May/June 2022 by bedfordnewcanaanmag

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A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT To be sure, women-in-business have come a long way since Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem started to liberate women from the ‘Mad Men’ era. In corporate America today, there is some degree of equal opportunity for women, even if the business world is still, statistically and philosophically, somewhat male-dominated. What may fairly be said is that the experience of women-in-business remains different. My personal observation is that women are somehow still the somethingto-prove underdog, the Cinderella story, the exception rather than the anticipated norm. There’s a new balance in business, but for women it’s still a delicate one…are we ‘leaning-in’? Too little? Too much? No matter the realities of the world at large, the fact is that the B&NC Mag area boasts a preponderance of super-successful women-in-business! Maybe it’s a selffulfilling phenomenon and part-and-parcel of being a super-affluent community. But it’s so much so, that it was difficult to pair-down a selection of exemplary empresses for this MAY/JUNE 2022

WOMEN-

IN-BUSINESS THEMED ISSUE OF B&NC MAG!

Our cover feature, Martha Stewart, tops most women-in-business lists! From front to back in this issue, we feature: Dede Bartlett, who started in business in 1965 and became the highest ranking female at ExxonMobil in the ‘80s and at Philip Morris in the ‘90s; Shaz Kahng, who started in business in the ‘80s and has been shattering glass ceilings in the 21st Century, having served as CEO and on Boards of numerous public companies; Gina Zangrillo, the hall of fame retailer who runs the Darien Sport Shop; Heather Gaudio, who runs Heather Gaudio Fine Art on the corner of Elm and South Streets in New Canaan; Fran Hauser, an angel investor in mostly female start-ups, who’s best known for her guidebook for women in business, The Myth of the Nice Girl, and; Emily Bayuk, an author and influencer focused on women in STEM. And then we’ve also included a special section on remarkable local women with local businesses you should know about. Bottom line, the women-in-business we’ve featured in this issue have found ways to prevail rather than protest, and what they all have in common is self-confidence and self-determination, perseverance, hard work, a passion for what they do, and a drive to be the best at it!

Truly yours,

CASEY KAPLAN

President 12

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TABLE CONTENTS M AY / J U N E

DEDE THOMPSON BARTLETT

Dede was the highest ranking female at Mobil in the ‘80s and then again at Philip Morris in the ‘90s, and ‘in retirement’ she’s a active on the frontlines of responding to domestic violence and serves as a Director of Legal Momentum for the The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund.

GINA ZANGRILLO

Gina is upbeat, confident, direct, and…busy! Running Darien Sport Shop, even with the oldest of her three children, Greg, in the fold, is a 24/7 job. Keeping Darien Sport Shop at the forefront of fashion, and out in front of an ever-changing retail environment and all kinds of competition, season after season and year after year, is a Herculean task.

BEDFORD & NEW CANAAN

SHAZ KAHNG

Shaz was the first female to hold a global business P&L at Nike, she’s served as the CEO of Lucy Activewear, and on the Boards of Gymboree and OMSignal, and currently serves on the Board of GoPro.

FRAN HAUSER

Fran’s career has evolved from being a media executive at Time Inc., AOL, and Moviefone, to her current roles as startup investor, author, and keynote speaker. Fran wrote The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate (2018) and recently authored Embrace the Work, Love Your Career, focused on career actualization.

HEATHER GAUDIO

Heather Gaudio runs Heather Gaudio Fine Art, the gallery located on the prime downtown corner of Elm Street and South Avenue in New Canaan. The gallery features investment-quality modern and contemporary art, with a focus on paintings, works on paper, sculpture, photography, and other textural work.

EMILY BAYUK

Emily is a cybersecurity consultant analyst at Accenture and has 17k followers on her Instagram @thestemdiaries. She’s been the keynote speaker for Microsoft's Robotics Camp for Girls in STEM, and for Girls Inc., and she co-hosts a weekly, one-hour Instagram LIVE series called ‘Women in STEM Wednesdays’ that has 403k followers!

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TABLE CONTENTS M AY / J U N E

CONTINUED

p.100 COVER FEATURE

MARTHA STEWART Martha is transcendent. She’s at the top of any list of women-inbusiness when it comes to total revenues she’s generated, money she’s made for herself, and the strength of her personal brand. Her longevity - having published her first book in 1982 - defies gravity.

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A GEM ON GUARD HILL

16 Guard Hill has it all! 13.7 acres, a 6,727 square foot, 5 bedroom Country Farmhouse, in-ground pool, patio and outdoor gourmet kitchen, horse barn and paddocks, and all at the best address in Bedford.

HER P.129

Entrepren

Remarkable local women with local businesses you should know about!

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Where institutional caliber wealth management meets boutique service and support. Robert Sechan rsechan@newedgecg.com 203-424-2280 Stamford, CT

newedgewealth.com

NewEdge Wealth is a division of NewEdge Capital Group, LLC. Investment advisory services offered through NewEdge Wealth, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Securities offered through NewEdge Securities, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.

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EVERY DAY IS A GIFT SEEMA BOESKY HEART CENTER AT NORTHERN WESTCHESTER HOSPITAL Discover why this center, which includes a state-of-theart electrophysiology lab and cardiac catheterization lab, is nothing short of a regional Center of Excellence for cardiac care…just minutes away. Anna Delahanty of Somers spent the gorgeous day of Monday, March 22, 2021, making her famous sauce for Sunday dinner. She took a break for a walk with her husband, Larry. After returning home, Larry heard “this massive crash – oh my God, Anna…. she’d fallen face first in the hallway.” Anna was turning blue-grey. She gasped her last breath in front of Larry. “She had no pulse, no heartbeat, nothing.” Larry knew it was a heart attack. For Anna Delahanty, every day is a gift after surviving heart failure. When Anna needed instant cardiac care, the Somers volunteer ambulance and Westchester EMS brought her to Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH), just fifteen minutes away from her home —a decision that saved her life. Until last year, if you or a family member in northern Westchester or Putnam County had a heart attack and called 911, chances are you’d be taken to Danbury Hospital or Stamford Hospital in Connecticut or Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. Now, all that has changed for you, your family and friends. 24

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Northern Westchester Hospital has brought the renowned cardiac expertise of Lenox Hill Hospital to Westchester, Putnam, and Fairfield Counties The state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab, which is part of the Seema Boesky Heart Center at NWH, is an extension of Lenox Hill Hospital, a nationally renowned cardiac services program. The Hospital’s interventional cardiologists rotate through Lenox Hill and NWH to maintain the highest level of skill and quality. This connection means that patients – you and your loved ones – receive care from some of the nation’s top cardiac physicians, each of whom has extensive training in high-risk cases. The level of cardiac care at NWH is equivalent to that at New York City’s most distinguished, high-profile cardiac programs. The fact that Anna Delahanty had access to first-rate interventional cardiologists at Northern Westchester Hospital who partner with top cardiac surgeons at Lenox Hill, as well as practitioners who specialize in recovery all within the same health system – Northwell Health – was essential for the highest quality clinical care.

Time is crucial in treating cardiac emergencies Every second you’re left untreated means more damage to your heart muscle. The sooner your blocked vessel is opened, the better the chance for an excellent outcome. When every second counts, residents can feel confident that NWH is here – and ready – right in their backyard. NWH is the only hospital with a cardiac catheterization lab within 20-30 minutes of the Anna’s home. She had suffered a massive heart attack causing heart failure. Anything greater than 30 minutes without intervention and it was very unlikely Anna was stable enough to survive.

We’re proud to provide advanced cardiac care in the place your heart calls home The Hospital cares for cardiac emergencies, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week – treating coronary artery disease, which is the narrowing or blockage of one or more arteries carrying oxygenated blood to the heart. While 90 percent of patients will be treated in Westchester, those who require bypass surgery or require valve replacement will be treated at Lenox Hill. This means you and your family receive comprehensive and seamless cardiac care at the highest level, no matter the issue. Anna needed emergency bypass surgery. Because no cath lab performs this procedure, her interventional cardiologist at NWH called his colleague at Lenox Hill. Because of the strong partnership between colleagues, Anna had a fighting chance. Using a catheter, Anna’s interventional cardiologist at NWH placed a pump in her heart’s left ventricle to work as an artificial heart, stabilizing her so she could withstand the trip to Lenox. The continuity of high-quality care Anna experienced was essential to her survival.

Restored Confidence with Cardiac Rehabilitation If you suffer a cardiac emergency, you’ll be treated at NWH or Lenox Hill and receive a direct referral to get crucial follow-up care at the cardiac rehabilitation program at NWH. A key benefit of the program is restored confidence. After a cardiac emergency, any pain in your chest area may cause anxiety. However, these fears typically go away during or after cardiac rehabilitation as patients see undeniable evidence of their gains in strength and stamina. Activities like walking uphill on the treadmill, riding the bike, or using the rowing machine give patients great confidence. Anna participates in the cardiac rehabilitation program and continues to astonish everyone with her rapid recovery. She is healthy and happy to be home and back to making her famous Sunday dinners for her family. She is thankful to the experts at Northwell Health for saving her life. “There aren’t enough words to express my gratitude to everybody.”

Learn more about lifesaving cardiac care in Westchester, visit nwh.northwell.edu/heart M A Y / J U N E

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DEDE

FEATURE | WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Thompson Bartlett PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA CERASO

When it comes to women-in-business, Dede Thompson Bartlett can tell the real story about what it was like to be a female in corporate America, starting up the ladder in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and breaking some glass ceilings in the ‘80s and 90’s…

And while her story is one of outstanding professional success and achievement, and notable ongoing charitable works and philanthropy…her story begs the question: What would have been different if women in business in the 20th Century had a level playing field and no glass ceilings?...

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During a career with Mobil, the predecessor company to ExxonMobil, where Dede had nine different jobs between 1975 and 1990, Dede rose to become the highestranking woman at the Fortune 25 giant. She held the titles of Corporate Secretary, Chair of the Contributions Committee, Assistant to the Chairman and CEO, and President of the Mobil Foundation. Then, starting in 1991, she became the highest-ranking woman of what was then the largest U.S. corporation, Philip Morris Companies Inc., where Dede served as the Company’s Vice President and Corporate Secretary, and later as Vice President of Corporate Affairs Programs. Dede and her husband, Jim, co-chair the Jim and Dede Bartlett Foundation, which focuses on senior care and general health initiatives, community support, university education, and women’s empowerment. They champion many New Canaan organizations, and recently gave Three Million Dollars to fund the auditorium of the new New Canaan Library, which is in addition to the Half-Million Dollar gift they made to build the Rooftop Terrace of the new, green building. Dede is committed to a more real-life approach to career planning and to increasing the number of women pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics, and this past fall, they donated Ten Million Dollars to Vassar College to build the Dede Thompson Bartlett Center to house Vassar’s Office of Admission and Career Education. They also support STEM and economics summer internships at Vassar College, summer internships in STEM at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, and college scholarships for students majoring in STEM and economics at Boulder High School in Colorado. Recently, Jim pledged to underwrite college scholarships for children of United States Marines, and helped fund a venture in Life Skills internships. In addition, partnering with their son Jay, Dede and Jim sponsor numerous internships in energy and environmental research at Princeton and the University of Chicago.

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Dede is also extremely active on the frontlines of responding to domestic violence. She’s a Director of Legal Momentum: The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, where she chairs the Strategy Committee, and she’s the founder and co-chair of the New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership. She’s a past President of the Women’s Forum of New York, and a former Chair of the Advisory Board of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. She received the Women Who Make a Difference Award from the International Women’s Forum, and she’s been honored for her work in helping survivors of domestic violence by the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, Lifetime Television, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

In April, Dede and Jim were honored with the Spirit of New Canaan Award by the New Canaan Community Foundation…A fitting tribute to a couple who have given so much to improve the quality of life in New Canaan.

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Dede is purposeful. She’s in control. Focused, intent and intense. On task. Energetic. And quite charming. She describes a patrician upbringing. “My father was a Research Engineer for the Department of the Navy, and his family first settled in New York in the 1680s. And my mother’s family settled in the South, in the 1660s. I grew up in New York City, and I spent summers at a girls’ camp in Oxford, Connecticut. My parents were avid readers - and they taught me to love reading. We didn’t have a television in the house until I turned 21. When I was younger, my library card was one of my most valued possessions!”

“

…Which brings me to how important our new library in New Canaan is for generations of new readers,” with a smile, Dede forces the segue. “The new Library will be transformative for New Canaan. The quality of the Town rests, fundamentally, in the strength of our community, the municipal infrastructure and appearance, and maintaining an exceptional public education offering. The new New Canaan Library addresses all these needs and will serve as a vibrant community center and important social hub for all age groups, in addition to offering books and information in up-to-date ways. Jim and I are long-term committed residents of New Canaan, and we’re pleased to give back to the community in a way we think will have significant and immediate impact.”

Jim has had a very successful career investing in entrepreneurial growth companies. First at a bank, then a mutual fund, and then with his own hedge fund. "He says he ‘retired’ in 2005, but he’s still an active investor…and an active partner in our philanthropic projects,” Dede chides.

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Dede went to the exclusive all-girls Spence School, and was one of three, out of twenty-eight girls in her class, to go on to Vassar College. One of the most prestigious ‘Seven Sisters’, Vassar was still an all-female college at the time, renowned for its liberal arts education. She says, “I actually found Vassar to be pretty easy, because we had been so well prepared at Spence. I majored in French and minored in Spanish and European History, and studied in Paris during my Junior year. No one ever advised me to think about preparing for a profession, nor was there much in the curriculum to prepare you for a career in business in any event. I did very well at Vassar, because you needed good grades to do things like go to Paris for a year abroad and leave Poughkeepsie on weekends to visit the then all-male Yale and Williams. Don’t get me wrong - I loved my time at Vassar. I was awed to be studying in the same library as so many great women who’d gone before me, like Edna St. Vincent Millay and, yes, Jackie Kennedy! And I treasured being around so many really bright classmates.

But I was vaguely disquieted by the prevailing sense that after college, as a woman, you were supposed to work for a couple of years and then get married and start raising a family.”

