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It's time for Positively Kansas, coming up.

If you could design jeans for one person, who would be the one person you would want to design it for.

I would love to make jeans for like Adam Sandler.

Inspired by a dream.

Fueled by passion and hard work.

These Kansas men have built a one of a kind business.

Their mission to keep you forever in blue jeans, plus.

Wichita has a very exciting and amazing artist community that most people don't know about.

This local author wrote a who's who of the stars on the Wichita art scene.

Find out why the book is such a big hit.

Those are just a few stories that are queued up and ready to roll.

Positively Kansas starts right now.

It's a sign of the times.

and also a new beginning with new possibilities.

The Sisters of Saint Joseph Convent has stood majestically for 170 years on a hill overlooking Wichita's Longview neighborhood.

But now the quiet campus is buzzing with construction.

It's a massive project that will move all of the nuns into a new building, one equipped with assisted living care that will meet their needs as they get older, and there may be more changes to come.

Justin Kraemer explains.

For more than a century since 1914, the mound has been the home of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Wichita.

Towering over the hilltop neighborhood on Lincoln.

Now a major $11 million construction project is underway that will move the nuns into a new home right next door to where they've lived for 103 years.

Very exciting.

we walked through the other day because there are still just boards and, you know, nothing really yet to, see as a, as a completed place.

But it's it's great anticipation.

This this will be a circle drive here.

The construction project has been in the works now for nearly a decade.

The Mount, while historic, wasn't meeting the needs of the sisters as they got older, with many sisters needing specialized care that the convent couldn't offer.

Instead of selling the property, the sisters formed a new business, CSJI, that's now helping the nuns navigate through the construction update here in Wichita, as well as half a dozen more projects at convents across the country.

The sisters were part of the steering committee.

They were the ones that really helped to design the the building itself.

They're new construction and they've been involved since the very beginning, heavily involved.

27 of the frail and most elderly sisters had to leave them mount here to get specialized senior care at another facility across town for this tight knit sisterhood that's been very hard.

So it's easy for some to get emotional thinking about the day where all of them will be reunited under the same roof once again.

I'm just glad to even talk about it.

It was a very dramatic thing to send to take them across town.

And, they were very gracious and they knew we needed to do this.

But, today will be a great day.

The new convent under construction will be a fully licensed senior care facility that should be able to meet the needs of the sisters as they grow older.

It'll be a wonderful facility for them.

A new home for them to to live and age and and and continue to minister.

With a new home on the way generations of sisters will now be able to continue their mission serving in Wichita and will allow them more opportunities to help at their property on Lincoln.

Already, some parts of the mount are being used by Catholic Charities to help families in need.

People will be able to come in and work with us.

So I mean, we we share our buildings pretty generously.

And with a growing need in Kansas for senior care and a dwindling population of sisters to fill the facility down the road, plans call for gradually opening up the campus to the public for assisted living and skilled nursing needs.

Typical sisters, who are going to aim for the needs of the day, and they're looking at what's happening with the baby boomers and the population growth there.

And and to be able to share the gift that they are building today with others at some point in the future, really touched their hearts and spoke to them loudly.

Construction has been cranking along ahead of schedule.

The sisters are hopeful they may be able to move into their new home by the end of the year, just in time to celebrate Christmas under the same roof together.

For Positively Kansas, I'm Justin Kraemer.

After construction is completed, the old convent building will be used by Catholic Charities to further their outreach of helping Kansans in need.

The cool meter just shot up a few points in one tiny Kansas town.

A hip new coffee shop recently opened on Main Street in Sedgwick, and by all indications, it's a hit.

I think it is amazing and so cool.

Like the first time I walked in here, I was like blown away that this was in Sedgwick.

This is a nonprofit business started by three couples who decided the town needed a nice, safe, enjoyable place for people to get together.

There's art and occasional music performances.

They feature all the trendy coffees and teas.

There's also ice cream and original sandwich creations that seem to be a big hit.

Oh, I really like it!

I Come in at least once a week.

Oh, I like the food and the service is wonderful and the building.

I like looking at the building the way they did it.

