The Local Lady

Embracing Authenticity & One-of-a-Kind Legacies

VE I S U L EXC !!! E R U T FEA

CraftCourse:

PUT PINTEREST TO USE AND MAKE NEW FRIENDS!

NASHVILLE FOOD BLOGGERS TASTE Omni Nashville
March 2014

In this Issue
2 From the Editors Desk 6 CraftCourse
Nashville startup puts the party into crafts

Make this modern turquoise and gold necklace! 6

Mandy Pellegrin and Emily Edwards 6

8 Taste of Omni Nashville

An Evening with Nashville Food Bloggers

Anson Mills Grit Cakes 8

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From the Editors Desk

The heart of my home is the family table. This place was where we ate my dads
homegrown produce, prayed for peace in the world and tackled homework into the wee hours of the night. The famly table is where I talked to my parents about boyfriend problems and opened my college acceptance letter. Its where I learned to talk things out instead of shoving them aside and the importance of listening. As a kid, my mom always had some type of craft inspired by the present holiday, seasonal change or a birthday. The family table was where we learned to work a glue gun and that newspaper was our best friend during cleanup time. No matter if home is something we like or dislike revisiting, it seems to stick around in future years when we find our passions. In this first issue, both stories are about sharing and finding the things we love in a communal environment. In my feature story, two Nashville natives share the details about their latest startup, CraftCourse. Mandy Pellegrin and Emily Edwards find joy in making pretty and practical things, laughing about the failures and realizing our creativity may stretch further than we think. While writing my blog, The Local Lady, Ive joined the Nashville Food Bloggers community and met others who also enjoy capturing the details of experience in a photo and/or written post. At KeyNotes located in the Omni Hotel Nashville, food bloggers gathered to enjoy modern southern cuisine from Chef Peter McCalls kitchen. During the family style tasting, we shared our backgrounds and interests while celebrating the power of fellowship. You will find a spread of memorable foods and drinks from the night, as well as a glimpse of hotel interior design. Small business and collaborations thrive on community, making each city and state a unique adventure for the travelers and curious hearts. Through these stories, I hope you are inspired to explore your local community and keep the family table tradition alive! Libby Oellerich

See. Spot. Go. : General Stores with a Modern Twist:

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one & Sons o B

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~PRESENTS~

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Exclusive Feature

Last Christmas, Mandy Pellegrin, a political junkie by day and Fabric.Paper.Glue blogger by night,
hosted a workshop at Whole Foods Market. The task at hand was creating wreathes with eucalyptus. An attendee was disappointed with her efforts to decorate the perfect wreath. I was being very genuine and said oh it looks so good, its sooo round recalls Mandy, who if you havent met yet, should know her spunky and warm loving personality makes even the most discouraged crafter feel like a Martha Stewart. From that point on, Pellegrin knew she had to start her own workshops and turned to longtime friend Emily Edwards to make it happen. Over dinner at Zumi Sushi, I spent time with the duo who reminds you of two childhood friends finishing each others sentences. In my Q&A interview, you will learn all the ins and outs of the CraftCourse launch and what difference it makes to craft with others around you! The cost of attending the workshops depends on the supplies and partnerships. We hope to keep it around the same cost as what a girls night out would be, assures Emily, an artist who understands the practicality in not purchasing what you could recreate. Youll be walking away with crafts cheaper than you would be buying yourself, plus a good time to too! she says. This coming March they will host their first two courses at the Arts Collective in Germantown.
Libby: What was the inspiration behind CraftCourse? Emily: You pin things and dont ever do them. Why not set aside time to craft and have something to show for it? Its more enjoyable to spend a couple hours on a Saturday and meet new friends than sitting alone in your kitchen! Mandy: I think were trying to find that sweet spot between a workshop and recreational event. Maybe you work in finance by day and calligraphy is something different to do. That concept is more skills-focused. While you may learn something from us we dont want it to be all about mastering a skillset. Were a one part workshop and two parts party. Libby: How do you choose your crafts for each workshop? Mandy: There is hardly an original idea on Pinterest. A lot of bloggers publish a twist on an idea that already exists. We dont want everyone to make a black & white straight table runner. Our products are highly customizable, substantive and useful. You dont want to choose something where the skill level is super high.

