2024 March Preston Hollow Advocate

PRESTON HOLLOW M A R C H 2 0 2 4 I A D V O C AT E M A G . C O M

D I ST R I B U T I O N / A D V E RT I S I N G 2 1 4 . 5 6 0 . 4 2 1 2 ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Frank McClendon 214.560.4215 / fmcclendon@advocatemag.com Michele Paulda 214.724.5633 / mpaulda@advocatemag.com Catherine Pate 214.560.4201 / cpate@advocatemag.com Linda Kenney lkenney@advocatemag.com Brandon Rodriguez 972-754-3942 / brodriguez@advocatemag.com Classified Manager: Prio Berger 214.292.0493 / pberger@advocatemag.com Marketing Director: Sally Wamre 214.686.3593 / swamre@advocatemag.com Development Director: Alessandra Quintero 786.838.5891 / aquintero@advocatemag.com Digital Marketing & Analytics: Autumn Grisby agrisby@advocatemag.com E D I TO R I A L Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Jehadu Abshiro jabshiro@advocatemag.com E D I TO R S :

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Alyssa High ahigh@advocatemag.com Emma Ruby eruby@advocatemag.com Kelsey Shoemaker kshoemaker@advocatemag.com Lillian Juarez ljuarez@advocatemag.com Editorial Assistant: Simon Pruitt spruitt@advocatemag.com Digital Editor: Christian Welch cwelch@advocatemag.com Senior Art Director: Jynnette Neal jneal@advocatemag.com Art Director/Photographer: Lauren Allen lallen@advocatemag.com Contributors: Patti Vinson, Carol Toler, Sam Gillespie Contributing photographers: Kathy Tran, Emil Lippe, Hunter Lacey, Yuvie Styles, Shelby Tauber, Sylvia Elzafon, Lo Kuehmeier, Victoria Gomez, Julia Cartwright Chief Revenue Officer: Rick Wamre 214.560.4212 / rwamre@advocatemag.com

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Advocate (c) 2024 is published monthly in print and daily online by Advocate Media - Dallas Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation based in Dallas and first published in 1991. Contents of this print magazine may not be reproduced. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for the content of all advertisements and sponsorships printed, and therefore assume responsibility for any and all claims against the Advocate. The Publisher reserves the right to accept or reject ay editorial, advertising or sponsorship material in print or online. Opinions set forth in Advocate publications are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the Publisher’s viewpoint. More than 180,000 people read Advocate publications in print each month; Advocate online publications receive more than 4 million pageviews monthly. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate print and online publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one print copy per reader. For information about supporting our non-profit mission of providing local news to neighborhood readers, please call 214-560-4212 or email rwamre@advocatemag.com.

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march 24 contents

PRESTON HOLLOW ADVOCATE VOL.23 NO.3

PROFILE 6 Alan Stern DINING 16 Malai Kitchen FEATURES 10 Golf Bros 14 A new kind of boot 18 Coding for kids 22 Designing with Noel Pittman

Some lebrillos, a common Spanish colonial design seen inside handmade ceramics. Read more on page 22. Photography by Shelby Tauber.

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ON T HE CO VER Beauty inside and out

rom a lush, striking peach-orange ‘Rosie the Riveter’ to a classic red ‘Legends’ hybrid tea rose, North Haven Gardens’ Rose Weekend features a flower blossom for everyone. With more than 130 varieties, you’ll find a wide selection of roses in all shapes and colors. A tradition for over 70 years, NHG’s Rose Weekend has been instrumental in keeping Dallas rose gardens vibrant. Originally, this popular weekend event was held in October. In those days, original rosarian Ira Duncan and founder Ralph Pinkus trekked to the Tyler rose fields, selecting the rose varieties that would be displayed instore for customers to browse. Bareroot canes were brought in after orders were placed. North Haven Gardens grew the shrubs over the winter in recycled food cans, and customers returned in March to pick up their shrubs. By the mid-1970s, commercial rose growing in the U.S. was largely centered in California, but today, North Haven Gardens continues the tradition of bringing in several thousand bare root roses each winter to grow out for the next spring. Bare rootstock comes from several reputable wholesale rose growers from around the country, says general manager Cody Hoya. Rose

At North Haven Gardens, enthusiasts can find a large variety of roses, attend classes such as Chic Home Plant Care, How Not to Kill Your Indoor Houseplant and “Swap and Sips” – opportunities for interested parties to trade cuttings and seeds with others. Front cover The ‘Eustacia Vye,’ an English Shrub Rose. Image courtesy of David Austin Roses.

bushes typically start trickling into the nursery just as the holiday season is in full swing. Now the last full weekend of March, North Haven Gardens sells an average of 1,000 roses during Rose Weekend — almost one-third of NHG’s yearly rose sales. It’s one of a handful of Texas nurseries that features fan-favorite David Austin English Roses. The best way to select the perfect rose for your garden? “Visit North Haven Gardens during Rose Weekend. Our garden advisors are ready and waiting to help select the best rose for you and your garden.” Hoya says. Rose Weekend: March 30-31, 2024, 9am-6pm (opening 8am on Saturday) 7700 Northaven Rd, Dallas, TX 75230

7700 Northaven Rd. | 214-363-5316 | NHG.com

Left page: A ‘Boscobel,’ bred by David Austin Roses, is a climbing shrub known for its highly saturated color. Image courtesy of David Austin Roses. Right Page: Rosarian Ira Duncan with the canned roses in front in 1959. An ad for Rose Weekend from 1967. Images courtesy of North Haven Gardens. If your iconic neighborhood business would like an opportunity to collaborate with us on our cover photo package, please contact editor Jehadu Abshiro at jabshiro@ advocatemag.com.

