LIFE IS FLASHING before my eyes. Now that our calendars are buzzing again with dates and gatherings, appointments and meetings, the world is spinning faster.
Time is a commodity. We buy, spend, and invest it into people and experiences. We’re “making” time all the time—so no wonder life moves quickly. Perhaps if we thought less about the amount of time spent and more about the quality of our experiences, our days would feel less frantic.
It’s a personal reminder during this season when I get caught in the to-dos. The daily list. The items to check off rather than the beloved people I should check in with.
Let’s lead with soul and spirit—the rest will follow.
I sincerely appreciate that you are devoting time to this publication! In this issue, you’ll find . . .
Southern-made goods on our radar
Artist Yuri Tsuzuki’s metaphorical sculptures
A Christmastime essay
A different kind of holiday show
Kentucky’s magical (bourbon) potion
I’d love to hear from you—please let me know your thoughts in the comments. Happy weekend!—BK
COLLECT.
A few Southern-made standouts to make spirits bright.
ART » Once Again Sam
Sarah Mandell channels Van Gogh in her fiber art, featuring felt landscapes and the natural world, including animals, insects, plants, and human organs.
DRINK » Eda Rhyne Distilling Co.
Asheville’s Eda Rhyne distills the diverse flora of western North Carolina into its small-batch amari, fernet, gin, vodka, and—new to the mix—rye whiskey.
FOOD » TUFT Cotton Candy
This ain’t no carnival cotton candy. TUFT elevates the airy treat with the finest ingredients, whipping up flavors like mission fig, guava, and pinot noir.
HOME » ReAcoustic
Greenville’s ReAcoustic crafts bluetooth and acoustic speakers from wind instruments and gramophones, a soulful merging of past and present.
STYLE » Estelle Colored Glass
These fanciful glasses have hit the big time, and we can’t stop looking. They are striking and effervescent—and so holiday festive.
LOOK.
Yuri Tsuzuki’s sculptural trees shine in winter.
For Greenville-based artist Yuri Tsuzuki, the tree remains a constant symbol and subject. Rustic yet elegant, bold yet bending, strong yet breakable, it is a metaphor for security, comfort, and continuity, but also of individuality, humanness, and temporality. Trees are subject to danger, broken by nature and man. Yet they endure, stoically and majestically. Their exterior evokes quiet strength, while their roots exemplify the complexity of our inner world.
The tree represents our humanness, its roots implied but not shown in Tsuzuki’s sculptures, like our complex inner landscape—personal yet shared by all.
Branches resemble the veins of our bodies, changing with the seasons, just as we evolve, shift, and grow. The tree represents renewal and return, the cycle of life, the dichotomy and balance of our internal and external selves. Each striking tree sculpture, though similar in way, shape, and form, is actually singular and separate, unique and defined, as the natural tree, the life of the artist—and as each of our lives.—BK
PONDER.
Kathryn Davé considers the bridge between holiday madness and magic.
In her essay “Making It Work,” from December 2021, Kathryn Davé reflects on the tension between grown-up duty and childlike wonder—and the realization that her holiday joy was made possible by the thoughtful toil of the women in her life.
Kathryn is the creator of the publication yard violet. Also a food stylist, she teamed up with her husband, Jivan, to contribute nearly 100 recipes to TOWN. Her cranberry orange scones remain a seasonal favorite.—BK
SEE.
Christmas spirit gets witchy at the Warehouse Theatre, thru Dec 18.
Playwright Jen Silverman delivers a classic tale with a modern spin in WITCH. The people of quiet Edmonton are propositioned by the devil, who promises to deliver their ruinous desires in exchange for their souls. In the fray is an ostracized young woman who folks have branded a witch. It all sounds a tad heavy, except that the Warehouse doesn’t stage one-note plays. This show adds a healthy dash of humor to a strong cocktail about the ways in which we betray ourselves, and others, for worldly power.—BK
TASTE.
Take your ’buds on a bourbon journey through the Bluegrass State.
A distillery tour can look a bit “horror film meets Willy Wonka.” At least that was my take at Willett Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Bardstown is noteworthy for its bourbon producers, which also include Heaven Hill (think Elijah Craig and Evan Williams) and Jim Beam. Like many distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Willett has a long history.
Our entertaining and knowledgeable guide poured copious samples of Willett’s family of bourbon and rye, including its popular Pot Still Reserve—in a “genie bottle” reminiscent of its famous copper pot still, pictured above.
Distilling is a kind of magic, where science meets the divine. No doubt Wonka’d drink to that.—BK
Not only did you hit the Bourbon Trail, you hit the bourbon !
😀🥃