This old downtown building sat empty for years until the nonprofit group raised money to buy it and transform it into something special.

My husband at one time was talking to somebody and said we were opening a nonprofit coffee shop and his friend said, is there any other kind?

But we do hope to make enough money not only to keep the doors open, to keep our programing going, but to be able to give back to the community.

The manager is an experienced barista, but most of the help is volunteer.

Profits go towards community causes such as gift certificates for kids who do well in school.

Those involved say it's all a dream come true.

Our town needs this.

And and the fact that we were able to make it happen is a great thing.

Coffee and tea are also the name of the game at the Spice Merchant and Company.

The place opened in 1980 as the first store of its kind in Wichita, roasting its own special blends.

What adds to the store's mystique is the historic building it occupies on Douglas Avenue.

It's the former home of the famous medicine company, The Mentholatum Company is an iconic company started in Wichita by A.A Hyde.

The building was built specifically to to manufacture Mentholatum, and after we purchased the building, we went to the expense of hiring an expert who put together the all the paperwork required to have it put on National Historic Landmark.

So the building's protected.

Nobody can come in and decide, we need a parking lot.

Mentholatum and the Spice Merchant are featured in a KPTS documentary called Brands Born Here.

The show examines the history of some of the iconic national companies that started here in Wichita.

You can watch the full half hour program online by clicking on the link on the Positively Kansas page at KPTS.org We're uncovering more and more ways that Kansans stand out from the crowd.

Here's another one that youd never guess.

We dove in deep to get this one.

You've no doubt seen them in movies.

This is actually a WWII training film.

Now, the diver in this film is wearing the exact same kind of helmet that Don and Jenny Craig Moore have on display in their basement and their living room.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg for the Creek Moores.

They're the largest dealers of antique diving helmets in the entire United States.

As a collectible today in the 21st century.

That's why people like these helmets.

They're complicated looking, and they really are.

They're a piece of American history.

And they helped, win the war.

Just because they're built so good and such a great design.

My, sweet husband here.

Actually introduced me to the diving helmets and I just find them to be kind of scary and fascinating.

And what kind of person actually has to be brave enough to put that big contraption on their head and all that heavy gear and have the brute force and strength to haul it around.

These history buffs first became fascinated with diving helmets when Don came across one at an estate sale several years ago.

That's when they realized that collecting diving helmets was actually a thing.

They did their research and got into the business, buying and selling them around the world.

Something that would have been tough to do in Kansas before the internet.

A couple days ago, somebody called from Switzerland and they said, you know, where are you at?

And I told them, Kansas.

I could hear them on their computer looking up where Kansas was in the United States.

And then they're like, what?

And people in Florida, California, they they want to know.

Because essentially we have become the biggest diving helmet dealer in the country.

And so people every day almost question, what are you doing in Wichita, Kansas?

The Creekmores do, they're shipping and receiving out of a shop downtown, but they bring the business home with them, as you can see.

This is a divers air pump and this particular one, it dates from 1903.

And you would have had two guys, one on each side, sitting here cranking away, for as long as the diver needed to work down there, so really literally backbreaking work.

Don really enjoys the historical touch and feel and knowledge about the item itself, to where I thoroughly enjoy meeting people around the country, the United States, as well as our foreign friends.

It is amazing to hear the different stories and adventures of how people have either utilized the helmets and the diving gear, or just in general, of why they themselves want to collect it.

About the only thing that Creekmores don't know about these helmets is what it's like to actually dive in one.

And that's kind of, as I say, a bucket list thing I'd one day I'd really like to have, not just because it's so there's not the opportunity here in Kansas.

anyway, we could jump into the Arkansas River, but it probably isn't quite deep enough.

The helmets are really just for display, and they're not cheap.

Creekmore, say antique diving helmets can sell for up to $50,000 for a rare model in pristine condition.

Most popular helmet, which was the one they've used most during the 20th century up until the mid 1980s, typically sells for 7 to $12,000.

Their business is called Nation's Attic.

You'll find the link to their website on the Positively Kansas page at KPTS.org.

Now to some other unique local entrepreneurs following their passion.

