Painter and musician Shannon Whitworth lives in a renovated farmhouse with her husband and young son in the mountains of North Carolina. In the early 2000s, Whitworth toured and recorded with the iconic bluegrass band The Biscuit Burners, sharing lead vocals and playing the guitar and banjo. After two critically acclaimed albums with the band, Whitworth released three solo albums and a duets album. Like her music, her visual art is anchored in the dual landscapes that have informed her aesthetic: the mountains of North Carolina and the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Whitworth’s paintings have found homes with a stable of interior designers across the South, and her work has been featured in galleries and in private collections around the country.

Brandon Price is glass artist and educator based in Savannah, GA. His newest venture, Blown Studios, is quickly becoming the premier source for glass art and instruction in the Southeast. An Ohio native, Brandon’s work is a culmination of his studies and performances in glass studios around the US, where he has worked within private institutions, such as Jacksonville University, the Toledo Museum of Art and Disney’s Magic Kingdom. His work is inspired by traditional Venetian forms with the use of modern color palettes. His work has expanded into sculpting sea life inspired by the Atlantic coastal regions since moving to the Southeast which he now calls home.

Jess and Erik met on the internet. But not the way you’re thinking. They struck a chord of mutual appreciation on, of all platforms, Instagram, when Erik was only making wallets and Jess was still running a men’s neckwear brand. Eventually, a time came when restaurant managing had run its course for Jess, and Erik needed an experienced sewist to help him take his brand to the next level, so the J. Stark you know now was born. The two discovered quickly that their mutual vision for the company was made ever better by their own collaboration. Greater still were the ideas that blossomed with the help of their talented staff. More than just a wife-and-husband team, this is a crew of music lovers and foodies and philanthropists and creatives who work well together to make this brand the best it can be.

At its core, J. Stark is a bag and luggage brand. They make timeless, sturdy things that will be carried with you for a lifetime. And they keep their designs simple. They don’t put a pocket where a pocket doesn’t belong. The result is a product that is aesthetically minimalistic and highly functional.

For Ben Ross, a love of nature runs deep. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he began his career in the corporate world before finding his voice as a designer. His signature feather bow tie was initially created as a gift for groomsman on his wedding day. Since then, the colorful, artisanal accessory has become a fashion favorite for celebrities including Cam Newton, Bill Murray, Blake Lively, Ted Danson, Andy Samberg, and Don Cheadle. As the creative mind behind Brackish, Ben’s imaginative approach has allowed for new production techniques, interesting materials, and innovative product categories. When not crafting original designs, Ben can be found exploring with his two sons, passing along his love for the beauty one can only find in the great outdoors.

A five-year adventure in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, launched a deep love of the American West for Mississippi native Mary Landrum Pyron. There, she studied custom fashion and western style hat making before bringing her passion for the art back to her southern hometown. Today, as the sole custom hat maker in Mississippi, she believes a great hat should not only be functional but serve as an extension of one’s personal style, as well. Working from the loft of her family’s rustic antique barn, she creates designs that tell every client’s story through individual shape, crease, brim, band, and burns. Additionally, she weaves personal elements into each creation to make each hat a treasured, wearable heirloom.

Charleston-based Blakely Little’s passion as a painter comes from a life-long desire to create. A childhood spent sailing and boating in Annapolis, Maryland, informs much of her current work, and art school in Italy allowed her to fine tune her artistic style. Since launching Blakely Made in 2014, her work has been featured in Southern Living, Country Living, Art Mag, Us, and more. In addition she has enjoyed fruitful partnerships with Anthropologie and Farrow & Ball. Of the joy she finds in her work, Blakely says, “Some paint on a canvas creates a shared experience between you, the viewer, and me, the artist. This connection compels me to paint the way I see the world: full of color in unlikely places.”

Marcus Amaker is the first Poet Laureate of Charleston, South Carolina and a recipient of the state’s Governor’s Arts Award, as well as an Academy of American Poets fellow. A modern-day Renaissance Man, he’s also an electronic musician, an opera librettist, a graphic designer, and mentor to students. His poetry has been recognized by The Kennedy Center, The Washington Post, American Poets Magazine, The Washington National Opera, NPR, The Chicago Tribune, and many other publications. Marcus has recorded three albums with a Grammy award-winning drummer and producer and contributed a poem to a Grammy-nominated album. He has written nine books, the latest, Black Music, is now available from Free Verse Press.