p ro f i l e

SO, PLUTO? St. Marks alum Alan Stern says yes, Pluto is in fact a planet Story by KELSEY SHOEMAKER Photo courtesy by ALAN STERN

LAST YEAR, ALAN STERN WENT TO SPACE. And this year, he’s doing it again. While most business trips stay within Earth’s atmosphere, Stern and five others took the suborbital trip on Virgin Galactic's Galactic 05 mission to do space-based research in November 2023. “It was just a fantastic experience and very successful,” Stern says. “We had nine objectives and we accomplished all nine objectives.” A St. Mark’s alumnus, 66-year-old Stern is a planetary scientist and aerospace executive at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado. He is also the principal investigator behind New Horizons, the first mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. The book he wrote with NASA advisor and astrobiologist David Grinspoon, Chasing New Horizons, charts the mission’s discoveries, goals, challenges and decade-long persistence. Stern has published other research in over 320 technical papers, 50 articles, given over 500 technical talks. And counting. In 2007 and 2016, he was listed as TIME’s 100. His interest in space stems from the Apollo era when countries were racing toward space. Stern was drawn to the action. “There was this science fiction feeling like the future had arrived,” Stern recalls. “I just got hooked on it by just watching this amazing development and wanted to hitch my wagon to it.”

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After graduating from the University of Texas and the University of Colorado with his PhD, potential jobs were knocking at his door. After accepting the job at UT, however, he was told that it was no longer available. “It was terrible luck,” he says. The answer was a stopgap job in San Antonio working for Southwest Research Institute where he was promised if he worked there for a year or longer, then he could wait around until they got an opening. So he began working at Southwest Research Institute for several years led by James Burch. They started an operation in Colorado where he’s been ever since except for a stint in Washington, D.C., working for NASA as an associate administrator for science. He never went back to UT. Early in his career, Stern knew he wanted to find a scientific problem that he could work on to make a real difference. Pluto’s atmosphere was a subject that few had worked on before. Stern and other scientists made an effort to get NASA to fly a mission there.

New Horizons launched in 2006 and focused on the furthest parts of space that have never before been photographed. Pluto is surrounded by the Kuiper Belt, a mecca of other scientific discoveries waiting to be found and the other leg of New Horizon’s mission. Nine months after they launched, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted Pluto as a dwarf planet, claiming that it did not meet all of the qualifications to be considered a full-sized planet since it hasn’t “cleared its neighboring region of objects.” Stern rejected the notion, pointing out the irregularity of a vote on a scientific matter, arguing against the accuracy of the definition itself and refusing to recognize the definition within his capacity at New Horizons. “Science is about discovering facts and paradigms from data,” Stern says. “It's not about voting.” Other scientists, like Stern, saw Pluto as a planet with available data. And New Horizons was not about proving the IAU wrong, it was about adding more data to an already decade-long conversation. But they had to think smaller, less expensive and use less time. Their checklist was engineering a lightweight spacecraft, securing funding with a budget 20% less than the Voyager project, and meeting a tight deadline of just over four years for construction and launch, compared to the typical seven. They would have one chance for the unmanned spacecraft to fly by Pluto to take observational photos. Ten days before New Horizons was projected to fly by Pluto, its computer experienced an anomaly, which unresolved would prevent the spacecraft from taking pictures. The team was able to get the computer working again just in time. On July 14, 2015, three billion miles from Earth, the small and “budget-friendly” spacecraft soared over Pluto and shared the first photos of the planet with the world. “There's so much science there that it really begs for us to go back with another even more sophisticated spacecraft that can not just fly by, go into orbit and stay there and study in much more detail with much more advanced instrumentation that we had in the 2000s,” Stern says. “It's really broken the mold in teaching us that small planets can be active long after their formation. And until we flew to Pluto, we didn't know that, so it's telling us that the other planets in the Kuiper Belt that are similar in size to Pluto are very likely to have similar levels of activity and be much more worthy of exploration than we would have thought before we explored.” New Horizons continues to break more records as it travels the Kuiper Belt’s edges for the first time, its secondary objective for the mission. “We're not unique, but these missions inspire kids to go into STEM careers. They don't even end up astronomers. They end up being engineers in the tech economy,” he says. “A lot of people who were giants in tech like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates or Elon Musk will tell you if you asked them: they all got hooked on tech by watching space missions. Space Missions are like the gateway drug to STEM careers.” The mission was granted two extensions as it flies through the outer parts of our solar system. The current extension will keep the spacecraft going until it exits the Kuiper Belt, which is expected to occur between 2028 and 2029. As for Stern, his next mission aims to take him to space again later this year for a different project unrelated to Pluto, as well as working on other missions like Europa Clipper, which is expected to launch in October to study Jupiter’s moon with the same name, and Lucy, on its way to a new class of asteroids called Trojans. Another mission is under wraps but he promises it’s got a “bunch of irons in the fire.” “We can't tell what this baby will grow up and do,” Stern says. “That is space exploration. But it has the potential to be completely transformative in terms of our economy, our technology and our society. I like being a part of it.” MARCH 2024 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

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Hitting the green Story and Photography by KELSEY SHOEMAKER

