Nashville Valentine Gift Ideas: #8 - Bang Candy Company Cocoa Mix

Baby, it's cold outside. Like, everywhere. So, one way you and your boo can warm up is with this artisan cocoa mix from Bang Candy Company. Pair with their handmade marshmallows for a "love"ly gift that's nearly as sweet as your Valentine. 

Gift Idea #8: Bang Candy Company Cocoa Mix

When they open this beautifully decorated tin on Valentine's morning, they'll be impressed with both your taste and the taste of this chocolatey delight. Made with only the best ingredients by Sarah Souther and her team at Bang, the only downside is that they'll wish you gave them more than one.

(Good news: you can take them to our retail store where they can buy more cocoa by the dozen. We're open every day from 10AM-6PM, located inside the Nashville Farmers Market.)

Previous gift ideas:

• Gift Idea #10: Bourbon Lover Gift Batch
• Gift Idea #9 - Nashville Hot Chicken Shirt

Nashville Valentine Gift Ideas: #9 - Nashville Hot Chicken Shirt

Nothing says "I love you" or "You're nice to have around" like a memorable shirt. To help you make this Valentine's Day easy, we're dropping the hint that the best gift to give anyone whose shirt size you happen to know is our very own Smooth like Tennessee Whiskey Hot like Nashville Chicken Shirt.

Gift Idea #9: Smooth like Tennessee Whiskey Hot like Nashville Chicken Shirt

Printed in the heart of East Nashville by our friends at Life and Limb on a soft, cotton shirt, this beauty has been donned by locals and tourists alike. Of course, we'd love for Keith and Nicole to get a matching set, take a selfie, post it, and DM us so we can be BFFs, but until that happens and we need to print these by the partywagon-load, you can grab yours online or at our retail store (open every day from 10AM-6PM). 

Pair this with the Hot Chicken gift set to really spice things up (you know, if your relationship needs that sort of thing).

Previous gift ideas:

• Gift Idea #10: Bourbon Lover Gift Batch

Nashville Valentine Gift Ideas: #10 - Bourbon Lover Gift Batch

Hey y'all. Valentine's Day is coming up. And it doesn't matter if you think it's a made up holiday invented by greeting card and chocolate companies - your girl, guy, friend, cuff, pet is expecting something.

In an effort to avoid relational strife, we've got you covered and are counting down with 10 local, Nashville gift ideas that should impress anyone (and if they don't, well, that says more about them than you). 

Gift Idea #10: Bourbon Lover Gift Batch

Look, in some places (for now), it's frowned upon to drink fine bourbon for lunch. But, you can go hog wild on popcorn and brittle any time you like. That's why we've curated this gift set full of bourbon flavored and inspired items.

And don't sleep on that Tobacco + Whiskey scented candle complete with Nashville branding by our pals at Southern Firefly (Literally - don't sleep on it. Please always extinguish all candles before bed time.)

As always, gift batches ship for free (yay!), or you can shop in person at our Nashville store every day of the week from 10AM until 6PM.

Why Wrapped Gifts Make People Happier

"Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things"

If you are shopping for a gift from Batch then you are well on your way to giving a special gift. But, if you want to really make the recipient happy you should upgrade to gift wrap. Don't take our word for it. Daniel Howard, professor of marketing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, published the important Gift-Wrapping Effects on Product Attitudes: A Mood-Biasing Explanation study in 1992. 

Here's the overview from Bustle's article "Why Do We Wrap Gifts? A Brief History Of Wrapping Paper:" 

Those who received wrapped gifts, rated their gift more favorably, and nicely wrapped presents were favored over unwrapped or "non-traditionally" wrapped gifts. Dr. Howard, who led the study, explained: "Gift wrapping, through repeated pairing with joyous events in people's lives, has utility in cuing [sic] a happy mood which, in turn, positively biases attitudes." Hence, wrapping gifts brings back happy memories thus putting us in a happy mood!

 Spread the joy with a gift and wrap it for a one-two punch of happiness.

Meet the Maker: Elvie Creations

What started as a sanity-saving creative outlet for Laura Verner has turned into business specializing in cute children's toys and clothes. When she's not making "slightly off" stuffed animals, she's teaching sewing camps and classes. When she's not doing all of that, she's with her family and probably on the lookout for cute fabric. She took a moment to answer a few questions about herself and her business.

Meet the Maker: Southern Jerky Co.

Jennifer Bisceglia is a problem solving entrepreneur. Instead of settling for generic, tasteless, low-nutrition snacks for her sons, she created Southern Jerky Co.—maker of jerky, protein bars, and dehydrated fruit using premium ingredients. She took a moment from her busy life to answer a few questions about her business, family, and life in Nashville.

What inspired you to start your own business? 

I established Southern Jerky Co. in May 2015. I have three sons, ages 14,12 and 9. I have been on sports fileds since the oldest was 4. Of course, everyone knows snacks are the most important to celebrate or console yourself with after the game. Boys love to eat and mine simply grew tired of traditional "cracker snacks." This gave birth to the idea of coming up with something healthy, no unnatural preservatives, not a lot of sodium and something my guys would like to eat, JERKY. I looked on the market shelves and was shocked with ingredients and how long this packaged meat product said it last.

I thought I could do better and decided to give a shot. I came up with a few recipes. Some recipes were a complete miss and a couple were pretty good. My boys became very reluctant taste testers after quite a few bombs. However, I hit a couple of "homeruns", lol. Now, with a couple of kid approved recipes I decided to share these with the team and coaches of my sons baseball team. I got a few, "this is great", "it could use some _____", and "you should ____". After awhile folks started really asking me for more,  even my neighbor started paying me for ziplock bags. She loved it and her kids loved it too. It was a simple way for her to add a healthy protein into her kids day especially with the Mighty Good Bar.

