We see your cursor hovering over the “buy now” button. Don’t you click that! Jeff Bezos doesn’t need your money. Yes, we know Black Friday and the holiday season are both coming right up, but skip the deluge of cardboard boxes and turn your gaze local, instead. We Memphians know that this city is blessed with an abundance of both creative and entrepreneurial spirits, and there’s just so dang much cool stuff that they’re producing on a daily basis. Our 2023 alternative shopping guide features plenty of unique creations, from up-and-coming fashion designers, to glassware grotesqueries, to your next board game fix. So put those dollars back into local pockets and check out this year’s roundup of Memphis goods.
#JaydaStitchedIt
If you’re looking for a trendy way to include your favorite memories in your clothing, or pay homage to your alma mater or sports team, then look no further than a custom item designed by Memphis designer Jayda Stotts. The 23-year-old fashion designer is a graduate from Clark Atlanta University, and her work has been worn by celebrities to red carpets and events. Notable names include GloRilla, Gloss Up, and K Carbon. It’s been hard to track down who exactly started the tapestry set trend, but when Stotts saw it take over social media, she knew she wanted to put her own twist on it. She artistically combines the use of collages, photos, and other elements to create high quality hoodies, pants, and two-piece sets.
Shortly after posting a few sets, Stotts’ inboxes would be flooded with requests for sets for graduation pictures, homecomings, birthdays, and more. “I love doing them because they bring joy to people when they get a custom design for a loved one,” says Stotts. “It makes me feel good to know I made someone’s day with something they can have forever.” Orders can be placed by contacting Stotts at 901-445-0509, or by visiting her website: jaydastitchedit.myshopify.com. — Kailynn Johnson
Prometheus Glassworks
“I saw glass as a young kid, and it looked like some kind of arcane magic,” says Dale Strand, the artist behind Prometheus Glassworks. “I decided I’m gonna figure out how to cast those spells.”
When you think about glass art, it tends to be either your grandma’s precious tchotchkes or hyper-expensive museum abstractions. “We’re working in a more sculptural direction. That’s the next frontier,” Strand says.
His creations can be abstract, like his Christmas ornament covered in eyeballs, or character-based, like the friendly, grinning cyclops shot glass. And they are cozy, in their own way. “I think it’s kind of creepy-cool or creepy-cute because they’re not like totally grotesque, but they’re, you know, creepy enough. That’s my customers right there.”
The self-taught Strand makes his glass monsters in his garage. “I’ve got a kiln and a bench mounted torch. So it’s not quite as big of an operation as like Dale Chihuly, who would do that big, hot shop glass.”
His artistic inspirations are also not what you would expect from an artist with the skill to make a realistic strawberry and delicate mushrooms out of glass. “Frank Frazetta is one of those fantasy art guys from the ’70s. It’s the stuff you would see painted on the side of a van, but more fine-arty.”
Find his creations on Instagram (@PrometheusGlassworks) and buy directly from Prometheus Glassworks on Etsy. — Chris McCoy
Abducktion
Prepare for intergalacDuck shenanigans! Anyone who knows me knows that I love ducks. So when, in late 2022, I caught wind of Very Special Games’ mash-up of sci-fi mischief and the famous waterfowl, I thought, “Here’s a game made specifically for me.”
Abducktion is, as of now, the latest creation by Very Special Games founders Evan Katz and Josh Roberts (you may have read about some of their other games, like Charty Party, in the Flyer’s pages before). And it’s a deviation from their normal card-based designs, with a whole board’s worth of miniature duck figurines and a large UFO comprising the pieces.
And, guys, the whole point of the game is getting your ducks in a row. Genius. You’ll draw a card from the deck and try to arrange several multi-colored ducks on your board into a specific pattern to get points, upon which said ducks will be whisked away by the central spaceship. Where do they go? Who cares, you got points!
It’s a fairly simple game, like their others, perfect for a quick get-together of 20 or so odd minutes. We busted it out for the first time at Memphis Made, with plenty of folks wandering over to marvel at the cute lil’ hand-painted birds. A friend borrowed it for a family trip, and reported that their young cousins couldn’t stop playing. So if you’re looking to pick up a new game, why not support a local creator at the same time?
Order Abducktion ($39.99 for the base game/$44.99 for base game + expansion) at veryspecialgames.com. — Samuel X. Cicci
Roses, Dust & Ashes Oracle Deck
Some choices are best left to fate, and most, like your holiday shopping, are best left to a bit of reflection and soul-searching. And for the person in your life who is all about reflection and soul-searching, this oracle deck crafted by artist Stacey Williams-Ng just may be the perfect gift. It’s also a great gift for the taphophile, or cemetery lover, in your life, she adds. After all, this oracle deck of 36 hand-painted cards pays homage to Victorian mourning symbolism through hand-painted illustrations of cemetery symbols from around the world, with even a few from Memphis’ very own Elmwood Cemetery.
