Grandma's Silver

Allie Kochinsky

4.6 (9)
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.

5h ago

Celebration FL: Designing a Community from Scratch

Can you design a community, or does community have to grow on its own? When Disney developed Celebration, Florida in the 1990s, the vision extended beyond beautiful homes and charming streets. Inspired by traditional American town planning and New Urbanism, Celebration was created as a walkable community where architecture, public spaces, and everyday life might naturally foster stronger human connection. In this episode of Grandma's Silver, we look beyond the headlines and nostalgia to explore what Celebration, Florida has become over the past three decades. Allie Kochinsky is joined by Kathleen Sipio, the Executive Director of the Celebration Foundation, to discuss how traditions take root when a town has no historic roots, why recurring community rituals matter, and what it takes to transform a neighborhood of strangers into a place where people genuinely feel they belong. We also explore the Foundation's work in strengthening community through arts, education, volunteerism, scholarships, and civic engagement. In this episode: The origins and vision behind Celebration, Florida and Disney's town planning.Can architecture encourage connection and encourage bonding?Why traditions and recurring events help brand-new communities thrive.The importance of walkability and public spaces.Practical ways to build stronger communities and deeper relationships wherever you live.RESOURCES: Learn more about the Celebration Foundation.Follow along on Instagram and/or Facebook. If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
Aug 12

The Evolution of a Home with Lindsey Walsh

In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with interior designer Lindsey Walsh to explore how our homes evolve alongside the lives we build within them. Before launching her New Jersey-based design firm, Lindsey traveled the world for her high-level marketing job, experiencing architecture, interiors, and traditions across Asia, Europe, and South America. Today, she brings those influences together with an appreciation for classic design to create personal, welcoming, and enduring spaces. The conversation goes beyond decor. Lindsey shares how travel shapes perspective, why meaningful homes are collected, and how developing your own sense of style is less about trend than careful attention. In this episode: Why the best homes evolve with usHow travel influences how we see designDeveloping an eye for timeless interiorsCreating a home that tells your storyRESOURCES: Visit Lindsey's website here.Follow along on Instagram. If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
Aug 5

Stitched in Place: What Historic Needlework Reveals with Matthew Monk

In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with Matthew Monk, the Linda Eaton Curator of Textiles at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, to explore the remarkable stories stitched into historic textiles. Using Winterthur's exhibition Stitched in Place as their starting point, they discuss how needlwork projects preserve craftsmanship, but also reveal all sorts of things about identity, belonging, and family history. Matthew shares how curators and historians "read" textiles as primary sources, the clues hidden in stitches and motifs, and why handmade objects continue to resonate in today's digital world. In this episode: The inspiration behind the exhibitHow historic needlework preserves memory and identityReading textiles as primary sourcesThe stories behind Winterthur's textile collectionsWhy handmade objects resonation todayHow needlework connects us to placeWinterthur's upcoming conferenceRESOURCES: Visit Winterthur! Learn more here.Follow Winterthur on Instagram here! If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
Jul 29

Cultivating Your Eye with Lauren Wodicka

In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with Lauren Wodicka, artist, designer, and founder of LBW Studio, for a conversation about developing an eye for beauty, collecting intentionally, and creating homes that evolve over time. Before launching her interior design studio, Lauren built a career as an artist and gallery owner, helping her fine art clients curate spaces filled with art and antiques. That foundation continues to shape her approach today as she helps clients create homes that feel personal and, as she puts it, "paints their story." In this episode: Developing taste through observationThe influence of art on interior designCollecting meaningful objects confidentlyWhat historic properties teach us about permanenceAuthentic interiorsRESOURCES: Visit the LBW Studio website here.Follow along on Instagram 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.
Jul 22

Layered Interiors with Sarah Moore of Sarah Catherine Design

In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky is joined by Sarah Moore, founder and principal designer of Sarah Catherine Design, for a conversation about character and the elements of a house that feel layered and detailed. Growing up among historic Southern neighborhoods, Sarah developed an early appreciation for homes with stories. Today, she brings that perspective to her work, designing timeliness interiors across the Southeast that blend classic influences with a fresh, livable approach. They discuss the impact of historic homes on modern living, why materials and attention to detail matter, and how to create spaces that feel collected and layered. In this episode: Historic Southern homesWhat gives a home character and lasting appealLessons modern homeowners can learn from older housesDesigning for everyday lifeTimelessness vs. trend-driven designRESOURCES: Visit Sarah Catherine Design here.Shop Sweet Home by SCD.Follow Sarah on Instagram 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.
Jul 15

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 WILLIAMSBURG 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 WILLIAMSBURG brand, 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 WILLIAMSBURG brandThe 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.

4.6

out of 5

9 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

109
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Allie Kochinsky
Show Website

Grandma's Silver