Saving Money and Sharing History: A Guide To Jackson's Antique Stores

With the renewed focus on sustainability in our shopping habits, Christmas on its way, and COVID-19 making our pockets lighter, the art of thrifting and antiquing is essential today. Thankfully, we have several locally-owned antique and vintage stores in the Jackson area. The perfect gift for a friend, family member, or yourself is waiting for you right here in the 731. You may find some truly wonderful mid-century modern pieces, handmade local crafts like soy candles or macrame wall hangings, Southwestern blankets, Turkish kilim rugs, used books and vinyl, and more at these locations. All you have to do is be patient and look!

Created in Isolation

When I create, each image translates into a Shakespearean drama all based off of little feelings, little pieces, and little stories. These things, they grow and gestate within my cerebral womb and I can’t help but give life to images and ideas that are loud and exasperated versions of how I feel. Art provides me a vessel to navigate these uncharted feelings. I wanted to create something foreign to my usual color palette — with imagery that feels like Styrofoam rubbing against itself and scissors gliding on butcher paper without a snag at the same time. Clashing colors and glass bowls will do that for you.

Nowhere to Be But at Home with You

It’s hard to comprehend the fact that time is still moving, and life is still happening even in the midst of a pandemic, as if it should be one or the other. People are dying — still, babies are being born, birds are chirping in the morning, mosquitos are biting, people are laughing, people are crying, people are listening, people are fighting, people are loving, cars are using gas, mail is being delivered, art is being created, mold is growing, strawberry jam is being made, my grandmother’s mind is fading, and my son is learning to count.

Stories, ArtGuest ContributorNovember 5, 2020quarantine, COVID-19, pandemic, jackson tn, Hilary Griffith, Illustration, Comics, Toddlers, Childhood, Art

The Miracle Mac 'n' Cheese

One cloudy summer evening in a quiet Memphis neighborhood, a miracle occurred.

The miracle worker, born and raised in Bells, was my grandmother, Nell Davis Skelton. She had curly, dyed brown hair that was often styled in a pouf reminiscent of a sixties beehive. The large, pitch-black sunglasses that she often wore made me think of a movie star, and she acted like one, too: confident, stylish, opinionated. There was always some new gossip to talk about with Grandmama, and she’d worry and judge and laugh about it in turn. She’d twist her ankle around and around as she talked to you, a sign of pent-up, nervous energy.

Grandmama was, among other things, a cook.

Essays, Food, StoriesOlivia ChinOctober 27, 2020Memphis, Mac 'n' cheese, grandparents, Food

ComeUnity at Home

Cooking at home should never be stressful or frustrating. Whether you’re throwing together a simple lunch or making dinner for the neighborhood, it should be a pleasant, relaxing experience. You also don’t need to be a classically trained chef or have a kitchen stocked with exotic ingredients to whip up something delicious. Anyone can do this, and that’s what we’re going to show you.

Essays, Stories, Food, Local BusinessGuest ContributorSeptember 30, 2020food, cooking, recipes, ComeUnity Café