THOM Issue 4 - Spring 2015

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Volume 3 | Issue 1 Spring/Summer 2015

Editor & Publisher Michele Arwood

CREATIVE Director Haile McCollum

Associate Editor Callie Sewell

Production Manager Margret Brinson

Development Manager Mallory Jones

copy Editor Lauren Eberle

Designers Lindsey Strippoli Catherine Westerfield Carolyn Kernodle

Photographers Andrew Cebulka Courtney Chavanell Bill Ellison Gabe Hanway Abby Mims Alicia Osborne Daniel Shippey Cedric Smith

Writers Lauren Eberle Christopher Powell Jones Melanie Bowden SimĂłn Callie Sewell Nadia Watts Jennifer Westfield

thomasvillearts.org 600 E. Washington Street Thomasville, GA 229.226.0588

Cover Photo by Daniel Shippey American Flag hanging in Sturdy Brothers’ Workshop

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contents Spring/Summer 2015 visionary

5 the sweet life Libbie Summers A Food-Inspired Life

CreatorS

11 sturdy Ben Young and Spencer Young Sturdy Brothers

COLLECTORS

17 home is where the art is

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Sarah and Johnny Belenchia

music makers

21 harmonious heathens The Band of Heathens

26 THOM’S GUIDE foodie

83 heR daily bread Carrie Morey Callie’s Charleston Biscuits tastemakerS

89 Tapping Tallahassee Grasslands Brewery

connectors

95 together in good faith Episcopal Development Agency of Thomasville

artist

101 lighting the path John Gleason

MAKER

103 love and beeswax Marina Mertz Anhaica Bag Works

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1 05 Featured Artists



Letter From the Editor

Hardworking. Visionary. Resourceful. Boundlessly Creative. Fearless. For as long as I can remember, and maybe even longer than that, I’ve been fascinated by the creative entrepreneur. In this issue we introduce you to some of our favorites. Friends we’ve met on our travels, friends who have

Even at 12 years old, as I swept the salon floor, I remember thinking “this is the life for me.” Doing what you love, making people feel good, working alongside family and friends, and managing to make a good living. Like all of the creative entrepreneurs I know, her path wasn’t a choice. It was set so deep within her DNA she couldn’t resist the urge to make the leap.

landed in Thomasville, and friends of friends who

It’s my favorite time of year in Thomasville, which

are now our friends for life. They’re the kind of

means lots of porch sitting with friends and “big

people who by simply being who they are push us

thinking.” Perfect blue skies, azaleas blooming,

to think differently and cause us to thoughtfully

and the city buzzing with energy from the new

consider how we spend our days. They’re brilliant,

businesses popping up on Broad Street and in the

talented, down-to-earth kinds of people who have

Creative District. So many interesting people to

a penchant for turning their creative gifts into

meet, so little time! If you’re a Center member, you’ll

thriving businesses. Bakers, musicians, food stylists,

have the chance to get to know some of them at our

brewers, craftsmen, painters, and even a group of

next Members Only event presented by our cover

faithful Episcopalians who are creatively connecting

partner, J’s Wine & Spirits. It’s a salon-style evening

the community. I’m deeply attracted to them, so

of music and lively conversation on the porch of

I’m always eager to hear their stories. Most I’ve met

The Paxton, with some serious art collectors who

have a strong sense of Southern pride and a desire

weave cool tales of their acquisitions from all parts

to preserve what is good and great about America.

of America.

If you engage them long enough, you tend to wind up in a conversation about their grandmother or granddaddy. My Daddy’s mom was a super tall, platinum-blonde, creative businesswoman with

Come see what it’s like to be at the Center of it all in Thomasville!

a killer classic wardrobe and an eye for beautiful Italian shoes. On weekends she was simply “Grandma” cooking a mean fried chicken, but during the week you would find her in her simply Southern beauty parlor pouring her heart into making women

Michele Arwood

look like movie stars with $8 blow-outs and candy

Editor + Publisher

red nail polish.

marwood@thomasvillearts.org

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VISIONARY

Written by Melanie Bowden Simón

Standing on the battered fourth-floor veranda of Alex Raskin Antiques in Savannah, with oak, palm, and European architectural vistas framing Forsyth Park below, Southern import and style maven Libbie Summers asks for any

Photographed by

‘creepy baby’ portraits on hand while she pulls in items for the photo shoot.

Cedric Smith Three in oversized gold frames are delivered from the madness of the store’s Styled by Libbie Summers

cluttered period collections and lined along the floorboards while Libbie carefully bunks one meringue on top of another and ripples them with whipped cream and a top toss of raspberries, crushed pistachios, and mint leaves to form a Pavlova. It’s a sexy sort of dessert and shares a table with a two-tier, lemon yellow cake, decked out with a Japanese kewpie doll. Its twin sits alone, smiling in a bowl full of berries and locally sourced antique plates and silverware is scattered across the table lined with fringed linen napkins. Libbie is wearing a tailor-made, denim blue button-up shirt and a red, kewpie doll skirt from Brooke Atwood’s 2015 fall line. “It’s cool creepy,” says Libbie of the vibrant and slightly zany visuals that create a coordinated color arc. “It’s dramatic and fun.” A peek into the sort of high-drama set styling and entertaining that Libbie is known for, she has just been given a green light to work more of her creative magic as the producer and star of an online food and lifestyle series pilot for Meredith Corporation, the group that gives us Martha Stewart Living and Better Homes & Gardens, among many others. She also recently did a gig for Elle magazine, has been tapped by Oprah Winfrey’s OWN channel to create online content, and as the artistic director of her own lifestyle brand, A Food-Inspired Life, she has done work for Paramount Pictures, Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Huffington Post, Vogue, People, and Food Network Magazine. A Wentzville, Missouri, native who has called the South home for the last decade and a half, she is also a three-time cookbook author and has received the Golden Globe of the culinary world twice with International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards for Best Food Blog in 2013 for Salted and Styled, a

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visual feast she co-created with photographer Chia

“I have this weird craziness in my head,” Libbie

Chong three years ago, and Best Single Subject Food

says without a trace of irony. “If I’m looking at a

Video for 20 Creative Pie Crimping Techniques in 120

kumquat, I’ll stand in a grocery store and look at it

Seconds in 2014.

in a weird way. I don’t want to cook it. I see rooms, I see fashion.”

Celebrated is Libbie’s whimsical and captivating use of simple, everyday items — forks, ice-cream scoops,

For this Spring/Summer issue of THOM she was

a string of pearls from her neck — to create stunning

inspired by ‘a pop of red’ in her head that led to

imagery in a flair of both elegance and potty-mouth

raspberries, which carried her to a current obsession

bawdiness while sharing delicious, approachable

with the tomato-raspberry color from Brooke

recipes and personal sentiment.

Atwood’s line. Especially known for baking, she was moved to make a dessert and to think outside the

Libbie, who has a socialite’s good looks downplayed

dining room. “I like to keep people moving around,”

by a tomboy chic all her own, is able to do her work

she notes, suggesting dinner in a main room and

by seeing something that most of us don’t. As with

a follow-up course in the outdoor space where we

all in her life, it is food that inspires.

stand. “How cool would it be to have dessert here?”

Raspberry and Lemon Pavlova Stack

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

to high and beat until the meringue is very

8 large egg whites

shiny and holds a stiff peak. Beat in the extracts.

2 cups superfine sugar (pulse sugar in a food

Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in the

processor for superfine)

vinegar and cornstarch with a spatula. Divide

½ teaspoon lemon extract

the meringue evenly between the two baking

½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

sheets with the meringue in the middle of each

2 teaspoons white vinegar

sheet. Using a spatula, spread the meringue out

1 tablespoon corn starch

to an 8-inch circle.

1 cup heavy cream whipped with 2 tablespoons sugar until soft peaks form

Bake until the outside is dry and is a very pale

1 cup raspberry puree (from fresh berries)

cream color (about 65-75 minutes). Turn the

1 cup fresh raspberries

oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the

¼ cup chopped pistachios for garnish (optional)

meringue cool completely in the oven (I let mine

mint leaves for garnish (optional)

cool overnight). The outside will have cracks, but the inside will have a marshmallow consistency.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 250º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE: Place one meringue round on your cake stand.

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In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with

Top with half of the whipped cream and swirl

a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on

in half of the raspberry puree. Top with the

medium until they hold soft peaks. With the

second meringue and repeat. Finish with fresh

mixer running, begin adding the sugar a little at

raspberries, chopped pistachios and a few fly

a time until it is all incorporated. Increase speed

away mint leaves. Serve immediately.


VISIONARY

And as with any good shoot, whether for print or

meals for those vacationing on the seas. “It’s not just

video, the set-up should always tell a story.

about getting by. Every meal is an event.”

