Italian Flat Parsley from The Twenty Bag
Our favorite local farmer and developer of The Twenty Bag CSA, Harleston Towles, helps us to:
1) Eat more vegetables.
2) Pretend we like vegetables.
3) Support local Farmers.
A House Called Tomorrow
Verse inspired by Alberto Rios A House Called Tomorrow, photos by SL.
Happy Quarantine Valentine Blues
Why do Valentine images have to be lipstick red, when blue is so much more calming? Covid quarantine has changed my preferences; how about you?
Artwork by @lulu_dk at her home in Lyford Cay via @archdigest.
Reinert Safe Harbor ii 36x48
Rick Reinert, Contemporary Impressionist, Charleston SC and East Boothbay, ME. Love his blues.
Blakely Made Valentines Bundle
Every Day is Cyber Day
Books, Shopping
Remember the lessons of the pandemic. Watch for the silver linings. Be thoughtful in your holiday gifting. Build back better.
1. Give books for the holidays!
2. Buy them from your local bookstore or Bookshop.org
3. Return to Step 1 until your list is complete!
Free Shipping today! Okay, that’s not “every” day, but it’s a great deal. All orders can be gift wrapped with a custom message on the card! The bookstore you select will receive the full profit margin from your purchase.
Now on to your favorite downtown holiday thing:
2-Hours Free Parking Downtown
Even homebound you have to clean up every once in a while. Here’s the place for all good smelling things and gifts and made-in-Charleston!
Old Whaling Co., now with three retail locations in downtown Charleston and a hefty online catalog as well. We love every single thing!
We love whimsy, happy go lucky, playful designs. This guy…
Davis Foster Designs
Your child/grandchild happens to be an artist. Just ask Daniel Buchmeier, who’s Shmooka turns each child-crafted creation into forever art.
Shmooka
How cool is this… playing cards! Charleston’s queen of lowcountry sky, winding waterways, and colorful marshland, Blakely Little has added fun to her portfolio. Lowcountry Five Card Stud anyone?
Literally PACKED with Charleston!
Free Parking Downtown Charleston Yes!
Shopping, Parking, Fine DiningPrint as many and use as often as you like. Go on, click the button.
Another Great Drive Through Event in Charleston... with Beer, and Books!
Next Sunday --- Oct. 25, 3 - 6 pm -- Blue Bicycle Books is excited to welcome Vivian Howard, star of A Chef's Life on PBS for a special in-real-life drive-thru book signing at Tradesman Brewing (1647 King St. Extension).
Tickets are $58 and include a signed copy of Vivian's new book This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking, plus a snack-pack from Handy and Hot -- Vivian's new grab-and-go coffee shop on Wentworth Street.
Drive through, meet Vivian, grab a bite and a beer. Happy Sunday. You’re welcome,
Making Whimsy for Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital with Tate Nation and Marius Valdes
Cruising in the Lowcountry by Tate Nation
This painting (above) was commissioned by the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in downtown Charleston. “Quite an honor for me,” Nation said. “At 48 X 36 it’s a bit larger than most of my paintings. Its new home will be in the lobby of a floor whose theme is ‘Cruising in the Lowcountry.’ It’s my hope that it’ll provide many smiles and much joy to the hospital’s young patients and their families and friends!”
Good news! There's a puzzle coming featuring this print. We’re anticipating November arrival and a quick sell out of the first printing. Even more good news: at check out, the very first box asks you where you heard about these great posts. Enter the word GIFT and you'll get a free gift from Tate along with your appraisal order.
Enter “GIFT” in the “Please tell us…” field for yours.
Hallway of MUSC Shawn Jenkin's Chidren's Hospital by Marius Valdes.
And on the Shawn Jenkins 7th floor you’ll see the work of Marius Valdes, who we discovered on Jack’s Cosmic Dogs Merch, and now has so many fun colorful products in his Zoo Valdes Society6 store and ValdesArt on Etsy. Valdes, a University of South Carolina studio art professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been making affordable, family friendly, and award-winning artwork since 2001.
Funky Fish of the Outer Banks Art Print by Marius Valdes
Another One for The Books
Books, Art
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon.
Austin Kleon is a master at creativity, offers a great weekly newsletter on all kinds of topics, and wrote the provocatively-titled Steal Like an Artist. It’s classic and you can read about it here.
As we said in a recent post, Bookshop.org is a really great way to get your books (sweet discount included), benefit a local bookstore and keep reading at home where you’re safer from Covid.
Namely, Buxton Books on King Street
We’re pretty darn sure he's the one that told us about Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. So it’s win-win. The book, the bookstore, sleeping well and plotting your creative moves.
