VIE Magazine July 2023

PHOTO BY ED GUTENTAG

lazy beach days. summer sunsets. vacation vibes.

From the GULF to the BAY to the DUNE LAKES of 30A, We Are Your WATERFRONT SPECIALISTS.

“Our approach to real estate is different. We strive for excellence. We take the responsibility our clients give us with abundant gratitude. We’re knowledgeable. We’re enthusiastic. We love what we get to do every day. We work hard. We work smart. Whether you are selling property or buying property here on 30A or all across the Emerald Coast – we provide you with the experience, community knowledge, and commitment that fulfill your needs. Our “clients first” business philosophy provides you with the reassurance that every action we put in motion is with your best interest in mind.”

BRIAN BEASLEY, Broker Associate

brian.beasley@compass.com | 828-337-3492

“In the 1950s, the Californian Dream made Route 66 the most famous road in the world,” says David Yarrow. “‘The Mother Road,’ as John Steinbeck described it in The Grapes of Wrath, became the route of flight for the American Middle Class—a trend accelerated by the rapidly evolving Californian economy and the opening of Disneyland in 1955 . . . I called upon a Hong Kong friend who is a passionate investor in vintage cars and owns one of the world’s most lauded and valuable collections. I explained the shoot concept, and he graciously offered up one of his most coveted treasures, the 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spider. It was one of only twelve built . . . We styled to the mid-1950s, and I told Daniela to exude a sense of positivity. She should look, as Nat King Cole suggested, like she’s ‘getting her kicks on Route 66.’ Hard not to in that Ferrari.” Read and see more on page 24.

Ferrari by David Yarrow Amboy, California, 2023

Vie is a French word meaning “life” or “way of living.” VIE magazine sets itself apart as a high-gloss publication that focuses on human-interest stories with heart and soul. From Seattle to NYC with a concentration in the Southeast, VIE is known for its unique editorial approach—a broad spectrum of deep content with rich photography. The award-winning magazine was founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife team Lisa and Gerald Burwell, owners of the specialty publishing and branding house known as The Idea Boutique®. From the finest artistically bound books to paperless digital publication and distribution, The Idea Boutique provides comprehensive publishing services to authors and organizations. Its team of creative professionals delivers a complete publishing experience—all that’s needed is your vision.

ROME MIGHT BE ANCIENT, BUT IT STILL HAS PLENTY OF STORIES TO TELL. THIS MECCA OF CULTURE, FOOD, ARCHITECTURE, AND STORYTELLING IS AS VIBRANT AS EVER. FOR REPEAT VISITORS, CHECK OUT THIS TRAVEL GUIDE ON EXPLORING THE CITY AND NEARBY POMPEII IN NEW AND BEAUTIFUL WAYS.

C’EST

Photo courtesy of Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese

CREATIVE TEAM

CEO/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

LISA MARIE BURWELL Lisa@VIEmagazine.com

FOUNDER / PUBLISHER

GERALD BURWELL Gerald@VIEmagazine.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR

JORDAN STAGGS Jordan@VIEmagazine.com

ASSISTANT EDITORS

KELLY CURRY Kelly@VIEmagazine.com

EMME MARTIN Emme@VIEmagazine.com

COPY EDITOR

WENDY ANDERSON

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

SARAH FREEMAN, ANTHEA GERRIE, MYLES MELLOR, CAROLYN O’NEIL, TINSLEY PAUL, SUZANNE POLLAK, COLLEEN SACHS, MICHELLE HAYES UHLFELDER

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY

ART DIRECTOR SALLY NEAL Sally@VIEmagazine.com

DESIGN STUDIO AMBASSADOR

JACK KIRKENDALL

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERS

TRACEY THOMAS

HANNAH VERMILLION

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

LAUREN ATHALIA, HUNTER BURGTORF, JACK GARDNER, ED GUTENTAG, ANTON IVANOV, IAN JACKSON, BRENNA KNEISS, JEFF LANDRETH, KURT LISCHKA, EMILIO MADRID, PAJOR PAWEL, CARLO PIERONI, SUSANNE POMMER, ROMONA ROBBINS, JAMEL SHABAZZ, ZACH SINCLAIR, BROOKE STEVENS, STEPHEN TAYO, CHANDLER WILLIAMS, DAVID YARROW, EPIC PHOTO CO., JOHNNY OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHY, MODUS PHOTOGRAPHY, MOON CREEK STUDIOS, SHUTTERSTOCK

ADVERTISING, SALES, AND MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

KELLY CURRY

Kelly@VIEmagazine.com

MARKETING COORDINATORS

ADDIE STRICKLAND

HAILEY BETHKE

BRAND AMBASSADORS

LISA MARIE BURWELL Lisa@VIEmagazine.com

MARTA RATA

Marta@VIEmagazine.com

AD MANAGER

ADDIE STRICKLAND

Addie@VIEmagazine.com

EVERYONE Has a STORY CONVERSATION, CONNECTION & CAMARADERIE

For the past year, something has been brewing in distilleries, coffee shops, speakeasy-esque venues, and story-pairing dinners from Florida’s Scenic Highway 30-A to Nashville and beyond. It feels new and different—a scene where open-mic storytelling events and writing nights feature a confluence of writers, poets, and published and aspiring authors alike. They read stories to an attentive, supportive group of diverse, multigenerational people, including many young hipsters with a passion for creativity. Everyone seems very welcome, with a palpable spirit of open arms felt in the space. The vibe is urban and intelligent. The ethos of the evening feels akin to a coffee house in an age of enlightenment or a Parisian salon where ideas flourish and conversations mingle. These are as much part of it as what anyone is reading or listening to, as minds awaken to new thoughts and emotions. Isn’t that what storytelling is all about?

I recently attended my first Emerald Coast Storytellers event in May at Distillery 98, as I was curious about the momentum this new group was amassing. Jordan Staggs was reading her latest fictional prose that night alongside many others, with the evening’s theme being “Roots.” Jordan is a master wordsmith, and as editor of VIE for over eleven years, she is a standard-bearer, excelling at what she does. But her reading that night, a short scene titled Rom-Com Roots, blew me away. She is a triple threat for all things words, and I want to hear more about this budding story she has underway. The organization, founded by Kristy Holditch and Ali Diamond—two young journalism grads creating and making their mark on the world in a big way—is giving people a way to share their voices. Our town was obviously starved for something exactly like this. I was elated to have the privilege of listening to some great writing, heartfelt and at times heartbreaking poetry, laughter, and so much more. During intermission, I caught up with people I hadn’t seen in a very long time and then noticed something—the looks of excitement, joy, wonder, enthusiasm, and even trepidation on the faces there. This gathering of thinkers, writers, and performers fills a space for so much more than what first met my eyes. It

fosters connection, conversation, and camaraderie. Bravo, Kristy and Ali—you moved mountains, and our community is better because of it. An in-depth exposé by Jordan on the story behind the Emerald Coast Storytellers is found in these pages.

This issue is dedicated to Bob White, co-founder and co-owner of the beloved landmark Sundog Books in Seaside, Florida. Meeting Bob for the first time thirty years ago was a memorable moment for me. Over the years, whenever I saw or thought of him, I would always smile. He was a character in the very best of ways. He was smarter than most and could read people very well, but at his core, he was a kind man who loved literature and sharing his books with the world. I will always remember him so fondly. He made our community brighter and left us a living legacy through his store, which we are proud to include through a tribute in this issue by his friend, Michelle Hayes Uhlfelder. To his wife and business partner, Linda, their son Hunter, and the Sundog Books family, you have our heartfelt sympathies for the passing of a true one-of-a-kind human.

The power of the pen—as well as the camera, the music, and the spoken word—is indeed mightier than the sword, and we are thrilled to present a cornucopia of goodness through these stories told from far and wide.

To Life!

—Lisa Marie Burwell CEO/Editor-in-Chief/Creative Director

VIE CEO/editor-in-chief/ creative director Lisa Marie Burwell and editor Jordan Staggs

We collaborate with talented photographers, writers, and other creatives on a regular basis, and we’re continually inspired by how they pour their hearts and souls into their crafts. Follow these creatives on social media and don’t forget to check out our account, @viemagazine.

IN THIS ISSUE, WE ASKED THE CREATIVES: WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU READ RECENTLY THAT YOU’D RECOMMEND FOR SUMMER READING?

LISA BURWELL

Editor-in-Chief @lisamburwell

Halcyon by Elliot Ackerman

JORDAN STAGGS

Editor @jordanlstaggs

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

SALLY NEAL

Art Director @sallyneal__

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

HAILEY BETHKE

Marketing & Communications Coordinator @thesunshinesignal

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Black Witch Chronicles by Laurie Forest Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

ADDIE STRICKLAND

Marketing Coordinator & Brand Ambassador @addie.strickland_

101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think by Brianna Wiest

A Gentle Reminder by Bianca Sparacino

KELLY CURRY

Director of Marketing | Assistant Editor @kdb17

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

EMME MARTIN

Marketing and Social Manager @emmemartin

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

The Midnight Library by Mike Haig

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell

JACK KIRKENDALL

Design Studio Ambassador @jackirkendall

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Oh, hey!

We’re back with another issue of VIE, which means another roundup of social posts from the past month! As active community members, we love to stay connected with our readers. If you’re hosting the bash of the summer or traveling to somewhere exotic, tag @viemagazine to show us how you enjoy the magazine! Don’t forget—read responsibly.

@theideaboutique There’s something so magical about this place we get to call home!

@gulfwaterwines Every event needs a prosecco bar! Am I right? Be sure to order a case (or five) for your next party! @viemagazine @dgalysbeach

@e.f.sanjuan We have a lot of amazing fathers who work here at E. F. San Juan, but this one is extra special! Our founder and CEO, Ed F. San Juan. Happy Father’s Day to you and all the great dads on our team and around the world. We appreciate all you do!

@_jacobwatkins_and @hilaryandjacob This week we launched the area’s newest community, Oak Grove at Eden’s Landing! It was a blast having everyone together to showcase this boutique community in Point Washington!

@jordanlstaggs The Gulf Coast Jammed, and so did we. Stay tuned for more on this year’s record-breaking @gulfcoastjam music festival coming up in @viemagazine!

LET’S TALK!

Send VIE your comments and photos on our social media channels or by emailing us at info@viemagazine.com. We’d love to hear your thoughts. They could end up in the next La conversation!

@seaside_institute This was our first year to partner with @alysbeach for a special livestream walk-through of @dgalysbeach featuring highlights of where art meets architecture. Thank you for tuning in!

@kdb17 Loved checking out the new @30ashowhouse with the @viemagazine team last night. Such a colorful home presented by @atlantahomesmag with interiors by @melanieturnerinteriors. If you are in town between June 5–29, check it out!

VIEmagazine.com

Visual Perspectives

Celebrate the vitality of Brooklyn, New York, and the captivating work of photographer Jamel Shabazz at the Brooklyn Museum Plaza from June to September 2023. Titled Jamel Shabazz: Faces and Places, 1980–2023, this outdoor installation tells stories through Shabazz’s iconic photographs, capturing four decades of vibrant people and locales.

From New York City’s streets to hip-hop culture’s heart, his enduring images reflect style, community, and joy. This exhibition, curated by Drew Sawyer and Imani Williford, offers a captivating glimpse into Shabazz’s remarkable archive, honoring his significant contributions to Brooklyn and the fifty-year legacy of hip-hop.

Photo by Jamel Shabazz (born Brooklyn, New York, 1960)

The JOURNEY

SINGLE to a FRAME

The Beauty of Visual Storytelling

By Jordan Staggs | Photography by David Yarrow

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN Montana, 2020

“This old railway carriage was built in Montana in 1902 and operated until 1968. It now lies abandoned in the ghost town of Nevada City and serves as a reminder of the busier days in the mountains,” says Yarrow. “I first visited the train in 2015 and immediately saw its potential for a staged shot. Half the window areas are open to the elements, and in the winter, the snow often overwhelms the decaying interior . . . Taking the female icon Cara Delevingne to a unique site like this, so far from anywhere vaguely on the map, was an opportunity not to be wasted. This is not a job for the precious; the carriage is fragile, and getting on board was not easy. But Cara, as I know from working with her previously, is not precious; she is game for anything that is creative and authentic. The camera loves her, and the styling— in an old buffalo skin coat—deliberately plays to a timeless story. She pings out of the train. Sometimes an artist creates something that can’t be copied, and I think this is one such work. We would like to thank the Nevada City Old Town Museum and Music Hall for collaborating on this project.”

Visual Perspectives

“Most tight portraits of lions, including mine, disappoint either because the camera is above the lion’s eye or the distance between camera and subject is further than one would like—or perhaps the lighting conditions compromise the textural detail,” Yarrow explains. “In most cases, it is all three of these issues, and this is no surprise as lions do not live in studios and are also extremely dangerous. The opportunity to take this portrait of the most handsome lion in Kevin Richardson’s sanctuary in South Africa came about because of the cave we had built for our Daniel project. There was just one source of light from the opening behind my cage, and by the time the light reached Yame’s face, it was even and kind. This allowed me to glorify the detail in a lion’s face in a way that I have never previously been able to do.”

THE KING’S SPEECH

South Africa, 2022

This concept is nothing new to Scottish photographer David Yarrow. As an eighteen-year-old with a camera and a love of sports, the last thing on his mind was that his creative journey would one day lead him to become one of the most successful commercial photographers in the world. His compelling, often black-and-white images have graced thousands of walls, galleries, magazine covers, and advertising campaigns. Still, starting out, he says photography was “a way to attend as many sporting events as possible and even to be paid to be there. The crowds, the news, the passion. I loved sport as a teenager, and the camera gave me the excuse to justify the addiction.”

Although he studied business and accounting at university, photography—and the travel experiences and stories he accumulated while shooting events—was waiting in the wings for Yarrow to reach the point that would launch his fine-art career.

“All my training was in the field,” Yarrow says. It wasn’t about the money. “I think in the early days— very early days—I enjoyed being at the events as much as filming them. It took time for the seeds to turn into shoots.”

In 2011, an unexpected plot twist entered Yarrow’s story while he was photographing sharks in South Africa. He had been at it for nine days without any great shots and was nearly ready to give up. “After twenty-eight unsuccessful hours lying face down on a boat deck in False Bay near Cape Town, I captured an image: Jaws.”

“In many ways, it was a picture that changed my whole approach to the monetization of photography,” Yarrow recalls. “The reality was that my publishing fees from the sale of the image to magazines and newspapers did not cover the expenses I incurred in taking it. That seemed quite instructive. Then a lawyer from Houston nicknamed ‘Jaws’ called me up asking for a print for his office. He wanted to buy the print for several thousands of dollars, and that prompted deep consideration. I had my epiphany; the future for me lay in the fine-art market.”

Yarrow says even with this plan set in motion by the aquatic beast and the shark from Houston, it took him another four years to hone his business model as a fine-art photographer. Now fifty-seven, the celebrated storyteller says he really only started making money from photography in his late forties.

His work, he says, is a celebration of storytelling and authenticity. “We are all storytellers—from Taylor Swift all the way down. A photograph can tell a story, but for it to do so in a compelling way, the frame will need to sweat. I use layers to tell a story, just as painters have done for generations. It is never easy to capture everything in 1/250 of a second, but we are getting better at it.”

As it turns out, that fraction of a second can say more than most people would ever imagine. It can spark imaginations, take viewers back in time, inspire songs and stories, and evoke feelings they might never have felt. It can start conversations and share missions. It can also just look damn cool, as evidenced by Yarrow’s work. His subjects are varied, from sports stars to wild animals and supermodels, including Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Alessandra Ambrosio, and David Gandy, to name a few.

