Main Squeeze on Airline Drive in Bossier City has been a popular and healthy spot for many of us in the Shreveport/Bossier area for years now. Everything they offer is vegan and gluten-free.

Jon and Taylor Shellhaas officially took ownership of the Bossier Main Squeeze store in January of 2023. Their beautiful store has a great, big moss wall when you walk into the lobby on the right. Just below the wall is a little seating area to hang out in. There are plenty of plants and greenery covering the lobby area, as well.

Very cool atmosphere at Main Squeeze. And if you have ever tried any of their healthy, tasty juices and smoothies, you already know they match the aura.

That’s because their drinks are made without the added junk some other places use.

“We don’t use any added sweeteners in our smoothies,” says Jon Shellhaas. “All other places use turbinado.”

At Main Squeeze, your smoothie is never watered down either because they don’t use ice, ensuring you get all the nutrients and taste with no filler. Instead, they take the fruit, freeze it, and that emulates the ice in a smoothie. They also offer acai bowls with imported acai from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

Main Squeeze has expanded their food options lately. They have a great kitchen, and they have been putting it to use. Some quick and healthy food options are their new grab-and-go wraps. The chipotle wrap has black beans, corn, pico de gallo and comes with a side of their homemade chipotle sauce. The hearty wrap includes black beans, pico de gallo, sweet potatoes, cashew cream and spinach.

Of course, Main Squeeze has always been known for their cold-pressed juices.

“Cold-pressed means it’s going to be free of high-pressure pasteurization,” says Shellhaas. “It also means we don’t use any chemical preservatives, as well.”

It’s basically using a grinder to grind all the fruits and vegetables between two metal plates.

They can make anywhere from 20 to 100 bottles of juice in each batch.

The juices at Main Squeeze are split up into three categories: Refreshers, Greens and Roots.

Their Refreshers are going to be nutritious and packed with the most flavor, while the Greens are going to be your spinach and kale-based juices. The Roots are made with turmeric, ginger and beets.

Main Squeeze even has a juice that tastes like apple pie. It’s called Awaken, and it’s made with apple, lemon, ginger and cinnamon.

The cool thing about getting juice from Jon and Taylor is the ingredients are always right there on the bottle. And there’s always only a few. Like their Vision juice, made with apple, carrot, pineapple, lemon and beets. It’s like a healthy fruit punch.

Mushrooms have been all the rave lately, and new shroom shots are available for purchase in their window, as well.

If you’re on a budget, you can check out their $5 Happy Hour every weekday from 4-6PM. You’ll probably see Jon or Taylor.

“We open the store together every morning,” says Jon Shellhaas. “I’m up there almost every day.”

Swing by Monday through Saturday from 8AM to 7PM or Sunday between 11AM and 6PM. Also, check out their Facebook page for all the latest concoctions.

Here’s the main thing though: the juice is always worth the squeeze.

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NOVUS Glass is part of Fix Network, the world’s fastest-growing automotive aftermarket services network. The Kochakians knew, probably from personal experience, that sooner or later every automobile owner would experience a chip in their windshield. They also discovered that Novus had a stellar reputation and provided the credibility, tools, and products to help the Kochakians succeed.  They now have two locations to serve Shreveport and Bossier City.

Once Tim came on board, Jamie was able to focus on opening a gift shop – a dream she had for as long as she could remember.  Much thought went into this decision.  One, of which, was what kind of gifts would she feature in her shop.  One other was what should the name be.  She decided early that she wanted to carry Louisiana-themed gifts and products and to promote locally sourced items. Her mother then came up with the name that originated from a traditional Cajun waltz popularized in the 1940s.  It’s sometimes called “the Cajun National Anthem.”  The name was music to Jamie’s ears, and she was off and running.

