Shop local this holiday season and give gifts they can't find anywhere else. See where.
With more and more people opting to do their holiday shopping online, gifts can start to feel a bit impersonal. Read on to find out where you can get some Mississippi-made gifts they won't be able to find on Amazon.
Pickenpaugh, Madison
Robert Pickenpaugh has been running Pickenpaugh Pottery and Gallery in Madison for 50 years. Locals know his pottery well. His ceramic flowers can be seen dotted around town in front of businesses and yards.
Pickenpaugh has a dedication to his art that radiates through his pieces. With most potters today buying premade clay and glazes, Pickenpaugh makes everything from scratch in his studio, which is connected to his shop and house in downtown Madison.
Around the holiday season, the ceramic flowers that Pickenpaugh and his daughter Merry Cline Pickenpaugh make are popular gifts. Pickenpaugh also said the ceramic Santas his wife Merry makes in the downstairs studio are another popular holiday item.
Pickenpaugh, who grew up in Jackson since the age of three, initially began his studies as a photojournalist but took a pottery class in college and fell in love with it. After spending a few years in the 1960s as a traveling children’s art teacher in Mississippi, he earned a master's degree in pottery from Ole Miss.
He bought an old antique store in Madison in the 1970s and has been selling his and his family’s pottery from it ever since. The attached studio resides in an old Methodist church. It’s original windows connect the studio to the shop.
Pickenpaugh, who turns 80 this December, has no plans of retiring. Pottery, he said, doesn’t make him rich, but it brings him joy. It’s not something essential for people to buy like groceries, he said, but it’s something fun.
Customers at Pickenpaugh can get free gift wrapping this year and an ornament made by Kathy and Mark Wall, who work in the studio as well.
Two Mississippi Museums Store, Jackson
The Two Mississippi Museum store might not be something you would automatically think of for holiday shopping, but it has a large collection of Mississippi-made items that would make perfect gifts.
Local items include jewelry, ceramics and jams from companies like Southern Sisters Gourmet, Delta Blues Pecan Oil, Wheelers Pecans and more. The shop also sells handmade creations from JR Webb, who studied under Pickenpaugh. Customers can also pick up a Mississippi classic: cheese straws from Mississippi Cheese Straw Company.
Edwina Fowler, who has worked in the store for three months, said there hasn't been a lot of holiday shopping yet, but there have been some events that have brought in customers looking for unique creations. Fowler said a lot of people don't seem to know about the store, but they have some really great gifts. She expects the holiday shopping to pick up as the season continues.
Swell-o-phonic, Jackson
Located in the Fondren district, Swell-o-phonic sells unique creations that cater directly to the Jackson community.
The skateboard shop also sells Project Chane merchandise, which is made in the local Studio Chane. Shirts, mugs and magnets are among items with Jackson-based designs. One shirt says, "Everybody vs. Jackson". Another says, "Jackson as all get out."
Other shirts depict illustrations of well-loved Jackson restaurants like Walker's Drive In.
Drew Mellon, who has worked at Swell-o-phonic for 14 years, said mugs are particularly popular during the holidays. Many people will get a Jackson-themed mug and pair it with coffee from a local coffee shop like The Bean, which sits feet away from Swell-o-phonic.
These Jackson-themed and often humorous (there's one shirt that says "Boil Water Alert", a familiar phrase to any Jackson resident) creations are perfect gits for a Mississippi native.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Shop local this holiday season, give unique hand crafted gifts
