Collaborations. Collections. Embroidery.A note from Natalie. I’m sending this out from Salem, Massachusetts—where fall is approximately 566 miles north of home. When packing for the trip, I began thinking about the idea of seasons traveling at approximately 15 miles per day or 100 miles per week with the rotating axis of the earth. This puts Salem approximately… Read on

View our full schedule details here (and add an extra day or two to your travel plans for adventure). The Factory: Daily ToursEvery Monday – Friday @ 2:00pm CST ______ 2023 July 21 – November 26, 2023New Orleans: Fashioning American Exhibit @ NOMA ______ October 16 – 20, 2023Patternmaking Workshop @ The Factory ______ November… Read on

Original Publication Date: October 27, 2016Updated: May 22, 2023 There is a lot you can say about Scott Peacock: James Beard Award-winning chef, engaging storyteller, collaborator and co-author to Edna Lewis, budding farmer, writer/filmmaker, experimenter with indigo, and the creator of the inspiring Alabama Biscuit Experience in Marion, Alabama. As we launch our 2023 Summer Indigo… Read on

Above: from Embroidery: Threads and Stories by Natalie Chanin, page 106-107; photo by Cliff Billingsley The April issue of Southern Living magazine includes an essay by Natalie titled, “How The Singing River Inspires The South’s Creativity.” Read the full article below, explore our #travel series on the Journal for more on The Shoals, and find… Read on

Pictured above, Embroidery: Threads and Stories, pages 74-75: (from left to right) Piney Creek, Tennessee River backwater, Limestone County, Alabama, photo by Abraham Rowe. Spiral screen print design, photo by Robert Rausch. County Road, Limestone County, Alabama, photo by Abraham Rowe. The Tennessee River has shaped the human experience in northwest Alabama for over 12,000… Read on

From top, left to right: Fabric swatch of the Fiorire paint design on organic canvas; menu for the Friends of the Café Dinner for Project Threadways, featuring Chef Nicole Mills; The Nieve Skirt in Wax; The Noto Bandana; A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit; Alabama Chanin Core Club in Navy and Natural…. Read on

Photo above from Embroidery: Threads and Stories, pages 104-105 From Embroidery: Threads and Stories, by Natalie Chanin, page 102: The Tennessee River cuts a path right through the center of The Shoals—splitting Florence from the cities of Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. Before the construction of Wilson Dam as part of the National Defense Act… Read on

Pictured above: Detail of The Shoals Area; map via AllTrails In her book, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety, Sarah Wilson explains how walking helps calm her anxiety and balances the nervous system. In the chapter titled “Slow…” her declaration, “I’m also a mad hiker,” appeals to my heart and… Read on

Pictured above: Kinlock Falls, photographed by Abraham Rowe The landscape of the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area (MSNHA) moves from the flat valley floor of the Tennessee River to the hills of the Highland Rim and the Cumberland Plateau, creating a variety of hiking experiences. Many of our favorite sites—such as Bankhead National Forest—have rich… Read on

Pictured above: A south-bound dirt road leading toward the swampy backwater and hidden landscapes of Mooresville, Alabama, photograph by Abraham Rowe The National Heritage Area program began in the 1980s and includes 55 National Heritage Areas today. The program is funded through the National Park Service and carries their mission outside of park boundaries into… Read on

“Organic buildings are the strength and lightness of the spiders’ spinning, buildings qualified by light, bred by native character to environment, married to the ground.” — Frank Lloyd Wright When visiting the Shoals area, or anywhere in Alabama for that matter, you should take time to visit the Rosenbaum House in Florence, Alabama. Nestled among otherwise… Read on

In the spring of 2021, the League of Outdoor Women, a local organization that helps women build a relationship with the outdoors through education, community, and awareness, hosted a class on orienteering at Wildwood Park—one of my favorite parks in our community. I grew up blocks from this park hearing stories from my grandmother about how her… Read on

Music has always been an integral part of The Shoals. We are placed along the banks of what the native people have long called, “the river that sings.” W.C. Handy, The Father of the Blues, was born here; legendary producer and founder of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, is also from The Shoals. So, perhaps it… Read on

I’d wager that every native, and recent guest, to The Shoals would urge future visitors to set aside time for lunch at Trowbridge’s Ice Cream Parlor and Sandwich Shop. The universally beloved local eatery is a backdrop for so many of our memories, and it has managed to serve up simple, delicious food for decades,… Read on

Those traveling to The Shoals often ask for the best routes into and out of the area. I’m not sure what your definition of “best” may be, but I personally love to travel visually interesting routes, when time allows. For those that have the time and inclination for a scenic drive, I always recommend taking… Read on