“I want to see the whole scene of the story that is

In the mid-90s she, Josh, and son, Anthony, sailed

being told,” she says. “Everything I choose is for a

the oceans for two years, teaching their young one

reason. I am waving as if guests are coming and I’m

on board and then later settled in North Carolina

wearing the kewpie doll skirt decorating the cake.”

so he could complete school on land. After he graduated, Libbie and her husband wanted to be in

For all of her success, Libbie climbed the ranks

a more cosmopolitan area, but one that is still low-

with little traditional culinary training and thinks

key. Arriving in Savannah in 2003, they found their

of herself as a MacGyver of sorts. “If there’s a good

new home.

yucca plant and a Band-Aid I can make something,” she jokes.

By then Libbie had shot a television pilot about cooking on boats with a producer for Martha

Ingenuity, it appears, is central to her success.

Stewart and subsequently worked on a Christmas

Born in the rural Midwest, just outside of St. Louis,

campaign for the mogul’s show. It was there, toiling

Libbie was raised in a strict, Baptist home with a

over thousands of holiday ornaments, that Libbie

mother who cooked well, but didn’t have much time

heard unending fits of laughter across the room.

for it. There are fond memories standing at the stove in her grandparents’ farmhouse, where she spent summers slopping pigs, collecting eggs, and digging up potatoes. A huge garden on site, they ate what they grew and Libbie loved every minute of it. But it wasn’t until after college when she began to travel the world that cuisine took a distinct hold. “It’s not like I was so cool and so into food,” says Libbie. “Once I stepped outside of myself and outside of the United States, I started experiencing other things. I am intrigued by how people make things.” Moving frequently over the next few years, she talked her way into a job as a chef on a large sailboat through a random meeting. From there, one job led to another. It was on the water where she also met her husband, Josh, who is a yacht captain. For years she worked the small kitchens of private hundred-footers, calling on her creativity and wit to survive harsh weather and sometimes difficult and demanding guests. “You have to be proficient,” she says of making

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VISIONARY

Celebrated is Libbie’s whimsical and captivating use of simple, everyday items to create stunning imagery in a flair of both elegance and potty mouth bawdiness while sharing delicious, approachable recipes and personal sentiment. “All of these people were having a whole lot of fun,”

which she wrote Brown Sugar, with more childhood

Libbie remembers, as she snuck over to see what the

tributes, like that of her grandmother’s ham and

raucous was about. “They were all food stylists.”

brown sugar roasted chickpeas.

Armed with a professional kit she recalls having

Thomasville and Libbie were introduced in 2014, as

no idea how to use, Libbie set off to follow in their

she catered the much buzzed-about Shotgun Supper

footsteps, taking on any and every job she could

Club in May. “If Thomasville was close to water, it

without charging a nickel.

would feel like home,” notes Libbie. “I love going there. I love the people I meet. I have the best time.”

A few years later and a number of solid, paying contracts under her belt, she landed her first book

The showstopper dished up courses like peanut

deal with Rizzoli. With the release of The Whole Hog

soup, massaged kale salad, spring pea bruschetta,

Cookbook in 2011, press was more than kind. The New

and habañero carrot cake, but not before beginning

York Times described it as “aggressively pretty” and

the night with a bowl full of pipe cleaner and pom-

Bon Appétit appreciated it for its “wicked sense of

pom ‘spaghetti and meatballs’ in Libbie’s signature

humor.”

bright colors.

In 2014 Libbie rolled out Sweet & Vicious, baking

“I start off a meal with ‘we’re going to feed our brain

with an attitude, but not a nasty one. It’s all

before we feed our belly,’” she says. “I put in what is

about inciting giggles with recipes like Southern

important to me, but it’s about getting them to think

Sartorialist’s Cookies, salty, smoky, bourbon-laced

about what is important to them.”

oatmeal ones for dudes, and Retired Gingerbread Working Girls with accompanying cookie cut-outs,

As she writes in the forward of Sweet & Vicious, her

as well as a Post-Coital Chocolate Pie, Angry Bird

message continues to be the same: Be inspired,

Hand Pie, and Wascally Wabbit Pot Pie. There are

have fun, be creative, don’t be shy about being

others equally bust-a-gut funny — and delicious

sentimental, and charm everyone, including your

— for breads, pastries, cakes, and even dog treats,

furry friends.

shared through personal stories that you can just as easily curl up to read in bed as you can learn from in the kitchen. In distinct honor last year, Libbie was asked to

Libbie Summers

contribute to the prestigious Short Stack Editions,

A Food-Inspired Life

reserved for America’s great culinary talents, for

libbiesummers.com

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STURDY.

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CREATORS

Written by

You know those people who epitomize cool in your life? It’s hard to say why

Christopher

or what that is, but you know it when you see it. You feel it…that they’re

Powell Jones

genuine. Authentic. And whatever it is they do appears absolutely effortless. The trait is repeated more often in a single family than it is in the general

Photographed by

population, and it just so happens that they’re highly concentrated in our

Daniel Shippey

downtown, with names like McCollum, Little, Foster, and Young. I’ve been wondering what makes Spencer Young one of these guys since meeting him over a poker hand four years ago. I even asked, but he was either too humble to explain or didn’t know himself. Well, when I sat down over

Their products are reminiscent of the rugged men of the early 20th century, and make the bearer feel as if he could kill a grizzly bear with his bare hands, if it didn’t surrender first. coffee with Spencer and his brother Ben, it hit me. We were talking about Sturdy Brothers, their collaboration on quality handmade goods based here in Thomasville. Together they spoke of how they made the things they wanted, and later found that everyone else wanted them, too. The brand has inspired many of us to reflect on our daily dose of waxed canvas and leather, materials the brothers talk about with reverence. Their products are reminiscent of the rugged men of the early 20th century, and make the bearer feel as if he could kill a grizzly bear with his bare hands, if it didn’t surrender first. Their art is functional, intended to be used. Tools that become a part of your identity as you carry and use them, in work and play.

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The brothers promise that the aprons, duffle bags,

photography, style, and design into their products.

and other accessories they make by hand will last

They’re creators, and you become one too “as you

a lifetime reminds me of the traditional Barbour

are inspired by certain things: places you visit,

coats or Russell Moccasins so many in our neck

people you talk to, things you see and taste. Your

of the woods lug around. These are items that are

experiences stick together to make you and make

sturdy enough to stomp through mud puddles

what you create,” explains Spencer. The brothers

and elegant enough to dress up your favorite blue

are curators, not collectors, of cool, reflecting their

jeans.

life’s experiences in their wardrobe and their work.

Ben is the hands-on guy. He makes things work,

Spencer has the vision; he’s the creative director.

and appreciates things that work well, or for

“A lot of inspiration comes from Thomasville. A lot

a long time. You can hear it in his voice as he

of fantastic things roll through this town of 15,000

reflects on the Maytag dryer his grandmother

people.” He starts listing them: “Events like Due

used for 27 years, day in and day out. Because it

South and Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival, people

was made American. It was made sturdy. Spencer

doing interesting things like fringe restaurants

ascends to a higher level of abstraction. “There’s

and famous gun collections, surrounded by the

been this drive to have things made in America

outdoor culture that inspires it all.” They share

that many sturdy brothers have grown out of over

their tastes as they experience them — a picture

the past eight years.”

on Instagram, a shop window display, a nearby city

The two of them have followed this vague group of creative men and women online over the last year. These are folks who incorporate art,

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they visit. The hardworking people and authentic things they encounter have guided them as they’ve developed their own products.


CREATORS

At the beginning of 2013, Spencer and his wife Megan agreed to buy only Americanmade. While they quickly realized how hard and expensive it is to do that, they were inspired by the boutiques and shops doing things that reflected an old, distinctly American ethic of hard, hands-on work. Spencer remembers the maker of a waxed canvas apron in particular, a product he loved but felt was too expensive. So he ordered the materials (12 oz. duck canvas, local beeswax, and leather accents) and made his own. He explains,

totally unique experience that can’t be scaled.

“in the coffee industry, you need an apron. It’s

You know it if you’ve ever walked into Grassroots

hard to find something that is rugged, yet simple

and your one-of-a-kind concoction was waiting

and easy to clean.”

on you when you arrived at the counter, or, as I

During the autumn of 2013, Spencer went to the beach for a week. He says when he sits for a while, his “mind starts to wander” to what he’s going to do next, and it kept coming back to beginning a side project. Specifically, he wondered if a men’s goods store could work in Thomasville, inspired by

experienced this morning, someone brings it to you while you wait in line to pay. Spencer wanted to apply that aesthetic to the production of goods — tools, really — that would be used and loved by people forever, so he called his brother to discuss a collaboration.