Located in the same building as Novus Glass, Jolie Blonde gifts often spills over into the glass shop’s waiting room.  Tim has no problem with that because he knows Jamie is living her dream. And what a dream it is.  You’ll discover as soon as you step through the doors that you have found your go-to place for all your gift-giving needs.  You’ll find everything from jewelry to tea towels made from recycled water bottles.  Baby gifts and signed children’s books from local authors.  An incredible selection of bath bombs, lotions, and candles. You can even find that hard-to-shop for men’s gifts such as LSU Tiger coolers and travel bags, novelty socks, Toad Fish for fishermen, and grooming items. Gifts for the home, florals, food items – y’all she has Mayhaw jelly from Cumberland Farms, and cookbooks. 

Seasonal décor, unique watchbands, wreath sashes, garden flags, and purse straps. The list goes on and on and each time you visit you are sure to find something you hadn’t seen on your last visit. Jamie goes out of her way to find Louisiana suppliers. She began by working the Facebook angle to find her sources.  Now, with a solid reputation and customer satisfaction to back it up, suppliers are reaching out to her. 

 Jamie will always focus on carrying Louisiana and Local artists’ products.  Jamie doesn’t think she’ll ever retire and says, “It’s been neat to watch local artists grow.” One visit to Jolie Blonde and you’ll know just how much love she pours into her work. You should “waltz in” sometime and experience the wonders of Jolie Blonde. 

Jolie Blondes is located at 9210 Wallace Lake Road, Suite A in Shreveport (Right next to Novus Glass)

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SANDY + RIZZO:

The Queens of Glitter

 JENNY GAUTHIER & ANNA DICKSON

BY ELIZABETH BEARD DEAL

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Two local teachers—and now self-trained resin artists—have taken the jewelry scene by storm. Meet Jenny Gauthier, an art teacher at Southfield School with a background in architecture, art, and design, and Anna Dickson, a Professor of English at Bossier Parish Community College with a background in jewelry sales, art, and what she describes as “a lifetime love of accessories.”

Their jewelry company, Sandy+Rizzo, began with and is best known for the wide-ranging shapes and styles of large, colorful, shiny, dangling earrings—designed and created personally by the two owners with self-selected materials and art resin, mixed in a proprietary design process and hand-poured into specialty jewelry silicone molds. They are always using and testing new ingredients and recipe combinations. They even make their own custom-blended glitter. Anna and Jenny have different art styles, and each poured piece is one-ofa- kind. “It can’t be recreated—it’s art,” says Anna. “We also honor women who have inspired us—daughters, sisters, mothers and friends—by naming styles after them.”

The duo love to create themes for their art pours, inspired by pop culture, film, plays, and even singers. Some of these themes have included the Beatles, Dolly Parton, Wicked, Wizard of Oz, The Greatest Showman, Disney Villains, David Bowie, The Sound of Music, Taylor Swift, the Nutcracker, and the Grinch.

Anna and Jenny had the support of many friends and family who encouraged them and volunteered to help them get Sandy+Rizzo off the ground. The two also made some important business decisions from the beginning. “We branded early,” says Jenny. Having a professional name, logo, and high-quality marketing materials was important to them. So where did the name come from? A few years ago, Jenny was planning to attend an auction party at school dressed as Sandy from the movie Grease and asked Anna if she would be her Rizzo, to which Anna responded, “That’s the role I was born to play! Of course I will.” They admit the characters fit their personalities—sweet Jenny as Sandy and outgoing Anna as Rizzo—so it seemed the perfect name for their company. Their slogan: “Less Bitter, More Glitter!”

Anna and Jenny also outsourced what wasn’t directly related to the creative side and production of their products, like hiring a firm to handle the finances and employees to support the business.

Since they began a year and a half ago (during Covid), Sandy+ Rizzo has experienced a phenomenal growth in sales. The growth of the business has been an organic process, crossing one milestone at a time. Many friends and family volunteered to help get the business off the ground, and the first big achievement was selling at the Red River Revel. “To me, being local and growing up here, the Revel was always a point of acceptance into the art world,” says Anna. They believe utilizing  various sales channels instead of just one or two—art shows, gift shows, wholesale, retail, social media, and the website— has helped accelerate their brand recognition.

