A year after the founding of Alabama Chanin, the design and production studios move from the three-bedroom house at Lovelace Crossroads to The Factory. Located in the Florence Lauderdale Industrial Park, the space, a former textile mill, allows Alabama Chanin to expand operations and scale.
Learn more about the history of textile manufacturing in the region here.
Slide 1: Framed photos move from the Lovelace Crossroads studio to the walls of The Factory, photographs by Rinne Allen, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 2: Embroidered Skull dress by Project Alabama outside the Lovelace Crossroads studio, 2003, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 3: Project Alabama sign posted on the front door of the Lovelace Crossroads studio stating hours, delivery instructions, and contact information, photographed by Robert Rausch, 2006, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 4: Project Alabama employee photographs hanging on the walls of Lovelace Crossroads; Handmade frames made using pages torn from pattern sketchbooks and scrap fabrics by Eva Whitechapel (read Eva’s entry here), photographs by Eva Whitechapel and Cynthia Connolly, 2006, photograph by Rinne Allen
Slide 5: Carrot Cake, cutter’s musts, and books in the kitchen, Lovelace Crossroads studio, 2002, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 6: Baskets of t-shirts on the fireplace at Lovelace Crossroads, waiting to be cut apart and stitched into new Project Alabama garments, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 7: Shipping and fulfillment facilities in the doorway of the Lovelace Crossroads studio, 2002, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 8: Project Alabama fabric swatch cards at the Lovelace Crossroads studio, 2006 photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 9: Kitchen at Lovelace Crossroads with a Carrot Cake, 2006, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 10: Project Alabama Fall/Winter 2002 collection outside the Lovelace Crossroads studio, photograph by Robert Rausch; Natalie let each garment spend time in the sun before it shipped or traveled home with a guest so each would be imbued with the scent of Alabama sunshine
Slide 11: Lovelace Crossroads production studio, 2002, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 12: Hand-stitched details of a Project Alabama panel dress, 2002, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 13: Exterior of the Lovelace Crossroads studio, 2006, photograph by Rinne Allen
Slide 14: Seating area outside the Lovelace Crossroads studio where guests, friends, and artisans would gather, 2006, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 15: Entry of The Factory at 462 Lane Drive, home to Alabama Chanin’s design, production, and manufacturing studios since 2007, photograph by Rinne Allen; This location previously housed Tee Jays Manufacturing Co., which, before NAFTA, employed thousands within our region and was known as “the t-shirt capital of the world.” Learn more about Tee Jays here
Slide 16: Driftwood, salvaged from the neighboring Tennessee River and Shoal Creek, used to craft installations and sculptures that can still be found in The Factory today, photograph by Rinne Allen
Slide 17: Original factory floor plan circa 1995 taken on the building’s well-worn concrete floors , 2013, photograph by Erin Dailey, Managing Editor, Alabama Chanin Journal
Slide 18: “Made in the USA” sign hanging in The Factory’s production studio, 2018, photograph by Rinne Allen
Slide 19: Organic cotton fabrics, maker supplies, and sample DIY garments in The School of Making’s early workshop space at The Factory, 2012, photograph by Rinne Allen (read an entry on The School of Making here)
Slide 20: Framed photos from the Lovelace Crossroads studio now outside offices at The Factory, 2012, photograph by Rinne Allen