If you’re a Southern artisan or business, here’s your chance to have the eyes of the South focused directly on what you do best.
Garden & Gun’s thirteenth annual Made in the South Awards, in partnership with Explore Asheville, highlight the best Southern-made products in six categories: food, drink, home, crafts, outdoors, and style. Winners and runners-up have included indulgent duck fat caramels, heirloom-quality dove decoys, chic shirt dresses, small-batch bourbon—and much more.
As long as it’s made in the South (we accept entries from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.) and available through the end of January 2023, it’s eligible. You just have to enter.
Here are six reasons you should:
1. The Overall Winner Will Receive $10,000
Yes, $10,000 right in the winner’s pocket. Use it to grow your business, purchase new equipment, or outfit your team.
2. The Winner and Runners-Up Will Be Featured in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of G&G
At G&G, we’re story-tellers. And you and your Southern-made product have a unique story to tell. Each winner and runner-up gets the full G&G treatment in the magazine in one of our biggest issues of the year. And it’s available on newsstands right at the start of the holiday shopping season.
3. The Made in the South Awards Can Change Your Business
Take Blanc Creatives. After winning the 2015 awards, the Charlottesville-based cookware company took off. Owner and designer Corry Blanc ended up having to hire an entire production team to help handle the volume of orders. The big win also led to Blanc Creatives being covered by GQ, Food & Wine, and The New York Times, to name just a few.
Or look at Covered in Cotton, the 2020 overall winner, whose entire inventory sold out in a matter of days after the story hit newsstands.
4. The Made in the South Awards Judges Are the Best in the Business
Every year, G&G editors select a whole new team of judges who are experts in their respective fields. They’ll use their expertise to select the best of the best, seeing your product in a whole new light from previous years’ judges. So even if you’ve entered the awards before, you still have a great chance. Meet this year’s judges, including America’s favorite weatherman, Al Roker.
5. You Don’t Have to Win to Get Great Exposure for Your Business
Simply by entering the Made in the South Awards you ensure your work is seen by G&G’s editorial team. In the past, products that did not win but were nonetheless superlative made their way into the pages of the magazine through a variety of other channels.
6. There’s Still Time to Enter
Entries will be accepted through June 15. But why wait? Enter the 2022 Made in the South Awards today.
