Coastal Fog Snapshots

Nothing stays in one place for long at Coastal Fog. We are always moving and rearranging to bring in new product, culinary introductions, displays and inspirations. 

Colors, textures and vibes of items show a french home inspiration found at Coastal Fog 

The Market test kitchen is working on a new breakfast introduction. 

Featured baked goods at The Market are the lemon poppyseed cupcakes. They are so crisp and refreshing for any special treat or event. 

New arrivals are out on display at Coastal Fog  

It takes a team of elves to help behind the scenes. Here is Evan hanging the new sign that Jenn made at the CF Studio. 

Bob helps keep our over flowing cardboard situation at bay. His time and his truck are a regularly reoccurring blessing. Adam occasionally makes it “two men and a truck” 😋 

Stay tuned ! More updates coming soon 

Xoxo

Jordan 

Visiting New Water Farm

This special time of enjoying Birmingham has come about due to Rocky doing a Fellowship in MOHs Dermatological surgery. To me, one of the most intriguing details of this fellowship is that the MOHs Fellowship Director and surgeon founded New Water Farms.  It is a working farm and faith retreat. New Water is located on 22 acres of beautiful waterfront on Lake Martin in Dadeville, AL.  It is a place where people are spiritually refreshed through coming to organized retreat weekends and enjoying all the farm has to offer. 

Arts and creativity are highly valued by the organization and in turn, artisans come to New Water to teach and develop their crafts. It is a place for weddings, special occasions and company retreats. “At New Water, we believe that we have the opportunity to create and enjoy art because we are made in the image of the Creator. Because of that, we do our best to celebrate every medium of art. Join us at the farm to see blacksmithing, glassblowing, woodworking, painting, and more!”

The working Farm and its harvests fund this non profit organization. Located on a peninsula overlooking Lake Martin, there are crops, orchards, vines and hives. What is produced goes to farmers markets such as the well known Pepperplace Market, CSA boxes, online orders, gift baskets and to feed those that come to the retreats at New Water. 

We went today to help out with weeding the different gardens and the Asian persimmon orchard. You can see the water and the open air chapel in the background. 

Visit the website at Newwater.com

We had the chance to try the honey and pickled vegetables from the farm. Amazing! 

Cheers,

Jordan 

Weekend Tidbits

Www.shopcoastalfog.com

Birmingham has a vibrant cultural scene – this weekend in the Avondale historic district downtown, the Avondale brewery and surrounding restaurants celebrated a Brewfest with seasonal brew samples and live music. We did not get in the thick of the Brewfest- what with three kids and all. So, we enjoyed lunch at the partnering Avondale Common House. Beautiful and delicious modern southern food is what we received. 

Our place is directly across from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This has been the biggest blessing– the most beautiful meandering paths and wide open green spaces. Water features abound creating the acoustics of a sanctuary. This is where I set up almost daily to work on client digital design presentations and to have design meetings with FaceTime. In fact, I worked on major Coastal Fog store displays via FaceTime from the botanical gardens yesterday. What an inspiring environment!

We at Coastal Fog just got back from Atlanta market where we placed some of the most exciting orders in our retail history. A new collection of French candles for the kitchen have arrived and are display now at CF. 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that one of my favorite artisan producers of concrete furniture, garden  and decorative accessories is based right here in Birmingham. Elegant Earth has always been swoon worthy. I realized that they started their business in a small shop in the village just up the street from us. They grew to a point of relocating— downtown they went into a historic automobile factory that was slated to be torn down. Read about them http://www.ElegantEarth.com. Some of their pieces are heading to CF soon. Pretty neat to think that right around the corner from us here in Birmingham, items are being created to head to CF.  This is a picture of Elegant Earth. 

I am staying inspired and will continue to send it your way. Thank you all for being wonderful to us. 

Xoxo

Jordan 

Coastal Fog goes South

It is the home of Southern Living,  award winning chefs such as Iron chef winner Chris Hastings, and  internationally known architects and designers such as Bobby Mcalpine and Bill Ingram, known as the Heart of Dixie—This is Birmingham, Al 

For the next year, we will be exploring the Magic City and sharing everything that it has to offer in the way of southern hospitality, culinary arts, design and architecture. Coastal Fog travels East, West, North and SOUTH. Stay tuned to see how the crew and I explore and infuse our new discoveries into the design, retail and market of Coastal Fog. 

