Sept/Oct 08 | Features

Best of the New South

50 people, places and things that make us proud

“What began as a small group of friends and allies focused on threats to iconic places on the coast has evolved into an almost unbeatable alliance of powerful organizations,” Beach says. “Each works within its own arena of expertise, but they are bound together by a common passion.” (coastalconservationleague.org)

Cookbook

Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose

Chef Martha Hall Foose trained at one of the finest pastry schools in France, but her Southern roots continue to inspire her. Published earlier this year, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea (Clarkson Potter) takes readers on a guided tour of culinary byways through the author’s native Mississippi Delta, with a mix of both recipes and homespun stories along the way. From her take on classics, such as fried chicken and banana pudding, to the nouveau-Southern catfish ceviche, the book offers pure bliss for anyone with a taste for Southern fare (even Yanks). Work your way through the recipes, or simply pour yourself one of Foose’s Mailbox Cocktails, take the book out on the porch during a cool evening, and soak up some true Mississippi flavor. (marthafoose.com)

Designer

Natalie “Alabama” Chanin, Florence, Alabama

Costume designer Natalie Chanin returned to her native Florence, Alabama, in 2001 after twenty-two years that had carried her from Austria to New York. She produced a short documentary film called Stitch—the story of rural America through those who sewed and used quilts—and was so impressed with the characters she met along the way that she decided to launch a local artisan-based clothing, jewelry, and furniture company called Project Alabama.

She termed the collaborative effort “slow design” and modeled it after the Slow Food movement. The company helped earn Florence the moniker Fashion Capital of the South from the New York Times and became so successful ( million in sales in 2005) that Chanin’s partners decided to outsource Project Alabama’s work to India. Chanin promptly left, relaunching under the name Alabama Chanin.

“It just seemed like this was not all over,” she says. “I and the other people in the community just felt that it’s really important to be here. Florence is a wonderful place to raise my two-year-old daughter, and I’m just so lucky to be able to run this kind of business. That’s one of the beauties of the South. I’m continually amazed by all the fantastic people I meet.” (alabamachanin.com)

Developer

Vince Graham, Charleston, South Carolina