We are constantly singing the praises of our home state—its natural beauty, its historical musical past, its food culture, and its people. Our people: Alabama’s greatest treasure. In this Travel + Leisure article, author Kevin West winds his way across the state observing our inspiration and witnessing as we try to reckon with our ghosts…. Read on

This post is the first of our new travel series; look for side trips (and side bars) on your way to and from The Factory—and from here to there. With this series, you’ll find some history, a bit of folk art, good diners, great bars and splendid adventures. Pack your bag, plan your road trip,… Read on

“It is scientifically impossible to leave here unsatisfied.” -Staggs’s Customer Taylor Smith Less than five short miles from The Factory is a diner so well known in the Shoals community, locals simply call is “Staggs”—no elaboration is necessary. It is a place where social and economic barriers are ignored or discarded; everyone eats at Staggs,… Read on

Over the years, we’ve shared some of our favorite spots to explore here in The Shoals. We intend to keep expanding on that series, letting you in on local hidden treasures, like the truly unique Rattlesnake Saloon. Located on the outskirts of neighboring Colbert County, the Old West-style bar and restaurant is situated under a… Read on

During June 2018, Natalie took month-long respite and creative journey during her residency at The Hambidge Center in the woods of north Georgia. She reflects on her time there and shares her experience for which she is eternally grateful: In the summer of 2017, I was going through what will always be known to me… Read on

Barbecue is a territorial dish. Every region, every state, every city thinks that they have the best restaurant with the best recipes. We have never been much for arguing about barbecue because, at the end of the day, most of it is delicious. But, all who have ever eaten at Bunyan’s Bar-B-Q will attest to… Read on

There is an abundance of things to see and do right here in The Shoals, but as our travel series expands, so does our list of nearby attractions—nearby meaning within driving distance from The Factory. We’ve previously highlighted Birmingham, the city about 2 hours south of here that was built around the iron and steel… Read on

The Shoals is an area rich in folklore, dating back to the 1800s. And this time of year, that folklore comes alive in tales of souls haunting historic homes and spaces. Fifteen years ago, local historian and author Debra Glass was inspired to create a ghost tour that would tell some of the forgotten stories… Read on

As our home in The Shoals area continues to grow and expand, so does our list of things to do and see. Downtown Florence has been flourishing in the past few years, and new shops are popping up alongside tried-and-true mainstays. Ye Ole General Store, one of those longtime favorite spots, sits at the corner… Read on

Dear Sissi, You might not know this, but Maggie and I recently took a transcontinental (well, almost) train trip to my “Alabama on Alabama” show at Heath Ceramics in San Francisco. We stopped for a night in Chicago (which was wonderful) and when we boarded the California Zephyr, took our seats and started to move… Read on

A few notes from the road: We packed way too much. One suitcase and a favorite pillow would have done. We haven’t taken nearly enough pictures to describe the magnificent journey this has been. Snacks are good. Rain from a train is very beautiful. Tunnels can be a little dark and scary. Origami makes people… Read on

Two years ago, Cathy Bailey and her son Jasper came to visit Maggie and me in The Shoals via train. It was Jasper’s spring break and they boarded the California Zephyr to Birmingham by way of Washington D.C., and traversed the entire country to spend time in North Alabama. Needless to say, Jasper and Maggie… Read on

When I was a little girl, I started a postcard collection. Postcards were then—and are now—a low cost memento of a trip (and a low stakes investment for a parent to make on a souvenir). I don’t remember how old I was when I started accumulating these paper treasures, nor can I identify the first… Read on

I took the pieces you threw away, and put them together night and day, washed by rain, dried by sun, a million pieces all in one. -Howard Finster, “Poem for the Garden” Howard Finster, a Southern Baptist minister and self-proclaimed “man of visions” moved to Pennville, Georgia in 1961, having purchased four acres of land… Read on

As our new travel series expands, we realized that we have never laid the groundwork by adequately defining and describing the community that we call “The Shoals.” Since Alabama Chanin’s inception, love of community has been the cornerstone of our inspiration, design philosophies, and production practices. Shared stories of our region’s history, our neighbors, and… Read on

About two hours south of The Shoals is Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city. It is a city built on railroad industries and iron and steel production. Birmingham has been called “The Iron City” and “The Magic City,” and it has a contentious past as a central player in our nation’s civil rights struggle. But today’s Birmingham… Read on

