We’re beginning to make “merch”—cool stuff like coffee cups and hats. We’ll tell you more later.
SCTOWNS | Palmetto Places
Rediscover Carolina Towns
Meet the People… Discover the Places… Share the Stories…
South Carolina is more than beaches, tourist attractions, and interstate exits. Turn off the highway and follow the old roads for a while, and you'll discover towns with personalities all their own—historic courthouse squares, family businesses, churches, cafés, farms, artists, local characters, and stories that don't always make the evening news.
At SCTowns | Palmetto Places, we go looking for those stories, and we share them with Town and Community newspapers—which often publish weekly (both in print and online).
We explore communities large and small, meet the people who give them character, celebrate places that are truly worth remembering. And we create original stories and artwork inspired by life in the Palmetto State.
Because Every Town Has A Story.
Along the way you'll find:
Feature stories about Carolina towns, people, businesses, and traditions
Original cartoons about community life inspired by the wonderfully peculiar people who inhabit it
Saltwater Colors paintings of churches, landmarks, landscapes, and hometown places
Caricatures of merchants, community leaders, and local personalities
Palmetto Silhouettes and other original South Carolina artwork
Historic buildings, back roads, courthouse squares, and unexpected discoveries
Local shops, restaurants, farms, thrift stores, galleries, and family businesses
Stories and cartoons available for town and community newspapers to publish and share with their readers
We might spend one day talking with a shopkeeper in Gaston, another wandering through Bamberg, Barnwell, or Aiken, and the next following an old highway simply because we wonder where it goes.
Sometimes we know what we're looking for.
Sometimes the best story is the one we weren't looking for at all.
Our mission is simple:
Find the people. Discover the places. Tell the stories that deserve to be told.
Stories Worth Sharing
Palmetto Places isn't intended to be only a collection of things to see online.
We are developing original feature stories, community-interest articles, cartoons, caricatures, and artwork suitable for town and community newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and other local publications.
Local newspapers have always done something important: they help a community recognize itself. We want to contribute to that tradition with entertaining, positive, professionally prepared material that editors can adapt for their own readers.
Some stories will make you curious.
Some will make you remember.
And every now and then, we hope one makes you laugh out loud over your morning coffee.
Meet the Faces of Carolina
One of our favorite Palmetto Places traditions is drawing the people we meet along the way.
Shopkeepers. Restaurant owners. Artists. Farmers. Pastors. Craftsmen. Volunteers. Community leaders. And, naturally, those wonderful hometown characters who don't require an official title because everybody already knows who they are.
During our travels, we may create complimentary caricatures of selected people and share their stories here on SCTowns. Over time, these become part of a growing illustrated portrait of South Carolina—not simply a collection of places on a map, but a collection of people who make those places matter.
After all, towns have buildings, roads, restaurants, festivals, and courthouse squares.
But people give them stories.
“Sneak Peek” Caricature Gallery
Enjoy a sneak peek of our new caricatures feature entitled “Carolina Faces”!
(NOTE: We are only doing public figures for this example but we can do caricatures to illustrate local, feature stories… turn your neighbors into “local celebrities.”)
Just Imagine…
A caricature of your local mayor… a business person in your community… a popular pastor or minister… the local high school coach… or a neighbor whom you are featuring in a story in your newspaper!
And what if you could offer an advertiser a caricature to include in an add in your newspaper… people would be talking about their business, and they would LOVE it!!!
Your publication could offer people something they would enjoy now and might keep forever!
And think about how many other people in the community would want that edition to see their friend as a cartoon in your newspaper!
EVERY TOWN HAS A STORY… LET “SCTOWNS” HELP TELL YOUR STORY!
“Sneak Peek” Cartoon Gallery
Enjoy a sneak peek of our new cartoon feature entitled “Town Toons”!
Laughter Is Powerful… And Humor Sells!
For many years, cartoons (and sports) were the most popular items in the big newspapers across the country. Humor is contagious— people love to laugh.
Every town has one or two groups of men who gather regularly (often daily) for breakfast, coffee, or a meal—and to solve the problems of the world too. Although they sometimes take a break from that to talk about sports (especially during football season). And don’t forget those church, covered dish suppers, Vacation Bible School, the local festival, the Christmas parade, and a host of other things that people who live in towns know… understand… and cherish!
Our “Town Toons” cartoon feature goes to the heart of living in a town (both in the town limits or in the country near the town). “Hometown” is still nostalgic theme, and Opa, our humorist, captures those precious moments in cartoons that anre always family friendly and memorable too.
AND YES—THEY MAKE GREAT FILLERS TOO WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO DO YOUR LAYOUT!
Get in touch
This form is for newspaper editors who want quality cartoons and features stories on an “as needed” basis. Send us your contact information, and we will keep you up-to-date on available features and fillers for your publications.
