Meet Stacy Harshman

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stacy Harshman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Stacy , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

While I’ve always been creative and engaged in various artistic entrepreneurial pursuits.- having
Bi-Polar Disorder always threw a wrench into my long term plans. The disruption of cycling
through manic and depressive episodes made it very hard to be consistent with anything, let
alone focus on my life purpose.. For example, I composed and recorded 6 albums of original
music and played out with my band until I hit a deep depression. Uncontrollable anxiety and
despair ended my music career.
While living in Manhattan, I designed and created custom glass lighting. I curated and sold antique and vintage rugs.
I conducted a two – month social experiment in Manhattan, NYC involving wigs, disguise and the
study of identity. I spent the next several years writing about the experience which then became
my memoir – “Crowning Glory – An Experiment in Self-Discovery Through Disguise.” I hosted
popular “Sunday Salons” which were Bohemian – like creative get togethers in my East Village
Loft. People performed, sang, danced, recited poems, staged play readings, and shared their
passions in my home. These experiences were enriching and successful, but nothing really
stuck.
After all these endeavors, I decided to get an art therapy certificate / degree at the New
School. Unfortunately, at the tail end of my studies, another catastrophic depressive episode
hit. I managed to get my degree, but the depression was disabling. After an array of
unsuccessful treatments, I ended up getting ECT treatments as a last resort.
During my ECT treatments, I realized I needed to leave Manhattan and find more support
somewhere that was away from concrete and crowds. I googled, “Depression, therapy,
mountains, community, work.” Spring Lake Ranch in Vermont, came up at the top of the
results list. Spring Lake Ranch is an intensive farm-based residential treatment program for
adults who struggle with mental health and often, co-occurring addiction issues. I applied, went
for a visit and decided to leave everything and just go.
My stay at Spring Lake Ranch was 9 months of working in community, out in the beautiful mountains of Vermont, and trying to get better. It was beautiful but really hard. I still struggled with deep depression. Not knowing what to do with my life distressed me. I was 42 and most of the other “residents” were half my age. This didn’t help my existential angst. At least, even at its worst, everyday I was getting out of bed and putting in a full day of life. This was essential in my getting better. I even started painting again. I gave little classes and taught my painting/collage technique to other residents and staff. Everyone loved it and supported me. This was fun and rewarding for me. It gave me courage that I could be mentally organized enough to offer classes. .
Trying to figure out how to rebuild my life, I decided I needed stability and sustainability. I was
tired of coming up with my own gigs and relying on my own art, creativity and ideas to make a living.
I wanted something I could count on, something that would give me a routine, something that
would involve other people.
At 42, I enrolled in a Vet Tech Program at Vermont Technical College. It took about a week for
me to realize that this “fix” to all my problems. was NOT going to work. When I asked another
student who was studying for our first exam, “How much of this do we have to remember?”
She looked up from her pile of notecards and replied, “I’m pretty sure all of it.” Then the deal
breaker happened in the lab: We had to extract blood from the tiny little vein above a mouse’s
left eye. Before I could get my needle in the vein my mouse friend died of fright in my hand.
NOPE. No thanks. I quit.

This left me in pools of tears and back to the land of uncertainty.

I continued to paint. I started a FB page for my art and quickly got a following. I gave a handful
of online live tutorials, and my FB following grew to 19K. I enjoyed the support and
camaraderie of the online community. New paintings started to sell every week. I
leaned into the question of what can I do with this? Can I make a life out of this?

Selling my art to clients who loved the pieces and paid well for them was rewarding and a huge confidence
boost. “Maybe I could sell my art and other peoples’ art and open a shop?” I mused. “Then I could get a life and connect with other humans!”
I went on Zillow and searched Rutland County real estate for a house with an old barn that I
could turn into a shop. Miraculously, an antique Farmhouse with a two – story, 1800’s
converted dairy barn that had been used as an antique shop for the last 30 years came up in
the search. I purchased it and within five months, I opened my shop,”The Sparkle Barn.”

