Cabell Sweeney’s flair for creativity and passion for gift giving has turned into a flourishing business. It all started in 1997, when Cabell’s mom gave her a set of bisque, and her husband gave her a kiln. She joyfully went to work on painting her own set of everyday dishes. In addition, creating gifts for friends became a blast! A wedding present here, a baby gift there, Cabell realized not only did she enjoy the work, but the reaction from friends and family was very encouraging. “I would teach second grade by day, and then paint and fire pottery by night. Little did I know that it was also a time of trial and error in designing and creating what eventually turned out to be some of our first products,” says Cabell.

Orders started coming in and demand began to grow. “I remember the early days of seeing Cabell work out of her home. She could barely answer her phone during the day because nine times out of ten, it was a new order from a friend, and she knew that if she answered, she did not want to just take their order, but she also wanted to catch up with an old friend! There was always the tension of working like crazy, but having a life too.” It was more work than one painter could take. In addition to personal orders, Cabell entered her wares at local artist markets and festivals. Recalls Cabell, “I wanted to see if my friends and family were just being nice, or was there actually a market for the things I made?” Her answer came after the Cotton Pickin’ Fair in Gay, Georgia, when she was approached by an Auburn University bookstore owner about creating a line of tailgating pottery for the school. The immediate success of the line provided the encouragement she needed to leave her beloved teaching position and pursue this pottery painting to the next level!

Enter Susan Peterson, who upon receiving one of Cabell’s creations, caught her vision and became her business partner. The two had met and become friends through their involvement in Young Life, an organization dedicated to teenagers. (www.younglife.org) In 2003, after spending weeks brainstorming, dreaming, and praying, Cabell’s LLC was born. Initial product offerings included licensed tailgating pieces for The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Auburn University, The University of Alabama and Florida State University. Other goods included personalized family, wedding and children’s pieces. A warehouse in Roswell, Georgia housed kilns, bisque, glaze and the dreams of two women who were ready to treat each day as a learning experience, and apply the lessons learned against their vision of making Cabell’s a household name associated with the joyful aspects of family gatherings, friendly get-togethers and home design. It was not all whimsical designs, and fun products though. Cabell and Susan look back on many days of fear, frustration, and sometimes wondering if their vision for Cabell’s would ever really become a reality. “We remember more than one afternoon sitting in the back of the warehouse in tears, wondering if we would have enough to pay our employees, and keep the doors open.” It was during some of these tough times that Cabell’s was introduced to Magnolia Lane in Birmingham, Alabama. Soon after, the two companies began working side by side with Cabell’s providing designs, and Magnolia Lane providing the expertise needed to get these great products to market.

Fast forward to today where this company continues to do what Cabell dreamt about years ago, creating products that help people celebrate life every day. “I am proud,” says Cabell, “of the products we produce not because I’ve designed them, but more because I love to give them!”

Susan and Cabell testify to the many misadventures along the way which served to fortify their resolve and strengthen their faith. The most satisfying chapter in the Cabell’s story, however, is that the company’s success enables the Cabell’s team to give back to the community they love and financially support organizations whose vision they share. Says Peterson, “As a company, that’s how we measure our success – by our capacity to give back.”