Bonney Grace - Southern Makers: Food, Design, Craft, and Other Scenes from the Tactile Life

Also available in this series:
Brooklyn Makers
Jennifer Causey
978-1-61689-074-2

Published by
Princeton Architectural Press
37 East Seventh Street
New York, New York 10003

Visit our website at papress.com.

2013 Jennifer Causey
All rights reserved
Printed and bound in China by C&C Joint Printing Co.
16 15 14 13 4 3 2 1 First edition

No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner without written permission
from the publisher, except in the context of reviews.

Every reasonable attempt has been made to
identify owners of copyright. Errors or omissions
will be corrected in subsequent editions.

Editor: Megan Carey
Designer: Elana Schlenker

Special thanks to: Meredith Baber, Sara Bader,
Nicola Bednarek Brower, Janet Behning, Fannie Bushin,
Carina Cha, Andrea Chlad, Barbara Darko, Benjamin English,
Russell Fernandez, Will Foster, Jan Haux, Emily Johnston-ONeill,
Diane Levinson, Jennifer Lippert, Katharine Myers, Lauren Palmer,
Margaret Rogalski, Jay Sacher, Rob Shaeffer, Dan Simon,
Sara Stemen, Andrew Stepanian, Paul Wagner, and
Joseph Weston of Princeton Architectural Press
Kevin C. Lippert, publisher

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Causey, Jennifer, 1973
Southern makers : food, design, craft, and other
scenes from the tactile life / Jennifer Causey.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-61689-164-0 (pbk.)
1. HandicraftSouthern StatesPictorial works.
2. ArtisansSouthern StatesInterviews.
3. FoodSouthern StatesPictorial works.
4. CooksSouthern StatesInterviews.
5. Southern StatesSocial life and customs. I. Title.
TT23.5.C38 2013
745.50975dc23
2013014189

Grace Bonney, founder of Design*Sponge

There is something special about the South. Whether you were born there or just passed through, to spend time in the South is to love the South.

I was born in Virginia Beachthe least Southern part of Virginia. Growing up there was a bit like growing up in a city such as Austin or Portland. It was a strange outcropping that was unlike the majority of the state surrounding it. Thankfully my grandparents lived in the Shenandoah Valley and shared with me all of the incredible things that people associate with the South: delicious food, hospitality, graciousness, and manners. I took with me those life lessons and experiences when I moved to New York City for college, and later when I started my business.

A fish out of water, I found myself longing for Southern accents and sensibilities during my first year in the city. When other college students were out at clubs, I was in my dorm room watching reruns of Designing Women. Away from home, I developed a new appreciation for the Southern way of life in which I was raised. I re-read classics by great Southern writers and researched artists native to the low country. Eventually I traveled to Savannah, Georgia, where I felt reborn into the culture and customs I had heard about from my grandparents.

After my visit to Savannah, I committed myself to covering, supporting, and promoting Southern artists on my website. People seem to gravitate toward these makers because there is a sense of history, tradition, and sometimes mystery to their pieces that you dont often find in work from other parts of the country. They have a deep respect for, admiration of, and interest in the past. In Charleston, there are young artists revisiting the printmaking techniques used by their great-grandparents. In Athens, there are incredible ceramicists using glazes and practices handed down from older generations. And across the greater Southern landscape, there is no shortage of enthusiastic and talented makers embracing the traditions of their local communities and giving them a modern spin.

Jennifer Causey has earned the admiration of just about every community of makers I know. She approaches each artist with a sense of wonder and respect and has a way of documenting them and their processes that truly lets their skills and dedication shine. Im so glad shes chosen to shine a light on this incredible region and its talented makers. Im confident that their work and their stories, captured so beautifully in these pages, will continue to inspire generations to come.

Jennifer Causey

When I finished my first book, Brooklyn Makers, I knew it wasnt the end. The makers project is a work in progress for me. This is a wonderful thing. It means that there will continue to be more artisans to discover, and more places that are celebrating creativity and craftsmanship. For this, my second book, I decided to head down South. I grew up in Georgia and have many fond memories of a childhood spent enjoying the outdoors, playing in creeks and climbing trees. Id been living in New York City for more than ten years, and I was looking forward to returning to my roots.

The South is known for its distinct culture and history, customs and cuisine. It has a proud tradition of craftsmanship, and many of its cities are undergoing a tremendous creative renaissance in almost every realm. I couldnt wait to learn more. Indeed, the most challenging aspect of the project was narrowing my focus. The greater South consists of sixteen states. In this volume, I stick to four: Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. They all have personal significance for me in that they are close to where I grew up, and they all have thriving maker cultures in their cities and outlying areas.

As I began my research, one of the most exciting parts was just being out on the open road. Driving through the stunning landscapes to visit the makers studios, workshops, and kitchens, there was so much to take in! Wide-open spaces, acres and acres of farmland, charming small towns. On my way to visit Quintin Middleton of Middleton Made Knives in South Carolina, I pulled over to photograph a beautiful field of cotton. These are things you just dont see living in New York City.

On another occasion, driving to the rural town of Sparta to see Megan Fowler, the letterpress printmaker of Brown Parcel Press, I passed by the most amazing roadside stands selling boiled peanuts, peaches, and jams of all sorts. Megan was one of the first people I photographed for