BY LORETTA SORENSENP&D Correspondent

VOLIN — It was a dream:Barb Schnider’s idea of devel-oping a country craft shop.She began by holding anannual sale in her home andthen took the bold step ofacquiring a building and tak-ing one step at a time towardher ultimate goal.

Now, six years later, sheoffers high quality, uniquecountry craft items yearround at Heart Whispers justwest of Volin.

Barb’s plans stemmed outof her lifelong affinity formaking something out ofnothing. When she and herlate husband Marlo cultivat-ed the habit of gleaningusable and recyclable itemsfrom what others consideredto be “trash,” they stockpileda wealth of materials thatBarb has continued to use tokeepsakes.

“Even the building wasrecycled,” Barb said. “Foryears, it sat in a pasture onWalshtown Road. The cowswalked in and out of it andraccoons had taken up resi-dence there. When webrought it home, a lot of peo-ple thought it was the crazi-est idea I’d ever had. Whenwe started to clean it up wefound baby raccoons in it.”

The “lopsided” buildingthat caught Barb’s eye andimagination was just a fewmiles from her home, but itwas in such poor condition,she wasn’t certain it wouldwithstand the move.

“I stayed home the daythey moved it,” she said. “Imade lunch that day andtried to remain calm.”

Once it arrived safely, thedilapidated structure sat eastof Barb’s home for severalmonths. It presented a majorremodeling challenge to herfamily. Her shortage of fundsat the time didn’t help mat-ters. Rather than dwell onwhat they didn’t have, Barband her family started figur-ing out how they could useavailable resources to remod-el and restore the building.

“We didn’t replace the win-dows because they’re the old,foggy glass and that fits per-fectly with atmosphere of theshop,” Barb said. “We tookthe plaster out before wemoved because the plastermade it so heavy. The wallswere sheet rocked and paint-

ed. I found a very inexpensivesupply of mismatched paintat a paint store, and we hadrescued light fixtures from ascrap pile quite a while ago.”

Wiring and plumbing wasreplaced and the bathroomwas enlarged enough to holda small sink. The only newfixture in the building wasthe stool.

“I had a sink in our stock-pile and I did some work fora man who was replacing hisfurnace,” Barb said. “The ren-ovation cost very little.”

Barb’s initial plan was tohave her son-in-law installceiling panels to lower thebuilding’s high ceiling. How-ever, once the project begantaking shape, Barb imagineda better way to finish the ceil-ing.

“Once I saw that wonder-ful peak in the main room, Icould just see a star in thecenter of the ceiling,” she

said. “I had to draw it out formy kids. They couldn’t seewhat I was talking about. Iwanted something in thestore that caused people tolook up, and that’s exactlywhat they do.”

The multi-colored, one-dimensional geometric starBarb imagined covers five tosix feet of the center of theceiling. She wasn’t able tohelp with the work, whichtook place on scaffolding, but

said the final result perfect-ly illustrates her idea.

“I don’t know what I’d dowithout my family’s help,”she said. “They took care ofall of that. They did themajority of the work on thebuilding and they’re alwayshelping with something.Everybody just pulls togeth-er and each one has theirown talent. It’s invaluable.”

Visitors to Heart Whispersfind that creativity spills outof the shop and into the sur-rounding landscape. Thequaint, inviting building sitsat the end of an aged brickwalkway and some largercrafted items are placed out-side for special sale dates.Creative handiwork thatreflects the flavor of the coun-try and the crafters fills everynook and cranny inside.

“Mom has the ability tolook at something ordinaryand envision somethingbeautiful,” daughter WendySathe said. “Sometimes she’llpick up something and therest of us will wonder whaton earth she wants to do withit. The first thing we knowshe’s made something that’sa keepsake.”

Unusual items such asused mattress pads and oldsuitcases are just some of the“stuff ” that Barb usuallybegins with.

“My husband used to giveme a hard time when Iembroidered quaint sayingson the mattress pads,” Barbsaid. “He couldn’t imaginehow I would use them. Butwhen they were framed withbarn wood, they became one

of my most popular items. Idon’t know how many I madeand sold. Too many to count.”

Barb is skilled with thedrill, glue gun, sewingmachine and other tools ofthe craft trade. Because ofher ability to see value innearly every type of item, shepurchases very little in orderto create her crafts.

“One thing that reallyhelps is all the wonderfulpeople who bring me things Ican use,” she said. “I’ve comehome and found boxes full ofcloth, trinkets, and old trunkand other items that people

thought maybe I’d be able touse. When people ask me ifI’d like items they can’t use Itell them I’ll be happy to takethem. What I can’t use I passon or take to the Goodwillstore. Very little ever goesinto my garbage can.”

Barb is open anytime she’shome. She advises shoppersto call before they come out.

“I don’t drive so I’m homea lot,” she said. “That givesme time to work on the craftsand do what I’ve alwaysenjoyed.”

Heart Whispers can bereached by calling 267-2369.

6 • Vermillion Plain Talk • November 27 • 2009 www.plaintalk.netOUR TOWNS

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College of Fine Arts • Department of Music

Friday, December 4, 2009 • 7:30 p.m.Colton Recital Hall

The Warren M. Lee Center for the Fine Arts

A20317

The University of South DakotaCollege of Fine Arts Department of Music

presents

The USD Symphony Orchestrawith Dr. Jonathan Alvis, Trombone

Free Admission

Hebda Family Produce

665-28062 mi. west of Mission Hill

on 444th Ave. near Yankton

Visit us at our... Farm Market

for tasteful gifts!

Monday-Saturday10am-5:30pm or

www.garritys.com

Watch for us at the Yankton Mall beginning November 30th!

OUR TOWNS GayvilleMission HillVolin

■ To get a news item published on this page, contact Travis Gulbrandson at 665-7811 (x121) or e-mail travis.gulbrandson@yankton.net

The ‘Whisper’Of A Dream

Volin Woman Brings Craft Shop To Life

PHOTO: LORETTA SORENSENPotpourri pies are one of the unique items available at Heart Whispers, the country crafts shop justwest of Volin that Barb Schnider and her family have developed over the past four years.

SUBMITTED PHOTOThese four Gayville-Volin students have been selected for theSouth Dakota All-State Choir. They are, from left: BaileyGullikson, senior, soprano, three-time All-State Choir delegate;Zach Engen, freshman, bass; Ally Petrik, senior, alto, three-timeAll-State Choir Delegate; and Michael Blassl, freshman, tenor.

ALL-STATERS

PHOTO: LORETTA SORENSENAll items in Heart Whispers are hand made and home made by BarbSchnider and/or her family members. For their annual open housethe weekend prior to Thanksgiving, they offered a wide variety offood items, holiday decorations and country crafts.

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