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ometimes the best ideas start in a garage. Golf Roots started when the company’s founder, Benjamin Stromberg, began a massive collection of used golf equipment in his parent’s garage – with their permission of course. It wasn’t until later he began to sell it. The business plan is simple: take used golf equipment and resell it. “We're kind of like the Robin Hood of golf clubs,” Stromberg adds. He took his first swing at the sport when his grandpa gave him his first set of clubs. After working at golf ranges, he started to amass enough to fill a garage. During the pandemic, he took a look at the newfound collection and thought of a plan instead of a hobby: make a new business. “I realized that as my friends started wanting to get into the game, just how lucky I'd been with my grandfather passing down clubs to me. Most people didn't really have that,” Stromberg says. “Unless you have someone in your family or friend group who's a golfer, it's really challenging to get into the sport and so I started trying to find clubs.” In the beginning, he found golf equipment on NextDoor, Facebook Marketplace and from resellers to add to the collection. Stromberg turned to his childhood friend to sell some golf clubs, but Jake Hoffman, who was about to go into the consulting field, didn’t know how to play golf (and still doesn’t). He was looking for a business to start and saw the opportunity to help build Stromberg’s Golf Roots. “At the time, I said, no,” Hoffman jokes. “[Golf ] is such a hard sport to get into and it’s so hard to know what you need; it’s expensive and it’s exclusive. I thought there was room for a company to become a business that does exactly what he was offering me.” The two noticed early on that golf has been an exclusive sport for many years. “It's all designed to keep people out,” Stromberg says. “It was clearly purposeful to exclude people and in-

Golf Roots has worked with national golf ranges and private clubs to grow its business.

MARCH 2024 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

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stead of focusing on getting more people in the sport, it seems like a lot of companies in this industry are trying to make it more and more and more exclusive. They're missing the ball and they're gonna miss the boat.” The heart of their mission has always been to make the sport more accessible to beginners. There always seems to be a hefty price tag when starting a new hobby. Stromberg and Hoffman wanted to just get rid of that barrier. Both Stromberg and Hoffman knew they wanted to have a business, but not necessarily this kind of business and not necessarily together. “This was just the way my mind works,” Strombergs says. “When I get set on something I really, really, really commit to it. I hyper-focus on it. And so when this idea came about, I was like this is it.” The two had a working business model and were starting to see orders. It was humble beginnings when they started near the tail end of the pandemic in 2021. In a time when businesses saw a decrease in sales, the golf industry as a whole was seeing an increase. It was one of the few activities at the time that allowed people to be near each other outside. Two years into the grind and they’ve seen growth through all aspects of their business and are surpassing their competitors. Stromberg and Hoffman have been attending trade-in events all over the States, going to top-tier private clubs around the world and are seeing their success in numbers. Last year, they got a message from someone wanting to sell some clubs. It was Seinfeld creator and writer Larry David. “It's been really great to see someone like Larry David, who doesn’t necessarily struggle for money and doesn't necessarily need to trade in clubs and get the credit to be able to buy new ones,” Stromberg says. “But he's able to trade them in and help someone else get into the sport at the same time.” Golf Roots is also more than just the clubs and equipment. They want to take away more barriers that limit people joining, including teaching beginners the right form, swing and how to really make a hole-in-one. “The only way to do that is to demystify golf education, make the information accessible to all and help people find coaches who can help them get into the game, help them find courses, to make them feel comfortable and help them find people with whom they're comfortable playing,” Stromberg says. And, yes, golf is usually for men on the course wanting to do shoptalk outside of the office. Stromberg defers this to the wider male popularity and how this could leave women and other minorities out of important conversations. “A big part of our mission just more specifically, is making golf more accessible to women and minorities and people who've been historically disenfranchised from this game,” Stromberg says. “People who didn't grow up with golf at home or around people who play golf. They're at a huge disadvantage. And we want to cut that off at the knees. We want to end that.”

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MARCH 2024 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

IN BETWEEN LOUBOUTIN AND LOUIS VUITTON Boots that were made for more than just walking Story by KELSEY SHOEMAKER Photography by LAUREN ALLEN

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owboy boots have always been proudly embedded into the architecture of Texas’ style. Some of the biggest brands — Tony Lama, Little’s Boot Company, M. L. Leddy’s and Lucchese — were started and made in Texas. In the last century, boots have evolved from trustworthy ranch footwear to a fashion staple. Modern western boots are now on display at Neiman Marcus, situated among designer labels. That’s how the sister act behind Partlow Boots, Preston Hollow neighbor Kasey Lemkin and Los Angeles’ Lawren Sample, describe their fashion company. “There’s nothing like two girls from the south like us walking into Neiman Marcus and seeing your boots on display sitting in the middle between Louboutin and Louis Vuitton,” Sample says. Growing up in Mississippi, they were surrounded by ranches and strong women. Their grandmother and the namesake of their brand, Gigi Partlow, was no different. (A boot will be released in her name in the future). “[She] was a force to be reckoned with,” Lemkin says. “She was the matriarch of our family.” Sample jokes that she was the first woman in town to wear pants while everyone else wore dresses. She was the first one awake in the morning, already fully made up and had breakfast ready for everybody. “She just would take no nonsense and we all looked up to her,” Lemkin says. “We wanted to name these boots after somebody who inspires us in daily life and women who wake up every morning and get things done.” Cowboy boots and western wear have long been the sisters' fashion staple. While they were living in Los Angeles, they noticed a lack of an authentic cowboy boots in the city. Lemkin left Los Angeles for Preston Hollow when her husband accepted a new job. Regardless, they both knew how they could fine tune country wear. “We wanted to see boots that we