When you inspire people at work, they don’t feel chained to their desks for a third of their lives and as a result, spend the other two-thirds reinvesting in the community, with a net effect much greater than the initial economic impact of their wages. an online boutique he’d recently stumbled upon.

The brothers have looked to their roots for

He hoped to have a place where a man could “buy

inspiration as they’ve joined the movement to

things that were made with quality, use them for

“rekindle American craftsmanship,” even naming

years and years, and pass them down to the next

some of their products after family members. One

generation.” Ben calls it “that American spirit of

grandfather grew up in upstate New York tapping

quality.”

maple trees for syrup while another grew up in

The brothers were both in coffee at the time — Spencer at Grassroots in Thomasville and Ben at Jubala in Raleigh — two places where style, design, and cool people blend to create a

Atlanta working factory and construction jobs during the Depression. They wondered, “could you still survive just making stuff with your own two hands and not go work for some big corporation?”

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Their first products were shipped from Raleigh,

Jackson Street. This success has led to some supply

where Ben stayed up at night sewing. Spencer

chain issues, forcing them to think carefully about

received them in Thomasville and waxed after

the ethos that launched their brand. While they’ve

work. But that didn’t last long. In February 2014,

promised never to ship their production offshore,

their Kickstarter campaign goal of $3,500 was met

they’ve grown to the point that their seamstress

in 24 hours, and by the 30-day deadline they’d

can’t handle the demand. The debate is how they

set, they raised $15,000, exceeding their goal by

can remain true to their mission while scaling the

over 300 percent. Reality set in when they had to

local production of these handmade goods. They’re

produce 160 items for their supporters and they

tempted each day to break away from their roots

realized it would be a full-time job for at least one

as they grow.

of them. With the Kickstarter sales as justification, Ben moved to Thomasville, where they purchased proper machines, materials in bulk, and outfitted a

Ben takes a stab at the solution, saying “you can’t make people care as much as you do, but you can

workshop for their next chapter.

give them something to take pride in.” As they

In August they participated in and won “Best in

for creating with others, who are sharing the

Show” of Flaunt, a local pop-up shop competition,

production load. By inspiring their team, they are

which launched their stand-alone store on West

alleviating the supply chain issues big companies

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continue to grow, they’re sharing their passion


CREATORS

sell their souls to solve. Their approach comes

teaching us the difference between collecting and

with some additional benefits to the community.

curating by sharing their passion for leading quiet

When you inspire people at work, they don’t feel

lives of hard work that their tools embody.

chained to their desks for a third of their lives and as a result, spend the other two-thirds reinvesting in the community, with a net effect much greater

This philosophy that drives them, their creative eye, and their eagerness to develop calloused

than the initial economic impact of their wages.

hands doing work that is good is what makes these

Ben quotes Henry David Thoreau, “The mass of

they like the idea of “building a future as a family,

men lead lives of quiet desperation.” He continues,

a legacy that can be passed down.”

men so cool. Expect big things from the brothers —

“people live their lives in pursuit of jobs and degrees that will ultimately give them money. They will buy nice things with the money. But at their desks, behind computers, their souls will wither. Working with our hands, at a trade, to

Sturdy Brothers

produce something of value is our stab at fighting

sturdybrothers.com

the ‘quiet desperation.’” They feel called to lead quiet lives, working with their hands “so that [their] daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that [they] will not be dependent on anybody,” (NIV 1 Thessalonians 4, 11-12). They aren’t just selling tools you can collect in hopes of resembling the cool-ness that they embody, they’re selling the “-ness” itself. You, too, can be genuine, authentic, and make it look effortless. But not by buying their products to dress up in a Young costume. Spencer and Ben are 16


Written by Jennifer Westfield Photographed by Daniel Shippey

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COLLECTORS

Johnny and Sarah Belenchia’s sweet, amethyst-eyed

works were looking at one another. She says the Bill

Maine Coon, Dude, greets most visitors who enter

Mack saxophone player used to be positioned so he

their home off Pinetree Boulevard. A 2,000-year-

could play for the jazz sculpture that is faced in a

old Colima dog, called Sparks, does the same from

different direction now.

atop a high shelf in their living room. While Dude gets most of the physical affection, Sarah speaks of

I went into their home after giving myself a solid

Sparks and the 200-plus pieces of art in their home

crash course in art history, particularly on Chagall,

as things that are just as alive, and loved.

New Orleans art, and certain modern movements, only to find that each piece they owned was about

Johnny and Sarah’s vast collection is about their love

their life together. Their art collection is their story.

of art, travel, and especially each other. They like

To come to know it is to come to know them: where

what they like, and don’t purchase works for any

they were, whom they met, and their many stories of

other reason. “We go,” says Sarah, “we look and we

simply being in the right place at the right time.

choose pieces that speak to us.” When it comes to art history, Johnny and Sarah Freshly moved into their Thomasville home, Sarah

know their stuff, but they don’t make you feel like

talks about how she decided to arrange their pieces

you need to know yours. They are perfectly happy

on the new walls. Several works had been previously

explaining it to you and even happier telling you of

hung next to each other so that the figures in the

how and when they acquired each piece. 18


area where we were visiting, we would try to find a local artist to get something from them. We’ve gotten stuff from Hilton Head; Beaufort, South Carolina; San Francisco; Memphis; and Hattiesburg.” In a long hallway that serves as a gallery downstairs, they have an out-of-this-world Keith Haring piece that they picked up at an estate sale in New Orleans’ Garden District. They were over in Metairie having their car serviced when they heard that the author Anne Rice was having an estate sale and it just happened to be Sarah’s birthday. They especially love telling the story behind the many Dorothy Winslade pieces they’ve acquired. “Winslade was very active in the 1930s and 40s,” Sarah says. “She was born in England, came to the

Their art collection is their story. To come to know it is to come to know them.

United States, went to art school, and made a fairly

Johnny and Sarah are both from Mississippi, Sarah

happened to be an art history major, realized these

from Hernando and Johnny from Shelby, just below

were nice things, and gave them to a gallery owner.

the Delta. Thirty-one years ago, they met at an Ole

They were basically destined for the trash pile.”

good career for herself as an artist. She had sort of lost favor near the end, and when she passed away, someone was hired to clean out her estate and was supposed to take her pieces to the dump. That person

Miss party when Johnny was in medical school and Sarah was studying to be a nurse. The first piece

Despite the fact that the Belenchias and I were all

they bought together was one of an arctic fox at a

living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, when hurricane

wildlife gallery in New Orleans, a favorite place to

Katrina barreled through — an instant point of

visit while they lived in Memphis from 1986 to 2001.

solidarity if you were there — I left their home filled

They have works by Dalí, Picasso, Miró, Chagall, Léger, Papart, Ferlinghetti, Alexandra Nichita, Alice Mosely, George Rodrigue, Martin LaBorde, Bill Mack, and a Verdura pin that landed Sarah on an episode of Antiques Roadshow. They acquired a good chunk of their collection in New Orleans. “If you go to the French Quarter,” Johnny says, “it’s easy to see so many different artists within the walking distance of a couple of blocks. We started purchasing more in New Orleans and bringing things home to Memphis. If we liked an

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CoLLectorS

Sarah speaks of Sparks and the 200-plus art pieces in their home as things that are alive, and loved with the care they share in taking people through their many rooms and telling how they came to own every work in their collection. I also left with the entire city of New York in my purse after Sarah gave

pulmonary and critical care. Sarah says, “It was a

me more BonBons than I could hold in my hands, 15

fate thing, maybe.” They’d been here before. “One

different mini vials of Bond No. 9 perfumes.

of the times we were driving back from Hilton Head on vacation,” Sarah says, “we decided to take

Johnny chuckled when I got excited about the

a little shortcut through Georgia and wound up

dozens of bottles of Bond No. 9 on the dresser in

going through Thomasville. It’s so funny because I

their bedroom. Sarah said, “Honey, spritz away,” and

remember thinking, this is such a nice town.”

