Venus Zine's ode to Nashville

A travel log of our time in Jack White's city

By Denise Gibson & Selena Fragassi
Published: May 19th, 2010 | 4:00pm

In early April, Denise Gibson (art director) and I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to catch the earliest flight possible to Nashville, Tennessee. Although I had to forgo the buzz of my early morning coffee (major nerves!) and even though our plane was about the size of Denise's SUV, we were excited for our mission—to spend the day with Jack White for our upcoming summer feature, the first issue ever to feature a man on our cover! Our flight was delayed ever so slightly thanks to a "piece missing" from the wing (do they really have to tell you that?!), but we made it by 9 a.m.—five-and-a-half hours shy of our photo shoot (on a farm in rural Tennessee) and interview (at Third Man Records' headquarters). So, after nearly being attacked by a bird in the airport, we decided to comb the city beginning with a trip to the local Best Buy for a memory card so Denise could capture these lovely photos for our log.

Clockwise, from left: Entering the pearly gates of Nashville on a hot as Hades day; thankfully there was a Sephora vending machine in the airport so we could instantly buy blotting papers; Tootsies in downtown Nashville spoke to us; although the ill-working, over-priced GPS was no help in getting us there.

Jack White's wife, model and singer Karen Elson, also moonlights as the owner of this vintage shop, which is appropriately named Venus and Mars. Housed in a rustic two-story abode, each floor was neatly arranged with elaborate cocktail dresses, costume jewelry, and even a pair of bloomers I had to buy. The shop screams of Elson's keen fashion sense.

Our trip to Nashville would not be complete without Dolly Parton merch. Her newly-opened Trinkets and Treasures shop has her big, uh, smiley face printed on everything from T-shirts to coasters. Plus, glass shadow boxes held some of her most famous dresses including this silver number. Although Denise owns quite a few cowboy hats from her time growing up in Houston, it was this lucky Western wear which really caught her eye even though she couldn't ever think of a time or place to wear it in Chicago.

Denise had one request this whole trip: a visit to the place of art designers' dreams, the Hatch Show Print museum/store/design house. Open since 1879, Hatch Show is one of the last letterpresses that remain in the U.S. and has printed posters for musicians ranging from Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, and even comedian Margaret Cho—not to mention a special series for the last presidential election. Close by, Betty Boots looked a little Vegas from the outside—but inside it was all Tennessee. Our feet were too hot to try on anything that smelled like leather so instead we footed it to the car and headed out to the farm to meet White, where he and children frolicked together in the fields (you have to see the summer issue to believe it). A thing of beauty it was—and a beautiful city was it ever.

Only a few weeks after our trip, the floods hit Nashville. In response to the great need for relief, we're printing posters of our Jack White summer issue which you can purchase and part of the proceeds will benefit the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Selena Fragassi is Venus Zine's music editor; Denise Gibson is Venus Zine's art director.