Keep checking here for weekly updates on our explorations 

Coastal Fog 2017

It is with great joy that I get to come back to this and share the happenings and journey we have been on at Coastal Fog.

Coastal Fog, now features 4 facets— Interior Design, Retail, The Studio & The Market  at Coastal Fog.

Lifestyle Brand, Coastal Fog- Home wares + Design studio and The Market @ Coastal Fog is located in a beautiful historic downtown landmark in Greenville, NC. The Market now offers simple, delicious and nourishing food with the highest quality sustainably sourced coffee.  It is a beacon of light for those needing replenishing and it is an uplifting venue for visitors and neighbors alike to enjoy a soulful reprieve from a busy day.

Breakfast offerings of handmade breads, pastries, and seasonal items allows for a quick and easy option before starting the work day. Handmade paninis and specialty lunch offerings satisfy a quick work lunch or a slow paced break from the workday. Late afternoons are a place to drop in for a glass of wine and a selection of gourmet cheese and delicacies served on rustic slate cheese boards. The Market @ Coastal Fog features gorgeous kitchen, home and food products that embodies the lifestyle brand of Coastal Fog.

In addition to the established interior design + retail that has stood the test of time, The Market @ Coastal Fog delights with an organic and enchanting atmosphere. It is a location for the community to gather and share in food and spirits as well as to serve as a venue for special gatherings.

One of our favorite things about operating our headquarters out of Greenville is that our roots originally stem from Eastern North Carolina. This area has given us the inspiration, love, and care that we’ve needed to grow our business to serve more of our surrounding communities. We couldn’t be happier about where this journey has taken us, or more appreciative of the community that gives back to us each day.

Originally founded in 2007 as Signature Jordan, I made my dream of owning an art and design-based company, a reality. Welcomed with open arms from the community, Signature Jordan quickly expanded into Coastal Fog— interior design with a retail storefront.

Recognizing the demand, we split ownership between my sister Jennifer Vainright Lutz and I, our mother, Marty Vainright and long time family friend, Julie Dietrich.

Now that you, dear reader, are up to speed on what we are up to these days, I encourage you to keep checking here for updates and stories of the journey. Now I am a mother of 3 children and a proud business owner with 3 amazing partners. There is so much goodness to share here and I can not wait to get started again!

Cheers,

Jordan

Too long!

oh my goodness!  It’s been way too long- Mainly because in the meantime from the last post I’ve had another bambino. John Wit Proctor was born Nov 11, 2014. We have been having a wonderful time since then!

Hopefully you’ve been able to make it to the shop.

We’ve been going gang busters with design and refinishing. Come check it out!

Late Summer

August ~ that special time of year where I feel like I have one foot in the summer garden and the other in doorway to autumn.  Come August I start to see things differently. There is an autumnal spin on all of my thoughts. I saw this image on Pinterest and it sparked the autumn feeling. 

Yesterday we cleaned out the spent plants that aren’t producing any more veggies. The zucchini and cucumbers just were exhausted from the heat. We are going to prep the beds for fall seeds such as broccoli, spinach, kale, beets and so on. 

I have been painting almost everyday this past month. Its something that I am pursuing as a full time focus. I hope to have an art show at the end of the year or beginning of 2015. 

 

 

I am on the homestretch now with my last trimester. At the beginning of November we are planning to welcome another little boy! Crew is eager to be a big brother he says. Its been a wonderful pregnancy and I am so excited for the near future.

Stay in touch! We have new displays at Coastal Fog as well as newly refinished antiques and vintage pieces. Expect some great things from us this Fall! 

 

 

Crew helping me pick out plants at our local nursery

 

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I am a planner. I am a planner that is constantly planning. It is a curse and a blessing, but mostly it gets in the way of enjoying what I have right in front of me. Lately, I have been focusing on the daily steps that I have to take and the beautiful opportunities I have to experience the simple things in life. Over the past month or two of really taking things day by day, I have become more relaxed and more mellow. What I thought would be an exercise of my patience has now become a relaxed and easy going pattern for me. Time is now. Not tomorrow, the next day, or a year from now. Our time is now.

Kitchen Window

This charming kitchen window is so much more than today’s standard window installation. Look at the depth of the stone wall and how it creates a niche. It provides for additional surface to put kitchen items. Look at the header in the window. The piece of wood provides an ideal pot rock for little sauce pans. If I could be transported to that kitchen this Saturday morning, with my cup of coffee, I would be in Jordan heaven!

