Lori K. Tate

2 months ago | ourstate.com | Lori K. Tate |Lauren Eberle |Brad Campbell |Mark Kemp

The white tulip table where Anne-Lindsay Beall eats lunch has an iconic profile with a touch of whimsy, blending the past with the present in elegant style. She’s sitting in the boardroom of Fairfield, the 104-year-old furniture company her great-grandfather started in Lenoir, but this isn’t a typical corporate setting.

Aug 26, 2024 | ourstate.com | Lori K. Tate |T. Edward Nickens |Katie Schanze |Katie Kane

With its mustard yellow petals and narrow leaves — velvety on one side and rough on the other — the Schweinitz’s sunflower has an unassuming appearance. Nevertheless, Sean Bloom gets giddy every time he sees one: These federally endangered flowers serve as a bellwether for the health of Buffalo Creek Preserve in Mount Pleasant.

Aug 28, 2023 | ourstate.com | Lori K. Tate |Brad Campbell |Chloe Klingstedt

In the evening, when the sun hovers above the whitecaps of the Neuse River near Dawson Creek, the muhly grass on the shoreline shimmers. “We watch the sun set every night we’re at China Grove,” Betsy Blackwell says of her vacation home near Oriental. The name is a nod to the house’s history: Chinaberry trees once lined the front walkway. North Carolina natives Blackwell and her husband, John Watson, bought the historic property in 2007 while living in Europe.