Dede graduated Vassar in 1965. She recounts that, “Vassar had absolutely no career development department. There was a nice lady in a small office with a box of 3x5 cards, who would access alums to help each of us get a job. But, after graduating Vassar with honors, all I could get was a job typing envelopes at the Far East America Council, while every young man coming out of Princeton or Yale with my educational background was getting offers from banks for management training programs at twice my salary. It was the beginning of my becoming a feminist!” Dismayed but undeterred, Dede went to NYU at night and earned a Masters in American History in 1969. “Going for a graduate degree gave me a purpose,” Dede says. “And a wonderful woman friend helped me get a job as a Junior Account Executive at the public relations firm Ruder Finn. Two years later, I became the youngest Vice President at the firm.” She continues, “In 1973, I was lured to a high flying, small electronics firm to be their Director of Corporate Communications. I rented a studio apartment on 86th Street near 5th Avenue, and with my first bonus I bought a full-length mink coat! And even though the firm went bankrupt two years later, the experience made me one of the best-known women in public relations in New York City. I guess you could say my career was more like that of someone starting out in ‘75 instead of ‘65, because it took a decade just to overcome the difference in how men and women were valued at the front door.”

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FEATURE | DEDE BARTLETT

“Career guidance and preparedness have been a passion of mine ever since. I call it reality-based career planning. As a Visiting Fellow with the Council of Independent Colleges, I have given more than 300 lectures at over 30 colleges and universities around the country. Students need to understand the economic consequences when deciding on their major and minor - a Know Before You Go kind of thing. It’s essential that we provide students with the tools they will need to navigate the various and different careers they will each experience, and that we help them to interpret the disruptive technical, social and economic forces, and learn to seize new opportunities. Financial literacy is the key to financial success.” Then, on to her specific purpose, Dede continues, “I’ve been pushing financial literacy and professional development at Vassar for some time now. We’ve funded over 80 Thompson Bartlett Fellowships for Science, Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics, involving about a dozen Deans at Vassar, all working to improve Vassar’s career education and preparedness. When Vassar came to me with the idea for a beautiful new building to house the Offices of Admission and Career Education, I jumped at the chance to advance the course of career planning at Vassar.” With a $10M contribution, construction of the Dede Thompson Bartlett Center is expected to be completed in 2023! Vassar’s President Bradley is quoted saying, “For nearly a decade, Dede Bartlett has been helping Vassar students and graduates carve their career paths by funding paid internships and other initiatives through the College’s Career Education office. Her extraordinary gift will enable the College to provide state-ofthe-art facilities and programming that will truly enhance the services our Admission and Career Education offices can provide.”

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Dede’s ‘first woman’ status in the executive ranks at Mobil and Philip Morris/Altria cannot be overstated. She attributes her success to being at the right place at the right time, and having excellent organizational and communications skills. “I was constantly looking for any situation where I could bring my creativity, problem solving, and strong interpersonal skills to bear. My overriding skill is being good at seizing opportunities!” “One of the most amazing opportunities in my career happened when I least expected it. In 1995, I was heading-up the diversity communications programs at Philip Morris, when I got a call from my friend Elinor Guggenheimer. Eli was a legendary New Yorker, one of Stephen Birmingham’s ‘Our Crowd,’ the first New York City Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, and the founder of the New York Women’s Forum as well as ten other social service organizations. She was an advocate for children, women, and the elderly - and a real role model for me. She was calling to ask if I would host a gathering of judges, attorneys, victim advocates and survivors of domestic violence at our Corporate Headquarters on 42nd Street and Park Avenue. Of course, I said ‘yes’. The O.J. Simpson case was playing out on televisions across America, and people were just beginning to understand the enormity of domestic violence in America. What I anticipated was going to be a nice reception turned out to be a real eye-opener on the enormity and severity of the scourge of domestic violence. I was gobsmacked!” “In 1996, I led Altria in creating the first corporate conference on domestic violence and helped shape response and action from businesses across the country and around the world,” Dede continues. “I’m proud to say that, before leaving Altria, I ran twenty-six conferences in the U.S. and overseas, and helped channel more than $250M into programs assisting battered women and working to prevent domestic violence.” Dede’s work over the last two decades - since her ‘retirement’ - has been substantial and steady. She works without trying to attract much attention. And she will drop whatever she’s doing to respond to any one of the women she may be counseling, Dede’s work on domestic violence is another full-time career! Dede is the Founder and Co-Chair of the New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership. “I do whatever I can in terms of education and prevention and helping to educate our citizens, the police force and the clergy. I worked on a series of podcasts with NCAPP talking about healthy relationships. I’m on the Advisory Board of Domestic Violence Crisis Center, and we have an outstanding Executive Director and staff in Stamford that serves Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Weston, Westport, Stamford, and Norwalk. We run two emergency houses, provide free counseling to abused women and their children, help victims going to court, and provide safe housing and financial advocacy. The problem of domestic violence is huge! One in four women will be a victim in her lifetime! That is why I also sit on the Board of Legal Momentum, where I get to work with brilliant lawyers, helping to train judges and further their national judicial education program. We, along with many others, helped to pass Jennifers’ Law, named after the tragic murder, in New Canaan, of Jennifer Dulos, and we’re focused on giving judges the training and tools to use in addressing coercive control which, in addition to physical and emotional abuse, is now regarded as part of domestic violence.”

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FEATURE | DEDE BARTLETT

And believe it or not…that’s not all! Dede’s embarked on what must be her 10th or 11th career - a series of what is now four books on her family history, entitled Discovering My Lost Family: The Unexpected Journey of an American Woman. “It’s some of the hardest stuff I’ve had to deal with personally. In the course of tracing my ancestors, I learned that family members had been involved in the slave trade. I’m still grappling with it. In my most recent book, I traced the history of twelve objects that have been passed down in branches of my family for as long as 400 years. For me, it’s still unfinished business.” Dede left the corporate world in 2002, feeling that, “I’d accomplished what I set out to do, and I wanted to spend uninterrupted time with my family. Our daughter Katie was getting married, and our son Jay was about to graduate from college, and I wanted to enjoy those milestone moments. Our joy has always been our family, and in the years since, Katie’s become the devoted and extraordinarily creative mother to our granddaughters, 12-year-old Alexandra and 9-yearold Charlotte, and Jay is doing important energy and environmental research at the Washington DC-based Resources for the Future, a non-partisan economic think tank. In a precarious world, my children and my husband are my loving strength.” Dede and Jim were married in 1974. They moved from New York City to New Canaan in 1976, and their children went to Camp Playland and New Canaan Country School. “New Canaan is one of the great places in America to live and to raise a family. And we spent summers in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and traveled all over the world. We feel blessed. By the time I left Philip Morris, now known as Altria, Jim and I were building a new house in New Canaan…and moving into the next phase of our lives." …Recently, Dede was chosen as one of the 19 women featured in the televised series Women Leaders of New Canaan, available on YouTube. Dede being Dede - looking forward to getting the next thing to be accomplished done…and spending little time looking back…says plainly about it,

“

I’ve always tried to make a difference and

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SHAZ KAHNG Shaz started working in the ‘80s, developed as a consultant in the ‘90s…

SMASHING GLASS CEILINGS AND HAS BEEN

AS CEO AND BOARDMEMBER AT MAJOR CORPORATE BRANDS FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE 21ST CENTURY. She says she’s faced all kinds of difficulties throughout her career - but thinks the world has, finally, changed, and acknowledges that her own achievement is indeed evidence, in and of itself, of greater opportunity for corporate advancement - if not equality - for women.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA CERASO

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And ever since 2004, when Shaz joined Nike and rose to become the first female to run a global business P&L, she’s made a steady diet of smashing glass ceilings. She’s earned a reputation as an insightful and effective CEO and Board Member. At Nike, she led a turnaround of the Nike Cycling business that made it profitable for the first time in history. As CEO of Lucy Activewear, Shaz and her team reinvented the company and achieved profitability in 13 months, nearly two years ahead of corporate expectations. She’s served on the Boards of Gymboree and OMSignal, and currently serves on the Board and as a member of the Audit Committee of GoPro. In addition, since January 2020, Shaz has been an Investment Committee Member of the venture capital firm Alumni Ventures Group.

Moving forward without further protest, and in order to succeed in what was really a male-only business environment, Shaz found a mentor - obviously male in a VP of Marketing, who Shaz credits with, “clearing the path for me when I came up with an innovative business solution to a problem in the labs - so I could actually develop and implement it.”

“Throughout my career, I’ve worked in maledominated industries, and I’ve experienced sexism, discrimination, and difficulties by virtue of simply being female. But I’m heartened that today’s business environment is more enlightened and open to diverse talented individuals. And maybe being Asian has, at times, been even more significant than being a woman. But I feel that I would have gotten more career opportunities - and earlier - if I was a man,” Shaz considers. “Maybe working through tough challenges helps you to succeed eventually. I’m resilient and proactive and have always felt that

But, Shaz says, “Still… I know that even just one of the 15 inventions I’d submitted saved Kraft $1.3M in the first six months of utilization….I never received recognition or compensation for any of the work… and several patents were issued based on my work, and I think they still exist with the name of my superior on them.”

G GLA S CEILINGS

Shaz majored in Chemistry and Food Science and graduated with honors from Cornell. Her first job was with Kraft, working in their prestigious food lab in Tarrytown. In 1985, the Kraft lab was still an allmale environment, with the exception of one other woman who was Shaz’ boss. A male lab technician actually greeted Shaz on her first day of work with, ‘Women don’t belong in the lab’. And there was still an all-male corporate culture and C-suite. When Kraft held a contest for new food-related inventions, Shaz submitted 15…and her boss’ boss blatantly appropriated the ideas, submitting them up the hierarchy in his own name and without credit to Shaz. The bandit brushed Shaz off…and then another male superior propositioned Shaz in exchange for help!

IF YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE I’LL SHOW WHAT I CAN DO.

Shaz recaps, “Starting my career as a consultant in the early 1990s, I focused first on business strategy and operations, then on all aspects of retail and ecommerce, then branding and marketing. I was a Senior Consultant at Gemini Consulting, then became a Partner at Kurt Salmon Associates, then a Managing Director, Retail & Consumer Products at Scient, and then Head of Brand Strategy at Wolff Olins.”

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My father is from Korea, by way of Kobe, Japan, and came to America on a Fulbright Scholarship to study law at Tulane. He continued with LLMs at Yale and NYU, in order to work in labor law, fighting discrimination. He met my mom, who was also Korean, when she was studying Early Childhood Education at Columbia. My mother passed away from a heart attack at age 49 when I was in college, and my dad remarried a wonderful woman who became my stepmother. She was a PhD and neurochemical researcher at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, and was a powerful example of being an accomplished woman. My dad, mom and stepmom made me believe anything is possible!”

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Shaz realized brand and product marketing was the direction she wanted to go, so her next step was to earn an MBA from Wharton. “I knew I wanted to run a brand, and be the CEO of a business, and I knew I wasn’t getting there through the lab at Kraft. When I expressed my intent to become a CEO to a male classmate at Wharton, he told me ‘I was the most focused woman he’d ever met’ - intending a complete compliment. I always tell the people I mentor - ‘know what you want to do’.”

FEATURE | SHAZ KAHNG

SHAZ RECENTLY DID A GOOGLE TALK CALLED THE SUPER POWERS OF CEILING SMASHERS', which is really more about empowerment than the traditional women-as-ceiling-smashers view. “Business is a competitive playing arena, and while things have definitely evolved over the last thirty years to get to this point, I believe now it’s more about skills, capability, ideas and innovation than anything else being a woman in corporate America can even be an advantage. When I was on the Board of Gymboree, I was the only woman with young kids - so I had a different perspective. Women bring a different intuition to problem solving.” And, remarkably, Shaz is also authoring a series of novels about the first female CEO of a sports company, named Vivien Lee, and the secret society of professional women, called the Ceiling Smashers, who help her succeed. The first novel in the series was titled The Closer, and the recently released second novel is titled Smashers Synched.

Shaz says, “We share pretty equally in all the household stuff and in being there for sports events and carpools and the like for the girls. WE’RE BOTH

CEOS AND OUR RHYTHM WITH THE FAMILY SEEMS ENTIRELY NORMAL - I don’t like the idea that business

and family are a trade-off. Though there may still be aspects of our culture that make the work experience different for women than for men, I’m happy to say that my girls do not consider that they are in any way limited in what they can or should do based on their gender. Gemma wants to be an astrophysicist and Zoe an architect.” Perhaps that’s because they will enter corporate America in a no-limits, ‘post-Shaz’ era.

Shaz and her husband, Bill Diotte, moved to New Canaan in July 2020, just after the start of the pandemic, with their now 11 year old twins, Gemma and Zoe. Bill had just finished a term as CEO of a cybersecurity company in San Francisco, so the timing was right.

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B&NC MAG asked Shaz for some insight into what it’s been like to be a woman in business…and Shaz came back with the following inspirational message: Though it is still hotly debated today, the legend persists of Babe Ruth pointing to centerfield to call his shot - and then proceeding to hit a home run. That action required three C’s: conviction, capability, and courage. Much like the baseball great, for a woman to triumph in the business world she has to develop and take advantage of those same three C’s.

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So how does one cultivate the three C’s? In my experience as a woman striving to succeed in business the process of encountering tough challenges, figuring out creative solutions, and applying the lessons learned, helped me hone the traits of conviction, capability, and courage. 2 0 2 2 Three specific moments in my career crystallized the importance of owning BEDFORD & NEW CANAAN and utilizing the three C’s. Each of these three harrowing experiences was set off by a contentious statement.

FEATURE | SHAZ KAHNG

“E W E R' E R PLACING YOUH T I W A MAN” Years later, I was a manager with a retail and apparel consulting firm working with a retail client in Atlanta. I had just sold the biggest project in our firm’s history and our president called me into his office- I imagined that he wanted to congratulate me. He was thrilled with the sale and congratulated me, but then dropped a bombshell. The president said, “We need to make a change. The client CFO wants to replace you or he won’t sign the contract.” I was baffled. I responded, “But my team and I delivered the first project ahead of schedule and under budget with three times the projected revenue benefits. What’s the problem?” He responded, “At the client’s request, we’re replacing you with a man.” Apparently the client CFO wanted a male manager who was more like himself. I asked the president if he was actually going to honor the client’s unreasonable request. He shrugged and said, “What else can I do? It’s too much money to walk away from.” I was devastated - but defiant - and said, “You can do the right thing, which is not what the client is asking. I’m really disappointed in your decision. Over the dinner table tonight I hope you tell your wife and daughter about the choice you made and see what they think.” 48

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The firm did replace me, but after a month or two the new manager was struggling. The president asked me to “lead from behind” and silently listen to client conference calls and then advise the new manager on what to do. Eventually the client CEO called and asked me to come back and lead the work…but I was already heading out of the country to lead another project. Shortly after that, I earned my partner promotion and became the youngest and first female partner of color in the firm’s 70 year history. But I never forgot the experience of being replaced on the project, and I knew that ultimately the values of the firm were not aligned with my own… so I left the firm - as a partner.

