Vessel Mag

11/26/2025

Earlier this month, our region lit up the night at the inaugural awards for the of the American South—and we’re thrilled to see so many familiar and deserving names on the list. ✨

Swipe through to revisit the restaurants we’ve featured in whose vision, craft, and pursuit of flavor continue to shape the South’s culinary story.

.gvl

📸 by ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

10/01/2025

Food, wine, and story woven together with soul. ✨

We were honored to experience Euphoria Greenville’s American Grocery Revival at Topsoil Restaurant, one of our longtime partners and a steadfast champion of Southern creativity. Moments like these remind us what it means to savor the South.

📸 by The Powerly Agency

Send a message to learn more

09/14/2025

Indie Craft Parade is a celebration of craft, creativity, and community. ✨

Now in its 16th year, the premier arts festival showcases the talent of makers from near and far.

In our fall issue, Angie Toole Thompson writes about the beloved experience, co-founded by three intrepid friends in 2010, whose vision now draws legions to Judson Mill District to shop the wares of more than 100 artists and artisans from the South and beyond.

Take it all in via the link below, and experience the festival for one more day—Sunday, September 14—until 4 p.m.

📸 courtesy of Twenty Two West; Field Art; Knook Ceramics; Avryn Co.

https://www.vsslmag.com/stories/craft-culture-mtbp7

08/30/2025

A home’s peeling paint or a flower’s wilting petals capture both fading beauty and fleeting memory in Jared Small's photorealistic paintings. His dense, stirring dreamscapes have been exhibited widely in his native Tennessee and are represented by David Lusk Gallery, the renowned art space in Memphis and Nashville.

We selected Jared’s work as the cover art for our spring 2025 issue. Read Angie Toole Thompson's story on our website at the link below.

Portrait of the artist by Sarah Voigt Photography

https://www.vsslmag.com/stories/minds-eye

08/28/2025

In our summer issue, award-winning poet (and Mississippi's former poet laureate), essayist, and University of Mississippi professor Beth Ann Fennelly shares a few of the books on her current rotation.

Round out the season with these reads—and don't miss Fennelly's upcoming feature about Rowan Oak in our fall issue, out in early September!

✍️ by Kathryn Davé

08/15/2025

Splinter Creek. Mic drop. 🎤

"One could say that contemporary architecture closes the gap between our interior self and exterior world. In a sense, this type of design relishes the resonance of emptiness, allowing nature to speak. It’s a kind of co-creation—and once we experience it, the peace that follows is profound."

Read more from Blair Knobel about her transformative visit at the link below.

📸 courtesy of Splinter Creek

https://www.vsslmag.com/stories/fertile-ground

08/07/2025

“It was the first time the director looked at me and said, ‘How would you do it? I hired you because I like you, and I like what you’re bringing to this role, so why don’t you just show me how you would do it?’ That was so novel to me.”

Broadway star MK Morrissey will sing classics from her roles as Elphaba in WICKED The Musical and Janis in Mean Girls Musical during the South Carolina New Play Festival's Broadway Cabaret this Sunday, August 10. The festival, which kicks off tonight, spotlights fresh work by big theater talent. The readings are free to the public, but you must reserve a ticket online.

Grab a copy of our summer issue at the link below for Abby Moore Keith's full interview with Mary Kate—and see you this weekend!

https://www.vsslmag.com/magazine/p/vessel-magazinesingle-issue-summer-2025

08/05/2025

Bright colors, joyful style, and the kind of accessories that instantly lift your mood—The Tiny Tassel is a celebration of charm and creativity.

Founded by Mimi Striplin, the brand’s handmade tassel earrings, cheerful garments, and playful details reflect her love of all things happy and heartfelt.

We loved getting to know Mimi in our summer issue. Grab a copy to read the story by Kathryn Davé, and if you find yourself on Spring Street in Charleston, don’t miss her sweet boutique.✨

📸 courtesy of The Tiny Tassel

https://www.vsslmag.com/magazine/p/vessel-magazinesingle-issue-summer-2025

07/26/2025

Traci Wright Martin - Art Studio deals in dualities.

Realism and abstraction; structure and spontaneity; what’s seen and what’s felt. Her work—charcoal realism disrupted by mixed-media symbolism—balances the fixed with the fluid.

“The art that impacts me the most comes from a place of tension and contrast,” she notes. “The portrait is at the center of the work.”

Read Angie Toole Thompson's story about our cover artist—grab a copy of the Summer 2025 issue at the link below:

https://www.vsslmag.com/magazine

07/18/2025

There are hotels that are unapologetically blasé. They tell a lackluster story. We trust these brands to deliver high on function, low on inspiration.

FORTH, a new contemporary hotel and social club in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward, eats lackluster for lunch. It demands reverence. It’s an intersection of modern design, European influence, and vintage touches. Thanks to the elevated experiences at FORTH, no two days feel the same.

Read about Blair Knobel's memorable stay at the link below.

📸 by Matthew Williams Photography and Andrew Lee, courtesy of FORTH

https://www.vsslmag.com/stories/high-marks2

07/09/2025

✨ Summer evenings like these. ✨

Our Summer Fête at The Rutherford gathered friends and partners to toast the season with beauty and intention. Guests sipped cocktails by Southern Libations Events, admired florals by Katelyn Pinner Studio and textiles by Teresa Roche, sampled charcuterie from Curean, enjoyed music by TJ Jeter, and delighted in special bites by Chef Michael Izzard.

A heartfelt thank you to Shelley Cade for her thoughtful event production, Traci Wright Martin - Art Studio for our cover art, and to everyone who made the evening glow.

📸: Bonfire Visuals

07/06/2025

Femi Oyediran, sommelier and co-founder of Graft Wine Shop—a community-driven, sustainably focused wine shop and bar in uptown Charleston—shares his beat-the-heat bottles for summer. ☀️ Check out our latest Substack dispatch via the link below.

📸: Lizzy Rollins

https://vsslmag.substack.com/p/chill-factor