Flags or Fences Shreveport, Louisiana; Lexington, Kentucky; Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Corbin, Kentucky; Knoxville, Tennessee; Oxford, Mississippi; or The Shoals, Alabama. No matter where Phillip March Jones finds himself, he takes photographs of the extraordinary ordinary, the peculiar still life: unusual signs, unfinished fence projects, garden rails, giant farm… Read on

Him and Her Phillip March Jones says, “Seeing is everything. But it takes practice.” Expanding our collaboration with Phillip, we asked him to take a look around our studio as part of a new and ongoing travel series—and an extension of his daily photo blog Pictures Take You Places. Shop Show “During my last trip… Read on

Just two hours north of The Shoals lies Nashville, Tennessee—also known as “Music City”. Travelers visiting The Factory often fly into larger nearby airports (like Nashville or Birmingham) and make the drive to Florence. Lately, perhaps in part due to the eponymous television show, Nashville has blossomed as a tourist friendly city—one that we recommend… Read on

For the past few years, I have essentially worked as a roving curator seeking out new artists and projects for Institute 193 and occasionally finding time for my personal work. I am on the road constantly: crisscrossing the Southern United States, meeting people, visiting artists, and making pictures. Things happen along the way. This past… Read on

“Where the Tennessee River, like a silver snake, winds her way through the red clay hills of Alabama, sits high on these hills my hometown, Florence.”–W.C. Handy, Father of the Blues We have written many times of our community’s rich musical legacy. The Shoals has a very notable place in modern music history; but, that… Read on

Two hours south x southeast of The Shoals lies the metropolis of Birmingham—that’s how I have it in my childhood memory. It was the 1960s and 70s and we rarely made the trip. At that time, it was a place of strife, and violence, and steel, and, for a small child, the great unknown.  It… Read on

The Factory @ Alabama Chanin Join us for the grand opening of The Factory Live Music + Cocktails + Shopping Monday, November 18th, 2013 5pm – 9pm Alabama Chanin store + 2013 Holiday Market November 19th – December 23rd Monday – Friday 8am – 4pm Café Open Weekdays 8am – 4pm For more information, visit: www.alabamachanin.com… Read on

Charleston, South Carolina has its own style of “Southern-ness” that almost can’t be defined. And although it has been years (almost two decades) since I have been there, I definitely recognize Charleston when I see, hear, or smell it. Charlestonians sound like no other group of Southerners: “Chawlstun,” they say with their long middle vowels… Read on

Our BBQed dresses have been carefully hung along side the stunning photographs of Landon Nordeman and the smell of barbeque fills the room. We are en route to a weekend of storytelling and out-of-this-world food (and spirits).   Join us tonight in Oxford, Mississippi, for Punch, Pictures, and ‘Cue Couture, as part of the Southern Foodways Alliance’s 15th Annual Symposium, Barbecue:… Read on

It has been a wonderful two weeks at Penland: learning, exploring, resting, dreaming. I dread leaving this magical place and at the same time I look forward to going home and using the tools I learned here to become a better designer. As I pack the car, we leave you with a few shots of… Read on

As the first week at Penland progressed to week two, the piles of books on our studio meeting table (and the individual studio tables) have grown substantially. We have spoken of so many things and explored SO many ideas.  Here are a few of the volumes that have made their way into our conversations:

Just when I think that it can’t get any better, it does. A weekend in the mountains was what I needed and it’s the first time in ages that I meet Monday morning feeling rested, relaxed (beyond measure), and balanced. The highlight of my weekend was certainly a swim in the North Toe River: icy cold waters,… Read on

After two hours of restorative yoga, a walk around the studio reveals beautiful progress.

It’s been raining every day here at Penland—such a change from the dry, dying fields of North Alabama over the last weeks. Like a miracle, it rained on our cotton field, too (more to come on that next week). My father reports that we did get 3 inches of rain at my house and I… Read on

I was about 22 years old when I entered my first design studio. I felt like a baby. I had rarely taken an art class in school.  When I say rarely, I mean there had been a few special days of art in grade school – nothing particularly formal, and certainly nothing recent. At that… Read on

Even when I land in one of the most beautiful (peaceful) places on Earth, it takes me time to settle in, to relax, and to feel like I belong. Regardless, there is already a sort of “hum” in the studio, as my friend Cathy Bailey might say.  You can “hear” thoughts coming together, the whisper… Read on

I flew out of hot and dry North Alabama on Saturday afternoon and woke up in room #2 surrounded by the cool mountain airs of Penland, North Carolina.