Marble Basin Sink

Lately, I have felt compelled to compile all of the details that I feel would be my ultimate interior wish list. I have called the project “The Homestead” and have had so much fun exploring what it is that really makes me tick. I am going to start sharing my favorites with you.

This marble basin is an incredible accent for a powder room. I love the way that it feels like someone used what they had to make something they needed. I just found one for a little over 200$. You could use any table that you wanted to for the base.

Catching up again

Hey there

It has certainly been awhile! I had to take a breather from writing so that I could focus on some really big projects at work and wrap my head around Rocky matching in Greenville for his Residency at Vidant.  A lot has happened in the meantime!

Crew is now 17 mos and going a million miles a minute. Rocky is working crazy hours at the hospital but is finally an MD. Certainly am proud of him. He is counting down the days until he starts his dermatology portion of residency which starts in June. 

Just this last weekend we had to put our beloved dog and “first born” Stetson to sleep. He would have been 9 in Dec but cancer took him down fast. We only had three days to prepare for his departure. It has been so awful feeling the void where his love and energy always has been. Rocky and I got him together when we were young and foolish and had only just started dating. For heavens sake, Rocky was still living in the dorm when he purchased Stetson! We had a “verbal agreement” that I would keep Stetson at my house but he was responsible for all expenses. I am still laughing at how formal I made it. I knew that Rocky and I were roped together through this new puppy (and secretly was so happy about it). Of course I had to put on that strong and responsible front though. Stetson has seen us through dating, engagement, moving houses, 4 educational degrees, starting a business, marriage, a new puppy, the loss of Rocky’s mother, my dad making in through cancer, a baby and Rocky starting his first job as a physician. It is amazing how many stories that dog could tell. As a puppy he used to sit on my lap in the basement of the house I shared with roommates and keep me company when I would be up at the wee hours of the morning working on an interior design project for school. When I was too overwhelmed with school to spend time with them, Stetson would keep Rocky company throwing and retrieving in the backyard of our Maple St. house. Stetson taught us how to be a family. We will miss that dog for the rest of my life. The last two pictures are the day before we had to put him to sleep. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crew is my little sidekick through most things now. Here he is heading into Lowes with Bunny (my mom). 

We have had some very exciting new things going on at the shop. Jenn, Marty, Julie, and Corrie are all working like crazy teaching DIY classes and running the store. Check out the class calendar and see what has been going on. http://www.ShopCoastalFog.com

Be back soon! 

Jordan

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Beach Bum

Crew is having the best time being a sand fiddler here on the Pink Sands Beach. We let him run around naked and he came unglued with energy! A naked baby on the beach….cutest sight ever. 

The Boys

 

While Rocky, Crew and I are out exploring (25.5 degrees North and 76.6 degrees West) , Marty has been pup sitting Brumby and Stetson. Jenn and Evan are out on their honeymoon this week so Marty is also keeping their dog Brody. She sent me this picture of our three furry children as she picked them up from Maple St. Stetson is boss dog in the front seat! 

Coastal Vignettes

Hi, everyone! It’s Mari here visiting Signature Jordan with a guest post from Arcadian Home blog, a fantastic place to find lots of interior design inspiration including great ideas for decorating with everything from fabulous mini pendant lights to colorful wall art and lots more.

Today’s post is all about beautiful coastal vignettes, a great way to bring the feel of the beach and the ocean into your interior spaces. Whether you have a seaside cottage or a city apartment, coastal vignettes are easy to create and fun to live with. Please enjoy!

Thanks for letting me share!

~ Mari

Here, a collection of ocean-themed art is used to create a backdrop for this coastal vignette. It’s perfect for a beach house or to evoke memories of summers on the coast wherever you live.

White framed and matted drawings of natural elements from the ocean and beach hung against a blue wall give this traditional dining room a vibrant coastal feel.

A long console table behind the sofa holds this stylish coastal vignette. Clear glass buffet lamps with cool blue shades are a perfect design choice for this grouping.

Not all coastal vignettes are literal interpretations of ocean and beach. Here, it’s all about the color palette, From celadon to pale turquoise and stormy blue greens–all evoke visions of coastal waters.