In addition to my art, I added curated offerings from other artists. My talent for picking out unusually beautiful and unique items was put to perfect use. The Sparkle Barn debuted as a gift shop specializing in unique art, crafts and gifts on July 1st, 2017.
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My personal evolutionary jump as an artist and entrepreneur happened at the tail end of the Pandemic. Once
restrictions were lifted, little girls started coming to the Sparkle Barn wearing their sparkliest
outfits. Evidently, lots of Mom’s and kids had been watching our Facebook page during
lockdown. They had been planning on visiting us for months and months. This touched me.
That’s when I realized I wanted The Sparkle Barn to be more than just a gift shop. I wanted it to
be an experience and a worthy destination for these kids’ imaginations!

“What is magical? What makes kids happy? What can I add / create to make the Sparkle Barn a fun
experience?.” I asked myself this for weeks on repeat. “Unicorns, Mermaids, Dragons. Color.
Fantasy. Whimsy. Wonder. Play.” These repetitive themes led to an epiphany – I’ll make a Magic Garden
outside that includes all of these things!

I excavated a corner of our parking lot and went to town. A giant 7 foot Guardian of the Garden Dragon statue greets you on one corner. Then you
walk into the heart of the garden through a Moon Gate Arch bedecked with dozens of giant and
colorful shiny metal flowers, butterflies, and bees. On the other side of the archway, giant
butterfly rocking chairs, dolphin and mermaid seating and a giant Unicorn bench awaits you. A giant
mural of a Unicorn drinking from a glistening pool surrounded by a lush, tropical rainforest
complete with a Mermaid swimming just below the water’s surface, touching the tip of the
Unicorn’s horn serves as the backdrop. “The Fanta-Sea” is a colorful mixed media ocean / coral reef collage full of metal mermaids,
dolphins, whales, jellyfish, octopus, sand dollars, stingrays, sea turtles, puffer fish, sea gulls and
more all surrounded by hundreds of bright, insanely colorful disks. The Magic Garden floor is covered
in turquoise and pink glow pebbles with giant flower and pollinator garden stakes all around which fill out
the space with magical blooms. To make the Magic Garden more interactive, I added rows of bright,
steel drum, musical flowers and musical butterflies for kids to play. We opened “The Magic Garden and The Fanta Sea” with a big party complete with a kids’
band playing under a huge tent. Scores of kids came out with their parents, wearing
all kinds of wild, sparkly costumes, loving it all while dancing and laughing with glee.

Creating the Magic Garden was a magical experience for me. I got to tap into my inner child
and work with her to make an enchanted space. Having children love and enjoy the
creation was healing for my inner child spirit, too. She felt included and appreciated, something
I didn’t get enough of as a kid.

After the enthusiastic success of the magic garden, I was inspired to create more immersive art installations
with the goal of elevating peoples’ experience of the Sparkle Barn to a journey into beauty,
imagination, color and whimsy.

Creating “The Bloom Room,” our upstairs interactive art installation, because my next multi-year, multi-stage project.
I opened the Bloom Room in 3 expansive stages. The first area debuted in June of 2022. We celebrated the completion of the “Bloom Room” in November of 2024. It is now an 1800 sq ft. enchanted garden that spans the entire top floor of the converted 1800’s Dairy Barn. One of a kind, multi-colored glass mosaics line the walls leading up to the magical space. At the top of the stairs, a land of giant flowers,
butterflies, birds, bees, dragonflies, and fairies await. Witnessing peoples stunned’ reactions as
they reach the top of the stairs is priceless. The sense of surprise and awe is universal. We
have eight guest books filled with kids’ drawings, declarations of love for the Bloom Room, and
exclamations of joy and happiness that this space inspires. We are now hosting events and workshops up in the Bloom Room. It is thrilling to see groups of people enjoying the space. It’s a dream come true.

