Pullman Yards will host its first SweetWater 420 Fest this weekend, April 20 and 21, 2024. The venue has been buzzing with excitement as it prepares to host the homegrown Atlanta event by SweetWater Brewery.
As I finish my second year writing Two-Sided Southern, I am still having such an incredible time. I adore telling stories about the South and its people. The kind of people who embrace being both high-brow and down home as shown in these top 10 blogs of 2022.
It’s not every day you meet someone truly selfless. Someone who gives of themselves week in and out and not only during the holidays. I don’t know about you, but I need a reminder that there are still a lot of good people left in the world. Enter this heartwarming holiday story about longtime Atlantan Mary Jane Stafford.
About 14 years ago, Stafford was sitting in the pews at Mount Paran Church. The pastor asked if anyone would be interested in volunteering for a Bible study with women in prison. The empty nester raised her hand.
You have to understand something. On the outside, Stafford is the definition of a Southern belle. She’s soft spoken, sweet, lithe, demure, well-dressed and on point. She went to The University of Georgia, taught piano in her neighborhood for 20 years and generally followed a suburban wife and mother’s path.
If I was stereotyping, I would say she doesn’t look like someone who would enjoy visiting women in prison or jail. But Stafford is Two-Sided Southern. She is a steel magnolia. What you don’t get on first glance, is that her daughter has struggled with addiction for many years. That is not a part of the heartwarming holiday story. But it is an impetus for looking at the world differently. Her daughter changed Stafford’s outlook on addiction and what a horrible trap drugs can lock even the best of people in.
“I volunteered to go once a week through the church’s outreach. Then I started going twice a week,” she says. “Soon it was every day.” Stafford would eventually spend seven days a week helping the women in jail, oftentimes coming home at midnight.
“My first day, I fell in love with the women,” says Stafford. “I related to them in a different way than others [maybe because of my daughter].” What she also knew is that the cycle these women were in was almost impossible to break. “They get out of jail with no money, no family, no phone. They walk out and around the corner to another trap. The triangle is: addicted, homeless and incarcerated.” And round and round the triangle. Stafford knew in her heart she could help these women. “I never felt afraid,” she says.
Stafford would sit outside in her car after Bible study. When she knew one of the women would be released from prison, she would pick them up and take them to a free treatment program in the inner city. Safe rides are very scarce for these women coming out of jail or prison. Stafford spent countless hours driving the women to get new IDs, Marta cards, clothes or simply taking them to eat. She went to court and hospitals. Stafford did this all with her own money.
“I know people can change. I’ve seen it,” says Stafford. Because of her passionate belief in that simple statement, her friends began to support her mission by giving her donations. Mount Paran Church also supported her extracurricular efforts by allowing annual fundraisers at the church. Soon Grateful Hearts became its own entity as a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization.
Grateful Hearts has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of women and families in the Atlanta area. Through several big fundraisers a year, Stafford and her team educate others on their mission and raise funds to help these women get back on their feet.
“To see the women gain self-esteem, jobs, homes, get their kids and then start giving back to others is the true blessing,” says Stafford.
“Most people don’t want to go to jail or pick up homeless people and drive them around. It’s a special calling,” says Stafford. “But a lot of people still want to help somehow.” If you’re one of them, consider contributing to this heartwarming holiday story. You can help by donating, volunteering at a retreat, buying lunch for the women, or spending time with them. “Talking and relating to the women can make a big difference in their lives,” she says. Indeed, 98% of the women in the Grateful Hearts program stay out of jail.
Get in touch with Grateful Hearts this holiday and find out how you can help with their annual Diaper Drive, donate to raise funds for substance abuse treatment scholarships, along with providing Marta cards and resources necessary to meet daily living needs.
Happy Holidays, y’all. Take care of one another.
I did y’all a favor and hit up some of the newest high-end, fine dining restaurants in Atlanta. And a few other new spots that aren’t quite down home, but have that casual vibe we love in the South. If you’re like me, you’ll find joy in the cuisine and ambiance at both kinds of places.
“Ooh I want this candle! And those shoes! What about this dress… and this popcorn!” I said upon entry of The Taste Boutique. “What about this sex serum? It is a miracle worker,” chimed in stylish Atlantan Teresa Caldwell, co-owner of the chic luxury boutique in West Midtown. Everyone I know swears by it.” And that’s the kind of mix you’ll find at The Taste Boutique. It opened in April 2022 in The Interlock building where Puttshack and The Bellyard hotel are also located. Have you been to West Midtown lately? It’s a boomtown.
