Check out friend (genius) Liz Lambert: “Profile in Style” – yesterday in T Magazine.
Make your way to Austin, Marfa, and San Antonio.
TEXAS TWO-STEP
May 24, 2010
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Category Archives: TRAVEL + OTHER NEWS
THE GIRL EFFECT
May 13, 2010
It was very exciting yesterday to see our pieces at the press preview for the first ever Cooper Hewitt Global Triennial.
On the second floor, and tucked into the Teak Room, Alabama Chanin pieces are hanging next to such noteworthy projects as The Girl Effect (shown above), The Story of Stuff, and Painted – the Dutch fashion collective.
Get out and visit with us this week in New York City.
BACK ROAD VERNACULAR
May 10, 2010
We made a road trip yesterday – for Mother’s Day – into the Florida Panhandle.
Backroads all the way, the drive was like traveling through page after page of John Margolies Roadside America. If you ever get the chance to ride Route 29 – down through Alabama and into Florida; be sure to go.
READYMADES: American Roadside Artifacts by Jeff Brouws awaits you.
“Back Road Vernacular” is a beautiful way to start the week…
Also check out:
Vanishing America: The End of Main Street Diners, Drive-Ins, Donut Shops, and Other Everyday Monuments by Michael Eastman, William H. Gass, and Douglas Brinkley
Classic Cracker: Florida’s Wood-Frame Vernacular Architecture by Ronald W. Haase
PIMENTO CHEESE + TWO HOUR WORKSHOPS
April 26, 2010
Thank you to everyone who braved the weather and joined us for our Open House, Sample Sale and Earth Day Celebration over the weekend. (And to Butch and Robert Rausch for playing along…) It was lovely to open our studio and the event was so successful that we decided to go ahead and plan for next year… Mark your calendar & plan your trip:
Alabama Chanin
8th Annual Open House & Sample Sale
April 29 & 30, 2011.
We have also added Two-Hour Workshops to both our Events and to the Open House next year. The seating is limited for each session so register early. We also have a range of these new Two-Hour Workshops coming soon:
May 1st and 2nd @ Textile Fabrics in Nashville
May 8th @ Barneys in Chicago
May 14th @ Purl Soho in New York City
June 12th @ Warehouse Row in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Contact us for more information.
My son Zach cooked for us at our Open House over the weekend. I asked him to write up his recipe for Pimento Cheese since we had so many folks rave about his special blend. I have always prided myself as a good cook but I believe that Zach has surpassed me.
Lovely when your children do you one-up…
Zach’s Pimento Cheese
3 cups shredded Hoop or Sharp Cheddar Cheese (about one large block)
9-10 squirts of Tabasco (Or as you see fit)
1/4 cup Roasted Red Peppers diced
2 tablespoon Prepared Horseradish
1 1/2 tablespoon Lemon or Lime juice
1/2 cup Aioli or Mayo made from olive oil
Fresh Herbs fine chop (Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley)
Salt n Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and stir vigorously. If too spicy add another tablespoon of Aioli. If not spicy enough, add more Tabasco. You may want to find some of the different styles of Tabasco such as Chipotle or my favorite, the Roasted Garlic style. Enjoy!!
If you have another great Pimento Cheese recipe, please share it with us in the comments below!
CALIFORNIA TO OREGON (+BACK AGAIN)
April 20, 2010
California to Oregon and back to Alabama again. The travels, the people, the trees, the forests and the ocean were amazing. But then again, there is no place like home.
Thank you to everyone at RedBird for making us feel at home, the Edible Schoolyard (coming to Alabama soon!) for hosting us, Alice Waters and all the folks at Chez Panisse, Chef Bruce Hill and the great staff at Picco’s, Marci and the whole staff of Powell’s Books for their beautiful exhibition of our Textile Stories Quilts and support of Alabama Studio Style, everyone at Mario’s Portland, JP and all the great students at Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Arts and Crafts, Jack and everyone at the ACE Hotel in Portland, our great supporters in Berkeley and Portland and a slew of others who helped along the way and made us laugh…
(Special thanks go out to Sally whose beautiful little purse – filled with goodies – gave Maggie a joy that got us home with smiles and busy little fingers!)
Luckily, nothing stops around here and we are getting ready for all of the great events starting this Thursday for Earth Day 2010 and our Annual Open House and Sample Sale starting on Friday.
Plan to join us!
Natalie
ART SHAPES A RURAL COMPOUND
April 8, 2010
Thank you to the amazing Penelope Greene and all the folks at the New York Times for the lovely piece about Butch, the Woods of Wonder and the Doo Nanny.
I love this picture of Maggie jumping on the bed:
And thank you to Robert Rausch for the lovely images of my family.
Don’t miss Robert’s pictures here.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
March 25, 2010
Butch had a vision of a structure after watching Where The Wild Things Are and Zach has spent the last weeks bringing it to life.
I love the stark geometry against the trees and water. It is a shame that they are going to burn it in the end.
I told Butch this morning that I would like to re-build it this summer and host a dinner right there in the middle. Beautiful…
Come join us at the Doo-Nanny for films, sewing, books and a little bit of the wild.
GARDEN AND GUN
March 24, 2010
Thank you to Haskell Harris and all the folks at Garden & Gun for this piece about my favorite room (and table) in the house.
Natalie Chanin
The Localista
Ten years ago, Natalie Chanin surprised the New York fashion world with a T-shirt that she ripped to pieces and sewed back together using quilt-inspired stitches. Then Chanin promptly left for her hometown of Florence, Alabama, where she hired local seamstresses to create her first label, Project Alabama. Now she runs Alabama Chanin, a company that produces couture clothing, fabric, jewelry, and home goods from new, recycled, and organic materials by hand, a process that gives each design its one-of-a-kind charm.
Chanin, whose career is famously influenced by her Southern upbringing, often works out of her house, the dining room in particular. “It’s really the soul of the house,” she says. “And it has great light, so it doubles as my office and photo studio. I do everything from folding clothes to hosting Christmas parties in that room.”
The dining room is full of Chanin’s handmade artistry, including the table, made from scrap wood that’s painted her favorite color, white. “It doesn’t compete with all of the things you have in your life,” she says. There’s also a chandelier she rehabbed with paint and a couple of reworked vintage chests.
Chanin’s designs have recently inspired a second craft book, Alabama Studio Style, due out this month, which details how to make some of her favorite furniture creations at home. “People want more value for their dollar these days,” she says. “They’re interested in things with a good story and things with a purpose.”
DOO-NANNY 2010
March 23, 2010
Get out and join us for the
14th Annual Doo-Nanny
@ The Museum of Wonder in Seale, Alabama:
Starting with the Possum Trot Auction Parade on Fridaythe 26th of March, 2010 at
5:30 pm
And going through Sunday Afternoon the 28th of March at 5:30 pm
Music + Art
Alabama Studio Style Book Signing
Alabama Chanin
Trunk Show, Sewing Workshop & More
Film – Food – Fun – Fire
Rain or Shine
The Museum of Wonder
41 Poorhouse Road
Seale, Alabama 36875
**Photo thanks to Robbie Gay @ THOUGHTBARN
BLOG TOUR
March 9, 2010
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When I first thought about the blog tour for Alabama Studio Style, I did not realize what a great opportunity this was going to be to travel the world, connect with some of my favorite people and experience life from my own beautiful table. Now, half-way through, I am awed by deep, thoughtful questions, the vision of these women and sometimes, simply sitting and sewing. Here are a few of the highlights & THANK YOU to everyone who has had me round. I am looking forward to New York next week and to the rest of the tour. A few of my favorites: