Madge met a gal pal last week to have lunch at one of her favorite shopping areas in the low country – historic Bluffton, South Carolina. If you are not familiar with the low country, it covers the coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina south of Myrtle Beach.
Bluffton is halfway between Savannah and Hilton Head, and has slowly transformed its historic district of old homes and commercial buildings into charming art galleries, shops and restaurants. I’m always impressed every time I go. So many towns try to create an instant artist colony for tourists, but this one is the real deal organically growing and improving every year.
Fortified by a lunch of shrimp & grits and salmon salad a the Cottage Café, we stopped by a favorite shop – Eggs ‘n’ Tricities in a former 50s filling station. It’s one of the pioneers in the historic district, opening over 20 year’s ago. 
Nancy, the owner has filled her store with a fabulous selection of vintage and new merchandise including jewelry, handbags, ladies wear, home accents, hilarious cards – all in a fun setting! I love shops that combine vintage items along with new merchandise. It certainly makes shopping more interesting.
One necklace absolutely blew us away. Local artist, Debbie Laurick has found a very creative way to repurpose old watches in this fabulous necklace. She has fashioned a large collar with an intricate combination of gold chains, aurora borealis rhinestones and crystals with lovely ladies vintage watch faces of various shapes hanging from the collar. The imagination and work that went into this necklace is amazing. What a statement piece!
In addition to Nancy’s shop, we found some great art at Pluff Mud. Pluff Mud, 
named after the stinky mud that is left at low tide at the bottom of the marshes, features paintings, photography, jewelry and sculpture by low country artists.
I picked up some wonderfully evocative matted photos by Ed Funk.
He has a photo 
-realistic painting style to his work and just fell in love with his studies of South Carolina ruins. Like this one entitled “Springtime Ruins”.
After a fabulous gal pal afternoon, I just had to snap this amazing oak tree on our way back to our cars.
This is just a small slice of the wonders of the Low Country of Georgia and South Carolina.
Egg’s’N’Tricities
71 Calhoun Street
Bluffton, SC 29910
843 757-3446
Pluff Mud
27 Calhoun Street
Bluffton, SC 29910
843 757-5590
Cottage Café
38 Calhoun Street
Bluffton, SC 29910
843 757-0508