If you're like a lot of people, you have a hard time finding jeans that fit either they bag in the back or if they fit in the back, they're so tight in the waist they make your belly hangover.

Well, that's not the case if you buy a pair of FNL custom made jeans from two Wichita guys.

That's because these aren't your average jeans, and these aren't your average entrepreneurs either.

Levi actually hated me growing up, so.

Frank Hopkins and Levi Fitzmer graduated from Maize high school in 2010.

So Levi, do you think it was preordained with a name like Levi that you would end up making jeans?

I literally get this question every single day.

It's funny because my middle name is Strauss.

I'm just kidding.

No its not.

Okay.

In high school, these two had no idea they become custom jeans manufacturer someday.

We were both athletes.

Like, we were just played sports.

I mean, no, I mean, the only reason I took art classes was because it was easy, and it was, you know, I got to mess around a lot.

But to answer your question, no.

Definitely no.

No.

Before they graduated, they took a spring break trip to Florida.

That would change their destiny.

While there, Frank and Levi took a picture with a man hoping to become a professional model.

But the agent signed Frank instead.

So Frank and Levi packed up and moved to LA.

So how did that lead them to start a custom jeans manufacturing business?

Frank and Levi came up with the idea after Frank bought a very expensive pair of designer jeans.

And I bought a $250 pair of G-star raw jeans.

Within the first two weeks of owning them, they ripped from my crotch all the way down to my calf.

So the idea of FNL jeans was born.

They originally tried to start the business in LA, but a $3,000 loan they took out didn't go very far.

We only got like, you know, four samples made and we were out of money.

Were like great.

Couple of them didnt even fit.. Yeah, a couple of them just turned out god awful.

We're like, wow, that looks so much better on paper than it does in real life.

We're out of money.

Business isn't really going where we want.

We don't really have a plan.

They're banking on me getting famous and it just didn't happen.

I let the team down.

He let the whole team down with his acting career.

I'm sorry.

So we're definitely banking on that.

Too much pressure.

So they decided Wichita would be a better place to follow their dreams.

We kind of decided if we wanted to continue the gene business, we just had to learn how to sew ourselves.

After moving back to Wichita in 2013, they began their business in the basement of Frank's parents home, eventually moving to Levi's basement to get the company off the ground.

They set up a Kickstarter campaign, but that money didn't last very long either.

After being turned down for a loan by every bank in town, they finally found an investor and were able to open the storefront.

They'd hoped Wichita would be a supportive place, but a grand opening proved to be successful beyond their wildest dreams.

You know, we projected maybe 20 jeans, maybe, and we sold 75.

In the first weekend.

And we were like holy cow this is going to work.

At one point we were over 100 jeans backlogged, which is a nice problem to have.

In the past five years, they've made about 350 pairs and still have a long waiting list.

There's no way we can release our website like we've had this $10,000 website we've been sitting on forever, and we can't even release it because we can't keep up the orders.

That's because the two of them work on every single pair.

When someone receives their jeans, me and Levi literally handmade them, which is awesome.

It's a good thing these guys get along so well.

They work closely side by side for hours and hours on end.

You guys have probably been together longer than most married couples.

Probably.

Put in a lot of hours.

You put in a lot of hours together.

We probably don't fight quite as much either.

No we don't.

We drink a lot of beer together, so that helps.

90% of the time we agree though.

Oh, yeah.

If not 95. silver pipes line one wall holding rolls of all kinds of different types of denim.

The other walls are covered by samples of their custom made jeans.

The biggest shock for most customers when they come to the shop the first thing the guys do is measure their waist.

That's because retail sizes are usually 2 to 3in smaller than you really are.

Vanity sizing even exists in men's clothing.

Customers have a lot of choices to make.

They pick out the type and color of denim, the color, the thread, the buttons, the pockets, and the style.

Whos the most famous person youve made jeans for?

Jimi and Phillip for little big town.

So we made jeans for those guys.

Although they're doing well now, the road hasn't always been easy.

Most of the time they've been working two jobs, serving as waiters and bartenders to help pay the bills, and they have great advice for other young entrepreneurs.

