Sweet & Salty Artifacts

06/17/2026

Did you know that we can create personalized signs and projects for team building, birthday parties, girls night out or themed events? We design and cut the projects, then package them up and can even host the event at The Collective Heart in Ottawa, KS. It’s a great way to bond with your coworkers or enjoy a night with friends!

06/16/2026

I am soo excited that my small business is a founding member of The Collective Heart in Ottawa, KS. Because of that relationship my laser-engraved products are at the City of Entrepreneurs at Union Station Kansas City for the FIFA World Cup in Kansas City.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have my designs and products in front of an international audience and I am so grateful.

If you visit Fan Fest in KC this summer come check out our booth! We are in the back left corner of the Grand Hall. 🩵

06/03/2026

We are so excited about this opportunity! As one of the founding members of The Collective Heart we are headed to the WORLD CUP in KANSAS CITY!!

I am busy making new KC and soccer themed items to send with the store as they bring 30+ artists with them to this international opportunity. It’s going to be a WILD summer as we stock a booth at Union Station for 3 weeks PLUS keep the store going with its normal hours. 🤗

Check out the store at 204 S Main in downtown Ottawa or at Union Station starting June 11th.

🌎❤️ WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD CUP! ❤️🌎

Well... sort of. 😄

We are incredibly excited to share that The Collective Heart Creative has been selected to participate in the City of Entrepreneurs Marketplace at Union Station during the 2026 FIFA World Cup festivities in Kansas City!

When we first opened our doors, our goal was simple: create opportunities for artists, build community through creativity, and make art more accessible to everyone. We never imagined that journey would lead us to one of the largest events our region has ever hosted!

This summer, The Collective Heart Creative will bring a slice of Ottawa to Kansas City, showcasing the work of approximately 35 artists from our creative community during this five-week marketplace experience connected to the World Cup festivities.

Kansas City is expected to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world, with fans already registered from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Through this opportunity, artwork created right here in our rural community will be seen by people from across the globe.

As a small (and brand new) nonprofit, opportunities like this do not come along every day. When we learned about the potential opportunity, we knew we had to try. We believed our artists deserved a chance to be part of this incredible moment, and we are honored to have been invited to participate. ❤️

This opportunity is a reflection of what can happen when a community comes together to support the arts. If you've ever taken a class, attended an event, volunteered, donated supplies, purchased artwork, shared one of our posts, or simply cheered us on from the sidelines, THANK YOU.

The Collective Heart Creative has always been a collaborative, community effort, and we're excited to carry a little piece of that community with us to Kansas City.

Because of your support, artists from our small corner of Kansas will have the opportunity to share their creativity with visitors from around the world.

❤️ Thank you for believing in what we're building. ❤️

We hope you'll celebrate this exciting news with us, share our story, follow along as we prepare for this adventure, and come visit us at Union Station this summer! The heart of our community is about to be shared with the world. ❤️

06/01/2026

I shared this story over at The Collective Heart and wanted to share it here too.

❤️ I’ve been keeping a secret from you for the past few months and I think it’s time to share…

As some of you know, last October we were unsure of the future of The Collective Heart. Owning a brick and mortar small business is HARD and sharing a business is even harder. We originally started with 3 woman-owned businesses sharing the home and vision of The Collective Heart. After a year of business, it was clear we needed to make some changes (for the better) for everyone involved.

The changes started in October with the hunt for additional partners and the possibility of becoming a nonprofit. But what you don’t know, is that at the very same time, I (Dawnua) had just been notified that I was one of 150 artists chosen, out of 500 submissions, for the 2026 Parade of Hearts art installation.

The design was submitted in July, announcements of artists shared in October and we picked up the heart in November! And at the same time, we were reworking The Collective Heart. We closed our doors in December and with a new structure and plan in place, we started new partnerships, new layouts, new merchandising and pretty much painted every surface in the store!

