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Grandma's Silver

Grandma's Silver

By: Allie Kochinsky
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Grandma’s Silver explores the culture of everyday life, from design and interiors to food, tradition, and the rituals that shape how we live.

Hosted by Allie Kochinsky, each episode features thoughtful, approachable conversations with designers, historians, and tastemakers, uncovering the meaning behind timeless style and enduring traditions.

New episodes every Wednesday.Allie Kochinsky Art Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Thomas Jefferson's Flowers: Reading the Garden with Peggy Cornett

    Thomas Jefferson's Flowers: Reading the Garden with Peggy Cornett
    Jul 1 2026
    In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky sits down with Peggy Cornett, longtime Curator of Plants at Monticello, former director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and author of Thomas Jefferson's Flowers, to explore gardens as living records of history.

    Together, they discuss how historic landscapes preserve stories of daily life, seasonal rhythms, beauty, labor, and cultural exchange. Drawing on more than four decades of preserving Thomas Jefferson's botanical legacy, Peggy shares what the flowers cultivated at Monticello reveal about Jefferson's botanical interests, his international network of plant exchanges, and the many people, including enslaved gardeners and laborers, whose knowledge and work shaped the landscape.

    The detective work behind restoring historic gardens is also explored, along with how historians reconstruct landscapes from letters, archaeological evidence, and plant records, and why heirloom plants can serve as a form of living inheritance.

    In this episode, they discuss:
    • The inspiration behind Thomas Jefferson's Flowers
    • How gardens function as living historical documents
    • Jefferson's passion for flowers and botanical exchange
    • The people whose labor sustained Monticello's gardens
    • Restoring historic landscapes
    • Heirloom plants
    • Seasonal rhythms in early America
    • What gardens reveal about identity and place
    RESOURCES
    • Visit Monticello's website here.
    • Purchase the book on Monticello's site, or on Amazon.



    If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
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    39 mins
  • Summerville, SC: The Birthplace of Sweet Tea

    Summerville, SC: The Birthplace of Sweet Tea
    Jun 24 2026
    This week, Allie Kochinsky virtually travels to Summerville, South Carolina, a historic Lowcountry town that proudly calls itself the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea." At the center of the conversation is the town's Sweet Tea Trail, a self-guided experience connecting local businesses, history, food, and community through one of the South's most iconic traditions.

    But this episode isn't simply about a beverage; it's about hospitality as identity. About preserving small-town character in a changing South. About tourism rooted in storytelling rather than spectacle. And about why certain traditions, even simple ones, continue to hold emotional power.

    Allie, joined by Cassie Ford, Director of Tourism, explores the history of Summerville, the cultural mythology surrounding sweet tea, and what local traditions reveal about the places we call home.

    RESOURCES:
    • Take a visit to the Summerville website here.
    • Follow along on Facebook and/or Instagram.
    • Learn more about the Sweet Tea Trail!




    If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
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    31 mins
  • Lycette Designs on Stitching Tradition

    Lycette Designs on Stitching Tradition
    Jun 17 2026
    In this episode of Grandma's Silver, Allie Kochinsky is joined by Jessica Chaney, founder of Lycette Designs, for a conversation on needlepoint as more than just a pastime, but a practice rooted in patience, memory, and home.

    Together, they explore why this traditional craft is finding new relevance today, and what it offers in a culture that often prioritizes speed and convenience. From heirloom pillows to hand-stitched canvases, needlepoint occupies a unique space, both decorative and personal, shaped as much by the process as the finished piece.

    Jessica discusses the quiet discipline of making something by hand, how these objects evolve over time, and why they so often become part of a home's story.

    RESOURCES
    • Shop Lycette Designs online.
    • Plan a trip to the store(s).
    • Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and/or Pinterest.


    If you enjoy Grandma’s Silver, follow the podcast and share this episode with a friend who loves heritage, design, and timeless living.
    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
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