New! Knoxville’s new Art Cafe inside Tonya Rea’s tea shop
READ ALL ABOUT IT: REVIEW OF TENNESSEE’S COZY CRAFT CAFE
by Danica Redfern
Art is about paying attention. If you look, you’ll find Tonya’s, a lovingly crafted oasis that provides for the soul as well as the senses. In fact, you can’t help but feel they are linked, when in Tonya’s tea shop, nestled behind Broadway’s busy thoroughfare. Stepping into Tonya’s feels a bit like stepping back in time, into your grandma’s magical tea-shop, perhaps.
It’s a place that welcomes all, providing herbal drinks that offer specific wellness benefits. Wellness is considered whole-body and whole-mind at Tonya’s: that’s what her new Art Cafe brings to the community this summer.
“Making art is good for the soul. It should be more accessible than it is, so I’m making it available to all of my customers.”
Trained herbalist and beautiful grandmother Tonya Rea is photographed here surrounded by her favorite things: tea and plants.
“So how does it work? What kind of art can someone make in the Art Cafe?”
“I’ve curated an entire collection of art supplies for all kinds of mediums you can try.”