Grandma's Silver

Allie Kochinsky

4.5 (8)
Arts
Updated Weekly

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.

4d ago

The Story of Red Land Cotton: Family Legacy and Heirloom Textiles

As part of the Grandma's Silver conversation series surrounding American Craftsmanship with Colonial Williamsburg's Craft & Forge brand, this conversation explores the journey of American cotton with Red Land Cotton, particularly what it means to preserve domestic textile manufacturing. Anna Brakefield, co-founder, shares how a visit to Colonial Williamsburg inspired a collaboration with Craft & Forge, translating historic textile patterns into a collection designed for modern homes. Along the way, learn why everyday household linens were once heirlooms, what has been lost as textile production moved overseas, and why craftsmanship, stewardship, and quality still matter in everyday objects. In this episode: The story behind Red Land Cotton and its family farm in AlabamaThe journey from seed to sheetWhy American textile manufacturing mattersHistoric linens and heirloom beddingThe collaboration with Colonial Williamsburg's Craft & ForgeThe relationship between craftsmanship and preservationResources: Visit Red Land Cotton's website here.Follow along on Instagram and/or Facebook.Read about the collaboration and shop. If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
Jul 1

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.
Jun 24

Summerville, SC: The Birthplace of Sweet Tea

This week, Allie Kochinsky virtually travels to Summerville, South Carolina, a historic Lowcountry town that proudly calls itself the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea." At the center of the conversation is the town's Sweet Tea Trail, a self-guided experience connecting local businesses, history, food, and community through one of the South's most iconic traditions. But this episode isn't simply about a beverage; it's about hospitality as identity. About preserving small-town character in a changing South. About tourism rooted in storytelling rather than spectacle. And about why certain traditions, even simple ones, continue to hold emotional power. Allie, joined by Cassie Ford, Director of Tourism, explores the history of Summerville, the cultural mythology surrounding sweet tea, and what local traditions reveal about the places we call home. RESOURCES: Take a visit to the Summerville website here.Follow along on Facebook and/or Instagram.Learn more about the Sweet Tea Trail! If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
Jun 17

Lycette Designs on Stitching Tradition

In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky is joined by Jessica Chaney, founder of Lycette Designs, for a conversation on needlepoint as more than just a pastime, but a practice rooted in patience, memory, and home. Together, they explore why this traditional craft is finding new relevance today, and what it offers in a culture that often prioritizes speed and convenience. From heirloom pillows to hand-stitched canvases, needlepoint occupies a unique space, both decorative and personal, shaped as much by the process as the finished piece. Jessica discusses the quiet discipline of making something by hand, how these objects evolve over time, and why they so often become part of a home's story. RESOURCES Shop Lycette Designs online.Plan a trip to the store(s).Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and/or Pinterest. If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
Jun 10

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.
Jun 3

The Sentiment of Objects with Brittany Shepard

In this episode, Allie Kochinsky is joined by Brittany Shepard, founder of The Sentimental Decorator and co-host of The Sentimental Twist, for a conversation on what she calls storykeeping, the practice of weaving memory, meaning, and personal history into the everyday rhythms of home. Together, the two explore the quiet power of ordinary rituals: setting the table without occasion, using heirlooms instead of saving them, and gathering in ways that feel lived-in rather than performed. Brittany shares how her perspective on home was shaped by the women who raised her, and how continuing their traditions through objects and simple acts of hospitality has become a way of carrying their presence forward. Brittany and Allie also talk about the difference between hosting and hospitality, the emotional weight objects can hold, and why repetition rather than reinvention is often what creates a true sense of home. RESOURCES: Visit The Sentimental Decorator website here.Follow Brittany on Instagram. Follow Brittany's podcast! If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
May 27

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.
May 13

Bushel of Prints: Pattern, Memory, and the Ritual of Everyday Design

In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky speaks with the founder of Bushel of Prints, a studio specializing in illustrated wrapping paper and printed goods inspired by memory, pattern, and everyday storytelling. The conversation explores how even ephemeral, everyday materials like wrapping paper can carry meaning through design. It considers how pattern becomes a form of visual language, and how illustration can transform ordinary places and objects into part of personal and cultural rituals. Together, they discuss the relationship between design and memory, the emotional role of gifting and presentation, and how small-scale creative work can shape the way we experience everyday life. This episode looks at pattern not as decoration, but as a way of marking time, memory, and connection through design. RESOURCES: Visit the Bushel of Prints website here.Follow along on Instagram.Read about the Lowcountry! 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.

4.5

out of 5

8 Ratings

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.

Creator

Allie Kochinsky
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

104
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Allie Kochinsky
Show Website

Grandma's Silver

Design

Design

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Design

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Home & Garden

Home & Garden

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Design

Design

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Food

Food

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Design

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Food

Food

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