I was on cloud Bond No. 9. We got to the two Chagall pieces over their bed after the perfume-fest and that

They have so many pieces in their home that Sarah

was just fine with them.

says, “We have to love a new piece more than one we currently have if we’re going to buy it.” One of

And not to wax poetic on perfumes, but the

their more recently acquired works is by the late

Bond No. 9 scents are about creating a unique

Thomasville artist Dick Inman, which landed in the

scent experience by mixing these various

foyer to the right. They call the male figure holding

perfumes named after New York City’s inimitable

a glass of wine and a cigar, “Our version of the most

neighborhoods. I tried them all when I got home and

interesting man in the world,” from the Dos Equis

thanks to Sarah, have been wearing a combination

television commercials.

of Chinatown, Astor Place, and Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue. Those perfumes, much like the

Since moving to town, they’ve commissioned Cindy

myriad locations where the Belenchias purchase

Inman to paint a portrait of their two late, beloved

their art, are all

Maine Coons. Of the local arts scene, Johnny says, “It

about individual

feels like everything is evolving here. Especially for a

experience of place

town this size, the arts community and the offerings

and remembering it

are great.”

by putting together something utterly unique. At the beginning of 2014, Johnny took a job in Thomasville at Archbold Memorial Hospital to practice

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Harmonious Written by Lauren Eberle Photographed by Courtney Chavanell and Bill Ellison

You shouldn’t try to put a label on The Band of Heathens. They really aren’t in-the-box kind of guys. Plenty of music writers have given it a try: “Gritty vocals and scything guitars.” “Rootsy country-rock and old time R&B.” “A bluegrassy version of The Band.” “A seamless blending of alt-rockers, folk tales, gutbucket blues, and heartland anthems.” But ask co-founder Gordy Quist, and his answer’s simpler. “We call it rock ‘n’ roll.” And rock they do. So much so that back in late-2012, Kid Rock told Howard Stern that The Band of Heathens was one of his new favorite groups. Since that time, they’ve toured and recorded with Kid (whose real name is Robert James Ritchie) and appeared in a number of tracks on his new record, First Kiss.

21


Heathens

MUSICMAKERS

The Band of Heathens has an impressive arsenal of

In addition to Ed (guitar and keys) and Gordy

chart-climbing albums themselves, many of which

(guitar), today’s Band of Heathens includes Trevor

feature notable collaborators, and all of which rock

Nealon on keys, Richard Millsap on drums, and Scott

with the band’s own blend of multi-part harmonies

Davis on bass. Everyone picks up vocals, which are

and stick-with-you lyrics.

what makes these musicians so memorable as they travel the country entertaining loyal crowds.

Gordy and Ed Jurdi were already seasoned songwriters with solo careers when they first joined

The group’s first recording, “Live from Momo’s,”

forces in Austin, Texas. It started with a series of

earned them national attention and “Best New Band”

Wednesday night jam sessions at an acclaimed

at the 2007 Austin Music Awards. Their first studio

Austin club called Momo’s. A couple of groups

album, released in 2008, featured Patty Griffin and

shared the bill, each performing individual sets.

Gurf Morlix, and reached No. 1 on Americana charts.

Eventually they joined together as The Good Time

“One Foot in the Ether” and “Top Hat Crown & the

Supper Club until a fateful misprint in a local paper

Clapmaster’s Son” followed, both to critical acclaim.

dubbed the group The Heathens. The name stuck, as

And the band’s most recent release, “Sunday

did the collaboration.

Morning Project,” has been called “a love letter to the past and, at the same time, a postcard to the future.” I caught up with Ed and Gordy in the midst of an especially busy season. They were spending time in the studio, and balancing a packed tour schedule.

22


LAUREN: I’m intrigued by the band’s start-up story...

GORDY: Our first couple of albums were live albums,

the merger of separate acts into something truly

and the live show has always been our foundation.

great. How did y’all know it would work?

As we grew to a point where we could afford a crew

ED: I don’t think anybody knew whether it would

member on the road with us, it just made sense

work or not. In the early days of the band, I’m not

to start recording all the shows. It’s a great tool

sure anyone even thought about that question. It

for us to keep each show interesting and different

was more like, “We’re having a great time playing

from each other, and we’ve found a way to get the

music and hanging out, can we get another round to

recording on a USB drive and to the merchandise

the stage please!”

sales table within about five minutes of the show ending.

“The simplest way I can put it is, life is very full. I think we all feel pretty lucky to be able to say that.” – Ed Jurdi LAUREN: You posted a studio shot on Instagram

LAUREN: And then you’re back in the van, and off

recently (@bandofheathens). What do we have to

again. What’s your favorite food on the road?

look forward to?

GORDY: The simple answer is good coffee. The more

ED: We’re working on some new songs. Ultimately

complicated answer is that half of us are omnivores

we’re working towards releasing a new album — I

and half of us are vegans, so keeping everyone happy

hope later this year — but right now it’s getting

on the food front can be interesting. We love good

some ideas down and seeing how they stand up.

soul food, Mexican food, Indian food, barbecue, as well as all things vegan.

LAUREN: BOH has been a pretty rapid success story, and I’m guessing your approach to music sharing

LAUREN: Come April, Thomasville’s Due South

certainly hasn’t hurt. At the end of each concert,

Festival is on the menu as Band of Heathens takes to

your fans can pick up a copy of the performance — a

the stage as the Saturday night headliner. We think

great embracement of the digital age. Tell us more

it’s a great fit. Do you?

about this decision.

GORDY: The South has played an inescapable role in America’s musical heritage, from Ray Charles, Hank Williams, and Otis Redding to the Allman Brothers and Muscle Shoals. We’re honored to be a part of the festival and looking forward to stuffing our faces with some good Southern food! LAUREN: How has the city of Austin influenced your art? GORDY: I think our band is a little microcosm of the Austin spirit. We started as a bunch of guys from different bands hanging out at the same club every Wednesday night. We started sitting in with each others’ bands and here we are 9 years later. Austin is a great place to put a band together because there are a bunch of players, a bunch of music clubs, and

23


MUSICMAKERS

people that support the live music scene. The city has changed a lot over the last decade, but we’re still fighting to keep the spirit of the live music scene alive. LAUREN: Where would BOH be if you’d met somewhere other than Austin? ED: I honestly feel like Austin WAS the reason this band happened. I’m not sure it could have happened like this anywhere else. We were from all over the country, and ultimately Austin is what brought us together. To go a little further with that idea, I think the Austin Sound event series, and the spirit of the city, in terms of how it embraced music — specifically stuff that’s a bit outside of the box — was key in allowing us to develop and create a sound. I mean this band would have never been what it is if it happened in Nashville or LA. Not to take anything away from those places, they’re great and have amazing music, but there was a very specific thing going on in Austin during that time that allowed us to come together in a no-pressure environment with no expectations. If you combine that with some of the most amazing and supportive music fans in the world, you’ve got a recipe for a great scene to develop. LAUREN: In the coming months, travels will take you from Asheville, North Carolina, to Navarro, California, with stops in Louisiana, Kansas, Utah, and more. How do you balance writing, recording, touring, family? ED: It’s always busy. The simplest way I can put it is, life is very full. I think we all feel pretty lucky to be able to say that. We are doing what we love to do and we’re surrounded by people who love us. What more could you ask for?

The Band of Heathens bandofheathens.com

24


It’s an all day, all night kind of party that reminds

South tapped

you how awesome it is to be from the South —

Grassland

even if you are a transplant. Due South celebrates

String Band

what Southerners love most: crave-worthy bites,

(Athens,

cold drinks with an unexpected twist, lawn chairs

Georgia) to be

planted in front of an electric stage, and talent —

the opening

so much talent! — under the spring Thomasville

act for BOH,

sky. Due South has become an arrow-pointing

and Evan

directional destination event, celebrating the

Barber and the Dead Gamblers, The Gatorbone

sights, sounds, and tastes of the new South, while

Band, Grant Peeples and the Peeples Republic, The

nodding to what brought us here in the first place:

Fried Turkeys, and Royce Lovett will take us toe-

a connection between land, family, and tradition.

tapping from day to night.

Join us in our fourth year on April 25th!

MADE IN THE SOUTH CLASS ACTS

This year’s

And made at Studio 209! Guests

can check out the Center for the Arts’ recent

headliner is the Band of

downtown studio renovation, meet the 2015 artists-

Heathens, an Austin, Texas,

in-residence, and purchase their work. The new

group known for being one

residents include Abby Barber, chef and gardener;

of its hometown’s most

Caprice Kelly, ceramicist; Jay Snodgrass, printmaker

vital musical resources.

and poet; and Emily Arwood, Denise Boineau,

The group has racked up

Robert Copper, and Cindy Inman, all painters.

accolades including “New Emerging Artists” and “Best Duo/Group of the

Doors open at 12 p.m. General Admission tickets are $10 and last all day.

Year” nominations by the

And don’t miss the VIP party! Sponsoring is the

Americana Music Honors &

only way to get tickets — pick a level (they begin at

Awards and the Americana

$150) and join us!