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“

YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO BE HERE After earning an MBA from Wharton, I joined a strategy consulting firm and worked on my first project with the partner in charge of the office- our team was just the two of us. After a few months we were to present our findings and recommended strategy at a client offsite at a private country club in rural Pennsylvania. The attendees from the client side were the board of directors and senior executives. After the first day of meetings, while all the men headed up to the bar, I stayed behind to finish setting up the room for the next day. When I walked into the bar and ordered a drink, the bartender gave me a startled look and told me he couldn’t serve me. Confused, I laughed and assured him that I was of legal drinking age. He pointed to a sign above the door that read “Gentlemen Only.” I said, “That sign is not an antique?” The bartender shook his head and said, “You’re not allowed to be here.” I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. Out of all the people attending the offsite I was the only woman - and the only person getting kicked out of the bar! By then all conversation had ceased and everyone was watching me. I said to the bartender, “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. Please make me a drink, which I will take outside.” Then I turned to the others and said, “We’ve been cooped

up inside all day, so I’m going outside to enjoy the sunset if anyone would like to join me.” I looked over at the partner I was working with but he kept his gaze fixed on the floor. I grabbed my drink and made my way out to the terrace, shaking with indignation. Outside on the terrace, I’d never felt so alone. I took a few deep breaths and summoned all the resilience I could and after a while I started to relax. A voice behind me said, “Is this a private sunset or may I join you?” It was the CEO of the client company and I will be forever grateful for his kindness. I replied, “This is an equal opportunity sunset, pull up a chair.” He chuckled and we started to chat. I soon realized that I had a golden opportunity- the chance to speak oneon-one with the CEO. I took full advantage, and asked all the critical questions I’d been saving up. The next day during the big meeting, the CEO asked to take a break to confer with ‘his consultant’. The partner I was working with jumped up and ran over - only to be dismissed by the CEO, who said, ‘No, I want to ask Shaz for her ideas on this’. From our conversation on the terrace, the CEO felt I really understood the company and the culture, and wanted my thoughts on how best to modify and implement the business strategy.

FEATURE | SHAZ KAHNG

As one of the few female senior executives at Nike, I was given the chance to run the global Nike Cycling business. The CEO told me I was the first woman to hold a global business P&L at Nike so the pressure was on to do a great job. The Cycling business was a mess: it had some of the highest product returns in the company; it had gotten kicked-out of some key retail accounts, and; it had not made a cent since the inception of the business seven years prior. The CEO told me, “Just fix it!” Most of the mostly male team were avid cyclists who had worked on the business for years. When I went around to meet each team member, a few of the guys told me, “I don’t think you can do this job.” Imagine someone saying that to their new boss. So I had inherited a business in terrible shape with a team that didn’t think I was qualified. I have to admit, their skepticism was a blow to my confidence and I briefly wondered if they were right. But then I took a step back and thought, “Wait a second. This business has been tanking for years and losing money and these are the folks who’ve been working on it. How can I possibly do any worse?” At our first team meeting I said, “Look, I do know how to turn around a business and a brand. I’ll learn the cycling sport and business from you, and I hope you’ll learn some things from me. Let’s work together to make it a success.” I also laid out about thirty pairs of cycling shorts across the conference room table and held up an iPod as a prize for whoever could correctly guess the sizes of the shorts without looking at the tags. While the shorts ranged from huge to tiny, in fact they were all medium size and the variability was because the team wasn’t using standardized sizing specs or fit blocks. In that first meeting, as we methodically dissected the cycling business, the team began to learn exactly why the business had been failing for years. By a little over a year later we had grown revenues by 300% and made the cycling business profitable for the first time. But probably more rewarding was the positive, collaborative, and respectful team culture in which we conducted ourselves. With an innovative new approach to the business that same team of people was able to achieve results no one imagined possible. I note that I’ve been fortunate to have worked with many amazing men - who’ve been great mentors, colleagues, and friends. I’m also grateful to have a network of incredible female executives - who help each other, and serve as positive role models for others - and who’ve inspired many of the characters in my novels. The three formative experiences I’ve described demonstrate how crucial the three C’s are to having a fulfilling career. Convictionbelieve that you deserve the opportunity to show what you can do and that you can, in fact, achieve exceptional results. Capabilitydevelop superior skills so your expertise helps open people’s minds to what is possible. Courage- when faced with adversity, don’t be 50 & NEW CANAAN afraid to BEDFORD speak up, and always maintain your belief in yourself.

“I DON’T THINK YOU CAN DO THIS JOB” M A Y / J U N E

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HEATHER GAUDIO

FEMME DE FINE ARTS T H OU GH T H E R E H AV E CERTAINLY BEEN PREEMINENT FEMAL E A R BIT E R S OF A RT - T H INK PEGGY GUGGENHEIM OR G ERTRUDE ST EIN - A N D GR E AT A N D FAMOUS FEMAL E ARTISTS – SUCH AS H ELE N F R A N K E N T H A LE R AND MARY CASSATT - THESE WOMEN H AVE BE E N T H E E XCE P T ION IN A MAL E DOMINATED INDUSTRY. T H E R E A LIT Y IS T H AT WOMEN-IN-THE-BUSINESS-OF-ART IS M OST LY A P H E N OM E N ON OF THE L AST QUARTER-CENTURY.

Heather Gaudio runs Heather Gaudio Fine Art, the gallery located on the prime downtown corner of Elm Street and South Avenue in New Canaan. She’s a prominent and respected ‘femme de fine arts’ and a successful woman-in-business, but Heather Gaudio Fine Art is actually a team of women that includes Managing Director Christine Romaniello, Director Rachael Palacios, Registrar Jennifer Burbank and Digital Media Associate Sophia Ziotas. The gallery features investment-quality modern and contemporary art, with a focus on paintings, works on paper, sculpture, photography, and other textural work. Their roster includes a predominant selection of established and emerging female artists. The elegant storefront is just the tip of the iceberg, as they also offer fine art advisory and acquisition services.

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PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREA CERASO

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“OUR GALLERY IS AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF COLLECTING ART… we welcome everyone including kids and dogs!” invites Heather. “The team is all about being approachable – acquiring art should be a fun process, not confusing, rigid, or unfriendly. We recognize that even coming into our gallery, no less asking about buying art, can be intimidating for many...and we mean to make for a comfortable and enjoyable experience. We greet everyone with a friendly ‘hello’, never leaving a customer to wander around worrying about what to ask. We have artworks at various price points and whether you’re a first-time buyer or building an esteemed collection, our primary objective is to understand and satisfy each client. Our best advertisement is word-of-mouth referral.” Heather explains, “I get that there are people who don’t know what they like when it comes to art, and really just want some advice on selecting art that will work, which may simply be driven by considerations such as color, size or price. There are also plenty of people who know just what they like, but need help identifying particular artists or artwork, or finding available work by artists they already know. Some just prefer for us to do all the leg work with the process of acquisition. We want to be the gallery for all these purposes. But we also have the expertise to advise the most sophisticated collector with respect to art, artist, and investment. We’re proud to play a part in curating a vast number of investment-quality collections.” 58

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The gallerist’s affinity with the world of art did not emerge in a vacuum. “One of my grandfathers was an oil executive and the other was a physician, and received his BFA in sculpture, but both were coincidentally regionallyrespected fine artists. I grew up working in their art studios...so maybe I should give them credit for my earliest appreciation of art. But it was also the encouragement and influence of my strong grandmothers, who were both welltraveled, educated and art collectors. And my mother’s constant support also got me focused on culture and the arts. I spent a year in Italy in college and studied at the fine arts academy Scuola Lorenzo de Medici in Florence. I took my first real drawing class in Donatello’s studio, and traveled around getting to see the great museums of Europe. It was life changing for me!”, Heather recalls fondly. “...Although a big part of what I learned was that I was better at critiquing art than creating it! I was not the one kept up at night with the compulsion to create. I was the one arriving at the studio first thing in the morning to evaluate what other artists had done. When I graduated with a major in Fine Art from the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico, I knew the art business was my destiny... even though my father, a stockbroker, said it was ‘the most impractical idea of all time’.”

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Heather devoted the next fifteen years to studying modern and contemporary art and learning about the business of buying and selling fine art. She started out working for the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, and eventually moved to New York City and became an Associate Director at Forum Gallery. She learned how to curate and talk about art in terms people could understand, building a following of loyal clients. Over time she developed a personal aesthetic, favoring artists with a delicate hand and a particular craft.

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The business owner smiles wryly recalling how she started HGFA, saying “My husband and I moved to Fairfield in 2008 with three young children. With the financial market collapsing shortly thereafter, the timing for a high-end art business couldn’t have been worse. And I always needed to balance work with being mom to what are now my 21, 16, 14, and 8 year-old kids. I did some private advising and had a client with a Warhol Flowers screen print with some original painting on it in the original plexi frame, which was not easily categorized or valued. I spent two years sleuthing that Warhol to give it context and speaking with the Warhol Foundation to get it authenticated...We ultimately consigned it with a full marketing package to Sotheby’s, where the work, which had originally been acquired for $3,000, sold for $135,000!” Heather also connected with some of the female artists at Silvermine and was hired-on as a part-time consultant to enhance their sales and streamline their inventory organization. Heather was starting to get calls from old clients, consulting on purchases for those bold enough to be investing in the years following the economic crash. It took a leap of faith to open her first gallery in 2011, in a small space on South Avenue. Then Christine, recently graduated from college with a degree in Art History, came on board as an Intern. And then Rachael, whose experience included Hirschl & Adler and Sotheby’s and an MA in Art History, followed by Jennifer from Sperone Westwater, adding her MFA in Fine Arts expertise to the mix. Sophia’s knowledge of digital media is a recent addition that extends the gallery’s reach online. “As our collective knowledge bonded and grew, so did our business. Christine started as a recent graduate and today is the Managing Director, taking care of all aspects of the business – as well as keeping us all in line! We all work in a collaborative fashion and rely on each other’s strengths. I do believe this kind of synergy is unique to an all-women business. Although, I do have to add, that our magnificent Preparator, Bob Schwartz, who is also an artist and Conservator, is the most feminist of us all!” 60

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In 2015, when Sally Kaltman, the owner Sallea Antiques on the corner of Elm and South decided she was going to retire after 40 years in business, she reached out to Heather to ensure that the prized location would go to another female-owned enterprise. “Of course, it was another giant leap of faith, but we jumped at the opportunity,” Heather states. Since then, the gallery has built a strong business and represents a diverse collection of artists from all over the world. To date, they have curated over 60 exhibitions and have participated in over 10 art fairs, nationally and internationally. “We favor artwork that we consider to be ‘well executed’ and are proud to show a wide variety of art that is created in meaningfully different ways. We love working with artists who use very different techniques. Most of the work we represent is ‘process-based’, which means the artists use common materials to create uncommonly beautiful objects,” Heather explains. “You can see this type of methodology in Jessica Drenk’s work, where she uses wax and books to make carvings that look like feathers. Or Martin Kline’s, who uses a brush to apply encaustic, a wax-based paint, to build texture into the surface of his paintings, and then often casts the actual painting into bronze or stainlesssteel sculptures. Other artists push the boundaries of the materials, such as Jae Ko who combines traditional Sumi inks with adding machine paper to create stunning sculptures and installations. Kathleen Jacobs wraps canvases on tree trunks, rubbing and applying paint over a period of months, making a record of not only the bark markings but the outdoor elements as well. Upcoming exhibitions at the gallery will include M A Y / Jby U NValéria E 2 0 2 2Nascimento and Lucas works

Ferreira who work in porcelain ceramic, and paintings by British artist Ian McKeever." During the quieter months of the pandemic, when it became clear that participating in art fairs would need to be shelved for the time being, the gallery opened a 'PROJECTS Space', a couple of doors up the street on Elm. “PROJECTS is a great bonus space to show select works and hold condensed exhibitions. We began last year with a stunning show of Richard Serra prints which was amazing. The sales were brisk! We have a great relationship with his publisher, which speaks to the reach of our team. Currently we are exhibiting prints by Argentine artist Analía Saban, and after that we will feature paintings and a site-specific installation by Aaron Wexler.” “We don’t approach things in business with being women as our mindset, but it probably does inform and explain some of our ethos. Coming up in the business, every boss I had, and every boss’s boss, was a man. Women served as ‘gallerinas’, supposed to ‘grace’ the sales floor in order to entertain the customers. ...At HGFA, we cherish the shared experience we’ve had growing our business in our local community and with our international clientele, and we’re honored to serve as role models for other women in business. We advocate being true to your vision, no matter how unconventional it may be, and we encourage the young women we mentor to do so boldly! We like to say young women should be directed to build STEAM, rather than just go into STEM, with the ‘Arts’ seeming to be natural for what has long been considered a male dominated field.”

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OKMLS, 1/1/21-12/31/21, total dollar volume of single family homes sold by Houlihan Lawrence Agent, Byram Hills school district; OKMLS, 1/1/21-12/31/21, total dollar volume single family homes sold, by agent, Westchester County, as of 1/6/22.

La Maison Fete is a full-scale event planning and event design company. LMF creates the unexpected for every occasion: weddings, dinners, luncheons, birthdays, holidays and cocktail parties. We make every gathering unique. This year, La Maison Fete’s new shop, in Bedford, New York’s town center, focuses on curated tableware, accessories and decorative elements to reinvent at home festivities. La Maison Fete 11 Court Road, Bedford New York 914.234.8627 www.lamaisonfete.com

An Independent preparatory school OPENING IN BEDFORD IN FALL 2022 | Grades K-8

Our mission is to form our students into flourishing men and women, ready to embrace the adventure of life. Hawthorn students will encounter the great heritage of Western Civilization, in an atmosphere of authentic freedom, moral virtue, and academic rigor. We are proud to base our approach to education on the teachings of St. Josemaría Escrivá: all of one’s life —one's work, family life, and the ordinary events of each day—are opportunities for drawing closer to God. Our curriculum is the fruit of over fifty years of educational experience. We welcome families of all backgrounds to learn more at www.thehawthornschool.com or connect with us at contact@thehawthornschool.com www.thehawthornschool.com | 483 Old Post Road, Bedford, New York 10506

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Devin McCrossan is a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker afﬁliated with Compass. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity Laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reﬂect actual property conditions.

