CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 17 "Even though they don't know it's happening, they feel it," she says. "And that's when we know we are doing it right." Echeverri started Meraki Creative in 2018 in a small space on Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville. Cobb joined the company in 2020. ey have since moved to 1009 Marlborough Road off Raeford Road, in a building that gives them room for both a storefront and studio space. Echeverri, 35, grabbed the attention of downtown visitors and arts enthusiasts when she designed a colorful and fanciful overhang of umbrellas in a downtown alley in 2018. e display was up for three weeks. "People went crazy," she says. "ey could not believe something like that was in Fayetteville." One of those people, in fact, was Brittany Cobb. She saw the alley and thought, "I've got to meet the person who did this." Business and creative partnerships were born. Balloons, tassels and ribbons are among their media; playfulness and a chill vibe are the goals. e artists string brightly colored balloons together for private parties celebrating birthdays, graduations and anniversaries. Balloons bring back childhood memories, Cobb says. "As an adult, you don't really get that anymore — balloons for your birthday," she says. As a true test of whether their creations will get the kind of reaction they're looking for, they will oen use Cobb's husband, who is in the Army and currently deployed to Germany, as a barometer. ey'll show him the creation by phone. He's not outwardly emotional, Cobb said, so to get a reaction out of him is a good sign. Sometimes he'll shrug, but other times he'll say, "Hey, you're killin' it." at's when they know they got it right. ey also decorate for business and university functions; clients have included Systel, Holmes Security, Cape Fear Botanical Garden, and Methodist, Fayetteville State, Duke and Campbell universities. ey can provide site-specific murals, custom photo- booth backdrops and backdrops for use on Instagram posts. Teamwork is essential, they say. "Karoll has the overall vision," says Cobb. Stout and Booth Orthodontics is now part of the MyOrthodontist family. Dr. Rick Booth is transitioning into retirement af ter 50 years of serving the Fayetteville area as a five-star family orthodontist. Dr. Spencer Marsh has joined the team and has an enthusiasm and passion for orthodontics and the Fayetteville community. MyOrthodontist is a network of family- owned orthodontic of fices serving North Carolina and Virginia. It is committed to providing modern, af fordable orthodontic treatment that includes metal and ceramic braces, clear aligner orthodontics, 3-D imaging, and virtual, remote orthodontic treatment. 910-484-8191 222 Fairway Drive Fayetteville, NC 28305 www.myorthodontistus.com Our brand new concourse gives you plenty of reasons to fly from your own backyard. And now, with our new entrance and baggage claim on schedule to arrive soon, we're continuing to add to the welcoming experience. Easy parking. Shorter lines. Sparkling new facilities. Why drive to another airport? T I M E F L I E S . F LY FAY. f l y f a y . c o m DUE FOR ARRIVAL: AN EVEN BETTER AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

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