Mandy Pellegrin

Emily Edwards

CraftCourse continued on page 6

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Exclusive Feature
Libby: For the people who consider themselves not creative, what can they get out of CraftCourse? Mandy: On our website we say our parties are a nonjudgmental environment but maybe a little bit of judging is actually kind of fun. Ive never experienced anyone who takes themselves too seriously. Emily: I think we are more for them than we are for the person who crafts on their own. The person who doesnt craft in their spare time would probably have the most fun because they can see their potential. Libby: Have you both always been crafty and/or artistic? Mandy: Growing up I did 4-H and every year at the county fair they would put this little book out with all the events the 4-H sponsored. They had this art section for everything including pen drawing and embroidery. I made something for every category because most of the time you would find out you were the only person representing a certain skill. One year I walked away with $75. For a kid thats amazing. Emily: I was always artistic as a kid. If I see something cute in a store but I can figure out how its made, Im just going to make it. I dont even consider myself DIY, its just economical. The rope mirror we are doing at one of our events was found in a catalog. I realized it was just a mirror with some rope glued on it. Why would you pay a $100 for that when all you have to do is buy a simple mirror, some rope and a hot glue gun? Mandy: Once you get into that mindset though its hard to get out of it. I always joke that its a better brain tool than Sudoku because youre always wondering how you can recreate something. You start looking at everything like a puzzle. Libby: A lot of artisans I talk to say elements of their business are inspired by a family member who was artistic in some way. Is that true for either of you? Emily: My dad is an artist so I painted things with him growing up. My mom made all of our clothes. She instilled the confidence in me that if you can make it why buy it attitude. Mandy: My dad also had a natural artistic ability. My parents owned a lot of rental property and my dad did all the renewal work, plumbing electrical, wallpaper all by himself. My sewing machine was his. My grandma was a quilter too so I definitely got that from her. Libby: Mandy, talk about your blog, Fabric.Paper. Glue. Mandy: Fabric.Paper. Glue is primarily DIY. I was reading a blog at the time and I thought oh Im crafty I should do a blog. You should NEVER think to start a blog because you think youre crafty. (she laughs) I share what I enjoy like cocktail recipes because I love a drink. I share my home because its part of my life. I contribute to much bigger sites and Im proud of that. When I was living in DC, it was a nice retreat from a super high pressure, contentious environment I worked in everyday. The blog was just a fluffy and happy place. Libby: Do you make the crafts before the parties or just wing it along with the rest of them? Emily: We make them beforehand to make sure we know how to teach it and if there are any other additional supplies we need. We try to offer a variety of crafts in our courses: jewelry, home dcor and gifts. That way if youre not into jewelry but youre looking for a fun garland for a baby shower youll have something that interests you. Mandy: As we go along we will want to get feedback from people about what crafts they liked or want to make in the future. Who knows, people may like the throwaway party crafts than they do the jewelry or home dcor. Libby: That way, someone can create a gift for someone else or have it for their own personal use. Mandy: Exactly. We want to pick crafts that are trendy in terms of what is popular on Pinterest to give people the opportunity to do the crafts they have pinned. We want to keep the cost low for people so that its a fun recreational activity. You cant do that if you have to have 20 electric drills and wood panels. Our goal is to keep it simple. Libby: What types of crafts are your go-to? Emily: I like jewelry and I love to paint. I was an art student in college. Mandy: I do more home dcor than anything else and I love to sew. My real commitment to crafting started in college when I was sewing. Its a tool you can make almost anything out of and the fabric itself is its own little piece of artwork that a graphic designer has poured themselves into. One of our first projects involves fabrics on a jewelry box.