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(Formerly Arroway Ford) Dealer Facility #7128380

C o l o n i a l F o r d We s t c h e s t e r. c o m

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Rowland Hussey Macy. Richard Warren Sears & Alvah Warren Roebuck. Marvin Traub - of Bloomingdale’s The Gindi brothers from Brooklyn, who founded Century 21. These retail legends are all famous for having operated great ‘department stores’ featuring high-fashion goods… but, not coincidentally, they’re all men!?

To put Gina Zangrillo’s career as a woman-in-business, operating her family’s Darien Sport Shop for the last 28 years, in context…

it’s time Gina is recognized as a legend in the high-fashion retail hall of fame. 68 68

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Gina Zangrillo & Darien Sport Shop

Although Darien Sport Shop carries gear and equipment for skiing, lacrosse, baseball, pickleball, and just about every yard game and other outdoor activity - like everything YETI you could possibly use - the ‘sport shop’ is only a small part - on the third floor - of what this modern-day specialty department store has to offer. Walking in the door at 1127 Post Road in Darien, it’s quite clear this is a lot more than a sporting goods store, as the lobby is beautifully decorated featuring the trends of each season. The first-floor women’s selection includes shoes, jewelry, sunglasses, leather goods, and designer sportswear, catering to the customers' wide range of needs from casual to dressy with names like, Ulla Johnson, Kinross, A.L.C., Vince, Loeffler Randall, and Frank & Eileen. The men’s side is a one-stop shop for every gentleman and every

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season. From sportswear to tailored clothing to shoes, there’s a complete selection from name brands like Peter Millar, Faherty, johnnie-o, Hickey Freeman, and AG. You can get the perfect sportcoat, just the right pair of slacks, the softest golf shirts - and in everything, just the right mix between classic and fashion, conservative but also sometimes slightly out of the comfort zone. The second level is fully devoted to dressing women for every day, as well as the Home & Gift shop. The ever-changing, carefully curated offering presently includes lines from popular designers including Faherty, Kerri Rosenthal, AGolde, The Great, Citizens of Humanity, Alex Mill, Velvet, AMO, lem lem, Sundry, and Nili Lotan, among others. And there’s a cute shop with candles from NEST, candy from Sugarfina, and a selection of gift items from frames to home furnishings.

PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREA CERASO

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When the customer reaches the top level, the ‘sport shop’ in the name begins to make sense. The third floor is home to the legendary Ski Shop that has been a mainstay since the ‘60s. Featuring ski equipment and apparel beginning early fall through the winter, this shop transitions to the home of spring and summer sports. Complimenting the ‘sporting goods’ is the athletic apparel department, a move Gina made a few years ago as the athleisure trend took hold. Featuring high-end brands like Rhone, RLX, Vuori, Darien Sport Shop is also a lululemon authorized retailer. And, in addition to the ‘sport shop’, the third floor also includes a complete kids department, with specialty brands like johnnie-o, Vineyard Vines, Ralph Lauren, Mayoral and Veja sneakers for boys and girls. Gina is upbeat, confident, direct, and…busy! Running Darien Sport Shop, even with the oldest of her three children, Greg, in the fold, is a 24/7 job. Keeping Darien Sport Shop at the forefront of fashion, and out in front of an ever-changing retail environment and all kinds of competition, season after season and year after year, is a Herculean task. About being ‘Zangrillo’ - and the long history of Darien Sport Shop in Darien - Gina says,

THIS STORE HAS BEEN SYNONYMOUS WITH MY FAMILY MY ENTIRE LIFE. My dad, Steve Zangrillo, who was born and raised in Darien, opened the first ‘Darien Sport Shop’ in 1946. He then acquired our current location in 1954, which has transformed in size and scope over the years. I was always proud of my dad, his incredibly tenacious work ethic, his knack for knowing what would sell as a merchant, and the way he ran the store. I marveled at how he built this enduring institution from nothing, and I learned from him that, ‘with hard work, you can make any idea a reality’. But by the time I graduated from Darien High School, I felt it was important for me to go and be Gina.”

“I got a degree from a design school in Atlanta and was qualified to do absolutely nothing. I took a job as a receptionist and, three months later, I answered an ad for a job selling jewelry out of the back of my car. Pulling up to an office building and walking-in cold to office after office to sell closeout merchandise…I learned a lot about life and everything about sales. Then I went to work in telecommunications at MCI, and climbed the ranks there quite quickly. I was part of implementing one of the first telecommunication programs for them, and I was successful in what I happily found to be a pretty enlightened corporate environment. It was thirty years ago, and my mentor at MCI was a very strong woman!”

Gina and her son, Greg

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Hard Work Hard Work

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FEATURE | GINA ZANGRILLO

“In 1994, I was in Darien visiting my dad at the store - 9 months pregnant with my second child, Douglas - and my dad asked me to come to work for him. I was much more mature then when I’d left Darien and had gained a world of relevant experience… and an appreciation for what my dad had built. When I started, I instituted one of the first retail customer loyalty programs, and I quickly realized my dad was ready for me to take the lead. Running the store has been my life ever since.”

About the store’s success during her tenure, Gina says, “I’ve worked hard to make Darien Sport Shop the coolest place in town, to carry great products for the entire family, and stay in the forefront of fashion. I have a team of talented buyers who comb the marketplace to find the kind of classic merchandise that the customer is expecting, while also looking to surprise and delight. We stock key brands like Peter Millar and johnnie-o, but we also carry new and trendy brands like Ulla Johnson, Greyson, and Nili Lotan. My philosophy is that if we listen to the customer and remain true to ourselves at the same time, Darien Sport Shop will always do well.” With a touch of moxie, Gina adds, “My dad used to worry, like every smaller retailer worried, when the big stores like Bloomingdale’s were ascendant, that they were going to push us out of business - but we weathered that era with an offering more closely aligned with our customers’ tastes and sensibilities. He wouldn’t open for business on Sunday like all the others, because he felt his employees needed a break. And everyone would fret each time another retailer would open a store down the street - but Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, Joseph A. Banks, Brooks Brothers, and Sports Authority have all come and gone. We’ve endured The Westchester, the Stamford Mall, and more recently the SONO Mall. It all made us stronger. …And online shopping is certainly a pressure - but, you know, our customers like the experience of shopping in our store.”

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About being a leading woman-in-business, Gina remarks, “I think I have the same sort of hard work ethic and no-nonsense attitude as my dad did. I’ve never really felt I should try to do things differently because I’m a woman. I do give young women, including my daughter Allison, the advice that they should work hard and have the drive to get everything they want for themselves. And when it comes to hiring, we hire whoever is right for the job, and what’s critical to me is that we have a fun and happy place to work. Good people are our differentiator, and the way our people interact with our customers really sets us apart.”

THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO MY DAD - AND IT’S IMPORTANT TO ME TOO.

And as for the future, Gina jokes, “Well I’m not retiring, if that’s what you mean. We’re about to redo the facade of our building and do some renovations inside to keep it fresh and modern. And we’re active on social media and have gotten more digital savvy in an effort to attract new, younger customers that hopefully will come back to us for a long time. As for succession, I’d point out that Greg came into the family business after gaining valuable business experience on his own, as I did. He’s as passionate about the store and our customers as I was when I came into the business. And for our store to continue to thrive and remain true to its core values, we need the next generation to carry on the legacy. That was very important to my dad - and it’s important to me too.”

With her kids! L2R: Doug Reilly, Doug’s fiancée, Caroline Weihs, Gina Zangrillo, Allison Reilly, Greg Reilly.

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FEATURE | GINA ZANGRILLO

We stopped by Darien Sport Shop for the YWCA Fashion Show to see this years’ hottest wears showcased by notable local residents and area-influencers:

Jordan Castellani in Ulla Johnson and Gina Gromelski in Birds of Paradis.

Darien High School students and Darien Sport Shop employees: Colby Dineen, Caroline Nicholls, Maggie Crotty, and Cabot Smith were all smiles in A.L.C., Kerri Rosenthal, lululemon and Sundry. LEFT: Local influencer, designer, and stylist, Ruth Stiefel (aka @stylinitbyruth) emceed the fun charity gathering.

New Canaan High School alums Henry Corcoran (left) and Jake Granito (right) posed before they hit the runway in their looks from Alex Mill and Hickey Freeman. Greg Reilly, Gina's oldest son and the store's men's buyer, escorts Kelly Scallon of the YWCA in a navy gown from A.L.C.

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WELCOMES N E U M A N N R E A L E S TAT E

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N E W F A I R F I E L D 2 0 3 . 74 6 . 6 5 6 5 BEDFORD & NEW CANAAN

Source: OKMLS, GMLS, 1/1/2021-12/31/2021, Westchester, Greater Greenwich, total dollar volume sold/rented combined.

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FRAN Hauser

BY KATIE SISE SWEENEY / PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREA CERASO

Fran Hauser’s career lessons started early. Her parents, Antonio and Carmela Cambareri, moved from Italy to Mt. Kisco, NY in 1970, when Hauser was two years old. Antonio owned a landscaping and stone masonry business, and Carmela owned a tailoring shop on Lexington Avenue. Fran was shaped by the entrepreneurial skills her parents bequeathed and the values of kindness and empathy they instilled. “I started working for my dad when I was in first grade,” says Hauser. “I did all of their bookkeeping. I wrote invoices. I created marketing logos. I was the general manager of their businesses at a very young age, because they didn’t speak the language.” As a child, Hauser was her parents’ translator. “Watching them, the biggest thing I learned was how they related to other people. They were so kind and charming. I’ll always remember how my dad would really look people in the eye, smile, and laugh with his clients. It was so amazing to watch someone who could barely speak the language manage to communicate in these nonverbal ways, and do it so effectively.”

M A A Y Y // JJ U U N N E E M

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FEMALE-FOUNDED FEMALE-FOUN FEMALE-FOUNDED FEMALE-FOUN

FEATURE | FRAN HAUSER

Fran’s career has evolved from being a media executive at Time Inc., AOL, and Moviefone, to her current roles as startup investor, author, and keynote speaker. She credits her parents for her business acumen, ability to relate to others, and knack for using kindness to connect at work. A self-titled ‘compassionate leader’, Fran rose through the ranks at Time Inc. to become President of Digital, launching People.com. Today, she’s invested in over thirty female-founded companies across media, tech, publishing, beauty, and wellness. Refinery29 calls her one of the six most powerful women in NYC’s tech scene. In 2018, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published Fran’s first book, The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate, an anthem for women who want to succeed at work without sacrificing their innate empathy and kindness. The Myth of the Nice Girl has been translated into six languages, and been named ‘Best Business Book of the Year, 2018’ by Audible. Hauser speaks regularly at companies and conferences to spread her message that an effective leader doesn’t need to abandon kindness to be powerful, and that a truly effective leader utilizes her kindness as a strength. Hauser’s second book, focused on career actualization, is called Embrace the Work, Love Your Career: A Guided Workbook for Realizing Your Career Goals with Clarity, Intention, and Confidence, and was published in March 2022 by The Collective Book Studio. Fran wrote the book after seeing so many friends and colleagues struggling during the pandemic, some of them out of work, and many questioning their career paths and looking for meaning. Embrace the Work, Love Your Career is filled with nuts-and-bolts career advice, exercises to prompt reflection, and an action plan for going forward into a career that fits who the reader is and what she values.

“You can be your authentic self,”

Hauser says. “You don’t have to fake it to make it.” And that advice is resonating deeply with Hauser’s readers. “Out of all the pieces I’ve ever written for digital, the most popular was an article I wrote for LinkedIn called, You Don’t Have to be a Jerk to be Powerful.” In 2020, Fran was planning to open a local bookstore, “...but Covid got in the way, and it didn’t happen,” Hauser says. “I was able to pivot. I’ve pivoted five times in my career.” And she did, launching @fransbookshelf, a popular Instagram account where Hauser channels her love of books and connecting with readers. M A Y / J U N E

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‘COMPASSIONATE LEADER’

Fran explains that one of the most important business lessons she learned from her parents was that she didn’t have to sacrifice who she was to get ahead.

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FEATURE | FRAN HAUSER

“Sometimes the world gets in the way, and you have to do some resetting and rethinking,” she says. “But so many creative ideas have come out of the pandemic. …I’ve done more investing over the last year than the previous five years in total.” Fran talks excitedly about some of the most recent companies she’s invested in, like Small Packages, a personal relationship management app created to make it easier and more fun to send curated gifts; Copper, a platform for authors and book lovers to connect; and Thirteen Lune, an inclusive beauty e-commerce site where 90% of the brands are created by Black and Brown founders who create products for people of all colors, and 10% of the brands are dedicated to fostering allyship. Nyakio Grieco, founder of Thirteen Lune, says, “I am so deeply honored to have Fran Hauser as an investor in my company, Thirteen Lune. From the moment I met her I knew how committed she was to amplifying women and moving the needle for change when it comes to diversity and inclusion. She is celebrated for her ability to connect, communicate and champion others, I’m so humbled to champion her as well.”

“I’M A BUILDER,” says Hauser. “I love the idea of creating a product or service out of nothing. Businesses find a pain point or an opportunity, and they create a product or service from scratch. That’s always been fun and exciting for me. This idea of building and creating is really at the core, and it’s something I saw with my parents, and something I saw throughout my career, whether I worked at a big company or a small company. And now I get to do it hands-on, working with great female-founded startups.” 82

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Fran’s investing career began nearly a decade ago, when she realized how inequitably funding for startups was distributed. “When I was working at Time Inc., I was meeting with business founders, and I realized that only 2% of venture capital funding was going to female founders. I became determined to change that!” Fran spoke with friend Soraya Darabi, a start-up founder who later went on to launch her own early-stage venture fund, who encouraged Fran to try her hand at investing. Darabi told Hauser that she could be a mentor and role model for the many women wanting to start businesses—magic words for Fran, as they fueled Fran’s lifelong passion for elevating women’s careers. Fran was still at Time Inc. when she invested in a few digital media startups. Two years later, in 2014, she realized she could make start-up investing her full-time gig. Her willingness to help startup companies not only financially—but also by opening her network to each founder and being a sounding board—has proven a holistic and successful approach to supporting female founders. “I’m investing, but I’m also connecting and advising,” Fran says. Allison Trowbridge, founder of Copper says, “Copper Books would not be the company it is without Fran. From serving on our Board of Directors, to rolling up her sleeves regularly with our product team, to giving me sound wisdom in the moments I feel most overwhelmed, Fran has been so much more than an investor. For me, and for so many other female founders, she's been a mentor, counselor, superconnector, visionary, and, most importantly, a friend. Fran's support has been the tailwind that's helped us sail through the choppy seas of startup life and her advice has been critical at some of the most pivotal moments.”

