To celebrate the launch of her new fashion collection, we asked designer Sophie Simmons to give us a rundown of her perfect day in Nashville. Her story marks the debut of TCR’s new occasional series, Dawn To Dusk, which will feature locals of note sharing their ideal waking-hours in Music City.
Heidi Ross’ new book of photography, called Nashville: Scenes from the New American South, overwhelms me with gratitude for the friendships I’ve made during my 15 years in Nashville. Enjoyed through a more macro lens, it gives me an enormous sense of pride in the creative community that’s flourishing in my adopted hometown. “It City” didn't get that way by accident; it came from a lot of hard work. Nashville is a community of self-motivated ass-kickers who make things happen and get. it. done. Heidi is one of those ass-kickers.
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Emily Dorio was born to entertain. “Giving parties is in my DNA,” she says, giving credit to her two grandmothers who were both known for their dinner party prowess. She’s also had a lot of practice. In the late Aughts, while living out her post-college “salad years” in Athens, Georgia, Emily and her best lady friends, Jesse Warner and Lily Noel, staged epic dinner parties. Last month, she brought the tradition to Nashville to kick off A Moveable Feast, a new TCR series that documents how Nashvillians eat and entertain, circa 2019.
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Last October, half of Team Callaway relocated to Brooklyn, where we hosted Greetings From Nashville, a retail pop-up at the Wythe hotel, starring the work of almost 40 local makers, designers and artists, as well as creative companies including Third Man Records and the Country Music Hall of Fame. GFN also featured special events including a kick-off party with a silhouette art project by our dear buddy (and TCR alum) Bryce McCloud of Isle of Printing; a screening of “It All Begins With A Song: The Story of the Nashville Songwriter,” the documentary made by our event partners, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp; and an evening of music by the indefatigable Queen of Outlaw Country, Nikki Lane. Without a doubt, one of the early GFN highlights was the intimate dinner party that Libby co-hosted with her longtime friend, Kerry Diamond, the co-founder of Cherry Bombe. We have the story here, along with amazing photos by Emily Dorio.
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I'll stop short of claiming to be Brett Warren’s biggest fan, but only because so many folks are vying for the title and I’m not one to pick fights. As a fashion photographer, Brett is admired for his skill and imagination. As a friend, he’s beloved for his kind and gentle nature and unwavering loyalty. That’s a pretty rare package, especially in the fashion world. This post is an excerpt of a talk I led with him during his exhibit at the downtown gallery, The Art Company. Photos are by Matthew Priestley.
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Mary Mooney is a professional fine artist and an accidental jewelry designer – and she’s very good at both. This chat about process and inspiration was timed to the debut of her 2017 show, Denied Realities, at East Nashville’s Red Arrow Gallery, where she depended on a color palette that was decidedly feminine, and unapologetically ‘80s retro. Photos are by the lovely Chelsea O’Leary.
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In January 2017, I joined a group of six Nashville friends on a trip to D.C. to join in the epic Women’s March. It was an epic and life-changing event, to say the least. Upon our return, I asked my compatriots to write a little bit about their experience. The results are here, along with amazing images of the Nashville march from Heidi Ross.
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I run with a group of remarkable and accomplished women who continually impress me with their personal and professional achievements, as well as their generous hearts and open minds. They’re smart, determined, and work very hard to make our community a more hospitable place to live and visit. And they get shit done. This chat with Sarah Gavigan, chef and owner of Otaku Ramen and Little Octopus, explains why she is chief among them. Photos by Andrea Behrends.
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Atlanta native Caroline Allison studied at The University of the South, Sewanee and The School at the Art Institute of Chicago before hearing the siren call of New York in 1999. Since her move to Nashville in 2006, Lina’s been busy, shooting commercial and editorial gigs for shelter and lifestyle magazines and creating personal work for solo and group shows across the U.S. This chat with my dear friend (and frequent TCR contributor) is accompanied by photos from Heidi Ross.
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I met Elise Joseph almost ten years ago, when she applied to be my intern when I was working at the Nashville denim company Imogene + Willie. Since then, we’ve become dear friends. I’ve had the pleasure of watching her grow not only her social media empire, but also fulfill a life-long goal of being a shop-owner. Today, Goodwin has a storefront in North Nashville. I spoke to her about her then-work back in 2016; Heidi Ross took amazing photos.
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The special sauce that makes Nashville such an interesting place to live and work is the willingness of our creative class to cooperate to make great things happen. Indeed, few of those who find big success in our city’s creative sphere get there alone. It’s all about collaboration. Ceramic artist John Donovan, now a professor at Belmont University, spoke to me about how he came to work with Nashville’s top chefs as the proprietor of Tenure Ceramics. Yve Assad took the awesome process photos.
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Savannah Yarborough’s reputation precedes her. I knew her as a cool, talented character long before we ever met. An Alabama native and graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins, she now makes super-luxurious bespoke and made-to-measure leather jackets in her industrial studio in downtown Nashville, Atelier Savas. Until late 2018, she lived in an apartment above her office. I got a tour, while Caroline Allison took photos.
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My dear friends Gina Binkley and David McClister are two of the most respected and prolific visual artists I know, in Nashville or anywhere. Married since 1999, both are longtime fixtures on our city’s creative scene. While they are still based in Tennessee, a few years ago they relocated part-time to a former mechanics garage in teeny-tiny El Rito, New Mexico. They talked to me about their decision to head West, and contributed photos to document their new environs.
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Is it possible to have a crush on a building? Because that’s the way I feel about 1411 Buchanan Street, a cinder-block commercial space that might be described as nondescript were it not home to a dynamic group of artists, designers and creative entrepreneurs. The 1411 crew came together under the stewardship of building owner, artist Alex Lockwood. We chatted about his path to Nashville and his not-so-motley crew of tenants; Andrea Behrends is behind the insanely cool photos.
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If Andra Eggleston’s last name sounds familiar, you can thank your art history teacher. Her dad is William Eggleston, the iconic Memphis-based photographer who is widely considered to be the father of color photography. Electra Eggleston is a project that the father-daughter team shares, with Andra using Eggleston pere’s sketches to make gorgeous textiles. We go deep here, all the way back to her eccentric childhood, which is totally fascinating. Heidi Ross took the dreamy photos of Andra and her son, Louie.
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My introduction to Nashville style came 30 years ago, courtesy of Jeanne Dudley Smith, also known as “The White Dress Lady.” Jeanne is well known across the South for making custom wedding gowns and dresses for special events like graduations, confirmations, debutante balls and other big occasions that require a white dress, as so many traditional southern milestones do. She designed my deb dress in the late ’80s. We talk about that process, as well as the incredible story of how she built her business. Caroline Allison took photos.
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When my sister Millie got engaged, the first place I sent my now-brother-in-law to only one place to shop for a ring: Arrow & Anchor Antiques, the name of my friend Brooke Baxter’s vintage jewelry business. On top of being a very cool chick and good friend, Brooke’s a terrific businesswoman with killer taste. We chatted about her personal and professional evolution, including how heartbreak can sometimes change your life in the best possible ways. Brett Warren took the photos, with manicures courtesy of Poppy & Monroe.
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