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TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
PAGE 5
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arts & features
HOROSCOPES
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Today is an R
The travel bug bites today and tomorrow. Plan a trip. Resist the urge to be impetuous. No emotional spending. Get your ducks in a row. Keep practicing. Stick close to the basic structure.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Today is a 7
Today is a 7 Figure out your money today and tomorrow. Store provisions for the future. There's plenty of work. Stay quiet as others argue ... wait until asked for your opinion. Learn the rules before leaping into the next game.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Today is a 7
Work out details with a partner over the next two days. Listen to suggestions. Postpone travel and fantasies. Finish the stuff you said you'd have done by now. Avoid wild promises.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Today is a 7
A new project demands more attention today and tomorrow. Give your work full attention. Make plans, but don't race off to do it all yet. Travel later. Meetings could cut into your family time.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Today is a 7
Get playful today and tomorrow.
Work it out with an authority figue.
Schedule time for romance.
Make fun plans with someone interesting. Listen to another's desires; then compromise.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Today is a 7
Get drawn into domestic comforts today and tomorrow.
Repair, renovate and beautify your home and garden. Conserve resources. Don't fall for a trick.
Postpone an outing until chores are done.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Today is a 7
Get into research over the next two days. Outline the case you want to make. Hunt for evidence. Don't gossip. Choose words carefully to avoid misunderstandings. The answer is elusive.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Today is a 7
Keep your eyes on the prize.
Make some dough over the next two days. New profits become available. The dynamics change now. Keep your word. Show respect. Don't stir up jealousies.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Today is an 8
You're strong and creative for the next few days. Handle personal issues. Keep patient and practical. Open communication produces better results. Do what worked before. Self-control is required.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Today is a 5
Rest and recuperate today and tomorrow. Get introspective. Find new solutions to old problems. Discover something you didn't see before. Stay out of somebody else's argument.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Today is a 7
Let your partner take the lead.
Your team proves essential today and tomorrow. Routine provides strength. Your friends are really there for you. Don't throw your money away on stuff you don't need.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is a 6
Crazy dreams seem possible.
Prepare for inspection over the next two days. An opportunity requires practical steps. Keep comments to yourself. Don't let anybody push you around. Encounter a bigger mess than anticipated.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/UKE WADE
Luke Wade, who was a contestant on the television show "The Voice," will be performing at The Bottleneck tonight. Wade competed on season seven of the show, finishing in the top eight.
RYAN WRIGHT
@ryanwaynewright
Luke Wade, a former contestant on "The Voice," will perform at The Bottleneck night. Wade released his most recent album, "The River," before competing, and is finally able to tour to promote it.
He's performed on national television in front of Pharrell Williams, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. He's taken the stage with legendary singer-songwriter Patti Labele. Now, he's making a stop in Lawrence tonight at the Bottleneck.
Luke Wade is a pop/soul singer from Fort Worth, Texas, and he competed on season seven of NBC's "The Voice." Unfortunately, Wade didn't win the competition but he finished in the top eight. One of his defining moments was his audition, which wowed the judges.
"There's like four of them watching you and at one moment," Wade said. "It's like your mom being proud of you."
"It was like having a really hard job that everyone knew you were doing," he said. "It was tons of work and lots of working."
Wade looks back at his time during "The Voice" fondly but admits it was a lot of hard work, along with the added pressure of his progress being televised.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/LUKE WADE
Wade has always loved music but didn't try making it himself until he was 17 years old. Wade enjoys all types of music and said his inspirations include Otis Redding, Martin
Sexton and the Beatles.
Throughout his life, Wade has encountered his fair share of hard times. As a child, he had a bout with spinal meningitis, a painball accident left him blind in one eye, and he had a stroke as a teenager. However, he said the biggest thing he's had to overcome is believing in himself.
Each year, the Susan G. Komen foundation selects an artist to record a song and music video for its fundraising campaign. This year, Wade was chosen, following last year's selection of Josh Groban.
"It's an incredible honor to be considered inspirational for people to get through the hardest parts of their lives." Wade said.
"I've been through a lot," Wade said. "I've had a lot of failed segments in my career, but the biggest thing I've had to overcome was doubt."
"It's a songwriter's approach to soul music," he said. "I try to make it a show with high highs and really connective lows."
