Modern & vintage
After selling computer software for many years, North Carolina’s Louise Gaskill decided to reboot her career.
The company: Started as a hobby 14 years ago, the Raleigh-based Louise Gaskill Co. offers a hand-crafted collection of modern lighting, which features clean lines, vintage components and midcentury glass.
The founder: Gaskill grew up in New Bern, N.C., and was a history major at Meredith College.
Materials: Leaf gilding, vintage lighting, vintage Murano glass and new components.
The goods: Chandeliers ($2,400-$4,200) and table lamps ($900-$1,600).
Haute colors: Blue or clear glass.
What's next: Showing about 50 new pieces at the fall High Point Market (North Carolina), the largest furnishings industry trade show in the world. The fall market runs Oct. 18-23.
Where to buy: www.louisegaskill.com
Textured & timeless
Atlanta’s Gregor Turk is known for his ceramic sculpture, public art installations and mixed-media constructions. You might say Turk’s talents are all over the map.
Background: Turk graduated from Rhodes College and received a master's in fine arts from Boston University. Between degrees, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia. Turk, who is an adjunct instructor in the sculpture department at SCAD Atlanta, has a studio on Atlanta's Westside.
The goods: Table lamps with white earthenware bases ($1,100). Available in rectangular or cylindrical forms.
The material: Constructed with hundreds of ripped undulating layers of clay, the resulting texture references a variety of imagery, including convoluted contour lines from topographic maps, geologic strata and turbulent water currents.
Other favorites: Besides lamps, Turk uses the same layered technique to make vases ($300-$700), hemispheric bowls ($500-$750) and wall-mounted convex tablets that can be installed in a grid. The 14-inch square tablets are $700 each.
Also known for: PlaceMates, dinner plates ($30 for 11-inch dinner plates and $20 for 8-inch dessert plates) that feature pictograms of men and women collected from around the world. Plates are suitable for display or dinner.
Claim to fame: His artwork has been featured in nearly a dozen TV series/movies filmed in Atlanta, including "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." His artwork is also in the permanent collections of the High Museum of Art.
Beltline buzz: Turk has a temporary installation on the Beltline (through Nov. 15) featuring a cluster of five billboards of Gen. William T. Sherman's eyes.
Where to buy: In the Atlanta area at Atlanta MADE, 1187 Howell Mill Road N.W. (atlantamade.us), or www.gregorturk.com.
In their element
Robert and Brenda Zurn took a shine to each other as teenagers. Eighteen years and five children later, the creative Florida couple had another bright idea: design and make sculptural lighting from elemental materials.
The company: Founded in 2013, the DAMM studio is in the backyard of the couple's St. Petersburg home. The family-owned company creates contemporary lighting for residential and commercial interiors.
The company name: DAMM stands for Design. Art. Means. Motive.
Inspiration: Nature, history, art, geometry and exploration.
The goods: Desk and table lamps and pendant lighting made of wood, brass, copper and glass.
Hot lights: Theorem ($375) and Noland ($450) lamps, plus the Hombre pendants ($345). Terrace ($800) is quickly moving into first place. The Terrace design is a nod to the Miami Terrace (coral) Reef and the art deco architecture of Florida.
Other favorites: Memphis lamps ($600-$700), sold exclusively on larcobaleno.com. The gooseneck light is attached to a pyramid base of solid marble.
Big break: Invited to the Sight Unseen Offsite show last May in New York City. The exhibition, sponsored by Sight Unseen (an online magazine), showcases new and innovative products by U.S. and international designers.
Fun request: Make a chrome version of our triple Artemis (arrow) pendant. It turned out spectacular!
Where to buy: www.damm-design.com
Best of the South
Do you have favorite finds from around the South that you give as gifts, buy for your home or rave about to friends? If so, send your suggestions to: lljerkins@gmail.com. Also find more Southern-made products, featured in the AJC, at Southernfinds on Facebook or twitter@southernfinds1.
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