- [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(light music) - Just ahead on "Carolina Impact", see how a former journalist turned entrepreneur now inspires the Queen City in a brand new way as we celebrate Black History Month.

Plus, we take you inside a Gastonia warehouse where scoring deals is a full-contact sport, and see how a Matthews bakery brings the essence of Europe to our region through tasty treats.

"Carolina Impact" starts right now.

(inspiring music) Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

Tonight, we meet a woman who built a career many would do whatever it takes to hold onto, but she chose to start over.

After nearly seven years as a television journalist, Ruby Durham took a leap of faith and bet on herself.

As we wrap up Black History Month, "Carolina Impact"'s Dara Khaalid and videographer John Branscum share her story.

(upbeat music) ♪ Say it's not you ♪ - [Dara] Her energy is electric.

♪ If it's not you, then who ♪ - [Dara] Her confidence is as bold as the gold sequin dress she's wearing.

♪ Let's get happening ♪ ♪ With all of your sadness ♪ - [Dara] Singing lyrics that embody her life, Ruby Durham gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes for her as a singer-songwriter to get show-ready.

♪ Get up, it's your time to shine ♪ - [Dara] The time and effort she spends doing this in an empty room helps perfect this: ♪ Be unstoppable, it's impossible ♪ - [Dara] The final product, which has the potential for global impact.

(upbeat music) For Ruby, those long hours rehearsing songs like "If Not You, Who" is worth it because of the encouraging message she wants to resonate with listeners.

- Girl, if not you, who gonna do it?

And you have that confidence to where it's like, you know what, let me just take one step.

And once I take that one step, put on this music, come on girl, we gotta win the day, you know?

- [Dara] If seeing Ruby's face on TV right now seems familiar: - Let me introduce Ruby Durham.

- [Dara] That's because before launching her music career in 2022, she was an Emmy-nominated journalist for nearly seven years, spending almost five of those years at WCNC-TV in Charlotte.

- [Ruby] I really just fought my way all the way up to being on the streets and in the middle of the night working in the wee hours of the morning to finally getting on the desk.

- [Dara] Ruby also earned coveted opportunities to host her own segments and her own show, "Reasons to Smile".

- [Announcer] Time now for "Reasons to Smile".

- [Ruby] People needed it.

People needed reasons to smile.

It was born in the pandemic.

We need some positivity, and we need to tell stories in the community outside of COVID right now to maybe lift spirits up.

And it ended up being something people look forward to.

- [Dara] Working in a large television market like Charlotte, repeatedly being promoted, and establishing herself as a trusted voice for communities, Ruby was living out what many journalists dream of, so it was shocking when she walked away from it in 2022.

- When I put in my resignation, it was definitely a surprise, but I had to put me first in that moment and be okay with where I was ending the chapter in journalism, but also be thankful for the tools and tricks that I was able to receive.

♪ Mama raised me to be determined to walk in every room ♪ - [Dara] Those tools and tricks played a role in empowering her to be courageous enough to start a new career in music.

But what people didn't know from watching Ruby on the news is that music was a passion of hers since she was little, a talent her late mother, LaSonya, always supported.

- I just remember I could be singing on stage, and she'd be back there standing up like, you better not mess up.

You better do good.

- [Dara] Ruby still feels the strength her mother had when raising her as a single mom, especially when times got hard, leaving them homeless, and during her mother's battle with breast cancer that claimed her life in 2010.

- She had it so hard, but she told me I was phenomenal.

We had nothing, but she was like, go out there, go out there and be the best.

♪ I'm still trying to say I love you ♪ ♪ Still trying to say I trust you ♪ - [Dara] Words Ruby uses as motivation on days when it's tough and she questions her leap into a new career.

- When I cry, when I have moments to where it's like, why are you making this hard?

I just think about her in these hard predicaments of life.

Like, how can I give up when she didn't it?

(lively music) - [Dara] That same spirit of tenacity carries over to Ruby's fashion company, Suited by Red, started in 2022.

- [Ruby] I always wanted to start a women's clothing line while I was on the news because not only did I always get compliments on my outfits, but I'm like, people are complimenting outfits that I'm literally rehashing.

- [Dara] Suited by Red sells different statement pieces like crop jackets and pants that come in a vibrant red, a color that Ruby is deeply connected to.

- Red is relentless.

Red is rebellious.

Red is, I'm here.

I wanted to start off with red because if you gonna put yourself out there, then you know you gonna have to do it.