This past year, I was also able to create a new entryway / vestibule for the Sparkle Barn
featuring 35 antique stained glass windows from the late 1800’s. I sourced the panels from
architectural salvage companies with the majority of the pieces crafted in the late 1800’s during
the Aesthetic Movement. I didn’t know the specific history of many of the pieces, but the big
sidelights on either side of the entry door were actually double doors from a bakery in France!
Think of all the history and artistry infused in each panel. Creating this space fulfilled a
childhood dream. The art soothes me, the interplay of light and color dazzles and takes me to a
place of beauty that I feel deep inside my heart. Now, I get to share all this storied beauty with
everyone who walks through the Sparkle Barn’s doors.
Turning the Sparkle Barn into an immersive art experience and event space in addition to a gift shop has made all the difference in my business and my artistic life. It’s the ultimate in nueroaesthtic / dopamine design which gives people what they are craving – Beauty, Color, Surprise, a Sense of Awe and an Experience that Transforms and Inspires.
Opening the Sparkle Barn helped me find my purpose which is designing and creating
immersive spaces that evoke emotion, imagination and elevation from our baseline reality;
Curating experiences within those spaces that make meaning, memories and magic happen!
This coming July, 2025, The Sparkle Barn will celebrate our 8th year in business. Sparkle on!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am the owner of The Sparkle Barn which is a gift shop and immersive art space located in a converted 1800’s Dairy Barn in Wallingford, Vermont. July 1st 2025 will mark 8 years in business!

What has me excited right now is curating events, classes and workshops for The Sparkle Barn’s “Bloom Room.” event space. In November of 2024, we completed our expansion of the “Bloom Room” to 1800 sq ft of immersive art and event space upstairs. The “Bloom Room” is an enchanted garden complete with giant flowers, bees, birds, butterflies, fairies, tulip chairs and so many beautiful blooms you can’t even begin to count them. Just being in this space is an event, so I’m thrilled to begin adding offerings that fit our fun, whimsical and colorful vibe.

I also have a fun, creative design project in the works – The Sparkle Barn’s Party Truck! We purchased a 26′ box truck and are converting it into a Bloom Room-esque mobile party truck. We’ll bring the party to you!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Many years of experience curating and selling beautiful objects.
Many years of experience hosting events and parties.
Perseverance and ignoring negativity.
Letting your inner child out to play when you are creating.

I have always loved beautiful objects, especially ones made with heart and hands. Things with a story. My life-long passion for collecting antiques, one – of – a – kind furniture, and other bespoke items translated into my skills as a “picker” and curator for my shop, the Sparkle Barn. My advice is to use your passions to fuel your business and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Same thing goes for hosting parties and events for decades. I love being the Hostess with the Mostest! This translates into my ability to host events in my space. I’m comfortable around people in that environment and can make them feel welcome and at home.

Perseverance is so important. I gave a talk to our local Rotary chapter back when The Sparkle Barn first started. A couple of years later, one of the members who was at the talk came up to me and said, “You know, when you were giving your talk a couple of years ago I thought, “Well, that’s nice, but it will never succeed. Not here in Wallingford.” But you proved me and all of us wrong! Here you are thriving and brining all these people and business to our little town!” Success also brings out the trolls. I’ve read some nasty stuff about me from people who have never met me nor intend to do so. It’s hurtful, but as my Dad advised me, “Press Delete and don’t think about it again! If you’re out there doing something, anything, people will talk about you, period. Ignore all of it!” That’s sound advice.

Letting my inner child out to play when I create is key to shining bright and thinking out of the box. Finding and creating things that delight that youthful part of me fuels my passion and joy.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Maintaining my mental and physical health is a challenge for me. I have chronic fatigue/pain as well as Bi-Polar disorder. It’s hard for me to live up to my expectations when I can’t get out of bed. I use the incentive of creating beauty and creating community to keep me moving. I’m lucky to have the “Sparkle Barn” to use as a big artistic canvas and as a space to gather people together. I also have an AirBnb that I designed and decorated. Having people enjoy that space makes me happy and running it keeps me busy, too.

How I overcome it is dangling a lot of carrots in front of myself. I’m motivated to create projects so I can feel better and have a purpose. I also make sure I take my meds – even though I don’t want to – and work on keeping my headspace as happy as possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thesparklebarn.com www.sparkleontherocks.com
• Instagram: @thesparklebarnshop. @sparkleontherocks
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSparkleBarnShop. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555195245613
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-sparkle-barn-shop-wallingford?osq=the+sparkle+barn

Image Credits

Please credit “Owl’s Iris Photography” for the photos, except for the truck and logo,