Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Change can be a good thing. It often comes as a result of growth and new opportunities. We are excited about recent changes that have taken place at Southern Accents, specifically within our SA Team. We were thrilled to announce several months ago Kolby’s return! Kolby rejoined the SA Team after a six year hiatus. Managing the showroom, Kolby is available Tuesday through Saturday to help you select the perfect architectural salvage pieces for your next project as well as provide custom quotes for doors and table tops. You can stop by the showroom during regular business hours or give him a call at 877-737-0554.

Visit our wood showroom and let Patrick, Mauldin and Stephen assist you with all your salvaged wood needs!

Another notable change has taken place at our Wood Showroom. John, who many of you have dealt with over the past few years, is no longer with us. John left Southern Accents recently to pursue other ventures. Visit our wood showroom and you will find Patrick, Mauldin or Stephen ready and willing to help you with your wood purchases. If you are looking for reclaimed wood for your floors, walls, ceilings, or any special project, we have a HUGE selection you can browse!! And, we are excited to add farmhouse style table tops to our selection of custom made wood products!

If you’ve never visited our wood showroom, it is located just 1 mile down the road from our main showroom at 250 Janeway Drive in Cullman. Our wood showroom is open to the public during regular business hours. Our two warehouses stay stocked with reclaimed lumber, salvaged barn wood, shiplap, tongue and groove bead board, reclaimed hand hewn and circular sawn beams and salvaged trim. Whether your project is large or small, pay us a visit or give us a call and let us help you with your wood needs!

The Conference On The Front Porch

We are thrilled to announce our participation with The Conference On The Front Porch October 18-19 at The Mill at Plein Air in Taylor, Mississippi. This is the second annual Conference On The Front Porch. The conference aims to explore the significance of the front porch in the American South, both from an architectural, as well as a sociological, perspective. The two day conference explores the origins of the front porch, its role in building and sustaining community, the porch and food, the porch and music, and the porch and its impact on the story-telling tradition in the South. All of these topics and more will be explored. In addition to the lectures and panels, registration includes six meals, a one evening porch concert and a one evening porch play.

The two day conference takes place in a beautiful 12,000 square foot venue built entirely from reclaimed materials and located in the Plein Air neighborhood of Taylor, Mississippi which is a short seven minute drive from Oxford and Ole Miss. Our initial involvement with this conference was through the founder, Campbell McCool. Campbell sourced almost 100% of the salvaged building materials for the venue from Southern Accents. Last year, team member Jason Mauldin was in the area speaking to a class at Ole Miss on the history of architectural elements and represented Southern Accents at the first Conference On The Front Porch. This year SA owner, Garlan Gudger, Jr. will be one of 12 speakers at the highly anticipated event. Garlan will be speaking on the topic of “The Front Porch and Pickin’ Architectural Elements” on Thursday, October 19.

The conference is open to architects, developers, planners, social historians, and lovers of all things porch. Conference schedule, speaker information, as well as ticket purchases can be obtained by visiting theconferenceonthefrontporch.com.

Unlocking the History of Skeleton Keys

Not a day goes by at Southern Accents that someone doesn’t stop in and pick up a skeleton key… sometimes two, three or a whole handful! Many customers are looking to replace a lost key to open their old door. Others are looking for the small keys that will fit the lock on an old antique cabinet while others just seem to have a fascination with antique keys and are looking to add to their collection. And then there are the jewelry makers… the use of skeleton keys in hand crafted jewelry is currently a hot trend. Once again, tapping into our love of history, we did a little research on keys.

The purpose of a skeleton key is obviously to open a lock. Skeleton keys, also known as pass keys, are designed to open numerous locks, most commonly a warded lock. While some believe that a skeleton key derived it’s name because of it’s shape and resemblance to a skull, the name actually comes from the fact that the key is stripped down like a skeleton to it’s most essential parts: a cylindrical shank with a single rectangular tooth. The shank can be solid or a barrel shank which resembles the barrel of a gun.

This photo shows an example of a barrel shank and a solid shank skeleton key.

The first locks and keys were made of wood and can be traced back to Babylon and Egypt. The locks and keys were large, heavy, and impractical. Aside from the weight, the wood locks were susceptible to brut force attacks. The wood devices were eventually replaced when engineers from Ancient Rome improved the design and began using iron and bronze which provided a stronger, more reliable lock. The keys were smaller and the devices became more practical. Little changed in the design of the mechanism until the mid 1800’s when Linus Yale Sr. and Jr. introduced the modern flat keys. Skeleton keys, however, continued to be used in most houses until after WWII when the pin tumbler lock (or Yale lock) took over. You will find that the doors in many homes built in the 1940’s and earlier still have functioning mortise locks operated by skeleton keys.

