This past February, we got a surprising phone call from Southern Living Magazine. (I suppose any time a magazine calls you, it’s surprising and fun!) They do a feature called, “An Insider’s Guide ” and follow “insiders” around the city they are spotlighting at the time. What do you know, a little birdie dropped our name in their ear regarding downtown Knoxville, and before you can say, “Butter My Biscuits,” they were down here to interview us and do a photo shoot. Feeling a bit like celebrity divas for the day, we took Cory, the writer of the feature, on a little tour of our fave places in our fave city! But, before we hit the town, Cory, Ty, and myself took some time to get to know each other by sitting and chatting our our studio consultation table for a bit. I was thrilled and delighted to learn that Cory is also a letterpresser… talk about destiny! (You can purchase her delightful letterpressed products on etsy here.) With this superb common bond of paper loving, it was easy to feel like we were woven from the same cloth—there was lots to talk about. We told Cory all about the 9-year history of our little studio, and how we ended up in downtown Knoxville about a year and a half ago (which was mostly because John Black Photography bullied us into being their neighbors—and I’m so glad they did!)

Then, we headed out and hit the pavement! First, we visited fellow Daylight Building neighbors, Just Ripe, Union Avenue Books, and Reruns Boutique. Then, we moved on to my favorite eatery in all of downtown Knoxville, The French Market… ooh la la! We swung by Bliss on the way back to our studio, and we were sure to  hit up rala so that we didn’t miss any local artist’s creations! The magazine had to pick and choose what they actually featured in the three page spread, but I know that we gave them the real deal on downtown Knoxville. We did get to see the actual “real live” magazine spread, (it’s fun to see your own photo on glossy pages!), but I’ve included the online version here:

http://www.southernliving.com/travel/south-central/knoxville-tennessee-00417000078257/

You’ll have to click the link to see the photos of Ty and myself. Also, don’t miss Jessie, the amazing cocktail magician and Peter Kern Library in The Oliver Hotel. The article isn’t lying: I really do love, love, love The Holden Caufield with that little spicy fireball feeling in the back of my throat… trust me, you need to try it next time you’re down this way. Better yet, let me know you’re coming and maybe I’ll just hop down the block to join you!