Tipton & Hurst Decorations

The holiday season is in full swing, so let the decorating begin. After several seasons of a nationwide pandemic, 2022 appears to be the year of the gathering comeback.

And we could really all hope for it. After all, local businesses like Tipton & Hurst thrive on it, and have been a part of making it a special time for families across the country since 1886, when

Joseph B. Hurst and David

Tipton started the business in downtown Little Rock.

Flowers, plants, tabletops, gifts and accessories.

You name it. The holidays wouldn’t be the same without adding a little bit of extra decor to brighten things up.

“We’re much more than a florist,” says Howard Hurst, company President and CEO and grandson of Jo- Photo by Heather Baker seph B. Hurst. “We’re also a gift, bridal, china and crystal store. And Thanksgiving is huge because it’s a big meal, and you’re dressing your table. That’s probably the no. 1 thing people do.”

“Customers say, ‘I want to match this with my napkins, or I want to match that with the tablecloth.’” “They might mention they want to match something to the decor in their living room or where the family is going to gather, so they want a fall wreath on the door or planter containers in the room. In Arkansas, it could be on the back porch, whenever it might be warm. So all that is taking place, and

I like to say “dressing the table,” but we’re really dressing up everything.”

Hurst continually collaborates with his expert team who have been at the company for decades, including

Chris Norwood, vice president and design guru. Norwood has worked at Tipton & Hurst for 33 years and who Hurst refers to as the “creative master.”

Norwood previously served as the National President of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD),

President of the Arkansas Florist Association, and CEO and Chairman of the AIFD Foundation. He was inducted into the American Academy of Floriculture. Basically,

Norwood knows flowers.

While there are many components to holiday decorating, obviously flowers plays a huge role in holiday decorating. Norwood says, “If you think about it, as inflation goes on, you may not be able to go out and buy a new car every year, but you definitely get a beautiful bouquet of flowers,” he says. “It’s a fact that flowers make people happier; they make you feel better. No matter what, that’s why we’re here - to make people feel better and to take them to a happier place. Whether it’s through sympathy or just everyday living, flowers are definitely a perk and an affordable perk that helps people get through the day.”

So what’s a great flower to lean on if you’re having several holiday gatherings and want to get the most out of your decor? “We have a ton of a new variety of garden roses that, believe it or not, last a long time,” Norwood says. “They provide a lot of visual appeal because they open so large, so it may sound expensive to buy one stem, but really the one stem covers the same as something else, and they last quite a long time,” he says.

Norwood adds, “They are all these beautiful new tones like cantaloupe and toffee and caramel, the color trend that’s very popular with the younger generations right now.”

Another aspect to the company’s floral planning is delivery. “A lot of people can’t make it for Thanksgiving,” Hurst says. “We deliver all over the world through our affiliate, so

I think that this year will be the year that everyone really tries to get together more than in the past, so you’ll see a lot more entertaining at home and a lot more tabletops, hopefully.

we’ll call our partner florist anywhere when someone maybe can’t make it to their mother’s house, but still wants to send her a centerpiece.”

Hurst also mentions there are many organic materials that come from the landscape in Arkansas that people can use for decorating, whether they’re dried fall leaves or cattails that pair with burgundy or yellow tones.

Norwood himself tends to lean on the “simple” side of

Photos By DEWAINE DUNCAN

Photo by Heather Baker Photo by Heather Baker

things when it comes to decorating for Thanksgiving. “I still like runners of pumpkins, organic and different tones and textures down the table with the leaves and accents that are more natural,” he says.

“I think that this year will be the year that everyone really tries to get together more than in the past, so you’ll see a lot more entertaining at home and a lot more tabletops, hopefully.” As far as color palettes, it’s still pretty traditional, he says. “You might go with the traditional fall color scheme of burgundies, maroons and reds as well as orange, pumpkin, yellow, and even some purple and marine.

“But, we’re also seeing a lot of nude or tone on tone white, cream, white with a lot of sage green, and dark, magnolia, green and toffee with kind of a brown caramel color to it. That’s going to be more traditional and also a little bit more of a younger trend, while the brighter colors are going to be a more mature audience and traditional.”

Hurst thinks of the stores, which also sell online and via social media, as a collection. “Someone might say, ‘I bought some napkins, so then I also found some candles along with it,’” he says. “And ‘I was going to get some sunflowers, so I bought some berries to go in a vase to make it look even nicer.’”

