MEG TANNEHILL JUSTICE
AT THE MERCANTILE
VISIT OUR GREEN ACRES
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Original, Handmade Block Prints
$17.00 – $32.50Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageThese handmade block prints are the vision of Meg Tannehill Justice, an artist/illustrator who makes her home in Scottsboro, Ala. We discovered Meg’s works during a weekend trip to Mentone, Ala., where her prints are featured in a local gallery. It was love at first sight! We soon got in touch with Meg to learn more about her creations and to see if we could feature some of her works in our Mercantile. A Southerner who has lived and traveled to all parts of the world, Meg graduated from Auburn with a degree in Art and in 2010 returned to Alabama to make her permanent home, which she shares with husband Jerry, a dog named Jack and six hens who provide fresh eggs and comic relief. When asked what inspires her the most, she says, “I’m influenced by all things from nature and strong emotional memories of my past and the countryside where I live. I’m an avid gardener and at my happiest with handfuls of dirt and plants. Nearly all my art is connected to these things in some way. My favorite subjects to draw include animals, plants, mysteries of nature and the stories they tell.”
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Hand Forged Wine Cradle
$75.00Add to cartThis hand-forged, wrought iron wine cradle was created exclusively for Cerakko Farm by Barkley Wike of B.W. Iron Designs in Dawsonville, Ga.
Barkley is a long-time friend – he started out as our farrier and has evolved into a master ironworks artist whose work can be seen all over the country, as well as our humble little farm. Place this exquisite wrought iron wine cradle in your dining room or kitchen and it’s sure to capture everyone’s eye – not to mention become a treasured heirloom to be passed down for generations.
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Farm Fresh Candle
$20.00Add to cartOur Farm Fresh candles will make your home even more beautiful.
These aromatherapy soy candles smell as fresh as the farmers market…the sharpness of tomato vine combined with sweet coriander + jasmine. Our Farm Fresh fragrance was created by The Rustic House in Chattanooga, Tenn. This women-owned candle company was inspired by a love for simple living and a rustic, yet modern, farmhouse style. Co-founders Emily and Chelsea grew up in Alabama and their childhoods were filled with family reunions around big farmhouse tables, lake days and running wild through the tall grass.
Each luxury spa candle has a 50-hour burn time, braided cotton wick and was hand poured with love.
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Sweet Honey Alabama
$8.00Add to cartOne of the most exciting moments we’ve had on the farm is when the bees arrived. That set us on a journey that was at once mystical, joyous, sometimes heartbreaking, and just so much fun…despite a few stings here and there. With the help of kind and wise neighbors who showed us the way, our Italian honeybees have been thriving of late and this season we are (to borrow from Eddie Izzard) ‘covered in honey.’ So we’re currently offering a limited batch of raw, wildflower honey here in the Mercantile. Order soon before we run out! We don’t know when we’ll have such a wonderful honey flow again. Available in 8-oz. jars. Made and harvested on the farm.
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Cherry Wood Kitchen Spoons
$35.00Read moreMake your kitchen even more elegant with these gorgeous wooden spoons, carved lovingly out of an old cherry tree by woodworker Arne Jonesen of Dogtown, Alabama. The 5-piece set even includes a little pickle fork!
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Farm Silhouette Pillows
$25.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageThese sweet, comfy farm silhouette pillows would feel at home in the city or the country.
Each of the 20×20 inch farm silhouette pillows is made by hand and has a 100% down feather insert with a removable zippered cover. Featuring whimsical silhouettes of farm animals – a sheep, chicken or pig – they were created by artist Jessica Karp just for the Mercantile. Collect all three! -
Hand Stamped Silver Flatware
$20.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageWe’re super excited to add this exquisite product to the Mercantile — hand stamped silver flatware by Laura Doe of Doe Imprints. Laura scours antique and flea markets around the country to find vintage, silverplated flatware that she imprints with a variety of whimsical and custom messages. We met Laura at a farmers market last summer and immediately bought up a whole bunch of her pieces to feature in the Mercantile. Choose from any of the items featured here, or email us with a custom order request [gatekeeper@cerakkofarm]. These flatware pieces are great conversation pieces when entertaining and will make any bride oh-so-happy when presented as a wedding gift. Also available in custom garden markers.
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Porcelain Sunflower Bowls
$35.00Add to cartInspired by the late-summer sunflowers that tower over our garden, these delightful Sgraffito porcelain sunflower bowls were designed by Betsy Burts, a clay artist, illustrator and graphic designer who was born in Florence, Ala. and now makes her home in Atlanta, Ga.