Local and Smart Alternatives to Amazon and Audible
Books1 CommentWe love win/win. Reading is like that; so is supporting local independent bookstores of which we have two in Charleston and more in the region. While COVID 2020 is trying to wreck the economy, here comes Bookshop.org. With that brilliant site, you can order pretty much any book and designate your bookseller. The book is sent to you via USPS (we love them too) Media Mail, usually with a sweet discount, and your bookseller gets a nice “bump”.
Example, a trusted book buddy recommended The Witch Elm, recently out in paperback, by Tana French, available for $14.29 from Amazon. I went to the Bookshop.org page, entered Witch Elm in the search box, picked a King Street bookstore, (both Blue Bicycle Books and Buxton Books have Bookshop.org pages), and by the end of the week was reading this highly praised can’t-put-it-down novel. Blue Bicycle Books made $5.10 on my purchase, not a huge impact on their operating cost but a much larger margin than if they had offered an Amazon link. I paid just $1.35 more for the book but feel really good about my local independent bookstore purchase. Imagine if we all bought our books that way.
Now about Audible. I have 277 titles in my Audible Library and have loved listening in the car, in line at the DMV, in the middle of the night when I don't want to light up a blue screen. When Amazon bought Audible in 2008 it gave them the capital to do some really great promotions and productions. It's online but it's not free. Here's where Charleston County Public Library comes to the rescue with a huge inventory of audiobooks. All you need is a library card and their Libby App. Done!
Clammer Dave
Dinner, From the Ocean
Photo provided.
ON THE MENU AT SNOB: STEAMED CLAMS
Clammer Dave’s clams, white wine, garlic cream, parsley, grilled baguette.
Dave Belanger has been farming clams and oysters in the barrier island waters along Capers Island Wildlife Refuge just north of Charleston. He provides cultured clams and singled, pristine oysters to chefs and restaurants around the lowcountry, practicing sustainable aquaculture. Caper's Clams® and Caper's Blades® oysters are grown and harvested with as little impact on the environment as possible. There’s more of a story here, but it’s enough to say they’re local, fresh and taste like the ocean.
Journey to Maine with Rick Reinert
Art, Travel
Grimes Cove Blues, 48 x 36” oil on linen
While many of us have curtailed our travel, here's a new painting by Charleston's favorite impressionist painter Rick Reinert, from his studio in East Bay, Maine to his studio in Charleston. Sweet travel dreams.
Our Changing World
Remember 2nd Sunday on King Street? That outdoor event on Charleston's beautiful main street where friends and families gathered for shopping, food, art literature and music. Where we celebrated our culture and community on a Sunday afternoon every month for a decade.
We marked holidays and home grown events, celebrated Jewish food at the Nosh, cheered announcements from SEWE, The Cooper River Bridge Run, Spoleto, The Charleston Classic.
Cops patrolled, dogs wagged, the City gave us free parking and people came from all over the region just to visit the peninsula and walk on the street. The 2nd Sunday Sunset Sail, or dinner in one of our many fine restaurants created the perfect end to the perfect day. Above: Painting by Rick Reinert.
We are working on a 2nd Sunday relaunch and planning to make it better than ever. Watch for news, keep in touch, stay safe and be well. We'll be back!
Charleston Magazine Summer Cyber Monday Sale.
If Charleston Magazine is not showing up in your mailbox every month, you're missing a lot. Get it today through Wednesday, 12 issues for just $16.95.
Our favorite galleries, restaurants, local shops, and restaurants are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms.
We can support them without even going there, so they'll still be around in the future when life returns.
Follow, share, comment, like, love, offer a wow! Your support will be greatly appreciated.
Give your Mom something she'll really love!
Books
Who Are You Staying Home For?
Our Local Friends...
Lowcountry Olive Oil's artisan quality balsamic vinegar of Modena Italy is made using a 100 year old family recipe. This smooth, rich vinegar is wonderful on aged cheeses, cured meats, salmon, fresh fruits & desserts-- yes, desserts!
Mix with olive oil and garlic for a lovely sheet pan chicken marinade.
Click to buy online, and enjoy free shipping on orders over $35.
When open, Lowcountry Olive Oil is located at Meeting and Society Streets downtown, and Hutchinson Square in Summerville. At 2nd Sunday, tastings and sales at Society and King.
"Who are you staying home for?" - Andrew Cuomo (click for our answer)
Christophe Chocolatier has your bunnies, not to mention eggs, chicks, baskets, macarons and meal kits!
Click to shop. Pick up, $5 delivery or free shipping over $100.
