Best of the EAST

Interior Designer: Jill Calo, Payne & Tompkins Design Renovations

By the seamless way Jill Calo blends modern and traditional elements in her designs, one might think the lead designer at Payne & Tompkins Design Renovations in Chardon had been in the business forever. But Calo originally worked as an accountant before going back to school to pursue interior design.

“I wanted to do design when I was 18, but I ended up going into finance,” Calo says. “I would advise others to follow their gut and their passion.”

Calo describes her personal style as updated traditional, but her expertise doesn’t stop here.

“I design anything from modern to rustic based on a client’s needs,” Calo says. “You really get to build a personal relationship with your clients in the process.”

Calo started working with Payne & Tompkins when it was Payne & Payne in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since.

“I love going to work every day — I truly believe I will retire from here,” Calo says. “The best part about the design work that we do is that it doesn’t feel like work.”

Top Three Trends

Brewery: Crooked Pecker Brewing Co.

This popular and growing brewery is the brainchild of the Stewart nuclear family of four who each are equal stakes — dad Scott, mom Karen, daughter Heather and son Erik, who is the brewer concocting the “balanced beer.” With a busy tap room, new beer garden and relaxed outdoor area and fire pit, it’s an inviting spot to imbibe year-round.

Here are three great beers and pairings to try:

ARCHES. Incorporate archways and arched cabinets into the home.

The company offers everything from whole-home renovations to kitchens and bathroom renovations to basement upgrades and master suite and porch additions.

“We’re design-build, so design is incorporated in the whole building process,” Calo says.

WOOD TONES. Muted earth tones are coming back.

1 Accidental Anderson, the brewery’s most popular IPA. It’s a 7.7% New England-style hazy IPA. “It’s good with just about anything from burgers and barbecue to fish,” Erik says.

10690 Mayfield Road, Chardon, 440-226-5040, payne-tompkins.com

2 Liquid White, a 5% milk stout. This sweet stout is brewed from local roasted coffee from Heartwood Roasters. “It’s an awesome beer with a steak,” Stewart says. “People think I’m crazy, but I’ll be at the brewery dunking chocolate chip cookies in it … it’s amazing. People try it and they’re like, ‘you’re not nuts, you’re a genius!’”

3 Probably Pils, a 4.5% German pilsner. “It’s a crisp, clear refreshing pilsner that is another great burger beer.”

8284 E. Washington St., Chagrin Falls, 440-384-3452, crookedpeckerbrewing.com

1 2 3 COURTESY CROOKED PECKER BREWERY

Chinese: Hunan by the Falls

“Seasonally, we try to keep the menu interesting by incorporating a variety of food flavors from different cultures in addition to Chinese,” says David Cameron, partner in Hunan by the Falls with Kenny Chau and Aileen Chan.

The Balado Shrimp dish was created about 20 years ago when Cameron summoned the flavors he tasted at Bali’s, an Indonesian restaurant in the seaport town of Scheveningen, Netherlands. “The spices were bursting with flavor, the aromatic notes loud and yet the sweetness of the tomato sauce reined in what would otherwise have been an overwhelming, intense heat from red chilis,” he explains.

So this favorite summer special was born. And it culminates flavors that are sweet, hot, sour and salty. “It’s not overly challenging for the many customers of ours who love big flavors but are not seeking daringly ’hot’ bragging rights,” Cameron says.

Here’s why you will enjoy the Balado Shrimp dish:

• Savor the tomato-based Balado sauce with garlic, tamarind, chilis, shallots and fish sauce

• Order with shrimp, chicken, beef, pork, tofu or mixed vegetables

• Toss this on wheat pasta

“The tangy-spicy sauce is absorbed by the pasta, which continues the great taste with a textural experience,” Cameron relates.

With customers as the ultimate judges of success, the dish’s popular-by-demand status sustained it beyond the summer special season. It’s now part of the permanent menu and a crowd favorite.

Birthday Party Location: Master Crafter Paint n’ Splatter

Picture this: You and a dozen of your closest friends — clad in full body suits, goggles and hair caps and armed with paint brushes, five neon paint colors and glitter bombs — are set up in a UV light room and told to let loose.

What do you do? You splatter — each other, the floor, the boards you decorated beforehand with masking tape, stickers and decals.

That’s the idea behind Master Crafter Paint n’ Splatter in Twinsburg.

“It just goes everywhere, and yet it’s like fingerpaint, with super easy cleanup,” says Michelle Hehr, creator of the studio. “Some people act like they’re casting spells or fishing. It’s just great to laugh and have joy in your spirit and soul.”

A counselor and therapist with a creative flair to boot, Hehr first opened the studio, which centered on good coffee, community and DIY crafts, in early 2020.

However, with the pandemic, Hehr was forced to improvise: She sold nearly all of her craft samples and created bundles of DIY crafts that customers could pick up and make at home.

While her studio did include a splatter room at that time, the idea really made a splash after a mother and her children came into the studio asking if there were any other activities they could do.

“She said to me, ‘I don’t want to go back home; we’re just now allowed out of the house,’” Hehr recalls. “I told her, ‘You could splatter. You’re the only ones here.’”

After that visit, Hehr says she booked 53 splatter appointments within a month — all because that customer posted about the fun opportunity on social media.

“There are so many things that bring people down, and that can be defeating,” Hehr says. “To play and be silly and get creative — it’s a great connection activity. You don’t have to be an artist to throw paint. Most of us are told to not color outside the lines, but this is one of those activities where you can express yourself.”

In addition to splatter parties, the studio provides 30-plus activity options including:

1 BROKEN GLASS AND RESIN. Choose from a variety of broken glass pieces and create a floral design that catches everyone’s eye.

2 SEASONAL DOOR MATS. Select from a variety of designs to give your front door a boost.

3 RESIN CHARCUTERIE BOARDS. Create a charcuterie board using a pour painting technique to dazzle guests at your next event.

Charitable Event: Rescue Village’s Woofstock

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Woofstock, Northeast Ohio’s biggest outdoor dog party and fundraiser to benefit the homeless animals under the care of Rescue Village, which is also the Geauga County Humane Society. The festival attracts as many as 2,500 dogs with nearly 5,000 humans tagging along for food trucks, live music, dog games and activities. There’s even a dog parade, known as the Ramble. But the most important activity is dog watching. “It’s the No. 1 favorite event for everybody because it’s just a lot of dogs all in one spot,” says Kenneth Clarke, Rescue Village’s executive director. “There’s small ones, big ones, crazy ones, calm ones.” Once again, there will be a beer garden, but new for this year, it is being sponsored by a local brewer, Four Paws Brewery from Medina, which is brewing a Woofstock Ale for the event.

10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun., Sept. 10, 2023, Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field, rescuevillage.org/woofstock.fun