Meet Jim Irvin

You may know Jim Irvin even if you think you don’t. He is one of the guiding forces of Charleston’s hospitality industry, effective at creating special places for Lowcountry residents and tourists alike, a champion of the local business community and that of South Carolina at large, and now one of the 2023 SC ICON Honor Award Winners. We are lucky enough to have worked for Jim and his partners on several building projects and while he has received many accomplishments, awards and accolades throughout his career, perhaps the most noteworthy is his track record of innovation, resilience and reinvention. He is a ‘Jack of many trades’ and master of each of them. 

• Residential and Commercial Builder / Developer - After studying at chemistry, biology and accounting at Vanderbilt + Sullivan University, he began what would become a 40 year chapter as a residential and commercial builder / developer starting in Kentucky and South Carolina. After relocating to the Lowcountry in 1979 Jim built houses in Crowfield, Kiawah Island and IOP including over 60 spec houses through the 1990s.

• Irvin House Vineyard - In 2000 Jim and his wife Ann purchased a farm on Wadmalaw Island and after a trip to a Florida winery were inspired to begin a vineyard. They would eventually establish Irvin House Vineyard, Charleston’s only domestic winery which produced Muscadine Wine, a wine made from the American indigenous grape. Both Jim and Ann were fundamental members of Certified SC Grown throughout Irvin House Vineyard’s chapter. The wine was successfully distributed to every major grocery store in South Carolina thanks to a relationship with Scott Newitt who was a statewide distributor in South Carolina. 

Original Firefly Distillery on Wadmalaw Island, SC.

• Firefly Distillery is Born - The vintner / distributor relationship led to a friendship and ultimately to business partners in 2006 when Jim and Scott joined forces to create Firefly Distillery. In the same year they produced their first product, a Muscadine wine vodka, which earned 89 out of 100 points from the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago (outscoring big names like Absolut and Ketel One.) As successful as their first product out of the gate was, an even bigger product was on the horizon. Jim and Scott introduced Firefly’s Sweet Tea Vodka in 2008 using tea leaves from the neighboring tea farm. In the subsequent years, Firefly would introduce various moonshine, whiskey and lemonade products.

Firefly Sunset Resort in the Bahamas

• Firefly Sunset Resort - In 2009, Jim and Ann Irvin purchased a run-down resort in Elbow Cay Bahamas. They invested in renovations and new construction to create a vacation destination, restaurant and bar called the Firefly Sunset Resort and opening in 2012. In 2019 Hurricane Dorian severely damaged the resort; as of 2021, the facility was fully open for guests.

Firefly Distillery’s new facility in North Charleston.

• Firefly Distillery 2.0 - In 2015, responding to the distillery’s success and Charleston metro’s growing hospitality industry, Jim Irvin and Scott Newitt purchased a former landfill in North Charleston on the banks of Noisette Creek. This land would set the stage for a much larger facility (20,000sf) to house not only the manufacturing process but a large tasting room, gift shop, and event spaces of all sizes in a centrally located and easily accessible locale. The new facility opened in February of 2020 and would need to close its doors just a month later due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Through reinvention and an unwavering commitment to the local community, the distillery, with Jim’s guidance, pivoted to produce hand sanitizer for the Lowcountry and in the summer launched the “Safe Sounds” concert series on their vast outdoor lawn. Firefly just celebrated their 3 year anniversary in the new location and enjoys steady patrons, hosts distillery tours and tastings, gatherings and weddings, and has now grown to be a noteworthy concert destination with Live Nation booking 25 concerts in 2023 each for nearly 5,000 people.

Awards / Accolades

• 2006: Chicago Beverage Testing Institute 89/100 for Firefly Muscadine Wine Vodka

• 2009: San Francisco World Spirits Competition awarded Firefly Handcrafted Vodka a bronze medal

• 2020: Charleston Chamber of Commerce “Champion Innovator” award recipient

Jim Irvin has consistently assisted the local and state business community - specifically the distillery industry through multiple lobbying efforts with the SC state legislature. When Firefly Distillery was just launching the state required $50k to start a distillery on top of the equipment costs which is a very high barrier to entry; Irvin and Newitt successfully lobbied the state to change that to a $1k fee thus opening the doors for more small start-ups. In 2009, Jim and his partner successfully lobbied to allow tastings and sales of the product at the facility location. Additionally, Firefly Distillery’s location in North Charleston has added to Charleston Metro’s hospitality industry by showcasing a South Carolina product, hosting local food trucks and events for non-profit organizations like Lowcountry Local First. 