would want to buy off the shelves and we just weren't seeing that,” Sample says. “The ones that we were seeing were very ‘yeehaw’ and we wanted something that you could wear every day so that it was more the boots were complementing your outfit instead of competing with your outfit.” Together with Sample’s experience in celebrity styling and Lemkin’s work in fashion marketing, the duo found a way to work together. They put pen to paper and within two years, they had a vision with some nonnegotiables: It needed to be a hybrid between a riding boot and cowboy boot. It needed to be comfortable and unique. And it needed to be manufactured in Italy. “That was where the best leather and the best craftsmanship is found,” Lemkin says. Crafted in Italy in the Veneto region where Saint Laurent and Tom Ford make their shoes, the boots are made with calfskin leather and vegetable dye. The inside has thick cushioned padding, a pointed toe, a two-inch heel, a 12-inch long shaft and on the back of each boot, a golden horseshoe for the brand’s emblem. “When you put your foot in there it should feel like you’re walking in a sneaker,” Lemkin says. In 2023, they launched their boot label — which averages about $1,000 a pair — at Neiman Marcus in NorthPark Center, just around the corner from where Lemkin lives. The next launch was in Los Angeles followed by New York. There are six boots so far in the collection and each are named and styled after admirable women. With Partlow still in its infancy as far as new businesses go, they were seeing numbers ahead of schedule as they appeared in Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. Katie Holmes was caught wearing them on the streets of New York City. “I had a woman last week say ‘I've never bought cowboy boots,’” Lemkin says. “I said 'Well, you've never tried on our cowboy boots.'"

MARCH 2024 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

IN INDIA, MALAI MEANS SMOOTH . In Thailand,

MALAI K I TC H E N Made with love Story and Photography by KELSEY SHOEMAKER

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it means beautiful and full of quality. And for Yasmin and Braden Wages, owners of Malai, a modern Southeast Asian restaurant in Preston Center, the word means all of the above. Yasmin and Braden met at a hospitality college in upstate New York and connected instantly. After graduating, they went to California to work with restaurants across the state before transferring to Dallas. And they knew from the beginning that they wanted to open their own restaurant in Preston Hollow. “I knew the people, I knew the environment, and I said, ‘One day we'd really like to have a restaurant in this neighborhood.’ And the truth is, we've been kind of sniffing around waiting for the right opportunity to come along since then,” Braden says. Their love language was food, but they knew it took more than that. Braden was working at R+D Kitchen, just across the street, and Yasmin began working with startup restaurants to get the “independent view” of restaurant ownership. They were saving money and getting their ideas in place for a concept. “When you finish college, you have all these ideas like, ‘Oh, this would make such a cool restaurant idea,’” Yasmin says. “And so we'd sit there and do write ups and stuff and create a rough idea of what we thought it could be. We did that three or four times before we settled.” At R+D, Braden often had regulars ask him his thoughts on the restaurant industry. “What do you guys think is the next big restaurant idea?” “Where do you think restaurants are headed?” “What do you think hasn't been done?” They were questions without answers, and that haunted the couple. Then, out to lunch at a casual Vietnamese restaurant and tossing those questions around over bowls of pho, the couple has an epiphany. “We both looked down, and we looked around, and we were like, ‘This place is packed with all sorts of people,and it's the food we love to eat. It’s the kind of food we crave,’” Yasmin says. In California, Southeast Asian food and fresh ingredients were super common. But an elevated take was something they thought was missing from the Dallas food scene. “We could modernize it and update it and have really great cocktails, a really good curated wine list,” Yasmin says. “We were just trying to highlight the food for what it is. I mean, it's an amazing cuisine that I think hasn't been given the atmosphere that it deserves.” They opened their first location in Uptown in January 2011. During the construction phase, passersby expressed anticipation for the opening by asking questions about the menu and design. When opening day came, they were ready to feed a line out the door. And then, crickets. “We literally used every penny we'd had to get this loan and to get this thing open. And so we couldn't fail,” Yasmin says. “That was not an option.”

Yasmin told Braden that in the “worst case scenario,” they could turn the restaurant into a taco place. But slowly, business crescendoed into what is now a full house most nights. In the beginning, there were about 15 items on the menu. The usual Southeast Asian staples were inspirations from their extensive travels to Thailand and Vietnam. It was important when crafting the menu, they say, to have homemade curry and noodles. They even make their own beer. Other dishes range from the popular Vietnamese “meatballs,” a plate of four char-grilled bun cha style pork patties, Icelandic cod covered in homemade red curry sauce and a classic drunken noodle made in-house with beef tenderloin and Thai basil. Some dishes take on an Asian-fusion twist, pulling in ingredients and flavors more commonly associated with Indian food. “We really wanted to have the base of the menu have dishes that people are familiar with and showcase our personality within them while trying to respect the culture of the dish,” Braden says. In 2016, the Southlake location opened. Then came the Fort Worth location. Finally, the Preston Center location opened in 2021 across the street from where their Dallas careers started out. “It was right here,” Yasmin says. “It was very full circle for us.” Malai Kitchen 6130 Luther Ln., 972.373.4434, malaikitchen.com MARCH 2024 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

CODING FOR KIDS Why one high school student turned her charity into coding classes for children Story by ALYSSA HIGH | Photography by KATHY TRAN