AUTHOR: KATIE SISE SWEENEY is a bestselling author of five novels, with her sixth, THE BREAK, to be published Fall 2022. She lives in Bedford with her husband, four children, and a very lovable but poorly behaved golden retriever.

And Fran is as focused on getting other women to invest in female-founded startups as on her own investing. “For the most recent round of fundraising for co-founders Monika Shah and Julie Schechter and their company, Small Packages, there were five female investors who were first-time angel investors.” This was big for Fran, who believes the value of investing goes far beyond the financial return. “You’re expanding your network. You’re meeting other investors. You’re meeting founders. You’re entering into a whole new community. And if you’re investing in companies that are value aligned with you and what you want for the world - how satisfying is that?” Whether she’s funding a female-founded business, offering free mentoring sessions through her website and social media accounts, or sharing what she knows through articles and books, Fran is forever working generously to empower women in business. Fran puts it simply,

“I JUST TRY TO BE THE NETWORK SO MANY WOMEN IN BUSINESS NEED.”

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The Future of STEM

BY SHERI WEST, FOUNDER & CEO, LIVEGIRL

GEN Z HAS THE FUTURE IN THEIR HANDS. THEY ARE RISING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THEY ARE TACKLING THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME AND FINDING NEW WAYS TO MAKE AN IMPACT. EMILY BAYUK IS A GEN Z LEADER. I FIRST MET EMILY WHEN SHE VISITED LIVEGIRL ON HER STEM DIARIES TOUR. SO, WHEN B&NC MAGAZINE ASKED ME TO INTERVIEW HER, I JUMPED AT THE OPPORTUNITY. AFTER ALL, I BELIEVE IN PAYING IT FORWARD AND LIFTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FIERCE FEMALE LEADERS, LIKE EMILY.

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THE FUTURE OF STEM

Emily Bayuk

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FEATURE | EMILY BAYUK

Emily was born and raised in Bedford and attended Fox Lane High School. She graduated from Bucknell University in 2021, where she majored in electrical engineering and launched The STEM Diaries. She’s a cybersecurity consultant analyst at Accenture and lives in Hudson Yards. She has 17k followers on her Instagram account @thestemdiaries, she’s been the keynote speaker for Microsoft's Robotics Camp for Girls in STEM, and for Girls Inc., and she co-hosts a weekly, one-hour Instagram LIVE series hosted by @engineeringmemesguy called ‘Women in STEM Wednesdays that has 403k followers!

Emily is smart, young, determined… and a serious STEM and STEM-for-women influencer.

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PHOTOGRAPHY FRANCIS ISAAC

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FEATURE | EMILY BAYUK

WEST: TELL US ABOUT THE STEM DIARIES BAYUK: The STEM Diaries fuses STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics - with a trendy, adventurous and healthy lifestyle, to create learning experiences that empower women to succeed in STEM. It all started as a high school scholarship contest entry. I did a hand-written and illustrated bullet-point journal-inspired book that broke down complex circuit concepts for ages 8+. I ended up showing the book to one of my electrical engineering professors at Bucknell who suggested I publish it. I got further encouragement and support from my mentors, Fran Hauser and Katie Sweeney. 90

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My original book was entitled, The Fundamentals of Circuits Made Easy, but in January 2021, I published a second book, and rebranded the series as The STEM Diaries. In 2021, I also launched my Instagram account @thestemdiaries, which has already grown to over 17k followers. Two reels hit over a million views, and my most-watched reel has over 6.3 million views! I use Instagram to connect topics from everyday life such as yoga, food and travel to promote STEM analysis and solutions. My most popular resource is my engineering guide, including an engineering personality quiz that helps determine which type of engineering is for you.

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WEST: What turned you on to STEM?

I hope to inspire and empower girls to pursue and succeed in STEM

BAYUK: My grandfather, who also lives in Bedford, was a math major who ended up becoming a computer engineer, and he programmed mainframe computers in the 1960s through the 1990s. I loved hearing his stories about being a computer programming pioneer. He taught me to be a curious learner. I received a Snap Circuits Jr kit from my family as a present for my 7th birthday. I loved putting the circuit elements together, like a puzzle, to make an alarm sound, bulb illuminate, or fan spin. I always enjoyed problem solving, and liked math and science in school. As an Electrical Engineering major at Bucknell, I had some really stimulating professors, and I had an internship with Morgan Stanley’s cybersecurity team during my sophomore year which sparked my interest in the field. WEST: What kind of impact do you want to have with The STEM Diaries? BAYUK: I hope to inspire and empower girls to pursue and succeed in STEM and show them women-in-STEM role models at a younger age. I feel like I’ve already seen success…my sister is a sophomore majoring in Electrical Engineering at Bucknell, and my younger cousin, who lives in Bedford Corners, is a senior at Fox Lane High School and she’s intending to major in Electrical Engineering in college. I like being living proof for other girls that you don’t have to be a fashion model to be an influencer, or a scientist, or anything else you want to be. You can be smart and creative and aspirational. WEST: What’s your mantra, what makes you tick? BAYUK: ‘No’ means I haven’t gotten to the right person…yet! If I’m anything, I’m perseverant. As a learner and in everything I do. STEM for girls is a real mission for me. Personally, I like classic rock music, like The Doors. I like hiking, especially on all the great trails in Bedford and Pound Ridge. My favorite local restaurant is Koku for sushi. And I’ve been particularly inspired, as I mentioned, by Fran Hauser and Katie Sweeney…Remarkably, they are each inspirational authors who live in Bedford, I happened to babysit for each of them while I was in high school, and each was kind and caring enough to give me support and encouragement that’s been critical to my development. I’ll pay it forward, and The Stem Diaries are my first installment.

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MA RTH A IS T R A NS C ENDENT. S HE’ S AT TH E TOP OF A N Y L IST OF WOM E N IN -BUSIN E S S WHEN I T CO MES TO TOTA L R EVE N U E S SH E ’ S G E N E R ATE D, MON EY SH E’ S MA DE FO R HER S ELF, A N D TH E STR E N G TH OF H E R PE R SON A L

BECOMING

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MA S h e u s e d co o k b o o ks a s a ve hi cl e to re d e f i n e th e h o u s e a n d ga rd e n c a te go r y, a n d wa s a n ea rl y l ea d e r i n th e s a l e a n d m e rcha n d i s i n g o f m a s s m a rke t p ro d u c ts l i ce ns e d u n d e r h e r p e rs o na l b ra n d na m e . S h e ’s b e e n a n ea rl y a d o p te r o f n ew te chn o l o gi e s , l ea d i n g th e q u a ntu m s hi f t f ro m p ri nt to th e i nte rn e t . S h e wa s th e f i rs t i nf l u e n ce r a n d ha s a l a rge , a c ti ve a n d e n ga ge d s o c i a l m e d i a fo l l ow i n g. A n d s h e ’s n ow, a ga i n revo l u ti o ni z i n g th e s a l e s cha i n, w i th a n a rray o f d i re c tto - co ns u m e r o nl i n e p ro d u c t o f fe ri n gs tha t a re d i s ti n c ti ve l y ‘ M a r tha’ m a ki n g th e p ro d u c t m a nu fa c tu re r less and less visible.

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RTHA Stewart

An interview with B&NC Mag's Publisher | MICHAEL KAPLAN

Mar tha bein g Mar tha is an d always has been a woman in busin ess completely unphased an d un deterred by whatever discriminator y circumstan ces sh e may have en countered…or, for that matter, any oth er obsta cles.

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COVER FEATURE | MARTHA STEWART

I’ve been working since I was 13. I was brought up in Nutley, New Jersey in a basic, centrist family. My dad, Edward, was a pharmaceutical company salesman, my mom was a 6th grade teacher in the public school, and we were three girls and two boys. I always knew I needed to be an earner, and I certainly wasn’t taught, and wasn’t really aware of, or focused on, any type of racial or gender discrimination, or anything about glass ceilings. And I was never a women’s libber like Gloria Steinum or something. My dad used to say, ‘Martha, my girl, you can do whatever you want!’, but I knew it depended on me to get it done,” Martha explains plainly. “I had a modeling job in high school and was making $50 an hour in 1962 - which was a lot of money back then! When my dad lost his job for a time, I supported the family. I put myself through college. I chose to go to Barnard College, partly because of the scholarship they gave me, and because there was no way I could afford to go to Stanford. Freshman and sophomore years I lived at home, commuted from Nutley to Barnard on the #13 Bus and the 7th Avenue Subway, and then after school each day I took a bus to Newark to work a job at Bambergers.” “I met Andy Stewart during my sophomore year at Barnard and fell madly in love on the first date. We got married before the end of that year and I took a leave of absence to go on our honeymoon. He had one year left at Yale Law School, so we moved to Connecticut and I commuted into the City to finish college. We had Alexis in 1965, and I got a good job working as a stockbroker in what was a real ‘go go’ Wall Street firm where I was one of only two women!” Martha recalls her start in the male dominated world of business in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

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was up for it. It was one of the toughest atmospheres you could find, filled with really voracious, smart, and tough young men. There was a real male chauvinism about the whole place - they all even used to smoke cigars right in the office. …There I was, a very attractive 23-year-old young woman, determined they couldn’t cow me. They sent me out to cut my teeth trying to sell Fidelity on an up-and-coming Ross Perot and his new Electronic Data Systems, and I brought back a big order…and remained friends with Ross through his Presidential run. If I’d only bought some of his Electronic Data Systems back then I would have been able to retire before getting started. As was the style for young women at the time, I would wear high heels and little velvet hot pants with an alligator belt and a cute sweater to work. And I put a pair of nice little fans on each corner of my desk to blow the cigar smoke away. I liked how every day it’s zero at the opening bell and the clock starts ticking, and I liked the feeling when the female teller at my branch of Manufacturers Hanover Bank looked up in astonishment at a $300,000 bonus check I was depositing,” Martha smiles. “After seven years on Wall Street, my marriage was breaking up and I needed to be at home full-time with Alexis. I think my husband had just grown tired of how much I’d been working. It was the early ‘70s. Watergate was going on. I’ve always wanted to start a restaurant, but never wanted to have to work at night. I decided to paint the old mansion we’d acquired at 48 Turkey Hill in Westport by myself…and then started a business painting houses…and decorating. I started a small catering business… then turned it into a large catering business… then developed an information and educationbased business around my catering business. I had an early newsletter with a paid circulation of 20,000. I liked catering because it was like setting up a restaurant and knocking it down every night. Running all these businesses fed my work ethic. Then, in 1982, I wrote my first book. It included recipes, but I was really telling the broader story - about having a home - that every woman needed,” Martha recalls her entrepreneurial experience.

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COVER FEATURE | MARTHA STEWART

“While I’ve never felt being a woman in business was a limitation, there are two particular experiences I had when I do believe I was underestimated because I was a woman. The first was in 1982, when I wrote my first book, and my publisher was going to print a first run of 5,000 copies, certain that would be enough to satisfy the demand for what he saw mostly as a cookbook…I insisted what I had was different and that they do a run of 25,000 copies…and

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"The second time I felt underestimated or, quite literally, undervalued, was when I was taking my company public in 1999. I felt like the teams of men working for me never really understood my ‘lifestyle’ business model and that I may not have been given the same kind of robust support they may have given a man in the same position. …I can’t complain. The stock offering was a huge success, and then - illustrating that the market saw its true value - the stock doubled shortly after the offering. But that was a time when I think being a woman came into play.”

“A NY A DVI C E I HAVE FO R OTH E R WOM E N IN B U SIN E SS - IS R E A L LY TH E S A ME A DVI C E I ’ D G IVE A N Y YOU N G PE R SON - M A L E OR F E M A L E . B E A S HIGHLY EDUCATED AS YOU CAN BE , AND BE CURIOUS ABOUT ALL THINGS .

IF YOU HAVE A PASSION - GO FOR IT! DES I G N I T T HE BEST WAY P OSSIB L E , F IN D PEOPL E IN TE R E STE D IN YOU R BU S I NES S , A ND DO N’ T WO R K TOO H A R D TO PE R SUA D E A N YON E WH O I S N’ T I NT ER EST ED. STUDY OPP ORTU N ITIE S ,” M A RTH A E N COU R AG E S .

“I believe it’s terribly important to stay informed and to stay current on all new technologies. I did the first magazine published on a Mac computer, I’ve been a leader in the shift to digital and the internet, and I’m pretty big on social media - I’m even a tik-tok-er.” Indeed, Martha is now again at the forefront of new technologies - revolutionizing and reinventing the use of new media to effect a shift to selling just about everything directly to the consumer. Martha recently launched Martha.com, a directto-consumer online platform with new shops, experiences and information, including Martha’s familiar how-to content, recipes, guides, classes, and more. The site is a full marketplace of all things Martha, bringing together everyday solutions for gardening, cooking, baking, collecting, decorating, organizing, and plenty

else…all from the woman who knows it best. As one example of Martha.com’s inventiveness, the site has partnered with Chicory to include their signature “Get Ingredients” button, allowing site visitors to purchase all the ingredients - as well as all the cookware, bakeware, kitchen tools, and other accessories - required to fulfill each of the full offering of Martha Stewart recipes available on the site. Perhaps most exciting, Martha.com includes the first-ever ‘Living By Design’ virtual showhouse, allowing consumers to take an interactive - and shoppable - tour to experience how 20 of today’s leading home designers and experts have brought their own dream visions to life. …This technology suggests site visitors might soon be able to shop while taking an interactive virtual walk through Martha’s home!