The photo, an awe-inspiring shot of a great white shark breaching while chasing a seal, was worth not only a thousand words but also, eventually, thousands of dollars.

It is the JOURNEY that matters, not the destination. I have no idea what I will be doing in a year, but it will be a GOOD RIDE .

Visual Perspectives

ROUTE 66 Holbrook, Arizona, 2022

“It’s all about trust,” he says of working with such big names. “If you are working with extraordinary people whose time is an opportunity cost, you can’t let them down. You must make sure their days working with you are happy, good, and memorable. If you can combine the removal of stress with art creation, there’s more chance of them coming back to work with you. It is important to remember that when you strip away fame, we are all the same. Fame is just an amplifier. Someone like Cindy Crawford is a wonderful woman; fame has just made her even more special. She is the most successful model of all time for good reason.”

Crawford, who has starred in several of Yarrow’s shoots and become a personal friend, shares his passion for giving back to worthy causes. Their collaborations in 2018 and 2021 collectively raised over six million dollars for the American Family Children’s Hospital. Yarrow is also involved with several environmental conservation organizations, including Tusk Trust, Wild Ark, Kevin Richardson Foundation, the African Community and Conservation Foundation, and more. His work has raised over twelve million dollars for efforts to protect wildlife around the world and for pediatric cancer care organizations, including AFCH.

Yarrow describes his photographs as “immersive, aesthetically tight, textural, and, hopefully, emotional.” He’s captured shots of beautiful women driving rare vintage cars with actual wolves in the passenger seat. Other pieces show scenes of cowboys and Wild West saloons that any fan of Taylor Sheridan’s latest television series should look up. Meanwhile, depicting major motion picture-worthy storytelling while also showcasing a watch by TAG Heuer, for example, combines fine art, cinema, and advertising in a way few have achieved. Indeed, he often draws direct inspiration from his favorite films to re-create iconic scenes and evoke the emotions they gave him as a viewer.

“Route 66—The Mother Road—will always be a symbol of America’s postwar freedom and geographical mobility,” says Yarrow. “It evokes imagery of roadside motels, diners, and 1950s Cadillacs. America is the home of the road trip, and Route 66 is its poster child . . . In the autumn of 2022, I scouted for shooting locations in California and Arizona that would emphatically offer a Route 66 vibe, and I found it to be a challenge. So many motels and diners along the route are either abandoned or, worse still, have become rather kitsch tourist attractions. To find a set that was both authentic and operational seemed mutually exclusive. But then I stumbled across the town of Holbrook, one hundred miles east of Flagstaff in Arizona. There are some real gems in this small town, and none more so than the Wigwam Motel that saddles up right next to Route 66 . . . I chose Josie Canseco as the lead on this project as I knew she could wear a glamorous 1950s vibe very well. I was right, and this photograph is as good as I could have imagined when I started exploring the creative concept. Have you slept in a Wigwam lately?”

Visual Perspectives

JAWS

False Bay, South Africa, 2011

BY DAVID YARROW

PARTS UNKNOWN

Durango, Colorado, 2023

“When we shoot in the winter, weather plays a large part in our planning, but given the speed at which weather can change, it does not pay to be too prescriptive too far out from shooting days,” Yarrow expounds. “But we continually check weather patterns, and within thirtysix hours of a shoot, we tend to home in on a certain plan . . . In the Rockies, I guess there are about a dozen days a year when a big storm passes through and clears, leaving behind a winter wonderland and kind, gentle light. This is the filmmaker’s big opportunity, provided the props are in place and access is still possible. It is always challenging, but these are the days we wait for. They don’t come that often. We know the Durango to Silverton steam train well and have built up a strong friendship with the owner, Al Harper, and his wonderful team of engineers in Durango. I sensed there was an opportunity at this jaw-dropping location made famous by its appearance some fifty years ago in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. We were in town and waiting as the storm system pushed through. It had lasted thirty-six hours and left eighteen inches of new snow in the San Juan Forest that the old steam train cuts through. We had to operate fast, as the light was picking up all the time, and both teams worked quickly to get everyone in position early in the day . . . When I look at this photograph, I feel some sense of pride—it is a hell of a shot—but not pride in myself, pride in all the people who made it happen. A real team effort.”

AUTHENTICITY is always a good start.

His action shots and those evocative pieces with humans and wild animals together are captured after a meticulous setup to ensure lighting is consistent and minimal editing is needed—and yes, they are all authentic, not digitally manipulated.

“I try and remember that there needs to be something in an image to allow it to transcend,” he continues. “Authenticity is always a good start. The printing is also strong, and we see that as an integral part of the brand. Clients know a David Yarrow print when they see it; there is a very consistent tonal range.”

Identifying the most challenging part of his work, Yarrow says, is easy: idea creation. As someone whose creative work is also his livelihood, he must focus on what will sell, not just what he wants to shoot. “It must be creative, and then it must be commercial—99 percent of ideas break down at these two levels,” he explains. “I often have periods when ideas don’t come easily and I must be patient. The most rewarding part is good execution. I would also say it is a treat to meet some of the people I have come across in the world of Hollywood or elite sport.”

This sales-minded focus is ideal when working with some of the top interior design firms in the world, which Yarrow does. Getting his work in the hands of collectors is often thanks to having an interior designer introduce their clients to the world of David Yarrow. “The best-selling interior design firms are passionate about what they do and have a deep client base that has remained loyal over the years. These relationships can come in the most unlikely of places.”

One prime example is Christopher Collection, a top-selling interior design firm based in Homewood, Alabama, just outside Birmingham. Yarrow’s partnership with founder and architect Chris Reebals

and his team has been one of his top-grossing retail endeavors, selling over $400,000 of art annually.

“David’s work is timeless,” Reebals says. “When contemplating art, I always envision the piece in a space. David’s work enhances a room like no other art. It creates a depth and movement that are inspiring, timeless, and engaging. His art stares back at you. It pulls you in. It makes you feel like you are there. It is crisp and clean yet organic and extemporaneous. Somehow his art, while inanimate, is not static. The juxtaposition of David’s work on a designed space creates a symbiotic bond between the built environment and nature.”

Although he’s seen great commercial success for over a decade, Yarrow says seeing his work displayed in someone’s home or office still makes him feel proud and humbled. “It means that someone liked my work enough to put it on a wall above all other choices in the world. We sell a thousand photographs a year. I can’t see them all in place, but I do see a decent number, and it is always exciting. It is nice for the buyers to meet the artist and even better for the artist to meet the new owner.”

Many fans and collectors got the opportunity to meet the artist and display his work in their homes through Yarrow’s latest book, aptly titled Storytelling, released in November 2022.

“We have had events for the launch all over America and Europe. Some are very busy, like in Dallas, Denver, and LA, where we have big galleries and a large collector base. I guess over two years, over twenty thousand people will have attended the shows,” he expounds. “But sometimes it is the quirky places with small bookstores that bring the most fun memories, as it is always people that make the places. But my favorite event was in Edinburgh, Scotland, as it was so special to come home and see friends and family.”

“Someone was going to make this shot, and I always felt we had a chance to bring all the constituent parts together. We have some history with ideas based on Scorsese’s epic film, and the fact that I once worked on Wall Street added a sense of purpose as well as a personal connection,” says Yarrow. “Made of white Georgian marble, the temple-like facade of the NY Stock Exchange Building was inspired by the Roman Pantheon, and the six Corinthian columns make for a majestic backdrop. It is an unmistakable building, and when it opened its doors in 1903, it was a big moment in the history of America. I needed a quiet day to shoot on set, and that always pointed to a Sunday, but I also wanted an emphatic written reference as well as the architectural reference somewhere in the frame. The green street signposts of ‘Wall Street’ were too high to incorporate meaningfully into the picture, and I saw no real workable alternative . . . But by some extraordinary stroke of luck, when I found my shooting location lying on the cobbled street, there, smack in front of me on the road, was a museum plate that spoke of Wall Street’s history. I had no idea it was there, and at the margin, this detail makes all the difference.”

Storytelling is Yarrow’s fifth coffee-table book filled with his work, preceded by: Nowhere (2007), which depicts some of the world’s most remote and isolated locales; Encounter (2013), a collection of eighty-seven powerful black-and-white photos of wildlife and indigenous communities; Wild Encounters (2016), which captures “the splendor and very soul of what remains wild and free in our world through incredibly intimate, close-enough-to-touch portraits”; and his eponymous David Yarrow (2019), featuring over 130 of David’s images and a foreword by Cindy Crawford.

The most challenging part of the book-creation process, according to the photographer, is culling down which images to use. “Most coffee-table books have some weaker pages, and this is also true of photography books,” he says. “We call these weaker shots ‘fillers,’ and my goal is always to have as few as possible. If Storytelling had been delayed for six months to allow for more filming time, I guess we could have replaced about ten ‘fillers’ out of 140 images. That’s not bad, and I am quite tough on myself. The biggest mistake photographers can make is to give their own work a weak edit.”

THE NEW TESTAMENT

South Sudan, 2022

It must be CREATIVE , and then it must be COMMERCIAL.

THE ROLLING STONES

Mustang Monument Ranch, Nevada, 2023

Book publishing is a tough business, Yarrow says, but his belief in his latest volume remains high after great reception from fans in the past eight months. “The average coffee-table book sells four thousand copies; I think we will beat that!”

As for what’s coming up next for the photographer, his guess is as good as ours. It all goes back to enjoying the journey and the stories he will hear, see, capture, and create along the way.

No matter what his next chapter holds, Yarrow is excited about it: “Whether I continue to explore the Wild West, 1970s ski resorts, iconic sportsmen—all themes that have guided me of late—or an entirely new genre, I want to pay homage to great stories. We must break new ground and continue to raise the bar. My best pictures are the ones I have not yet taken.”

To learn more, visit www.DavidYarrow.photography or follow him on Instagram @davidyarrow. You can shop prints on his website or visit Christopher Collection in Homewood, Alabama, and at ChristopherCollection.com.

Read the stories behind these images at www.DavidYarrow.photography.

The Seaside story that hasn’t been told . . . from the perspective of cofounder/visionary Daryl Rose Davis.

A brand-new luxury coffee-table book celebrating the rich history of the Town of SEASIDE ® and the evolution of The Seaside Style ® through 40 years of photos and stories.

Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way.

—THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.

Quadrum Global's latest acquisition, Arlo Williamsburg, is poised to bring a renewed vibrancy to Brooklyn's eclectic spirit. This experience-driven property, set to join Arlo Hotels' expanding portfolio in September 2023, invites visitors to immerse in authentic Brooklyn charm with panoramic city views, locally curated experiences, and an iconic water tower bar that's a fixture of the borough's skyline.

Visit ArloHotels.com to learn more or plan your stay.

Photo courtesy of Arlo Hotels.

Visual Perspectives

By Hailey Bethke

Photos by Johnny Ocean Photography

Visual Perspectives

hat lies below the surface is often left unexplored. This statement is a metaphor for how many of us experience everyday life: we look at the facts and don’t often consider other avenues, let alone the reasoning behind perspectives different from our own. Emerging underwater artist John Oja, aka Johnny Ocean, takes this statement both literally and figuratively as he challenges the boundaries of traditional underwater photography. Oja offers a new perspective on how we perceive subjects by immersing them in an often uncharted medium: water.

Oja is a lifelong water enthusiast, spending his time in the Gulf of Mexico as a local spearfishing guide and free diver when he’s not behind the lens. These experiences have led him to cultivate a natural ease in the water, which allows him to offer calm direction while shooting underwater with clients. Although Oja has always considered himself a creative, he shut down photography as a future career avenue in college.

“I remember two people in my class who were incredibly gifted photographers,” he remarks. “In comparison, I didn’t think I was good enough and let that insecurity temporarily halt my creative pursuits. I thought photography was like athletics: you have a peak season in which to succeed, and some people are just inherently gifted. But now I realize that photography is a skill that can always be improved.”

Fortunately, Oja decided to try his hand at photography again in his adult years, beginning by shooting spearfishermen with a GoPro. Eventually, he decided to take the plunge and invest in high-quality camera equipment, and soon after began shooting portraits in his underwater “studio”—the pool at Emerald Coast Scuba in Destin, Florida.

Oja often shoots in the pool with various backdrops to create a controlled environment. “Our local springs are usually too cold, and the Gulf of Mexico offers other challenges, such as the current and visibility,” he explains. “The photos always turn out the best when clients are comfortable in the water.” Underwater shoots take approximately two to three hours and require one essential virtue: patience.

I realize that photography is a skill that can always be worked upon and improved.

“

This image and right: John Oja, aka Johnny Ocean, captured by friend and fellow fine art photographer Chandler Williams of Modus Photography

e have the communication barrier underwater, as well,” Oja says. “You can describe what you want to have a shot look like above water, but once our heads go under, it’s all reliant on me being able to shoot the right angles and the client executing our plan. When we both come up for air, the person often doesn’t even remember what they just did to replicate it again underwater,” he laughs. “I will often take more than one thousand images at any given shoot and only get one I am happy with. So many factors—like hair and skin, air bubbles, and camera focus—make shooting underwater a challenge.”

His most recent collection, a series of local artists shot underwater, was displayed at the Maxine Orange Art Gallery in Fort Walton Beach in June. Oja fondly recalls details from each of the shoots with these creatives. “I loved shooting my buddy, photographer Sean Murphy,” he says. “I thought to myself, ‘How do I envision him?’ And immediately, I realized, ‘behind a camera.’ Sean bought all of these vintage underwater cameras from the 1970s for the shoot—and he forgot to seal them properly, so they all flooded. But we got some amazing photos, and the final product looks incredible!”

Visual Perspectives

he complete series includes photographs of local artists Bradley Copeland, Chandler Williams, Harley Van Hyning, Maxine Orange, and Sean Murphy; ballerina Kate Beliaeva; contemporary dancer Rico Dias Garcia; and violinist Jessica Heit. Oja’s goal was to create with these local visionaries collaboratively to truly capture the unique essence of each individual in their photos. “I want to give to the people who show up to shoot with me,” he says. “I want a beautiful end product that truly captures their spirit.”

So, like Oja, perhaps we all need to explore a different outlook on the world around us. What sets us apart and highlights our uniqueness? How do we want to be remembered or captured in an image? Although those questions often require ample time for exploration, Oja knows that we all shine a little differently under the water. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded of our true gifts and beauty through a new lens and fresh perspective.

To connect with Johnny Oja, head to JohnnyOceanPhotography.com and follow along on Instagram @johnnyoceanphotography.

Oja’s goal was to create with these local visionaries collaboratively; to truly capture the unique essence of each individual in their photos.

“ “

Photo by Chandler Williams

PROJECT: VIE Magazine Headquarters, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

ARCHITECT: Gerald Burwell

HER Designed with in Mind

Shopping Guide by TINSLEY MERRILL PAUL

Photography courtesy of HERSTORY

STORY

Whether you are looking for the perfect summer hat or trying to shop for more sustainable brands, HerStory’s online format makes it easy to find exactly what you are looking for while empowering artisans and supporting small businesses worldwide. Enjoy this thoughtful summer roundup by none other than HerStory cofounder and CEO Tinsley Merrill Paul!

As a longtime visitor of Florida’s Scenic Highway 30-A and its charming beach communities, Paul fell in love with the area, and HerStory recently hosted a popup at Indigo boutique in WaterColor Town Center with fashion and lifestyle blogger Jessica Fay of Lipstick, Heels, and a Baby. Although HerStory is an online boutique, Fay and Indigo owner Catherine Walega came together to introduce shoppers to its brands and the stories behind them during this fun two-day popup experience.