1 ,0 0 0 H OU RS I S EQU I VA L E N T to over 41 days. If you worked 1,000 hours of a full-time job, that would be 125 days of work. For any high schooler, that would be a massive undertaking, but for Vanshika Prasad, 1,000 hours is just the beginning of her community service involvement — all at 17 years old. It started in 2017 when Prasad and her younger sister were running errands with their parents and drove past a homeless man and his dog. Passionate animal lovers, the two told their parents that they wanted to help. They got to work on a cookie and lemonade stand, raising $13.75. The sisters used that money to buy food for the man and his dog, spurring a desire for service. To raise more money, the Prasad sisters began making crochet animals to sell at craft fairs, through which the girls were able to raise $300 for a pet orphanage. So, Prasad started a nonprofit, Mighty Little Us. Not to limit herself, the organization deals with a variety of causes and passions. Mighty Little Us sells homemade crochet items at local craft fairs and online to raise money for animal shelters, promotes food drives, fundraises for foster and adoption initiatives for animals, creates weekend workshops in Dallas libraries to teach children to code using Scratch and teaches coding online to children in a remote area of India. When Prasad got interested in coding last summer after taking classes at The School for the Talented and Gifted, she wrote up a questionnaire to see how familiar kids in the area were with technology. She then submitted the responses to Dallas Public Libraries. Based on these responses, she saw a need for coding classes for children at the Audelia Branch Library. “That’s when I settled down at Scratch and decided this is what I wanted to do,” Prasad says. “I had some experience on Scratch myself, and I felt like it was a powerful tool to do what I needed to do because it’s a visual programming language.” Scratch is a free coding program for children that uses a visual interface that allows children to create digital stories, games and animations by coding using colorful blocks rather

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than text-based coding like Python, JavaScript or HTML/CSS. “It’s a visual approach and it makes coding more accessible to younger kids,” Prasad says. “It’s an engaging and fun platform that encourages problem solving.” Not all classes are necessarily the same, Prasad says, which leads many students to come back for more. Each class typically has 10-12 children between the ages of eight and 10. “Some (students) are quieter, and they’ ll just go with my lesson,” Prasad says. “But some kids who are really interested keep coming back for class and start asking questions that sometimes I don’t even know the answer to … (Scratch) lets them explore their creativity some more.” Though most of her classes are at Audelia Road Branch Library, the Forest Green Branch Library and Lancaster Keys Branch Library, others in Dallas and Plano have begun reaching out to expand the classes to their locations. Beyond Dallas-Fort Worth, Prasad has been working with MSM Academy, a public school in a small town in India. “(Mighty Little Us’) international outreach director is studying Hindu culture in India, so we came together and decided that we want to expand this over there where there’s a lot of less privileged families that could benefit from the classes,” Prasad says. Fourteen children participate in classes with Prasad each week through this program. “(Scratch) might be the first whole new language that a child has discovered and that can help them in so many ways,” Prasad says. “Our world is becoming digital, so for them to have an early introduction is going to help them a lot. … A lot of kids will have taken coding and have an earlier start. That’s something I wish I had.” To keep the classes and other nonprofits going, Prasad is looking for teens to teach classes at other locations and possibly take over teaching the coding classes when she graduates in 2026. She recently won the Presidential Service Award, a national grade-based award given to those who have a large number of community service hours. She also got second place in the Congressional App Challenge, where she put her coding skills to the test to create an app that helps people connect with mental health services.

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CONCRETE, RETAINING WALLS 25 yrs exp. T&M Construction, Inc. 214-328-6401 EDMONDSPAVING.COM Asphalt & Concrete Driveway-Sidewalk-Patio-Repair 214-957-3216

TACLA67136C

Installations & Repairs Emergency Services 24/7 On-Call 100% Satisfaction Guarantee

FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls, BBQ’s, Veneer, Flower Bed Edging, All Stone work. Chris 214-770-5001

APPLIANCE REPAIR

HARDWOOD INSTALLATIONS Waterproof, hardwood, carpets, tile laminate, & vinyl click. 214-440-6244 . aaa-texas-floors.com

FOR SALE 6 pc Queen bedroom set (solid wood). Separately or together. Good Condition. $1200 for set. 956-645-1747

FOUNDATION REPAIR

BRIGHT LIGHT ELECTRIC • 214-553-5333 TECL 31347 Brightening Homes and Businesses

!!OLD GUITARS WANTED!! Gibson, Fender, Martin, Etc. 1930’s to 1980’s. Top Dollar Paid. 1-866 -433-8277

LAKEWOOD ELECTRICAL Local. Insured. Lic. #227509 Call Rylan 214-434-8735

SALE: FULL SIZE BED. $400. Bed frame, headboard, box spring, mattress, Good Condition. 469-363-2480

TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658 WHITE ROCK ELECTRIC All Electrical Services. Lic/Insd.TECL-34002 214-850-4891

CABINETRY & FURNITURE SERNAS & BASS DESIGN-BUILD We design, build & Install cabinets & tops! (214) 354-3074 • aldo@sernasbass.com

EMPLOYMENT BENJAMINS PAINTING Hiring:18-26Yr.olds, Top Pay- Will Train. In Advocate since 2007. 214-725-6768

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING Cabinet Refacing, Built-ins, Entertainment/ Computer Centers. Jim. 214-324-7398 jhholbert2@att.net

EXPERIENCED NANNY 2 months-6 Years Great References.15 Years Experience warconie@gmail.com. 469-987-2172

CLEANING SERVICES ALTOGETHER CLEAN Relax ...We’ll Clean Your House, It Will Be Your Favorite Day! Bonded & Insurance. Free Estimates. 214-929-8413. www. altogetherclean.net

EXTERIOR CLEANING G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

FENCING & DECKS

CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133

4 QUALITY FENCING • 214-507-9322 Specializing in Wood. YourWoodmaster.com

GOLDEN CLEANING SERVICE Move In/Out. Basic Clean.Res/Com goldencleaningservicetx.com. 214-500–6998.