Driftwood in the corner and crab artwork set against a pale watery blue come together to create a wonderful coastal vignette just inside the front door. Orange textiles add their own warm appeal to the space

A coastal vignette set among antique books brings a seaside vibe to this traditional room filled with antiques.

What a beautifully inviting ocean-side outdoor space this is. With a comfortable low lounge and nearby dining area, it’s the perfect spot to while away an afternoon on the coast. A metal and glass pendant light contributes to the slightly global look of the space.

This impromptu picnic must be the ultimate coastal vignette. Set in the Hamptons, even the color of the cool convertible says the ocean is nearby. We think this is a great way to end today’s little tour coastal looks. Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

What do you think of these coastal vignettes? Leave us your thoughts below and be sure to stop by our website for more home decor, lighting and interior inspirations!

New Space

Its Pirate Fest downtown today and we are swarming with eager folks ready to see our new space! Its wonderful to have such enthusiastic shoppers coming in and exploring. I am so thrilled at the excited responses from everyone when we explain our DIY classes and workshops we are going to start in June. We have the perfect workshop upstairs where we can dive in and get create together.

Working in the sunshine

This weekend has been a wonderful time of sunshine and fresh air. It is really awesome that Jenn + Evan and Rocky + I live next door to each other. We share yard and gardening tools, garden items, seedlings, planting tips, and many laughs as we get dirtier and dirtier. We four (plus Crew, Brody, Brumby and Stetson ) spent the whole weekend outside.

 

Jenn + Evan spent the whole weekend in their yard sprucing up the curb appeal and prepping for their garden. The amount of sweat and tears that went into it should let you know that they meant business! Evan kept finding GIANT earthworms under these tree rounds and I would put them in our garden.  Look at the BEFORE and AFTER pictures below. 

BEFOREAFTER

 

In our yard, we tilled our way overgrown garden from last season and planted some new items. This summer we have multiple kinds of tomatoes, peppers, red and green cabbage, onions and carrots. Jenn taught us how to do potato towers which are incredible! I can not wait to have these start producing. If you GOOGLE “potato tower” you will know what I am talking about. Crew romped around the yard and spent time observing. It was amazing how Brumby stayed by his side the whole time! We will post more photos as we make progress in both yards/gardens!

 

 

 

 

Beach Condo Inspiration Boards

I am so inspired going through the design boards that we have done for clients. It is amazing to see how we can put them in a digital presentation and then turn them into real life. I love this part of what we do! See below to see inspiration pictures partnered with the “before” pics.

Design Board

 

 

So that you can see a small sample of an inspiration board I made for a client project, take a look at this idea board. I can make one for your project too!

Beach House Renovation- Nags Head

Here is a recent project I had the chance to work on in Nags Head on a very outdated beach house. The client wanted to make it new and fresh. Check out the before and after pictures

Christmas Decorating- Historical

For Christmas, we are always working on wonderful projects that incorporate fresh greenery and historically inspired concepts. Take a look at these photos from a past Christmas.

Condo Design

Here are some photos of a condo design we did at Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Notice the LEE chair and the designer furniture we installed. This homeowner was so fun to work with as she let me do wonderful and odd items. Jennifer custom refinished this spool to act as a side table. 

New Shell- Coastal Fog Moves within Jefferson Blount Harvey Building

source of photo PINTEREST

Boy has it been a long time since I have met you here… I have been away tending to life and business that has gotten in the way of my writing. 

The family has just found out the Jenn and I will be staying put in Greenville as both Evan (her finance) and Rocky (my husband) have matched for their Medical Residencies here at Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Medical Center.

Read below to get the scoop on the new endeavor 

 

 

A wonderful adventure is happening      Coastal Fog is setting up in its new shell as you read this! We are moving within    the Jefferson Blount Harvey Building… into the space of the previous wine bar on the 4th street side.       The new space can be described as Anthropologie meets Ollivander’s Wand shop in Harry Potter with a natural seaside infusion.  —————————-       We will be hosting DIY classes and studio space on the second floor with cooking    classes, painting how to’s, furniture refinishing, terrarium making, and many    more creative endeavors. We will have all the retail you have come to love plus    new dimensions of restored and revived vintage pieces          Crew is 10 months old!