Music Association. Recently, BOH collaborated

25

with Kid Rock on his latest

Due South

album, First Kiss, which

Thomasville Center for the Arts Studio 209

dropped at the end of

209 West Remington Avenue, Thomasville, Georgia

February. Additionally, Due

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83


FOODIE

Written by Lauren Eberle

It’s a cold and drizzly day when I interview Carrie Morey about her booming businesses. And although it’s only 9 a.m., the blond-haired belle has dinner on the brain. She doesn’t take these things lightly — Carrie’s menu selections

Photographed by Andrew Cebulka

are usually creative and always intentional. Tomorrow her husband’s making chicken enchiladas (“his are better than mine,” she reveals), so she decides out loud that a hearty soup or a stew is likely in order tonight. This is just one of the many delicious decisions Carrie makes each day. Owner of Callie’s Charleston Biscuits, a Southern-style melt-in-your-mouth biscuit company, and Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit, a counter-service restaurant and retail shop in Charleston, Carrie is also an acclaimed cookbook author, a dedicated wife, and Super Mom to three young daughters.

Rolling Out Her early introduction to the food world came courtesy of her mother, Callie White. A highly accomplished caterer known for “Southern fare and global flair,” Callie wowed crowds with her signature country ham biscuits. In 2005, with a newborn daughter and a bit more time on her hands, Carrie convinced her mother to postpone retirement and join her in the biscuit business. Already a hit among friends, relatives, and Callie’s catering clients, Carrie was certain their buttery recipe was worth serving on tables across the country. Following months of research on freezing, packaging, and shipping

84


small-batch delicacies, the duo launched their

growth. And it’s just in the last two that Carrie says

company and orders began rolling in.

she’s felt like a ‘real’ business. “We’re still very small in the greater scheme of things, but these days I’m

After a decade of business, Carrie reflects on her

stopping to smell the roses and I’m realizing we’re

story with a certain wistfulness. “It feels like 10 years

doing something big here.”

have flown by, but I’m so grateful for our steady, natural growth,” she says. “When we began, I’d bake

I’ll say. Callie’s has appeared in The New York Times,

one day a month and the supply would last us. Now,

Food & Wine, and Oprah, as well as on the Today show,

we’re baking almost daily.”

QVC, and Food Network’s Unwrapped, among others. Carrie was even chosen as one of Martha Stewart’s

The give and take of motherhood and

“Dreamers into Doers.”

entrepreneurship stunted expansion for a time. “I remember wanting to speed things up, and my

What’s the big deal? It’s more than great taste. For

mom kept encouraging me to slow down. The first

many families, Callie’s combines the not-forgotten

five years of business felt like we were just playing

nostalgia of homemade biscuits rising in the oven,

house. I had a vision, but I also needed balance — I

with the certain convenience of online ordering.

was a brand new mom and family was my priority.” These days, seven varieties of buttery biscuits are Carrie’s second five years have seen exponential

85

available at retailers throughout the country or


FOODIE

through mail-order: classic buttermilk, country ham,

she drifts back and forth. Her bakers, shippers, and

cocktail ham, cheese and chive, cinnamon, black

cashiers know that family comes first, and it’s a

pepper bacon, and shortcakes. Shipped biscuits

value Carrie honors, as well: “I never want someone

arrive fully cooked and frozen; simply reheat and

on my team to miss their child’s awards ceremony

serve with a generous pat of butter. Also popular

because they’re working.”

are Callie’s Cheese Crisps and a perfectly spiced Southern staple, Pimento Cheese.

Callie’s Charleston Biscuits is headquartered in a 100-year-old Officer’s Quarters on the old naval

Rising Up

base just five miles from downtown. The estate has

Thanks to an “unbelievable” staff, Carrie divides time

“probably 50 windows,” a roaring fireplace, a grand

between her two ventures. Mondays and Tuesdays

sleeping porch, and a big, open room reserved for

are spent at Callie’s Charleston Biscuits; Wednesday,

baking. Here, the melt-in-your-mouth biscuits are

Thursday, and weekends at Hot Little Biscuit. Fridays

still made as they were originally intended: by hand,

“We’re still very small in the greater scheme of things, but these days I’m stopping to smell the roses and I’m realizing we’re doing something big here.” 86


Last summer, Carrie fulfilled a childhood dream by opening Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit on King Street in Charleston. “Behind my kids and marriage, this was my greatest accomplishment,” she says. with high-quality ingredients and no machinery

Carrie never set out to be an author, she’ll

whatsoever. The result is flaky, slightly crispy, two-

emphasize. But five years into blogging, a friend

bite bliss.

approached her with the idea to pitch a publisher. Once she got the deal, sifting through her hundreds

Last summer, Carrie fulfilled a childhood dream by

of recipes — most hand-penned in careful script

opening Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit on King Street in

on tattered cards — became an emotional process

Charleston. “Behind my kids and marriage, this was

as the baker found herself reconnecting to the

my greatest accomplishment,” she says. Open seven

matriarchs of her family. “Memories came flooding

days a week and late-night on weekends, the shop

back as I pored over those handed-down treasures.

features — of course! — hot biscuits, plus pimento

It became up to me to tell their story well.”

cheese sandwiches, grits, and an array of Southernstyle accoutrements like chopped bacon, roasted

The book begins as you’d expect, with a chapter on

tomatoes, and Carolina honey.

biscuits. But it’s about so much more. “Writing the cookbook became a personal, intimate way for me

Shoppers can also find a full range of culinary

to communicate with my girls.,” Carrie says. “It told

products from Callie’s “The Buttery” line, including

the story of my life, and what made me grow to

cocktail pecans, signature coffee, honey, and jams.

love food.” Released in fall 2013, the cookbook was

And, they can pick up Carrie’s cookbook, Callie’s

accompanied by a 35-city tour.

Biscuits and Southern Traditions, a collection of more than 100 heirloom recipes, as well as tips and

Influence(d)

ruminations on family, cooking, and life in

In the back of the Officer’s Quarters, Carrie hosts

the South.

a small business incubator for newbies in the

87


culinary world. She’s mentoring two right now, one with a dynamite pasta sauce business and another who is creating gluten-free goodies that may help children with ADHD. “These people are dreamers, like me. It’s a joy to build each other up.” Carrie says she didn’t realize until she was an adult how Southern food culture had influenced her. “So much of ourselves is wrapped up in food and its history. My family doesn’t eat traditionally Southern foods every night. Rather, the significance of Southern food culture has inspired me to learn more about Indian foods, about Asian foods, about Mexican foods,” she reveals. “It encourages us to not only eat, but to learn.” And learn they do. Carrie’s daughters, ages 6, 7, and 10, spend two hours daily doing homework in the kitchen. They hang out at Hot Little Biscuit. They snap pictures of their meals. They can even identify a ramekin. These girls are absorbing food culture, whether they know it or not. And it’s Carrie’s hope that perhaps it’ll seep in enough to become their career path, too. But in the meantime, Carrie is the cook in the kitchen. She’s barefoot, rarely in an apron, swaying to Pandora radio with a cup of coffee or glass of wine. She has a comfy dress and leggings on, and Biscuit, her puppy, pounces at her feet. Yes, business is thriving and life is mighty good. Even still, the go-getter won’t rest on her laurels. “I don’t plan to be Pillsbury, but I can’t stop myself from dreaming about what’s next.” Our tastebuds will toast to that.

CALLIE’s BISCUITS calliesbiscuits.com Available locally at Firefly and look for them at Due South.

88


89


tasteMAKERS

Written by Callie Sewell Photographed by Gabriel Hanway

“Try this,” Gabe says, passing me a beer in a Grasslands pint glass. “It’s kinda pink?” I blurt out. By no means would I ever consider myself a beer expert — I’m an advanced beginner at best. But even I can see there is a subtle blush color swirling in my glass. “Correct!” he answers with a smile. “It’s raspberry flavored — something we are working on.” I may not know specific scents or hidden flavor notes, but I do know a story when I taste it. When Gabe Grass asked his wife Saralyn if she would go along with his dream of owning and running a craft brewery, she replied, “This will change our lives forever... I will do this only if it is a place where I feel comfortable going on a date.” Gabe laughs as he recalls this, the corners of his eyes turning up behind his black-framed glasses. I laugh too. Not only is it a statement I admire, but also I notice how quickly I feel comfortable with him and his team. As I sit across from Gabe, president and founder of Grasslands Brewery, I already know I want to be a part of what he’s selling. Or pouring, in this case. There is no doubt that Tallahassee’s new brewery, Grasslands, will be a date destination this spring. Gabe shares the Grasslands story is a familiar one in the craft brewing industry, and one that started six years ago. By day, he was a Florida State University Foundation Director of Corporate Development and by night, he was creating beer samples with a home brew kit. Home brewing evolved into a passion, and it is a passion that is evident when he speaks with me today. I’m impressed there is still excitement in his voice as the journey has been a long one, and one that’s not nearly over. But the enthusiasm is

90


genuine and a testament to his patience. I hear it as he talks about all-things-Grasslands, ranging from brewing sour beer to a new sink for the men’s room. Scott Hall is also across from me and admits that the first time he met Gabe in 2011, he didn’t want to. Gabe called on Scott who co-founded (and at the time was working at) Tallahassee’s craft brewery Fermentation Lounge. It was a Friday, a busy day, and the last thing Scott wanted to deal with was a “home-brewer sales pitch” — a pitch he often heard and one he knew would likely end in failure. But they talked. And according to Scott, what Gabe had that no one else had was a realistic understanding of what opening a brewery entailed. Months later, the coin flipped. Scott called on Gabe to check in on the brewery status and offered his experience — a sharp knowledge of history, retail, and distribution. He signed on as Vice President, making three in the Grasslands family. “Grasslands” is a play on Saralyn and Gabe’s last name, but also aligns with their core philosophy. Their slogan — “Earth first ales” — succinctly explains their objective of environmental conservation and sustainability.

