Made in the South Awards 2011

RUNNERS-UP: HOME CATEGORY

Photographs Stacy Newgent

Machine Shop Lighting Co.; Austin, TX
Marc Knight may work as the president of a construction company by day in Austin, Texas, but at home he’s a designer, dreaming up nostalgic lighting. “I have varied interests, but my fascination with design comes from being around old, timeless things,” he says. Knight turns to a handful of retro manufacturers to bring his sketches of metal and glass to life, using companies such as Sundial Wire to make his throwback wiring and a local metal shop to weld the raw steel. $600–$750; machineshoplighting.com

Uncorked Glass; Atlanta, GA
Daniel Hart was sitting at dinner, feeling low about getting laid off from his job in Atlanta, when a wine bottle rolled off the table and split in two. As Hart looked at the shape, a memory of seeing drinking glasses made from wine bottles came back to him. The next morning he set out to put his stamp on the idea. It took him three months to finish a glass without the vessel shattering. Today he makes fifteen hundred a week. “When I was let go, I was at square one,” he says. “This is like a dream, really.” $36–$40 for four; uncorkedglass.com