WHAT MARTHA'S UP TO

COVER FEATURE | MARTHA STEWART

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Then there’s Martha Stewart Kitchen, a selection of frozen appetizers, side dishes, entrees, seasonal vegetables and ready-to-heat blends made from Martha Stewart’s collection of signature recipes. The brand uses natural ingredients and relies on flavorful vegetables, herbs, and aromatics to flavor meals, as opposed to artificial flavors or ingredients. Slow cooked proteins like pot roast and chicken thighs were a natural fit for the line because they stay so tender. Recipes were selected to translate well to the frozen food format without sacrificing the quality of the product and to preserve the integrity of the recipe, so Martha is proud to say that her Martha Stewart Kitchen brand “...is as close to homemade as you can get in the freezer aisle”. Martha Stewart Kitchen is already available at Kroger, Publix, Albertsons/Safeway, Hannaford, Jewel Osco, Meijer, Woodman’s, King’s Balducci’s, Winn Dixie, Wakefern/ShopRite, and Walmart! And for those who want Martha’s recipes, but don’t want to do any of the cooking…now there’s Goldbelly! With ecommerce leader Goldbelly, any consumer can order Martha’s culinary creations and have them delivered in time to satisfy everyone in the house! The launch of this partnership already includes an assortment of Martha’s luxurious pastries, such as rich butter croissants, apricot danishes and kouign-amanns, and her addictively delicious cookies. Martha has even been able to extend her brand into the somewhat far flung wine and CBD categories. Somewhat humorously, both ventures involve Martha’s renowned - and regularly reposted - friendship with Snoop…about whom Martha says, “He’s a pretty cool cat and a good friend. I had a great time with him at the Super Bowl this year. I don’t really go for hangin’ around his studio that much because it’s too smokey for me, but I’m pretty impressed with how he ‘dropped a beat’ and made $600,000 in an instant, selling it as an NFT. In January 2022, 19 Crimes launched Martha’s Chard, which Martha says, “...was modeled after a French style Burgundy, similar to my favorite varietal, Aligote. This is not a California style Chardonnay. With this blend, I wanted to shake up the world of Chardonnay by creating a blend that is clean, crisp and flavorful, without being too heavy and overly oaky. A wine that you can drink with or without food. I was very involved in the winemaking process and have a direct link to 19 Crimes winemaker Michael Leven… potentially to his dismay! We worked in tandem creating this Chardonnay, and I was involved in every decision throughout the process. When presented with the final blend, I shared some edits and we tried both versions with consumers. Not to toot my own horn, but my version won out - and that’s what you’ll be tasting in the bottle. Snoop’s Cali Red has found a big audience, and I think my Martha’s Chard is going to be a big hit. It was the #2 Chardonnay in its price range after only one month in business.” And it was Snoop who introduced Martha to CBD, and to the top-tier Canopy Growth Corporation. Most recently, Martha added a line of topicals to her existing edible offerings. The topicals line consists of Super Strength CBD Cream designed for muscle recovery, Sleep Science CBD Cream designed for better sleep, and Daily De-Stress CBD Cream designed for stress management. Each product was created by Martha, and formulated with market-leading levels of US-derived broad-spectrum CBD, powerful co-actives, and provento-work aroma-technology formulated specifically for each need, all carefully balanced for optimal results.

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THE

THING

IS ,

THAT

HUGE

NUMBER OF CONSUMERS - MEN AND WOMEN, YOUNG AND OLD - TRUST MARTHA STEWART LIKE WALTER CRONKITE , MR. ROGERS AND THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING SEAL

APPROVAL

ALL

ROLLED INTO ONE! ABOUT THIS LEGENDARY

CONFIDENCE

HER JUDGMENT - ON AN EVEREXPANDING RANGE OF THI NGS MARTHA SAYS ,

“IF I HAVE A SECRET SAUCE FOR EVERYTHING I DO - IT ’ S THAT I CONSIDER, FIRST, ‘DOES

INSPIRE

AND

DOES IT INFORM? ’ AND THEN,

IMPORTANT,

‘DO I WANT IT AND DO I NEED IT ? ’. PEOPLE

I THINK

KNOW

IT ’ S

GENUINE .

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COVER FEATURE | MARTHA STEWART

“

Martha wouldn’t dish on other future projects or what’s on her bucket list, saying, maybe half-jokingly, that

It’s a very long list…and I’ll be the one publishing it…in my autobiography!” But, what’s up next for Martha - and eponymously notable to B&NC Mag readers - is that this Summer she’ll open a new 194-seat restaurant in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas to be called The Bedford By Martha Stewart. The restaurant draws inspiration from Martha’s country farmhouse, and will feature Martha’s recipes, prepared with high-quality ingredients from Martha’s favorite farm-to-table purveyors.

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…Martha wouldn’t say whether anyone brandishing a copy of B&NC MAG at The Bedford would be entitled to a free cocktail?!?

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Tickets & Information

caramoor.org 914.232.1252 114 BEDFORD & NEW CANAAN

Join us for a season of discovery, inspiration, and delight! Including Bill Barclay’s The Chevalier, Stephanie Blythe, J’Nai Bridges, Marc-André Hamelin, Angélique Kidjo, Yo-Yo Ma, Molly Tuttle, Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, Matthew Whitaker, the American Roots Music Festival, the Jazz Festival, and much more! Plan your summer at Caramoor! Before the concert, explore our Sound Art, tour the historic Rosen House, or pack a picnic to enjoy with friends in our gardens. L O C A T E D i n K a t o n a h , N Y / f r e e s h u t t l e f r o m t h e k a tMoAnYa/ hJ Ut Nr Ea i 2n 0 s2 t2a t i o n

THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE

Non-profit 501 (C) (3)

SUMMER GALA

GAVIN DEGRAW

THE MAVERICKS

Returning for a night of hits in advance of his much-anticipated new album Face The River

Grammy-winning, platinumselling Americana band, makes their Playhouse debut!

KATHY MATTEA & SUZY BOGGUSS

JAY LENO

FULL CIRCLE TOUR MAY 13 @ 8PM

EN ESPAÑOL WORLD TOUR JUNE 24 & 25 @ 8PM

JUNE 26 @ 4 & 7PM

TOGETHER AT LAST MAY 19 @ 8PM

Two shows! The legendary late night host and stand-up comic returns!

A night of stories and more hits than they can ﬁt!

Celebrate Pride Month with

DUANE BETTS TRIO

DOG DAZE ACOUSTIC TOUR JUNE 29 @ 8PM

ISAAC MIZRAHI

& HIS CABARET SHOW JUNE 18 @ 8PM Famed designer performs songs from Billie Holiday to Madonna!

Son of Allman Brothers’ founder Dickey Betts leads his own guitar-driven trio

JUNE 11

CORINNE BAILEY RAE

WYNTON MARSALIS

Gala Tickets Include Open Bar and Dinner-by-the-Bite!

Back after a sold out 2019 show, the singer-songwriter sensation returns with her smash hit, “Put Your Records On” and more!

A rare, small ensemble performance from the 9x Grammy Award-winning jazz icon

GALA @ 5:30PM | SHOW @ 8PM

JULY 10 @ 4PM

JUNE 22 @ 8PM

203.438.5795 • RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG

lakeside productions

CELEBRATE! DJ ENTERTAINMENT • LIVE MUSIC • LIGHTING • PHOTO BOOTHS & MORE!

CALL AND BOOK TODAY!

516-993-9446 • INFO@LAKESIDEPRODUCTIONS.COM • WWW.LAKESIDEPRODUCTIONS.COM

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MICHAEL MICHAEL DESROSIERS

IN PLAIN SIGHT

Solo Exhibition Opening Reception Reception - Saturday May 7 - 6:30pm Opening May 77 -- June June 20 20 May

jeanjacobsgallery.com @jeanjacobsgallery 203.703.8762 jeanjacobsgallery.com @jeanjacobsgallery 203.703.8762 116

BEDFORD & NEW CANAAN

Y A LL LL EE RR Y GA O BB SS G CO AC N JJ A JJ EE AA N

84 Main Main Street Street New New Canaan Canaan Connecticut Connecticut 06840 06840 84

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A world that plunges you into serenity and submerges you into an existence that indulges and satisfies your senses. We are a professional Spa and Beauty clinic in Mount Kisco Revitalise your mind, body and spirit with the Epidavros Day Spa treatments

272 N BEDFORD RD, PENTHOUSE, MOUNT KISCO @epidavrosdayspa

(914) 244-4422

@epidavrosdayspaandsalon

www.epidavrosdayspa.com

New Homes Additions Site Improvements Outdoor Living Spaces

203-536-0655 MosolinoDev.com WC-26915-H14 CT-HIC 0624137 CT-NHC 0015778

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A GEM ON 118

GUARD

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HILL

BY SUE DECHIARA B&NC HOMES EDITOR AND @ZHUSH / PHOTOGRAPHY MODERN ANGLES

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LO CAT I O N,

LO CAT I O N…T HERE

S I M PLY I S NO M O R E D E S I R A B L E A D D R E S S T HA N

GUA R D

HI L L

R OA D

B E D FORD

CO R NE R S , A ND T HI S LO CAT I O N, D I R ECT LY AC R O S S T HE ST R E E T FR O M T HE R O C HA M B EAU FA R M A ND T HE GUA R D HI L L PR E S E R VE , IS T HE B E ST- O F -T HE - B E ST !

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LAND!!!

13.71 Acres! With panoramic views, ponds, lakefront, gardens, and room to roam! This is a rare opportunity to own this kind of privacy - only a one hour drive from Manhattan!

MODERN FARMHOUSE.

The style everyone wants. This modern farmhouse, built in 1983, has just been completely renovated to seamlessly integrate the charming character and modern architectural features. It has something of the look and feel of a ranch on the outside, but actually has a second floor in each wing of the house inside. The house is 6,727 square feet, with 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths, including a ground-floor master suite with a gracious master bath that features a private bath alcove, and a French door accessing a private outdoor patio. Two of the bedrooms are in private guest quarters within the home.

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The family room is in a spacious, two-story, vaulted barn, featuring original barn beams, large windows, and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. The also-spacious kitchen is white, sleek and modern, and adjacent to an informal dining area, all with a view through a wall of glass looking out to the patio and outdoor dining area. Hardwood floors, marble countertops, walk-in closets and a wet bar are just some of the custom finishes. The 3-car attached garage is a sparkling showcase.

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Perfect for equestrians! This property is on the BRLA trail.

AMENITIES. In addition to the mature landscaping all around, the property includes: a spectacular in-ground pool and jacuzzi surrounded by an ample stone patio; a horse barn, paddock and riding ring, and; a workshop. There’s also a stone patio perfect for entertaining, with an outdoor gourmet kitchen. And, of course… room for any kind of court, field or other outdoor activity.

FOR SALE! The property is listed at $6,950,000 by Brian Milton at Compass, 387 Main St., Armonk.

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Hadassah Sweet Transforming Your Space One Design At A Time

Lighting Design Consultation

Spatial Planning

Pre-Construction Consultation

Your Space. Redesigned. Since 2015, I’ve been transforming homes in a way that’s aligned with my clients’ tastes and visions. I firmly believe that every single space regardless of shape or size, has the potential to be beautiful with a little attention M A Y from / J U N an E 2expert. 0 2 2 BEDFORD & NEWtoday! CANAAN 1 2 3 Check out my work and give your office or home the transformation it needs

www.hadassahsweet.com

CHOOSE THE RIGHT CLUB

Join Anglebrook Today Anglebrook is private, non-equity club in northern Westchester created in the mold of the storied Golden Era venues of golf-rich Westchester County. *Six Membership Categories, including our new Junior Executive • Liberal Guest Policies • Non-Equity—No Assessments • • Outings, Banquets & Receptions • Weekday & Weekday-Plus Options • • Complimentary Green Fees at 250 other private clubs with our Signature Gold membership •

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Anglebrook Golf Club | 100 Route 202 Lincolndale, NY 10540

Phone: 914-245-5588 www.anglebrookgc.com Call Today to Schedule a Private Property Tour

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Your Your perfect perfect landscape landscape starts starts with with healthy healthy trees trees and and shrubs. shrubs. • Tree and Shrub Pruning • Tree and Shrub Pruning • Custom Blend Fertilization • Custom Blend Fertilization • Insect, Mite and Disease Treatments • Insect, Mite and Disease Treatments • Tree Removals/Cabling and Bracing • Tree Removals/Cabling and Bracing • Deer Deterrents • Deer Deterrents • Organic Lawn M A Y / J U N E 2 0 2 2 Care • Organic Lawn Care

• Organic Tick and Mosquito Treatments • Organic Tick and Mosquito Treatments • Complimentary Consultation • Complimentary Consultation

(914) (914) 244-1700 244-1700

SavATree is a proud supporter of SavATree is a proud supporter of BEDFORD & NEW CANAAN

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MASONRY WORK CARPENTRY WORK LANDSCAPING & OUTDOOR LIVING RENOVATIONS Milton’s Home, Garden, and Patio have been proudly serving the Westchester and Fairfield counties for nearly two decades, established in 2004.

631-633-4900

www.miltonshomegarden.com

Lampert, Toohey & Rucci LLC Residential and Commercial Real Estate | Zoning and Title Issues | Construction Contracts | Construction and Commercial Litigation | Trusts and Estates

Todd Lampert Gerard Gjertsen

Philip Toohey Greg Williams

203-972-8100

David Rucci Arthur Zinn

Jason Gladstone Harvey Melzerr

46 Main Street, New Canaan, CT

LTR-LAW.COM

What’s Happening? Check out the B&NC Mag Calendar of Events on our website to see what’s happening in the area. Here's a highlight of what's to come

NOW - JUNE 26:

Constant Carnival @ The Katonah Museum of Art

MAY 4:

Stars of Late Night Stand-Up Comedy @ The Bedford Playhouse

MAY 7-9:

St Marks May Fair in New Canaan

NOW - MAY 12:

Horizons Book Drive to benefit children’s literacy

MAY 13:

Gavin DeGraw @ The Ridgefield Playhouse

MAY 14 & 15:

Guild & Grange Artisan Marketplace @ The John Jay Homestead

MAY 18 - 22:

St Patrick’s Carnival in Bedford

MAY 20:

New Canaan Chamber Music at Grace Farms

MAY 21:

Bedford 2030 Moondance Gala

JUNE 11:

Glass House 15th Anniversary Summer Party

JUNE 17:

New Canaan Sculpture Trail Opening

CELEBRATING CHILDHOOD, PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE Specializing in early education, age 2–grade 5 Inquiry-based, experiential learning Individualized instruction Low student to teacher ratios A diverse and globally inclusive community LongRidgeSchool.org

Where love of learning begins

478 Erskine Road, Stamford, CT 06903 203.322.7693 | Admissions@LongRidgeSchool.org

YOUR SKIN RESET 100% natural • 0 fillers • 0 synthetics Made fresh on our farm in Vermont, visit tataharperskincare.com *Call 877-321-8282 To receive $100 towards your next purchase *Please call our Customer Service team to schedule your Complimentary Skincare Consultation and receive $100 towards your next order (excluding shipping, handling, and taxes) exclusively at www.tataharperskincare.com. Value must be $1 or more after applied discount to checkout. Excludes gift cards. Offer is available to Bedford, New York and New Canaan, Connecticut residents only. Proof of address is required. Limited to one per customer & household and may not be used in combination with any other offer or discount. Cannot be redeemed for cash. Offer expires 11:59pm EST 4/30/2022.