Albeit Caldwell is a longtime fashion stylist, she is also the author of I Once Was Her. Her boutiques are always in Atlanta hot spots. Firstly, in Duluth, near Sugarloaf Parkway where many Falcons players and their wives lived. Secondly, in Atlantic Station during its heyday. Thirdly, across from The St. Regis in Buckhead. But when the shopping center she was in recently sold, Caldwell had a chance to be the only fashion retailer in The Interlock building in West Midtown. Wisely, she took it.
Born in Carrollton, Ga. at Tanner Medical Center, Caldwell moved to Ohio when she was young. “I’ve always loved fashion,” says the native southerner. “I taught myself to sew my own clothes growing up.” It was in Ohio that she had her famous actor/rapper son, Bow Wow.
When Bow Wow was a budding star, she moved to Los Angeles to manage and style him while he worked with Snoop Dogg and others. After that, her fashion career took off too. Additionally, people would stop Caldwell to find out what she was wearing or what clothes she had bought her son. Caldwell became a sought after stylist and began pulling clothes for professional athletes, entertainers and actors.
Producer Jermaine Dupri is the one that coaxed Caldwell back to the South when he started producing music with her son. “When I got to Atlanta, there was nowhere to pull clothes from for my clients,” she says, incredulously. “I [opened the store near Sugarloaf Parkway] to service myself and them.”
She also started doing style boxes for clients who still lived back in L.A. “Every month they would give me a budget and I’d pick out a bunch of clothes and items from the store and ship it to them.” About 15 years later, she’s still creating the specialized boxes for around 50 clients. “I have one client who says, ‘here’s $4,000. Send me some stuff.’ The boxes are what I’m really passionate about. I put notes in the shipments and directions on what to wear with what.”
Caldwell is a true Two-Sided Southerner who loves her roots but has traveled the world. She also has some fightin’ words for her fellow Southerners: “I don’t think Southern people dress that great. I like to think I’m helping make them to be more fashionable. Southerners need to take more risks,” she pauses, then chuckles. “Y’all need to! Let me help y’all.”
Caldwell is a fan of mixing and matching brands, but says most Southerners that are considered fashionable, “just buy designer shoes and a designer bag. For instance, they’ll spend $5,000 on a bag and some shoes and they think that’s fashion. I don’t think everything designer is fashion.”
Above all, this stylish Atlantan should know. She’s had a successful online business for 15 years, multiple shops, a subscription box service, styling career and interior design business. In fact, some of her top clients are Shaunie Henderson (Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife), actress Taraji P. Henson and Nicole Jones (ex-wife of former Braves player Andruw Jones). Furthermore, this summer she’ll host a poolside fashion show for a swim line called L.O.V.E. that stands for Living on Vacation Everyday. It’s owned by Tracy Mourning who is the ex-wife of NBA player Alonzo Mourning.
Caldwell now lives in Sandy Springs with her boyfriend Michael Elliot, who co-owns the luxury boutique in West Midtown with her. Elliot is a successful screenwriter and has partnered with Caldwell on the boutique, as well as their other business, Taste Interior Design. Why limit herself to just clothes? After all, her brand is a lifestyle. That’s where Taste Interior Design comes in.
In 2020, Elliot and Caldwell oversaw the large-scale remodel and redesign of the 15,000 square-foot home of NFL star Grady Jarrett of the Atlanta Falcons. “It was always word of mouth. I’ve been doing this for friends for 25 years,” she says about her interior design business. “Now, I’m designing a home for a successful franchise owner who just gutted his high-end house and we’re starting from scratch.”
Her interior design aesthetic is much like the interiors of her luxury boutique in West Midtown. “It’s got a zen energy here. The energy is peaceful. That’s why we chose soft, muted colors.” Caldwell and Elliott worked with Michael Habachy of Habachy Designs on the store’s interiors. The Taste Boutique is awash in pastels, natural sunshine, warm gold light pendants and lots of archways.
So does she still find time to style and manage Bow Wow? “About three years ago, I stopped. It was time for me to do my own thing. I don’t know if he fired me, or I quit,” Caldwell says with a sweet laugh. “But it was time.”
Now the boutique gets all her attention. “I can’t keep these Raceway Vintage Camo shorts by Reilly in stock. Or these ESSEutESSE fringe sneakers. They both fly off the shelves!” she admits. Caldwell’s taste is exquisite, but she also has a touch of wit and sass.
While you’ll see high-end clothing lines such as Alexis, Zadig & Voltaire and Frame, as well as enormous Cereria Molla 1899 candles that go for $600, she also has jalapeno cheddar Poppy popcorn. “I love it. I can’t keep it in stock. Some woman came in and bought six bags!”
Mixed in between Rizzoli New York and Assouline luxury books, you’ll find high-end House of Wise sex serum, sleep gummies or slippers that say Bad Ass on the toes. “It’s a lifestyle boutique and I put all my favorite things in here,” Caldwell says unapologetically. “Fun is part of my personality. Guys come in here and they laugh and buy up all these things.”
