SHOP: Bureau of Friends fundraiser for Haiti

These new Billy Reid wingtips are up for auction on eBay until 1/28 as part of the The Bureau of Friends fundraiser for Haiti.

See all items here.

SHOP: Alabama Chanin @ Barney's

Fashion's Night Out

September 10, 2009
6 - 8 pm

Alabama Chanin @ Barneys New York

Join Natalie and all of us @ Alabama Chanin for a night of music, beverages, dress-up, conversation, play and sewing on the 5th floor @

Barneys New York.
660 Madison Avenue

New York NY 10065

SHOP: Billy Reid opens in NYC

In an homage to his Southern, small-town roots, Alabama-based Billy Reid constructed his first New York shop entirely out of reclaimed materials from the South: The ceiling is covered in doors sourced from a Mississippi schoolhouse, and the clothing racks are made from apothecary cabinets rescued from the Mississippi Delta. The two-story space is a far cry from most Manhattan boutiques—the residential-looking shop features a parlor and hospitality area on the lower level, offering made-to-measure suiting by appointment. Reid showcases his signature men’s hand-tailored classics along with woven shirts, selvage denim, handmade shoes and leather accessories. It is also the only place his entire women’s capsule collection is sold. (source)

Reid, a Louisiana native and CFDA award winning designer, completes, along with Natalie Chanin and Robert Rausch, the trifecta of haute design meets downhome style in the Shoals area of Alabama. The trio hosts a monthly pot-luck gathering and other design events thoughout the year.

SHOP/SCENE: SALVAGING NEW ORLEANS VIA ART AND UPCYCLING

It’s October and with Halloween fast approaching my mind begins to wander to New Orleans. Blame it, perhaps, on Anne Rice and her vampire tales. Couple that with multiple pokes around a voodoo museum and, always, three knocks on the grave of Marie Laveau in St. Louis Cemetary #1. Three knocks, spin around, leave some tobacco, candy and a bright, shiny new copper penny….make your plea somewhere in between. Regardless, the damp murkiness of being below sea level makes the city dark, moody, and inherently gothic.

Brangelina and the fam were recently sited in NOLA causing the expected hubbub. Of course, the real stars are the locals who continually find and create new ways to reuse, rebuild and recycle. Sweet Tea is shouting a few out today:

The Green Project is dedicated to creative recycling and reuse in New Orleans. It operates a warehouse store, supports others who salvage or deconstruct damaged or collapsed buildings by hand, serves as a local recycled paint resource and recycling center, offers gardening workshops, has merged with Recycle For The Arts to provide art materials to various entities and offer monthly recycled art workshops. GP also has an event space called The Green Room that displays local art and is available for workshops and community event, and finally, The Green Project is involved in green building and special p roject like solar panels, biodiesel and community outreach.

Brooklyn invitation designer MacKenzie Sala recently added a “New Orleans” design to her Kenzie Kate Invitations line. Ten percent of proceeds from the New Orleans go to the Green Project!

On a smaller scale, a bunch of Etsy shops are also using salvaged materials to create a variety of projects to preserve New Orleans’ architectural details and to raise money to help with the city’s ongoing rebuild and rebirth:

Rebirth Frames are constructed mainly from the siding and door and door frames of homes in and around the New Orleans area that have been leveled, destroyed or are being rebuilt. Ten percent of all proceeds will be sent to Habitat For Humanity.

Second Line Frames are built from authentic wood siding salvaged from homes destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. It’s their way of preserving a little part of the beloved memory of old New Orleans while helping to rebuild it toward a better tomorrow. A portion of each sale goes to assist in the rehabilitation of affected neighborhoods. The Second Line is a timeless New Orleans tradition – the colorful parade that follows a funeral procession to turn tragedy into a celebration of rebirth.