As Paul explains, “HerStory was created to celebrate the uniqueness of women-led, ethical brands around the globe and to highlight the story behind each piece. All products that HerStory curates are wearable pieces of art that transport you to where they were handmade. From Mexico to Colombia, Brazil, or Africa, women have dignified employment through traditional art forms that otherwise could be forgotten.”

Paul has a special connection with the 30-A area that made it the ideal place to feature her summer collection. She states, “I grew up traveling from Atlanta to 30-A, and I have many memories of falling in love with the pastel-painted homes and Disney-like neighborhoods. My summer essentials showcase the one-of-a-kind artisanal techniques behind each HerStory brand and the watercolor palette that makes 30-A so special.”

Check out the following list of Paul’s top summer essential brands and styles for 2023:

HerStory is a unique, female-led platform where the art of storytelling and fashion collide.

SANLIER

Discover the exquisite collection of Sanlier on HerStory, your go-to destination for the ultimate vacation getaway ensemble. Whether you’re jetting off to the enchanting streets of Europe, the vibrant beaches of Mexico, or exploring captivating destinations within the United States, Sanlier’s handcrafted works of art are tailored to provide an unforgettable and stylish vacation experience.

CORAZÓN PLAYERO

Each Corazón Playero hat is brought to life over hours of intricate hand embroidery, showcasing the exceptional skill and dedication of the artisans. Embrace the essence of summer with this high-quality hat that effortlessly combines artisanal craftsmanship and timeless style, available exclusively on HerStory.

MIGUELINA

Miguelina has summer dresses covered, offering a stunning range of dresses meticulously crafted in South America. Whether attending a delightful summer wedding or seeking the ideal ensemble for a vacation dinner, shop Miguelina on HerStory for the epitome of summer fashion perfection.

Visual Perspectives

HERMOZA SWIM

Indulge in the luxurious world of Hermoza Swim, available on HerStory. Elevate your poolside or beachside fashion with the perfect luxury cover-up handcrafted in South America. Shop now to discover the epitome of refined swimwear fashion and make a lasting impression wherever you go.

AKOLA

You’ll find Akola’s unparalleled craftsmanship showcased in our remarkable collection of HerStory exclusive hat bands. Elevate your summer wardrobe with these exquisite accessories handmade by women in Uganda.

HerStory was created to celebrate the uniqueness of women-led, ethical brands around the globe and to highlight the story behind each

SEA STAR BEACHWEAR

Discover the perfect summer tote and sandals that effortlessly blend fashion and functionality. From strolling along sandy shores to embracing sunsoaked adventures, Sea Star Beachwear offers an elevated ensemble of coastal elegance. Shop Sea Star Beachwear on HerStory to embrace the essence of summertime bliss.

Visual Perspectives

PAJARA PINTA

Tinsley Merrill Paul was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, as the youngest of five siblings. She has worked with multiple women-led companies, including Akola, Bumble, and rewardStyle (LTK), to name a few. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, she has studied and volunteered in the United Kingdom, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Paul was the cofounder and CRO of Pairr, an experimental marketing platform that connected brands, influencers, and audiences through data-driven insights. In 2020, she dedicated her time to supporting women-led businesses struggling in the new retail landscape, ultimately creating HerStory.

The Closet Chronicles

Don’t miss the opportunity to delve into this remarkable narrative of resilience and authenticity on display until September 17, 2023, at the Sarasota Art Museum.

Sara Berman on the Terrace in Rome, 2018, by Maira Kalman (American, born 1949) Gouache on paper, 12 × 16 × 2 inches

Step into the intimate world of SaraBerman’sClosetat the Sarasota Art Museum and discover the extraordinary story behind this captivating installation. Created by artists Maira and Alex Kalman, the daughter and grandson of Berman, the exhibition showcases the meticulously preserved belongings of Sara Berman, a Jewish émigré who embarked on a new chapter in her life at age sixty. Leaving behind her old life, Berman settled in a studio apartment in Greenwich Village, where she embraced minimalism by wearing only white. Explore the carefully folded garments, personal effects, and poignant details that bring Berman’s story to life. From her humble beginnings in Belarus to her pursuit of identity and meaning, SaraBerman’sClosetis a profound testament to the transformative power of self-expression.

To help uncover the thrilling tale of Jackie Cochran, lend your support at GoFundMe.com/f/Flight -of-Jackie-Cochran.

SEE THE WORLDVoyager Voyager

Northwest Florida filmmakers are jetting out to produce an investigative documentary on the life of DeFuniak Springs native Jackie Cochran. The documentary will unravel the fascinating story of Cochran, an intrepid Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) of World War II, who set more records in altitude, speed, and distance than any other pilot in the twentieth century. The story is inspired by Nancy Hasty’s riveting play, based on the book Superwoman Jacqueline Cochran by Billie Pittman Ayers and Beth Dees. This documentary aims to sift fact from fiction, inviting viewers to consider Cochran’s place alongside aviation legends like Chuck Yeager and Amelia Earhart in the American canon.

Jackie Cochran with protégé Chuck Yeager

Photo courtesy of the Air Force Flight Test Center History Office

CITY of SPIRES

BY SARAH FREEMAN

Bottom left: The Divinity School at the University of Oxford

Photo courtesy of Ian Jackson & Bodleian Libraries/Experience Oxfordshire

Mercifully spared World War II bombing, the historic city in southern England is best known as being home to the world’s second-oldest university, where wordsmiths like Dr. Seuss and T. S. Eliot honed their craft.

“They were the best of friends and the best of critics,” Self says of J. R. R. Tolkien and fellow twentieth-century fantasy novelist C. S. Lewis, who found real-life inspiration for their mythical worlds in Oxford’s landmark buildings and medieval streets. One such cobbled thoroughfare is Bath Place Alley, which we squeeze down during a two-hour walking tour retracing the steps of some of literature’s finest minds. A highlight is coming nose-to-nose with the maned lion (embellished on a wooden door, thankfully!) believed to have been the inspiration for Aslan in Lewis’s classic The Chronicles of Narnia series.

After discovering more storytelling magic in the three-mile-long subterranean shelves of Blackwell’s bookshop on Broad Street, we come up for air again at New College Lane. A look-alike of Venice’s “Bridge of Sighs,” its photogenic skyway sits in the shadow of Oxford’s domed Radcliffe Camera, which is tethered to my next storied stop via an underground tunnel.

“It’s bewitched people for thousands of years,” guide Jonathan Self tells me as we drink in the glorious Gothic skyline that’s earned Oxford its “City of Dreaming Spires” nickname.

Below: The iconic Radcliffe Camera library at the University of Oxford, about fifty miles outside London

Photo by Pajor Pawel/Shutterstock

Above: Stop in for a cocktail at Gees Restaurant & Bar

Photo courtesy of Gees

Above right and opposite middle: The Ashmolean Museum Rooftop Restaurant serves lunch and afternoon tea with beautiful views.

Photos courtesy of Ashmolean Museum/ Experience Oxfordshire

Right and opposite bottom: The Old Parsonage Hotel offers complimentary bicycles for guests to explore the city.

Photos courtesy of Old Parsonage Hotel

The scent of beeswax and leather lingers in every corner of fifteenth-century Duke Humfrey’s Library, the oldest reading room in Oxford’s world-famous Bodleian complex. “We’ve turned down prime ministers’ requests to take books out on loan!” tour guide Robin Lawrence tells our group in a hushed tone. Unique in being a nonlending library, students study in silence here, much the same as luminaries like Anglo-Irish playwright Oscar Wilde did before them. “Only three of the original two hundred and eighty books that Duke Humfrey, younger brother to King Henry V, bequeathed to the library line its shelves today,” Lawrence continues. Among the other priceless items that survived the English Reformation—during which the Crown ordered the University to remove all traces of Catholicism—was a collection of ancient maps.

Several printed copies line the wonderfully wonky walls of The Old Parsonage, where witty Wilde briefly lodged as a student. With its 1600s stone manor house frontage lending it the look of a country retreat, it’s easy to forget you’re in earshot of Oxford’s city center. The thirty-five-room hotel’s heavy oak door leads guests into a low-slung lobby-cum-restaurant where I dine on fifty-five-day matured ribeye later that evening. I’m surrounded on all sides by local writers and artists, their twentieth-century portraits belonging to the luxury hotel’s art collector owner, Jeremy Mogford. Every bit the bookish bolthole, the snug

skylit library (curated by the former CEO of Blackwell’s Books no less!) is where I curl up before retreating to my Scandi-furnished suite, where thoughtful touches abound. Think homemade shortbread at turndown, award-winning short stories for bedtime reading, and freshly cut flowers. Talking of blooms, scarcely five hundred meters down the road, you can lunch in a late-Victorian florist’s Grade II listed glasshouse at Gees, which serves up Mediterranean plates par excellence amongst the foliage.

The following morning, I take my pick from the hotel’s fleet of free-to-use wicker-basketed bicycles. Much like its cerebral sister city of Cambridge, Oxford is primed for two-wheeled sightseeing. I pedal past the history-steeped Eagle and Child pub on St Giles’ boulevard, where Tolkien and Lewis pored over their drafts, before turning into Turl Street to visit the city’s Covered Market. Home to sixty specialist shops selling everything from handmade soaps to clotted cream fudge, it’s also the favorite haunt of Lyra, the free-spirited heroine in Oxford graduate Philip Pullman’s famous fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials.

I trade its Victorian cloistered walkways for Magdalen College’s wisteria-draped fifteenth-century ones, festooned with stone gargoyles, from which C. S. Lewis allegedly fashioned his frozen Narnian animals. After converting to Christianity, the author tutored here and worshiped in Magdalen’s medieval chapel. Far from

being stuffy, Oxford University’s stately colleges, scattered across the city and greened with manicured quadrangles, are destinations unto themselves. One of thirty-four open to the public, Magdalen (pronounced Maw-dlen) invites visitors to step straight from Oxford’s half-mile-long High Street into its college park grounds, where deer nonchalantly graze as they have for three hundred years.

Yet another source of writerly inspiration is The Ashmolean, Britain’s first public museum. Its inscribed posy ring collection (showcased on the second floor’s Arts of the Renaissance Gallery) is said to have inspired the famous gold band in Tolkien’s 150-million-copyselling Lord of the Rings trilogy. Crowning its three floors of era-spanning works is a sun-trap rooftop restaurant where I tuck into a rose harissa chicken and English-grown quinoa while admiring another city stalwart—The Randolph Hotel.

Unique in being a non-lending library, students study in silence here, much the same as luminaries like Anglo-Irish playwright Oscar Wilde did before them.

Duke

Humfrey’s Library

Top Right: The Bodleian Library Quadrangle at the University of Oxford

Photos courtesy of Bodleian Libraries/ Experience Oxfordshire

Wheeling my suitcase through the same vaulted lobby bar where crime writer Colin Dexter penned his Inspector Morse storylines has me reaching for my own Moleskine notebook! Nods to Oxford University and its famous alumni are everywhere, from the student ID-themed key cards to the college crest-adorned flags that hang over the atrium’s stained-glass-illuminated, cantilevered staircase. It’s one of a host of heritage features lovingly restored by the Chicago-based Graduate Hotels group when they relaunched the neo-Gothic grand dame in 2021. Splicing English maximalist interiors with on-trend granny chic, its 151 rooms have been prettified in paisley patterned wallpaper and cable knit throws, with wooden writing desks and Alice in Wonderland-styled rabbit lamps recalling the city’s long-standing literary love affair.

The hotel’s all-day brasserie, The Alice, is an ode to Lewis Carroll’s celebrated novel first published in 1865. Outfitted with Barbie-pink banquettes and paintings of Alice (the book’s seven-year-old protagonist) and her eccentric friends, the interiors are as playful as its seasonally led, French-accented British fare.

Better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, Charles Dodgson was both student and professor at Christ Church. The grandest of Oxford’s colleges, it’s hewn from the city’s famous Headington stone that glows golden in the early morning sun. “Charles Dodgson

Top left: Located inside The Randolph Hotel by Graduate Hotels, The Alice is an all-day British brasserie in the heart of historic Oxford inspired by Lewis Carroll’s beloved novels.

Top middle: The Randolph Hotel’s Lancaster Room is available to rent for meetings, afternoon tea or evening cocktails, and dinner.

Top right: Hertford Bridge, often called the Bridge of Sighs, over New College Lane

Right: The lobby of The Randolph Hotel pays homage to the building’s history and the famous colleges of Oxford.

Photos courtesy of The Randolph Hotel by Graduate Hotels

lived his entire adult life here,” bowler-hatted custodian Robert reveals as our group shuffles inside its five-hundred-year-old Great Hall. While (almost) all eyes are glued to the hammer-beam ceiling crafted by Henry VIII’s chief carpenter, I find myself fixated on the fireplace’s brass firedogs, said to have inspired Alice’s famously growing neck in the “Pool of Tears.”

Christ Church is where Carroll befriended Alice Liddell, daughter of the college’s ecclesiastical dean and muse for his famous five-book series’ fictional main character. The two were regular visitors to the city’s central Botanic Garden (Britain’s oldest), where a life-sized sculpture of the Cheshire Cat from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland grins down at me from the bough of a gnarled tree.

The garden is located a whisper from Magdalen Bridge, where punts (Oxford’s answer to Venetian gondolas) depart daily along the bucolic River Cherwell. A 150-year-old Oxfordian pastime, punting remains as popular as ever. In the absence of a gondolier, I take a brief lesson in how to propel the boat with a sixteen-foot metal pole before plying the Cherwell’s weeping-willowkissed waters. My hair ruffled in the gentle breeze, I snake one mile downstream through Christ Church’s idyllic wildflower meadows, resolving that I, too, have fallen under the city’s spell. Somewhat paradoxically, my Oxford story ends where the Cherwell empties into the Thames and the scene-setting stretch of river in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland begins.

There are excellent public transport connections between London and Oxford, with coach journeys taking 1 hour 30 minutes and trains averaging 1 hour 15 minutes (each way). For further travel information on what to do and where to stay, shop, and eat in Oxford, visit ExperienceOxfordshire.org.

Constructed in 1664, the Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street is a well-known Oxford landmark.

Photo courtesy of The Randolph Hotel by Graduate Hotels

My hair ruffled in the gentle breeze, I snake one mile downstream through Christ Church’s idyllic wildflower meadows, resolving that I, too, have fallen under the city’s spell.

“This INTIMATE CONCERT SERIES assembles some of the BIGGEST NAMES in MUSIC in some of the WORLD'S most ENCHANTING LOCATIONS. ”

Top: Songwriters in Paradise founder Patrick Davis

Photo by Brooke Stevens Cabo San Lucas photo by Zach Sinclair

By EMME MARTIN

Photography courtesy of SONGWRITERS IN PARADISE

SONGWRITERS in Paradise

A CELEBRATION of MUSIC, CAMARADERIE, and GIVING BACK

usicians are often celebrated for their creative productivity, and Patrick Davis is no exception. Over two decades, Davis, endearingly referred to as a Southern storyteller, has made a lasting impression on the stage, in the writing room, and as a critically acclaimed solo artist. However, his most significant contribution may be nurturing Songwriters in Paradise. This intimate concert series assembles some of the biggest names in music in some of the world’s most enchanting locations. But as Davis himself describes it, “We’re just friends hanging out.”

Coming from a rich musical background in Camden, South Carolina, Davis set out to Nashville, where he carved a name for himself in the music industry,

notably writing over seventy-five songs for icons including Guy Clark and Jimmy Buffett. As the industry evolved with the advent of streaming platforms, Davis embraced change and began to explore his career as a performer, fostering countless relationships along the way.