This heavy iron lock from Germany and oversized skeleton key sits in one of the front windows of our showroom. The large 8.5″ key is shown next to a normal sized skeleton door key.

Our fascination with keys lie far beyond their practical use. Keys unlock more than just doors. There are many Biblical references to keys, including the passage in Revelation 1:18 where Jesus proclaims to hold the keys of death and Hades. You often hear someone refer to their true love as “holding the key to their heart.” Dignitaries are presented with the key to a city as a symbolic gesture of good will. The Gothic trefoil design found in many of the earliest keys is symbolic of the Holy Trinity. Whether a young boy proudly carrying an old skeleton key in his pocket or a woman sporting one around her neck, there seems to be something magical about keys… it is as if the revealing of some mystical treasure or deep dark secret awaits, that only the right key will unlock!

Foster Hall – An Event in Alabama’s History

If you know us at Southern Accents, you know how much we love a good story. When a story comes along that is attached to a piece of architecture and is documented, it’s story is not only validated in written form but helps in preserving a piece of our history. Such is the case with two windows that we recently acquired that has a semi-circular design that once graced the front of Foster Hall Auditorium on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. If you study Alabama History, then you are familiar with the event that took place at the entrance to Foster Auditorium on June 11, 1963. If not, then a short history lesson is in order. On this date, then Governor George C. Wallace, who opposed integration, stood at the entrance of the auditorium in an attempt to block two black students from registering at the University. Governor Wallace was unsuccessful in his attempt and that same day the first two black students enrolled at the University of Alabama. Two years later, one of the students, Vivian Malone, became the first black to receive a degree from UA. Years later, George Wallace apologized for his segregationist views and in October 1996, Vivian Malone Jones was chosen by the George Wallace Family Foundation to be the first recipient of its Lurleen B. Wallace Award of Courage. At the ceremony, Wallace said, “Vivian Malone Jones was at the center of the fight over states’ rights and conducted herself with grace, strength and, above all, courage.” In 2000, the University of Alabama bestowed on Vivian a doctorate of humane letters.

The large windows, which can be seen in photos dated at the time of this event, were later removed from the building to make way for a window air conditioning unit. The windows were crated and stored in a storage building on campus. Years later, that storage area, which was shared by faculty member George Hodgson, along with some of the University carpenters, was scheduled for demolition and had to be cleaned out. It was during this process that the crated windows (shown above) were removed by one of the carpenters and placed at the dumpster. George inquired about the windows and was given permission to take them. The windows were moved to his home garage where they sat for years.

In 2009, renovation of Foster Auditorium began. At that time, Mr. Hodgson offered the windows back to the University. The University turned down the offer stating that all of the units were being replaced with newer, maintenance free windows. Not wanting the windows to end up back in the dumpster, George continued to keep them crated and stored in his garage until a few weeks ago when he approached Southern Accents and asked if we would be interested in them. George offered a letter of authenticity that stated how the windows came to be in his possession along with a copy of the email exchange from 2009 offering the windows back to the University.

The Foster Auditorium event, albeit an ugly part of our history, is history none the less. One of the most important aspects of accurately recording historical events is so we can learn from past mistakes. Having written documentation on any historical item not only preserves the provenance of that item, but transforms a story into fact. We gladly accepted the windows and will use these historical architectural elements to serve as a reminder of an event that eventually lead, not to block entrances, but to open doors.

This photo was taken after 1963 but prior to the renovations of 2009. Air conditioning units can be seen where the arch top windows once were.

Foster Auditorium after the 2009 renovations which included the addition of the Malone-Hood Plaza and Autherine Lucy Clock Tower. The University of Alabama paid tribute to Autherine Lucy Foster, James Hood and the late Vivian Malone Jones, the three African-American students whose enrollment represented UA’s first steps toward desegregation, at the dedication which was held November 3, 2010.

The Crimson White newspaper from 2009 highlights the planned renovations of Foster Auditorium. In the photo you can see the air conditioner units that replaced the windows.

If Opportunity Doesn’t Knock… Build A Door!

If you’ve ever created anything with your own hands, you know how rewarding the end result can be. From decorating a cake, sewing a garment, painting a canvas, sculpting a piece of clay or building a door… it’s not what you create that matters, it’s that you took the opportunity to try the creative “process” that’s important. Stepping back and admiring your finished work brings a fulfilling sense of accomplishment. Even if the finished work has flaws or imperfections, each work is unique because it was hand crafted. Our Southern Accents wood workers always feel a sense of pride with each completed project, and they should. Josh and Roger typically pull out their phones and take a photo of each completed custom piece. Roger takes it one step further… he plans his vacation route each year so that he can stop and see at least one of the doors he has built, that is finished and installed on a customer’s home.