AMBASSADOR FENCE CO. Automatic Gates, Fences/Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers, Arbors. AmbassadorFenceCo.com 214-621-3217

WANTED: HOUSES TO CLEAN, Organize, De-clutter, or Pack. Sunny 214-724-2555

FENCING, ARBORS, DECKS oldgatefence.com 214-766-6422

WINDOW CLEANING Power washing No Job To Small. 30 Yrs exp. 214-360-0120 WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975 Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let a seasoned pro be the interface between you & that pesky Windows computer. Hardware/Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $100/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 972-639-6413 / stykidan@sbcglobal.net. NEED HELP WITH YOUR COMPUTER, Smartphone or Smart Home? My Tech Guy Harvey. 214-770-2598. harveymccall@gmail.com.

HANNAH WOODWORKS • Decks • Pergolas • Patio Covers Hannawoodworks.com 214-435-9574

GARAGE SERVICES UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned. 214-251-5428

GENERAL CONTACTING A2H GENERAL CONTRACTING,LLC Remodel, Paint, Drywall/Texture, Plumbing. Electrical, Siding, Bathroom/Kitchen Remodels Tilling, Flooring, Fencing. 469-658-9163. Free Est. A2HGeneralContactingLLC@gmail.com

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR frameless shower enclosures • store fronts replacement windows • mirrors 214-349-8160 PRO WINDOW CLEANING prompt, dependable. Matt 214-766-2183 ROCK GLASS CO Replace, Repair. Single, Double Panes. Showers, Mirrors. 214-837-7829

HANDYMAN SERVICES BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730 DANHANDY.NET Repairs Done Right For A Fair Price. References 214-991-5692 HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

Interior & Exterior Painting

$500 OFF

*Applies to Complete Exterior Repaint ask about details

Over 25 years of experience Free Estimates

214-702-2188 morganexteriorsdfw.com BENJAMINS PAINTING - Professional work @reasonable price. In Advocate since 2007 214-725-6768 HECTOR PEREZ PAINTING Commercial/residential. Intrior/ Exterior. Fair Rates. 214-489-0635 RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513 TEXAS BEST PAINTING LLC Resd,Interiors 30Yrs. 214-527-4168 TOP COAT 30 Yrs. Exp. Reliable. Quality Repair/Remodel. Phil @ 214-770-2863 VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext. Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

KITCHEN/BATH/TILE/GROUT FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645 MELROSE TILE James Sr., Installer, Repairs. 40 Yrs. Exp. MelroseTile.com 214-384-6746

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872 Complete Full Service Repairs, Kitchen HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/Commercial. & Bath/Remodeling, Restoration. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. Name It- We Do It. 214-489-0635 dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com HANDYMAN WANTS your Painting,Repairs, To Do Lists. Bob. 214-288-4232. Free Est. 25+yrs exp. HOME REPAIR Doors, Trim, Glass. Int/Ext. Sheetrock, Windows, Kitchen, Bathroom 35 yrs exp. 214-875-1127 HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606 ONE CALL WEEKEND SERVICES Contractor & Handyman. Remodels, Renovations . Paint, Plumbing, Drywall, Electrical. 469-658-9163

APRIL DEADLINE MARCH 12

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HOUSE PAINTING

972-288-3797 We Answer Our Phones

For complete terms and conditions, visit advocatemag.com/advertisingterms.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 214.292.0493

AceHandymanServices.com ❚ 972.308.6035

Siding • Gutters

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

I BUY USED CARS Sam. Dallas. 469-609-0978.

❚ Drywall ❚ Doors ❚ Senior Safety

❚ Carpentry ❚ Small & Odd Jobs ❚ And More!

• Slabs • Pier & Beam • Mud Jacking • Drainage • Free Estimates • Over 20 Years Exp.

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricdfw.com 50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333

BUY SELL TRADE

Let Us Tackle Your To-Do List!

FOR SALE

JOHNSON PAVING Concrete, Asphalt, Driveways. New or Repair. 214-827-1530

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

HANDYMAN SERVICES

JIM 972-992-4660 Tubs, Tiles or Sinks WE •• Cultured Marble REFINISH! • Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com MARCH 2024 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

W HERE C AN I FIND L OC AL ...?

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LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

PEST CONTROL

REMODELING

SERVICES FOR YOU

#1 WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS Professionals, Experts, Artists serving Dallas 15 years.Trim, Removals. Tree Health Care services. Insured. Arborwizard.com. Free Est. (972) 803-6313.

MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL Prices Start at $85 + Tax For General Treatment. Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident

KEYS AND GRIM 30 years of experience in residential remodeling. “They are the best…and so nice.” ~ Mom keysandgrim.com 214-952-4490

DENTAL INSURANCE-Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Covers 350 procedures. Real insurance -not a discount plan. Get your free dental info kit! 1-888-623-3036 www.dental50plus.com/58 #6258

A BETTER TREE MAN Trims, Removals, Insd. 18 Yrs Exp. Roberts Tree Service. 214-808-8925 Lawns, Gardens & Trees DAVIS LAWN CARE, LLC 580-222-4909 or davislawncare214@yahoo.com Serving Lake Highlands & Lakewood. HOLMAN IRRIGATION Sprinkler & Valve Repair/ Rebuild Older Systems. Lic. #1742. 214-398-8061 MAYA TREE SERVICE Tree Trim/Remove. Lawn Maintenance. Resd/ Commcl.Insd. CC’s Accptd. mayatreeservice.com 214-924-7058 214-770-2435