91


tasteMAKERS

It is one of the few times Gabe is serious as we

start in two years. The team is proud of their space

chat. “We are doing everything we can to meet

and they should be — it is beautiful.

this mission,” he says. “We source local ingredients and recycle materials whenever and however

Saralyn and Thomasville’s Jackie Johnson made

possible. We are doing our best to reduce our carbon

Grasslands come to life through an inviting blend of

footprint, promote awareness, and give back to our

industrial and rustic elements. Jackie has designed

community.”

interiors for some of Thomasville’s favorite eateries — Jonah’s, Liam’s, and Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese

He candidly shares that the Grasslands journey

Shop — and Saralyn knew she wanted the taproom

has been a combination of “a lot of hard work and

to have a community look and feel, but also be date-

luck.” He credits luck for finding their new location

worthy.

— the address is not only ideal, but feeds into their philosophy.

It will be. The bar tops are made from gorgeous reclaimed red cypress, the bar stools are handmade

Grasslands joined the “Garages on Gaines”

and evoke a retro pub feel, the 12 tap handles are

revitalization movement on Tallahassee’s West

thick wooden tree trunk pulls, and there is a maze-

Gaines Street, becoming the anchor tenant in the

like light fixture with exposed bulbs and piping. The

project. Previously referred to as Tallahassee’s

space is open, clean, and comfortable.

“Warehouse District,” the location was once a dismal, graffiti-covered area that wasn’t helping the economy. Today, Gabe views the spot as a gateway to many parts of the city — two colleges, an arts district, downtown, a park, and more. He hopes Grasslands

“One of the greatest things about this industry is that there is a lot of paying it forward.”

will contribute to the budding area, promote a walker-friendly community, and boost the economy.

And full of family stories. Gabe reflects on each one with a warm sense of pride. There is an ancient

And the guys know their facts. They roll off their

safe positioned between the restrooms that was his

tongues with ease, sharing figures like Florida ranks

grandfather’s, brought down from Maine.

third in overall United States population, but the state is third to last in the number of craft breweries

When asked about Grasslands’ signature brews, he

per million residents.

recalls the back-story of one of their IPAs: “My sister and brother-in-law were expecting and having a

This report isn’t daunting. Rather, Grasslands views

couples’ baby shower. They asked if I would brew an

it as an opportunity and the equation is simple:

IPA for the party, so I created a one-off, with tropical

craft beer boosts tourism and tourism boosts the

notes. We named the brew Rising Embers.” Ember

economy.

is the name of his niece, and now the beer is one of their most popular requests.

The Grasslands space is approximately 5,000 square feet, hosting a taproom and brewery with a 15-barrel

Gabe and Scott make it seem that there is also a

production system and a 2.5-barrel pilot system. The

sense of family within the craft brewing industry. As

lease also allows for future expansion, expected to

it is one of the highest regulated industries in the

92


country, opening a micro-brewery is an uphill battle on many federal and state levels. Microbreweries aim to distribute their own product, putting them in competition with the “big guys.” It is a fight that is frequently compared to David vs. Goliath, and as of recent years, David is making headway. According to the Brewer’s Association, craft labels make up 14 percent of the market space. It’s a minority stake, but it is a percentage that is growing every year. Camaraderie exists among crafters — not competition. Gabe makes this point when he says, “One of the greatest things about this industry is there is a lot of paying it forward.” It initially surprises me on a business level, as most people are territorial about their market space. But what I learn is craft is different. And this gooddeed difference is an almost obvious, perfect fit with Gabe and the Grasslands team. He and Scott name breweries they admire — Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Monday Night Brewery in Atlanta, Georgia; and Cigar City in Tampa, Florida. The Cigar City team met with the guys when Grasslands was just a concept, and has done so for many fledgling breweries — even if they end up down the street. Fermentation Lounge and Proof Brewing will be within one square mile from Grasslands — a fact they welcome. The goal is to be a “mini-Asheville,” according to Scott, and to “pay it forward” with other crafters at all costs. Because together, they take taps away from the non-local, non-domestic giants — not necessarily from each other. “Opening Grasslands is not the finish line,” says Gabe. “It is more like the starting point.” The next looming decisions — even if they are years away — are choosing a distributor and deciding which market to tap next. Their eyes

93


tasteMAKERS

are on Jacksonville, Tampa, and Gainesville —

such good, honest energy in their demeanor that I

but unfortunately, not Georgia. Grasslands will

am already envisioning trips to Tallahassee so I can

continue to support Georgia events, like Due South,

try their Ember brew. Or the raspberry creation I am

as community events played an integral part in

sipping on now.

launching the company. The guys talk over each other, ping-ponging Above all, the team values the interaction

excitement when they speak. I hear it best when

and connection to their fans, which they call

Gabe says, “We want to be a welcoming environment

“Grasshoppers.” The Grasshopper growth is organic,

and engage with the Tallahassee and South Georgia

strong, and loud. When raising funds for the new

community.”

facility via crowdbrewed.com, a crowd funding

Immediately, Scott chimes in, “Beer is just the uniter

method for breweries, they surpassed their goal

of it all.”

of $30,000. The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce awarded Grasslands “Entrepreneurial

With a nod, Gabe adds, “If we can engage with

Start-up Business of the Year” this past summer,

people, have a fun experience and product to go

before their doors were even open. If you scroll

along with it, all the better.”

through their @grasslandsbrewingco Instagram account, the Grasshoppers chirp comments like,

And that is something we can all say “cheers” to.

“We are so excited for Grasslands to open up!” and “Dude, it’s really coming,” and “Almost there!” The buzz is established and contagious. I feel it

grasslands brewery

when sitting across from Gabe and Scott. There is

grasslandsbrewery.com

94


Together, in GOOD Faith Written by

Sunlight streamed into the sanctuary through the stained-glass window, lighting

Nadia R. Watts

the pulpit with color. An elderly woman in an engine-red suit entered and found a dear friend who was already seated in her pew. They flew together, giving each

Photographed by

other resounding kisses and giggling with the youth they still carried inside. A

Daniel Shippey

grandfather entered this holy place, carrying his sleeping infant grandson in his arms. When the visiting children’s choir tumbled in, the church seemed to fill — not only with congregants, but also with the spirit of the holiday. This was an Advent service at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, a historically African-American house of worship that has been a Thomasville landmark since 1894. The church is known for its history of service to the wider community: a well respected K-5 Episcopal day school once operated on the church grounds, the first playground for African-American children was built there in 1937, the first African-American Boy Scout troop used Good Shepherd for its meeting space, and Thomasville’s NAACP charter was signed there.

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In more recent years, however, the church and

project of the city’s three Episcopal churches.

its surrounding community — the Stevens Street

Representatives from All Saints’, St. Thomas, and

historic district — have succumbed to the toll of

Good Shepherd Episcopal churches have united to

time. Some of the houses have been abandoned;

revitalize the historic church and its surrounding

many structures are in dire need of repair. Good

neighborhood. These board members come from

Shepherd’s membership has dwindled, as well. On a

all walks of life and represent multiple cultures

typical Sunday, the sanctuary is likely to see only a

with diverse histories. And they agree that it is this

few of its 18 active members.

diversity of thought that inspires the creativity and caring necessary to succeed.

Good Shepherd’s history is that of giving, and members of the Thomasville community have

In just one year, Good Shepherd’s vicarage, which

recognized that it is time to give back.

sits next door to the church, was renovated to serve as EDAT’s headquarters. A solid foundation of

Founded one year ago, the Episcopal Development

funding was established. An executive director was

Agency of Thomasville (EDAT) is a joint ministry

hired. A community garden was planted. Through

96


a community partnership, an after-school tutoring

uplift the community,” she explains. “You can feel

program got the resources to run five days a week

that people are actually looking out for the church

and to serve dinner to the 42 children who attend.

and making sure that nothing [bad] happens.”