After taking time to reflect on our recent week in New York for MAKESHIFT, I’m already thinking about MAKESHIFT 2013. Here are some highlights from the conversation at The Standard Talks. We reported the MAKESHIFT events here on the blog throughout the week, and had great press coverage from the New York Times, Style.com, Page… Read on

I’m almost certain she’s the coolest person I’ve never met. Several pieces of evidence have led me to this conclusion; the first is this article from the NY Times and the second was probably the conference call that spurred our upcoming Visiting Artist event. Natalie and I were hunched over the speaker phone in my… Read on

From what I’ve gathered, Taos is a Magical Place. Natalie made a trip there not so long ago and came home breathless with tales of beauty and enlightenment. She was especially enthralled with the story of Mabel Dodge Luhan and the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. Her experience inspired a new series of workshops called Weekend… Read on

I used to go sit at Tom Hendrix’ wall to think, particularly on days when I thought I couldn’t take running my business anymore. I would ask Mr. Hendrix over and over again, “Where do you find the passion and will to continue creating 25, 26, 27 years into your work?” He would patiently listen… Read on

Those of you who follow us on Twitter, Facebook and/or Tumblr, know that I was in New Mexico over the holidays. What resulted from this adventure was a love for the west and an understanding of why so many artists and creative types have settled to work there.  I was deeply impacted by the beauty,… Read on

There is nothing like an adventure; nothing is better than coming home.

Derange pas ta tenderesse. *Jack Kerouac, Mexico City Blues, 122nd Chorus @ Jo’s Coffee, South Congress. Austin is rich in poetry.

Lorna –  from Fancy Pony Land – gave me this lovely necklace made from pennies left on the Marfa train tracks and Ben Kweller’s grandmother dances to a song of the same origin. Happy Sunday in Marfa… Off to breakfast at El Cosmico and on to Austin!

The beautiful, beautiful Patty Griffin performs with Robert Plant and the Crown Vics. A dream. Today I will require a massage (or two) at El Cosmetico.

Plan your adventure and join us (along with Patty Griffin, Barbara Lynn, Ben Kweller, The Black Angels, Amy Cook,  Imogene + Willie, and a slew of others) in Marfa, Texas – September 22 – 25. Learn more about El Cosmico and the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music & Love here. Adventure awaits…

Packing my bags this morning in Berlin to head home – and later in the week on to our events in Marfa and Austin! Hello Etsy was amazing, inspiring, reassuring and _____ – fill in the blank. I had every intention to live blog my time here but have found that I need time to… Read on

I just arrived back from a whirlwind trip to  Penland School of Crafts. It is a remarkable, inspiring, and beautiful place. I found that here was something for each moment of the day and the time went by much too quickly.  Maggie insists that we are going back next year.  Indeed, we will. In our… Read on

a captive blue sky and looking up. (And, of course, delight in Maggie’s delight.) P.S. It’s A Small World is very beautiful. “The Venus Hottentot” from Crave Radiance by Elizabeth Alexander and Words That Shimmer

We made a road trip yesterday – for Mother’s Day – into the Florida Panhandle. Backroads all the way, the drive was like traveling through page after page of John Margolies Roadside America. If you ever get the chance to ride Route 29 – down through Alabama and into Florida; be sure to go. READYMADES:… Read on

California to Oregon and back to Alabama again. The travels, the people, the trees, the forests and the ocean were amazing. But then again, there is no place like home. Thank you to everyone at RedBird for making us feel at home, the Edible Schoolyard (coming to Alabama soon!) for hosting us, Alice Waters and all… Read on

Preparing for my journey to New York and looking forward to the adventure. Plan your adventure and journey to Brooklyn to join us for events@ Spacecraft and Etsy. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the… Read on

The island of Los Roques is attached to an archipelago of approximately 250 islands and is the second largest living organism on the planet – second in size only to the Great Barrier Reef. The island itself is of volcanic origin and has small rock mountains (really hills) on the Atlantic side while the archipelago… Read on

American Routes takes a trip through the music of the Yellowhammer State–Alabama. Visit the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and find out what’s in the water around “The Shoals” to make it a historic hotbed for R&B hits by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and more. Also, a trip through Hank Williams‘ childhood home in Georgiana, and… Read on

From St. EOM’s birthday party, we are on to Apalachicola for swimming, oysters, and Tupelo Honey with friend and storyteller Frank Venable. Maggie keeps saying over and over again, “Mommy,  going beach, Mommy,  going beach.” Don’t miss Working the Miles by Joe York, a tribute to the men and women of 13 Mile Oyster Company,… Read on

All of us @ Alabama Chanin send a warm thank you to Penelope Green for this great article in The New York Times about the present, and future, of Slow Design as an extension of the Slow Food Movement.