From Fine Art to Fast Draws | Features

Hanni Hollbacher Yothers can make you a beautiful pair of earrings and sling wax bullets like a Western movie heroine

By Rachel Pasche | July 27, 2024

Art gallery owner, metalsmith, mother, wife, and winner of the 2022 Fastest Gun Alive competition—Hanni Hollbacher Yothers proves that our careers are not what define us, and it’s never too late to pick up a new hobby.

Yothers grew up on the shores of Lake Huron in the Upper Peninsula, and she cites the natural beauty of her backyard as the initial source of inspiration for her creations. Yothers’ passion for jewelry making started at a young age, when she would take treasures she found on the beach and in the woods and transform them into wearable art. Through the years, she experimented with different materials, learning new techniques and developing her own unique style.

“I design mostly by looking at stones and imagining the piece and setting that I think will fit them best,” Yothers says. “I’ll make a sculptural form, and then find the stone/stones that complete the form. We rockhound everywhere we go, and my daughter now makes cabochons for me and for other jewelers. I have way, way too many stones in my house and studio!”

Today, Yothers specializes in jewelry that embodies the spirit of the great outdoors at her studio in Harbor Springs. Some of her works include silver water droplet earrings, rings and earrings featuring Michigan stones like Leland blues and Petoskey stones, and unique silver cuffs with natural design elements such as leaf and flower pressings in the bands. She often inscribes meaningful quotes onto some of the cuffs from the likes of John Muir and Shakespeare.

“I love inscribing wise words from the past onto jewelry that fit into people’s lives today,” Yothers tells us. “Meaningful jewelry is an important daily accessory!”

Life in the Gallery

But Yothers wasn’t content with simply making her own works of art—she wanted to help other artists, too. She and her husband, John, bought and ran a fine art and craft gallery for several years, where she was able to work on her jewelry and hone her craft. Upon selling that gallery, they worked in wholesale for a few years before opening up Hanni Gallery in Harbor Springs.

“My husband and I had a store in Petoskey in the nineties [Whistling Moose] that focused on wildlife and rustic handmade art,” she says. “We moved the store to Harbor Springs in the early 2000s and sold it about a year after. Our daughter was born in 2006, and a couple of years after that we decided to open a store focused more on jewelry, and we incorporated the work of many other artists into the shop.”

Hanni Gallery features art from over 200 makers around North America, selling works across various mediums including pottery, paintings, mirrors, wall hangings, wood art, sculpture, and more.

How do they choose what goes in? “We’ve learned over the years that if we’re not sure about something, don’t carry it. It’s hard to sell work that doesn’t excite you,” Yothers says.

On top of art pieces, the gallery sells items for the home such as lazy Susans, functional ceramics, furniture, and cookware. Smaller items such as Petoskey stone art, printed notecards, stationary, magnets, candles, soaps, lotions, and ornaments make for great gift options (or impulse buys).

Yothers tells us some of her favorite artists in the gallery include Ann Singsaas, who paints birches and other plants in oil on aluminum; Mary Bea, a local artist who paints bright, gorgeous scenes from all around our area; Ken Meyer, who makes jewelry boxes with Petoskey stones set in the lids; and Julie Kradel, who makes ceramic animal sculptures with tons of character.

The Wild West

While life up north can be quiet, and working as a metalsmith and gallery owner is a more peaceful occupation than most, Yothers’s preferred hobby is anything but slow and silent.

In their spare time, she, John, and daughter, Kael, travel the country participating in (and winning) Fast Draw competitions.

Fast draw shooting dates back to the 1870s, when the Colt Peacemaker was released. To properly capture the essence of this era, the same style of gun is still used in competitions today: single-action .45 caliber models that best recreate the experience of using a Peacemaker. Participants’ ages range from nine years old up to nearly 90, though Yothers says many of the competitors and members of the CDFA are retirees.

In 2017, John had a stroke and sought something to work on his reflexes during his recovery. In 2019, he watched a program on the Outdoor Channel featuring the Cowboy Fast Draw Association (CFDA) and his interest was piqued. After calling the head of the organization and getting set up with the necessary equipment, John started practicing fast draw.

He wanted Yothers to participate with him to ensure he did everything safely, so she and Kael both bought equipment. The CDFA’s motto is “Safety First, Fun Second, and Competition Third.” In keeping with this mantra, wax bullets are used when practicing fast draw. The family used the garage to practice, setting up targets and holding competitions with each other.

“We’re all a bit competitive, so once we figured out the basics, it was a natural progression to compete against each other,” Yothers jokes. “We practiced every day and shot thousands of rounds, which helped us all succeed.”

The competition style of this sport is unique: those competing line up 15 feet away from the target, with six targets total. You’re paired up with another participant, and all six contestants wait until the “Shooters Set” command to ready themselves. Then, the caller pushes a button that sets off a randomly timed light (anywhere from 1–5 seconds) simultaneously in the center of each target.

The goal is to both be the fastest and to hit the target, and the first to three wins gets the round. According to Yothers, missing is a regular occurrence, and whether speed or accuracy is more important is a debated topic.

After a few months of practice, they signed up for a Jackpot shoot in Superior, Wisconsin, where the local club welcomed them and showed them the ropes. The family all shot well and decided they wanted to enter in more contests. That year, they attended multiple state shoots, several of which Yothers and Kael won. To cap off the season, Kael won the Fastest Gun Alive, the worldwide competition for Fast Draw, at only 12 years old—the youngest world champion in history!

Yothers went on to win the 2022 Fastest Gun Alive competition, and Kael won five titled matches in 2022. They both continue to participate and win matches—one of the more notable mother-daughter activities out there.

“Traveling and competing together has been great for our family,” Yothers says. “You get very close with the people at competitions too, and it’s really brought us together in a way we didn’t expect. We won’t be doing it as much for the next few years as we are caring for my mom full-time, but we plan on fully getting back into it again soon.”

Visit Hanni Gallery at 120 E Main St. in Harbor Springs. hannigallery.com