniture) sale! Shabby Divas, a local boutique specializing in the shabby chic form of interior decorating, is having a one day, 2 hour sale on New Years Eve this year! (12/31)

For those who aren’t familiar with the term ‘shabby chic’, this is  ‘a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique.’ (Wikipedia)

Go get your shop on, ladies! This place has a lot of great finds including fabric, jewelry, purses, decorations etc.! We’d love to hear about your finds!

The Taco Box in Clovis has a “Christmas Dancing Light Show” to the music of Trans Siberian Orchestra and other music, every half hour, from 5-9 p.m. (the last show begins at 8:30 p.m.) nightly through January 3, 2010.

Park on the West side and tune your car radio to 88.5 on the FM dial to tune in to the music.

Oh yeah, they’re also giving away a FREE cup of hot chocolate before or after the show.

I’ve been hearing the radio ads about Gallery Fifteen, so last Saturday I decided to check it out. Gallery Fifteen is on US Highway 60/70/84. To get there from Clovis, head East towards Texico. Gallery Fifteen will be on the North side of the highway (on the left). If you reach the New Mexico Visitor’s Center, you’ve gone too far.

Gallery Fifteen looks like a new lime-green stucco building with a metal roof. Long-time area residents will recognize it as the old Stuckey’s building. The building was gutted to down to the original structure and completely renovated.

Inside you’ll find one large room with a few side rooms. Gallery Fifteen sells fine art, furniture, and antiques. They also operate a small Bistro. The Bistro menu changes daily with reuben and steak sandwiches and a soup of the day making regular appearances. Gallery Fifteen also hosts small parties.

Click on image thumbnails to view an image gallery.

Gallery Fifteen is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

To contact Gallery Fifteen:
Call 575-482-9090 or e-mail galleryfifteen [at] yucca [dot] net.

The other day, I asked Grant McGee, AKA Bike Dude, “Why a bicycle shop in Clovis, New Mexico?” This is his minimally edited answer.

I’ve always liked bicycles. No B.S. Bicycles are free. There’s no insurance to pay. If you care to, you can fix them yourself. John Law generally leaves you alone. It’s just you and the road. You and whoever else you think is out there: whether you think it’s God, your Higher Power, whatever.

I’ve always liked bikes. I’ve ridden bikes in various times of my life for various reasons. When I was a kid, if I’d have known then what I know now, I would have ridden a bike instead of getting a car.

I myself am a commuter bike rider. There are all types of classifications of bicycle riders: There’s road bikers… there’s mountain bikers… there’s cycle cross people… and I’m a commuter bicyclist.

I ride to and from work everyday at my day job at a radio station at 99.9 RM, KTQM. I ride almost seven miles each way. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SHORTER IF THEY FIXED THE HULL STREET BRIDGE. I miss my bridge. It was a cleaner bridge. People throw trash out on Prince Street.

There are four reasons that I ride a bike…

The first reason is my health, because I sit a lot all day and it’s like a natural Prozac for me.

The second reason is because I’m really not found of cars. I’ll ride in one… I’ll drive one cross country, but they break down and when they break down it’s a big deal. I think for the money that you have to pay for them, they should be made better.

My third reason is for the environment. Everybody thinks that’s the first reason, but nah that’s my third reason.

My fourth reason is because my Grandfather–he didn’t talk much, but my Grandmother did–and she used to tell tales about how every now and then he’d walk over the mountain, in the mountains of western Virginia… and he’d walk from a little town called Glen Wilton over the mountain to his day job in Clifton Forge… and I thought to my self, you know if my Grandfather could occasionally walk over the mountain to his day job when the trains didn’t run, I can ride my bike to work.

The Lady of the House and I just decided that it was something that we wanted to do, and we had the opportunity to do it, so we did it. It’s been a very interesting experience. People are always asking me “How’s the bike shop doing?” Because she’s such a master gardener, I’m always comparing the growth of the bike shop to that of a garden. It takes time to get a good garden. It takes time to get a good bike shop.

A lot of bike shop people gave up in the face of “Nameless Big Box Stores” that sell bicycles at prices that’s hard for a bike shop to match. People see price, they don’t see quality. Bike shops generally sell quality bikes and “Nameless Big Box Stores” sell inexpensive, cheaply made bicycles. I read a book about six years ago about how a “Nameless Big Box Store” was taking over the world and how to beat it: service… providing service.

If somebody buys a cheap bike from a big store, we usually see them in a short matter of time because of the goat heads, these little seed pods, seeds that can actually flatten a bicycle tire. Inner tubes that come with a “Big Box” bicycle are literally almost like the thickness of a garbage bag. We sell mostly thorn-resistant tubes. There are some people who are concerned about weight, so we sell regular-thickness tubes to them. I love my thorn-resistant tubes, they’re a God-send to this country because goat heads are really everywhere.

That’s the word to any small businessman who’s competing in the face of a “Big Box” store: if you provide service, and it’s no B.S., if you provide it with a smile and do the best you can… It doesn’t matter what the big guys do.

We sell new bikes. We repair bikes. We sell sell bike parts. The most popular bike around Clovis is the mountain bike. New people to Cannon Air Force Base get shocked when they encounter their first goat head, “What the Hell is this?” and “What is flattening my tires?” and we have remedies for that. We have BMX bikes for kids. That’s very popular.

I think think to get somebody on the road and on a bicycle is a beautiful thing.

I think that if you ride to work, if you ride a bicycle to the important places you need to go, that you are a member of what I call “The Family of the Road.” A tip of the hat to the road bikers and mountain bikers too, but if you’re riding to and from work and everything: that’s your vehicle. If you live near your work, why not bike?

People will say, “You’re just shilling for the shop.” That’s not what I’m saying. It’s a lifestyle. Kick it around.

Disclaimer: I do interviews like this because I enjoy talking and promoting people whom I find to be interesting. I receive no remuneration of any kind for this: Grant didn’t fix my bicycle or give me free thorn-resistant inner tubes or anything else. In fact, I just dropped in on him and surprised him on a Saturday afternoon.

I write about people and businesses whom I like, because frankly it would suck to do otherwise; However, opinions vary and I advise you to do your own research and to keep your own council.

Here’s how to get in touch with Grant:

BIKE DUDE
http://www.bikedudeclovis.com/
bikedude@plateautel.net
209 West Grand Street (look for the big blue building)
Clovis, NM 88101
575-219-1389