Bayou Salvage says: Never underestimate the power of debris to change your life. Kerry is an artist/educator who has at times has been a filmmaker, art director, costumer, prop stylist, and picker for antique shops in the New Orleans area. She has been reworking vintage and thrifting for 25 years. As of Friday, August 22, Kerry’s customers have raised $205.00 for the Make It Right foundation and rebuilding homes in the lower 9th Ward, New Orleans by purchasing her tree ornaments made from torn down homes in the 9th ward & shotgun houses.

The woman behind Nola Salvage is a full-time carpenter, helping to rebuild New Orleans, one house at a time. On her days off she enjoys making art, and small sculptures out of salvaged materials. “Part of loving New Orleans is loving its architecture and signature shotgun houses. Another part of my lifestyle is the abundance of debris, I keep finding interesting bits of metal and beautiful old wood that I don't want to throw away. These wall sculptures are a result of my love for art and junk!”

SCENE: Carolina Craft Attack

DIYers in NC are keeping the Tar Heel State’s long tradition of craft and design fresh, modern and innovative from the relative new(ish)comer Spoonflower, which gives folks an easy way to design and print their own fabric on demand, to the team of Etsy-iers who are hocking their wares both online daily and THIS WEEKEND in person at:

Carolina Craft Attack - Saturday, Oct 11 - 9:30AM – 5PM (rain or shine) @

Independence Neighborhood Park - 300 Hawthorne Lane, Charlotte NC

“Traditional craft has been at the center of North Carolina life for centuries, whether made by Native Americans, Scots-Irish immigrants, enthusiasts who 'rediscovered' crafts in the last century, or contemporary artisans who celebrate both form and function in endlessly creative ways. Today, craft is a $538 million creative industry in North Carolina, practiced by more than 6,000 craft artisans working in clay, glass, metals, fibers, wood and other disciplines. It is a living tradition, constantly reinventing itself, and constantly inviting you to participate through visiting, viewing or even making crafts of your own.” (source)

Whether you want browse, buy or actually learn for yourself, ops to score your fix abound in every corner of the state:

Penland School of Crafts in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Mint Museum of Craft & Design in Charlotte
Southern Highland Craft Guild in Asheville
John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown
Qualla Open Air Indian Market in Cherokee

Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University

Or you can blaze a new trail with HomegrownHandmade’s alliance between arts and agriculture.

SCOOP: Greensboro, NC by Stephanie Sherman

Elsewhere Artist Collaborative's Director of Concept and Design Stephanie Sherman gives Southernist "the scoop" on insider hotspots in Greensboro, NC:

ART: Elsewhere!! is an arts production site and experimental museum that brings innovative contemporary artists to Greensboro to participate in the transformation of a three-story former thrift store housing one woman's immense 58-year collection of surplus objects. (See more info below)

SLEEP: The Proximity Hotel is an awesome new green hotel. New World Moxie - Old World Hospitality -Vibrant Restaurant - Creative Events - Stylish Loft-Like Guestrooms - A Green & Eco Friendly Hotel. "Greensboro is an apt name for a town that will be home to one of the greenest hotels in the country." - New York Times, September 2007

EAT: 223 restaurant (223 south elm street) has incredible experimental southern food that appears totally wacky but is actually delicious. Very innovative combinations.

SHOP: A new store on McGee St. in downtown called "Love Your Friends Be Social"is a mix of skateboard, hip-hop, designer genre with some really great colorful kicks and nice sunglasses. Also, there's a great vintage store called Design Archives on Tate Street (a little ways from downtown).

More about Elsewhere: Elsewhere's international visiting artist program invites innovative cultural producers to create new, site specific works across media using the materials of Elsewhere's collection. Artists work with and within a living artwork, continually transforming Sylvia's collection and past artists' work into a building-wide collaborative installation. At Elsewhere neither object nor artwork is for sale, instead, a continually circulating environment of art and object provides imaginative experiences for audiences and artists alike. Elsewhere's fifth season, running March to November 2008, will include over 35 international creators and feature a complete schedule of openings, Artist Conversations, performances, workshops, new installations, happenings, and events.

2008 marks the bicentennial of Greensboro, NC.