MOSQUITO SHIELD 972–850-2983 Imagine A Night Outside Without Mosquitoes

NATURE KING PEST MANAGEMENT INC. Squirrels, Racoons, Skunks, Snakes, Possums, etc. S&L CONSTRUCTION All Home Services Pest & Termite. Neighborhood Resident & Repairs. 214-918-8427 30+ Yrs.exp. 214-827-0090 TK REMODELING 972-533-2872 Complete Full Service Repairs, Kitchen & Bath/Remodeling, Restoration. Name It- We Do It. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

"Keeping Children & Pets in Mind"

Termite Specialist - Mosquito Mister Systems Licensed · Insured · Residential · Commercial · Organic

MONSTER TREE SERVICE DALLAS Certified Arborists, Fully Insured 469.983.1060

214-350-3595 • Abetterearth.crw@gmail.com

NEW LEAF TREE, LLC Honest, Modern, Safety Minded. 214-850-1528

PLUMBING

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779 RedSunLandscapes.com TAYLOR MADE IRRIGATION Repairs, service, drains. 30+ years exp. Ll 6295 469-853-2326. John

abetterearth.com

AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943

PLUMBING ISSUES? We’re the Experts!

30 Years of Excellent Service • Water Heaters • Water Leaks 24/7 On-Call • Sewer Backups • All Plumbing Repairs ASK ABOUT DISCOUNTS!

972-379-4000

staggsplumbing.co

Master Plumber License M-17697

PAT TORRES 214-388-1850 Lawn Service & Tree Care. 28 Yrs. Complete Landscape Renovation. New Fence Install & Brick Repair. Concrete Removal and Gutter Cleaning.

WALTON’S GARDEN CENTER POOLS Stop in for home decor, candles, house plants, succulents and more. It’s time to plan for spring. Call CERULEAN POOL SERVICES Family Owned/ Operated. Weekly maintenance, Chemicals, parts & us for design, prep and plantings! repairs. CeruleanPro.com 214-557-6996 8652 Garland Road 214.321.2387

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

DALLAS KDR SERVICES • Lawn service • Landscape Installation 214-349-0914

O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 24 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448 RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

C.A.S. BOOKKEEPING SERVICES Personal/Small Business. Payroll, Accounting, Organizing, Consult. Cindy 214-577-7450 WHERE DID YOUR MONEY GO? Bookkeeping Services for small businesses & Personal. Financial organizing. Quicken & other programs. Sharon 214-679-9688

MP ARCHITECTURAL Design & Construction. mattandpaul.com 214-226-1186

New Construction & Remodels Kitchens, Bathrooms, Windows, Doors, Siding, Decks, Fences, Retaining Walls, New Construction FiferCustomHomes.com• 214-727-7075

ROOFING & GUTTERS

BERT ROOFING INC.

Family owned and operated for over 40 years

”WE CARE ABOUT YOUR TREES”

On Staff: • 4 - Certified Arborists • 1 - Tex- Tech Degreed Ag • 1 - Tex A&M Degreed Forester • 3 - Certified Applicators www.holcombtreeservice.com

214-327-9311

FULLY INSURED Commercial/Residential

ORGANIZATION A CHARMING HOME Decluttering + Organizing + Styling acharminghome.co (214) 794-6382

FOR RENT Little Forest Hills 2/1 Single Family Home w/fence. $1,600mo. $1,600 deposit.Cheryl. 214-235-1399 GARDEN OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT Walnut Hill @ CENTRAL.3 Smaller Suites Avail. Flexible Terms 214.915. 8886

REMODELING OFFICE SUBLEASE In Bishop Arts. Cool, Quiet. 1,179 Sq ft. 4 rooms + kit / bath, parking. $2,950 + NNNs. 713.302-7722. BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730 FENN CONSTRUCTION Kitchens And Baths. Call Us For Your Remodeling Needs. 214-343-4645. dallastileman.com

20 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com MARCH 2024

DISH TV $64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply.Promo Expires 7/21/21.1-833-872-2545 DONATE YOUR CARS TO VETERANS TODAY. Help and Support our Veterans. Fast - FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1-800 -245-0398 ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-855-402-0373 FREE HIGH SPEED INTERNET if qualified. Govt. pgm for recipients of select pgms incl. Medicaid, SNAP, Housing Assistance, WIC, Veterans Pension, Survivor Benefits, Lifeline, Tribal. 15 GB internet. Android tablet free w/one-time $20 copay. Free shipping. Maxsip Telecom! 1-833-758-3892 GENERAC Prepare for power outages today with a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Down + Low Monthly Pmt. Request a free Quote. Call before the next power outage: 1-844-334 -8353

• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates

HUGHESNET Finally, super-fast internet no matter where you live.25 Mbps just $59.99/mo! Unlimited Data is Here. Stream Video. Bundle TV & Internet. Free Installation. Call 866-499 -0141

214.321.9341

MOBILE HELP, America's premier mobile medical alert system. Whether you're home or away. For safety & peace of mind. No long term contracts! Free brochure! 1-888-489-3936

www.bertroofing.com

LICENSED

INSURED

LOCAL

Roofing • Windows • Siding • Gutters

Joe Clifford www.exteriorscc.net

LICENSED and INSURED

REPLACE your roof with the best looking & longest lasting material steel from Erie Metal Roofs! 3 styles & multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer up to 50% off install + Additional 10% off install. (military, health &1st responders.) 1-833-370-1234 SAFE STEP North America's #1 Walk-in tub. Comprehensive lifetime warranty. Top-of-theline installation and service. Now featuring our free shower package & $1600 off - limited time! Financing available. 1-855-417-1306