You gonna have to really start strong, and come on now, you notice red if anything else.

- [Dara] As Ruby continues to grow as a fashion designer, so do her connections.

- I designed this piece for Fashion Week in New York.

- [Dara] She met her mentor, Daisy Malone, a few years ago at a Charlotte fashion show, and shortly after, Daisy took her under her wing, teaching her valuable lessons.

- She's an Energizer Bunny, and that's what I love about her.

She does have fire in her soul, and that's what I enjoy working with her.

She's a lover of fashion, and I appreciated that as well.

- When was it that we met?

- [Dara] Ruby even invited Daisy on her podcast, "Ruby's Roundtable", where they spoke about how Daisy helped Ruby build her fashion line from sketches to where it is today.

- The support that you've given me to really take my ideas to life, it's like how in the world did God put us next to each other?

Like who would've thought?

- It was destined.

- It was.

It had to be.

♪ This part seems fun for me ♪ - [Dara] For Ruby, this journey is about more than just reinvention.

It's about legacy.

Every note she sings and every design she creates reflects the dreams her mother urged her to chase, a reminder that courage can outlive loss.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Dara Khaalid.

- What an amazing woman.

Thank you, Dara, for sharing her story.

Well, stay tuned.

Ruby will be performing her new music at several events across the Southeast, including Charlotte, Atlanta, and Raleigh.

From changing the course of one life to shaping the imagination of generations, stories have a way of staying with us, especially the ones we hear as children.

Children's books use words and art to spark curiosity, fuel imagination, and lay the foundation for a love of reading that can last a lifetime.

Producer Russ Hunsinger introduces us to Gordon C. James, an extraordinary local illustrator.

(upbeat music) - I have a life goal to be a great fine artist.

That being said, the method in which I work doesn't really change when I'm doing illustration.

I approach my illustration work with the same dedication and passion that I do for the paintings that are just for me because I believe that children deserve that in the books that they read.

So I try to give kids these beautiful impressionistic paintings, 17 to 24 at a time in children's book form.

(upbeat music) You're leaving a legacy.

These books are gonna be around long after I'm dead and gone.

I don't want things that are maybe not up to my standards to be out in the world after I'm gone.

(lively music) There's a favorite in literally every one of these.

"Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut" is a story about a young man who gets a haircut and how good that haircut makes him feel.

And so this book won a ton of awards, and it's got some beautiful pages in it.

I try to figure out in what way that I relate to the character.

Sometimes there are things that the character's going through that I've been through directly in my life, you know?

And then there are other things that I feel like I maybe do a little research on.

Also, these books are a team thing.

So we have, you know, the editors and the art directors that also help.

And "I Am Every Good Thing", my favorite one is the cover 'cause my little boy is on it.

I just love that one to death.

I think my favorite books are the ones that are about present-day kids, and they're like super uplifting and affirming.

"I Am Every Good Thing" and "Crown" are very much that way, and those are awesome 'cause I have a little boy and a little girl, and I like to do those books that kind of help kids, that really boost that self-esteem or just confirm it.

(uplifting music) (singer vocalizing) I still do school visits and talks to kids.

Oh, they're awesome.

I go all over the country, and it's just fun.

A lot of times it's the entire school, and I have a PowerPoint presentation, and I bring people up.

We design a book cover together.

We create stories together.

I'll talk to kids about their drawings and why I'm doing what I'm doing, and what they could maybe do if they feel like going in this direction.

When you get out and you get to see the people who you created the book for and that they enjoy it, it is just a blast.

What I would like to leave people with is that if you have a passion, it could be, you know, a creative passion, an intellectual pursuit, whatever it is, it's something that you deserve to have in your life.

A lot of people have this thing that's inside them that they want to do, and they just don't give themselves the right to do it, or they don't carve out the time to do it.

Meanwhile, they get up every day, and they go to a job, and they do their absolute best, and then they come home, and they don't give any of that energy to themselves.

So I would like to encourage people to give some of that energy to yourself and feed your passion, and just take those steps into being that person that you know you are destined to be.

- Thank you, Russ.

Gordon's work has been recognized by multiple awards, including a John Newbery Honor and a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal.

One thing about our region, there is certainly no shortage of talent or creative ways to connect with others.

Imagine going shopping, paying $20 at the door, and walking out with as much as you can carry.

No limit, no checkout line, just one trip to the door.

"Carolina Impact"'s Chris Clark shows us how it's not a game show, but a warehouse in Gastonia that's turning bargain hunting into a full-contact sport.