It was within this journey that Davis envisioned a gathering where musicians could collaborate and share their passion in a nurturing environment. This vision eventually took the form of Songwriters in Paradise (SIP), an event that transcends the typical music festival. He recalls, “SIP started as me and a bunch of buddies going down to the Bahamas because we wanted to write songs, we wanted to drink, and we wanted to have a good time.”

rom these humble origins, SIP grew to incorporate various picturesque locations such as Cabo San Lucas, Napa Valley, and Healdsburg, California. The expansion wasn’t the result of meticulous planning or aggressive business strategies. Instead, these venues came to life through serendipitous moments and organically cultivated relationships.

Each location was carefully chosen by Davis, who places significant importance on maintaining the event’s unique, intimate ambience. Speaking about the genesis of SIP Cabo, Davis explains, “I just happened to be at dinner at Bar Esquina at the Bahia Hotel and connected with the owner. I told him about SIP, and he immediately offered to host it there. Before I knew it, we had decided to bring SIP to Cabo, and now we’re entering our seventh year.”

Davis also emphasizes the unique camaraderie that comes with the Songwriters in Paradise Festival. SIP provides a welcome change in an industry where musicians often find themselves crossing paths like ships in the night. Davis says, “The real reason SIP started was that we don’t see each other in our business. You’re going to Bonnaroo or something, and I could be

playing on stage at two o’clock in the afternoon. And then, my buddy Marc Broussard could be playing at eight o’clock on another stage, and we barely get to see each other.” The festival brings these musicians together, both on stage and off, creating a close-knit community that is typically difficult to establish in the fast-paced, often solitary world of music. As a result, SIP is as much about forming enduring relationships between artists as it is about the music and the locale.

Davis believes the feeling of camaraderie among the artists isn’t only felt on the stage; it extends to the audience and the entire venue. He insists, “I think the feeling we get being together is something that transfers over to the attendees and the venues.” He aims to create an environment that feels like a backstage pass for everyone, blurring the lines between performers and the audience. Davis’s philosophy is such that once the artists are not on the stage, they mingle, interact with the audience, and share drinks and experiences. He wants SIP to be an event where artists feel valued and appreciated, far from the often poor treatment they receive elsewhere. His ultimate goal is to make the attendees and performers think, “Wow, this is something special.”

n an environment as intimate as SIP, the music resonates with the audience profoundly. Davis mentions a songwriter, Tim Nichols, known for his famous country song “Live Like You Were Dying.” When Nichols shares the stories behind his songs, the emotional reaction from the audience is palpable. The intimate setting of SIP allows for these deep connections to form, crafting beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking moments.

One of the key principles of SIP is a deep respect for the songwriters. Davis emphasizes the importance of attentiveness during performances, creating an environment where the audience intensely pays attention to the lyrics. He proudly adds that while SIP is a for-profit organization, they have successfully raised significant funds for local charities by auctioning off signed guitars, handwritten lyrics, and more. This speaks to the power of songs and their impact on people.

The festival’s spirit of giving back is embodied in initiatives like SIP Hope 4 Hope Town, a relief concert held in response to Hurricane Dorian’s devastating impact on the Bahamas in 2019. Leveraging the power of music, Davis and his team put together a sold-out benefit concert at the Ryman in Nashville in just two weeks, raising around $1 million for the affected island. These funds supported immediate relief and are assisting in the ongoing recovery efforts, reaffirming SIP’s commitment to the communities that host their festivals. This charity work has become an integral part of the festival’s identity, reflecting the empathy and care at the heart of the SIP community. Davis hopes to return to the Bahamas for SIP events in 2024, further proving that their love for these locations extends beyond the music and into genuine connection and responsibility.

Looking toward the future of Songwriters in Paradise, Davis’s vision continues to evolve and expand, promising both memorable performances and meaningful experiences. Coming up next is SIP Healdsburg, scheduled for July 18–22, 2023. Set against the rolling vineyards of California’s wine country, this event features an array of talents reflecting the music world’s diversity and depth. Among these are Kristian Bush, part of the Grammy-winning country music group Sugarland, John Driskell Hopkins, longtime founding member and songwriter for the Zac Brown Band, and Eric Paslay, the singer-songwriter renowned for his hit “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.”

As the seasons shift, SIP Cabo will take place from November 29 to December 2 on the breathtaking shores of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with melodies and lyrics of artists such as David Ryan Harris, Paul McDonald, and Tyler Reeve. Also sharing her music will be former VIE cover girl Ashley Campbell, performing with Thor Jensen in their duo, Campbell/Jensen, and the magnetic Lauren Jenkins, an accomplished singer-songwriter and Davis’s wife.

One of the key principles of SIP is a deep respect for the songwriters

Left: Patrick Davis and David Ryan Harris

Below: The SIP Cabo 2022 crew

Opposite bottom: Lauren Jenkins performs at SIP Cabo 2022 with Levi Lowrey and Kristian Bush

Photos by Zach Sinclair

s Patrick Davis continues his journey with Songwriters in Paradise, it is clear that he has created something truly unique within the music industry. SIP is not just a series of music festivals but a thriving community where artists, fans, and friends come together to celebrate music and each other. Through the meaningful connections formed, the shared experiences, and the remarkable talent displayed, Songwriters in Paradise stands as a beacon of creativity and camaraderie. And as each note rings out in these idyllic settings, one thing is sure—SIP will continue to resonate in the hearts of all those who take part in these unforgettable gatherings, proving that in music and life, it’s not just about where you are, but who you’re with that truly matters.

Visit SongwritersinParadise.com and Instagram @songwritersinparadise to learn more about SIP events, buy tickets, and check out the artists.

Scenes from SIP Cabo 2022, held at Bahia Hotel & Beach House in Cabo

Photos by Zach Sinclair

The medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium—that is, of any extension of ourselves—result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves or by any new technology.

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), the visionary Canadian philosopher, professor, and media theorist, revolutionized our understanding of media's impact on society. His profound belief that the medium is as significant, if not more than the message itself, holds true even in today's dynamic world. As we delve into the realm of AI-generated images, we witness their remarkable influence on the conveyed message, as their distinct algorithms and datadriven processes intricately mold the interpretation, cultural associations, and emotional resonance of the visuals.

This AI-generated image by Guachinarte, a visionary digital artist, expertly captures the interplay of texture, light, and nature, bringing classic architecture to life in an exciting new way.

palmdeserthouse © Guachinarte, LUMAS.com, Limited Edition of 150, starting from $900. Visit Lumas.com/ artist/guachinarte to learn more.

WHEN IN

Photo courtesy of Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese

A DO IT DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME

s the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome,” and chances are most avid travelers have been to Rome at least once. After all, it is one of the most visited cities in the world and certainly one of the most written about throughout history.

Now, surveys by Virtuoso, a luxury travel network, find that repeat visitors want to see something new and move beyond the usual itineraries of often jam-packed iconic attractions. Rome is ready to write some new stories.

The Eternal City has much to offer to those who want to discover the quiet corners of this vibrant Italian capital and experience the beauty and buzz in lesserknown neighborhoods. The best way to do this is to follow in the footsteps of knowledgeable and enthusiastic Romans. “I love Rome, so I want to show all the people the places I love in Rome,” says tour guide Isabella Calidonna. “I want to show not only the best of Rome but also the hidden gems that are just around the corner from the famous Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.” Calidonna, an art historian, founded ArcheoRunning, a company specializing in unique ways to see Rome, including a walking tour that leads to places where Michelangelo worked and lived.

By Carolyn O’Neil

Seeing Rome differently is not just about where you go, but when you go. Also an experienced athletics coach, Calidonna hosts running tours past famous monuments when the streets are just waking up for the day. “Trust me that early morning is another atmosphere in Rome,” she reveals. More travel timing advice suggests planning your visit to Rome in the offseason during spring and fall.

ROMAN CUISINE

Food lovers will find that Rome is a fantasy come true. Skip the long lines at popular gelato and pizza places in tourist-packed areas and head down a cobbled stone street to find tiny shops and corner restaurants where Romans eat and drink.

Lauren Caramico moved from Brooklyn to Rome to discover more about her Italian heritage and to follow her passion for sharing all things authentically Italian. Her company, Davvero Rome, customizes itineraries. “Plus, the places I take my guests, I know the people who work there, so it’s not just a meal; it’s a very welcoming local experience,” says Caramico.

Calidonna hosts running tours past famous monuments when the streets are just waking up for the day. “Trust me that early morning is another atmosphere in Rome.”

Photo courtesy of ArcheoRunning

Ijoined Davvero’s whirlwind evening food tour with Caramico as our guide during my visit in April. Meeting in a little square near the Campo de’ Fiori outdoor produce market filled with the fresh artichokes and squash blossoms of the season, we walked along narrow streets to a little place called Filetti di Baccalà to join locals for carafes of white wine and baskets of crispy fried fish. Then it was on to Antico Forno Roscioli, a wonderful bakery known for its pizzas, where we enjoyed a square slice folded over into a “wallet” while standing in the street shooing pigeons and dodging motorbikes. Crossing a bridge over the Tiber River to the lively Trastevere neighborhood, our next stop was the casually hip Vineria di Roma Trapizzino for incredible biodynamic wines from small Italian wineries and sandwiches in pouch-shaped bread with a choice of fillings, including eggplant parmigiana, chicken cacciatore, or, for the more daring, beef tongue or tripe.

Getting our steps in, we crossed back over the river to the Regola district to find a gelato shop scooping a spectrum of flavors, including pink peppercorn and pine. The evening continued at Freni e Frizioni, a self-described “street cocktail bar” filled with skilled mixologists, high-energy music, and young Romans out on the town.

Travel memories like these are really the best souvenirs.

A ROOM WITH A VIEW OF THE VILLA BORGHESE

Where you stay in Rome can enhance your visit as well. Within walking distance of the city’s best-known cultural landmarks, Sofitel Rome is situated on a quiet street adjacent to the tranquil gardens of the Villa Borghese. The boutique hotel is

a former nineteenth-century Roman palazzo, and its seventy-eight guest rooms are beautifully appointed with modern decor, a nature-inspired color palette, and glistening marble bathrooms. The real showstopper in each room is the ceiling. Don’t forget to look up and see the Baroque-inspired paintings depicting the illusion of blue skies and fluffy clouds.

Whether you make the Sofitel your home in Rome or not, make sure to visit Settimo, the hotel’s rooftop restaurant and terrace with awe-inspiring panoramic views of the city below. A popular place with discerning locals, it boasts a menu specializing in Roman cuisine, featuring regional favorites such as braised artichokes and cacio e pepe pasta.

Another reason to stay at a hotel where the staff knows the many secrets of Rome is advice on finding unique experiences, such as a men’s fashion tour. Menswear consultant Giorgio Giangiulio guides guests to discover the key elements of a classic Italian wardrobe while sharing practical tips to achieve a nonchalant, stylish look. We followed Giangiulio, handsomely attired in a double-breasted linen suit, for a jacket fitting at Tommy & Giulio Caraceni, a prominent tailor shop with over a hundred years of dressing the best in Rome. A custom-made suit here takes up to sixty hours of expert work to create a perfect fit.

Above: Cocktail aperitivo and modern Roman cuisine on the rooftop terrace at Settimo

Above right: Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese suite with terrace overlooking Rome

Opposite top: Graceful room with a garden view at Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese

Opposite bottom: Take a tour of the best gelato shops in Rome.

Photos courtesy of Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese

Travel memories like these are really the best souvenirs.

Andrea Caraceni says, “After the first suit, it would be very hard to wear a ready-made suit. It’s not only in the look. You can feel the difference.”

So while throngs of fashion fans wait to get into Gucci, the real Italian finds are in the small specialty shops. To provide guests with the best under-theradar shopping and tour tips, Sofitel Rome has even created a “Rome for Repeat Visitors Guide.”

ROAMING NEAR ROME

When in Rome, many visitors take side trips to surrounding areas, including Pompeii, one of the most famous archeological sites in the world.

Pompeii is easily reached by train for the day, but why not stay longer? There’s so much to see. This UNESCO World Heritage Site of the ancient city destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD 79 sprawls over 160 acres. Although it’s been attracting tourists since the 1700s, new exhibits are still being added as they’re restored for public view.

The beautifully designed HABITA79 hotel is the perfect perch for a stay in Pompeii. Wall colors echo those of the ancient site, but the room decor is fresh and contemporary. An open-air rooftop lounge offers magnificent views of Mount Vesuvius, and the hotel’s Il Circolo restaurant attracts a lively social scene. Il Circolo chefs excel at showcasing specialties of the Campania region with impressive ovens turning out classic Napolitano-style pizzas. You can even take a cooking class on making gnocchi in little shapes unique to southern Italy.

Food and wine adventures are easily arranged by the hotel, including a tasting tour and lunch at Cantina del Vesuvio. This family-owned winery, where the vines are enriched by volcanic soil, produces soughtafter Lacryma Christi wines.

Hop in a car and travel along the splendid Amalfi Coast to Sorrento for dinner at the art-filled Ristorante Tasso and shopping at Agriturismo Fattoria Terranova for everything celebrating the area’s famously fragrant lemons, from limoncello liqueur to lemon-scented soaps.

ARRIVEDERCI, ROMA

Back in Rome for a final stay before the trip’s end, make an exception to your offthe-beaten-tracks itinerary for the time-honored toss of a coin into the iconic Trevi Fountain. You’ll battle a crowd of tourists as they do the same, but who wants to take a chance of not returning to the remarkable city of Rome?

Carolyn O’Neil is an award-winning Atlanta-based food writer who specializes in culinary travel and healthy lifestyles. She believes that travel is the ultimate way to learn about the people of the world and that cuisine is the most exciting way to learn about their histories and cultures. Visit her blog at TheHappyHealthyKitchen.com.

Above: Contemporary design of HABITA79 hotel in the heart of ancient Pompeii

Above left: Traditional cuisine of Campania at Il Circolo in HABITA79 Pompeii

Photos courtesy of HABITA79 Pompeii

You can even take a cooking class on making gnocchi in little shapes unique to southern Italy.

Photo by Modernmade Photography

YOUR VIEW, OUR PASSION.

E. F. San Juan’s renowned wood millwork creations are complemented by the highest quality windows and doors. Our craftsmen work seamlessly with the most trusted providers of impact-rated doors and windows, such as Weather Shield®, to create custom homes that masterfully combine security, beauty, and function.

ARCHITECT: A BOHEME DESIGN

BUILDER: EARTHBUILD LLC

INTERIORS: MELANIE TURNER

PHOTO: LAYNE LILLIE | COURTESY OF ROSEMARY BEACH REALTY

The

A Vintage Tiki Bar Comes to Life

Photography courtesy of THE DAYTRADER TIKI BAR & RESTAURANT

Interview by ADDIE STRICKLAND

Daytrader w

here’s the new dinner hot spot? The Daytrader, located in Seaside, Florida, next to the iconic Coleman Pavilion, is a one-of-a-kind tiki bar-inspired restaurant that brings a relaxed atmosphere and Polynesian flair to the bustling 30-A beach community. This new restaurant’s personality was brought to life through restaurateur and chef Nikhil Abuvala of Roux 30a, Nanbu, and Nanbu Too, along with the creative genius of his wife and partner, Hannah Grace Abuvala. They created a restaurant space and menu embodying the arguably unnecessary yet always welcomed temptation to clock out of your nine-to-five and enjoy a chill conversation and great food with friends and cocktails.