As far as what to expect at the Bottleneck, Wade describes his live shows as "bombastic." His shows are full of horn sections, drums and bass.
During his show, he'll be performing songs from both of his albums, "Tomorrow's Ghosts" and "The River."
"The River," Wade's most
recent album, was released about a year ago, before Wade competed on "The Voice" Wade never got a chance to tour the album and is happy to finally have time to promote it. The album includes songs that college students can surely relate to, he said.
"The River is a collection of songs that are geared towards people who are transitioning from kids to adults," Wade
said. "There's a song about being on a date, there's a song about being in a relationship. There's a song about having a friend of the opposite sex and becoming intimate and eventually you lose your friend."
Yet another challenge Wade faces is being an independent artist, considering artists usually have a hard time promoting themselves. Wade is no different — he cites being his
own brand as the hardest part of being a musician.
"You're forced to sell yourself and your product," he said. "Lots of people do it for free but there's only one of you. You can't compete against everyone else. It can be difficult to be yourself at times, but it's the only way to make a career."
Edited by Valerie Haag
Alumna launches online gift shop for women
KELLY CORDINGLEY
@kellycordingley
Two sisters, 12 years apart, never dreamed they would launch an online gift shop catered to gifts for women. Last March, that's exactly what they did.
University alumni Allison Loftus and her older sister Amy Sullivan launched VelvetCrate, an online gift shop with gift boxes catered to women. Currently, there are three signature gift boxes: Love, Just Because and Celebrate, ranging in cost from $50 to $68 with shipping included.
"It's wrapped, there's a handwritten note and it goes straight to mom." Loftus said. "That whole process of going to pick out the gift, wrapping it and going to the post office can be really daunting. You've got several gifts that cover all those things that mom loves."
With Mother's Day less than a week away, Loftus said any of these boxes would make a perfect present for mom to unwrap.
Sullivan said they've made the gift-giving process exceptionally simple, especially for last-minute shoppers since the gift will be there in, at most, three days.
"It's a seamless process for ordering it," Sullivan said.
"We include free shipping and we do really fast delivery. For customer service, it's us. When people have questions, we can meet customers' needs because we're the one's making decisions. We make it very simple."
Inspired by her time spent on Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, Loftus said she always loved purchasing gifts and dreamed of opening her own gift store one day.
"I loved collecting gifts, and I always had a passion for picking out little gift items," she said. "I moved to Texas and was a teacher for about eight years, but my dream was to open up my own gift store."
"She is a real go getter, and she's very business savvy and had a lot of great ideas ... so we came together to start this," Loftus said. "It's been really great, actually. I never would have guessed it'd be as great as it was."
the University of Arizona and has her master's degree in counseling from Kansas State University, but she insists she's a Jayhawk through and through. Sullivan said they haven't deviated much from their original business plan from more than a year ago.
Sullivan had previous experience opening a business as she created a transitional living home in Kansas for women recovering from eating disorders. She attended
Once she decided to pursue her dream, Loftus approached her sister about the startup. Loftus handles the creative side of things while Sullivan handles more of the business side of things.
An example of the "Just Because" gift box from VelvetCrate, an online gift shop for women started by a University alumna and her sister. The boxes are wrapped and come with the option of adding a personalized note.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
"We have learned along the way and there's been a few things we've changed, especially on the operations end, my end," Sullivan said. "Initially we thought wed be geared towards men and we learned pretty quickly that women were going to be our customers. Any change has been really positive."
Loftus said as the business grows, she hopes they'll create more box options and offer individual gifts. One special-edition box currently for sale is the Kansas City box, and Loftus said they're in the process of creating a Father's Day box. Additionally she said she hopes to have a back-to-school box for younger, college-aged women.
"We just want to keep growing and expanding the types of things we can do," Loftus said. "Creating a really solid online gift is what I'd love to do, where it's not just the collections, where you're ordering gifts of their own."
"We're 12 years apart in age, so by the time I could remember anything, she was already
Kansas City, Loftus said this business has brought them closer than she ever imagined they'd be.
Even though Lofus lives in New York and Sullivan lives in
off to college." Loftus said. "This has really brought us a lot closer together. We haven't had any arguments, this whole business has really been a dream."
Edited by Valerie Haag
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