One day would be spent at the store painting and reorganizing for 12 hours and the next day I would spend 12+ hours painting my heart during the coldest days of the year. Back and forth for several weeks. The Parade of Hearts project was very therapeutic for me as it gave me another chance to put something positive out into the world.

The design celebrated the diversity of our Kansas City region by featuring the word "Welcome" in 88 languages, along with American Sign Language and Braille. I wanted everyone who encountered the heart to feel seen, valued, and welcomed.

What makes the project even more meaningful to me is that the hand-drawn heart at the center of the design was originally created by my mother, a lifelong art teacher who spent more than 30 years encouraging creativity in others. That same heart element was integral to The Collective Heart Creative's logo and remains a reminder of why creativity matters so much to me.

It feels fitting that I finished the Parade of Hearts project THE SAME DAY that we relaunched the store as The Collective Heart Creative, Inc. While these were two separate milestones in my life, they are really a part of the same journey.

Watching people experience my Kansas City Has Heart piece was moving in ways I never expected. I got emotional watching parents introduce their kids to ASL and practice the letters that spelled "Welcome." Another teenager checked my Braille to read “Welcome” and several people stopped to search the heart for their native language. The joy they experienced once they found it was contagious.

It was a good reminder for me that art has the power to help people feel seen.

Today, Kansas City Has Heart is on display at Knuckleheads in Kansas City as part of the Parade of Hearts exhibition and auction. If you'd like to learn more about the story behind the heart, I've shared the full story on our website and will link in the comments. And if you are interested in bidding on my heart or any of the other amazing hearts, I will share that link too.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this creative journey—from my family who helped paint it, to every artist, student, volunteer, and supporter who has become part of The Collective Heart Creative's story. ❤️

05/19/2026

It was such an honor to be a part of the 2026 Parade of Hearts art installation. Have you been to Knuckleheads Kansas City yet and seen our heart?

Ryan Millan-PulleyEditorial Intern Parade of Hearts is in full swing once again, with dozens of heart-shaped sculptures appearing throughout the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. According to its website, Parade of Hearts is a public art experience meant to celebrate “Kansas City's creativity, cultur...

05/06/2026

I have TWO more of these Mother’s Day gifts that can be personalized and ready to go by TOMORROW! They are $22 each and all I need to know is:
1. Which one do you want
2. How many names / hearts do you need
3. What are the names for the hearts?

Personalized Mother’s Day gift for Moms and Grandmas! 🩵🩵 Just message to order.

04/08/2026

So excited to see our Parade of Hearts heart found its home at Knuckleheads Kansas City! If you found us from the QR code on the heart, WELCOME! We are a woman-owned gift boutique specializing in laser-engraved and handmade gifts in Ottawa, KS.

Our new heart is here! This is just one of 150 new sculptures going up this year around KC

The iconic hearts have been a staple of Kansas City for years, and along with new art, the hearts themselves have a new look. Rather than an actual heart shape, the sculptures are now circular with a heart-shaped hole in the middle.

02/18/2026

Here is the line up of classes at The Collective Heart for this week. There is something for EVERYONE! We have an Art Jam + Bluegrass music Jam where you can meet other artists, we have Mosaic Studio time, $5 Friday Art Kits and Crafts, 3D wooden book trackers to paint and assemble, a crochet demo and a hand-knit chunky blanket class.

We would love to have you join us at an event this week or stop in to check out our handmade and curated gift shop. We also have The Art of Friendship, a four-piece art show highlighting never before seen work by Elizabeth "Grandma" Layton and Mary Ann Hedrick, hanging in our Gallery.

Come check us out! 204 S. Main, Ottawa, KS.

12/21/2025

We have some special holiday gift bundles this week. ❤️ Our signature Kansas hardwood cutting boards bundled with Home Sweet Home engraved utensils and a custom-made Christmas kitchen towel. ❤️ PLUS 30% OFF all remaining holiday kitchen towels. AND Buy One Get One FREE keychain wristlets with any pendant of your choice. ❤️

We are located at 204 S Main in downtown Ottawa Kansas inside The Collective Heart.