Lebanon’s Tiadaghton House And Their Artists

Colorful scented soaps, hand-crafted by Becky Rippelmeyer, look like different kinds of desserts.

By Zachary Daum
zdaum@heraldpubs.com

LEBANON, IL – Known for their wide selections in art, The Tiadaghton’s House art and antique shop in Lebanon, IL

has been open for nine years and features two artists on the upper floor: Heirloom Soaps and Scolarici Arts. The house highlights all forms of art for both display and sale. Sculptures, paintings, soaps, literary art and even candies are featured. It is a melting pot of local artists to sell their works.
Owned by Jim and Holly Lovell, they chose the name of the house for a very personal reason. Tiadaghton is pronounced, “Tie-A-Dotten.” It comes from the Iroquois Native American tribe name of a creek in Pennsylvania, Pine Creek. Jim and Holly grew up near it and were used to the name. They were shocked at how few people could pronounce it after they named the house.
Holly designed the house’s sales displays herself with the mindset that she was decorating it as a house, not a shop, to give it a unique look.
“I wanted to display items so people would know how it would look in their own home,” Holly said. “Jim and I love our store because it helps connect with the local community. We’ve gotten to know not only the local residents but those who have art in our store. We wanted to become part of the community and this is one good way to do it. By pulling in local artists, that brings people to you and you get to meet a lot of people.”
Alicia Scolarici owns Scolarici Arts that is run outside of the Tiadaghton’s House Art Studio. She focuses mainly on oil and acrylic paintings, but also does some textured art. These often depict animals, flowers and hearts. Scolarici has been painting her whole life. After finishing her art degree at Auburn University, she taught art in England and then Mascoutah. She also frequented art shows in Springfield and Chicago for over 10 years.
Scolarici loves working at the Tiadaghton House and finds joy in it every day. “For me personally it’s a dream come true because I have a studio here so I’m either working the shop or painting. Our goal is to represent all kinds of art. Realism, to glass, to pottery, to painting. We work hard trying to find the artists and keep it local. You can find one of a kind gifts for your family and friends and it’s all made by artists.”
Becky Rippelmeyer owns Heirloom Soaps, a handmade soap company. She creates intricate soaps that look like cakes, fruit or other items you would see in your home. Rippelmeyer had no formal schooling for soap creation and managed to learn it all herself.
“Long story short, I had my professional career as a corporate salesperson first. When I had my son, I became a stay-at-home mom. I was looking for something fun to do and I thought about how my grandma used to make her own soap out of necessity during the Depression. I went to a local crafts fair and the soap there kind of stung my skin. I wondered ‘what’s wrong with this?’ and decided to buy a few soap making books and that’s how I got into it. That was 20 years ago. This is art you can use. Life’s too short to use bad soap.”
Rippelmeyer has positive and warm feelings for the Tiadaghton House. “Unfortunately it’s the best kept secret in the metro east. People come in and they are like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s so cool.’ It’s so friendly and warm but classy at the same time. Holly has exquisite taste and she makes it look even better. We are like a little Tiadaghton family. It’s very much a part of Lebanon. People hear about it and think ‘arts and crafts,’ but this is art. It’s real art.”
In addition to the in-house artists, Tiadaghton House hosts over 75 other local artists’ works. One of the most recent is Randall Enderl. His most recent works are paintings of Lebanon’s own “Brick Street” that are for sale at the house now.
Another artist featured heavily is Keith Shannon. He creates molds for metal sculptures and creates intricate designs, often featuring silly shoes to differentiate characters. One of his recent works includes Santa Claus and his reindeer. Each reindeer has a different set of shoes to differentiate them.
It is open for anyone to visit and those who wish to have their works shown or sold in the house can speak with the Lovell’s or Scolarici.
The Tiadaghton House, located at 111 W St Louis St. in Lebanon, is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Tuesday to Saturday, and Sunday from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
For more information, check out their website at www.tiahouse.com, follow them on Facebook, or call 618-808-0311.