Homemade Christmas Decorations- Salt Dough Ornaments

Tags

di, diy, home

Hey there~ Jennifer here. Here is another Homemade Christmas Decoration tutorial. This one is for Salt Dough Ornaments. This is a great one to fo with your kids and pets. Salt Dough is basically all natural playdough. It can be shaped, take impressions and be baked to form a hard dried keepsake.

Here is an example of my dog, Brody’s paw print. He is like my child so this ornament is one I will cherish forever. He wasn’t so keen on the idea of pressing his paw into the dough so we had to roll it up and back out again several times but it was worth it!

You can also do baby prints, thumbprints, or anything else you could imagine that would leave and impression in the dough. Be sure to use a toothpick to label and date the ornament before you bake it!

I do not claim to have invented salt dough ornaments by anymeans so google or pinterest search for other ideas for yours.

Here is the recipe I used from http://chocolateandcarrots.com/crackersandcarrots/2012/09/salt-dough-impressions : (with a few of my addtions)

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Salt Dough

Ingredients

• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup water
• paint(optional)
• parchment paper
• straw for hole punch

How-To

1. Combine all the ingredients. If the dough seems too dry, add more water.
2. Split the dough into several parts.
3. Shape the dough and place on a baking sheet (or oven safe plate), covered with parchment paper. I smoothed the top of the dough out by laying parchment paper on top and rubbing my hands on it.
4. Gently push either a foot, hand, paw, etc into the dough circles.
5. Use a knife to cut clean edges around imprint if you would like
6. make a hole in the top of the ornament with the straw
7. Bake at 200°F for 3-6 hours until dry.
8. Allow to cool.
9. (Optional) Paint with acrylic paint.

Notes

• If the dough is still wet underneath after they bake, turn over and bake some more until completely dry and hard.

~~~

You can also add cinnamon to the dough for that delicious Christmas Fragrance

 So there you have it! We would love to see your creations so be sure ot comment and let us know how your project turned out 🙂

More Homemade Christmas Decorations tutorials to come so check back regularly!

 

Homemade Christmas Decorations- Time Capsule Ornaments

Jennifer here. I am sharing one of my favorite homemade Christmas ornament tutorials. This is the time capsule ornament. We have all been on family vacations or have special events or memories that fill our hearts with warmth when we recollect on them. What better way to preserve and honor these memories than in time capsule ornaments that can go on your Christmas tree every year.

All you need is:

clear ball ornaments that you can get at the craft store, dollar store, or anywhere else with holiday decorations. (the bigger the opening on the top the better)

~keepsakes from special trips, events, notes, etc (see examples for ideas).

~paint pen or tag to write the date and the memory on the ornament

~ ribbon for top (optional)

1. carefully (if glass) remove the metal top from the ornament ball 

2. fill with your own soveneirs and keepsakes

3. carefully put top back on

4. either use a paint pen to write directly on the ornament or tie on little tags with the date and memory inside

5. tie ribbon to top for hanging

Here are some examples and ideas: ( Marty’s and my creations)

Christmas list time capsule- Every year put in your children’s christmas list to Santa and some of their small toys like crayons, legos, etc. As the years pass you can look back at the memories from Christmases over the years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memories from a Beach trip- Fill with sand, shells, driftwood, seaglass, and such to remember special family beach trips. And of course it doesn’t have to be the beach.. Any trip that you want to remember would work!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romantic memories- This eaxmple is dried roses from when my fiance, Evan, proposed to me. We also put in the cork from the wine we drank that night. It means so much to me to have these memories from that special day. You could also put in love notes or other reminders of the romantic occasion.

 

 

 

 

 

Fishing memories- This ornament was made for Evan. His grandfather was very special to him growing up and although he is no longer with us, Evan is still inspired by him everyday. One of his favorite memories is fishing with “Papaw.” The lures and such are no longer used but kept for remembering those wonderful times. I put a few of them in a time capsule ornament to catalogue these memories and to think of Papaw being with us at Christmas time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time capsule is from a trip to Arlington Cemetary where we visited my grandfather’s gravesite. A tree spread overhead that was dropping these teeny tiny pinecones. This was sentimental for me and I wanted to remember those feelings so I put them in this ornament. The “snow” is just a bit of epsom salt.

 

 

 

 

As you can see the ideas are limitless. Just think of things that are special to you and your family. These would make great gifts to give to those who were also touched by that memory.

**Remember to date and title your time capsule ornaments so thay can be remembered anf cherished for many years to come!

Have fun 🙂