As a graphic designer, Williams-Ng’s interest in symbolism led her to volunteering at Elmwood Cemetery, where she’s headed tours on Victorian mourning symbolism for the past few years. “Basically, I wanted to take those meanings and translate them to these cards,” Williams-Ng says. “The cards, believe it or not, are not macabre at all. There’s only two cards in there that are ‘sad.’ It’s not like a whole card deck about weeping and crying and sadness at all.”
The deck is truly unique and high-quality, comes in a velvet-lined coffin box, and includes a pocket-sized book with a full glossary of over 100 cemetery symbols, perfect for cemetery excursions. Plus, the World Divination Association named the deck the Best Indie Deck of 2023.
“It’s been amazing selling oracle decks in general, honestly,” Williams-Ng says. “The feedback I get is actually way more profound than I ever expected. People talk about how much it’s touched their lives. It’s a spiritual product, so it’s incredibly rewarding that it touches people on a pretty profound level.”
Purchase the Roses, Dust & Ashes Oracle Deck ($60) at lapantherestudio.com. — Abigail Morici
Black and Beale
Growl towel? Check. Favorite Memphis beer tee? Check. Bumper sticker with that Memphis hashtag that was so fire for, like, five minutes? Check. Something with the Pancho’s guy? Yep.
What do you get for that Memphian who seems to have every Memphis thing? Let me introduce you to Black and Beale. It’s the most Memphis-centric dry goods shop you need to know about, especially if you — or someone you love — just can’t stop with the city pride.
But Black and Beale’s stuff is not stylized retreads of the Grizz logo, the bridge, the Pyramid, and all that. There’s a Memphis City Schools (remember that?) enamel pin, for example, and one of a Supreme from Jerry’s Sno Cones. Memphis slang is on display, too. A lunch box reads, “You hungry, ain’t it, mane?” A T-shirt logo looks like Stranger Things’ title font but reads, “We ain’t scared hoe.”
Not being from Memphis originally, there’s a ton of stuff on the site I do not understand but still like. An enamel pin of a hand is “a throwback to the good ol’ days of Memphis checkin’ and Memphis City Schools butter cookies.” What? And — just in time for the holidays — is a special Juicy J sweater reading, simply, “Yeah Ho Ho Ho.” (I had to ask a co-worker.)
Sha’ Hughes is the founder of Black and Beale. She says she’s “fueled by my passion for all things Memphis, Tennessee,” and considers herself a “Memphis aficionado.” Just looking at her website, I have to agree. — Toby Sells
Pearl’s Puff Parlor
The ritual of smoking deserves a certain sophistication, do you agree? There’s nothing better than an elegant water pipe to enhance whatever you puff and there’s no finer place to acquire one than at Pearl’s Puff Parlor (look through their wares at pearlspuffparlor.com). Miss Pearl takes antique pieces from around the globe and transforms them into alluring and singular water pipes that your mother would admire (and maybe steal, so you should get one for her as well).
Pearl’s vintage wares are steeped in history and lovingly repurposed to provide a glowing experience for those who inhale. It will be easy to appreciate the wide and pleasing variety of styles and sizes from the small and lovely (bud vases, of course) to larger decanters in the event you have guests over. And should you or your company prefer other methods of puffery, Pearl also has attractive holders for rolled cigarettes and splendid ashtrays since — as your mother would insist — neatness counts.
So, for the discerning smoker who likes nice things to use as well as to look at, browse the remarkable collection at Pearl’s Puff Parlor. And enjoy the experience. — Jon W. Sparks
Stacy Kiehl’s Toys
Stacy Kiehl doesn’t carry a big sack and say, “Ho, ho, ho.” But, like that guy in red, she’s in the toy game. In a way.
Among her works are brightly colored paintings and sculptures of “old vintage wind-up toys,” says Kiehl, a Memphis artist. “I’ve always collected toys. And there are a lot of toys that are a little too collectible for me that I can’t ever find. So, I’ll find photos of them so I can paint them and have them.” Among the nostalgic vintage toy subjects in her paintings are tin wind-up toys of people on motorcycles and scooters.
Kiehl, who moved to Memphis from Los Angeles, also paints the old tin cowboys on horse toys, but, “Anytime they have guns,” she says, “I paint a carrot in their hand instead of a gun because it seems like a healthier choice.”
She’s made actual wooden push toys with wheels, including one of an elephant and another of a dog. “I have some wooden dice that I painted and bouquets of wooden flowers.”
And she made a two-foot-tall Lone Ranger doll out of papier-mâché and wood.
Kiehl paints many other subjects, from cats to blue suede shoes. Her paintings range from six-by-six inches to 12-by-12 inches, but she also paints larger works. She also makes key chains and stickers, which “make good stocking stuffers.”
Beginning November 24th, Kiehl will hold a sale of her works — with free shipping — on her website: stacykpaints.com. — Michael Donahue