Photo by DeWaine Duncan

Most anyone who visits a Tipton & Hurst soon realizes there are many different types of items to choose from, but especially when it comes to fresh greenery. “We have the largest display of fresh flowers and plants of anywhere,” Hurst says.

It’s no secret that when you visit, you’ll not only find just what you need to coordinate with your home and decor collection, but you’ll be able to get the customer service you always expect to help find just what is needed with the same standard of excellence. That’s why the trusted name of Tipton & Hurst has so many repeat customers during the holidays each year.

“Number one is the people because customers will say, ‘Oh, well, you know, I’m gonna come in and talk to Barbara, or I’m gonna talk to Jessica because the same people have been with us a long time so it becomes very familiar,” Hurst says. “You know, where do you get that now in retail? We’re very much about local and taking care of our communities, so that’s a huge thing for us.”

“We try to treat everybody like it’s our grandmother,” Hurst says. “I mean, what are you gonna do for your grandmother? You’re gonna do everything. You trust her implicitly, and so that’s kind of the way we think about things.”

7 TIPS FROM TIPTON & HURST:

1. Come with inspiration! The store employees can help you put together your favorite Pinterest look or a gift basket for someone. 2. On a budget? Simple is key. Use a runner of pumpkins and insert some flower heads in between, or let your dishes be the center of attention. “A lot of times you can actually just do fruits and vegetables on the table as a fun, organic look to it,” Norwood says. 3. Get nostalgic. “I think we’re all kind of nostalgic at heart,” Norwood says. “So even if you have some of your grandparents’ china or a piece or two of items selected over the years, those add meaning.” 4. Use reversible decorations. Transitioning from Halloween to

Thanksgiving can be so much easier when you can use the same pieces. 5. Seated tabletop decor should not reach any taller than the elbow to avoid having to see over it. 6. Clear, direct water keeps flowers fresh longer than foam (and flower food is always helpful). 7. When storing decor, invest in great containers and wrap items like you would any other important piece that you want to keep forever and then store away.

et’s just call it like it is, folks – it’s been a hell of a decade so far. From global conflict to political backbiting to runaway inflation to that dadgum COVID popping up like crabgrass in the lawn of life. It makes you wonder who dusted off the ol’ Ouija board and cracked open some portal they shouldn’t have. In times as complicated, discombobulated and just downright weird as these, the simplest things in life become the most sacred. Take a walk through Arkan-L sas’ silent woods sometime – your phone won’t work, forcing you to contemplate life in tranquil, unplugged surroundings. It will blow your mind. Or personally reconnect with a long-lost classmate, your next-door neighbor or your spouse, for that matter. Sometimes the longest distances are found within the shortest proximity. These, and a hundred other simple things, can strip away the noise and madness of modern life and get you to the essence of what makes you happy. And it might lead you, as it often does, to a tasty plate, besides. Times like these are what comfort food was made for. Your Mama and Nana were onto something when they healed your teenage broken heart with pie, warmed you inside and out with chicken soup and greased your soul with fried chicken and greens. And what that didn’t fix, a second helping usually did. “Home cooking, it’s not frilly, it’s not white-linen table service,” says Tori Morehart, who founded Little Rock's DownHome Catering nearly 20 years ago. “It’s meatloaf, country-fried chicken, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, that kind of stuff. It’s not fancy; it’s just Arkansas, home-cooked like your mom and your grandma cooked.” Morehart holds as close to a comfort food Ph.D. as one can get, having learned in the kitchen at the elbow of her mother and alongside her sister. She recently conjoining her longtime catering outfit with the legendary McClard’s Bar-B-Q of Hot Springs. The resulting company – McClard’s & DownHome Catering – cut the ribbon last month, christening their spacious eatery on Stagecoach Road. “People have been coming in here asking, ‘When is McClard’s going to be here?’” Morehart says. “I’m like, ‘It’s coming. It’s coming. It’ll be here in three weeks; it’ll be here in two weeks; it’ll be here in a week. We’re working on it.’ When it finally did get here, we realized we had some big shoes to fill.” Comfort food can vary widely from one region of the country to another, as generations of self-taught cooks prepared whatever was at hand and in season. In colder parts of the country, where the growing season is shorter, you’ll find different home cooking than you do closer to the water or out west. Comfort food in the South, while not immune to these regional influences, is more cohesive and, for many people’s money, done better than anywhere else on the planet. McClard’s & DownHome’s menu is Arkansas to the bone with a lineup that stands as a cultural touchpoint for Southern food, almost as if someone cut the state in half to

show off its culinary rings.

