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Soft In The Head is now located in an old country store just outside the small town of Boones Mill, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The store was built in 1906 and converted into a residence around 1988. It was tough to leave our home in Vermont, but we managed to find a special place in the mountains with a meadow out back that is bordered by hardwood forest. It's a beautiful spot, and filled with history. We are just inside the historic Cahas (ka-haze) Mountain Rural district along the old Carolina Trail, which was used by such famous frontiersman as Daniel Boone.
Wildlife is again abundant, with white-tail deer that edge out of the forest to frolic in the meadow in the evenings, a family of racoons that steals around the back porch in the early morning, and a trout creek that runs alongside the edge of the property. Cardinals (7 at last count), grosbeak, and golden finch live in the trees along the deck, and orioles pass through seasonally. Hawks hunt the meadow and a bald eagle even made a low-level high-speed pass the other day. Mayfly hatches from the creek are often in full swing and you can find both adults and spinners on the side of the buildings from spring through autumn. Nature is in full swing here and a little bit of that spirit makes it into each and every Soft in the Head creation.
P.K. Gracia is the creator behind the name at Soft in the Head and you can find her behind the sewing machine in her workroom, or sitting in her favorite chair in the living room hand-stitching her creations on most days of the week. "I try to make everything out of local materials," says P.K., "sometimes even down to the buttons. It's important to me that you have something unique and special." She puts a lot of effort into making each and every one of them just that. There are no shortcuts taken and no two are exactly alike. A floral designer for 20 years, she has a wonderful sense of color and style.
Like as not, there will be coffee brewing before the first rays of dawn edge over the mountain peaks out back and flood the kitchen with their early morning light. After checking her mail on the internet and making sure that the cats are fed, P.K. heads off into her own world of imagination, fabric and threads. P.K. has an acute sense of whimsy, and that whimsical nature infects her creations. "I've always had a creative soul" she says, "and sewing is cheaper than a shrink. There just aren't enough smiles in the world and by creating my Soft in the Head family, I can bring smiles to faces, both young and old." You'll see just how right she is if you ever visit the Soft in the Head booth at a Craft Show. People smile when they browse through - they just can't help it.
That's not a bad thing...
View a wide assortment of Soft in the Head items at "www.softinthehead.com".