SPECIAL SECTION

HER

ENTREPREN Remarkable local women with local businesses you should know about

1 Jennifer Streicher 2 Kim Linn 3 Carina Ramirez Cahan 4 Donna Vock 5 Katherine Lantuch 6 Merry Thornton 7 Eva Scrivo 8 Brett Cameron & Deanna Marano

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JENN STREICHER SCOUT

JENNIFER STREICHER

IS THE ARTIST AND VISIONARY WHO RECENTLY OPENED THE CHIC MAKEUP STUDIO WITH THE DISTINCT GRAY FACADE RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF DOWNTOWN POUND RIDGE.

Jenn has been a well-known makeup artist for years. She got her start in New York City over twenty years ago when determination, a stroke of luck, and a whole lot of skill got her a job working at the big-time studio, Warren Tricome. Then, before she moved on to Next Agency landing bigtime gigs, Jenn got her two younger sisters, Kristie and Ashley, jobs at Warren Tricome too. The three separately built their specialties in the Big Apple, Jenn doing makeup, Ashley doing hair, and Kristie focusing on eyebrows.

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In 2005, Jenn moved back to California, where she built her brand as a celebrity makeup artist - although she cringes at the title! “I was doing makeup for John Krasinski on a pretty regular basis, when he started dating Emily Blunt. At the time I was mostly working with men, and wanted to add some lead females to my roster. I was kind of bold telling John that ‘I would love to do Emily, so if she ever needs anybody please let me know’...And she called me the next week, and said ‘Hey! I’m going to the S.A.G. awards - would

Around the same time, Kristie and Ashley each made the move back to California, and the trio opened their first studio/salon, called Striiike. Business took off, and the sisters became something of a famous attraction. As Jenn recalls, “We turned down a few serious offers to do reality shows! We had the celebrity clients, the ‘We Are Fam-il-ee’ Sister Sledge feel-good kind of thing,

you do my makeup?’ It’s a lesson for all women in business: Ask for what you want! Emily and John have become not only loyal clients, but also good friends of ours,” Jenn shares. Her husband, Jonny, even works as a stills photographer with Krasinski.

and of course also the family drama!” And alongside the successful salon, Jenn continued to build her impressive client list of well-known celebrities, with the likes of Mandy Moore, Elizabeth Moss, Laura Linney, and many others.

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…And what’s most in demand at Scout, of course, are Jenn’s services. “I wasn’t even planning on doing makeup in the beginning, but it’s been everyone’s number one ask.

AND I MEAN THIS WHEN I SAY IT, SCOUT WOULD NOT BE WHAT IT IS WITHOUT THE AMAZING WOMEN ON MY TEAM. …Fast forward to the Summer of 2020, and Jenn’s entire industry - along with the rest of the world - was on Covid-hold. Jenn and Jonny came to Bedford to escape L.A. and see some friends, fell in love with the charm of the area, checked out a house that was on the market, and bought it before returning to California to tell their seven-year-old, Arrow, and Jenn’s sisters, that they’d be leaving L.A.. Jenn’s plan was to lay low, maybe even take a bit of a break from the daily grind of her career and focus on having just a few clients, and on raising her son. But…driving through Pound Ridge…Jenn decided it was the perfect place to open a store. “I opened Scout less than a year ago, and have quickly built a loyal local client base,” Jenn says proudly. Jenn curates a collection of what she believes are the best products on the market - and at all different price points. Whenever possible, she selects products that are mindfully created without any proven or suspected toxic ingredients, and made with the health of our bodies and environment in mind. And she picks and chooses from different lines, sharing, “There are almost no brands where I carry the full collection - because it’s rare that I think a brand’s entire line is what’s best… I like Ilia’s foundation, the Westman Atelier highlight stick, Augustinus

About Scout, Jenn summarizes, “I understand that it’s intimidating for women to walk in and be like ‘I don’t really know, what do I need?’... I hear the same story from every woman nobody ever taught them how to do makeup and they’re still using whatever makeup they bought in college at the MAC counter. Everyone thinks they’re the only one who’s unsure of what or how they should change about their makeup routine, or even what they should be doing at all… but what I want women to know is that they aren’t the only one that feels that way; it’s most people! So a oneon-one appointment isn’t just for a big event, it’s really most helpful for people who just want some help with their everyday look. It’s about learning how to spend a small and realistic amount of time enhancing each individual person’s features. I love helping women feel beautiful…every day!”

Bader’s rich cream, and BeautyCounter lid glow, and on and on…”

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KIM LINN TONEY TONI & THE GANG KIM LINN ALWAYS KNEW SHE WANTED TO DO EXACTLY WHAT SHE IS DOING NOW. “FROM A

YOUNG AGE I WOULD GO SHOPPING WITH MY MOM AND PRETEND TO BE SELLING OR MERCHANDISING WHILE I WAS IN THE STORE. I’VE ALWAYS LOVED CLOTHES AND FASHION, AND HELPING PEOPLE Toney Toni & The Gang sounds like a rock n’ roll band, but the store actually gets its name because tony is an adjective for someone who is stylish, and Toney Toni was the name of a make believe club that Kim’s mom and aunt had growing up. So when they decided to open the first store, they picked a name with personal meaning, that also had a relevant real-world meaning. Toney Toni & The Gang opened their first store in Katonah in 1994, and Kim opened a second Toney Toni & The Gang, in Bronxville in 1995. In Bronxville and in Katonah, Toney Toni & The Gang was welcomed as a much-needed upscale fashion boutique and a partner in a local renaissance.

FIND WHAT LOOKS GOOD ON THEM AND WHAT MAKES THEM FEEL GOOD,” KIM EXPLAINS. “MY MOM AND MY AUNT SHARED MY PASSION, AND AS SOON AS I GRADUATED COLLEGE WE OPENED A CLOTHING BOUTIQUE.”

With another local renaissance underway in downtown Pound Ridge, including updated storefronts, a renovated mall and supermarket, wider sidewalks, and new plants, in 2021 Kim decided to launch her newest Toney Toni & The Gang at 70 Westchester Avenue. “I’m a long-term Pound Ridge resident and have always loved living here. Now I want to help make downtown Pound Ridge a real shopping destination.”

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Beyond the shopping itself, Kim’s positive attitude is infectious. Six years ago, Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer, fought it, and won. Having these stores and this community of women really got me through it, it gave me something to look forward to every day.

Toney Toni & The Gang is filled with a mix of well known must-have brands and lesser known special pieces, from almost all-female designers. It’s a go-to destination for both every-day wears and outfits for special events. The store is a boutique - not a department store - and the shopping experience is accordingly personal and exclusive. Every item is hand-picked by Kim, and has to fit within a chic and elevated aesthetic, but she’s careful to select items that appeal to a wide range of clients. And Kim makes it her mission to give every person that comes in individual time and attention in finding the right pieces for them, “My goal is truly for women to leave here feeling better than they did when they walked in. I want everyone to be happy with what they find and how it makes them look and feel.” Kim smiles. And the proof is in the pudding… or rather, the shopping bags full with purchases!

EVERY DAY IS A GIFT AND YOU HAVE TO TREAT IT THAT WAY. I’M SO GRATEFUL TO DO WHAT I LOVE, EVERY DAY, AND TO BE A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY,” Kim shared. …And she’s walkin’ the walk… Kim has a line of earrings in the store and donates the proceeds from the line to the Making Strides for Breast Cancer organization, and is a member of the Pound Ridge Business Association among her other community-oriented charity and service.

Many of Kim’s customers have been shopping with Toney Toni & The Gang for over 28 years. “It’s been really special to see my customers grow up with our store. Now, women who first came into our stores years ago with little girls beside them…are back with their adult daughters… who are getting married and having babies and bringing their own daughters to the shop… it’s so special to me!”

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CARINA RAMIREZ CAHAN COBALT ROSE COMPANY

YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE SOMETHING BASIC BETTER!” CARINA DECLARES AS SHE BEGINS TO EXPLAIN HOW SHE TOOK ONE OF THE MOST ORDINARY - ALBEIT ALWAYS DISDAINED AND OFT DREADED - OBJECTS IN A WOMAN’S DAY, “I studied Japanese history at Cornell and I started my career in the renewable energy industry – co-founding a company that turned cooking oil into biofuel… but I was always interested in innovation, never imagining that would lead to launching a bra company!” Carina’s husband, Dr. Anthony Cahan, is both an inventor and a breast surgeon specializing in breast cancer, who has dedicated his career to helping women care for their breast health. For years, he heard common complaints of discomfort and back pain, and saw the results of rashes and marks that mar women’s bodies as a result of their bras. Carina understood the problem first-hand. So the two set out to do something about it. Based in both physics and real-world testing, Anthony developed and patented a new technology to transform the support system in a bra. The pair have reinvented the outdated underwire bra with what they call the Waveform insert. The new technology provides unique support, which redirects weight to the back rather than the shoulders, eliminating the discomfort

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AND GAVE IT A ’LIFT’.

and irritation of underwire and straps that dig into the skin. Carina sits at the helm of their revolution, “We created something that I really believe in. More comfortable than an underwire but more supportive than wireless, our bras are designed to hold and support you and be the ultimate in comfort. That is the solution we created and evolved.”

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Although the bra looks like a t-shirt bra, and has a molding and lifting effect, it has no underwire and no underband. At $145, the price point is accessible for a Cobalt Rose Bra. And Carina is just getting started. The line launched in September 2021 and is already into sales. Taking her husband’s patented technology, she is expanding the Cobalt Rose line to include new bra designs - like a lower cut option, new cup styles, and other colors – matching underwear, and a sports bra that’s currently being prototyped.

Carina has always been interested in unique garments, even taking over a bedroom in her 18th century Pound Ridge home and turning it into a dressing room to hold her collection when she moved to Westchester to live with her husband 19 years ago. But she’d never worked in the apparel industry. So while her husband was fine-tuning their invention, Carina went back to school at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan to learn how she could take Anthony’s creation and make it a retail reality. “I was the oldest one in my class, but I wanted to get this right. I hired my bra class instructor, a seasoned pro in the industry, and found a Manhattan-based manufacturer so I could have complete oversight in the development of the product.” Carina holds the finished product as she explains, “It’s a technical garment, but it doesn’t look that way – I wanted the product to be beautiful, too.” It was also important to Carina that the bra be manufactured as sustainably as possible. She says, “The fashion industry can be harmful to the environment, so I was intentional in reducing our footprint, and carefully selecting vendors and mills who share our values on the environment and labor standards. Our fabrics are

"I’M EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE’RE DOING AND WANT TO BRING TRUE INNOVATION INTO FOUNDATIONAL GARMENTS WOMEN THE BRA WAS WEAR EVERY DAY.

IN NEED OF A REVOLUTION.

Most women can’t wait to get home at the end of the day to take their bra off…The Cobalt Rose bra is the one women will want to put on in the morning.”

sourced from Italian factories with fair wages and high standards. And our packaging is

RECYCLED AND RECYCLABLE.” M A Y / J U N E

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4 But in 1984 a college classmate of Donna’s who was working at a big employment agency called Donna and asked her to go on an interview at H. Stern in the Olympic Tower in Manhattan only because the headhunter had to send more candidates, and despite Donna’s complete lack of related experience or other qualifications. Laughing about it now, Donna recalls, “I guess they saw a young, bright candidate with a solid background who they could train and get ‘on the cheap’...and I saw a good salary, 100% tuition reimbursement, and a health insurance plan! I was only 22 and just trying to find my own way in the Big City.” “But stumbling into that job as a gemologist at H. Stern turned out to be half luck, half fate,” says Donna. “Working with fine jewelry everyday opened my eyes to a world of beautiful things that married science and art. I was completely hooked, quickly gave up my plans to continue grad school, and devoted myself to learning as much as I could about gems and jewelry as fast as I could. NYC in the mid ‘80s was chock full of fine jewelry factories and ateliers buzzing with talented classically trained European designers and bench jewelers from Paris to Havana, trained in the various techniques of the hand made work used in Haute Joaillerie. I worked normal business hours, studied gemology at the Gemological Institute of America via correspondence, and took drawing classes at The School of Visual Arts, and Jewelry Design studio art classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology with the late Maurice Galli, who was Head Designer at Tiffany & Co at that time. It was inspiring!”

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DONNA VOCK VOCK AND VINTAGE

AS A MATH AND SCIENCE WIZ AND A SCIENCE MAJOR AT SUNY STONY BROOK, AND FROM A FAMILY OF ACADEMICS AND BLUE COLLAR WORKERS WHO NEVER ENCOURAGED CREATIVITY, DONNA NEVER CONSIDERED A CAREER IN

JEWELRY AND GEMOLOGY. Donna continues, “My big break came when Maurice Tempelsman got me into an international diamond company, where I was really able to shine. I launched the company’s first collection of one-of-a-kind diamond jewelry using their own branded ideal-cut diamonds - and it sold out in one weekend! The second collection, with colored diamonds, was equally as successful! I’d arrived in the world of finished jewelry design.”

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And in 2010, the couple opened Donna's design salon, called Vock and Vintage, in an Art Deco landmark building on 5th Avenue in Manhattan... and later moved the design studio to Greenwich.While the vast majority of Vock and Vintage’s custom design projects are facilitated via phone or email, private collectors are seen by appointment. About Vock and Vintage, Donna says,

I LOVE

BEING PART OF SOMEONE ELSE'S HAPPY OCCASION. EVEN IF IT’S JUST A WOMAN TREATING HERSELF TO A LITTLE SOMETHING BECAUSE SHE NEEDS A ‘PICK-ME-UP’.