Christophe Artisan Chocolatier
90 Society St, Charleston, SC 29401 - and - Christophe Macaron et Chocolat 1901 Ashley River Rd, Charleston, SC 29407
We're Reading
From the revered British illustrator, Charlie Mackery, a modern fable for all ages that explores life's universal lessons, featuring 100 color and black-and-white drawings.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" asked the mole.
"Kind," said the boy.
Charlie Mackesy offers inspiration and hope in uncertain times in this beautiful book based on his famous quartet of characters. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse explores their unlikely friendship and the poignant, universal lessons they learn together.
Radiant with Mackesy's warmth and gentle wit, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horseblends hand-written narrative with dozens of drawings, including some of his best-loved illustrations (including "Help," which has been shared over one million times) and new, never-before-seen material. A modern classic in the vein of The Tao of Pooh, The Alchemist, and The Giving Tree, this charmingly designed keepsake will be treasured for generations to come. Read More.
Photography: Birds explains how to photograph birds--whether in your backyard or at a renowned birding destination--detailing unique issues that confront photographers of all levels and providing the best guidance for capturing the beauty and splendor of our feathered friends. Gerrit Vyn, an award-winning bird photographer, videographer, and sound recorder, has become renowned for his ability to capture birds, especially for the prestigious Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In this new guide, he reveals his methods and shares how to photograph birds based on location, behavior, identification, and storytelling. Vyn details the range of technical considerations, giving clear instruction and advice, as well as the creative decisions a photographer must make on lighting, framing, timing, and motion. He also discusses situations unique to bird photographers: dealing with habituated or tame birds, approaching feeders, utilizing blinds, and more. Once captured, digital images can be digitally refined, so Vyn delves into the procedures that elevate an image from mundane to striking. Throughout, Vyn emphasizes an ethical approach to observing and interacting with the birds around us. Read more.
Tate's Nation: Puzzle Pieces of Charleston
Art, Charleston MadeArtist Tate Nation creates a world--one could call it his own nation. It has motion, wobble and bright colors, mostly based on his home town, commissioned houses and local events like the Cooper River Bridge Run and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. He is as friendly and likable as he is skilled; Charleston's own Mr. Rogers.
Tate Nation has turned some of his paintings into puzzles, coasters and other needful things. Each of his puzzles measures 18 x 24", with a whopping 550 pieces.
Select from any of Tate's puzzles, toss them in your virtual Shopping Cart, and you'll enjoy three gifts:
• Free Shipping
• 5% off with promo code SUNDAY
• Hours of relaxing, creative fun
As your puzzle comes together, it will almost feel like you're painting with Tate. Post your finished puzzle on Instagram, hashtag #IpaintedwithTate.
When this is all over and you're dying for some real social interaction, 2nd Sunday will be back in downtown Charleston with everybody, including Tate Nation.
Pieces of History: Charleston Nostalgia Reigns
Art, Charleston Made, Jewelry, SculptureCharleston Rice Beads
Rice has a long history in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Rice originally came to the United States in 1694, when a ship sailing from Madagascar was blown off course by a storm.
Landing in Charleston for repairs, the captain expressed his gratitude by giving the governor of the colony a handful of rough rice grains. From this small amount, rice became a dominant commodity and export of the coastal rivers.
Today, the shape and texture of rice beads symbolize Charleston's long and bountiful history from humble agricultural beginnings.
Like the sun setting over the water, Charleston's own Gold Creations continues to welcome locals, new visitors, and longtime client friends who return year-after-year for irreplaceable mementos of their time here, timeless pieces that add joy and meaning to milestone moments and the treasured gifts of kindness, laughter, and good stories.
Many captivating pieces can be found in Rick Reinert's Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden at 179-181 King Street. Whether you're looking for one of Rick's American impressionist paintings or one of Lorri Acott’s impressionistic figurative sculptures, The Garden is the place to find it. Or online, today.
Rick Reinert's many accolades include a cover story in Time Magazine in 2000, when his commitment to painting caught fire, and he began creating seven days a week, nine hours a day, establishing the unique and passionate style that he is known for today. One of America's most prolific painters, his work has won distinctions across the country.
Acott's sculptures reside in private and public collections throughout the US and abroad. A favorite of collectors and critics alike, her work receives a powerful emotional response wherever it is placed. Above: Who Rescued Who?
Philanthropic Artist Fer Caggio has made coloring pages available for those of us who are feeling artsy and need a shove in the right direction. Creativity is frequently the way out of depression, boredom, ennui, and a host of other demons. "Clinical psychologists sometimes encourage patients to use artistic expression as a way to confront difficult feelings," Psychology Today.
