Columbia locals have been hogging the headlines lately (even without the primary all over the news) and I bet you didn't even know it!

Did you even know there's a guitar effects pedal company in town?  I didn't!  Caroline Guitar Company's Wave Cannon pedal was named one of Guitar World's "Top 10 Effects Pedals of 2010".  The pedals are designed and created right here in Columbia, and the company is part of the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator.  One cool thing about them is that they don't have labels for the knobs that change the gain, volume, and other aspects of the sound - they're little symbols, chosen because play testers were more willing to experiment with sound when the knobs were unlabeled.

Susan Lenz is an art quilter who works out of a cooperative Columbia studio.  She was profiled in an issue of Quilting Arts which describes her quilts inspired by gravestone rubbings and stained glass windows.  Take a look at the magazine or visit her website to see her amazing textile art.

Last month, WIS was profiled in Broadcasting & Cable, a trade magazine for the TV industry.  The article discussed the station's growing market share and high ratings among other local stations. 

A few weeks ago, the New York Times wrote an article ("Southern Farmers Vanquish the Cliches") about stereotypes of Southern food and the chefs and farmers who are shaking them up.  Emile DeFelice, heritage hog rancher of Caw Caw Creek Farm and champion of the Columbia Locals Only Famers Market, is interviewed, as is Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills. 

Drop by the Periodicals Department to find out who's talking about us!

Riario, Paul.  "Guitar World Staff Picks: Paul Riario's Top 10 Effects Pedals of 2011."  Guitar World.  http://www.guitarworld.com/guitar-world-staff-picks-paul-riario-s-top-10-effect-pedals-2011#slide-1

Seeburger, Ellen.  "Susan Lenz."  Quilting Arts Oct/Nov 2011: 28-33.

Malone, Michael. "Nobody beats the WIS: the wheel deal in South Carolina's capital." Broadcasting & Cable 5 Dec. 2011: 22.

Moskin, Julia.  "Southern farmers vanquish the cliches."  The New York Times 27 Dec 2011:D1