The Daytrader vibe is inviting and relaxed, from the greeting at the entrance to the check at the end of the night. A brand’s identity, if strong enough, tells a story, and The Daytrader has a clear voice and personality that comes out when you clock out. VIE had the opportunity to interview Chef Nikhil to get the scoop on how a restaurant can tell a story.

The Daytrader’s personality is very tongue-in-cheek; we emphasize the importance of being able to laugh at yourself.

VIE: What is the story behind The Daytrader?

Chef Nikhil Abuvala: When we first began working on this new restaurant in Seaside, we quickly realized that the majority of seating would be outside, so we wanted a vibe that would cater to that. A vintage tiki bar felt like the perfect fit, especially because it was a concept that had not been done yet in our area.

VIE:The Daytrader’s design is so strong and includes relatable motifs (taking a break from the work grind) in a fresh and fun way. How would you describe the brand’s personality?

Nikhil: Hannah and I are detail-oriented people. It was important to us that each piece of this restaurant was thoughtful and had a unique story. When guests visit, they’ll notice something different each time, which we believe adds to the restaurant’s eclectic experience. We handpicked our vintage glassware, dishes, and tchotchkes—some of which even came from our home.

The Daytrader’s vibe is retro and sophisticated yet approachable. I see The Daytrader’s voice as your parent’s cheeky cousin from London who’s always a little buzzed and a little bit inappropriate.

The Daytrader's personality is very tongue-in-cheek; we emphasize the importance of being able to laugh at yourself. Our goal is for guests to indulge in our ironic corporate culture, check out of their nineto-five grind, and enjoy a creative cocktail or two at their neighborhood tiki bar.

VIE: Daytrader’s visuals are incredibly creative and streamlined. What emotions do you hope to evoke?

Nikhil: We hope to convey escapism through The Daytrader’s visuals and messaging. That is the word, or emotion, that really drives the restaurant’s brand story and personality.

VIE: How do you reflect the restaurant’s story and brand through your menus?

Nikhil: Because we decided to create a tiki bar, it was imperative our menu respectfully draw inspiration from all of Polynesia, not just Hawaii. And, as with all our restaurants, the menu is blended with our Southern traditions and local seafood and produce. The creativity showcased on the menu and cocktail list reflects the colorful, escapist vibe you’ll feel when dining at The Daytrader.

VIE: What actor or actress would be perfect to play “The Daytrader” as a character?

Nikhil: The perfect actor would be Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary. We resonate with his character Paul Kemp, as he’d much rather drink and have fun than buckle down and work a standard job. Also, he’s got good style.

Best Seat in the House

A perfect summer day will always include a good book, a cute hat-and-sunnies duo, and plenty of sunshine! This month’s collection is here to help you find the perfect coastal lifestyle necessities because no one wants a beach day to end. Don’t let the sunset end your time in the sand and surf—take the essence of a perfect beach day home with you. From a shell-encrusted phone case to the most comfortable compact beach chair, we’ve got you covered.

EXPERIENCE IS THE DIFFERENCE

EXPERIENCE Is The Difference

EXPERIENCE IS THE DIFFERENCE

UNFORGETTABLE

Is The Difference

La Florida Coastal Properties believes buying a home is about creating lifelong memories. Our associates are dedicated to making your experience just as memorable as your new home. With a warm approach, attention to detail, and deep understanding of the market, we guide you every step of the way. We will make your home-buying experience nothing short of extraordinary and truly unforgettable.

We do what we do because we are passionate about the field of Real Estate and we execute with objectivity. With more than 40 years of experience coupled with our strong community alliances, La Florida has evolved into the ultimate brand for expertise, advice and support.

We do what we do because we are passionate about the field of Real Estate and we execute with objectivity. With more than 40 years of experience coupled with our strong community alliances, La Florida has evolved into the ultimate brand for expertise, advice and support.

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Coastal Dune Lake on 30A as photographed by Jeff Landreth.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF LANDRETH

Coastal Dune Lake on 30A as photographed by Jeff Landreth.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF LANDRETH

SAND CLIFFS AS PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEFF LANDRETH

Women Holding Things

For a deeper exploration of Maira Kalman’s artistry and to learn more about her work, visit MairaKalman.com.

WomenHoldingThings is available at bookstores or online through Bookshop, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Don’t miss the exhibition at Mary Ryan Gallery in New York City from October 6 to November 12, 2023.

Introducing WomenHoldingThingsby Maira Kalman—a love song for women and everyone navigating life’s burdens. This heartfelt book features eighty-six paintings, ruminations, and digressions by the renowned artist, illustrator, writer, and designer. Experience Kalman’s unique artistic perspective and celebrate the strength of women.

Portrait by Maira Kalman

Le monde

GOES ROUND AND ROUND

The 2023 Gulf Coast Jam, a monumental four-day country music festival in Panama City Beach’s Frank Brown Park, attracted a record-setting crowd with a star-studded lineup featuring Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Hardy, and Kane Brown, among many others. Set against the scenic Emerald Coast of Florida, this fan-favorite event combines sun-soaked beach days with nights of electrifying concerts. And with Miranda Lambert’s stellar performance, the event emphasized the irresistible draw and unifying power of country music.

Photo

Miranda Lambert performs at the 2023 Gulf Coast Jam presented by Jim Beam. Check out the highlights and plan for next year at GulfCoastJam.com. Tickets are selling out fast!

Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Jam

EMERALD COAST STORYTELLERS TAKE the MIC

By JORDAN STAGGS

Photography courtesy of EMERALD COAST STORYTELLERS

of the written and spoken word flocked to hear them. Several have commented with pleasant surprise that they didn’t even know their neighbor or business colleague was into writing until they heard them take the mic at an ECS event. Although each Open Mic Night features an established storyteller as the guest of honor—authors, music producers, artists, and creative leaders alike have held that spot—the events are about creating connections among those passionate about telling stories, even if it is not their career focus. Part-time poets, moonlighting musicians, and aspiring novelists are more than welcome!

Fostering this type of community in an area so teeming with creativity is a dream come true for the ECS founders.

ur spoken and written languages have become vehicles not only for communication but also for documenting history, entertaining, and creating connections with others. Music, poetry, and artful prose captivate the mind and evoke feelings like nothing else can. We all have a story to tell, and Emerald Coast Storytellers, based along the sparkling Gulf of Mexico in Northwest Florida, has created a platform for anyone to share their words with the community.

Coming up on its first anniversary in July 2023, Emerald Coast Storytellers (ECS) is the brainchild of close friends Kristy Holditch and Ali Diamond, two journalism majors who both grew up far across the US from the pristine white-sand beach community they now call home. Each month, ECS hosts a public After-Hours Writing Night for locals and visitors to join in-person or virtually, where writers are given a theme prompt for the evening and work on penciling everything from short stories to memoirs, poetry, and more. The theme of each month is carried over to a ticketed Open Mic Night, hosted at intimate venues across the Emerald Coast community, during which a dozen or so brave storytellers will take the spotlight for about five minutes each to share what they’ve written or, occasionally, tell a story on the fly.

As a fresh new cultural event concept in an area rife with some of the world’s finest music, art, and food festivals, ECS saw a tremendous response from the community right out of the gate. Storytellers of all ilks found a place to share their work, while fans

Diamond, who grew up and attended university in Madison, Wisconsin, echoes a story to which many ECS participants can relate. “I’ve been writing since I was a kid—short stories about cats, submitting my work to my middle school’s literary magazine, and entering poetry contests I found on the internet that were 100-percent scams. I love it. I’ve never wanted to do anything else.” She found her way to the Emerald Coast full-time after her parents bought a vacation home shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. “There’s something special about this area. Whether it’s the weather, the beautiful beaches, or the kind individuals who call this community home, there’s something that calls to people who have great stories to tell. Maybe it’s the supportive entrepreneurial environment, the sheer inspiration in the sunrises, or maybe the feeling of magic, hidden just out of sight and nestled in the dunes.”

Since the most ancient civilizations, humans have had the innate desire to tell stories.

Emerald Coast Storytellers founders Kristy Holditch and Ali Diamond

Photo by Brenna Kneiss

met my now-husband while I was living in Denver, and he had a dream of opening up the Emerald Coast area’s first vodka distillery,” says Holditch, who is from northern California and earned her degree in Colorado. “We started dating long-distance, and after just a couple of visits, I knew I didn’t want to leave here. There was just something about it. So from mountain girl at heart to born-again beach girl, I quite literally followed my heart to the beach. I swapped my skis for a paddleboard, and the rest was history. Moving from a bigger city, I think a small town like ours can feel limiting for some people. But it’s shown me what an incredible blank canvas it can offer to dream up anything and everything and make your mark, especially when it aligns with such an amazing community.” She also says that, like it is for Diamond, writing has been a constant thread, like a “silent pull,” in her life. “Somewhere along the way, I knew I wanted to create a career out of it. A minor in advertising paved the way for a marketingby-day career path, but the dream quickly turned into wanting to become a full-time novelist.”

Twelve Months of Storytelling

The pair of young storytellers are excited to spread the news about Emerald Coast Storytellers’ OneYear Anniversary event coming up on July 14, 2023, at Emerald Coast Theatre Company.

“It’s exciting, to sum it up,” says Diamond. “It’s incredible that we’ve made it this far and that it has resonated with the community to the extent it has. Beyond our wildest imaginations, we hadn’t anticipated it would have grown into what it has today.”

Knowing their first anniversary needed to be a momentous occasion, and thanks to a recent partnership with the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, ECS plans to have its biggest Open Mic Night yet. “It’s going to be incredible,” Diamond shares. “Beachy Blooms is making custom floral arrangements. We’re bringing in Graze30a to do a grazing table, Bitterroot is donating delicious flatbreads for us, and Distillery 98 will provide craft vodka cocktails. It’s really going to be a showcase of local talent and a heartfelt thank you from us to the community. The theme for the evening will be ‘Milestones,’ which is perfect because this is such a huge one for us.”

Holditch adds, “Knowing this was going to be our biggest event yet, we wanted to host it with a place that not only had the space but also shared our passion for the arts. After attending their tenth-anniversary party last fall, it felt like a no-brainer to float the idea to Emerald Coast Theatre Company. They know how to transform a space and create the kind of magic where you get to leave reality behind for a bit. We can’t wait to celebrate how far we’ve come and hear local storytellers share triumph stories of their own.”

Flashbacks from Year One

Both founders agree that the year has flown by, and it’s humbling to see how far ECS has come in such a short time. Looking back, Diamond says, “Kristy and I always laugh about how, during our first open mic, we were apologizing for not having enough chairs because we ‘didn’t anticipate this many people coming.’ There were twenty to thirty people, but still! That was huge for us! We always want to keep providing something fun. Keeping an eye on the details and the clock while presenting something interesting is always a balancing act. But seeing our audience smile, laugh, or cry makes it worth it in the end.”

eople have come up to us after events and told us that we had created some kind of magic,” says Holditch. Diamond likens those magical little moments to a mosaic, saying, “When you put them together and light shines through, that’s when you feel the true beauty of this community.”

One of Holditch’s favorite ECS moments comes from one of their first Open Mic Nights at Distillery 98. “Sharing a story you’ve written can feel a bit like pulling your own heart out of your chest. It can be daunting and vulnerable, and when you add a room of strangers, the stakes feel even higher,” she explains (and I can attest to that firsthand). “There was a woman who had signed up to tell a story, and when we called her up to the mic, you could tell her nerves were getting the best of her—eyes low, shoulders hunched, paper shaking in her hands. When she began to speak, the first thing she said was, ‘Sorry, I’m super nervous. I’ve never done anything like this before.’ Then, out of nowhere, someone in the crowd called out, ‘You got this!’ The whole room broke out into a round of applause, followed by all this cheering and words of encouragement. As they did, the woman got the biggest smile on her face. She started laughing, and you could feel her nerves falling away from her. Her story was beautiful, and it was so cool to see the crowd rally behind her like that. I just remember thinking, ‘This; this is what it’s all about. Giving people a place where they can share a piece of themselves and have this much love, support, and connection on the receiving end.’ It was so special to witness and be a part of that.”

“People have come up to us after events and told us that we had created some kind of magic.”

“Stories can be told in mediums far beyond the written and spoken word.”

nother momentous ECS event was the organization’s first StoryPairing Dinner, hosted at Hotel Effie in Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort in February 2023. This unique event combined the monthly Open Mic Night with a storytelling-inspired meal crafted by Chef Hugh Acheson. “Everyone loves a good wine-pairing dinner—we wanted a way to bring the story element into the mix and make it extra special,” explains Holditch. “Aside from the ancient art of storytelling, people have come together throughout history through breaking bread. This was the perfect way to bring the two together and do something that’s never been done before.”

Indeed, in their research, the ECS founders couldn’t find evidence of an event like this being held by any other organization or venue. “As far as we can tell, we’re the first to try such a thing,” Diamond says. There have been two StoryPairing Dinners, with a third in the works. The second installment even took to the road, with ECS heading to Nashville, another creative town focusing on sharing stories, mostly through song.

“They were beautiful,” Diamond says of the dinner series. “It was such a gamble, executing this brand-new event concept, but it truly paid off. The energy we created that first night; it felt different. It was like feeling the world tilt slightly off its axis. Hotel Effie, with its signature restaurant Ovide, was exciting and thrilling. Nashville, with Chef Johnny Haffner and Olive and Bee Creative, was utterly beautiful. It felt magical. It actually started raining toward the end, and where we were sitting on the back patio, you could hear the rain falling all around us. We are still confirming details for our Story-Pairing Dinner this fall, which will be in November at Henderson Beach Resort.”

The Next Chapter

Closing the first chapter of ECS only means there’s plenty more story left for all who have participated. Holditch and Diamond say year two will be bigger and better, with several new initiatives in the works and more that are mere plot babies in their minds. In addition to adding more Open Mic Nights and Story-Pairing Dinners, they plan to roll out a membership program to provide

early access to event tickets, brand partnerships in the area, and more. A literary magazine is also in the works, where storytellers and artists can submit their work for inclusion. “The goal is to publish annually and make it an anthology of various storytellers in our community, which would allow an even bigger stage for them that goes well beyond our small beach town,” Holditch shares.

“We also want to provide more organic experiences for our members, whether that’s an invitation-only workshop with a poet laureate or a candlelit writing night at a local artist’s gallery,” says Diamond. “We want to keep creating beauty and authenticity in this community. I’d also love to incorporate a visual element into our event portfolio. We stress that we’re a storytelling organization. Stories can be told in mediums far beyond the written and spoken word. We’ve worked with music producers, authors, publishers, painters, and documentarians; they all have a story. They’re just told differently. We want to tell every single one.”

From here, the founders are focused on sustaining that authenticity while managing events in a measure of controlled growth—not to mention somehow carving out time for themselves to write, which was one of the initial catalysts for forming ECS. With Holditch and her husband, Harrison, welcoming their baby girl into the world in late June as the storytelling organization celebrates its first year, it’s certainly a chapter of new beginnings and adventures.

“The doors that have opened for us in such a short amount of time have been so synchronous and such a nod to this incredible place and the people who live here,” she says. “From growing beyond the Emerald Coast to partnering with big-name authors, establishing a nonprofit that will help us instill the power of storytelling in new ways, and setting up our storytellers for publishing success and beyond, we can only hope it’s not a matter of if, but when.”

Tickets are on sale for the One-Year Anniversary Open Mic Night. Get yours, learn more about future events, and read past storyteller submissions at EmeraldCoastStorytellers.com or follow on Instagram @emeraldcoaststorytellers.

ritten CELEBRATING THE

We’re thrilled to share a few works from some of the writers who have taken the mic at Emerald Coast Storytellers events over the past year. ECS invites storytellers from the Northwest Florida coastal community and beyond to attend their monthly Open Mic Night, where around a dozen participants have the spotlight for about five minutes to read a story or share an anecdote. This is just a small sampling of the variety and talent guests have witnessed and shared through these momentous events!

