When Dane Carder goes to work, he retreats behind the crumbling façade of Mays Hosiery Mill on Chestnut Street in Nashville. The building is an 1800-era factory that closed in 1980, but today it has transformed into a haven for emerging artists and designers. Dane’s studio is flooded with natural light and feels spacious thanks to 30-foot ceilings, white-washed walls and knotty, original pine-wood floors. There, he paints the faces of the Civil War for his current endeavor, a series of paintings he calls Ghosts and Hopes.
Walking into a cigar shop without a personal guide can be a slightly overwhelming experience for some. While the cigar has a rich history that dates back to the days of Columbus and most guys have had their share of stogies, few of us claim to be aficionados.
It didn’t take long for Clay Adams to realize that if he wanted the perfect dining room table, he was going to have to pick up a hammer. Six years ago, when Clay and his wife, Maggie, were in the market for furniture, the big box stores just didn’t have the style, quality or price they were looking for. So while they slept on an air mattress and watched a television that rested on the floor, Clay stopped shopping and started building.
Sometimes “progress” can’t trump an experience. Listening to a vinyl record, waiting in anticipation for film to develop, the sound of a typewriter or flipping through the pages of an old book – these are just a few of the things that many still love despite advances in technology. And while more people may be doing their note taking on a digital tablet or smartphone, the guys behind Mirth & Co. believe you can’t replace a classic notebook and the notion of jotting down ideas by hand.
The crack of a bat against a leather-bound ball is a sound that inaugurates spring. And with Major League Baseball’s opening day just around the corner on March 31, it’s a sound that Birmingham-based artist Chris Susi can’t wait to hear.
