Are you looking for a unique, whimsical, and yet very practical Christmas gift? I invite you to check out Down South House and Home, a wonderful venture run by my friend Stacy Williams Shuker Reece.
A few years ago I interviewed Chuck Reece, editor of The Bitter Southerner. Chuck told me he had just gotten married, to the lovely and talented Stacy Williams Shuker Reece. I have known Chuck since we were both in college at UGA. I have gotten to know Stacy through Chuck, and I am delighted to present an interview with her.
Stacy is an incredibly multi-talented lady. She has a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry, and she has been on staff at the Medical College of Georgia. For the past two years, she has run a great business called Down South House and Home, with all the products being made in a tiny red barn in her backyard. The Down South products are unique because they reflect the way we talk here in the South, and most of them are also whimsical and humorous.
Chuck and Stacy share a beautiful older home, about 15 minutes from me, in Clarkston Georgia. When I pulled up I didn’t see the red barn and at first I was fearful I might have the wrong address, but pretty soon Stacy came out and hollered. The products on Down South’s website are all made in the tiny red barn, by hand. Stacy screen prints the designs onto towels, tote bags, aprons, and tee shirts. [See photos below]

Originally from the Watkinsville, Georgia area, in her PC [pre-Chuck] life, Stacy was with the Georgia Department of Economic Development as the Director of the Center of Innovation for Life Sciences. She has long been a mentor for small businesses, recognizing early on that social media is a powerful tool for raising awareness and driving sales. She now volunteers with Emory University to help refugees start small businesses. (Clarkston is a fascinating Atlanta community and it has the largest refugee population in the US.)
I sat down with Stacy and she told me about starting her business. “We moved out to Clarkston and there was this red barn in the back yard. I wanted to start working on products we could make that were southern related.”
When her business was in its infancy, a couple of years ago, I had great fun coming up with phrases or “southernisms” that might look fun on the towels, [the Fixin’ to Eat towel was my suggestion].
She does all the screen printing. “It’s a little bit of art and a little bit of science.” Stacy isn’t a classic artist but she has an incredible eye for designs that are appealing.
Building her own business gives her a great appreciation for the challenges faced by all small business owners. “I’m still in the process of growing the business. When I started the social media thing, building awareness, that was a slog. Now things are picking up.”

Building an online business isn’t easy. There are lots of moving parts. Building customer goodwill is critical. “For people to order online, they need to be able to trust you,” Stacy explains. Presentation matters. Things like high-quality photographs are important. Stacy bought a new camera not long ago and she has been photographing her merchandise herself, which is a testament to ingenuity and creativity. “I’ve improved my photography since the beginning of the year, and hopefully will get better,” Stacy notes. “If you can take better photos, people feel like they can trust you more. It looks more professional. It looks like you know what you’re doing.”
Stacy feels her dishtowels are great gifts. “People get really attached to dishtowels. My mother used to have those calendars on dishtowels. Dishtowels are useful. I want to make good quality towels, with designs that stay on.”
“What I really hope happens with my towels is that people get them dirty making memories.”
There are two types of towels, the workhorse and fancy pants. The workhorse dries quickly when it gets wet. “It’s great to have in the kitchen. The more you wash it the better it gets.” The fancy pants is heavier, and is easier to iron.
Stacy has big plans for her business, but she’s taking things one step at a time. For 2019, she notes, “I’m going to be working on some botanicals and some stuff for spring.”
I can’t wait to see what comes next!

What is your full name?
My full name is Stacy Alayne Williams Shuker Reece. My first husband passed away, and I decided to keep his name (Shuker) because his daughters stayed in my life.
Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world?
I would live in Athens. I love Athens. I’m from Watkinsville [which is near Athens]. Athens is so chill. There’s no place like it.
What is your favorite movie and why?
My favorite movie is Auntie Mame. [The version with Rosalind Russell]The reason I like it is she just lives life fully – “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death” Auntie Mame says famously.
What was your least-favorite subject in school when you were a kid? Social Studies. I love math & science.
What was your nickname when you were a kid? Stacy Bug. I guess I was cute as a bug.
Do you believe in God? Yes.
What sound or noise do you love? My favorite noise is rain on a tin roof.
If you could do anything other than what you do, as a profession, what would it be?
I would either be an archaeologist, a historian, or a gardener. I love gardening. My mother is a master gardener. My grandmother was a big-time gardener and she had amazing ferns on her front porch. Our family has been in Heard County since the 1820’s. My family came to Georgia right before the revolution and fought in a Georgia regiment over near Augusta. Then they spent the next hundred years moving until they found the poorest patch in the state of Georgia and stayed there. My grandmother lived way out in the county but every year she would get ferns – she used Epsom salts and the fronds grew to 3 feet long. [Stacy pointed out a similarly impressive fern she grew on her sunporch.]

If heaven exists, what do you think it is like?
I think it would be a place of grace and forgiveness, with lots of flowers and birds, and hopefully something interesting to do – something more than just choir practice.
Do you have siblings? I have a younger brother.
What is your favorite memory of childhood [something specific]?
My favorite memory is going to my grandparents’ home. My grandfather was a pig and cattle farmer. He was one of the first people to have a concrete hog parlor. He put it on the side of a ravine. He would wash the hogs and the runoff created the richest dirt in Heard County.. He had this old World War II Willis Jeep, and he would put it in first gear and we would ride around in circles in the cow pasture, over and over again. I had cousins all the same age. It was great because we would stay out of everybody’s hair and we learned how to drive.
If you had to choose between one week traveling around the USA by car, or one week traveling around Europe on a train, which would you choose and why?
I think I’d like to travel around Europe and visit all of the major architectural sites and all of the scientific history sites. Twenty years ago I went to Florence and we saw all these religious paintings and that got old. I insisted that we go to the Museum of Science and they had some really wonderful ancient scientific equipment. They had Galileo’s finger there. Galileo was killed for his beliefs. Some of his followers hid his body and they cut off one of his fingers as a relic. That was my favorite part – seeing his finger.
What inspires you?
I love learning new things. With screen printing, there’s always something new to learn. My technique has gotten better. A year ago I could not have done the Brer Rabbit designs because they were just too fine.
Which holiday do you prefer, Christmas or July 4th?
I think I like Christmas more than 4th of July. My grandmother used to have a big 4th of July every year, though, a barbeque. I loved that.
What project or idea are you most passionate about, right now?
Clarkston has got lots of refugees. Emory is doing an entrepreneurship program [microbusinesses] helping families learn how to do business plans. So I’m going to be mentoring refugees.
Do you know how to cook?
Sort of. My mother got me this book – Julia Child’s book, The French Chef. If you look on YouTube you can see the episodes where she actually cooks these recipes. What’s great about this is that you don’t need a food processor. You need a knife, maybe a box grater – and you can cook French food. I learned how to make Coq Au Vin and French bread.

What is your favorite thing to cook/eat?
My favorite thing to cook is fried chicken, and I can do buttermilk biscuits. Chuck said those are the two things he never could do. When I made him fried chicken and biscuits I think it kind of sealed the deal.
If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, for 2-4 weeks, all expenses paid, where would you go and why?
I would go to the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin started his Theory of Evolution.
Who do you love the most in the world?
My husband – Chuck is the love of my life -- with my mother as a very close second.
What question has nobody ever asked you, but you wanted to answer? [Stacy couldn’t think of one.]
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