This photo is one that Roger took a few years ago as he traveled to his favorite vacation spot, St. Simons Island. This set of beautiful, double arched entry doors are a custom pair that Roger built for one of our customers. When we build a set of custom doors, whether the customer picks them up or whether we deliver them, they leave our wood shop unfinished. Once the doors are in the owners hands, it is up to them to do the finishing work and installation, so we seldom get to see the fully finished product. While we always admire the beautiful hand work of our completed custom doors, having the opportunity to see the doors fully finished and installed brings about a whole new level of pride!

Roger didn’t have to travel far to see this finished door… it is installed one door down from our showroom!

 

When building custom doors, Roger will keep track of the customers who are within a reasonable driving distance of his yearly vacation itinerary. He plans at least one stop each year to view one of his handiworks! He will stop and knock on the door in hopes that the owner will be home. When he can catch them at home, he explains that he is the one who built their door and will ask to take a photograph.

Artists understand the fact that with each creation, we give a little piece of ourselves. Having an opportunity to hear the owners excitement, love, and appreciation for our creation heightens our reward and sense of accomplishment. Building a custom door by hand is a tedious, time consuming task. Our guys take a tremendous amount of care with each new job and are rightly proud of their work. If you are in the market for a door that is crafted by hand and truly one-of-a-kind, give us a call or stop by the showroom and let us show you what we can offer!

The door on the left is an antique door that we salvaged. The door on the right is a custom door that we built… we mimicked the style of the antique door, creating a new entry door for our customer.

SA Welcomes the Alabama Museums Association

This week we were honored to help welcome members of the Alabama Museums Association to Cullman, Alabama. Members of the Association gathered in Cullman for their annual conference. Southern Accents owner, Garlan Gudger, Jr., met with the participants Sunday night at the St. Bernard Retreat Center. After issuing an official welcome to the crowd, he spoke about the revitalization efforts that have taken place in downtown Cullman in the wake of the 2011 tornados, many of which he has spearheaded. Garlan also spoke about the history of Southern Accents and filled everyone in on recent changes to our big event this fall, Southern Makers. After showing off his JFK door knob from his private collection, he opened the floor for a question and answer session.

We were thrilled to be able to host the reception this week for the Alabama Museums Association.

The conference convened Monday at Wallace State Community College. Early that evening everyone gathered at Southern Accents for cocktail hour before heading to the All Steak for dinner. The evening activities concluded at the Cullman County Museum where everyone enjoyed dessert. Tuesday’s activities took place at the Cullman Chamber of Commerce. According to Kristen Holmes, conference coordinator and District 2 Representative on the AMA Board of Directors, conference participants repeatedly commented about how much they enjoyed being in Cullman. Kristen said, “Garlan’s remarks to the group set the stage for our visit to the historic district of Cullman and the evening reception at Southern Accents, which was certainly a highlight of the event. That reception, which gave us a chance to network while roaming the store, was so unique and special that it will be hard to beat when the conference moves to Tuscaloosa next year!”

Approximately 50 members of the AMA joined us after hours to enjoy a few refreshments during cocktail hour while shopping through our showroom, warehouse and outdoor lots.

We were quite honored to have had the opportunity to speak to members of the Alabama Museums Association as well as host the group at the showroom Monday evening. Having a group of people who are involved throughout the state with protecting pieces of our history, keenly interested in our preservation and restoration efforts, fuels our passion for salvaging architectural elements of historical significance.

Reminiscing

Returning to work last week, we flipped our calendars to the new year and began our annual tradition of “tidying up” the showroom. In between assisting customers, answering phone calls and returning emails, we attempted to do a little house cleaning behind the front counter. It was during this process that we pulled out a drawer of old photos. One by one, as each photo was pulled from the drawer, we began reminiscing about how far this small, family owned business has come. 2017 will celebrate Southern Accents 48th year in business!

 

This year will mark 17 years since Garlan, Jr. returned home to take over the business for his Dad, Garlan, Sr., who founded Southern Accents in 1969. There have been many changes over the years. The showroom itself got an unexpected facelift in 2011 after surviving a horrific day of dangerous tornados that ripped apart Cullman’s downtown area. While Southern Accents online presence was established in 2000, the last few years we have garnered a social media following that numbers in the tens of thousands. In recent years we have expanded our business to include reclaimed wood and have ventured into designing and creating event staging. But, as the business continues to grow and expand in new and exciting areas that were unimaginable 48 years ago, many things remain the same. We have not lost our love and passion for architectural antiques. That love, passed from father to son, is still the core of our business.

As we continued to filter through old photos, we laughed at how much the faces have changed. But in the background of each photo, beautiful architectural relics can be seen. Claw foot tubs, heavily carved doors and mantels, glistening chandeliers, stained glass windows… the same quality of antique relics that started this business 48 years ago still exists today. The only difference is that the relics, along with ourselves, are all a little older!

