Grandma's Silver

Allie Kochinsky

Grandma’s Silver explores the culture of everyday life, from design and interiors to food, tradition, and the rituals that shape how we live. Hosted by Allie Kochinsky, each episode features thoughtful, approachable conversations with designers, historians, and tastemakers, uncovering the meaning behind timeless style and enduring traditions. New episodes every Wednesday.

  1. Thomas Jefferson's Flowers: Reading the Garden with Peggy Cornett

    -2 j

    Thomas Jefferson's Flowers: Reading the Garden with Peggy Cornett

    In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with Peggy Cornett, longtime Curator of Plants at Monticello, former director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and author of Thomas Jefferson's Flowers, to explore gardens as living records of history. Together, they discuss how historic landscapes preserve stories of daily life, seasonal rhythms, beauty, labor, and cultural exchange. Drawing on more than four decades of preserving Thomas Jefferson's botanical legacy, Peggy shares what the flowers cultivated at Monticello reveal about Jefferson's botanical interests, his international network of plant exchanges, and the many people, including enslaved gardeners and laborers, whose knowledge and work shaped the landscape. The detective work behind restoring historic gardens is also explored, along with how historians reconstruct landscapes from letters, archaeological evidence, and plant records, and why heirloom plants can serve as a form of living inheritance. In this episode, they discuss: The inspiration behind Thomas Jefferson's FlowersHow gardens function as living historical documentsJefferson's passion for flowers and botanical exchangeThe people whose labor sustained Monticello's gardensRestoring historic landscapesHeirloom plantsSeasonal rhythms in early AmericaWhat gardens reveal about identity and placeRESOURCES Visit Monticello's website here.Purchase the book on Monticello's site, or on Amazon. If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.

    39 min
  2. Pink Sand Summer with Chassity Evans

    10 juin

    Pink Sand Summer with Chassity Evans

    In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with lifestyle creator and new author Chassity Evans to discuss her debut novel Pink Sand Summer, and the relationship between place, memory, creativity, and storytelling. Known for her thoughtfully curated lifestyle content and love of coastal living, Chassity has spent years creating visual narratives inspired by the places she loves. With Pink Sand Summer, she takes that storytelling a step further, transforming the atmosphere and emotional pull of Harbour Island into a work of fiction. Together, the women explore how places shapes narrative, why summer stories continue to resonate with readers, and how nostalgia functions as both a feeling and a creative tool. Chassity also shares what surprised her most about writing a novel, the challenges of moving from visual storytelling to long-form fiction, and the role memory plays in building characters and emotional depth. In this episode, they discuss: The journey from creator to novelistThe inspiration behind the bookHarbour Island as a creative influencePlace, memory, and storytellingWhy readers are drawn to summer fictionBuilding characters through emotional detailThe emotional power of coastal settingsFor readers who love summer novels, coastal fiction, place-based storytelling, and romance, this episode offers a thoughtful look at how the places we love become part of the stories we tell. RESOURCES: Follow Chassity on Instagram here.Buy the book on Amazon! If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.

    33 min
  3. Inside Charleston’s John Rutledge House Inn

    27 mai

    Inside Charleston’s John Rutledge House Inn

    Charleston is often described by its charm and beauty, but this conversation looks at the city through a different lens: domestic space, hospitality, and the rhythms that shape how people feel inside a place. In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with Stacey Bodnar, Director of Marketing & Public Relations for Charming Inns, of which the John Rutledge House Inn belongs. The pair talk about what it means to operate a historic house as a living environment rather than simply a hotel. Together, they explore how architecture influences behavior, why porches—nay, piazzas—remain powerful social spaces, and how atmosphere can subtly alter our sense of time and connection. From summer mornings and daily rituals to the emotional pacing of historic interiors, this conversation examines why certain places stay with us long after we leave them, and what Charleston reveals about hospitality at its best. Topics covered include: Historic homes as lived environmentsSouthern porch culture and social connectionHospitality as rhthym and ritualAtmosphere, pacing, and memoryWhy summer in Charleston feels distinctRESOURCES: Visit the John Rutledge House Inn's website here.Follow along on Instagram and/or Facebook.Read about Charleston! Start here: www.arcadiapublishing.com/GRANDMILLENNIAL Code: GRANDMILLENNIAL If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.

    38 min
  4. Carried Forward by Hand: Sunhouse Craft and the Future of American Craft

    6 mai

    Carried Forward by Hand: Sunhouse Craft and the Future of American Craft

    In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with Cynthia Main, founder of Sunhouse Craft, for a conversation about tradition, material knowledge, and what it means to carry craft foward today. This episode is part of a special series exploring American craftsmanship inspired by Colonial Williamsburg, created in partnership with the Craft & Forge brand of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Craft & Forge collaborates with contemporary makers whose work reflects the Foundation's mission to preserve historic trades and pass on artisanal knowledge through living practice. Based in Berea, Kentucky, Sunhouse Craft operates as both a working studio and a training environment, dedicated to reviving regional materials and traditional making practices through well-made goods for daily use. Through this collaboration, Cynthia's work draws inspiration from the Historic Area, archival collections, and the legacy of early American craft, while remaining rooted in place and process. Together, Allie and Cynthia explore the philosophy behind making objects meant to last, the role of nature and seasonal materials in shaping craft, and the balance between historic inspiration and contemporary design.  The conversation also centers on Sunhouse Craft's white oak basketry apprenticeship, an initiative supported in part by South Arts, which is working to restore an endangered Appalachian tradition through hands-on training, mentorship, and long-term skill development. This episode offers a thoughtful look at craft as living practice, one sustained not only through objects, but through people, knowledge, and the act of making itself. In this episode, you'll hear: The path into woodworking and traditional craftHow regional materials and seasons shape the workThe influence of Colonial Williamsburg and the Craft & Forge collaborationWhat it takes to rebuild a disappearing craft traditionWhy apprenticeship is essential to preservationThe relationship between function, beauty, and longevity in handmade objects RESOURCES Visit the Sunhouse Craft website here, and follow along on Instagram. And shop the collection here!Take a peek at the work the Craft & Forge brand is doing, and follow along on Instagram. Read about Appalachia! Start here: www.arcadiapublishing.com/GRANDMILLENNIAL Code: GRANDMILLENNIAL If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.

    45 min

À propos

Grandma’s Silver explores the culture of everyday life, from design and interiors to food, tradition, and the rituals that shape how we live. Hosted by Allie Kochinsky, each episode features thoughtful, approachable conversations with designers, historians, and tastemakers, uncovering the meaning behind timeless style and enduring traditions. New episodes every Wednesday.

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