ME Speak Design, a housewares company Eric and Lori Wright initially launched as a small-scale Etsy operation, is now a full-time family affair: First, the husband-and-wife duo
dreams up Southern-meets-Japanese goods in a carriage house on their Georgia property. “The simplicity and proportion of old Southern and rural Japanese styles are actually very similar,” says Eric of their restrained aesthetic, which is inspired by Lori’s Hawaiian and Japanese heritage. Each prototype then makes its way into their home, where their kids offer feedback—even joining their parents in the workshop. The idea for this cocktail spoon came after the Wrights made a baby spoon for Lori’s sister. By enlarging the bowl and stretching a piece of lead-free brass into a lithe ten-inch-long handle, they created the perfect tool for stirring drinks (a task they previously performed with chopsticks—the inspiration for the handle).
>Cocktail spoon, $95 from mespeakdesign.com
MORE MADE IN THE SOUTH:
>Home category and overall winner: Alabama Sawyer
>Home runner-up: Mollie Jenkins Pottery
>Home runner-up: ME Speak Design
>Home runner-up: Moore & Giles