The common thread beyond business acumen is that Jim Irvin is not afraid to reinvent, reimagine + rebuild. From the multiple career pivots to rebuilding after a hurricane and reimagining during the pandemic, Jim Irvin has proven that he is not only a successful builder, developer, vintner and distiller, but a resilient and innovative fixture in the Charleston and South Carolina community. You can probably find him working his magic at the Firefly Distillery in Park Circle these days; swing by for a distillery tour and tasting and say congrats!

14th Annual Chef's Potluck @ Firefly Distillery

Lowcountry Local First’s legendary ‘Chef’s Potluck’ fundraising event, which pairs Charleston area chefs with local farmers, fishermen and ranchers, will be held this year at the Firefly Distillery in North Charleston, SC. Rush Dixon Architects is delighted to be one of the sponsors for this 14th annual event which will be held on May 22. Get your tickets or register to volunteer HERE . Proceeds from the event benefit the organization’s mission to cultivate an equitable economy anchored in local ownership.

It is always exciting when worlds collide; especially when they are both forces of good in the community. In this case, Lowcountry Local First, an organization that we have been members of for years that advocates for the local economy including our small business and a wonderful client, Firefly Distillery. When we were working on the design of their North Charleston facility, in addition to the distillery, tasting room and gift shop functions, the notion of creating spaces for gatherings and events of all sizes was a priority. To see their success in hosting concerts, parties and now a signature event is exciting.

The 2022 Chef’s Potluck participating restaurants include:

• Basic Kitchen

• Butcher & Bee

• Chubby Fish

• Cru Cafe

• Delaney Oyster House

• Edmund’s Oast

• Frannie & the Fox

• FIG

• The Ordinary

• Indaco

• Jackrabbit Filly

• Ma’am Saab

• Park & Grove

• Post House

• Slightly North of Broad

• Ted’s Butcherblock

• The Grocery

• Life Raft Treats

The 2022 beverage providers include:

• Firefly Distillery

• Grassroots Wine

• Holy City Brewing

More partners will be announced in the coming weeks so check back on the LLF website for more information and to get your tickets!

10 Books on Design (+ Independent Bookstores to Buy Them From)

Here is a new take on last year’s Top 10 Gift Guide - Designer Edition, focusing our attention exclusively on books related to the built environment, architecture, graphic and urban design. Some of these titles have been the subject of our previous musings, which are linked in the descriptions below, and some are new titles for us to share. All have provided inspiration, education, new perspectives and sometimes a welcomed escape. Of course, these are best purchased from your local independent book store; if they are not already on the shelves, they can order for you! Some of our local favorites include Turning Page Bookshop in Goose Creek, Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston, The Village Bookseller in Mount Pleasant and the Itinerant Literate Bookstop in North Charleston. Add your favorite independent bookseller in the comments.

Vignelli Transit Maps

Peter B. Lloyd with Mark Ovenden

This book chronicles the Italian designer Massimo Vignelli, respectfully called the Maestro, as he pushed the world of graphic design by reimagining the transit maps of New York City and Washington DC and forcing the question ‘Can a diagram be a map?’ (Spoiler alert: yes, it can). His designs were not always embraced by all as evidenced in the Great Subway Map Debate in New York City, but always provided a thoughtful, rigorous, innovative and modern approach. This book is for those who enjoy the behind the scenes sketches and iterations of the design process and how Vignelli navigated the very public process of iconic way finding.

Lake|Flato: Nature place craft restraint

Lake Flato Architects

We have long been fans of the regional and poignant architecture of the Lake Flato team based in Austin and San Antonio, Texas; somehow the architects create epic yet humble spaces again and again at every scale and in a range of building types. This book hones in on four priorities or aspects of their design language (nature, place, craft and restraint) by presenting several of their buildings/spaces in each category. When we were in San Antonio earlier this year we stumbled upon The Pearl and knew immediately this was a gathering place that was created with a high level of creativity, commitment to history and urban place-making. Lake Flato’s work “calls attention not to itself, but to other, more pertinent aspects of the human experience.” (Kengo Kuma)

The Home Edit

Clea Shearer + Joanna Teplin

We are big fans of creating order out of chaos. Ashton Kutcher recently shared in Architectural Digest, “To feel tranquility in a space, everything needs to be in order. If the world around you isn’t in order, it’s hard to get your brain in order.” The Home Edit is a room-by-room, how-to guide to edit, organize, display/store and enjoy your possessions. It can be a little overwhelming (and extra), but if you feed off of your built environment like we do, there are definitely some strategies here that you can make your own.

