We were thrilled to catch up with Liz Joy and hear about her ideal summer day, plus plans for her ice cream shop’s one-year anniversary.
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
That’s like asking me to pick my favorite child (meaning it changes depending on the day and mood), but right now I’m loving the Carrot Mango Italian ice. It’s so refreshing, and served as a float with our house-made lemonade is *chef’s kiss.*
If you had a wide-open, no-plans summer day in Wauwatosa, how would you spend it?
Sounds glooorious. I’d walk with the kids for a coffee. We have a special route that passes a tree with a little bear face wood carving on it, and they still humor me by “feeding” it. I’d also bike to the library to pick up some books on hold and have lunch at Le Reve. My all-time favorite meal is their Filet de Boeuf sandwich. I’ve been dying to try a tie-dye ice technique, so maybe I’d do a craft with the kids. Then I’d stop at Little Village Play Cafe for an afternoon iced coffee. Then, we’d grill some dinner with fresh veggies from Happy Day Farmhaus at the Tosa Farmers Market. Finally, I’d bike to Hoyt Pool for an evening swim and read my library book. Okay, I’m going to have to make this happen because this sounds like a GOOOOOD DAY.
As design lovers, we love how you embraced the history of the original building on your shop—who could forget that blue?!—and collaborated with local artists and creatives to transform the shop into your own.
I feel so lucky I get to live out so many of my dreams with this business, and working with so many talented artists is one of them! Whitney Nettles (@whitneynettles) did our branding. Those ice cream characters are iconic. She and David Zimmerman (@bigshotrobot) did the Cherry on Top mural on the back of our building. Christina (@persikadesignco) painted our beautiful quilt-inspired mural inside. Michael from @cerdadesignco did all the window and menu hand paintings. The gold leaf is so dreamy. And Anneabel from @ag_illustrations created the custom wallpaper in our bathroom. In our tiny, 800-square-foot building, I wanted to pack in as much impact and art as I can! David will be coming back to paint our new outdoor freezer, and Anneabel is painting a Little Free Art Studio—think Little Free Library, but with art supplies and art to take and share!
Do you have any other projects planned for this summer?
We really are coming up with ideas and executing them on the fly. Our one-year anniversary is on the Fourth of July—we couldn’t miss opening for the parade—so I’m sure we’ll have something special planned for that. I’d love to do a summer reading program, chalk drawing contests, and some more casual art programs. Also, a few weeks ago we had a young musician play her ukulele on our back patio, and I’d love to feature more young, excited artists such as herself!
