Lets work to make it better...
'Chaos in the Highlands' says WLKY - and we just got here!
Earlier this year (2026), we opened at our new location on Bardstown Road, moving from 421 West Chestnut Street. We moved for multiple reasons, one of them being the lack of foot traffic. We were seeing less and less customers Downtown. It seemed like no matter what we did, as far as advertising, people were not coming to the shop and Downtown looked like a ghost town (Nulu seemed to be doing fine though).
Now here we are….freshly located in the heart of some awesome local businesses, where we could feel most comfortable as artists - and all hell seems to be breaking loose - at least that's how the news is framing it.
To be blunt, walk-in traffic has plummeted for us in the past week (as of June 27). And we didn't realize why until we saw the news. WLKY, WDRB, etc. has made it sound like Bardstown Road is buck-wild right now. From our prospective, the violence is horrible, though we haven’t witnessed it directly, it’s damaging to all businesses and the city overall. There’s only one Bardstown Road and it just so happens to be one of the most profitable roads for the whole state.
So what now.....we don't give up - on Relic, on Bardstown Road, or the problem. People are hurting right now, violence doesn't come from nowhere.
A lot of people seem to be afraid right now and rightfully so. Shootings are not to be played with and no one wants to willingly walk into danger. Please understand that Bardstown Road is not dangerous overall, it's not some chaotic, war-torn area of the city. WE are not apart of any late night parties or crimes. In fact, you should feel safe at our shop.
Why? Because we just so happen to be trained in de-escalation methods!
Whats that mean?… We work with local non-profit NMRD (No More Red Dots) and have been trained to reduce and mitigate conflicts. Including working to prevent gun violence in general. We just so happen to be working to reduce problem behavior and/or reduce stress for anyone willing to participate in our art classes. It’s our goal to help build new artistic skills for youth and young adults.
Not shameless self marketing.... I promise.
Mark and myself have been teaching art classes here in Louisville since 2016 with the Peace Through the Arts program. We've taught fine art skills, screen-printing techniques, drawing, graphic design, including tattoo apprenticeships. We want to branch into ceramics next, but that's another post for another day. The program kind of came to a soft stop in 2024/25 due to us focusing on other projects. Recently we've been looking to consolidate our efforts into one area instead of moving around the city sporadically, and Bardstown Road seems like the perfect place to do so.
Long story short, please join us in making Bardstown Road safer and more inviting for everyone. When you shut people out, it hurts - not only the people pushed out but everyone. And when you actively stop participating/ shut something down - it also hurts in more ways than one.
There's a way to work together and we strongly (with our hearts) believe that art and music can be the vessel.
What you can do to help
Participate in our membership
Buy a shirt - it helps us get the workshops together
Check us out on social media, maybe subscribe/follow?
Come by the shop! Lets hang out
With Love
Doree