Click here to select images and send them to your download cart free of charge.
Share your co-creations on social media, tagged #Icoloredwithfer. And more will come soon! Mine is at right. I've always had trouble staying inside the lines.
Fer Caggiano shows her work at Lowcountry Artists Gallery at 148 East Bay Street. Open by appointment 843-577-9295.
As it Turns Out, Soap is One of the Heroes
Charleston Made
Charleston's own Old Whaling Co. soap has a gentle, creamy lather that is great for shaving, bathing, hands and faces. It is cleansing, moisturizing and lovely to use from hair to toes! The handcrafted soap bars are large, weighing around 5oz each.
Just a few examples are Coastal Calm, French Lavender, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, Seaberry & Rose Clay, Seaweed & Sea Salt. There are so many beautifully packaged, delicious smelling soaps available. The downtown store at 43 Broad Street downtown is temporarily shuttered, but their beautifully crafted, effective and affordable modern bath and body products, inspired by the sea, are available online, with free shipping over $40.
One of our all-time favorites, Savannah Bee Company will have you finding every excuse possible to wash your hands, just so you can relish in the luxurious lather and fresh fragrance. Wash all you want because Savannah Bee hand soap is made with skin-softening pure honey, a gentle but highly effective cleanser and moisturizer.
The bottle says hand soap, but it's gentle enough for your face, Energizing lemongrass and cooling spearmint, sweet orange blossom, rosemary lavender, too. 276 King Street is closed for now, but order online here and these sweet smelling saviors will come to your door at discounted shipping rates.
When your hands are clean and you're looking for something to do, here's another hero, our public library, CCPL. Free audiobooks, free internet access in the parking lot, virtual programs for kids and adults, audiobooks, streaming music, magazines, TV and music.
You can get your library card online, and the app is free too! Click here for CCPL'S extensive learn-at-home program.
Berkeley County has a similar online library program, and here's Dorcester.
Here's to us! Keep clean, healthy and in touch.
Brian Hicks, Metro Columnist for the Post and Courier, Speaking at Small Business Lunch at Halls Thursday, March 12
Business, Experiences
Brian Hicks, Metro Columnist for the Post and Courier, Speaking at Small Business Lunch at Halls Thursday, March 12
The King Street Marketing Group and the Hall Family are pleased to present Brian Hicks, the much-quoted Metro Columnist of the Post and Courier, as our guest speaker for Small Business Lunch at Halls Thursday, March 12.
Hicks newspaper column is the most read and most popular opinion piece in
Charleston.
Brian Hicks is a senior writer and Metro Columnist with the Post and Courier. He has covered Southern politics for more than 25 years, including turns as a statehouse correspondent in three states. Since 1986 his journalism has appeared in national and international publications.
He has also authored nine books including The Mayor: Joe Riley and the Rise of Charleston and his latest, In Darkest South Carolina.
Hicks and his books have been featured on National Public Radio and in major newspapers including the Boston Globe, Philadelphia Enquirer, and Chicago Tribune. He has been featured on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and CBS Sunday Morning.
He has won more than 30 journalism awards including the Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Award for humorous commentary and the South Carolina Press Association’s award for Journalist of the Year.
In 1998, he was named South Carolina Journalist of the Year by the S.C. Press Association. And in 2008, the Society of Professional Journalists named Hicks the best humor columnist in the Southeast. A native of Cleveland, Tennessee, he lives in Charleston with his wife Beth and their sons Cole and Nate.
Tickets are $32 per person for the luncheon. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and lunch is served promptly at noon. Limited seating provides an intimate experience with each speaker. Click here to order tickets.
Each month, Small Business Lunch at Halls features a distinguished speaker from the business, civic or political arenas upstairs at Halls Chophouse with an imaginative three-course meal prepared by Executive Chef Adam Jakins.
Halls Chophouse is located at 434 King Street in downtown Charleston. Convenient parking is available at the Visitor's Center Garage on Ann Street between King and Meeting Streets.
Buxton Books Presents Home Making, Lunch with Lee Matalone at High Cotton
The Millions' Most Anticipated Books in February
"An intricate exploration of family and home, of mother and child, of friends, of women and written with both precision and style."Weike Wang, author of "Chemistry".
Time: 12:00 pm
Date: Wednesday, March 11
Place: High Cotton, 199 East Bay
Lunch: Three delicious courses by
Halls Executive Chef Brad Kelly.
$32 per person.
Books: Provided by Buxton Books, will be available for purchase at the event.