30A Living

Eleanor Lynn Nesmith

If you follow our travels you have seen images from Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach and Seaside, Florida - all coastal towns along Highway 30A. From town planning principles from the creative minds of Andres Duany + Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk to the architectural fabric and details created, we find inspiration again and again. This book is a curated view and escape into nine different communities with Jean Allsopp’s photos of exterior architecture, interior design and gulf views.

CHARLESTON FANCY

Witold Rybczynski

We are a little late to the party of Witold Rybczynski’s “Charleston Fancy - Little Houses + Big Dreams in the Holy City” published in 2019 by Yale University Press, but we are here now. Rybczyncki, the celebrated architect, professor and author captures a compelling movement in Charleston metro’s built environment, urban planning and architecture world. This book shares layers of historic renovations, lessons from medieval town planning and new urbanism through interviews with local master builders, developers and designers on the reverent and humane places they have created.

Click here for our Musings Blog for a more in-depth description.

New homes for today

Paul Williams

Continuing our study of the noteworthy African-American architect, Paul R. Williams (1894 - 1980), we have been pouring over his book published in 1946, “New Homes for Today.” The plan book is light on words and heavy on images which is just how us visual learners like it. While Mr. Williams had a wide multi-faceted career based in Los Angeles, including the design of public buildings, working for the Navy and designing over 2,000 homes (even that of Frank Sinatra!), this book focuses on smaller homes, perhaps for the middle class. The structure of the book itself allows just two pages for each house design and includes the description, floor plan and classic-now-vintage perspective renderings. Home names like “The Flamingo” and “The Country Gentleman” start to paint a picture of each home’s character.

Click here for our Musings Blog for a more in-depth description.

rural studio: Samuel mockbee + an architecture of decency

Andrea Oppenheimer Dean + Timothy Hursley

This book chronicles the genesis and early years of Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction’s “Rural Studio”, a design-build architecture studio located off-campus in rural Alabama. The studio educates what founder, Samuel Mockbee, calls “citizen architects” through feet-on-the-ground researching, community immersion, collaborative design and hands-on construction in Hale County’s ‘pockets of poverty.’ What started as a new house per year has grown into chapels, community buildings and structures for much needed economic development. Paramount lessons beyond design and construction are those in human decency, class and racial differences and how both client and student are equally helping one another.

Click here for our Musings Blog for a more in-depth description.

the new old house

Marc Kristal

Practicing architecture in the history-rich Charleston metro area often has us thinking about how new buildings or additions should interact with historic ones - the coexistence of present and past. Marc Kristal tackles the dialogue in his book, “The New Old House” with eighteen built examples of homes that combine historic and modern architecture. This discussion becomes one of preservation (sometimes with a flexible approach), function, aesthetics, respect and sustainability.

Click here for our Musings Blog for a more in-depth description.

fire island modernist: Horace Gifford + the architecture of secuction

Christopher Bascom Rawlins

Architect Christopher Rawlins crafts this comprehensive look at the often overlooked architect Horace Gifford (1932 - 1992), his approach to design, portfolio of seaside pavilions and houses with in the broader context of personal challenges, social and cultural movements. “As the 1960s became The Sixties, architect Horace Gifford executed a remarkable series of beach houses that transformed the terrain and culture of New York's Fire Island. Growing up on the beaches of Florida, Gifford forged a deep connection with coastal landscapes. Pairing this sensitivity with jazzy improvisations on modernist themes, he perfected a sustainable modernism in cedar and glass that was as attuned to natural landscapes as to our animal natures. Gifford's serene 1960s pavilions provided refuge from a hostile world, while his exuberant post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS masterpieces orchestrated bacchanals of liberation.” Rawlins

Click here for our Musings Blog for a more in-depth description.

LIVING WITH PATTERN: COLOR, TEXTURE, AND PRINT AT HOME

Rebecca Atwood

As lovers of solids (usually black or grey if we are being honest) we recognize that working with color and pattern can be our blindspot. Who better to learn from than Rebecca Atwood, artist, textile designer and a recent addition to the Charleston creative space (lucky us), with her book “Living with Pattern: Color, Texture, and Print at Home.” This beautiful reference, including photographs by Emily Johnston, is organized in three main parts in addition to resources and sourcing lists. First is a design and reference ‘primer’ allowing the reader to hone their personal point of view; second is a room-by-room guide with real life examples of inspired spaces; the third section includes projects for the reader to begin their own journey. In her words, “We are all filled with contradictions, and that’s what makes life interesting. Pattern can reflect your particular oppositions, interests, aspirations, and views of the world.”