Rope-Wrapped Mirror

When youre making something together, its very much an icebreaker. Emily Edwards

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CraftCourse continued on page 7

Exclusive Feature
CraftCourse continued from page 6
Libby: Any experiences with a craft gone wrong? Emily: We were wanting cutouts for our logo to hang behind us in our photoboothand it was terrible. The paper was starting to curl and it just looked like a middle school book report. We were like nailed it!! In artistic training you are taught a mistake isnt really a mistake. Anything can be changed or improved. Libby: What value do you see in crafting together as a community? Mandy: You learn things and you can ask someone else their opinion on a color combination. No matter how thorough you are on a website tutorial, its never the same as someone teaching you and going through the process with others. Emily: Friendly competition and personal interaction is great. Its a gentle guidance. When youre making something together, the activity is very much an icebreaker. Libby: What can people expect at your courses as far as timing between each craft? Emily: We provide the food, mostly snacks you can grab and eat while you are crafting. You dont have time to sit and eat a full plate when youre making things for 3 hours. Mandy: Were going to have music and a photobooth so that people can take a break or if theyre done with their craft but their friend isnt finished. Its so important that people know it is just as much about having a good time as it is about making crafts.

@CraftCourse Nashville @craftcoursenash

@CraftCourse Nashville
A photobooth to make candid memories

@craftcoursenash

Join the party and register at craftcoursenashville.com!

When: Saturday, March 8 from 1-4pm. Where: 100 Taylor Street Arts Collective Nashville, TN Cost: $30 Only 2 spots left! When: Saturday, March 22 from 1-4pm. Where: 100 Taylor Street Arts Collective Nashville, TN Cost: $40 Only 24 spots left!

Jewelry Bo tom s u x

- Sh m e

aped Mag ne ts

ent Neckl ac tem a e St

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Dish Highlights

Taste of Omni

Nashville

local vendors and some of his own personal family traditions. Recently, myself and fifteen other food bloggers enjoyed a selection of dishes from the KeyNotes menu followed by cocktails at BarLines. Opened last September, the Omni Hotel is connected to the famous Country Music Hall of Fame and is designed to feature the artchitectural and legendary elements Nashville has to offer. Over 50% of the hotel art is Nashville based, and 75% being Tenn. artists, says McCall, noting his dishes include ingredients from farm vendors across the South. Among those ingredients include Anson Mills, Tripps Country Ham, Bentons Bacon, Noble Springs Dairy and McCalls grandmothers recipe- Etta belles Cornbread. McCalls experience has been known to the frequent customers of Whisknladle Hospitality in San Diego, Chez Bruce Resturant in London and The River Caf in DC. And to top it off, Peter recently claimed 1st place at the Pork Producers Taste of Elegance Competitions. He will go on to represent Tenn. at the national conference in Napa, Calif. In this spread you will catch a glimpse of memorable tastes and beautiful plate presentations from the nights festivities. Our meal was served family style which allowed us room to try everything! The Beginnings course was a combination of ordeuveres, salad and a bread basket followed by fish for Supper and a mini dessert trio.The interior of KeyNotes includes traditional seating and a biscuit bar complete with spreads from Nashville Jam Company. The night was an unforgettable dining experience Im excited to share with you! Nothing beats good food and sharing love for Nashville with others in the artistic Libby Oellerich with food blogger, Miranda and creative circle!
of Mirandas Kitchen Adventures

At KeyNotes, Chef Peter McCalls modern southern cuisine implements historical Nashville,

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Taste of Omni Nashville continued on page 9

Dish Highlights
Taste of Omni Nashville continued from page 8

Deviled Eggs
Yum Factor: Like a hot chicken dish served bitesized. Bacon and pickled okra give the classic starter a signature twist.

Pan Seared Snapper

Yum Factor: Fresh snapper over a bed of seasoned potatoes. Green sauce adds tangy flavor to the snapper.

Anson Mills Grit Cakes

Yum Factor: Pimento cheese on grits is all it takes to order this as a mandatory starter.

Cocktails at Barlines

Lincoln County Maple Smash

Whats for Dessert?

Trio of sweets including Pecan Pie!

Flaky crust, handcrafted chocolate and pecans. What more could you ask for?
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