BY MILTON SIEGELE

I have stood here enduringly for years.

I have patiently grown. I have steadily gotten stronger. I have steadfastly endured.

I have endured considerable pain and arduous hardship, but never, ever uttered a single word or shed a tear.

Because that’s what trees do. They endure, dammit!

They endure!

And that may be the reason I exist, to endure, and to exemplify, in this one small space, what it means to endure, and how to endure, in stoic, silent strength, so that other trees might know.

After all, I am but a tree.

“ the stoicism of a tree”

white people and wonder bread

BY LUCINDA BUNN

t all began when I performed my first episiotomy. On my mom. When I was born. With the silver spoon I had in my mouth. It was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. The birth of the flower child. Phones were attached to walls, not people.

Kids played hopscotch and jumped rope on the sidewalks. Boys wooed girls with slicked-back hair and transistor radios. Girls wooed back with blue eyeshadow, pointed bras, and bright red lips. Wonder Bread was a staple in every home and a mustard seed in mine for my burgeoning romance with food.

To the world, we appeared to be the perfect family. Three white and shiny children, a celebrity father with movie-star good looks, a gorgeous mother who wore pearls and a smile made up of eighty-eight teeth.

My mother, Phyllis, was raised like the corn in Southern Illinois. She moved to the Big Apple to follow her career in journalism until she found her proper assignment as wife and homemaker to the family patriarch. She lived at the Barbizon Hotel for Women alongside others like Lauren Bacall.

She was working for ABC Sports when the man of her dreams and future nightmares walked into her elevator. The rest is part of my history. My father, stage-named Jimmy Blaine, was a beautiful man to listen to. His voice was our golden ticket.

We were living large in Larchmont, New York, home to the likes of Joan Rivers. It’s a small waterfront community, still today reminiscent of the age of the Great Gatsby. The Larchmont Yacht Club was our home away from home. Measuring up to the grandness of the Kennedy compound, it sat on a point in the Long Island Sound. It was there that sun, salt air, and being near the sea became staples of my well-being.

My mother basked in the sun with her reflector while my siblings learned to sail, and I learned to hate to swim and to love a good greasy burger off the grill. That paired nicely with a drink made up of everything from the soda fountain together. They called it a suicide, a beverage I would come to know well.

We presented well to the world, but I rarely felt safe in my home. The only nurture I recall came from the dogs, my father, or Emma, a woman of color paid to keep the house clean and the children loved.

One night while working in Manhattan in his late twenties, my father was mugged and left for dead in a stairwell. A fractured skull left him with two steel plates in his head, orders not to drink, and a life where grand mal seizures could come without warning.

Add to that the violence that comes with a wounded brain, coupled with an upbringing at the iron hand of a German father, and you get a war zone in my family living room. I loved my father. He was my best friend. We had a standing date on Saturday mornings to watch Sylvester and Tweety Bird in his big red leather chair. The one with the cracks in it that sat next to the smelly pipes on the table.

One day, my father was a no-show for our date. In his place came my mother and the family minister. “Your father has gone away in an airplane, and he’s not coming back,” was their message to me. The truth was that the night before, he went to bed, had a seizure, his heart stopped, and he died.

He was forty-two years old.

And there I was with a seven-year-old brain. Trying to make sense of words that weren’t true that were spoken by a guy in a God squad suit and the woman I was supposed to trust with my life and future.

The events of those twenty-four hours colored all of the five decades to follow. Who can I trust? God was a hard one. People in general. Men even more so.

Once my siblings were off to college, my mother made a wrong turn on the way to Ft. Lauderdale, landing us in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I quickly acclimated, finding my vines on the family tree, which were disordered eating, black-out drinking, and an ass-kicking depressive illness. I swung from one to another for a while and was able to let go of the alcoholism. Anorexia took a bit longer. At times, and against my will, the depression tangles up around my neck, typically in the winter.

Every bit of it was a blessing. Giving me a compassion for me and the lifetime of hard work I have put in to turn the generational tide of ill-being. And a knowing that when someone’s best sucks, it is due to unhealed parts in them.

Two years ago, once my twenty-four-year marriage was put to rest and my twentytwo-year-old kid was out of the nest, I brought myself back to my bliss. Left the confines of landlocked status and returned to the seaside on the emerald coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

The sun and the sea and all of the creatures in and around it are part of my tribe. I hang out with Walter the Pigeon on the beach. I say hi to the seagulls in the morning as they have their bad choir practice to see who can be the loudest.

I have come home to that seven-year-old little girl who was always meant to live by the sea.

And our new life together is just getting started.

“The sun and the sea and all of the creatures in and around it are part of my tribe. ”

rom-com roots

BY JORDAN STAGGS

er mama had always said their family’s roots in the South ran as deep as the Mississippi. Still, Hendrix never had the heart to point out that the average depth of the Mighty Mississip’ was about nine feet and that the Congo, the Amazon, and the Nile all had it beat for the varying titles of “world’s best.” Nevertheless, the youngest daughter of the Cassidy family understood what her mother was getting at.

The family’s legacy might be more aptly equated to having roots as deep as the Appalachians, whose ancient, metamorphic layers run for miles underground, shaped by time and heat and water—especially the limestone. Its surfaces start to look more like the moon than Earth once the dripping, pooling, and running of rain takes the gentlest chisel to it over time.

Hendrix always loved the caves just a few miles from the Cassidy family estate in Tennessee, where she and her siblings and cousins played as kids, pretending to be pirates or explorers or dragons—whatever sparked their imagination that day. Sometimes the stories picked up where they left off from adventures the week before; other times, they morphed from medieval knights to moon landings in the course of an hour, and that was okay too.

It was the fairy tales that fueled her imagination the most, no matter how much her father had hoped giving her a name like Florence Hendrix Cassidy would produce a country music or rock and roll star, not a writer. The love of oldies and storytelling genes she got, but the vocal range, not so much. So, after college, Hendrix pulled up her Southern roots and dyed her natural blonde ones to a cinnamon red (both these decisions had her mama clutching her family-heirloom pearls). Then she did the unimaginable for any proper Southern belle: she moved to New York City.

She was thinking about those old caves and playing pirates and mermaids with her favorite cousins while squashed between two people on the subway. The not-so-gentle rocking of the train car was nothing like a pirate ship, and the white tiles coming into blurred view outside the window were nothing like caps on deep ocean waves, but she always had a knack for pretending things were something more than what they were.

“You’re a million miles away right now, aren’t you?” Beckett Barnes looked at her with clear amusement lighting up his hazel eyes. Beckett Barnes. A man destined for success, Hendrix thought. Even his name seemed practically made to have ‘best-selling author’ in print right beneath it. He was well on his way to that, too, if the things he’d read at the literary cohort where they’d met were any indication. In five months of attending workshops together, Beckett just got better and better, while Hendrix got stuck and stucker.

“I was looking for buried treasure,” she told him, shrugging in an offhand way that made the woman on her right shift in annoyance when their arms brushed a little too much, even for a crowded subway bench. Hendrix shot the lady an apologetic glance and leaned more into her—boyfriend? (the terms are still unclear)—on her left instead. She still hadn’t fully embraced how cramped people were on this island.

Beckett smiled, shaking his head at her as he set his hand on her knee. “Beneath Bleecker?” he asked, pretending to be appalled. “Hate to break it to you, Cassidy, but any buried treasure in these tunnels was claimed by the rats and the lizardfolk a long time ago.”

She shot him an unamused look as the train began screeching to its halt, and he stood before it even did that last, backward-moving lurch before the doors opened. Beckett didn’t even grab anything for balance; his designer sneakers were perfectly sturdy on the grunge-covered floor. That’s just how he was. Never thrown off. Easy, breezy, frustratingly charming, and talented to boot. He grew up in Manhattan, and although he was still there, he always gave the impression he could pick up and move at any time, could be just as affable in LA or London or Reykjavik, for crying out loud.

As far as Hendrix knew, the man had no roots holding him to this city. She supposed it was hard to put them down when the ground beneath you is concrete and even harder when no one’s around to make sure they grow. Now she wasn’t even sure it was possible for the guy to get attached to anything, let alone anyone. Despite her best efforts, not even the tiniest sprout of a root seemed to have formed these last few months, and she knew she was a poor gardener, but damn. This was a supremely stubborn plant if she ever saw one.

‘Are you referring to your not-boyfriend as a houseplant again?’ She could practically hear her roommate, Leia, criticizing her in her head. ‘The man is not a fiddle-leaf fig, Hendrix,’ she would probably say. ‘I’m begging you, get on a few dating apps like the rest of us and let Bestseller Barnes go and live his perfect, fairy-tale life alone, just like he wants to. Your time is too precious to waste on that.’

Leia could be harsh, but maybe she wasn’t totally wrong. Still, in this fictional conversation with her (very real but not currently present) roommate, Hendrix retorted, ‘Don’t you have a galaxy to go save?’

There was the problem, though, as plain as day in that hypothetical criticism inside her mind. The fairy-tale life. The unattainable root of every human’s insecurities over finding the perfect partner, living Happily Ever After, and all those Disney-hawked clichés. The most devastating part, Hendrix was painfully aware, was that for some people, it actually happens.

That was also the root of her writing problem lately. How does one avoid the tropes and the overdone fairy-tale romance in literature when it still seems to be what people dream about in real life? Was it such a bad thing to want to be swept off one’s feet? To feel those metaphorical fireworks during a first kiss? To hold hands when stepping off a subway car with the handsome, talented, fun guy who shares similar hobbies and interests?

Well, okay, Hendrix did get her wish on that last one. Beckett took her hand and laced their fingers together while they walked toward the exit of the steamy, noisy downtown station.

And maybe the rats and lizardfolk had pilfered the city’s maze-like caves clean of buried pirate treasure, but she could still swear not all the magic was lost during this underground expedition. If she wasn’t mistaken, it even seemed like the tendril of a root might be forming from Beckett’s palm as it pressed against her own, and she intended to help it grow.

“Please Refund My Pursuit of Happiness”

BY MADISON SHIRLEY

What do you do when you have Bought The Pursuit Of Happiness

But you can’t feel anything?

Not like a psychopathy

More like you have so heavily Invested

In the concepts and things that were Supposed to guide you through that journey

You are now Broke. Broken. Broke.

The top ramen of tears doesn’t quite taste the same When your emotional currency has run dry. You bought it all, after all. Why budget for yourself when the shopping List was seemingly written in stone for you?

You got the life but forgot the spoons to serve it with. Great grades. Good School.

Decent job with solid pay, Awesome life, or so they say Just follow this guide and your path will be made.

So why is it that this concrete path on your pursuit of happiness that you have laid is Cracked. Split. Broken. Broken by numbness like Rosemary in the cracks of My mind.

Rosemary, mind you, which Refuses to grow in My garden, no matter what I try.

But these dark spines thrive in the Mind.

Warping, twisting, in a way that leaves you

Always working

Weeding intrusive thoughts

Or nothing feels

Because otherwise, they overrun your perfect path

And you are trapped

Like in a hedge maze with nowhere to go.

That’s when a passing stranger might kindly shout through the dense brush:

“Have you just tried to pray it away?”

But you pray

Every Damn Day

Hoping to feel something, anything, anyways Even pain.

Is there an emotional insurance you can cash in on?

Some safety net for an investment gone wrong?

Heck, burn it, drown it, tear it all down, Even if it took the path, the pursuit, with it too. At least I’d feel something. I’d take pain too. But you’ve got nothing left, so you just let it Grow.

It eats at your path, your plan, your pursuit, Till there’s nothing but the bare ground beneath your feet, And you’ve got nothing left to spend, to give, So you sit in the numb haze of your maze, While the life you purchased with your Energy and time goes by.

Till the numbness becomes comfort, Becomes safe and secure from the rushing life You’d procured. And where your pristine, perfect path once ran Grows grass, mixed with sand, Which is soft and gentle compared to the hard concrete You had poured.

The straight and narrow path is gone, but the maze is for sure. And you’ve bought this life it’s built on, so you might as well walk it. The corridors of numbness take you way far off course, Into pockets of your life you hadn’t thought to explore.

It’s denser in some spots, thinner in others, So sunshine pokes through, and maybe some flowers But in the quiet, dark spaces, you do something you haven’t Done in a while You think. And you think. And then you breathe deep. Then you realize that that path you were paving, Concrete, firm, contrived, Was never ending.

The mindless pursuit and presentation of this concept of happiness Was fleeting. It does not exist at the END of a path, It must be found in between sadness and sometimes malaise. Laughter and dance are only sustainable bookended By moments that are silent and still.

And you can see from your hedge

The stars only shine against the darkest of skies. Now your maze is winding, twisting, and warping, With uneven flooring and natural trappings. It’s not easy, not comfortable, but the journey goes on And the moments of joy are fleeting but strong.

But the deep rests you get in between as you walk in the shade Are calming respites you find that you need. A moment to reflect, reset, and appreciate what you can feel.

While it’s not what you paid for, it’s what you’ve got, But somehow this maze offers quite a lot.

origin story: the origin of us travelers’ bad reputation

BY JENNIFER HOWARD

merican travelers don’t have a stellar reputation overseas these days. And by Americans, I mean US citizens.

The “ugly American” trope of tacky tourists trying to speak another language by either speaking ever more loudly or mispronouncing English words with what they consider a local accent is one we all know well. These characters, or perhaps caricatures, seek out a McDonald’s as a first stop in a foreign country. They complain the beer is hot, the hotel rooms are small, and taxi drivers who don’t understand English are rude.

The inability to communicate, or communicate properly, in a foreign language could leave even those Americans who truly want to understand another culture guilty of perpetuating Americans’ poor reputation abroad. In fact, many travelers make a concerted effort to learn the language of the country they visit. Emboldened by hours on Duolingo and armed with Google Translate, they plunge right in, heedless of subject/verb agreement, proper pronoun gender, and local slang.

Yep, people like me.

It’s true: I have brought about grave misunderstandings and triggered multiple obscene hand gestures— and possibly a small diplomatic brouhaha—when making an effort to speak the language of a country I have visited.

Look, I am no dummy. I took Spanish 101 and 102 to satisfy my high school graduation requirements like most other citizens of our fifty states. Whatever Spanish I might have learned or recalled from Senhora Lopez’s fourth-period class was no help at all when I traveled to Brazil, where the dominant

language is, unfortunately—at least unfortunately for me—Portuguese.

A few days after I arrived, I was thrilled to spot an open market in the park just outside the apartment where I was staying. Eager to prove that I could handle shopping for fruits and vegetables, foreign language be damned, I darted downstairs and into the busy market. Emboldened by my, um, strong Spanish-language background and the time spent on my iPhone on the flight south muttering after Duolingo, I plunged right in.

I managed to purchase some flowers—flores—without incident. But then I saw the mirlitons. To a native New Orleanian such as I, finding mirlitons is lightyears better than any McDonald’s.

For those of you who don’t speak the mishmash of languages that form the lingua franca of the Crescent City, a mirliton is not a tall hat worn by hussars in the eighteenth century or a eunuch flute. Don’t believe everything Google tells you.

A mirliton is what some people call a chayote or alligator pear. It’s a mild squash-like vegetable, pale green and shaped like a pear. In New Orleans, the gushy interior is mixed with shrimp and seasonings to make a tasty, savory dish. By “tasty,” I mean high caloric. By “savory,” I mean spicy.