Southern Accents 2016 – Our Year in Review

Another year has come and gone… but it has been a great one! 2016 has kept us so busy that it seems like only yesterday we were here recapping 2015. This past year started off with a bang as we traveled to New York to design the runway backdrop for our good friend Billy Reid for New York City fashion week. Returning from New York we quickly began a project for Mike Wolfe of American Pickers. We traveled to his home in Tennessee, providing salvaged wood and installation for the floor, ceiling and wall of his motorcycle warehouse. Mike has become a dear friend and we are currently working on other projects for him. Watch American Pickers and you may see Mike wearing his SA t-shirt!!

This past spring we were thrilled to be featured in Garden & Gun Magazine! Our relationship with Garden & Gun further developed this past year as we designed and decorated the G&G Artist Tent at Slossfest for the second year in a row. But, only after another very successful trek to Montgomery for our fourth installment of Southern Makers! We are already excitedly working on Southern Makers 2017 and believe that this year will be our biggest and best show yet, so stay tuned!!

This past fall we were excited to have the opportunity to save over 100 stained glass windows from Central Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama. During this salvage mission we discovered a time capsule tucked away in the center of a cornerstone. The cornerstone and it’s contents will be presented back to Central Baptist Church this spring during their anniversary celebration.

October was a busy month as we traveled to Florence, Alabama for Billy Reid’s Shindig No. 8.While famed chef John Besh catered the event, Blackberry Farms Brewery provided their award winning beer as we were in charge of the set design and decorations for the annual event hosted by designer Billy Reid. We also started work on one of our largest projects to date at The Westin Hotelin Nashville, Tennessee.

To round out the year, for the first time in the history of Southern Accents, we closed the store during what is one of our regular business days so that our entire team could attend the Retailer of the Year Awards luncheon in Birmingham. Southern Accents was awarded the Silver distinction in our category. 2016 has been an exciting and successful year, but we know that without our customers, none of what we do would be possible. Whether we are patching a door, undertaking a large design project or preparing for an event like Southern Makers, it is only through the support and patronage of our customers that makes any of it possible. We would like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU for allowing us to do what we love!

Make sure you are following all of our projects via our social media accounts, as well as this blog. We are looking ahead to another exciting year in 2017 and would not want you to miss anything!!!

Merry Christmas!

2016 has been another banner year for Southern Accents! We would like to say a huge thank you to all our customers! We appreciate your business as well as your shared passion for rescuing, restoring, documenting and protecting architectural treasures. From the entire SA TEAM… we wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY and BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!

Holiday Hours:
Southern Accents will be closed December 24 – 26 for Christmas and December 31 – January 2 for New Years. If you are traveling from out of town during the holidays, please give us a call first to make sure we are open.

The Value of a Story

Every architectural piece that is rescued by Southern Accents has a story and a value. The relationship between the value and the story are synonymous with one another, but are inherently different. The “story” tells of past events in the elements life or in other words, it’s evolution. After researching the story of an architectural fragment, Southern Accents also asks additional questions such as: the age, the maker, the condition, the rarity, the provenance. Combining the “story” with the researched facts of the architectural  remnant, Southern Accents can give a true “value” of the rescued item.

Salvaged iron window lintel from New York City

It is exciting for us when all the questions that are asked when finding the value and the story align to produce the highest caliber in recognizing an architectural  piece of historical significance. But this past week we obtained a true piece of architectural history from New York City. If you have been by the NYC Grand Central Terminal in the last year, you would have noticed that across the street, at One Vanderbilt Ave., there is a huge demolition / construction project in progress by the developer, SL Green. The project consists of constructing a new tower that will be taller than the Empire State building! Amazing enough in that fact alone, but the history of this monument goes much deeper! As the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family, Cornelius Vanderbilt, was the original developer of this land, where the cast iron lintel that we acquired, embellished a window of this now demolished building. The railroad/shipping tycoon, Mr. Vanderbilt, also is famed for developing the adjacent property – the Grand Central Station and Terminal. Along with all of those interesting facts, this rescued relic also shares the same architect that designed the Grand Central Station, Warren & Wetmore.

As the skyline of Midtown changes, architectural fragments, like this iron lintel, will be one of the only ways our future generations will be able see the sheer power and the bold masculinity of these destroyed historic buildings that once stood on some of the most prominent corners in our nation. The lintel is in mint condition and has aged perfectly with its crackle patina. Measuring 39″ wide x 8.25″ deep x 20.5″ tall, this was one of a few pieces saved off the original building before the demolition was finished. You can view this magnificent piece here in our showroom or take a look at it online. You’ll find it listed on our Ironworks page at sa1969.com. We #digmygig saving one historic treasure at a time!