THERE IS NO END to Charleston’s charms. Recently, I was in town for the Holy City’s annual Charleston Wine & Food Festival, celebrating its 20th year. Vessel participated in the festival’s Media Power Hour—an opportunity for industry pros to connect with regional and national publications.
While there, I had the pleasure of sampling a few standout restaurants, including Bareo, a new concept by James Beard–nominated chef Nikko Cagalanan and wife, Paula Kramer; By the Way, an energetic yet intimate corner bar in the Cannonborough neighborhood with classic small plates and craft cocktails; Chef Daniel Humm at The Charleston Place, where Humm’s Eleven Madison Park speaks with a Southern accent; Estadio, a modern Spanish restaurant with artful cocktails along with smashing pintxos and tapas; and Stems & Skins, a wine-focused spot in North Charleston.
Over the past two years, Vessel has covered Charleston extensively, including can’t-miss makers and shops like AL&EM, HART, The Tiny Tassel, and Wentworth. We’ve also shed light on the design firm SDCO Partners, restaurateur Brooks Reitz and his wife, designer Erin Reitz, the soul-centered movement studio The Drop In, and the environmental group The Marsh Project. In our next issue (Spring 2026), we highlight Peter Washington III and The Washington Café, his new cultural hub for coffee and conversation.
Our Spring 2026 Arts Issue is hot off the press! This edition explores the energy of live performance through the South Carolina New Play Festival and a compelling Q&A with conductor John Young Shik Concklin, while also examining how regional museums are rethinking the role of contemporary art in the South.
Literary and visual storytelling take center stage with an evocative excerpt from Into the Night Woods by E. Davis Enloe and a striking look at the work of THE POOL Glassworks. The issue also travels—from the refined interiors of The Nickel Hotel to a creative retreat in the French countryside—while grounding itself in the rich cultural fabric of Columbia, South Carolina.
Vessel offers a thoughtful lens on the modern South—and beyond—inviting readers into spaces where art is not only created, but lived.
—Blair Knobel, founder and editor in chief