More progress is on the horizon.

Nurturing people often does begin with food, agreed EDAT board member Morrisce Dockett,

Congregants, United Before the Advent service that Sunday, Lauretta Gibbs looked around at her empty sanctuary and explained why church membership has dwindled so precipitously. “Many of our members are in their 80s and 90s and have moved on to live with their children,” she says. Quite a few members have passed away in recent years as well. “If you look around, you might see blight,” she continues. “You may see homeowners that are very proud of their homes and try to keep them up to the best of their ability. And of course, you see houses that are substandard that people are living in.” One positive change, Lauretta says, has been in EDAT’s planting of a community garden, where now winter vegetables — turnips, collards, mustards, and cabbage — are grown to feed members of the community. Neighbors are encouraged to pitch in and to help themselves to their share. A parttime garden supervisor was hired in April to help maintain the garden and to teach youth about health and wellness. This simple vegetable plot has given pride back to the people, Lauretta says. “The garden has helped

97

who has been a member of Good Shepherd for 50 years. Morrisce was instrumental in beginning a feeding program for locals almost eight years ago. With support from EDAT, that program grew and continues today, now Monday through Friday at lunchtime. “At first we started just passing the food out in the neighborhood,” she explains. “Now an average of 50 people attend daily, for food and fellowship.” The people are asked not to leave with their food, but to stay and to connect with others. That fellowship is vital to revitalize relationships in the community, Morrisce says. “We want them to be with each other, to be a part of each other. And


CONNECTORS

“EDAT can only succeed if there’s a level of trust there in the community that will make that possible, and that’s done one relationship at a time.” sometimes, in that, people become friends, when

He promises, “If the community doesn’t embrace it,

they didn’t know they could be friends.”

it’s not going to succeed.”

Community, United

Indeed, Hancock says, their work has only just

As there is no acting vicar at Good Shepherd, Father Paul Hancock, rector at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, and Father Dwayne Varas, rector at St. Thomas, share in the spiritual leadership of the historic church. They also serve on the board at EDAT. In only one year, Hancock says, EDAT has come a long way. “It has emerged,” he explains. “It has a physical location. It has connections to its neighborhood. It is known in parish churches. We have an executive director. We have a solid foundation of funding.” Varas says that another sign that EDAT has already made a positive difference is in the relationships that are forming. “Folks in the neighborhood are not just riding by on their bicycle or walking by and waving, but they’re stopping and wanting to engage with whomever might be out in front of the facility,” he says. “EDAT can only succeed if there’s a level of trust there in the community that will make that possible, and that’s done one relationship at a time.”

begun. “There are very positive signs that we will be able to offer low-cost mental health counseling support [at EDAT], and if we can do that, that will be a second string to our bow.” That work begins with the board and EDAT’s employees. Hancock says the collaboration amongst them, people who come from all walks of life, has “been an easy, natural process.” “It’s sending a message of cooperation to [the three] congregations as well. We’re not in the business of competing against one another,” he explains. “There is work to be done in ministry to the community, and we’re going to be stronger when we unite to do it.” Varas agrees: “It also sends a message to the wider community that churches can look beyond themselves and be a church in a way that’s not limited by their physical location, not limited by their particular nuance in theology.”

98


“This really is about breaking down the walls and living out our Christian vows to love one another. It’s about doing what we’re put on this earth to do.” Varas says he hopes members of the wider

breaking down the walls and living out our Christian

community, despite their faith background, see

vows to love one another. It’s about doing what

the collaboration amongst the three churches as

we’re put on this earth to do.”

an example of what has always been a part of Thomasville — an ecumenical cooperation between

Now, with a year under their belts, they must

denominations.

continue to focus on EDAT’s mission: “To improve lives, provide hope, and to show love. When you

“There’s a strong sense of church, faith, [and]

improve lives, you improve the entire community,”

cooperation in Thomasville,” he says.

she says. “We have moved mountains already. We’re not a one and done. This is going to be a

Leadership, United

long-term program.”

Ask anyone at EDAT, and you’ll be told that the

Keith Jenkins, EDAT’s new executive director,

program simply wouldn’t be where it is today

will oversee its long-term plan; he is tasked with

without the leadership of Alston Watt, board chair.

focusing on health and wellness, youth education,

Through her professional life as a foundation

and professional development of members of the

director, Alston came prepared to do good work,

Stevens Street community. Keith will also work to

having seen programs succeed — and fail.

encourage the revitalization of the built structures in the area. But his primary goal is to bring community

“What creates success [are] the intangibles — the

members in as collaborators, Alston says.

people’s willingness to be involved. Not that they have the best curriculum or the best grant writer.

With degrees in social work and business

It’s because you have folks who are really invested

administration, and with years of experience as a

in making sure that the mission of the program is

youth pastor, Keith says the position was a natural

successful. And that is something that I’ve seen

fit. “When I [came] to this neighborhood, I [saw]

quite clearly [at EDAT] from the beginning.

the neighborhood that I grew up in, in Boston, [GA.] I know the struggles of the African-American

Alston says it has taken time for members of the

community. I understand that some of it is a

board to learn to work together, as their backgrounds

mistrust that they have in some of the system that

are so diverse. “We’re younger and older,” she says.

is in place. I have to empower these individuals to

“We’re retired. We’re full-time workers. We’re white.

understand that [they] can have better and do better

We’re black. We’re single. We’re married.”

if [they] want that.”

She pauses and continues: “I think even just [our]

Keith says it was important for the people in the

learning to work together as a diverse group is a

area to know that EDAT would provide support to

part of the success of this. If we can do it as a board,

them as they took care of themselves. “Nothing

the community can do it, too. This really is about

is more valuable than something that you work

99


for. That’s the concept that we’re taking to the community.” Through that concept, he says, EDAT would be able to attend to the more personal needs of the people living in the area. “We can address some of these social issues, some of these housing issues, some of the parenting issues that they have. As we continue, we’ll go to the spiritual realm,” he says. “The possibilities are unlimited.” Keith explains that as in many other struggling communities, there are issues of drug addiction in the area. “We’re going to point them [in the right direction]. On Wednesday afternoons, there’s an Al-Anon and addiction group that meets here. Every afternoon, we partner with the Thomas County Resource Center [for] the 21st Century Program,” where children are tutored after school and in the summer. And how will he know that EDAT has been successful? When “on Sunday morning, I don’t go this way, and you go that way, but that we all [enjoy] fellowship together,” he says. “When we get the help, we will all be together, black, white, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists — we’ll all be together. EDAT is poised to show this whole community that it can work.” What better place than Thomasville?

The Episcopal Development Agency of Thomasville www.edat-oakstreet.org Good Shepherd Episcopal Church 515 Oak Street Thomasville, Georgia 31799

100


Lighting the Path Written by Jennifer Westfield

Above the squat, bare-brick shells of Victorian era fireplaces in the Driptorch space are several deer head mounts. This one is a buck, its antlers painted metallic gold. The artist, Marcus Kenney, has dressed it with a wig of brunette

Photographed by

ringlet curls that fall on either side into bunches of plastic grapes interspersed

Alicia Osborne

with fishing bobbers; its throat is covered in intricate beadwork in the pattern of roses and adorned with a string of smashed-off bottle necks. It is a grey afternoon and from the gallery on the third floor of 110 S. Broad St., all I can see through the building’s original leaded glass panes are the wiry tops of trees and “1885” printed boldly on a nearby structure. Up here, looking through the same glass as the turn-of-the-19th-century shopkeeper who probably lived above his store, I think his view couldn’t have been much different than mine. Turning back to the exotic and utterly postmodern works on the walls, especially the decked out deer mounts, makes them all the more captivating. John Gleason knows that. A longtime local artist, he named this five-artist exhibition — his first — Driptorch after the tool used in prescribed burning: the process of deliberately torching forests to promote germination. He sees Driptorch as a stepping-stone in Thomasville for works like those of Marcus Kenney, Mark Messersmith, Lilian Garcia-Roig, Mary Engel, and Sarah Emerson. Postmodernism is often about deconstructing traditional methods — torching the forest floor, so to speak, and then watching how things are pieced back together in the wake of disintegration. John’s own works often depict danger or absurdity juxtaposed against the cozy, dreamy, or mundane. Many of his recent pieces are comprised of apocalypticlooking, abstract uses of paint next to masterfully rendered scenes of shiny, happy people. His earlier stuff, the portfolio he submitted for admission into the

101


ARTIST

Marcus Kenney makes deer mounts appear almost tribal; Sarah Emerson adorns her sleek acrylic abstracts with rhinestones; Mary Engel’s sculptures of animals derive their contour and detail from the tiny items with which she encrusts them — everything from small metal objects: coins, keys, and broken watches, to entire animal sculptures she covers in hundreds of ceramic miniatures. You have to look closely. You certainly have to look closely at the 15-foot mural John created for FLAUNT. The rules of competition required a black and white mural replicated from