(playful music) - [Chris] It sounds made up when you first hear it.

- Well, this can't be true.

- [Chris] A warehouse where for $20 you keep whatever you can carry.

- Almost every time, jaws drop.

They're like, what?

- [Chris] No trick.

- I've got my pockets.

- [Chris] No catch.

- I love it.

- [Chris] No timer.

- You can't beat that.

- [Chris] Just you.

- My wife loves to come down there too.

I don't know where she got to.

- [Chris] And the question of how much of the world you can hold in your hands.

- Ding, ding.

- You almost feel like you're stealing stuff.

- [Chris] And a painted line on the floor.

- Oh yeah.

- [Chris] Welcome to the Mystery Box Warehouse, where $20 gets you anything in the building as long as you can carry it out in one trip.

- I made it.

- [Chris] An idea that didn't start out as a business, but rather a problem.

- My mother-in-law moved in with us about four years ago.

We had estate sales to try and sell the stuff that she couldn't bring with her.

- [Chris] After a month of estate sales, the place still wasn't cleared.

- I just did a Facebook Live video and said, look guys, I gotta get rid of this stuff.

Come pay me $5 at the door, and then everything in the house is free.

And we literally had more people come that weekend, move more stuff that weekend, and made more money that weekend than the whole month prior.

- [Chris] When Bill's father passed away a few months later, that lesson stuck.

Faced with clearing a 5,000-square-foot home and a lifetime of belongings charities wouldn't take, he chose a different path.

Instead of the dump, he rented a warehouse and made a simple deal.

$20, carry what you can.

And what was supposed to last a month didn't stop.

- I thought it was a little crazy, but I also thought it was a great idea.

And it's sad to see someone's whole life going to the landfill.

- We started with that room right there, that 1,000 square feet.

Within a couple of weeks, it was full.

- [Chris] Bill quickly learned he wasn't alone, and people wanted in.

- I've got a three-bedroom house in here.

- [Chris] The phone rang immediately for help.

Pickups are free and happen every day but Tuesday.

- A lot of the time it's furniture.

Usually, it's somebody moving out, somebody passed away, somebody's downsizing, or somebody just found out about us and was like, hey man, I can clean out my storage shed.

- [Chris] Every load tells the same story.

A life in transition, packed into a trailer and given one more chance.

- Definitely need to be good at Tetris.

- [Chris] Once it arrives, everything has a place.

The main floor, nearly 8,000 square feet, is where most of it lands.

Although a smaller premium section for finds is available.

- One of the things I got in a donation was a vintage 1972 Yamaha 100 Enduro motorcycle.

And at that point, we were still early on, and I was like, I just can't put this in the all you can carry for $20.

- [Chris] While some are too unique to blend into the pile, others are too necessary to sell.

- All food items, we're gonna give them away.

We're not charging people for food.

Medical equipment became the same thing.

Walkers, potty chairs, shower chairs.

We just had six of those hydraulic lifts to lift a patient off the bed.

I mean, they're $1,200 a piece.

We gave 'em all away.

We have ankle braces in there, blood pressure monitors.

I mean, we really just think that that's stuff that should be free.

- [Chris] On the main floor, the inventory changes by the hour.

A moving collection of everyday life.

- Dressers, china cabinets.

- This is an eight-cube storage space.

- [Chris] To the familiar.

- We get a lot of glass sets.

We get a lot of coffee cups, you know, stuff like that.

Vases.

- [Chris] To the completely unexpected.

- A camel saddle.

I don't know if you've ever seen a camel saddle.

They're very ornate, and they're not very big, I guess, because they have to fit between the camel humps.

- [Chris] Because here, the value isn't just in what you find, it's in the search itself.

- I do still make the miscellaneous tubs where you gotta get down on the floor and start digging through it 'cause a lot of my customers love that.

- If you can go thrifting for $20 versus spending $200, sold.

- This is a great place to come and find the treasures.

- [Chris] Around here, nobody's trying to stop you from making a profit.

In fact, they're rooting for it.

- You know, I have people come here all the time and, oh, I found this piece, man, it's worth $300.

I was like, good.

Go sell it.

- Got outta here for what?

- $20.

- And sold it for what?

- 200.

- We want people to come in and do that.

We actually have one of our regular ladies was able to quit her full-time job and stay home with her son because she decided to be a full-time reseller, and she discovered us.

- [Chris] But it's only a deal if you can carry it out.

And over time, shoppers have developed strategies like stacking.

