The deadline for Garden & Gun’s 12th Annual Made in the South Awards is fast approaching. We spoke with G&G Contributing Editor + producer of this year’s awards Elizabeth Hutchinson to get the inside scoop for locals. She has worked on the awards since the inaugural year in 2010.

What are the Made in the South Awards?
This Garden & Gun competition is designed to tell the stories of creative and passionate Southern craft makers, small businesses owners + entrepreneurs. Craft makers submit their Southern products for consideration.

When is the deadline to apply?
To participate, fill out an entry form by July 1. Don’t worry if you didn’t win last time, Elizabeth says that with new judges every year, you have a fresh shot to win each time around.

What kinds of products can you submit?
There are 6 categories to choose from: Food, Drink, Home, Style, Outdoors + Crafts. Below are examples of each, but these do not cover every possible submission.

Food — Jams, breads, cakes, pies, cheeses, pickles, you name it.
Drink — Alcoholic: Craft beers, ciders, and family-produced wines. Non-alcoholic: sweet tea, cocktail mixers, and artisan sodas.
Home — Custom furniture, pillows, and hand-made wallpapers.
Elizabeth’s pro-tip: “Anything that turns a house into a stylish home.”
Style — Dress shirts, blouses, blazers, belts, shoes, watches, and hats.
Outdoors — Duck decoys, bikes, custom boats, and grills.
Elizabeth’s pro-tip: “Anything that invites people to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.”
Crafts — Smaller goods like handmade stationery, candles, beauty products, and pottery.

Who will the judges be?
Food — Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award recipient, television personality, chef, writer, teacher, and social justice advocate (Minneapolis)
Drink — Tiffanie Barriere, former beverage director of Atlanta eatery One Flew South, current independent bartender and innovative industry leader (Atlanta)
Home — Keith Smythe Meacham, founder of Reed Smythe & Company, a hybrid online shop that partners with Southern artisans to create home and garden goods (Nashville)
Style — Rae and David Liu, co-founders of Leatherology, a direct-to-consumer brand of customizable leather accessories (Dallas)
Outdoors — T. Edward Nickens, expert sportsman and author of “The Last Wild Road” and several outdoor guides (Raleigh)
Crafts — Jonathan Morris, entrepreneur and owner of Fort Worth Barber Shop, co-founder of Memo Hospitality Group, and host of Magnolia Network’s “Self Employed,” premiering this summer (Fort Worth)

What are the prizes?
Winners and runners-up in each category and will be featured in the December/January issue of G&G. The overall winner will receive a $10,000 grand prize. That’s quite a chunk of change, Charleston. 💰

When will we find out who won?
This year’s winners will be announced in the December/January issue of G&G — just in time to give locals some holiday shopping inspo. Check out last year’s winners, and keep an eye out for Charlestonians.

Good luck, Chucktown. We’ll leave you with these inspiring words from our insider: “[T]he best part of the Made in the South Awards is seeing the incredible impact that the awards and the subsequent exposure can have on these small businesses and makers. The awards really do change lives.”