Last  week  we wrote about Dust-to-Digital’s Drop on Down in Florida, a 2 CD release highlighting African American music traditions in Florida, paired with a 224-page hardcover book. Dust-to-Digital is a unique recording company: part archivist, part celebrator of cultural artifacts. We will be talking about several of these awesome (by the original definition) releases… Read on

As Mother’s Day approaches, we revisit one of our favorite books and a Journal post honoring mothers. Our friends at Dust-to-Digital released Never A Pal Like Mother: Vintage Songs & Photographs of the One Who’s Always True in 2011. The forward is written by friend, mother, Alabama Chanin ambassador, and master lyricist Rosanne Cash.  In May of 2021, The School of Making… Read on

Legendary photographer Bill Cunningham once said, “The wider world that perceives fashion as a frivolity, as something that should be done away with…fashion, you know, point of fact, it’s the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. I don’t think you could do away with it. It would be like doing away with civilization.”  Of course,… Read on

Right now, as best we can, we are looking for ways to ease anxiety. Scientific research shows the positive and calming effects that sewing, cooking, and hands-on making has on the brain. The meditative action of sewing reduces stress. It increases dopamine, the happiness hormone; it requires creativity—which improves the brain’s ability to grow new… Read on

Next in our “year in review” series is a look at 2018 for Bldg. 14, Alabama Chanin’s Design & Manufacturing division. Bldg. 14 began the year developing and making machine-sewn styles for the Alabama Chanin Collection—a practice that has been in effect since its inception in 2013. The team in Bldg. 14 worked to develop… Read on

“All black art is political. I think our very presence is political. Anyone that is able to establish a voice and a consistent presence and put their voice forth is doing something radical and political with their very presence.” – Ava DuVernay Filmmaker Ava DuVernay was born in 1972 in Long Beach, California, and raised… Read on

I’ve been reading Pattern Recognition (2003) by William Gibson as a sort of “digital book club” with a friend of mine who lives in another state. I’ve never been a huge fan of science fiction—and had, honestly, never heard of William Gibson but managed to get lost in the book—equal parts thriller and exposé on… Read on

Dust-to-to-Digital is a unique recording company that serves to combine rare recordings with historical images and descriptive texts, resulting in cultural artifacts. We have previously written about several of their collections that resonate so well with our brand. We believe in preserving traditions, and Dust-to-Digital truly speaks to that with their historically rich albums. We revisit… Read on

Here at Alabama Chanin, we continue to be drawn to the distinct and historical Dust-to-Digital catalog. Dust-to-Digital is a unique recording company that serves to combine rare recordings with historical images and descriptive texts, resulting in cultural artifacts. We have previously written about several of their collections that resonate so well with our brand. We… Read on

One Saturday morning in the mid-1930s, Mancey Massengill, a wife and mother of two, saw people having their pictures made in a dime store photo booth in Batesville, Arkansas. According to her son Lance, “she watched close, and got the name off the camera, then wrote to the company and ordered the lens. She got… Read on

I have known many storytellers in my life. Some have a natural and unrehearsed style that feels captivating and immediate; some present new or unfamiliar points of view; others are quite deliberate and thoughtful in approach; all of them are enthralling to me. As a storyteller born into a family of storytellers, I find master… Read on

Lance and Evelyn Massengill In 2008, Maxine Payne, an Arkansas-based artist, self-published a book of photographs titled Making Pictures: Three For A Dime. She catalogued the work of the Massengill family who worked from 1937 to 1941 as itinerant photographers in rural Arkansas documenting farmers, young couples, babies, and anyone else who had a few… Read on

Exploration of the extensive Dust-to-Digital catalog continues to reveal compilations that strongly resonate. We have previously written about the moving collections: I Listen to the Wind, Never a Pal Like Mother, Keeping a Record Of It, and Goodbye, Babylon. Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography 1890-1950 is a powerful… Read on

Musician and Alabama Chanin friend Jake Fussell grew up in Columbus, Georgia, and was exposed to traditional roots music while accompanying his father, folklorist and writer Fred Fussell, on numerous documentary fieldwork trips throughout the South. Through these journeys, Jake became a guitar student of the late Georgia blueswoman, Precious Bryant, and honed his skills… Read on

We are devout believers in Dust-to-Digital, April and Lance Ledbetter’s acclaimed record label. Their first release, Goodbye, Babylon, is a testament to the Dust-to-Digital mission of archiving, producing, and reproducing high-quality, cultural artifacts. Lance spent several years researching and compiling the collection of 135 rare gospel songs, dating from 1902 to 1960, and 25 sermons,… Read on

Ben Sollee recording in the Mosquito Hut. Prospect, Kentucky. 2013. Photo:PMJ Ben Sollee spent a few days this past summer trying to capture the songs and sounds that influence his life and music. The makeshift recording studio, a small house nestled in a hollow near Prospect, Kentucky, provided the backdrop for the project, a covers… Read on

Yesterday, we shared a post by contributor Phillip March Jones on self-taught musician, song writer, and artist Lonnie Holley. Holley’s second album, Keeping A Record of It, was just released by the Dust-to-Digital label in Atlanta, Georgia. Find more information on the Dust-to-Digital site.  

Keeping a Record of It (Harmful Music), 1986, Lonnie Holley, Salvaged phonograph top, phonograph record, animal skull 13 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 9 inches, Courtesy of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation. Photo: Steve Pitkin Lonnie Holley, at the age of 63, is finally getting his proverbial moment in the sun. The artist’s second album,… Read on

Growing up in small-town Florence, Alabama, a trip into downtown meant a visit to colorful shops, recognized by equally colorful signs. Ye Ole General Store had a block letter, serif-type sign across the entranceway and inside, we could find canteens and hats and overalls for backyard battles and explorations. Next, we’d walk to Court Street… Read on

We’ve written about our friend Phillip March Jones. Institute 193 in Lexington, Kentucky, is his gallery, a music venue, and multi-faceted publisher, which recently released a compilation of recordings from artists who have performed in the space. Phillip joins us as a contributor to the journal, with an introduction to 193 SOUND. Sound is a… Read on

Husband and wife team Lance and April Ledbetter are protecting the sounds of our past with their highly acclaimed label, Dust-to-Digital. Founded by Lance a little over a decade ago, Dust-to-Digital is home to a growing catalogue of important cultural works from the United States and around the globe. I’ve been vie­wing their line-up for… Read on

In 2005, I was inducted into The Council of Fashion Designers of America.  Long before that time (and during my days as a stylist in Europe), I didn’t really know what the CFDA was (or did). However, the organization was founded in 1962 by Eleanor Lambert as a not-for-profit trade organization to support American womenswear,… Read on