The vegetable stand where the mirlitons were piled in a meticulous geometric pyramid-type display was watched over by a largish man with a beard, wearing a stained white apron. He regarded me suspiciously as I walked to the front of his stand, beaming at the mirlitons. No doubt, I stood out in the crowd of uniformed housemaids and women sauntering in sheer bikini cover-ups. Or perhaps it was because I was

clearly so excited over a vegetable. It’s difficult to say, what with cultural differences and such.

“Bom dia,” I said, with all the confidence of someone who knew at least fifty words in Portuguese. (That means good day.) So far, so good.

I was equally confident that I knew the word for mirliton. Out of the many helpful words and expressions I might have learned, I am not sure why I glommed on to mirliton. Food is important, right?

Smiling my best non-Ugly American smile, I said, “Eu quero xhi-xhi, favor.” I want mirliton, please Not exactly fluency, but it should have gotten my message across.

The man behind the vegetable stand came out and started saying something very quickly that I didn’t have a prayer of understanding. Clearly, he didn’t understand me the first time.

I tried again. “Eu quero xhi-xhi, favor.” This time, to make sure he understood, I pointed to the carefully stacked pyramid of green mirlitons.

I wasn’t getting through. Maybe it was my accent. The vegetable stand proprietor raised his voice and started making motions that looked like he was trying to shoo me away. This wasn’t good. A few of the other shoppers had stopped and were watching.

At this point, I felt I really had to make an extra effort to bridge whatever cultural divide was causing this misunderstanding.

“Eu quero xhi-xhi, favor.” To make my point even more easily understood, I pointed to the precariously stacked vegetables. “Aqui.”

The reactions of the group of onlookers varied. Some laughed. Some laughed a lot. Others appeared angry.

The vegetable stand guy stuck with angry. His voice grew louder, vigorously making the point of whatever he was saying. He literally, although relatively gently, pushed me away from his stand. I stepped back, and he went back to the shooing motion.

I can take a hint. This was clearly a cultural misunderstanding I could not untangle. I tried my best to keep smiling as I wound back through the market toward my apartment building. Holding the flowers over my face helped.

A bit later, I knocked on my landlady Cecilia’s door. She was completely fluent in English, having apparently had a much stricter language education than I had. I recounted the situation at the open market to her and was dismayed when she, too, vacillated between a horrified expression and laughter.

“Oh my God,” she said. “The word is xhu-xhu, not xhi-xhi.” She was gasping with laughter.

“That’s not so different,” I defended my language-skill honor. “You’d think he would have figured out what I was saying.”

“Oh no,” she finally wound down from howling laughter to uncontrollable giggling. “Xhi-xhi means to urinate, only it’s a word a little child would use. Like pee-pee

“You were telling him you wanted to peepee on his vegetables!”

“PLEASE

ROM-COM ROOTS

“THE STOICISM OF A TREE”

MILTON SIEGELE

JORDAN STAGGS

WHITE PEOPLE AND WONDER BREAD

REFUND MY PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS”

ORIGIN STORY: THE ORIGIN OF US TRAVELER’S BAD REPUTATION

LUCINDA BUNN

MADISON SHIRLEY

JENNIFER HOWARD

EMBRACE THE

Conver

the Charleston Literary Festival has

my life

including deepening my interest in reading and igniting my curiosity about how books are written. Listening to our visiting authors discuss the process behind their work is such a privilege.

Iloved Lisa Taddeo’s conversation about writing entire books in coffee shops (Three Women), while Louis Menand’s The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War revealed that he doesn’t make an outline or even a draft, but rather just starts with the first sentence.

From the conversation with Tim Bouverie, a brilliant historian who couldn’t physically access the research archives needed for his book Appeasement (on Second World War Allied diplomacy) during COVID-19 closures, I learned that some of the best books could come from someone just acting on their personal interests. As a classical music lover since childhood, he decided to continue exploring that passion while his research was on hold. Every week he chose his current favorite classical piece,

listened to dozens of different recordings of that same piece, and selected the one he liked best. Then he wrote a short essay about the composer and the context of the composition and included his favorite interpretation.

To spread a little joy during that dark time, Bouverie emailed his essays and suggested recordings to his friends, who enjoyed them so much they forwarded the email essays to their friends, and lo and behold, a treasure trove emerged. The popularity of his musical essays inspired his publisher to suggest he compose a book of his hundred favorite essays, which he did under the title Perfect Pitch: 100 pieces of classical music to bring joy, tears, solace, empathy, inspiration (& everything in between). Tim is not a musician or musicologist. Maybe that’s why I love this story—it came from his own personal interest, one he had

cultivated since childhood. Occasionally I begin my day by reading one of his essays and playing his suggested recording. (Spotify has his playlist.)

All the Beauty in the World, a memoir from a former New Yorker staffer, Patrick Bringley, is so exquisite that I wish I could have written it myself. After his twenty-seven-year-old brother died of cancer, Bringley left his magazine job to become a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially called “The Met.” Bringley said he wanted “a job that required very little interaction with people,” and there, in the largest art museum in the Americas, he was able to have a different kind of conversation, standing stoically in the corner of those magnificent rooms for hours while grieving his brother and contemplating art and life.

Bringley’s story took me back to my own experiences at The Met—those I had twenty-five years ago during the dark days while my eldest son battled spinal cancer in New York City’s Sloan Kettering Memorial. I lived on a cot in his hospital room, and when I needed to step away, I would go to The Met, just blocks away on Fifth Avenue. That’s why I truly understand what Bringley meant when he said he needed to be left alone. While the art connected me to uncontrollable emotions because of what was going on in my life, I also felt safe and unnoticed in the museum. By some miracle, spending quiet time

Being part of

added to

in many ways,

sation

BY SUZANNE POLLAK

around incomparable art gave me hope that everything would be alright, that my son would survive. Later, when my son was well enough to walk to the museum with me, the guards would let him lie down on one of the benches while I visited some of my favorite paintings.

Being a Met guard for ten years gave Bringley a way to emerge on the other side of his great pain by breathing in masterpieces, befriending other guards, and observing visitors, all the while experiencing the transformative power of art. He writes about those masterworks not through an academic lens but an experiential one. To me, his interpretations are profound because they are so personal. Guards live with art all day and acquire a different understanding—more instinctual than professors and curators. Bringley is one of the authors coming to the Charleston Literary Festival in November 2023, and I expect his conversation to be filled with insights about life and art. Embracing it might just transform the audience.

Claire Keegan is another festival author this year; if you are unfamiliar with her work, prepare to be blown away. Don’t be surprised if you end up reading her historical novel, Small Things Like These, in a single sitting because the story is mesmerizing. The first two paragraphs set me in place: my skin got chilly, my heart raced, and her writing sliced through me. “The blades of cold sliding under the door; mothers having little faith in getting so

much as a shirt dry before evening; the children pulling their hoods up before facing out to school.” The main character, Bill Furlong, transforms himself, his family, and his town during the few days before Christmas in 1985, changing the reader along the way as well. I felt my heart melt and expand and do whatever else a heart can do when following an extraordinary literary character.

Another conversation I cannot wait to hear is from Katherine Rundell, the author of SUPER-INFINITE: The Transformations of John Donne, a fierce, fascinating, superinteresting biography of this mystical fifteenth-century poet. I tried reading Donne in high school but found his poetry beyond my comprehension—not the case under the tutelage of Rundell’s remarkable writing.

Below: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Photo by Susanne Pommer/Shutterstock

Donne was a pure original and would be today too. Famous across London for his preaching powers, he wrote the first full-length English language treatise on suicide, wore hats big enough to sail a cat in, and composed the most celebratory and lavishly sexed poetry. Rundell explains that John Donne was incapable of being just one thing. He reinvented himself repeatedly: poet, lover, lawyer, pirate, preacher, politician, chaplain to the king, dean of the finest cathedral in London, and more. Using lines from his poetry, Rundell shows how Donne could see across to the other side, the chaos and the potential within all of us. Four hundred years after his death, his work still has the power to transform, and with Rundell as my guide, I can finally understand the meaning in his words—what he was trying to tell me all along.

As I grow older, I plan to continue embracing all kinds of conversations and the transformation of thoughts and ideas they can bring. Being lucky enough to engage with the works of Charleston Literary Festival authors expanded my reading, widened my worldview, and quite possibly sparked growth in my very brain cells. And because of the work I do, it all happened naturally. I am very grateful for the chance to embrace it all, book by book and conversation by conversation

To learn more, get tickets, or see the 2023 author lineup as it’s announced, visit CharlestonLiteraryFestival.com.

Suzanne Pollak, a mentor and lecturer in the fields of home, hearth, and hospitality, is the founder and dean of the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits. She is the coauthor of Entertaining for Dummies, The Pat Conroy Cookbook, and The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits: A Handbook of Etiquette with Recipes. Born into a diplomatic family, Pollak was raised in Africa, where her parents hosted multiple parties every week. Her South Carolina homes have been featured in the Wall Street Journal Mansion section and Town & Country magazine. Visit CharlestonAcademy. com or contact her at Suzanne@CharlestonAcademy.com to learn more.

Above: The Met inspired author Patrick Bringley, a former New Yorker staff member who became a museum guard after his brother's death. He found solace in the quiet work and observing how people interacted with art and each other within the space, later writing about it in his memoir, All the Beauty in the World

Opposite: SUPER-INFINITE: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell will be another featured book at Charleston Literary Festival 2023 in November

Photo by Anton Ivanov/ Shutterstock

As I grow older, I plan to continue embracing all kinds of conversations and the transformation of thoughts and ideas they can bring.

Petite pause

Migrationcanbetriggered bytheangleofsunlight, indicatingachangein theseason,temperature, plantlife,andfoodsupply. Femalemonarchslay eggsalongtheroute. Everyhistoryhasmore than one thread, each threadastoryofdivision. Thejourneytakesfour thousandeighthundred andthirtymiles,morethan thelengthofthiscountry. Themonarchsthatfly south will not make it back north.Eachdeparture, then,isfinal.Onlytheir childrenreturn;onlythe futurerevisitsthepast.

—OCEAN VUONG, OnEarthWe’reBrieflyGorgeous

Through an intimate letter from a Vietnamese American son to his illiterate mother, Vuong masterfully explores themes of love, trauma, and the immigrant experience. This critically acclaimed book has captivated readers worldwide with its lyrical prose and profound storytelling.

Excerpt from ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS: A NOVEL© 2019 by Ocean Vuong. Used by permission of Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

To see more of Jane’s recommendations and bookish work or order prints, follow her on Instagram @jane_mount or visit her website JaneMount.com.

BOOK CLUB

THE READERS CORNER

Discover your next beach read within this vibrant stack of contemporary novels, brought to life in an enchanting illustration by the talented artist and book lover Jane Mount. Get lost in the pages of This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, a captivating tale of life’s uncertainties and unexpected connections. Immerse yourself in the rich storytelling of Xochitl Gonzalez’s Olga Dies Dreaming, a poignant exploration of family, dreams, and cultural identity. Provided through Mount’s impeccable taste and backed by critics, each book promises a unique and engaging literary experience. Soak up the sun, dive into these stories, and let the magic of these books transport you to captivating worlds.

Illustration by Jane Mount

Legacy Stories

SHARING HIS THROUGH Bob

White’s Favorite Books

BY MICHELLE HAYES UHLFELDER

Have you ever popped by Sundog Books in the heart of Seaside, Florida?

Chances are you unknowingly interacted with the beloved Bob White, co-owner of the bookshop with his wife, Linda.

Since the humble beginnings of this iconic independent bookstore in 1986, most days you could find Bob at the front table rearranging each book stack to precise ruler measurements— likely an excuse to greet customers with a hearty “Let me know if I can help ya!” paired with his trademark Mississippi accent that dripped with charm.

Without a doubt, one of his greatest joys was recommending reads to customers and engaging with those who sought the prize of a good story. And boy, were they in the right spot, because Bob White had a nose for sniffing out the best authors.

Right: Sundog Books in Seaside, Florida

Photo by Brenna Kneiss

—BOB WHITE, IN RESPONSE TO SOMEONE ASKING FOR A NON-FICTION RECOMMENDATION

I only read fiction, because I can’t handle the truth.

own-to-earth and easy to talk to like any good Southern boy, Bob was utterly delightful with that dry sense of humor he possessed. Customers, staffers, friends, and family alike recount the times when a twinkle came to Bob’s eye and he uttered a riotous line that left them rolling on the sandy wooden floors. And Bob loved it when that happened—he absolutely lived for that reaction.

Bob passed away in January of 2023, and the South Walton, Florida, community came together to celebrate his life and legacy. This outpouring of love and support exemplified the kindness he showed to everyone throughout his time in Seaside and the genuine feeling of family among the town’s merchants and residents. Thank you, Bob, for shining your light on Seaside.

It’s safe to say Bob saw himself as much more than just a bookshop owner or a bookseller but as a steward of these incredible stories and a door to the world of literature.

Their many staffers, who count him and Linda as mentors, dear friends, and the family they chose, regularly walked into the bookshop to find Bob’s personal books waiting for them, with their names attached and a quick scribble of “I think you will really like this!” This was the mark of a read that will knock your socks off. It meant you had less than seven days until he started dissecting plot points with you, so you’d better read fast.

Linda and Bob were always the first to throw up their hands to anyone in need, on staff, or within the community. The charity work, countless donations, and silent outreach conducted over nearly four decades from this bookshop are a credit to the couple’s generous spirit. The impact of their combined legacy within the town’s extended footprint will never be fully known because so much of what they have

done for others has been a whisper. From helping a single mother needing support, donating thousands of books to prisoners in need of literature, and every other circumstance you can think of, they are the kind-hearted, silent heroes who rarely make the news.

Next time you’re at Sundog Books, be sure to look at Bob’s Staff Recommendation Shelf. Pull a book or two from it—don’t worry, the staff replenishes his picks. Bob would want you to read his selections. Then, if he were still with us, he would put his arm around your shoulders and, in his honey-thick Southern accent, tell you exactly why this particular book is the read just for you, just for this moment— all with a twinkle in his eye.

Bob, we’ll continue to honor you always at Sundog Books. We’ll keep your memory alive within these walls and pass on your book recommendations just as you would want us to. We love you dearly.

This story was originally published by Seaside, Florida. Read along at SeasideFL.com for the latest news from this charming New Urbanist town.

Bob’s voice in our community was a voice of intelligence, brilliant humor, and rebelliousness.

Left and opposite top: Photos by Brenna Kneiss

Opposite middle: Bob White with his wife and Sundog Books co-owner, Linda

Below: Bob’s Top Five Book Picks

Photos courtesy of Sundog Books

Bob’s Best Book Recommendations

Selected by longtime Sundog Books staffers Bryan Beasley of twenty years and Jay Ramsey of ten years:

1. Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore

2. Lark Ascending by Silas House

3. Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

4. Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

5. The Actual Star by Monica Byrne

Neighborliness makes places like Sundog Books work; we, Bob’s neighbors, celebrate his vision and his achievement. Sundog will always have a place in this neighborhood that he helped pioneer, and Bob, himself, will always have a place in our hearts.

—Robert Davis, co-founder of Seaside

VIE BOOK CLUB

EDITOR’S

SO MUCH ROMANCE, SO LITTLE TIME. SOME OF MY TOP READS FROM THE PAST YEAR MOST CERTAINLY HAVE A THEME OF INCLUDING CAPTIVATING LOVE STORIES, BUT ALL LEND THEIR OWN SPIN ON THE GENRE, WITH CHARACTERS YOU’LL LOVE (OR LOVE TO HATE) AND SOME UNEXPECTED TWISTS. TIME TO SETTLE IN ON THE BEACH, THE COUCH, OR THE PLANE AND GET READING!