If you're doing it for the money, it's not ever going to work.

You got to give up going out with your friends.

I couldn't even imagine being in my girlfriend or your wife's shoes.

Like, man, they put up with the two guys sewing for ages, not making any money.

Like, still not making that much money.

We invested all of our own money so we would wake up at eight.

Work till three and go surf table from 4 to 10 and invest all that money back into our own business.

FNL denim stands for Frank and Levi Denim.

Now here's another interesting fact about FNL jeans.

You're not supposed to wash them, at least not for a long time.

They're not like pre-washed jeans you get in the department stores.

Washing them in a washing machine will make them shrink.

And since they're custom made, shrinkage will make them a little too small to wear.

Most people take them to the dry cleaner instead.

Looking back, all the things you've gone through, all the craziness.

Would you do it again?

Totally.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

For sure.

And speaking of cleaners, the Shockers have been taking their opponents to the cleaners for decades.

And among those cheering them on is a guy they call D-Force.

Anthony Powell shows us why he's such a special guy.

Like his million dollar smile.

Lifelong Wichitan Darren Thomas possesses so many attributes on which you cannot put a price.

Trying to do the best that I can do to make myself better.

At age 56, Darren or de force as he is better known, is back in school earning his high school diploma.

His brother William, who's working on his PhD, is helping Darren realize his goal.

It's just about the accomplishment for Darren to say, hey, I graduated from high school.

What Darren might not realize, though, is how much he has taught others over the years.

Born with cerebral palsy, he's never let it hold him back.

And whatever I like to do, I just do it.

I'm out having big meetings somewhere across the country.

Things might not be going my way in the meeting, and you know, I think about Daren.

You know, and like, you know, he he barely move some days, but he never stops.

Unstoppable.

Sports has always been Darren's biggest passion, and that passion has helped inspire some of the biggest names in history.

Some of whom Darren grew up with.

Like Barry Sanders, who invited Darren down to the sidelines during a Detroit Lions game.

And when another Wichita legend, Antoine Carr, found out Darren didn't have tickets to the Shockers Final Four game in 2013, he quickly made sure D-Force was part of the crowd.

Sports heroes and everyday folk all seemed to gravitate towards Darren for the same reasons.

That smile is contagious.

People see him moving around with his walker sometimes and but he's on his way to the weight room on a walker, you know, so it's like that.

That makes people just kind of stop and go.

Wait a minute.

When it comes to sports, Shocker basketball is number one for Darren.

Over the years, he's missed just a few home games and gets the VIP treatment at Koch Arena.

In early 2017.

A GoFundMe page started by the Wichita Police Department helped pay for Darren and William to go to the Missouri Valley and NCAA tournament.

That was fun.

That was fun for me.

So exciting.

I just enjoyed every minute.

Thanks to my brother here and thanks to my, I just want to thank everyone in Wichita.

One of the most touching moments you'll ever see happen after the MVC tournament.

When Coach Gregg Marshall spotted his favorite fan and lifted Darren in celebration.

The clip has nearly 55,000 views on Facebook.

At the NCAA tournament, D-Force displayed his shocker play Angry Face.

But as focused as he was on the games.

Darren made sure to take time for his schoolwork.

Exercise is another very important part of Darren's daily routine, but don't expect him to go easy on you if you're the kind of person who says, I don't have time to exercise.

He'll say, make time.

Darren likes to say that he needs a permit for these guns.

So whether it's going back to school, working out or enjoying the Shox, Darren Thomas does it all in one way.

Full force.

Or should we say D-Force?

And of course, with a smile.

He offers this advice to anybody who might be going through a tough time.

Tell them to keep smiling and do the best that they can.

For Positively Kansas, I'm Anthony Powell.

Although Darren believes strongly in living in the moment, every year he has the month of November circled on his calendar.

That's when his beloved Shockers start their season.

A Hutchinson couple is celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary by getting their motor running and heading out on the highway.

Looking for adventure or whatever comes their way.

Back in 1947, Gibbo and Georgia Lee Pierson went on a blind date together on the back of his bike.

