Stained glass, fused glass and jewelry new Harwood attractions

There was a time when the red, two-story building in the heart of Harwood served up sweets and treats as a candy store in the early 1900s.

Surely children of a century ago would walk along the Main Street dirt road clutching in their hand a penny or two to purchase sugary delights at the building that offered what must have appeared to have been an endless variety of candies.

Behind glass against which the children would press their noses and make their selections were mountains of rock candy, fudge, taffy, lemon drops and a delicious inventory long lost to history.

Trains would slow to a stop – probably almost directly in front of the store – to take on water, freight and passengers who may well have carried with them a small white paper bag filled with their favorite treats for the ride to San Antonio or Houston, the West Coast or the eastern seaboard, Chicago or New Orleans.

A front window in the prominent red building still bears the faded “Fancy Candies” lettering that not only described what could be found inside, but also served as an enticement for the L.R. Bouldin Confectionery business.

Time, however, has resulted in considerable changes in downtown Harwood. The dirt Main Street is now paved, a two-lane highway designated as U.S. 90, although traffic through this northern Gonzales County town is, liberally speaking, light. Trains are still a frequent visitor, although Harwood has long been eliminated as a stopping point. The railroad now serves as a metaphor for how the hustling-and-bustling world acknowledges the town’s presence, but too often fails to pause long enough to discover what treasures may still exist.

It is with this laidback, nostalgic, community-that-time-forgot setting as a backdrop that Jan Meeks and Hal Shipley are resurrecting treats intended to take away the collective breath of the shoppers drawn to the new activity at the red, two-story landmark.

But instead of the confectionary delicacies that are the building’s legacy, Jan and Hal are offering a different kind of candy.

Eye candy.

“It’s amazing the emotion you see” from those for whom Hal has created his unique stained glass. “That’s why I put my heart and soul into my work.”

Hal has been creating unique stained glass art for the past 35 years. Drawing largely on natural themes, his original designs are produced as one-of-a-kind works or in limited editions. Following in the tradition of master stained-glass artists, Hal’s custom creations often incorporate the copper foil technique.

“We’ve done this a long time,” Hal says of his craftsmanship and Jan’s work in glass and metal. “It’s our livelihood. It’s not a hobby.”

Hal’s stained glass can be found in many distinctive and historic homes throughout the region, including the Academy House in Austin’s Travis Heights, which was highlighted on HGTV’s “Restore America.”

Jan and Hal relocated from Austin to Harwood in 2001 where they bought a 1936 arts-and-crafts home and built an art studio. As it turns out, the same Bouldin brothers who built the red, two-story building also built the house they bought.

So it seemed only logical that, in October 2010, Jan and Hal would purchased the distinctive building where they envisioned a change from their years on the juried art show circuit traveling throughout the region.

“We want to see if we can have people come to us, instead of us going to them. This way, people can have something handmade by us,” Jan says. “This is something we really wanted to do since we first met.

“When this building literally fell in our laps, we were blessed,” she says, pointing out the prime location on U.S. 90 and just off Highway 183 and I-10. “It was really meant to be.”

In addition to opening their business Saturday, Aug. 20, in Harwood, the two artists have long had their creations available at Buc-ee’s at I-10 and Highway 183, and at Discovery Architectural Antiques, 409 St. Francis in downtown Gonzales.

The name of Jan and Hal’s business – On Track Arts … Quality Art … Handpicked Vintage – is both a misnomer as well as a perfect descriptor.

“On Track Arts is a combination of both our businesses,” Jan explains, as one of three trains during the interview rumbles past, rattling the building and making a normal conversation a challenge. “It’s not because of the railroad tracks across the street.”

Instead, the first part of the business name grew out of Jan’s hectic schedule – commuting from Harwood to Austin, teaching art to cognitively-challenged adults, being a fastidious homemaker and caring for four dogs and three cats (at which point Hal corrects her, saying it’s actually three dogs and four cats, all rescues) – when, at the end of her proverbial rope, she said to herself, “I need to get ‘on track’.”

The middle part of the business name is testament to their collective 55 years as professional artists whose commissioned and speculative work are on display in homes throughout the region.

The last part of the business name emphasizes their other passion: handpicked vintage items.

“We’re a little different,” Hal admits. “We have our own artwork available, plus things we think people would like to buy and like to look at.”

“To rely only on artwork would be tough,” Jan says, “so we diversified to include artwork, stained glass and vintage items.”

But, she explains, “we’re not just retail space. We’re a working studio.”

It’s the retail space that first greets the visitor with the handpicked vintage items. To be sure, at On Track Arts, nostalgia can be purchased. But, as Jan emphasizes, it’s not an antique store and it is most definitely not a thrift shop.

It’s a place where one can find treasures. “We have a little of everything,” she says.

And plenty of eye candy.