Others improvise.

Curtain rods, tie-downs, pure determination.

- Looks like y'all got the money's worth than me.

- [Chris] But the real legends go it alone.

- Come, let's go!

- Go, baby!

- Dana walks out that door.

I mean, stuff on her neck, stuff on her shoulders.

She'll wear stuff on her head and is literally going maybe a mile an hour.

And her whole body is... - I guess, 'cause I was shuffling all the time with the loads.

- But she will get every time everything she has will make it out that door with her.

- Her name is Carrie.

And we always joke when we do the videos.

- Y'all know her name is Carrie for a reason now.

- Because she's doing the all you can carry.

- [Chris] Word is spreading.

The Mystery Box Warehouse is becoming a destination.

- We're from Augusta, Georgia.

- [Chris] Some travel hours.

- I drove an hour to her house to Orangeburg, so it would've been three hours for me, and then two hours to her house.

- [Chris] What started as a way to clear one family's home became something much bigger.

- This is about doing good for people, right?

Our main objectives in this order: Number one, keep good stuff out of the dump.

Number two, take good care of the people in the community.

Number three, get it outta this warehouse as fast as possible.

And number four is hopefully make some money.

- [Chris] At the Mystery Box Warehouse, nothing here is truly unwanted.

It's just waiting for someone willing to carry it home.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Chris Clark.

- What a sight.

Thanks so much, Chris.

The Mystery Box Warehouse opens a few times a week with new stuff coming in every day.

Every visit is different because what you find depends entirely on what you can carry.

Well, let's wrap things up tonight with a look at a business getting a lot of attention across our region.

Many say the key to creating a new business that survives is finding something of need in an area that needs it, controlling costs, and perhaps most importantly, building a loyal customer base through exceptional service.

Well, "Carolina Impact"'s Jason Terzis stumbled across one that appears to be doing all of that, and then some.

- Well, when my daughters were home from college over Christmas break, they were each doing what kids that age mostly do, stare at their phones, scrolling social media accounts like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, when something caught their attention.

Next thing I knew, they were grabbing their mom and heading towards Matthews to go to a bakery.

I said, why would you drive 20 minutes to Matthews just to go to a bakery?

I soon learned the reason.

(lively music) It's an endless showcase of colors, a frosted drizzle, and delicate precision.

- I've always loved to bake.

- [Jason] If you didn't know, you might think you were at an art studio.

- People eat with their eyes.

- [Jason] But make no mistake, these are indeed artists creating the ultimate in eye candy.

- We really are inspired by a lot of the pastry chefs in France and Italy and what they do.

- [Jason] The creations are so visually appealing and pretty, it's almost a shame they get ruined by being eaten.

But then again, that is the whole point.

- And the pastries are just so beautiful, and they taste so good.

- The cinnamon roll, the strawberry croissant, and then the farmer's cheese roll.

I always get the farmer's cheese roll every time I come in here.

- [Jason] Chances are you probably wouldn't think of downtown Matthews as being European-influenced, but just by the railroad tracks at Ames Station sits Innescas Sweets of Europe.

- I was so surprised when we walked up.

I took a bunch of pictures 'cause I was like, oh, this is so pretty.

It does.

It looks like Europe.

- It's just got a different atmosphere, a different kind of flavor vibe to it.

- [Jason] And Innescas isn't known just for its delectable treats.

Baristas whip up fruity drinks and gourmet coffees.

- All of our recipes and even our coffee, we use an Italian espresso machine, and we try to make it a little more elegant, European-inspired.

- [Jason] With mixers going seemingly nonstop, the pastry chefs create an assortment of goodies like strawberry mousse with a candy coating and a vanilla cake pop that looks like an ice cream cone.

- We had a strawberry pastry.

She loved it.

As you can tell, it's all over her.

- Pastries are visual as much as they are taste.

People like to enjoy what they're eating, and they eat with their eyes essentially.

- [Jason] Opened last summer, it's quickly become a big hit and a go-to spot in town.

- The first month was, I think, a major shock to us all.

At one point I was just looking at the line, and I said, I don't know how we're gonna get through this.

- I just love to see where they started it and where it's going.

And it is really good to have it here because we don't really have something this unique, and the pastries change all the time.

So I just love it.

- [Jason] Innescas specializes in creating custom cakes and desserts inspired by the flavors of Europe with a passion for exquisite craftsmanship.

- A lot of the recipes that we use are European.

So we have French, so we have croissants, we have macarons, we use Italian method for macarons.

