The Texas Tribune
Art, Food and Shops Away From the Super-Size Crowds
By STIRLING KELSO
Published: January 29, 2011
Though Arlington may be the center of the action next weekend, even Super Bowl fans cannot survive on hot dogs and yard markers alone. So if you’ll be at the big game, or if you just happen to be in the area and want to avoid the crush of Packers and Steelers fans, head east or west on Interstate 30 to get your arts and culture fix in one of two up-and-coming neighborhoods.
In Dallas, the Bishop Arts district is a hipster enclave with a clutch of recent shop and restaurant openings, while the new West 7th district in Fort Worth is ideally situated next to all the big museums.
Travelers who tend to put Dallas at the bottom of their Texas bucket list probably haven’t been to the Bishop Arts district, where cyclists outnumber drivers, pedestrians stroll past historic buildings and the words “local,” “artisan” and “crafted” slip their way into conversations over dinners that begin with regionally grown greens and fine wines. Since October, five restaurants and four stores have opened, each owned by chefs and merchants as passionate and proud of their Oak Cliff neighborhood as they are of their individual endeavors.
Word-of-mouth advertising in this tight community goes far. After inviting you to sip on Dublin Dr Peppers and Boylan’s birch beers at Soda Gallery (408 North Bishop Avenue, 214-946-7632; thesodagallery.com), the owner, Robert Gutierrez, may recommend stopping in next door to see Artisan’s Collective (410 North Bishop Avenue, 214-356-0818; artisanscollective.net), a gallery dedicated to Dallas artists.
Sonya and Chris Eudaley, the co-owners of Dirt (417 North Bishop Avenue, 214-242-9533; dirtflowers.com) love to show off their vintage-inspired arrangements and vibrant succulents, but they also can’t say enough about the dark chocolate creations made with inventive ingredients like wild mushrooms and Thai basil at Dude, Sweet Chocolate (408 West Eighth Street, No. 102, 214-943-5943; dudesweetchocolate.com).
Stirling Kelso also writes for Travel + Leisure.
stirlingkelso@gmail.com
A version of this article appeared in print on January 30, 2011, on page A27B of the National edition.
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Extravagant floral arrangements are easy to come by in Dallas. But thanks to new floral and event design studio Dirt, understated greens are also in the local diet.
The Bishop Arts shop opts for sleek, textured stems such as gray Berzelia berries, milk thistle and cobra lilies. Sprinkled inside its arrangements are unusual seasonal accents including twigs, persimmons and acorns.
The shop’s creative mix is to be expected from owners Sonya and Chris Eudaley: She studied drama and set design at Texas Woman’s University, and he’s a photographer. After 11 years in the floral-design business, Sonya decided to open her own shop to create arrangements she describes as “modern vintage with an artsy edge.”
“My buy is always based in art first,” she says. “Flowers are my paint and containers are my canvas. We never create the same arrangement twice.”
Although a big chunk of Dirt’s business is custom and corporate orders (clients include Bolsa, Hattie’s and Cafe Brazil), the shop is decorated with grab-and-go designs such as sunset begonias in clay pots ($32.50), donkey tail in modern wood boxes ($50) and seasonal mixtures in soup cans wrapped with colorful papers and ribbons ($15.50). Holiday wreaths decorated with glass ornaments in earthy hues will also be available.
The shop’s soup- and coffee-can designs have become a customer favorite; the Eudaleys often discover donations at their doorstep in the morning. Another signature is packing the top of potted arrangements with crushed colored glass recycled from old street lights and medicine bottles.
Instead of lining its looks in refrigerators, Dirt casually merchandises its greens atop vintage French provincial dressers, peely paint ladders, wood stumps and even an antique school desk. The couple lives in a one-room apartment above the shop, so most of the decor is from their personal collection. (That’s their dining room table in the front window.)
Retail floral prices range from $2 for a single berry branch to $495 for a large succulent inside an antique turquoise pail.
Brittany Edwards Cobb is a Dallas freelance writer.
THE DIRT ON DIRT
Dirt, 417 N. Bishop Ave., Dallas; 214-242-9533. www.dirtflowers.com
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DIRT Wedding bouquet on the Cover of D Weddings!
White peonies, Queen Anne’s lace, dusty miller, scabiosa, rosemary, Nigella pods, and cotton wrapped in vintage cotton mattress ticking, sisal rope, and handmade herringbone ribbon bow. dirtflowers.com. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Floral Husband-and-wife duo Chris and Sonya Eudaley take an artistic approach to floral design at Dirt Design Studio, the newest floral-and-more shop to pop up in the Bishop Arts District. Whether you have a bulging budget or more modest means, designer Sonya calls on her creative ingenuity to give you the flowers of your dreams. Plus, when you stop by to discuss ideas, you’ll get treated to Champagne and goodies from Dude, Sweet Chocolate—because brainstorming is always better with some bubbly. 214-242-9533. dirtflowers.com.
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Great Holiday Centerpieces
Make your festive tabletop pop with a gorgeous floral creation.
Published 11.03.2010
From D Home NOV-DEC 2010
A birch-lined glass vase holds this arrangement from Dirt Floral, which includes leucadendron, astilbe, cobra lilies, Sahara spray roses, amaryllis, dusty miller, gold-painted grape seed eucalyptus, persimmon branches, holiday balls, and Dutch curly willow. dirtflowers.com.
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Dirt Design Studio and Wisteria Grow New Roots
A garden shop in Bishop Arts and a relocated outlet store on Cedar Springs have a lot to offer.
photography by Josh Martin
There’s so much to love about Dirt, the newest little shop to pop up in the Bishop Arts District. Newlyweds Chris and Sonya Eudaley have set it up more like a gallery than a gift shop. “It’s a true artists’ studio,” Sonya says. “We live here [above the shop] with our little dog, Blue, and create and sell our art.” Sonya, who is an artist, painter, and sculptor, has been in the floral and event design industry for more than a decade, while Chris’ creativity stems from a photography background. Though they do their fair share of weddings and events, they pride themselves on their custom patio-scaping and terrace design. “We specialize in high-rises and luxury homes that need modern, artistically designed plants and plant-scapes,” Sonya explains. The couple does all this while keeping a keen eye on their carbon footprint. “I think the new term is upcycling,” she says. They do things such as repurpose coffee cans into vases and source local recycled glass. You can get in on the gig, too. Bring in five or more cans and get a 10 percent discount on your potted purchase. They’re even giving away free dirt—mulch made from the flower waste produced in processing.
Find out more about DIRT.
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The Weekend Guide Dallas Events and Diversions
SHOP Dirt Design Studio What: New indie floral design and event planning studio owned by a thirtysomething Oak Cliff couple feels more Southern than swanky. Why: Refreshments are on the house at the opening shindig tonight, 7 p.m. When: Tues.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Where: 417 N. Bishop Ave., Bishop Arts District (817-240-6015).
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Flower shop and design studio open in Bishop Arts
Posted by: Rachel Stone on September 1st, 2010 in Bishop Arts District, Blog Post 
Oak Cliff People — It’s Not Just For Reading
In the Sept. 3 edition of the paper, Georgia Fisher wrote about Dirt Design Studio, a new shop in the Bishop Arts District space formerly occupied by Decorazon Gallery. Before Georgia started working on said story, which detailed Dirt owner Sonya Eudaley’s commitment to living green, Eudaley contacted our circulation department about finding an innovative use for old copies of Oak Cliff People. She’s going to wrap her flowers in newspapers that we would otherwise be chucking into a recycling bin. Today, we received a bouquet inside a 09/11/09 edition. Pretty cool, huh? 
