Join me this Saturday, April 27th from 1-3pm at Sweet Combs of Honey to taste and purchase “Miss Anne’s Secret Recipe” Pimento Cheese. $5 for a tub (approximately 8 ounces).
In Downtown Lavonia you’ll find a magical store where you can buy local honey and local art – award-winning photography, forged knives, camera lamps, pottery and jewelry… if you can imagine it, you can probably find it at Sweet Combs of Honey.
Co-owner and Lavonia native, LaDonna Andrews, returned to her hometown after roaming the world for forty years setting-up trade shows, hiking and biking through Europe. While hiking and biking she discovered local art in homes, hostels and small hotels she frequented, kindling her love of art, artists and especially those who needed a place to showcase their talents. She and her sister, Lori, opened Sweet Combs of Honey two years ago to provide a venue for the local, undiscovered artists of NE Georgia. A venue with a warm, welcoming home to exhibit and sell their art.
In addition to the plethora of fascinating art pieces, you will also find a “Honey Bar”, filled with honeys from Southern producers. You’ll also find specialty food items such as Apple Butters, Righteous Beef Jerky, Stone Ground Grits, Moonshine Jelly, Marmalades and Pepper Jellies. You’ll also find local beauty products like goat soap, honey soap and lotions.
I’ve spent a few hours the last two days exploring the offerings on display at SCOH and have chosen many that I, personally, found appealing, beautiful with many pushing art’s envelope in interesting and unique ways. I chose to share with you the following art and artists… these were my choices alone. I know I failed to include many wonderful artists and for that, I apologize.
This “Tree House” is the creation of Rachel Felice of Bowman, Georgia. This piece touched my heart; the whimsy and the detail with ladders and terraces had me imagining children running to and fro and frolicking in the nooks and crannies. Since I am writing this, I can say, this is my favorite piece in the store. Were I not saving my dollars for my summer trip to Europe…
This oil by Ralph Raedisch is done on a drop cloth that he dried on the back of his pick-up. It is attached to tomato stakes. LaDonna has it displayed high on a wall and from a distance it appears to be shelves filled with books… look at it closely…
Jennie Evans of Lavonia loves to create paintings on tin; tin from the roof of her father’s house making the pieces even more special and close to her heart. The piece here is a commissioned piece and Jennie will gladly create a painting for you.
Jack Bostrom takes scraps of cloth which he wraps around plastic tubing, coils it and then sews the tubing together to make his “quilt baskets”.
A recent transplant to our little part of heaven, Candy Dallis creates coasters and other ceramic pieces made using gels and silicone. The subtle colors of these coasters caught my eye.
Denise Smith of Lavonia teaches art at Carnesville Elementary and creates her pottery to raise funds for the summer mission to Alaska with other members of First Baptist Church of Lavonia. My father was pastor there from 1978 to 1995, which is how I finally ended up in Lavonia five years ago.
Gerald White of Hartwell, hand turns the handles of these knives and then sends them out to have the blade polished and sharpened.
These spoon bracelets are created by JoBeth Guest of Hartwell who travels the South searching antique stores for sterling silverware to make these fanciful pieces. She also creates necklaces from forks.
Lavonia resident Jimbo Henson forges knives from railroad nails. He teaches forging at the Downtown Gazebo in Lavonia.
His younger brother, Clayton Henson, cuts and sews leather into beautiful, fashionable handbags.
Award-winning Lavonia photographer Judy Hulsey attracts many of her subjects into her yard with tasty morsels of seeds. She also has a suite of canvas-mounted photographs of Notre Dame from a trip to Paris currently on display at SCOH.
Lady Bug Creations of Lavonia creates tea towels dancing with water-colored fruits, vegetables and flowers.
These books are hand-carved by Cheryl Giacolone. Fascinating and a reflection of patience I can only dream of having.
Lavonia’s own Wonder Woman, Linda Carter, created this keepsake box using clay which she cures in her oven. She and her husband recently moved from the North Georgia mountains. She also created a claymation chess set that she calls a “Farmhouse Chess Set”. A unique take on a serious game.
I’ve send some interesting lamps in my day, but I have never seen a lamp incorporating a camera into the finished product. Well, at SCOH, you can find three. I apologize that I failed to get the artist’s name, but he’s the only one creating camera lamps in Lavonia.
Now, who doesn’t need an alligator head? You can find your very own at SCOH courtesy of the talents of local sculpture Wendy Wiggins.
You can buy mason jar fruit fly traps… after 30+ years on the West Coast, I was surprised by the fruit flies assembling at the sink drains in our house. From discussions, I learned this happens every year when the weather warms… not my favorite part of living in The South.
April 13th, Lavonia’s Downtown Development Authority, with SCOH, hosted its first Art Walk and many of these artists participated and displayed their art at the gazebo.
And… LaDonna wore shoes… well flip flops… close enough. Here she is with Lavonia’s favorite citizen, Margaret Ayers, who has worked at Northeast Georgia Bank for more than seventy years and contributes her entire salary to helping people and charitable groups throughout Franklin County… we’re lucky to have her… my mom and dad dearly loved her… as do all of us.
These are just a few of the artists who call Sweet Combs of Honey home. SCOH is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm. LaDonna and the artists offer various classes from time-to-time. Many of these artists will also have booths at the Lavonia Spring Festival on Saturday May 4th.
Downtown Lavonia has a lot going on… in addition to SCOH, Chad Brown bar-b-ques every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the BBQ Barn next to the depot, Vintage Owl offers eye-catching accessories for women (and farm-fresh eggs), Morgan’s Hardware has everything you need to fix up the house and a Liar’s Club to make recommendations, 211 has the best cakes in town, we have two Italian restaurants side-by-side (with the same menus) and you can enjoy a cup of custom-roasted coffee or a wine flight tasting at Southern Alpaca.
Lavonia’s Chamber of Commerce will also host a fall festival and this year we will host our first Renaissance Faire at the Lavonia Park. I’ll be there sampling cheddar which originated in England and selling “Cheese on a Stick”. For more information on events in Lavonia, visit the Downtown Development FB page or call Vivian or Barbara at 706 356 1926.
Once a month with Scouts and Cellar “Clean-Crafted” Wine rep, Heidi Mills, I co-host a wine and cheese tasting event at SCOH. It is a private event, by invitation only. If you want to join us for our next event on May 7th, call LaDonna at 706 356 2398 for details and to reserve your seat. I’ll have cheese available for both purchase and to order and Heidi will have wines to order for delivery to you.
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, 
cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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