469·291·7039

REAL ESTATE ESTATE HOME NEEDS TO BE SOLD? Facing forclosure? IG Heron Homes Call Ricardo Garza @ 469-426-7839

DIRECTV STREAM - Carries the most local MLB Games! ChoicePackage $89.99/mo for 12 mos Stream on 20 devices at once.HBO Max included for 3 mos (w/Choice Package or higher.)No contract or hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS 1-866859-0405

FREE ESTIMATES

Residential • Commercial (214) 503-7663 www.scottexteriors.com

SERVICES FOR YOU BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 855-761-1725 BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920. Consultation,production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author’s guide 1-877-729-4998 or visit dorranceinfo.com/ads

THE GENERAC PWRCELL, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services WATER DAMAGE cleanup & restoration: A small amount of water can lead to major damage and mold growth in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home's value! Call 24/7: 1-888-872-2809

TUTOR/LESSONS WANTED: OBOE TEACHER needed for 14 year old student. Call 214–235-7429

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HOME

Expect quality craftsmanship, ease of transition and stunning results with Kitchen Design Concepts’ home remodeling services Kitchen Design Concepts - Home Remodel Specialists of Dallas Kitchen Design Concepts provides all aspects of a home remodel from planning, designing and building for a seamless process

214-390-8300 • kitchendesignconcepts.com

DESIGNING WITH PURPOSE

Noel Pittman opened her first permanent location last October on Lovers Lane.

22 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com MARCH 2024

Noel Pittman styles with coastal, Texan and European influences Story by KELSEY SHOEMAKER Photography by SHELBY TAUBER

INTERIOR DESIGNER NOEL PITTMAN believes no two rooms should feel the same. Last year, she launched a popup in Inwood Village, followed by her first permanent shop near Lovers Lane a few months later. Situated inside a cottage just steps away from her home, the globally-inspired shop doubles as her office, design workspace and collection. “It’s helped me when designing because I need to see it all out physically,” Pittman says. “It’s been one of the best things that’s happened.” After studying interior architecture at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, she lived in New York before moving to Los Angeles, where she started working on ground-up residential projects. But Pittman was drawn to Texas with a second project, a ranch where the client's ecstatic reaction to the final look was filmed by her mother. “People in the South and in Texas tend to like their houses more decorated and they host more,” Pittman says. “The culture of design is a little bit different than other places in the country.” She brought her coastal style with a Lone Star twist, incorporating leather textures, western decor and rustic patterns. “A lot of people really loved my house in LA and the California look, and there's no reason that can't be incorporated here,” she says. Pittman's historic home in Hancock Park gained acclaim in the design industry for its mix of textiles, custom fabrics and vibrant colors. In 2022, Verdana and Southern Living featured her 1920s California home and her work on a Dallas home was mentioned in Architectural Digest. To capture her unique style, she sources her pieces from traveling all over Europe. Her deep love for Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Morocco is obvious. She gravitates towards Moorish and Spanish Colonial influences. She recently went to Paris and found items at a flea market that she’s shipping back. In Italy, she picked up ceramics she brought back right before the pop-up. She frequently imports Moroccan ceramics. She finds antiques from places like Spanish lebrillos, scouting auctions and estate sales. “I'd like to see people embracing antiques and traditional elements and knowing that it doesn't have to be fussy or old-fashioned looking,” she says. “I do think that there's a return to that.” Layering textures, colors and prints is a common theme in Pittman's designs, blending Texas vernacular with a California treatment. “I just slowly start to layer in all these elements that make a place feel really like it's what feels good when you walk in because it's layered enough and there's enough interest,” Pittman says. When Pittman works with clients, she runs through atypical

questions in order for the house to feel like home. A main priority when collaborating with clients is to stay true to their personality and capture their interests. “The client’s personality enhances a project because it brings in a different level of feedback and it can make it something even richer if you’re just doing it on your own in a vacuum,” she says. “I always love to get to know the people and try to make the house speak to them.” In 2022, she was one of a few select designers to design a room at Kips Bay Decorator Show House, an annual challenge that brings interior designers from all over the nation, tasked to makeover one room. The application process asks all designers to curate previous designs and a short description of themselves. “I figured it was such a long shot, but why not?” Pittman says. Pittman transformed a usual utility room with her signature style. “I realized if I really want to showcase myself as a designer, I am just going to do what I would want in my own house and like what I would actually want to live with and actually enjoy and what I think really represents me,” Pittman says about the challenge. “If you're a designer, even a utility space, you're like there's an opportunity it can be a room.” So far this year, Pittman has several projects lined up, including a cabin in Colorado and houses in Dallas, giving them a Spanish Colonial touch. “I've made friends in the industry,” she says about Dallas. “While it's been challenging overall, it's also been cool because it's really broadened my horizons.” MARCH 2024 prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

luxury leader YO U R P R E S T O N H O L L OW

6414 Waggoner Drive | $3,450,000

3633 Haynie Avenue | $5,999,000

Susan Baldwin

Alex Perry

4614 Stigall Street | $1,289,500

3603 Harvard Avenue | $3,750,000

Terri Cox

Susan Bradley

7430 Paldao Drive | $950,000

8616 Turtle Creek #505 | $500,000

Lori Sparks

Kimberly Cocotos

214.763.1591 | susan.baldwin@alliebeth.com

972.841.3838 | terri.cox@alliebeth.com

214.680.6432 | lori.sparks@alliebeth.com

alliebethallman | alliebeth.com

214.926.0158 | alex.perry@alliebeth.com

214.674.5518 | susan.bradley@alliebeth.com

214.682.5754 | cocotosscott@alliebeth.com