“My customers, these are all regular people,” Morehart notes. “We know their names, know their kids and their grandkids. We walk around here and hug and kiss on all of them. We’ve always made it like a family-oriented thing. McClard’s is so like that, too. My gosh, it’s 94 years old! So, it’s kind of the perfect little marriage of two really good things.”

At this, Lee Beasley nods his head in agreement. Hot Springs born and bred, Beasley bought the McClard’s assets when the latest generation of the family decided they wanted live life at an easier pace than what a restaurant demands. The sale preserved the iconic Spa City original location, a move that let barbecue fanatics the world over heave a collective sigh of relief.

But Beasley wasn’t content with just curating Arkansas history; he wanted to spread the Book of McClard to smoked meat true believers elsewhere in the state. That meant opening a Rogers location last year, before joining forces with Morehart.

He says the toughest thing about expanding a threegenerations-deep legacy like McClard’s barbecue was consistency.

“My friends tease me and say, ‘Well, what did you change?’ I say, ‘I didn’t spend X number of dollars so I could put my BBQ in there. I want to keep it exactly the way they did it,’” Beasley explains. “We have added, but not changed things. We want to keep it the same.

“Now, a great question is how do you replicate something exactly or what do you do when you have something that isn’t broken? That’s my key in barbecue: You don’t want people saying it doesn’t taste the same. We may look for a better way to light the fire or to do this or that, but the recipe, we don’t want to attack that.”

The new space doesn’t yet have that soaked-into-thewoodwork barbecue aroma just yet, but don’t let that sway you; Beasley said the brisket stacks up against anything in Arkansas. In fact, at its grand opening, the place sold out of its signature item, something Beasley chalked up to one of many adjustments needed to translate the fare from the tiny original restaurant to its much bigger sister in Little Rock.

“We’ve already ran out of brisket today. Didn’t cook enough,” he notes. “That’s one of the things we’ll learn; we just don’t know how to gauge yet. But it has to be right; I’m telling you, there are diehard McClard’s fans out there.”

If the slowsmoked side of the menu isn’t your thing (and frankly, friend, that says more about you than it does about the ῾cue), there are plenty of other home-cooked dishes available. Asked for her ultimate plate, Morehart recommended chicken-fried chicken paired with the bacon-forward green beans and either mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. Polish it off with a slice of possum pie then, if you can swing it, go

People need home and sleep it off. “Everything on the menu, I can draw a direct line to someone in the family,” Morecomfort food now hart explains. “We couldn’t do this without those people. It’s everybody’s combined years of experience like, ‘This is my grandmore than ever. ma’s recipe, or this is my mom’s recipe, or this is how my dad did it.’” The essence of comfort food lies in Comfort food at a simplicity, but there’s a real art to pulling something so extraordinary out of everyday ingredients. If you’re wondering what kind good price, that’s of voodoo it takes to elevate meat and vegetables to a cultural touchstone, watching Morehart at work reveals a clue. She’s chatthe formula. ting up a table of gal pals; upon entry of a longtime regular, she lets out a squeal of greeting and hands out for a hug. She’s less a woman at work than a neighbor at home with her friends. And all at once you get it: Comfort food, especially the Southern variety, is much more than the sum of its parts. It’s the fact that everything on the menu comes right out of someone’s recipe box, handwritten index cards or yellowed church cookbook. It’s the pie that’s done to perfection by feel and the vegetables Pawpaw used to take such pride in raising. It’s a hundred Easter dinners and a thousand ordinary Wednesdays. It’s work and joy and loss and faith set out on the good plates, leftovers sent home like love letters, signed, ‘Y’all come back now.’ “We have some big shoes to fill, both of us, because we’ve got to make this right for these people,” Beasley says, scanning the diners hunched over plates or toting togo orders to the parking lot. “People need comfort food now more than ever. Comfort food at a good price, that’s the formula. Take me, for example; you give me a good brisket, some fries and a piece of pie, and I’m happy.”