Cheerwine’s Last Stand

Photo: James Mann

If you haven’t already voted in Garden & Gun‘s Southern soda poll, this is your chance to ensure soft drink supremacy for your favorite regional pop once and for all. Though I admit to being partial to Cheerwine (so boringly mainstream, I know), I learned enough about Kentucky’s Ale-8 One (pronounce “A Late One”) while researching the article to carve out a little corner of my drinking heart for this under-the-radar soft drink. Ordinarily, we Southerners call everything “Coke” and then get more specific from there, as in: “What kind of Coke do you want?” “Mountain Dew. Thanks.” But given the recent fascination with our made-in-the-South sodas, it’s only right we start showing some respect and calling these beverages by their given names.

The Design*Sponge Goes South

Grace Bonney, the mind and typing fingers behind Design*Sponge, has been named one of the judges for Garden & Gun‘s Made In the South Awards. Hopefully this will help increase the awards’–and the magazine’s–profile among New Yorkers (are you listening, ridiculously talented Brooklynites with southern roots?).

Billy Reid’s Second Annual Shindig

The porch of Billy Reid's house in Florence, Alabama. Photo: Mister Mordechai S. Rubenstein

I’m fresh off of a 6-day beach vacation down on the coast of South Carolina (Litchfield, then Charleston), so I’m feeling pretty relaxed and content with my summer so far. But Billy Reid’s Shindig, held the first weekend in June for a group of friends, family and media folk, looks like the kind of summertime fun I need more of in my life (translation: Can I get an invite next year? Puh-lease?!). Check out the photos on Mister Mort’s blog. And before you even ask, No, I don’t know if that’s Mark Sanchez, but it sure does look like him.

Ann Mashburn Has Arrived

A peek in the window. Photo: Pete Samuelson via Garden & Gun

Earlier this spring, I had the pleasure of meeting Ann Mashburn briefly during one of her trips to the City when she told me about her forthcoming storefront, which we wrote about here. Since then, the buzz about her eponymous shop has grown to vuvuzelas-at-the-World-Cup proportions. Finally, the doors are open. And judging by Garden & Gun‘s pictures, Ann’s well-edited collection of tailored and chic basics, including pieces from her own in house label, doesn’t disappoint.

Sid Mashburn on Style

Photo: Secret Forts Blog

Bearings Guide, an Atlanta-based lifestyle site, just posted a new video featuring style wisdom from Sid Mashburn, the ultimate southern sartorialist. It just so happens that my husband and I were in the store during the filming (he’s the clueless one in the background digging through stacks oblivious to the camera crew in front of him). Learn how to dress like someone who knows how to dress here.

Searching for the South’s Next Top Talent

From the editors of Garden & Gun:

If you’re a Southern craftsman or entrepreneur making things by hand, making things in small batches, or just making beautiful things period, go to gardenandgun.com/madeinthesouth to learn more about how to enter. And if you know someone who fits this description, spread the word.