Got you covered
As a night student in a Chicago pastry program, Adrienne Blumthal came up with a simple, stylish and sturdy solution for safely transporting baked goods.
The company: PieBox was launched in July 2012 in Chicago. In 2015, the business moved to the South. The company's wooden pastry and bread box carriers are now handcrafted in southwest Atlanta.
The founders and background: PieBox was founded by Blumthal, her photographer husband, Steven Karl Metzer, and her graphic designer sister, Carol Blumthal of Memphis, Tenn.
The goods: PieBox, a pie carrier; CakeBox, a cake and cupcake carrier; and CookieBox cookie carrier.
Best seller: The PieBox with the leather-carrying strap ($50).
Other favorites: The CookieBox ($24) with wooden dividers.
Up next: The BreadBox ($80), made of solid maple. It has an interior adjustable shelf that can be used three ways: cutting board, serving tray or extra space for other rolls or pastries.
Claim to fame: PieBox products are sold on three continents and by major U.S. retailers, including Crate & Barrel, Sur La Table and Anthropologie. CB2 recently featured the new BreadBox in its latest catalog.
Where to buy: www.PieBox.com
Serve up some color
Retro. Fun. And candy-colored. That’s how Atlanta’s Amy Roberson describes her table-ready ceramics.
The artist and background: Roberson grew up in Ellijay and earned a degree of Fine Arts in 3D Design from Georgia Southern. She works at Mudfire Clayworks in Decatur as a resident artist.
Materials: Cone 6 porcelaneous stoneware and glazed with a color formula she developed.
Best sellers: Mugs ($28-$35) and jars ($45-$65).
Other favorites: Berry bowl sets ($40) and Gummy Bear Trays ($75).
What's next: Roberson will be one of the featured ceramic artists at the American Craft Council show in Atlanta (March 11-13) at the Cobb Galleria.
Where to buy: www.amyrobersondesigns.com; Garage Door Studio, 119 Center St., in Avondale Estates (garagedoorstudio.com); and Crafted Westside, 1000 Marietta St. N.W., Suite 102, in Atlanta (craftedwestside.com)
Fine print
Lydia Derrick Wherry found a new calling in her family’s old newspaper pressroom in South Carolina.
The company: Ancesserie letterpress creates modern stationery, invitations and gifts in Edgefield. Many of the elegant paper goods are handcrafted from the 19th-century newspaper type and plates used by Wherry's great- and great-great grandfathers to produce The Edgefield Advertiser. The paper has been in her family for four generations.
The name: Ancesserie comes from the Old French word for ancestry.
Owner and designer: After graduating from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va., Wherry took a course in letterpress printing at the Atlanta Printmakers Studio and honed her skills under the wing of several Georgia printers and at workshops offered by the Ladies of Letterpress, a trade group. In 2011, she started Ancesserie in the basement of her home in Atlanta, then moved production and distribution to Edgefield.
The goods: Ready-to-buy letterpress notecards, place cards, coasters and journals. Also custom stationery, wedding suites and baby announcements.
Materials: Mostly 100 percent cotton paper that is luxurious to the touch. The eco-friendly paper is made from recovered cotton from the textile industry.
What's popular: Southern Sayings coasters and Southern Sayings notecards ($14 per box); Timber card holders: $12 for a box of four cedar card holders; and the Texting notepad ($6.50).
Other favorites: Boxed set of notecards ($20-$24) with popular themes from bow ties and oyster shells to quail and palm fronds.
Claim to fame: The company prints coasters and personalized stationery for "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" on CBS.
What's next: A letterpress "Birth Tree" print, which features a lovely, old-world, hand-penned tree with spaces for baby's birth details and first-year milestones. It will come framed and ready to hang.
Where to buy: www.ancesserie.com. In Atlanta, find Ancesserie products at the Preserving Place, 1170 Howell Mill Road (preservingplace.com), and at Onward Reserve (https://onwardreserve.com) locations in Buckhead and Ponce City Market.
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