Firefly Distillery Wins National Architectural Woodwork Institute Award of Excellence

Thanks to the Architectural Woodwork Institute for recognizing the Firefly Distillery’s interior woodwork design and execution with a 2021 Award of Excellence. The purpose of AWI’s award is to “honor the Architect for design of product, the Owner’s support of the design concept and the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturer for the faithful execution of the design and quality criteria.” Firefly’s new facility certainly had this hat trick of criteria but with a side of craftsmanship, clear communication and trust among all parties; basically, an architect’s dream. The project was featured in the spring issue of AWI’s Design Solutions magazine which can be found here. Thanks to the teams at Lowcountry Case + Millwork and Trident Construction and to our client, Firefly Distillery, for trusting us with your brand and new facility design.

“We wanted to have a rustic feel to stay true to the authentic nature of our brand. Our architect spent a lot of inspirational time at the distillery and brought us many samples of wood from which to choose.”

Jay MacMurphy, General Manager, Firefly Distillery

“We have a great, long-standing relationship with Rush Dixon Architects. Over the years, we have worked on many projects together throughout the Charleston area. We have developed an excellent relationship of collaboration and trust. It was very refreshing to have such openness and flexibility from the architect, general contractor and the Owner on this project.”

David Stasiukaitus, CEO, Low Country Case + Millwork

“Low Country Case + Millwork proved, once again, to be master craftsmen for this project through suggesting detail improvements and impeccable execution.”

Rush Dixon Architects

Firefly Distillery | Good Times. Great Spirits.

When we began the design for Firefly Distillery’s new facility, the first step was to visit their existing distillery and tasting room on Wadmalaw Island, SC to learn their history, better understand their brand, see their process, and sample some spirits. (Spoiler alert: they’re good.) Before putting pen to paper, it was important for us to know how Firefly started, where they are going, how they differentiated themselves in the industry and thus what functional spaces and visitor experiences to help create within the architecture.

The next couple of years included distillery research (see our Distillery Homework blog), design iterations and construction. The new facility opened in February 2020 and enjoyed a few weeks of hosting a record breaking number of visitors before the pandemic dialed down indoor gatherings. Firefly was able to pivot their distilling efforts to produce hand sanitizer to meet the moment and are now able to safely host visitors at the outdoor courtyard, tastings on the porch and socially distanced outdoor concerts.

Highlights of our research and how it dovetailed into our design

Firefly is a locally owned, family business who was one of the South Carolina Lowcountry’s best kept secrets until their inspired collaboration with the neighboring Charleston Tea Garden yielded ‘Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka’. Ever since, they have enjoyed a national audience and are a destination for tours, tastings and events. Therefore the building program included a gift shop, distillery, bottling line, lab, a tasting room, spirits retail section and multiple places for events (weddings, receptions, smaller meetings and outdoor concerts.)

The Firefly brand is southern, approachable, and laid back in the best way possible; think sitting on your porch with a drink in your hand, friends nearby and bluegrass playing in the background. This told us that while this will be a brand new, code-compliant facility, there should be moments of patina and casualness. Specialty craftspeople really brought the ‘soul’ into this new building. Shout out to coppersmiths, Khalima Lights for their handmade light fixtures, Limelight for the signage installation, Gil Shuler for the branding graphics and Lowcountry Case + Millwork for sourcing the reclaimed wood and executing our barrel stave design.

The Firefly folks, while innovative and forward-thinking, are also nostalgic and rustic with a side order of DIY. This inspired us to deconstruct wooden bourbon barrels in the back of our studio and incorporate them into the bar and light fixture designs as well as source reclaimed wood for paneling and metal roofing from a former Firefly structure as an interior accents.

The tasting bar design was born from deconstructing wooded barrels and alternating the position resulting in a varied texture and color rooted in distillery life. Bar counter is a custom copper fabrication. Beyond the bar is the spirits retail display where visitors can purchase bottles. Custom display / cabinetry designed by Rush Dixon Architects and crafted by Lowcountry Case + Millwork.

Copper nails make up the Firefly logo behind the check out counter. (Shout out to Limelight Signs for the many, many, many hours of hammering to get this effect.)

The gift shop greets visitors with a soaring, reclaimed wood clad vaulted space.

The day we discovered Khalima Lights, a local husband and wife team that handcrafts custom light fixtures, was a good day. Located on Wadmalaw Island, they produced all of the specialty lighting. Shown here are deconstructed barrel stave “clouds” designed by Rush Dixon Architects with Khalima’s Waycaster pendant and Edison bulbs.

The gallery where tour groups gather to begin the guided distillery tour, showcases Firefly Distillery’s history and process. Gil Shuler and Limelight were the MVPs of the info graphics and execution.