I immediately knew Caldwell was Two-Sided Southern when we met… she loves the five-star clothing brands as well as the witty, dive-bar brands in gifts. Caldwell illustrates my point: “I love soul food—macaroni and cheese and collard greens and cornbread… And biscuits and gravy! But also my favorite restaurant right now is Marcel across the street. The risotto with lobster or the chicken with artichokes and lemon butter… oh my gosh, it’s so good,” she raves. “I’m like soul food to French food!”
Exactly.
Atlanta fashion stylist Shaye Strager’s current clients are the former VP of a global automotive company, a celebrity vocal coach, a Broadway actress who is the wife of an Oscar-winning actor and at least four CEOs, among others. She’s also styled musicians, celebrities and has been the in-house stylist for Phipps Plaza.
There are so many things to do this spring around the South. With this list, you can indulge both sides of your personality—go a little high brow one weekend and down home the next.
Don Purcell is the owner of the best new jewelry store in Atlanta. His eponymous shop is called Don Purcell and peeks out over the outdoor dining area at Le Bilboquet in Buckhead Village District. It’s prime real estate. But it’s a far cry from small town Ridgeway.
Here are the top 10 blogs of 2021 on Two-Sided Southern. It’s a fabulous mix of profiles, recipes, restaurant rounds ups, reviews and more. It’s about being upscale and down home. Five-star and dive bar.
Jennifer Sutton moved to the South 16 years ago from Lorain, Ohio. Thank goodness. “It’s the international city,” she says. It’s the diverse hometown she shares with famed novelist Toni Morrison. “Growing up, I was raised with so many different people from different nationalities.” That childhood foundation cemented her love of bringing cultures together. Its mirrored in her popular Art Meso exhibit, on display now through January 2, 2022. The fashion and art extravaganza is in the former Tom Ford store in Buckhead Village, underneath Gypsy Kitchen.
Meso means in the middle or between. In other words, Art Meso is the place “where creativity and imagination meet.” Jennifer created the title “to put all the elements I embrace into one name. It’s the middle place where everyone can meet,” she says.
That was definitely true of the opening night event, which was chockablock with Atlanta VIPs. A portion of ticket sales went to Children Helping Children, One Arte and Make-a-Wish Foundation. The celeb attendees mingled among luxury vehicles like a Rolls-Royce Phantom from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Above all, it was a splendid evening full of fashion, food and luxury. “People were excited to get out and experience something… other than what we’ve been experiencing,” says Jennifer with a sigh. In fact, many of the fashion designers are showing for the first time in the states. Additionally, a lot of the artists on display are Atlantans.
The Art Meso exhibit is open six days a week (closed on Monday). Expect special events such as the Art Meso Mixer with more of a party atmosphere. Additionally, expert panels will be coming in to discuss art and fashion. The exhibit is partnering with Jimmy Choo, Canali and Make-a-Wish for other events this season. But Meso Marketplace is sure to be a holiday shopper’s fave. It allows guests to come back and shop various retailers, designers and artists from the actual show. Also, there will be more retailers that aren’t on display. Check the website for those details.
“I did have a culture shock a bit,” admits Jennifer, about moving to Georgia 16 years ago. “Not until you get into the city is it a melting pot.” So this former retail visual director and wardrobe stylist moved to Midtown about eight years ago. “I found a great community that shares a love of art and food. A true inner circle.”
She eventually started Art Meso in 2015 with the support of that artistic community. Art Meso was a popular, crowded exhibit in downtown Atlanta for many years. Jennifer’s extensive background in retail, fashion and the arts all came together to make it happen. “I am a lover of all things creative,” she adds. Art Meso held some virtual events during the pandemic, but when it came to putting on a live event again, Jennifer decided to try something new. She wanted to provide something that people could come visit at their leisure and not have to crowd together. “We don’t have to stuff people in. The exhibition is airy and spacious and it’s going on until January. That gives people a chance to come out and see it on their own time.”
Including a charitable component in the exhibit was also extremely important to Jennifer. “Giving has always been implemented in my family and comes from my grandmother,” she shares. Art Meso has been partnering with incredible nonprofits for some time. “I love making a kid’s dream come true.”
Above all, Jennifer is building bridges outside of the Midwest and the South. She recently connected with Myron Johnson, Film Entertainment & Culture Arts Manager for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority. Through various relationships, she’s thrown herself into the New York art and fashion community. Therefore, Art Meso will have an exhibition in the Avenues of New York in July 2022. All I know is, this former New Yorker-by way of Atlanta can’t wait to see what Jennifer Sutton has up her sleeve for that event.