Well, this spring, with Gibbo at 90 and Georgia at 88, they're hitting the road to mark seven decades together with a ride to Arkansas.

The two of them together all over the world, spending half a year together in Mexico and the other half in Kansas.

Selling leather goods and saddles before settling into semi-retirement.

I think the more fun and the more you do what you want to do, the happier you are in the end.

And I'm feeling maybe even healthier.

Gibbo has been a member of the American Motorcycle Association for nearly as long as the organization has existed.

He jokes his grandson can have his Harley-Davidson with his membership expires.

He has a lifelong membership.

Wichita's diverse community of artists is showcased in a book titled “Wichita Artists in Their Studios ”.

The director of Wichita Ulrich Museum of Art calls the book a visual feast.

The director of the Wichita Art Museum calls the photos in the book poignant and the writing insightful.

That writer is Sondra Langel.

Sandra, what inspired you to write the book?

Well, I'm not an artist.

I want to get that out in the first.

I was able to see that Wichita has a very exciting and amazing artist community that most people don't know about.

It's because I was a volunteer in the museums, Wichita art museum and the Ulrich museum, and I was able to see this.

And most people don't know it.

And I wanted people to know about these artists.

And you are a long time patron of the arts, so I assume you know a lot of the people you featured in the book here?

Well, I do now.

How did you how did you decide who to include in the book?

Well, we put together a group of people who are really knowledgeable about art.

The director of the art museum, the director of the Ulrich Museum, the director of the Spencer Museum at KU, came down and it was a group of 12 people.

We asked first for nominations and we got 115.

And we narrowed it down to 50 because that's what we thought we could put in a book.

So this group was, you know, these were all volunteers.

They went through all these nominations and decided that these would be 50 interesting people.

And what did you learn by writing this book?

I learned the work that goes into all of these wonderful pieces of art.

These are hard working people, and many times it's not their day job, it's their nighttime job.

And they do it in the garage or the attic, or they sit in the basement next to the washing machine and draw and paint.

It isn't easy.

They do it because it's a passion for them, and it's a wonderful thing that they do.

Now, are the short bios of the artists or what actually do you write about here?

The point of the book is to give people a peek into this, the spot where artist poet art is made.

You know, it's sort of a magic thing.

Someone gets paints and brushes and something great comes of it.

And this is not an art history or an art criticism.

This is just an effort to show who these artists are and where they work.

It's about their studios.

And tell me about the photos in this book.

Oh, Larry Schwarm is the most wonderful photographer.

He, I didn't know him, really, but I knew he was a great photographer.

He has a book out called “On Fire ”.

He took pictures of the fires in the Flint Hills.

So I just called him and said, we want to go to lunch and asked him if he would be the photographer for this book, and he said yes, no conditions.

He just said yes.

He took intimate portraits of these artists that are so evocative.

I mean, they really display a lot about what's going on in this, this, this artist's studio and this artist's life.

They could have been just headshots, but he didn't do that.

He made.

He made wonderful portrait of these artists.

And it has to make you feel good that this book has been a hit.

Oh it has.

It's almost sold out.

So we may do another printing, I haven't decided that yet.

But some still are available?

There are about 200 still available.

Alright.

The book is called “Wichita Artists in Their Studios ”.

You can learn more about it by going to wichitaartistbook.com.

Thanks to the author, Sondra Langel.

Thank you.

That's a wrap for now.

But on the next positively Kansas, it's one of Wichita's most trusted longest-running institutions, celebrating its 145th birthday this year.

And now the Wichita Eagle begins a new era and a new building with a new vision for the digital age.

We'll take a look behind the scenes.

Also, prepare to be amazed.

There are no secrets with this man in the house.

Find out how he's using his mind reading skills to help Kansas military veterans.

Those are just some of the stories our team of journalists is working on for the next episode.

Until then, I'm Sierra Scott.

Thanks for watching.

Brought to you by Central Security Group, your experts in home automation, security and peace of mind.

View video on your smartphone and control your home's lights, locks, heating, cooling and more.

Security app compatible with Apple Watch and Amazon Echo.

The preceding program was brought to you by tz productions, offering 40 years of media experience.