Cover Art by Grace Helmer, UK
From a talented, powerful new voice in fiction comes a stunning novel about the intersection of three lives coming to grips with identity, family legacy, and what it means to make a house a true home.
Tickets are limited for this important author. Click below to get yours today.
"Before, before—a young woman, in a modest but pristine apartment in Tokyo, paints a castle on paper, unlike any castle in Japan. Where is this castle? her mother, who secretly writes poetry on gum wrappers, whose ancestors created beauty with katana rather than pen, asks her daughter. She starts to answer, but her mother grabs the paper and flips it over. Your mind is a ship, she says. It will take you away from me and leave me here alone. Your hair is dirty. Why don’t you do something about that? So this young woman, her name lost to the wrinkles of history, washes her hair, and it is clean and black and straight and falls at the arch of her bony shoulders. She is all bones, lanky and bendy like a strip of Wrigley’s. We need . . . her mother says, and she probably said more tea or meriken-ko or toothpaste, and sent her daughter out into the noontime street, into the crowded Tokyo Saturday, where families are sitting in parks or visiting grave sites of their mothers and fathers and grandmothers, who were unlucky enough to live in Hiroshima or Nagasaki." Read More.
Lee Matalone's writing has been featured in The Offing, Lit Hub, The Rumpus, Denver Quarterly, and Hobart, among other places. Home Making is her first novel. She lives in South Carolina and teaches at Clemson University.
Fiction by Lee Matalone
The Offing, Sundog Lit, Denver Quarterly, Hobart, Bat City Review, 5X5, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, Jellyfish Review, crag, Joyland, Nat.Brut, The Austin Review, Vol.1 Brooklyn, Cosmonauts Avenue, Bridge Eight
Non Fiction by Lee Matalone
Lit Hub, Electric Literature, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Rumpus, The National, Heavy Feather Review, Inside Higher Ed, Vice Munchies, Bookslut, Curbed, Fiction Advocate, Perversion Magazine, Flavorwire
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Books, Experiences
Lori Gottlieb, NY Times Bestselling author of
"Maybe You Should Talk
to Someone," at Charleston Author Series Friday, March 27th
Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist, New York Times bestselling author, nationally recognized journalist, and weekly Dear Therapist columnist for The Atlantic. She blends her clinical experience with the latest research and cultural developments to help people live better lives.
On March 27th at Halls Signature Events at 5 Faber Street in downtown Charleston, you'll enjoy three courses by Hall's Executive Chef Robyn Guisto, a full service cash bar, excellent company and a discussion of Lori Gottlieb's Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.
Gottlieb will be in conversation with Claire Bidwell Smith, Charleston resident and author of The Rules of Inheritance. Smith is an author and a grief therapist, whose mission is to broaden the conversation about grief and loss and help our culture reach a healthier understanding of death.
Luncheon Tickets are $64 and include a signed copy of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. Books provided by Charleston's own Blue Bicycle Books. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and lunch is served at noon. Limited seating provides an intimate experience with the author.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which is being adapted as a television series with Eva Longoria.
In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The Atlantic's weekly Dear Therapist advice column and contributes regularly to The New York Times and many other publications. She is also a TED speaker, a member of the Advisory Council for Bring Change to Mind and advisor to the Aspen Institute.
A contributing writer for The Atlantic, she has written hundreds of articles related to psychology and culture, many of which have become viral sensations. She is a sought-after expert in media such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, CNN, and NPR's Fresh Air.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Every year, nearly 30 million Americans sit on a therapist's couch and some of these patients are therapists. In her remarkable new book, Lori Gottlieb tells us that despite her license and rigorous training, her most significant credential is that she's a card-carrying member of the human race. I know what it is like to be a person, she writes, as a crisis causes her world to come crashing down.
Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients lives, a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys (even one from the waiting room)she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.
With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb reveals our blind spots, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.
REVIEWS
"An addictive book that's part Oliver Sacks and part Nora Ephron. Prepare to be riveted."
--- People Magazine, Book of the Week
"An irresistibly addictive tour of the human condition." --- Kirkus, starred review
"This is a daring, delightful, and transformative book." --- Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Huffington Post
"Rarely have I read a book that challenged me to see myself in an entirely new light, and was at the same time laugh-out-loud funny and utterly absorbing." --- Katie Couric
"Wise, warm, smart, and funny. If you have even an ounce of interest in the conundrum of being human, you must read this book." --- Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet.
"Gottlieb is an utterly compelling narrator: funny, probing, surprising, savvy, vulnerable. She pays attention to the small stuff, the box of tissues and the Legos in the carpet, as she honors the more expansive mysteries of our wild, aching hearts." Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy Exams and The Recovering.