Elijah Leed and Kris Frazier finalize a glass blowing project at Elijah Leed Studio in Durham, North Carolina.
Story by Erik Haynes
Photo by Madeline Nguyen
Lead: Two Durham businesses have gained regional recognition with their unique products. Erik Haynes takes us behind the scenes of their craft to discover what sets them apart.
TRT: 2:32
STANDUP: Garden & Gun’s Made in the South Awards shine a spotlight on the region’s finest products…and Durham, North Carolina, boasts two past winners. One of which is the Warren Cabinet… made right here at the Elijah Leed Studio.
SOT 1: “It’s really a kind of a cabinet of curiosities where the bronze gives you a little bit of the ability to see through.”
TRACK 1: Elijah Leed launched his business in 2011, handcrafting lighting fixtures, furniture, and glassware. Every few years… he showcases his work at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York.
SOT 2: “The trade shows are a rare opportunity to have a hard stop. We are doing all this setup, investing all this time into it. Let’s go a little bit farther and make something entirely new.”
TRACK 2: The result was the Warren Cabinet debuting at the ICFF in Spring 2022. Now… Leed and woodworker Kris Frazier continue to refine the product with each version…
SOT 3: “I didn’t make the first iteration. I helped him kind of. But from there, I have kind of taken the lead on all of those. All in all it’s looked the same, it’s maybe just gotten cleaner every single time.”
NAT POP: “So it just shows you how minimally processed our products are”
TRACK 3: Just five minutes away… CICIL co-founder Caroline Cockerham… manages the business from home. The idea for the rug company came while she and co-founder Laura Tripp worked at Patagonia…
SOT 4: “That really helped me to like, shape my values and understanding of how business could be carried on. So more into using natural material working within a small supply chains directly with farmers.”
TRACK 4: This approach earned CICIL Garden & Gun’s inaugural sustainability award in 2022. Cockerham hopes to influence wider change in the industry, speaking at climate conferences and visiting her alma mater NC State’s textile school.
SOT 5: “Just because you’re making product sustainability, sustainability doesn’t mean that they have to be, unattractive. It’s really important to get out and have conversations with different people.”
NAT POP: “It’s going to slightly start moving around a little bit…”
TRACK 5: Leed is also active in the community, teaching glassblowing at Liberty Arts.
SOT 6: “We set up this, this glassblowing studio to be an educational studio. It really is a resource for the community.”
TRACK 6: From furniture to rugs… Leed and Cockerham continue to grow their businesses while building a community of makers in North Carolina. I’m Erik Haynes reporting…
TRT: 2:32
Anchor Tag: These businesses are creating products that not only showcase their skill but are pushing the boundaries of creativity and sustainability.
