Place mats with punch
Lisa Mykleby, Muffin Dodd and Maureen Turner are best friends. They also share an interest in entertaining, home design and table settings. The women felt a company that combined their various business talents and keen design sense couldn’t miss. Two years ago, they started Plat du Jour.
Company: Founded in Beaufort, S.C., the company offers tear-off, paper place mats, cocktail napkins and plastic party cups for entertaining or everyday dining.
Name: Inspired by the French bistro phrase, plat du jour or "plate of the day."
Design inspiration: Varies. The crane design was derived from a photo Mykleby took at the San Francisco Zoo. The bohemian cypress design was culled from a scrap of vintage trim that Dodd found.
Goods: Printed in Atlanta, the paper placements feature modern and iconic designs. Depending on the design, a pad of 50 placements is $30-$32. Also three-ply cocktail napkins ($8 for 24 napkins) and 16-ounce tumblers ($30 for 12).
Best-sellers: The whale tail design and the number (1-12) place mats, which also can serve as table numbers. The turkey design is a favorite for Thanksgiving.
Claim to fame: The Museum of Modern Art in New York carries the grass patterned place mats and cocktail napkins in its retail shops. House Beautiful magazine featured the paper place mats (the chinoiserie pattern) in its July/August issue.
Fun request: Created a custom place mat pattern for a ski resort, using its trail map as the design.
What's new: A bold key pattern and luxe box of assorted place mats for the holidays.
Where to buy: www.platdujourco.com
Nature-inspired
Tennessee’s Kathryn Allison has a passion for patterns. And it shows in her fresh, hand-printed textiles.
Founder: Allison grew up in Birmingham, Ala., and headed off to Covenant College in Lookout Mountain. After graduating with a fine arts degree and learning screen printing in summer internships, she started Rangemark in her home studio in Chattanooga, Tenn., last fall.
Company name: Rangemark was the name of her great-grandfather's painting studio in coastal Maine.
Goods: Hand-printed dish towels ($25), napkin sets ($64 for a set of four), table runners ($62), lumbar and throw pillows ($40-$72) in a merry mix of colors (teal, gray and blueberry) and patterns (fronds, feathers, arrows and peonies).
Material: 100 percent organic linen. "It's a quality fabric with a rich texture that gives life and dimension to my patterns," Allison said. "The linen also softens with each use." Since it is absorbent, it is a good choice for dish towels.
What's hot: The frond pattern in gray.
What's new: Offering fabric by the yard. Also plan to offer a cotton fabric as well as some colored fabric.
Where to buy: www.rangemarktextiles.com and www.etsy.com/shop/rangemark
Drinks are on us
Some things are useful but rarely noticed. Take coasters. They protect your tabletop from sweaty beverages and come in a variety of shapes, designs and materials. For super-thirsty coasters that are durable and decorative, try Mississippi-based McCarter Coasters.
Company: Designs and produces hand-crafted absorbent clay drink coasters. McCarter Coasters is in Byhalia, in northern Mississippi.
Founder: Shayne McCarter grew up in middle Tennessee and graduated from University of Memphis art school. After graduation, he worked as art director/product developer for a small gift company in Memphis. Nineteen years ago, McCarter started his own design and gift company. Now the artist and sculptor specializes in custom drink coasters.
Goods: More than 100 designs and three different styles of absorbent coasters, including a set of four drink coasters ($25) and a wine coaster ($20 each) for wine bottles. A two-pack car coaster set is $12. Just drop the no-more-drips coasters into the cup holders and let them do their job.
Materials: Earthenware clay, which is hand-carved, hand-pressed, stained and fired in McCarter's studio. The porous nature of the clay naturally drains condensation from your drink while the cork backing protects your furniture. Once fired, the coasters have a natural, off-white look.
Best-sellers: Sand dollar, pelican, sea turtle and dragonfly.
What's new: Anchor, life ring and lighthouse.
Where to buy: www.shaynemccarter.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.