At this point, my husband Jeremy said that he thought I should do a local street festival and just see how it would go. We rented a commercial kitchen had an inspection and 2 months later were downtown selling jerky at our first festival. We sold more than we ever thought we would and then Jeremy looked at me and said, "we've got something"!  We opened our brick and mortar in April of 2016.

Tell us about your collaboration with Yazoo. How does it add to the flavor of the jerky?

Before opening the store I started playing with recipes again and trying to come up with some "Nashville" flavors. I thought of introducing a beer into my marinade. Jeremy and I thought Yazoo would be a great fit. The flavor turned out amazing! We started to introduce Yazoo Jalapeno at some of our festivals. It quickly became our best seller. Jeremy thought we should take it down to the Yazoo guys and let them try it. We wanted to show them how great it was and see if they wouldnt mind becoming one of our core flavors and letting us use their brand and beer. They LOVED it! So together with their permission we set out to making this unique flavor.

Yazoo Jalapeno is and has been our #1 best seller since its introduction. We use the Yazoo Pale Ale to soak our jerky in while it tones down the heat of the jalapeno it lets its flavor shine through with a smooth kick of heat on the back end. We are so happy to have flavors that are affiliated with Nashville. I grew up in East Tennessee and Jeremy is from Nashville. We love Nashville, southern traditions and the South.

What local products do you use at home?

Local support means a lot to us and we like to support other local businesses, too. Jeremy and I love Nashville Jam Company. My favorite is the peach habanero with some cream cheese on crackers, YUM! I also like to give local gifts to friends and family so I mix & match with Southern City Flavors. He has a wide variety of goodies and southern comforts.  Supporting local buisnesses keeps Nashville fun and unique.

Where are places in and around Nashville y'all go to enjoy the outdoors?

Being a mom of three means we get out and enjoy the outdoors, too. If we're not hiking through Percy Warner Park, we're hiking at Radnor Lake and of course, we are always at friday night football games supporting our team. We have an exciting list to choose from professional sports teams, music festivals and everything downtown, there's so much to do in Nashville.

Ready to try Southern Jerky Co. Yazoo Jalapeno Jerky? It's part of our best selling Everything Nice in Nashville Gift Batch, the office-pleasing Office Snack Gift Batch, and the Sweet and Savory Gift Batch.

Labor Day Trips From Nashville

This is not a drill. Labor Day is just about one week away. If you're up for loading the family (and the dog), in the car, we've got some fun day trips to celebrate the long weekend.

Chase a waterfall
If the weather is right, hiking to, up, or near a waterfall can create some fun memories. Our favorites? Cummins Falls, Fall Creek Falls, or Burgess Falls.

Shop till you drop
While downtown Nashville can have some shopping hot spots (including - ahem - the Batch store), head south to Franklin and peruse the shops up and down (and just a shade off of) Main Street. Or, go out to Leiper's Fork where there's a lot going on as well.

Park it
Tennessee is full of beautiful state parks, many of which you can reach easily from Nashville. For great hikes or biking paths, try Henry Horton, Long Hunter, or Montgomery Bell.

Make Proud Mary Proud
The Tina Turner Museum is just a short drive away. Go learn how Anna Mae Bullock became The Queen of Rock n Roll.

Watermelon Weekend at the Nashville Farmers' Market

Join Batch Nashville and the rest of the Nashville Farmers' Market to celebrate watermelon season.

This Friday night from 5-9 there will be free watermelon samples, watermelon + tequila cocktails, craft beer, froze, wine, watermelon eating contest. Enjoy food trucks, market house restaurants and shops, Caracasville in the Grow Local Kitchen, kids crafts, live music. 

Send that Thank You - They'll be "Ecstatic"

We are big fans of sending thank you gifts with handwritten notes. That's pretty much the foundation of our business because we believe gratitude is an important part of relationships.

We were pleased to see this New York Times article about the results of a study in the growing field of gratitude research, published last month in the journal Psychological Science. It turns out that recipients of gratitude letters (sample letters included missives of appreciation to fellow students and friends who offered guidance through the college admissions process, job searches and tough times) said they were “ecstatic” when they read the letter. Along with underestimating the value of sending a note to another person, many senders seemed to be concerned with how much their writing would be scrutinized.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Instead of holding back because you don't think someone will appreciate your thanks or because you don't know what to say, send a thank you letter (and put it inside a gift).

Batch celebrates 5 years of supporting local makers

We are celebrating five years of supporting local makers, sharing the best Nashville-made products, and growing the maker community. 

Join us at our store in the Nashville Farmers' Market on Wednesday, August 1st, for Batch's 5th birthday. From 10-12, we'll have biscuits from Delta 61 with Nashville Jam and TruBee honey. From 4-6, come shop and sip during happy hour. Swing by the Picnic Tap for $2 off pints and come to our store for free Prohibition Popcorn. We even have a special offer — $5 off any order of $40 or more.

Batch is the brainchild of friends Sam Davidson, Stephen Moseley and Rob Williams, who started the business in 2013 because they wanted to make it easier to discover and share the cool stuff made in Nashville.

Starting with the Batch subscription service, the Batch team curated and delivered a monthly package featuring 3 to 5 unique, handcrafted goods with a description of each product and its maker. In addition to the subscription, Batch has a retail in the Nashville Farrmers' Market (opened in November 2014) and a line of curated gifts ideal for personal gifts, corporate gifts, events and weddings.

Batch’s mission is to highlight locally made goods that define a sense of place and the person making them. Cities are defined by the makers, their food and their goods. With Batch, people who love a city can support it by enjoying and sharing the products that make it unique and the city can spread its culture to more people.