Southern Makers

Alabama Cool. That's what I call all the talented people that are proud to call Alabama home. You've heard me talk about a few of them: Alabama Chanin, Billy Reid, Alabama Shakes, Frank Stitt, Chris Hastings, Belle Chèvre, Butch Anthony, he's been on American Pickers and in the New York Times! I also have a print of Amos Paul Kennedy (eek)....ok, I haven't really talked about them all right here, but you've probably heard of most of them.  A very talented new friend, Andrea Jean, has created an event called Southern Makers. I saw it on Alabama Chanin's Facebook page. When I saw all the talent that was going to be there, I KNEW I had to be a part of it. I left a message on Facebook and with Tiffany on her voicemail. It was Good Friday at 6:00pm. I didn't expect to hear from anyone until Monday. I called Garlan and told him about it. I was so excited, I could barely explain it. I knew he would want to be there, too. He checked it out that night and realized he had a contact at one of the creators. He made a call. Again, it was Easter weekend. We had to be patient. Monday, we both get emails saying the booths were full. We would be placed on the waiting list and the email list for next year. NOT ACCEPTABLE! I replied saying we would love to sponsor the event if they still needed someone. This is where the tables started to turn! Garlan had also been working on his guy. I left town and on Tuesday he sent me an email saying he was on the phone with someone in charge. Next thing I knew he was in Montgomery in their offices working out a way for us to be involved! When I got the email from Tiffany saying we would be communicating about what needs they had from us, she also told me her mom had recently moved to Birmingham and was IN THE STORE when Garlan was in her office!! She called Tiffany and told her that she had just found the coolest place and knew her daughter would love it. Yes, this was meant to be!

Fast forward to the next Sunday. Garlan and Ryan go to Montgomery to measure the spaces that we are going to help them with: the stage, the workshop area, covering 34 feet of 8ft fencing and the entrance! It's going to be a TON of work....but, so worth it! Did I mention this event is listed in Garden and Gun as something to do in Alabama in May? Well, it is!

I went to Cullman on Wednesday and walked through the store and wood warehouse to pick out all the pieces we want to use. We found doors, shutters, display pieces, tables, windows, porch posts....seriously a ton of stuff. We drew it out on a notepad, took a lot of pictures and sent it all over to Andrea and Tiffany.

Monday we all met at the store. Their team is awesome. Everyone was walking around with fresh views of the store and lots of fun ideas. It's just over 2 weeks away. (gulp) I am so excited about this event. There will be so many talented makers from all over the state. The date is May 4, 2013 2:00pm-7:00pm. I hope you all will come out and see what we create. I think it's going to be amazing!