a story of art & heart
Carmen Barkett, the heart and soul behind ArtsiPhartsi®, was born at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and grew up as an Air Force “brat,” traveling across the country. Her childhood was a patchwork quilt of American culture, stitched together by the diverse places and people she encountered. From an early age, Carmen has always had a boundless imagination, a sense of humor, a passion for art, color, and unique things.
Though she studied fine art and majored in business, Carmen’s early career took her into the corporate world of banking and law in Washington, D.C. But deep down, she always felt a pull toward something that deeply aligned with her love of art.
how it all started
The story of ArtsiPhartsi® began with a dream—literally. One night, while visiting her friend, Toby in Chicago, Carmen had a vivid dream about opening a shop in a little shop housed in a cottage trimmed in black and white. She woke up, sat straight up in bed, and sketched out every detail of the dream. It felt so real, so vivid, that she couldn’t shake it. Her friend thought she was crazy. After all, Carmen was deeply entrenched in the corporate world, far from the life of a shop owner. But the dream stayed with her, tucked away in the back of her mind, waiting for the right moment.
Fast forward 12 years. Carmen was driving down MacDill Avenue in Tampa on her way to meet a guidance counselor at USF about continuing her studies and pursuing a Master’s Degree. That’s when she spotted a little cottage with a sign that read “To Let.” It wasn’t just the charming cottage that caught her eye—it was the unusual phrasing of the sign. She whipped into the parking lot and called the realtor. That long-forgotten dream came to fruition. It was as if fate had been waiting for this exact moment; it all became crystal clear.
The next day, without a business plan or retail experience, Carmen trusted her intuition and rented the space. For six weeks, she let the idea percolate, and slowly, the vision for ArtsiPhartsi began to take shape.