Jenny and Anna have captured the hearts of many followers and customers, affectionately known as the Pink Ladies (also a Grease reference if you don’t know), through Instagram and Facebook, always sharing positive messages along with their jewelry. They go LIVE on Facebook (Mondays at 7:30 pm) to chat with and sell the themed earrings to Pink Ladies of all ages who join in from a multitude of states to view what the owners liken to an ‘evening talk show.’ “It really is an awesome community that we have built, and we are so humbled and grateful that women love our art,” says Anna.

“What we realized early on was that we were only going to be able to pour so many earrings, because as an artist, you can only produce so much art,” according to Anna. This led Jenny and Anna to expand the product line to include acrylic options. “They are still beautiful, still unique, still very sparkly, and something that you haven’t seen before, but we’re able to make more of these because we can use our laser cutter,” says Anna. Just like with the resin line, only Jenny and Anna select the patterns and hand-draw the designs. “This is our art and this is what’s sought after,” she adds. Seasonal designs are extremely popular, with hard-to-keepin- stock selections from hearts to Mardi Gras and crawfish to Christmas trees.

While the large earrings are wildly popular, a new stud bar featuring designed stud earrings recently introduced has become a surprisingly instant favorite—perfect for young girls (or women battling masks at the workplace!) at a great price point. Sandy+Rizzo also retails other accessories like bracelets, sunglasses, and headbands to their Pink Ladies. They make a point of purchasing these products from other women-owned brands.

Sandy+Rizzo manufactures and makes all the jewelry, farming nothing out, with help from employees Anna Baker, Kate Wimer, Anne Embry, and Caitlin Lear. “It is very similar to how women used to sit around and quilt. We sit around a big round table and we assemble, so we put together jewelry with our own hands,” says Anna. “We discovered recently that not a lot of people are doing that anymore,” says Jenny. “But we feel like that’s what people really appreciate about it—the art of it. It’s always new. It’s always unique,” she added. (And once it’s sold out, it’s gone.)

As with many startups, the owners’ respective homes were full of supplies, tools, materials, and workspaces. But they have moved into a leased residential space, fondly called the Pink Lady House, to use as their workshop, a space for designing, testing, creating, assembling, packaging, and shipping their products. “We are excited to have a centrally located place that is kid and pet friendly. This way we and our employees can all take care of work and family together,” says Jenny.

Anna and her husband, Michael, have two daughters, Harper and Annabelle. Jenny and her husband, Wes, have two daughters, Ellie and Kate. You could technically say the daughters are behind the whole story. The girls, best friends, brought their mothers together, who soon became BFFs too. The business ultimately grew out of this friendship. Anna and Jenny share ideas and responsibilities daily and each one is quick to compliment the strengths of the other.

Jenny and Anna love the fact that they have become role models for their daughters, who see them following a dream and working hard toward that dream every day. “We’re just very proud that they’ve been able to see us build this,” says Jenny.

Right now, you can find Sandy+Rizzo products at sandyrizzo.com, at the Shreveport retail location (The Gilded Oyster shared with Allison Rhymes), and at several local boutiques in the Shreveport-Bossier area. But that’s about to change. Last month, Anna and Jenny decided to try their hand as first-time wholesale vendors at Dallas Market inside the World Trade Center. Somewhat shocked themselves, they sold their jewelry to 22 boutiques across the U.S., seriously expanding their reach!

What do they believe has impacted their success so far? “We’ve always been kind to everybody we’ve encountered including other makers and other resin artists in the industry,” says Jenny. Anna agrees, and adds, “Consistency. We are always focused on keeping the creative design, the quality of the jewelry and our production processes consistent.” Receiving an order this month from a shop on Magazine Street in New Orleans really made the success feel real. “That’s it, we made it! Our Mardi Gras earrings are in New Orleans!”

The old adage says, “people do business with people, not businesses.” You just have to meet Jenny and Anna once to realize how their personalities and business philosophies have, and will undoubtedly continue, to drive their business forward into the future. It appears that the glittery path ahead may be paved with gold…

Photo: Anna Baker[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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