We have our Ukrainian cheese rolls.

So almost all of the recipes that we use are European-based.

- [Jason] It's all about the presentation and the charm, with textures and flavors to match.

From left to right, there's German chocolate mousse cake, pistachio raspberry tart, blueberry tart, mango mousse, lemon mousse, tiramisu mousse, and strawberry mousse.

Everything made from scratch, including the strawberry topping leafs.

The fruit pastries are filled with a sweet, light mousse cream and a jam-filled center.

- These fruit pastries aren't and weren't in Charlotte.

- Our bestsellers for a really long time were the mousse cakes.

Those were kind of what put us on the map.

I feel like the viral crunchy sensation that you get, the flavors... (fingers tapping) - [Jason] But it's the outside crunch of the pastries that's drawn an even wider audience from outside of Matthews, thanks to social media.

- We didn't expect it to go viral.

- I'll let you take a guess on what the flavor is.

It's loaded with this really tasty, really sweet cream and the strawberry jelly in there to really make the flavor present.

- We've had several influencers come in here.

We haven't asked them in specifically, but they've just walked in and posted us.

- Oh my gosh.

- And now we're just slowly riding the wave.

So we created the wave, and now we're just riding it.

- Ready?

3, 2, 1.

Oh, I heard that.

- [Jason] Innescas is owned by sisters Ester Barokha and Abby Borisik.

The girls grew up in the kitchen with their mom, making all sorts of goodies.

- She was always in the kitchen, so naturally, that pulled us in as well.

And so she taught me some of her recipes.

I still remember her recipe book.

It was like tattered, you know, handwritten, different ink colors.

And she had some of them in Ukrainian, so she would translate those for me.

- I would help my mom with more of the salty aspect of it.

So she kind of got the best of both worlds 'cause she got the baking daughter, and then she got some that helped with the salty.

- From there, you couldn't pull me outta the kitchen.

I remember she was like, do you wanna go shopping, or do you wanna stay home and bake?

And I'm like, nope, I wanna bake.

- [Jason] Ester's passion continued into adulthood, making custom cakes for friends and family, for birthdays and other celebrations.

- We have a lot of grandkids in our family.

We have a really big family, so I was always baking for someone.

There's always someone to feed.

So I started to go into selling some of these cakes, and so I would do weddings and, you know, birthdays on a more elaborate scale.

- [Jason] But Ester's dream was to someday own her own bakery.

- Realizing that not everyone gets to fulfill their dream, and I really should try to do mine because it's amazing to love what you do.

- [Jason] Ester asked younger sister Abby to join in, and soon the ladies were off and running.

Or in their case, baking.

- And so I started working with the city, with permits, all of it.

And that's when she took a step back and she's like, wow, there's more to it other than the hands-on baking.

She does the baking, I do the front end.

I run paperwork, admin, all that.

- [Jason] It was only natural, it seemed, that they named the bakery Innescas in honor of their mother.

- She definitely had a meltdown.

- Mom cried.

Yeah, she was super excited.

I was super excited.

And she comes in all the time to help.

- [Jason] It's the perfect combination of sights, smells, and tastes.

Innescas Sweets of Europe has found a home in Matthews, one they hope to be in for a long, long time.

- Okay.

Of course, I'm hungry after seeing that.

Jason, what did you eat that you liked the best?

- You know, the ladies were kind enough to give a little care package on the way out, filled with several goodies.

Everything was fantastic.

It was almost like too pretty to want to eat it.

But I have to say, the thing that looks like a lemon, which we showed there in the story, it's a lemon citron mousse cake.

Absolutely fantastic.

Had a crunchy outer shell with a creamy mousse filling.

And it kind of had like a key lime pie almost taste to it.

Just really good.

It's the presentation, the way they present these things.

They're super pretty, and then they're equally as delicious.

- So you'll drive 20 minutes again?

- I will.

And I guarantee my kids will as well.

- (laughs) Thanks so much for sharing it.

Well, it sounds yummy and great, and we're always grateful when you spend some of your time with us.

But I am super grateful that we had a wonderful group joining us, a homeschoolers group called the Kite Association from South Charlotte.

And they're amazing young women and men who had so many great questions, and I know they've got a great future ahead of them.

Well, that's all we have time for this evening.

Again, we appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you back here again next time on "Carolina Impact".

Good night, my friend.

(inspiring music) (inspiring music continues) (bright music) - [Announcer] A production of PBS Charlotte.