Best of Atlanta 2020: Style & Design

See all Best of Atlanta 2020 winners

Photograph by Diwang Valdez

Best New Home Decor: SustainAble Home Goods

After working for a fair-trade jewelry company, founder LaToya Tucciarone made it her mission to help foster sustainable jobs for Black and indigenous makers around the world. Her bright, second-floor shop at Ponce City Market is layered with colorful patterned pieces, from Oaxacan pottery to Guatemalan textiles, Rwandan baskets, and Hopi jewelry, while images of the artisans themselves connect the buyer to the maker. Vintage furniture, a kids collection (featuring empowering books and all-wood toys), and nontoxic, beautifully packaged cleaning products round out the mix. Tucciarone has long sourced product for the TV and film industry, and she offers design consultations for your own complete home refresh. yoursustainablehome.com

Best Easy Framing: Framebridge

In a year where we’ve all spent more time than usual staring at our walls, Framebridge presents an easy upgrade for what’s hanging on them. The online custom framing company, based in D.C., opened two Atlanta locations this year (in Buckhead and West Midtown—its fourth and fifth locations) to offer quick and affordable framing (from $39). Pop in for a quick consult in the cheery shop—all white oak and brass, with an Instagram-worthy, Atlanta-themed gallery wall. Your piece, whether it’s a painting or a cocktail napkin or your kid’s craft, will be shipped straight to your home, ready to hang. framebridge.com

Best Furniture Consignment: Swoox

Earlier this year, Swoox Curated Consignment, a destination for upscale consignment furniture and accessories, announced its new ownership under Ric Parrish (co-owner of Design Galleria Kitchen & Bath) and Michael Ladisic (the builder behind Ladisic Fine Homes). This power partnership has kept the manager, expanded the showroom upstairs, and still stocks the way-discounted designer offerings the Buckhead shop has become known for, like pieces from Holly Hunt and Arteriors. Graphic contemporary art, vintage barware, and designer pillows and lamps provide those all-important details. Consignment is moving fast these days and is replenished often. @swooxatlanta

Best New Online Retailer: TALD

After years in New York, working as a buyer and scout for fashion and lifestyle brands, Emily Shapiro created her own online platform from Atlanta this year, dubbed TALD (things a little differently). What that means is her thoughtful mix of small, independent, ethical, and sustainable home and lifestyle brands operate with a “fewer but better” mentality. Offerings include jewelry from Atlanta-based L.A. Stein (we like the conflict-free diamond, sapphire, and mother of pearl “evil eye” pendant, $4,150), “stacked rocks” vases from San Francisco–based sculptor Maria Enomoto ($90), and table linens from reclaimed textiles by L.A.-based Atelier Saucier. discovertald.com

Best Outdoor Entertaining: AuthenTEAK

With chilly weather upon us, we’re scrambling to make our outdoor spaces a comfortable place to entertain. Sure, AuthenTEAK was founded on upscale teak furniture, from durable settees to luxurious chaise lounges and 12-foot long dining tables, but it also offers the best options for keeping cozy under the sky. Gas fire tables and wood firepits, torches, and restaurant-style propane patio heaters abound, plus charcoal grills like Kamado Joe, built-in gas grills, and pizza ovens. In-house designers can help you lay out an entire outdoor kitchen. authenteak.com

Best New Jewelry: Brilliant Earth

Brides can thank Brilliant Earth for making ethical diamonds mainstream. Launched in San Francisco in 2005, the company disrupted an industry known for ugly practices, going beyond commercial standards to protect human rights and the environment. The new West Midtown appointment-based showroom opened in October with marble display cases and lots of light for inspecting the stones. In addition to sourcing from responsible mines (mostly in Canada and Botswana), the company sells recycled metals and preowned jewels, as well as lab-grown gems. brilliantearth.com

Best Zoom Uniform: Ann Mashburn

Ann Mashburn’s comfortable but polished array of silks, oxfords, and pullovers perfectly pull together today’s business-on-top, joggers-on-the-bottom WFH look. Go for pieces with details at the neck. A tie-neck Liberty blouse ($395) is professional enough for a board meeting, yet chill enough for a jaunt over to the playground. The “Audrey” silk shirt ($350) marries the sophistication of a turtleneck with the relaxed fit of a tee, and a ruffle-neck, machine-washable Italian wool popover ($250) goes just fine with leggings. Right now, catch her first-ever local pop-up at Avalon. annmashburn.com

Best Sneaker Shop: Wish

Wish has long been the city’s hub for upscale streetwear. This year, the Little Five Points shop, housed in an elegant 1940s building constructed as a Carnegie Library, got a remix. A bright blue carpet path and sculptural steel displays invoke a skatepark, while walls of 10,000 books, in a nod to the building’s roots, form a “secret passageway” to the basement shoe vault, where Elberton granite boulders provide seating. For the sneakerheads who line up around the block for new releases, fashion is an art form, and the shop and gallery next door regularly collaborate with local artists. (On display now: Sage Guillory’s comic-inspired sketches.) It’s worth a visit just to see the new 35-foot OutKast mural outside. wishatl.com

Best Pajama Upgrade: Lake Pajamas

Forget heels and handbags; 2020 is the year of the matching pajama set. That’s why the arrival of Savannah-based Lake Pajamas in Buckhead (its second location) was such a thrill. The shop, designed by Lee Kleinhelter’s Pieces, is tailored just so with stripes and scalloped drapery, but it’s also easy to visit online and click on the soft Peruvian Pima cotton shorts sets ($84), men’s bamboo lounge pants ($65), and classic poplin sets with piping detail ($128). They make schlubbing around at home without changing till noon feel that much more acceptable—nay, downright chic. lakepajamas.com

