published editorial work

peruse my work below to gather an idea of my editorial writing style

Billy Reid: Meet the Man Behind the Brand

As Billy Reid sees it, he makes clothing. He makes wearable, luxury designs with a focus on lived-in fabrics and classic styles with softened silhouettes that are the foundation of a brand he has been building for over two decades. The garments have been called downhome bon vivant, buttoned-up bumpkin and relaxed, yet refined. The collections include chunky knits, dapper peacoats, wash denim shirts, a suede duster and dinner coats that look best layered together. The designs are ordinary — and astounding.

Appreciation for the Alabama-based clothing brand came early and for reasons beyond just the clothes themselves. It is a sense of community that lends the label its allure of inclusivity while maintaining a cool-kids-club character. The way we see it, Billy Reid collections are a showcase of Southern ideas and a platform to call attention to the region and its cultural contributions to the world. In short: Billy Reid does so much more than make clothing.

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Ami Austin Breathes New Life Into This Gorgeous Memphis Home

Beneath the stylishly sophisticated design inside this white-brick French Country-style home, a decade worth of memories reside. It is the memories that make the house feel like home for the homeowner, an empty nester. Hoping to fuse the past with the present, she charged Memphis interior designer Ami Austin to devise a new identity for the home while keeping her collection of antiques at the forefront of the design and maintaining a family-friendly environment. “Most importantly, it is a livable space — a happy place for the homeowner to come home to,” says Ami.

Starting in the living room, and moving to the piano room, dining room and master bedroom, Ami delivered a design that achieves the desired balance of past and present. An antique vitrine shares the spotlight with a pair of contemporary black-and-white chairs while a sofa bathed in teal chenille stands in contrast to a grand piano. Noting the meaning the antiques hold for the homeowner, Ami was conscious in selecting furnishings and materials to complement them. She says, “It is part of my design process to enhance things that are meaningful.”

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Black Rabbit: A New Eatery & Cocktail Bar in Printers Alley

Nashville’s Printers Alley has a rich and storied past. At the turn the 20th century, this downtown destination was approaching its heyday. It was a time when clandestine drinkers entered through clubs’ back doors, and the alley was alive with burlesque acts, live music and gambling. The Black Poodle Lounge, The Carousel Club and The Rainbow Room were a few of the reasons Printers Alley was dubbed Nashville’s Nightclub District, and today, Black Rabbit continues that legacy and keeps that same spirit alive. Printers Alley’s newest eatery and cocktail club is located on the first floor of a historic building on Third Avenue that dates back to the late 1800s. That era is celebrated inside the 3,800-square-foot restaurant and bar through cocktails and canapés, as well as its aesthetic.

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Brilliant Chestnut Wood Cabin

Native to North America, the American chestnut tree was not only favored for its nut harvest and easily worked, rot-resistant wood, but also for its coarse texture and beautiful golden and honey brown hues. It is the latter that has made the tree popular in design. A now-extinct hardwood, the America chestnut fell victim to chestnut blight (a fungal disease), making the material more treasured than ever. When Jamie Pfeffer, of Pfeffer Torode Architecture, purchased a piece of land in Summertown, TN, he made sure to value the farm’s cabin for its American chestnut construction. “The key starting point for the project was the existing log cabin with American chestnut logs,” Jamie says. “The question was how to use the 1880s log framing while keeping it as something special and sacred. We kept all of the logs and layout intact, and we accented the existing historic construction by bringing in life and volume.”

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libby callaway: faces of nashville

This Cleveland, Tennessee native is recognizable for her gorgeous red locks, eye-catching style (largely defined by vintage pieces) and exuberant personality. She took her love of fashion to New York City, where she jumped at the opportunity to write for the New York Post, one of the many things that prepared Libby Callaway for the life she now lives. Today, she’s fully satisfied sharing the stories of standout brands and promoting them through her company, The Callaway. Libby’s love of work is rivaled with a love of vintage shopping and being social over food. We cannot toot Libby’s horn loudly enough. Her authenticity, commitment to the community, diverse talents and covetable closet are only a few of the reasons she is featured as today’s FACE of Nashville.

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THE PEACH TRUCK: A SIGN OF SUMMERTIME IN NASHVILLE 

As the final late-spring frost rolls off the Fort Valley Plateau, the air smells a little sweeter and Georgians’ smiles get a little bigger because this is a clear indicator of the arrival of peach season. This energy runs through the 1,400 acres of trees on Pearson Farm, located in the heart of Peach County, GA. From May through August, the arms of these trees are weighed down with plump peaches waiting to be picked by farmhands or young hooligans using the farm as their summer playground. In this exact spot is where Stephen Rose sunk his teeth into a sweet Georgia peach and gleefully let its sweet, sticky contents dribble down his 7-year-old chin. Some years later, as Stephen laid his head in Nashville, he began to dream of those Georgia peaches.

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