Gleason named this fiveartist exhibition Driptorch after the tool used in prescribed burning: the process of deliberately torching forests to promote germination.

a preselected photo, and allowed for only a single pop of color. John’s assigned image was of an old photo from the Jack Hadley Black History Museum depicting Dr. Alfred Benjamin Dockett, Sr. and his wife in the pharmacy they ran together until 1960. When I first looked at John’s mural, I saw the Docketts and what appeared to be the reflection of a very stern-faced white man, presumably from outside the window, glaring into the pharmacy. Dr. and Mrs. Dockett did appear a tad uncomfortable. “This is powerful social commentary reproduced by

MFA program at Florida State University, is exact and

a masterful artist,” I thought. Then I looked again. It

masterful — a series of acrylic paintings depicting

wasn’t a reflection of racial tension in the Jim Crow

handfuls of nondescript pixels from zoomed-in

South. It was the reflection of the person who was

computer screens with titles like Regaining your

photographing the photo of the Docketts with a cell

self-confidence and youthful appearance and Hair loss

phone camera so that they could e-mail it to John

got you down?

Gleason.

John’s quality of looking into an image and plucking

John’s mural, A Painting from a Photograph of a

out some absurd facet of our digital, postindustrial

Photograph Being Photographed, won Best in Show;

society was a huge factor in the creation of his

soon after he put together the Driptorch exhibition,

mural for the FLAUNT 2014 public art competition.

which was truly unlike anything Thomasville had

That same eye is what guided his selection of the

ever seen.

five Driptorch artists, whose creations are daring, astonishingly nontraditional, and rife with social commentary; many works are collages of impeccable

John Gleason

construction, employing the most unlikely

johngleason.net

combinations of repurposed items.

driptorch.net

102


Love & Beeswax Written by Jennifer Westfield

Life is sweet for Marina Mertz. We sit in the back office of her small workshop and retail space in Tallahassee’s Railroad Square Arts District. An electric sewing machine thrums in the background as Lilian, one of two full-time employees

Photographed by

Marina hired at the beginning of the year, stitches together the hand-waxed

Alicia Osborne

canvas that will eventually be a bag stuffed with gear and thrown on a bike. Marina, the daughter of a carpenter and a horticulturist, named her company Anhaica Bag Works after the Native American word for the area that is now Tallahassee, where she was born and raised and is an avid cyclist, artisan, and small business owner. “A sense of place is really important to me,” she says. “I grew up here and I love this place.” When you understand what drives Marina, you get to thinking bikes could very well save the world. When she left Tallahassee for the University of North Florida, Marina was not allowed to bring a car with her to live on campus. So, she began to bike everywhere. A year later, eight years ago now, she sold her car and hasn’t looked back. “Bike culture is integral to the way I view everything,” she says. “When you slow down to take the time to ride your bike to places, you start taking the time to slow down and live your life in a different way in many other aspects. There’s a definite shift that happens.” Outside of the capsule of a car and exposed to the road and the people and places you pass, Marina says you’re compelled to say hello to your neighbors, to cook your own food, to volunteer. Having a cool bike bag becomes important, too. It was only a matter of time after Marina became a cyclist that she’d fashion her own, and now four years later, she’s selling 50 to 75 of them a month. Before opening her storefront in Railroad Square, though, Marina sold more frequently at maker’s markets like the one at Due South last spring, where she manned a booth and her bags won Maker’s Market Best in Show.

103


MAKER

through a lot and I don’t know if my business would be what it is without his help.” Currently Marina has four machines in her shop, which aid in producing bike bags for locals and customers all over the world through online sales. Apparently her bags are a big hit in Australia. For the last two years she has been developing and testing a line of touring bags Anhaica bags are sturdy, waterproof, and owing to

that she plans to release soon. She and longtime

the waxed canvas, uniquely stylish. “Our bags are

partner Justin Pogge tested the touring bags last

hand-waxed,” Marina says, “which gives them a very

summer on a 1,300-mile, 35-day bike tour through

unique characteristic, and the beeswax makes them

England, Scotland, and the French Pyrenees.

smell really good.” That’s true. In fact, her whole shop smells faintly of honey. The slowing down that has heightened her sense of community went into the care Marina put into choosing her materials, too. She gets her beeswax from a small family farm in Bristol, Florida, and brushes it on USA-made milled canvas, a nontoxic material. “A lot of fabrics out there,” she says, “especially the waterproof ones, have formaldehyde

“When you slow down to take the time to ride your bike to places, you start taking the time to slow down and live your life in a different way.”

and other chemicals. I don’t want to be touching those things all day, and I don’t want the people who

As far as bulk distribution goes, Marina is very

buy my bags to wear those things on their backs.”

selective about where she sends more than one bag

Marina talks about how individuals have played an integral role in the life of her venture. “When you’re a maker,” she says, “sometimes you can feel really disconnected. But there’s this whole community of artisans, makers, and so many others who are willing to give you advice and help if you just reach out and ask.” When I arrived at her shop, it turned out that Marina had just come back from Jimmy’s Sew & Vac in Thomasville, where she frequently takes her equipment to owner Glen Kirkland. “Glen has

on the scant occasion that she does. People see her bags and suggest they’d be great in stores in Seattle or Portland. They even ask her why she doesn’t just relocate to one of those places, especially, she tells me, since the Southeast is one of the least conducive places for bike culture, with some of the highest death rates for cyclists. “I don’t want to move out there,” she says. “I want to change the way that people here think locally about bikes and cyclists, and help people in the Southeast feel confident about getting onto a bike.”

been amazing with sewing help and my machines,” she says. “I can go up there and we can just sit and talk for an hour about my work and he’s always willing to help me. My machines have gone

Marina Mertz Anhaica Bag Works anhaicabagworks.com

104


FEATURED Artists Melanie Bowden Simón

Callie Sewell

Melanie is a longtime freelance

Callie’s writing career began

writer, editor, and publicist based

in the public relations form,

in Savannah, Georgia. Her first

though she vividly remembers

book, a memoir set in Cuba and

writing “books” in elementary

the New York publishing world,

school after her homework

will be released in spring 2016.

was complete. She previously

When she’s not writing, she spends most of her

worked in Atlanta on the PR team for body-

time with her Havana-born husband and their

shaping powerhouse SPANX, but flew south to

three wild and crazy, Spanglish-speaking kids.

Thomasville this past summer with her husband

Her blog, La Americana, trails their Latin American

and English springer spaniel. When not marketing

mash, exploring the good, the bad, the silly, and the

for Thomasville Center for the Arts, Callie likes to

frustrating within their bicultural, bilingual home,

read, write, and wear her grandmother’s jewelry.

which is never, ever dull.

@calliedsewell

melaniebowdensimon.blogspot.com

Cedric Smith Christopher Jones

Cedric is a self-taught painter

Christopher is a writer and

and photographer who draws

entrepreneur from Thomasville,

on a wide range of influences

Georgia. He almost got his third

to express his poignant

grade class out of learning to

observations of life in the South.

write in cursive, and has since led

His critically acclaimed work

a boycott to end its use. He enjoys many things in excess or not at all. His wife, Betsy,

appears in galleries and museums all over the United States and abroad, ranging from France and

and English Cocker, Huckleberry, are doing their best

Los Angeles to back east in New York and Georgia.

to civilize him, but it isn’t looking promising.

cedricsmithphotography.com

@CPJEveryday

Nadia Watts Carolyn Kernodle

Nadia began her career as

Carolyn is a recent graduate of

an editor and reporter in the

SCAD’s BFA Advertising program.

Washington, D.C., area. She

She is a freelance graphic

has been teaching Advanced

designer based in Charlotte,

Placement English, journalism, and public and presentational

North Carolina, and also works for Myers Park Presbyterian

speech courses since 2002, both at the university

Church as a communications specialist. Prior to

and high school levels. About town, you’ll recognize

freelance, Carolyn worked as a graphic designer for

Nadia by spotting her with her favorite company —

BELK. She loves to run, play tennis, and explore her

two Harry Potter look-alikes named Sam and Ben,

passion for painting.

and her beloved, Randy, who may look a little like David Duchovny.

TO BECOME A FEATURED ARTIST Illustrators, Photographers, Writers and Graphic Designers Please contact Thomasville Center for the Arts | 229-226-0588 | csewell@thomasvillearts.org 105


Find your inner writer. Studio 209 Classes | Workshops | Intensives | Residencies thomasvillearts.org/adult

229.226.0588



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