By 1990, Donna's husband, Alex Vock, was already establishing a business called ProVockative Gems Inc., to do business-to-business sales of world-class colored stones and important diamonds. Pregnant with their second child, Donna left her corporate job, so she could help grow ProVockative. And by 1999, with ProVockative doing well, Donna returned to designing finished jewelry and selling eponymous collections at selected stores in places like Aspen and Palo Alto.

For us at Vock and Vintage, it’s about being fullservice jewelry specialists, with a true passion for the history and the contextual relevance of jewelry, and a respect for the meaning the old pieces have in each client’s life. We mix old and new, we custom create, we restore and repair, we advise on selling or redesigning your old jewels, and we offer appraisal services. We build trusting partnerships with our clients based on their needs, and we take great pride in having built this business on wordof-mouth.” “I must say,” summarized Donna, “I’m blessed. My jewelry design business, Vock and Vintage, is going real well, our trade business ProVocative is going gangbusters…and, since we moved here in 2008, we get to call New Canaan home!”

ProVockative Gems, headquartered in NYC, is now a world-renowned dealer to the trade in rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds and natural pearls, and well-known for one of the finest collections of estate jewelry from the Georgian Era through the mid-20th Century.

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KATHERINE LANTUCH NICOBLU

NICOBLU - EXQUISITE TUNICS, KAFTANS, DRESSES, BEACH COVER-UPS, JEWELRY AND HOME DÉCOR. AN EFFORTLESS BLEND OF STYLE INSPIRED BY THE GLAMOUR OF JAIPUR, MARRAKESH AND COTE D’AZUR…AND KATHERINE LANTUCH HAS GOT THE GOODS TO Katherine is a fashion industry veteran. She’s been the Creative Director at Bergdorf Goodman, and a Global Vice President at Ralph Lauren. In 2016, she launched a consultancy to implement full circle branding and direct to consumer solutions for fashion companies, driving exponential e-commerce growth for medium sized companies.

FULFILL THAT MYSTIQUE!

She’s also something of a Connecticut native. She went to Hopkins School in New Haven, and is quick to honor a few teachers there who she credits with having instilled her intellectual curiosity. Then Yale for college. And she now lives in Fairfield County, with her husband Peter, and 10-year old son Alexander, who attends NCCS. When the pandemic hit, Katherine knew it was time to launch the line she’d been sketching her whole life. “I had a fun and successful career working to build great brands, but I’ve always had the vision to design clothing for women that was more comfortable, versatile and traveled across cultures and time” Katherine explains.

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NEW CANAAN IS THE PERFECT HOME FOR NICOBLU. WOMEN IN THIS AREA ARE

SOPHISTICATED AND WELLTRAVELED, AND WANT PIECES THAT ARE UNIQUE.

Based in a kind of warehouse/design studio on the second floor at 45 Pine Street, Suite 5A, in New Canaan, the NicoBlu collection is comprised of singular and stand-alone styles, with each piece having its own unique story, and being versatile enough to effortlessly travel from day to night. The effect is that of a highly curated line, inspired by, and ready for, global adventures..

Although most of our sales are online, women in the area have been visiting our headquarters at 45 Pine Street - and are always welcome by appointment. We do plan on doing a few pop-up events in the area this summer. And I can’t say enough about the feeling of community - and all the great restaurants - here in town,” Katherine says happily about locating NicoBlu in New Canaan.

Katherine is fulfilling what she says is her passion to “...create apparel and accessories that empower women to dream, to dare, and to escape”. NicoBlu offers an inclusive size range to fit the needs of a wide array of customers, from X-Small to 4X in both regular and petite sizes, and plans to expand the offering later in 2022 to include swimwear, bags, shoes and home fragrances. And all items are hand-crafted in a female-founded factory in India, which donates a percentage of their net profits to various charities eradicating hunger, promoting education and gender equality, and ensuring environmental sustainability in India. Katherine says proudly, “NicoBlu is all about journey and adventure. The NicoBlu woman is cosmopolitan, powerful, well read and well-lived. She is a blend of uptown preppy and downtown boho chic. Our pieces speak to the sophisticated woman who loves and appreciates unique, elegant and timeless pieces which will live in her closet for years to come.”

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MERRY THORNTON ELEMENT MEDICAL AESTHETICS

IN A WELCOMING, BRIGHT, AND EXCEPTIONALLY CLEAN SUITE, PERCHED ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF 80 MAIN STREET, ACROSS FROM TOWN HALL, A nationally recognized skincare leader, Weill Cornelltrained, board-certified Physician Assistant, Merry worked alongside some of the foremost dermatologists and plastic surgeons for over a decade. She has even served as an investigator on FDA clinical trials, and as a medical speaker for Pfizer.

ELEMENT MEDICAL AESTHETICS . IT’S A NEW BUSINESS, THERE’S

AND A BOLD WOMAN, MERRY THORNTON, IS AT THE HELM.

Merry’s career journey has not been a linear one. She started in finance, working at Barclays and Lehman Brothers, even earning her MBA from New York University. But she wasn’t fulfilled by her work. She quit her job in finance and redirected her focus to having a direct impact on people’s well-being. In her clinical rotation at Weill Cornell, she was drawn to dermatology. Merry is deeply committed to helping her patients achieve natural-looking aesthetic results, and uses an individuallytailored approach, “I’m really particular about the results and appearance of my clients. I feel I have an ethical duty to guide each patient through the process and make sure they ultimately look their best - and the results speak for themselves.”

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“Almost everyone can benefit from a service on the menu. Botox is preventative, fillers can help to diminish the appearance of wrinkles, and lasers can be used to improve skin texture, acne scars, and age spots,” she shared. Merry lives in Westchester with her husband

Merry specializes in pan-facial optimization, meaning she aims to make each individual’s features look beautiful within the context of the entire face; rather than focusing on a piece of the face as if it’s separate, or disconnected from the rest. She says, “I really enjoy making everyone the best version of themself.

I LOVE THAT I HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO INCREASE SOMEONE’S SELF-ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE, ALLOWING THEM TO REALIZE THAT THEY ARE EQUALLY AS BEAUTIFUL ON THE OUTSIDE AS THE INSIDE.

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and their two children. She credits her husband as being hugely instrumental in getting Element off the ground. “I’m so thankful for my husband’s support and encouragement. This has been a tremendous project, and as other small business owners know, many unexpected hiccups come with opening a new location.” But Merry’s entrepreneurship is actually a pretty natural combination of her background in finance and her expertise in dermatology and aesthetics. For Merry, opening her own practice was elemental. “I saw a need in New Canaan for non-surgical treatments like filler, wrinkle reducers, microneedling, chemical peels, lasers, and hair restoration. Now, I’m proud to say I’m the founder of Element Medical Aesthetics in New Canaan!” Passionate about animal welfare, Merry is also a mom to her dog and two cats. She enjoys hiking, singing karaoke, and volunteering to support her community.

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EVA SCRIVO EVA SCRIVO SALON

“I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN. MY FATHER WAS A HAIRSTYLIST AND MY GRANDFATHER WAS A BARBER, SO HAIR IS IN MY DNA. AND MY MOTHER WAS A BEAUTIFUL FASHION MODEL AND DESIGNER, WHO TAUGHT ME ABOUT FEMININITY AND GLAMOUR. SO Eva is the formidable salon owner at Eva Scrivo Salon, which is headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and opened up a second location in Pound Ridge just last year. Eva and her husband, Arik, have been long-time Katonah residents after discovering the area while Eva worked closely as Martha Stewarts’ personal hair and makeup artist for many years. “Martha has been a role model and an inspiration for me. I learned so much from her about being a woman at the helm of a big business. I got to travel the world with her, and watch and learn from her with a front row seat. As our friendship grew and we were frequently filming on her property, I realized that the gorgeous country experience around here was what I’d always craved as a city girl. …We eventually bought a house just around the corner from Martha’s!”

I WAS ALWAYS AROUND A TREMENDOUSLY ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE FAMILY WHO WAS EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE OF ME,” EVA BEGINS TELLING HER STORY…

During the early months of the pandemic, Eva realized that not everyone wanted to return to Manhattan - and that this area was booming with new activity. She recaps, “Katonah has been my place to escape and relax and recuperate. But I never imagined that I’d open a business here. …The lockdown changed my entire mentality. I thought to myself, ‘opening up around here would be kind of like my version of working from home, and I could bring the salon to my clients who had moved out of the city, as well as become accessible new clientele.’”

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Eva is cool, calm and collected, and a trip to her salon is relaxing. She works quickly and with great ease, conveying a sense of confidence in her work. Rather than the typical loud and chaotic nature of a hair salon, Eva makes the customer feel more like a subject being painted in an artist’s studio. She specializes in balayage, which is a 100+ year old French technique.

In addition to working with Martha Stewart, Eva has worked with hundreds of celebrities during the course of her career, and currently spends one day every week on-set with local Samantha Bee, for her show, Full Frontal. She’s been a spokeswoman, consultant, and educator for major beauty brands at companies like L’oreal, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever. And she’s written a book, called Eva Scrivo on Beauty, which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2011. Eva served as the resident beauty expert on NBC’s Martha, and had guest appearances as a beauty expert on many other TV shows. She also hosted her own weekly talk show on Sirius/ XM radio, Beauty Talk with Eva Scrivo. Most recently, inspired by covid lockdowns, Eva is in the process of launching an at-home color line to make the best of hair color more accessible.

I BELIEVE ART AND BEAUTY AND DESIGN ARE AROUND US, AND ARE PART OF US. And that’s how I’ve approached hair dressing - as an art form. Shape and color are specific to each client. I usually start with the cut, which I design based on a client’s face, head and body shape, as well as personal aesthetic, to accentuate their best features and minimize what they don’t love. I choose color based on skin tone, eye color, natural coloring, and fashion preferences. Most women have the wrong hair color for their skin tone, which tends to make them look sallow or ‘tired’. It’s amazing what happens to their face once we get the color right!” Eva explains. Going to Eva Scrivo Salon is like having a custom-fit Italian suit made, rather than going to the Men’s Warehouse for the one-size fits all approach.

Having built her business from the ground up, Eva is not jaded by the success that she’s experienced. Rather, she comes to work every day with the mentality that it’s an opportunity to hone her craft. “When I first moved to NY in the early ‘90s, I started doing hair out of my East Village fourth floor walkup apartment. I built a clientele and worked on photo and television shoots as a hair and makeup artist. Eventually I transitioned to a three-chair salon just down the street, and my husband and I have continued to grow and expand the business over the years. Our flagship is now perched on Fifth Avenue in Flatiron.” “I’ve worked with all kinds of people! We’re inspired by celebrities and trends - but I’m really about creating bespoke designs for each client! I love to make a human connection. I’m always thinking about how I can get better and improve. I want each of my clients to be not just happy, but thrilled and elated when they leave.”

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BRETT CAMERON & DEANNA MARANO LA MAISON FETE

BRETT CAMERON AND DEANNA MARANO ARE A PAIR OF HARDWORKING AND TALENTED WOMEN WHO HAVE TEAMED UP AT THE HELM OF

LA MAISON FETE - A FULL SCALE

EVENT PLANNING COMPANY, THAT HAS TAKEN UP RESIDENCE IN THE HEART OF BEDFORD, AT 11 COURT ROAD, IN THE RED BUILDING, RIGHT BESIDE OHHO.

These working moms each moved to Bedford when they first had kids, and met while co-chairing an event for the John Jay Homestead. “We really hit it off! I was taking a break from my career at the time. But then Brett gave me a call and asked me to help out with another event she was doing,” Deanna reminisces… Brett jumps in, “I was doing a celebrity wedding and I had broken my ankle, and I really needed some help! I remembered how impressed I had been a few months earlier with what Deanna had done at John Jay, so I convinced her to work with me on this event. And we worked really well together - so I convinced her to make it permanent!”

Brett started her career on the corporate side of the events business, first at Citi, and then Barclays in New York City. After planning her own wedding, she was asked by a friend for some help, and then another, and another. “It quickly became evident that doing weddings and personal events was where I was supposed to be…and what I enjoyed doing most,” Brett smiles. Deanna went to FIT and started her career in the fashion industry with Gurkha, before moving into the wedding planning industry, starting her own business, Deanna Marano Events.

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The pair are known for creating custom and elegant events in the area. Brett and Deanna have slightly different styles - but the signature La Maison Fete ‘look’ is centered around a fabulous tablescape, often featuring pops of vibrant colors, layering in rattan, and other elegant decorative elements. They are busiest in the summer, and tented weddings and events are a big niche of theirs.

WE DO SO MANY TENTED PARTIES IN THE SUMMER, WE REALLY KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO MAKE THEM THE MOST SUCCESSFUL.

La Maison Fete has been in business for 10 years, and the women have almost 40 years of combined experience in the industry! But in May 2021, they decided to add the retail location in Bedford. “We previously had a space in Cross River that was more of a warehouse, that we got rid of during covid. I was driving around and saw this open spot, and had always loved the space in its previous iterations. Court Road has become such an adorable section of the town. And I love Bedford - it’s a great town! I’m originally a city girl and missed having great shops around - and I’d always wanted to have a retail shop and be able to curate amazing home and tabletop finds that I discovered in our planning processes,” Brett says. “We also wanted offices again after the pandemic. It’s really nice to be able to sit together during the day - what we do is so collaborative… and we were just so ready to get out of our houses after all the time we were cooped up!” Deanna shared.

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And we do plenty of fabulous outdoor events as well; and we know from experience that you never know what’s going to happen…and need to have a back-up plan in place! It’s really like planning two events. Everyone loves summer entertaining, and it allows us to really take advantage of the natural environment around here as an amazing backdrop. And we have a lot of our own rental equipment for smaller gatherings, so we can create more bespoke tabletops and add higher end decorative elements,” Brett explained. “But the business is year-round. We do events in people’s homes and at all kinds of indoor venues, and we do plenty of milestone birthday parties, engagement parties, baby showers, bar and bat mitzvahs, and some local fundraisers and nonprofit events. Post-covid, people are entertaining like crazy!”

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WESTCHESTER'S COUNTRY CLUB

A REES JONES GOLF COURSE

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