Southern Crafted and the Oyster Dish

Deborah McCorkle and her husband Ashley were in Savannah, looking for an oyster dish.

When she saw one she liked, she turned it over.

Made in China.

The problem with the souvenir

That stamp is a small thing and it ruins a purchase. You came here, you wanted a piece of here, and what you are holding was made four thousand miles away and shipped to a shelf near the river.

Most of us shrug and buy it anyway. She did not. She and Ashley decided Southern pieces should be Southern made, and Southern Crafted grew out of that.

Why this one is personal for me

Coastal is my thing. I love it, it makes me feel warm and cozy inside. I love my southern heritage. Coming from a family with poor sharecroppers in my lineage, things like cast iron and household items that are not made the same way anymore are a dying craft. I feel like our trades are a dying breed and really need supporting.

As you can tell, my love for all things coastal and the oyster theme is the makeup of my logo. Your Next Pearl Awaits is an homage to that oyster theme.

So I love that she took both the love for coastal and the support for southern crafted trades, and brought it home to Savannah.

What is on the shelves

The rule is the whole business. What is in the shop is made in the US, a lot of it by Southern craftsmen. Pottery, kitchen pieces, textiles, the sort of things you would put out rather than pack away.

It reads like a love letter to this part of the country. Not the postcard version. The version where somebody’s hands did the work and you can tell.

Why the shop works

There is a version of shop local that is a bumper sticker. And there is this version, where the sourcing is the entire premise and you can hold the difference.

Prices are what they are when a person made the thing. That is the trade, and it is a fair one. The oyster plate you buy here will outlast four of the other kind, and somebody two states over got paid to make it.

What I look for

I keep a running list of places I send people who are new here, and the list has a pattern I only noticed after a while. None of them are the obvious stops. They are all businesses where a specific person made a specific decision and then held to it.

When somebody asks me what Savannah is like, I am not thinking about the squares. I am thinking about a woman who turned over an oyster dish and decided to do something about it.

If you go

Southern Crafted
114 Bull Street, Savannah, GA 31401
Monday and Thursday through Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday

Hours as published. Small shops shift them, so call ahead if you are making a trip of it.

Go in with a housewarming gift in mind. That is the shop’s sweet spot.

One note if you are moving here

Furnishing a house in a new city is disorienting. You do not know where anything is, so you order it all, and six months later your house looks like a catalog instead of like you.

Slow that part down. Buy the sofa, sure. But leave the small things for the shops you will find once you know the streets. Those are the pieces you will keep.

I’m Nikki Gergacs, a Realtor here in Savannah and along the Georgia coast. If you are relocating and want the local list before you arrive, call me and I will send it over.

This is part of Anchors & Awnings, an ongoing series about the small businesses that hold a place together.

— Nik · 912-378-3427

Your Next Pearl Awaits.

Next Move Real Estate · Licensed in Georgia