When “southern rustic meets sleek modern” you get Southern Sunshine. Elegant, original & rustic perfection, these ladies know how to decorate your home with wooden pieces.
3 Questions
Why did you turn to your handmade craft into a business?
It all actually started by making a coffee table for a friend that wanted a “custom” table that fit their needs in their living room and home design. After creating the table, constant encouragement of friends family, Southern Sunshine launched on Etsy with that same coffee table. Since then, it’s been an idea that evolved right into a small business with a story that’s still being written every single day.
One of the things we decided to do from the start was to take designs and styles that people liked in the higher end stores but offer them to most of the customers that can’t pay that top dollar price. We also saw a need for people that went into a store where there were only 2 options versus having something custom made that fit into someones home, decor and style. So our focus is to bring popular styles that are affordable to everyone that can be customized to fit their needs.
What inspires your craft?
A big reason this shop went from an idea to a business is that my middle sister Rachel passed away in 2012 and she had always talked about wanting to make stuff, have a storefront to sell it and then have a bakery on the backside of the store. She would have loved being a part of this and that’s why we named our most popular coffee table the “Rachela.” So every time someone orders one it’s makes us smile even more and confirms why we love what we’re doing. And hey, maybe a bakery will be next!
Do you have a favorite memory surrounding your craft, company of customers?
We have so many since day one but I think one of the best (and funniest) is when we were contacted by Country Living Magazine about a spread they were doing in their June issue with Miranda Lambert. We had created a custom order for a lady that wanted a wood moose wall light for her sons room and after we did it, we decided to start selling them on the shop.
An editor from CLM contacted us on Etsy and at first we thought “there’s no way, this is a joke right?” So we wrote them back and sure enough the girl sent over information and from there our wood moose wall light was featured in the magazine that June. It was just that feeling of seeing one our products in a magazine that was such an amazing feeling that we’ll never forget.
Keep In Touch
Instagram: @SouthernSunshineShop
Shop: Southern-Sunshine.com