Best Gift Baskets: Lucy’s Market

Niece have a baby? Friend get a new house? Just thinking about your aunt? There’s a gift basket for that. Amid social distancing, the customizable Lucy’s Market gift baskets (from $50) will do when you can’t give a hug. The Buckhead set has sworn by the locally sourced gourmet treats (cookies from the Buttery ATL, charcuterie from the Spotted Trotter) and European luxuries (Italian olive oils, wine, French soap) since 2009. Local delivery and shipping are available, as is curbside pickup. lucysmarket.com

Photograph by Wedig + Laxton

Best Fashion Launch: O. Studio

If ever there were a time for El Lewis’s comfortable, high-tech knits, it’s now. After years working in New York as a stylist for Alexander Wang, the Decatur native returned to Atlanta to launch O. Studio, a collection inspired by sci-fi and athleticism that is also universal and easy to wear. The gender-neutral sweaters come in four custom colors created with Pantone and are woven via code programmed into knitting machines. With plans to expand into a 15-piece wardrobe system, Lewis has convinced us this may be the future of fashion. o-studio.design

Best Stationery: Adelina Social Goods

It may not seem like a good time for a new party supply shop, but we do find ourselves sending a lot of notes right now, and we’re always looking for original gifts. Adelina Social Goods, a locally owned shop in West Midtown’s the Works, has a dizzying array of paper goods, from clever cards to gift wrap to meal-planning pads and calligraphy sets (new hobby?). Browse cocktail accoutrements and felt-tip pens online, or visit the store to glimpse the dramatic, color-coded ribbon wall. adelinasocialgoods.com

Best Men’s Outerwear: TBCo.

Formerly known as the Tough Boot, TBCo.’s vintage jackets are what really shine. This year, the men’s upscale resale shop rebranded and relocated to a larger space on 14th Street to house its vintage Belstaff, Filson, and Schott NYC finds. Owner Luis Toache, a fine artist, scours the world for shearling bombers, Army field jackets, and selvedge denim jackets, and he recently launched a tailoring and made-to-measure program of shirts, suiting, and overcoats from Italian fabrics. The new location features the same Old World vibe and patina—you can almost smell the pipe tobacco. thetoughboot.com

Best Houseplants: The Victorian

Greenery has been said to improve health and mood, so it’s no wonder we’re flocking to surround ourselves with plants. This summer, the tropical pop-up at Citizen Supply at Ponce City Market, the Victorian, got its own (even more lush) permanent space at the development, where monstrous Euphorbia drupifera and leafy philodendron explode from walls and tables in a jungle of green, and tiny pots offer a quick pick-me-up. Not a green thumb? The Victorian offers plenty of care instructions, plus home consultations for newbies. Online orders and curbside pickup available. thevictorianatlanta.com

The Bombchel Factory
Archel Bernard, an Atlanta native and Georgia Tech grad born to Liberian refugees, moved to her parents’ home country in 2011 and got her start in fashion selling her contemporary West African clothing out of a pickup truck. She eventually opened her own shop in Monrovia, in a country overcoming civil war. After the 2015 Ebola outbreak devastated West Africa, Bernard felt compelled to employ women—“bombchels”—who survived the deadly disease, teaching them sewing and design skills, providing many of them with salaries for the first time. She has since returned to Atlanta and opened her shop, the Bombchel Factory, at Ponce City Market, where she employs local refugees and sells her team’s bold-colored dresses, skirts, jewelry, and masks. shopbombchel.com

Crosby by Mollie Burch
This fall, Atlanta-based fashion label Crosby by Mollie Burch celebrated its fifth year in business. From the beginning, Burch and her cofounder Taylor Montes de Oca grounded the company in a social mission: helping local victims of sex-trafficking. The line, which sells its vibrant dresses and swingy tops at boutiques nationwide (including its flagship in Inman Park), partners with Atlanta-based nonprofit Wellspring Living to help fund therapy, education, and academic and professional assistance to survivors of sexual exploitation. With each spring and fall collection, Burch designs one print or style accompanied by the story of a Wellspring survivor, with 100 percent of its proceeds benefitting the nonprofit. (This fall, it’s a $178 sweatshirt emblazoned in one of several empowering statements like “You Glow, Girl.”) Crosby has since donated more than $35,000 to Wellspring—no small feat for a young fashion brand. crosbybymollieburch.com

Black Interior Designers Network
The interior design industry has long had a diversity problem, but the Atlanta-based Black Interior Designers Network is out to change that. This year, the nation-wide organization, which has for years been a resource for Black designers, launched an allyship program to confront racism in the industry. Its “Designer Ally’s How-to” social campaign went viral, challenging designers, vendors, and manufacturers to commit to actionable steps like eliminating discriminatory minimum account engagements and to include Black designers as expert voices. But president Keia McSwain, a Denver-based designer, knew sharing an image on Instagram wasn’t enough to create lasting change, and this summer, the nonprofit rolled out its ally program, a monthly membership ($95 for design firms, $295 for corporate brands) that funds a diversity training program, events, and other initiatives that lift up the work of Black designers—including an annual conference in Atlanta. blackinteriordesignersnetwork.com

Lillian Gray Charles
Lillian Gray Charles, a fixture on the Atlanta fitness scene (and a coach at BURN Studios), founded Style Therapy in 2011 to “help women remove physical, emotional, and mental barriers that keep them from living fully expressed lives.” That may sound like a lofty mission for a fashion stylist, but she’s the real deal, using her Reiki training and spot-on intuition to cull through, cultivate, and curate a wardrobe that can change not just your outward appearance, but the way you feel inside.

This article appears in our December 2020 issue.