Teresa Roche is a mixed media artist and the owner of Greenville, South Carolina’s Art & Light Gallery. Her appreciation of the fine arts and design worlds lead to the merging of the two in her own work. Today, she creates fabric and wallcoverings inspired by her paintings. Teresa’s designs translate as well in a nursery as they do in a gentleman’s study, through a satisfying crush of color and texture–at once playful and controlled. With her pillow, fabric, and wallcovering collections, she has procured a coveted spot on The List, House & Garden’s prestigious global directory of design professionals

French native Caroline Harper’s work reflects a deep appreciation for indigo’s connection to the past and its potential for a bright future. After studying resist-dyeing techniques in Japan, she launched CHI Design Indigo in Columbia, South Carolina. There, she creates intricate textiles using only natural fiber and indigo dye pigment from plants her team grows and processes in South Carolina. She is currently focused on home and fashion design, wedding accessories, Farm-to-Fabric Indigo Harvests and workshops, and developing indigo kits for middle schoolers. Caroline’s work has been featured in Southern Living, Columbia Living Magazine, Turkey Red Journal, and Charleston Magazine, and was granted an American Made designation from Martha Stewart.

Painter Sheryl Stalnaker finds joy in depicting saltwater life and the beauty of her surroundings. Capturing the feeling and energy of a scene in her paintings, Sheryl often starts a painting on location. Whether it’s a marsh and tidal river in the Lowcountry, an Atlantic coastline, or the rapids of a freshwater river, Sheryl captures the light, movement, feeling and energy of every scene with her paint.

“I paint with both a palette knife and a brush,” says Stalnaker. “I’ve always been attracted to art where you can see definitive marks from the artist’s hand. It has an energy that I’m drawn towards.” She uses paint straight from the tubes, sometimes mixing cold wax medium to add extra texture. “I do go through a lot of paint,” she says.

Stalnaker has shown her award-winning works in galleries along the East Coast, along with juried shows such as Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Artfields, and the Telfair Museum of Art Fair in Savannah.

Inspired by uniquely textured objects in nature, Mary Frances Maker believes beauty is found in imperfections. As a native of Columbus, Georgia, Mary Frances is now settled close to home in Atlanta.

She is a fan of neutrals, effortless dressing, and a constant mess maker. Having fresh flowers in her home is a must and you are likely to find Porter, her bernedoodle pup, by her side. After marrying her college sweetheart in 2018, Mary Frances gained the fitting last name “Maker” and it continues to serve her well in her business. Expanding their family with a daughter in 2021, Mary Frances now more than ever values the community and sentiments her pieces embody.

Melissa Bridgman is an alumna of Salem College in Winston Salem, NC, where she received her degree in History and American studies. During this period, she spent three semesters interning and exploring the collections of the Reynolda House Museum of Art and the Museum of Southern Decorative Arts, enriching her love of art, pattern, printmaking, fine textiles, ceramics, and the folk traditions of North Carolina. She holds a Master’s in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi, where she studied documentary fieldwork, art history, and self-taught and folk art. Melissa has been a teaching artist with the Memphis Brooks Museum and the Greater Memphis Arts Council. A full-time potter, she also teaches ceramics and floral workshops for adults in Memphis. She spends her time in her garden and studio with her family in her hundred year old bungalow in historic Midtown Memphis. Her work has appeared in Garden and Gun, Southern Living, Southern Home, and Okra magazines.

Susan Mayfield is an award-winning artist known for using bold color and luminous light in her pastel and oil landscapes. A native South Carolinian and life-long resident of the Lowcountry, she moved to Colorado 15 years ago, splitting her time between life on the Carolina coast and her home in the high mountain desert of Colorado. Currently, she paints and teaches from her studio in the small mountain town of Salida, CO.

“I grew up and spent most of my life in the semi-tropics of the Lowcountry of South Carolina, a place surrounded by water, where the marshes, rivers, and swamps provided endless subject matter for my paintings. I moved to the high mountain desert of Colorado, another stunning location where water is more scarce, but its power is evident in every canyon and mountain range there. I am grateful to live in and paint in both of these incredible landscapes.”

Burls & Steel, led by Ben and Sydney Spurrier, is a small business based out of Charleston, South Carolina, that creates hand-forged knives for everyday life. The husband and wife duo work together with Ben as the creator and maker and Sydney managing the marketing and photography. They love creating works that can be used on a daily basis, but that are also one-of-a-kind works of art.

By preserving “the old way” of creating, you won’t find anything they sell that isn’t handmade with love. From kitchen to outdoors knives, Burls & Steel have something for every aspiring home chef or hunter. Using old world techniques but adding a touch of modern flair, that’s Burls & Steel.

Cacky Rivers was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and considers herself a true Lowcountry “salty” girl. Her father greatly impacted her love of wildlife, nature, and birds. One of the greatest gifts he gave her when she graduated college was a Peterson’s bird book and a pair of binoculars. On the inscription, it said, “slow down and enjoy!”

Recently, Cacky took up wildlife photography and has yet to look back. Not only is this a true passion for her, but she also enjoys learning and sharing her knowledge of birds with others. It brings her so much joy knowing she can be an advocate for our fine feathered friends.