The distillery and tank room where the magic happens. Special thanks to Vendome Copper and Dalkita.

After the distillery tour, visitors are invited to a tasting bar to sample spirits of their choice. The back bar was designed to allow for the current Firefly spirit products to be displayed. Reclaimed metal roofing and wood was utilized to provide a rustic feel.

Close up of the spirits retail display which needed to be locked down during events. Rolling barrel stave screens slide to secure the products while maintaining visual connection.

We don’t know much, but we do know how to keep good company. See below for some of the all-star collaborators and craftspeople:

• Seamon Whiteside: Civil Engineering + Landscape Architecture

• ADC Engineering: Structural Engineering

• Charleston Engineering: Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Protection Engineering

• Dalkita: Distillery Consultant

• Trident Construction: General Contractor

• Gil Shuler: Graphic Design + Branding

• Limelight Custom Sign Company: Signage

• Khalima Lights: hand-made specialty lighting

• Lowcountry Case + Millwork: interior millwork including tasting bars, spirits retail display, reclaimed wood paneling and barrel stave details.

• Chris Smith Photography: All photographs

Distillery Homework

We are nothing but life-long learners and curious creatives. The discovery and research phase of a new project is when we immerse ourselves in the client / industry and where relevant pieces of information are uncovered; we may not know exactly how they will be incorporated in the final project design, if at all, but we collect them none the less as we begin to conceptualize a design. After a period (sometimes short, sometimes long) of researching, studying and marinating with the history, images, precedents collected - the design concept is crafted with memories of these discoveries.

When we began the design phase for Firefly Distillery’s new facility, the first step was to visit their existing distillery and tasting room on Wadmalaw Island, SC to learn their history, better understand their brand, see their process, and well, taste some products. It was important for us to know how Firefly started and where they were going, how they differentiated themselves in the industry and thus what functional spaces and visitor experiences to help create in the architecture.

Original Firefly Tasting Room located in an old horse barn on Wadmalaw Island, SC.

Products on display and for sale inside the Tasting Room.

Becoming experts in Firefly’s brand and business was only the first step. We needed to visit other distilleries with successful brands, products and distillery tours, so the team headed to Kentucky for some serious homework. (There are worse things to have on one’s To-do list.) The goal was to visit several distilleries of varying size and personality to study the visitor experience - this was not to replicate any one of them, rather to understand varying ways to showcase a brand, tell a story and how the built environment supports the experience. We’re not going to lie - a great time was had by all; but more importantly, the research trip provided countless moments to document and reference during the next year of design work.

BUFFALO TRACE

Located in Frankfurt, KY, Buffalo Trace is a National Historic Landmark and heavy hitter with over 20 brands including Van Winkle, Sazarac Rye and Wheatley Vodka. Take aways include their expansive, historic campus, choice of multiple tours and events (including a behind the scenes “hard hat” tour, path of a bourbon barrel tour and a ghost tour), and how their rustic brand is reinforced throughout the grounds in both big and small ways.

Inside of one of the historic rickhouse structures.

Buffalo Trace logo cut into a stormwater grate.

WOODFORD RESERVE

The drive to Woodford Reserve in Versailles, KY was exactly how you wanted it to be, with horses and expanses of blue grass. While this distillery has a rich history as well, we noticed the polish and exactness they incorporated into the visitor experience.

Woodford Reserve’s information counter with backlit bottles.

There was a precise balance between the historic structure, distillery function and visitor experience.

The Woodford Reserve tasting experience was restrained, elegant and on-brand.

COPPER & KINGS

In Louisville, KY our first stop was Copper & Kings, a newer distillery with an industrial aesthetic using shipping containers to greet you, a large courtyard for events and a steel, glass and concrete distillery. Bonus: they play music in the cellar for their barrels while they age. (Related: this blog was written to John Coltrane.)

Shipping container welcome center and gift shop for Copper & Kings.

Large outdoor courtyard with gathering spaces, fire pit and places to project movies.

Barrels age to music at the Copper & Kings’ cellar because “Brandy Rocks!” They post the day’s playlist on their website.

ANGELS ENVY

Another stop in Louisville was Angel’s Envy, a VERY large facility that felt like a cathedral to distilling in the best way possible. It was reverent with grand spaces, a clear focus on education and showcasing the process and finished product.

Angel’s Envy Distillery map

The tallest column we have ever seen.

Our design process is richer because we walked through these spaces, listened to the stories told and became students again. We are ever thankful for the hospitality shown to us and look forward to visiting again.