Culin-Arts Features Kitchenwares, Mississippi Made Products

Valeda Carmichael’s kitchenware store, Culin-Arts, has been open 10 weeks on 404 S. 11th Street in Oxford and is feeling the effects of the rising economy in Oxford.
“Advertising and word of mouth is just really taking off,” Carmichael said.
Culin-Arts has a variety of kitchenware for baking those tasty Christmas treats and serving them to family and friends. There are nine rooms, each with a different theme, that showcase a vast array of items for cooking and entertaining. The best kitchen utensils, chopping boards, aprons and chef hats (children sizes too), bowls, dinnerware and gorgeous serving utensils and trays. A number of Mississippi-made products are also featured in Carmichael’s store such as pottery, iron works and oil paintings.
“All of the artist featured, everything is done by hand and very individual,” Carmichael said.
Culin-Arts features Pat Gavin Pottery. Gavin was the first artist Carmichael featured in her store when she first opened her doors in West Point, Miss., 12 years ago. Made in Mississippi, the pottery is unique and personal, yet fun and functional. Everything is oven, dishwasher and microwave safe. If you look just past the pottery, you will be sure to spot the Christmas trees and Ole Miss signs made of iron from West Point as well.
“My brother makes all the iron work you see in the shop,” Carmichael said. “He works full-time in the national guard, and does iron work on the side. He even made the front steps to the shop.”
Henry Carmichael, Valeda Carmichael’s brother, draws everything by hand before he cuts them out with his machine. Look closely at the beautiful Christmas trees and you will see that each has its own unique shape made exclusively for Culin-Arts. Getting married? Culin-Arts has more of Henry Carmichael’s work for rent such as a beautiful, rustic iron table (recently used as unity candle table) located in the front room. Displayed beside the iron Christmas trees is a large Chanel No. 5 oil painting made in Mississippi by Lee Gibson Oil Paintings.

“The lady that does the oil paintings, I saw her work in another store in West Point,” Carmichael said, “and I told her that if that store closed I wanted to feature her work in Culin-Arts. The shop closed and I have been featuring her work for about ten years.”
Carmichael fell in love with the detail of the paintings and has decorated her Oxford store with them. Gibson’s oil painting include art of Ole Miss, the Grove and the famous Chanel No. 5 to name a few things.
Another Mississippi-made product featured at Culin-Arts is the charming, hand-crafted jewelry made by Weldon Merchant of West Point, Miss., who also has a necklace in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The necklace, made of ten deer antler tips and metal beads, was placed in the Smithsonian in 1975. Culin-Arts has a case of Merchant’s work that is beautifully crafted by the artist himself, another Culin-Arts exclusive.
“Culin-Arts has anything you need from cooking and entertaining, to your place and you looking good,” Carmichael said.
Culin-Arts has new Christmas hours. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 to 6 p.m., Christmas Eve from 9:30 to 5p.m. and closed on Christmas Day. The store will reopen December 26 and 27 and close December 29 through January 5. Stop by and see what Culin-Arts can help you check off your Christmas list today.
Emily Newton is a managing editor and reporter for hottytoddy.com and can be reached at emily.newton@hottytoddy.com.