Each of these delightful porcelain sunflower bowls is hand built with slabs of clay, then carefully carved and washed in a tranquil glaze of pale celadon blue-green. Size: 6.5 inches diameter, 1.5 inches tall. Food safe. Hand wash only.
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Knitted Baby Hats
$36.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageThe Most Perfect Baby Gift
Announcing a “new arrival” in the Mercantile – Colorful Crowns! These precious hand-knit baby hats were created by our friend and new Cerakko partner Carol Ogg. We raised our kids together and now all our babies have flown the nest, leaving us just a little more time to enjoy doing more of the things we absolutely love to do. And for Carol, a busy healthcare consultant by day, that extra free time means meditative knitting. A lifelong knitter, she makes each baby crown by hand, using only the finest, 100% cotton she can find. Each hat fits a newborn to 3-month-old, and can be passed down for generations. The Cerakko Farm selection includes Sweet Pea Baby, Little Black Sheep and Rabbit Rabbit. Exceptional quality and just so darling, a baby hat by Carol makes a truly wonderful treasured keepsake. (And that little blanket you see beneath these crowns? That was made for our daughter Arielle by her grandmother and given to her when she was born.)
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Vintage Leather Jewelry
$35.00 – $55.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageWear a piece of the past with these sexy vintage leather jewelry cuffs by leatherworks artist Janna Brooks.
Fashioned from actual livestock tack found in old barns and flea markets, Janna lovingly restores vintage farm leather to fashion this stunning jewelry. These particular vintage leather jewelry cuffs were made from an old mule yoke found during an antiquing adventure. Hand stitched and adorned with hand-cast recycled pewter accents inspired by organic forms found in nature, each piece is, well, rustically perfect. We’ve already kept two just for ourselves! -
Black Walnut Kitchen Spoons
$20.00 – $35.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pagePat Jonesen captured our attention with these gorgeous kitchen spoons at a holiday party. She was stirring a big ole pot of oyster stew (her mama’s recipe) with one of the large spoons and it was love at first sight (and we’re not just talking about the utensils here). Pat has since become a good friend, along with her sister Carol, and we’re so excited to feature her handmade works here at Cerakko Farm.
These particular spoons have a wonderful back story…. They’re made from a giant black walnut tree that was located at the corner of one of the fields on Pat’s 40-acre farm in Dogtown, Ala., not far from where she grew up in Mentone. When Pat and her husband Arnie moved back to Alabama from Washington State, they bought the 1926 farmhouse and surrounding land and at the corner of one of the pastures was the dead walnut, which had to be taken down. Not too much later they were paid a surprise visit by the White sisters — Joyce and Edna — children of the original homesteading family who owned the land for generations. The sisters came to the farm to reminisce about growing up there and upon seeing the felled walnut, told Pat and Arnie they had planted that tree as a seedling in 1919 with their father. The Jonesens were so touched by that visit they wanted to preserve the sisters’ memories by carving a set of wooden spoons from the old tree and giving them as a keepsake. Joyce and Edna have since passed on but we have no doubt that Pat and Arnie’s gift brought back some sweet memories in their final years. And the rest of the wood from the old black walnut? Well, it just keeps giving, having provided for many lovely spoons, bowls and other beautiful objects in the years since. We feel so lucky to now have some to offer our friends.
Order a set of four small spoons or one of the larger ones — or start a collection. That’s what we did! (Note: each spoon set varies due to their unique nature.) Custom orders are also available; just email claudia@cerakkofarm.com for details.
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Chicken Wire Egg Basket
$10.00Add to cartYou absolutely can put all your eggs in this little basket! Found while picking at an Alabama flea market. Only two in stock. Holds up to two dozen eggs. (These eggs courtesy of the Cerakko Farm hens.)
Pear-It Forward
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15 Years, 15 Blessings
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Into the Light
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Making Biscuits in the Black Belt
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Fields of Gold
With summer's end comes the final hay cutting of the year. And in a year of so much noise and strife, local farmers and landowners throughout the South have been...
Adopted Alabamians
Whenever Sean of the South writes one of his love letters to Alabama, it always gets our attention. And this one -- about road-tripping through the state in a pandemic...
Rediscovering Rural Alabama
Returning and Awakening to the Beauty of Rural Alabama...by travel photographer / native Alabamian Scott Baker. Swann Covered Bridge, photo by Scott Baker
Stranger Things – Southern Edition
Our friend Marleah and her pal Patrice started a podcast. And the second we heard the subject matter, we were in! If you love good storytelling and are looking for...
The best little rib joint in Alabama
For 10 years now, we've been chowing down on Cooter Brown's Ribs -- the best in the land IMO. It's just plain luck that this rib shack is just down...