E

BY JORDAN STAGGS

V R

RUNAWAY GROOMSMAN

by Meghan Quinn

Runaway Groomsman, the 2022 novel by USA Today best-selling author Meghan Quinn, has the makings of a feel-good romantic comedy worthy of your next weekend binge-reading session. This is the perfect story to whet your appetite for anyone craving those warm fuzzies. It starts with Sawyer, a successful Hollywood screenwriter jilted by his movie-star ex-fiancée and then forced to be the best man in her wedding—to his best friend. (Can we say “oof”?)

After he pulls a rebellious Cinderella–esque exit in the middle of the vows, the tabloids love him. The bride and groom, not so much.

Sawyer runs away to the quirky little town of Canoodle, California, nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs. He’s on a deadline to turn in his next rom-com script but feels anything but romantic after such an ordeal.

He meets Fallon, who runs the Canoodle Cove Cabins. She’s struggling to make ends meet while caring for her aging grandfather and navigating a long-distance relationship with a charming doctor. She’s thoroughly overwhelmed trying to renovate the rundown property with the help of her best friend and local barkeep, Jaz. Add onto all that the handsome yet forgetful—Wait, they had a blind date in the past?—Sawyer checking into the cabins, and Fallon is nearly at her wit’s end. She’s even convinced her well-meaning dads have hired someone to help fix the place up without her knowledge, as she keeps finding little improvements around the property.

Fallon and Sawyer’s slow-burn romance is complemented by the heartfelt story of Grandpa Sully and Grandma Joan, the zany yet charming townsfolk of Canoodle— including its feline mayor—and a whole lot of laughs. While I’ll rate it PG-13 for some language, this modern rom-com makes up for with sweetness and witty banter what it might be lacking in super-steamy scenes. Definitely worth adding to your list of summer reads!

Opposite: VIE editor Jordan Staggs

Photo by Lauren Athalia

“

THIS IS THE PERFECT STORY TO WHET YOUR APPETITE FOR ANYONE CRAVING THOSE WARM FUZZIES.

VERITY

by Colleen Hoover

Following on the heels of a feel-good rom-com like Runaway Groomsman, my next VIE Book Club pick took a complete 180-degree turn. Colleen Hoover has become a New York Times #1 Bestselling Author with her heartfelt romantic dramas such as the It Ends with Us series (which is becoming a major motion picture starring Blake Lively!). Still, as her first venture into the romantic thriller genre, Verity is more likely to have readers on the edge of their seats than in tears.

The story starts with Lowen and Jeremy, a couple of “chronics”— people who seem to have chronic bad luck or misfortune in life— who both witness a tragedy on the streets of Manhattan. Lowen, a reclusive thriller author, is unexpectedly reunited with Jeremy shortly afterward when she finds out that his wife, the famous author Verity Crawford, has incurred a devastating injury and can no longer finish her best-selling series. Jeremy and Verity’s publishers ask Lowen to complete the series as a coauthor, and the struggling writer can hardly say no to such a lucrative deal. So Lowen travels to the Crawfords’ home upstate to learn more about Verity and rifles through her office for helpful materials. What she’s not expecting to find is Verity’s memoir. And it’s a doozy. With every chapter Lowen reads, the

more engrossed and terrified she becomes. But, of course, the handsome and charming Jeremy keeps giving her reasons to stay.

This book was a quick read, especially the last hundred or so pages, because, like Lowen with the forbidden autobiography, I couldn’t put it down! The ending will undoubtedly leave you reeling, for better or worse. There’s a reason this one has gleaned 4.5 out of 5 stars from nearly 1.4 million ratings on Goodreads. It’s part romance with a hefty dose of psychological thriller, a bit of comedy, and more twists and turns than your favorite roller coaster.

If you’re looking for an exciting new read that keeps you on your toes, mixed with some spicy romance, Hoover has got you covered with this one. I’m looking forward to reading some more from this author.

PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION

by Emily Henry

Poppy and Alex were the very best of friends since college—until they weren’t. Somehow, Poppy’s upbeat attitude and zest for adventure and Alex’s slowand-steady pragmatism just worked together, like yin and yang. But since an uncomfortable situation on their annual summer trip led to them growing apart, Poppy has been adrift in the land of loneliness, throwing herself into her work as a travel writer for a prominent New York City magazine. But after working up the courage to reach out and finding out Alex’s brother is getting married soon, she’s determined to get her B.F.F. back by planning one epic summer getaway

“

WITH EVERY CHAPTER LOWEN READS, THE MORE ENGROSSED AND TERRIFIED SHE BECOMES. BUT, OF COURSE, THE HANDSOME AND CHARMING JEREMY KEEPS GIVING HER REASONS TO STAY.

When the Past Catches Up to You...

OF UNTIL A FATEFUL BUMP TO THE HEAD.

JANIE BLUE, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS A FREE SPIRIT OPEN TO ADVENTURE WITH A PENCHANT FOR KNOCKING THE SOCKS OFF ANY MAN SHE MEETS—INCLUDING THE CHARMING CHASE O’LEARY, WHO COMES TO HER RESCUE ON HIS WAY TO SIN CITY.

BETWEEN CHASE’S LINE OF WORK, ELLA’S NARCISSISTIC HUSBAND, AND JANIE’S PAST, A TANGLED WEB OF LIES, FRAUD, AND MURDER WEAVES THROUGH THE MOJAVE DESERT TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, DARING ANYONE TO CROSS ITS PATH.

to top all their vacations past. Now, if she can just get one thing to go right along the way . . .

Bourne meets Goodfellas meets Gone Girl. With vivid images of salty characters, Accola’s gripping debut novel makes an excellent non-fluffy beach read. It is also tailor-made

“This high-stakes thriller offers a great balance of romance, mystery, and edge-of-your-seat action. It’s the perfect summer read!”

Between the friends battling with ACs in the desert heat, beat-up rental cars, and awkward silences, readers look back at some of the pair’s summer adventures and the colorful characters they met in the most unexpected places. All the while, we wonder whether these besties are destined to be more—and what made them stop talking in the first place? As Poppy tries desperately to mend her friendship, the main characters realize life isn’t what they envisioned it would be and that maybe the rift between them isn’t all they need to mend.

Emily Henry’s writing is fresh, funny, and relatable, and I was instantly pulled into the world—and, yes, the drama—of her mismatched couple. Their banter and all-too-realistic hiccups made this an effortless page-turner, leaving me wanting to immediately know what happens next at the end of every chapter. It’s no surprise her novels Beach Read, Book Lovers, and her latest, Happy Place, have also climbed up the bestseller charts since her adult-fiction debut in 2020. Henry also has a handful of young-adult novels for anyone looking for a heartfelt story.

JANIE

BLUE

by Suzy Accola

A brand-new romantic thriller by debut author Suzy Accola, Janie Blue mixes action, spice, and subterfuge in a way that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. Ella Carmichael is a well-heeled politician’s wife with the perfect image, but her memories hold the key to a gritty and traumatic history. When she bumps her head during a minor car accident in her late mother’s prized vintage MG, it all bubbles to the surface. “Janie Blue” and her long-lost past slowly come into focus as Ella/Janie learns more about herself and her true desires on the dusty road to Las Vegas and beyond.

Meanwhile, Chase O’Leary is a charming “consultant” for some bigwigs from Vegas to Chicago, though his less-than-savory background brings about its own challenges. When he meets Janie outside of Vegas and offers her a ride, it’s clear there’s a spark— but his suspicions about the beautiful bombshell could outweigh his heart’s desire as he wonders how she ended up in his path and who might have sent her there.

And what about Ella’s husband? Her unsanctioned jaunt through the Mojave with this mystery man could spell disaster for his well-laid plans to become a senator. Accola weaves a tangled web of deception, murder, and intrigue that spans from Sin City to the Pacific Northwest, and readers should be prepared for plenty of twists and turns on this wild ride!

If you’re already a fan of these authors, let us know your favorites when you catch up with us on Instagram @viemagazine and @viebookclub! What should we read in 2023? Be sure to let us know, and if you like podcasts, head over to your favorite listening platform to check out VIE Speaks: Conversations with Heart & Soul, hosted by our CEO/editorin-chief, Lisa Marie Burwell.

for the big screen.”

“

A BRAND-NEW ROMANTIC THRILLER BY DEBUT AUTHOR SUZY ACCOLA, JANIE BLUE MIXES ACTION, SPICE, AND SUBTERFUGE IN A WAY THAT WILL LEAVE READERS ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS.

Bold Fashion Narratives

Experience the vibrant world of African fashion at the iconic Brooklyn Museum until October 22, 2023. This exceptional exhibition showcases over 180 works by renowned designers from twenty African countries, offering a mesmerizing journey through the continent’s rich fashion heritage and global influence. From striking haute couture to captivating ready-to-wear pieces, immerse yourself in the dynamic textures, colors, and patterns that define Africa’s ever-evolving style scene. Discover the inspiring fusion of photography, music, film, textiles, and jewelry that celebrates a cultural renaissance and the enduring impact of its fashion revolution.

To learn more about the exhibit or plan your visit, check out BrooklynMuseum.org.

Models holding hands, Lagos, Nigeria

Photo by Stephen Tayo, courtesy of Lagos Fashion Week.

By Addie Strickland

Photography courtesy of The Idea Boutique

hey say the comfort zone is the most dangerous place to be for a business. If you’re not evolving, you’re moving backward. The Idea Boutique, the publishing house of VIE magazine since 2008 and a registered Library of Congress book publisher since 2009, breathes life into dreams and ideas through its finely crafted magazines, books, branding, social media landscapes, websites, and so much more. While celebrating the success of VIE in 2023, as it was named one of the Top 50 Luxury Media in the World, The Idea Boutique is also releasing three new books for its clients.

This independent publisher in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, has curated many other magazines in addition to its flagship title, VIE. These include Sandestin Living for Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort, Goin’ to the Beach for the Resort Collection, Where I’d Rather Be for Newman-Dailey Resort Properties, Portofino Life for Premier Island Management Group’s Portofino Island Resort, and VIE’s sister lifestyle publication, ConnemaraLife , celebrating the Connemara region of County Galway, Ireland.

The Idea Boutique Is challenging the Publishing Industry

“Shortly after we began publishing VIE, clients became interested in having us represent them as publishers of what I had coined at the time ‘vanity books,’ namely one-off memoirs and beautifully designed coffee-table books,” says The Idea Boutique/VIE founder and creative director Lisa Marie Burwell. “Sister Schubert Barnes—of the famous Sister Schubert dinner rolls—was our first book publishing client, and we created her substantial coffee-table cookbook, Cast YourBreadUpontheWaters . It was an organic progression toward the journey of publishing that led to dozens of books and magazines becoming part of our boutique publishing house.”

The Idea Boutique’s team of professionals delivers a complete publishing experience, from the initial review of an idea or manuscript to distribution. Services include outline development, writing, editing, proofreading, interior layout and design, cover design, registering in the official ISBN database and Library of Congress, printing, distribution, and marketing. From artistically bound books to paperless digital publications, The Idea Boutique has the unique capability and professional expertise to take the dreams of authors, creators, and businesses and turn them into stories that can be shared with the world.

“Storytelling is such an inherent human desire, and it’s a pleasure and honor to help so many people tell their stories through the pages of VIE, the other magazines we have published, and books of all shapes and sizes,” says The Idea Boutique/VIE editor and communications director Jordan Staggs. “We love telling stories—through words and visually—to help our clients and subjects connect with their audiences, whether from a business vantage or just to share their hearts and souls with others.” In addition to heading up the new VIE Book Club, Staggs is the author of books HOMEbyVIE , TheSeasideStyle® coffeetable book, and COOKbyVIE , and editor of JanieBlueand EverythingINever LearnedinSchool

We can’t wait to share more words, pictures, and designs through printed and digital pages as The Idea Boutique grows and evolves its publishing arm. Look out for its first novel, JanieBlue by Suzy Accola, now available, and take a look back at its other projects to date!

CastYour Bread Upon the Waters

From concept to completion (all within nine months), The Idea Boutique published Sister Schubert’s CastYourBreadUpontheWaters:RecipesforSuccess, Cooking,andLiving . A dream that started as a bake sale and turned into a fortymillion-dollar enterprise was a story that needed to be told. Sister Schubert met with the team at The Idea Boutique and entrusted them to bring her work to life. After the editing, photo shoots, copywriting, and graphic design for the book were finished and the publication was available for purchase, The Idea Boutique created a website for the book and embarked on a book tour with the author, which included a stop at the FoodNetworkSouth Beach Wine and Food Festival in Miami.

Facade

In this memoir, Facade , author Bill Wade shares his struggle with faith during the long illness and death of his son, John. The Idea Boutique had the honor of editing, designing, and publishing this touching book that speaks to the heart of grief. By working closely with Wade, The Idea Boutique ensured his vision and message were expressed in a touching way. In addition to securing copyright and ISBN registration from the Library of Congress, The Idea Boutique also created a website to promote the book, held author signings, and performed other mar keting duties. The author’s proceeds from the sales of Facade went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Everything I Never Learned in School: AGuide toSuccess

The Idea Boutique had the opportunity to create branding and publish a book for author, motivational speaker, and attorney Darin Colucci. The design for Darin’s brand and logo, with a subtle arrow in the “a” of his name, reflects his message of moving forward and rising to success. EverythingINeverLearnedin School:AGuidetoSuccesswon a 2017 Eric Hoffer Book Award in the self-help category. Following the production process and publication, The Idea Boutique team arranged signings and speaking events for Colucci’s book tour. To purchase this guide or to learn more about Darin Colucci, visit DarinColucci.com.

SisteR SchuberT met With the team at The Idea Boutique and entrusted them to bring heR worK tO life.

A love letter to the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast...

HOME: Inspirations for Home and Life byVIE

A love letter to the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast community and the people who make the area beautiful, HOMEis the first volume in a planned series of VIEluxury coffee-table books. The Idea Boutique worked for over a year outlining and refining the book’s contents, planning and executing photo shoots, researching, writing stories, gathering photography, and working with local businesses. This publication captures the area’s blend of Southern hospitality, an easygoing beach mentality, and sophisticated taste. For more information or to buy a copy, visit VIEmagazine.com/shop.

Janie Blue

A high-stakes romantic thriller by Suzy Accola, JanieBlue takes readers through a tangled web of excitement and mystery. The Idea Boutique worked with Suzy to proofread her novel and bring her story to the finish line. Its team of graphic designers and editors worked to promote this publication in every professional sense. Janie Blue’s cover art was designed by art director Sally Neal of The Idea Boutique and is a clever and creative take on a key component in the story. Visit Amazon.com to purchase your copy.

COOK:Cocktails.Cuisine.Culture. byVIE

The second volume in VIE’s series of luxury coffee-table books, COOK, is a culinary collection of everything delightful in the kitchen. The Idea Boutique worked with world-renowned chefs and restaurants, expert interior designers and architects, and luxury developments in the Northwest Florida area to serve a fresh presentation of food and beverages. By hosting photo shoots and maintaining correspondences and relationships, COOK is a masterpiece culmination of taste and is almost ready to join its sister publication HOME on the shelves.

The Seaside Style ®

Capturing the history of a town and the power of a retail empire, The Seaside Style® tells the untold story of the pioneering of Seaside, Florida’s cofounder and visionary Daryl Rose Davis. The Idea Boutique conducted extensive research into the history of Seaside and worked with The Seaside Style® team and Daryl Rose Davis to compose the story of “how a T-shirt built a town.” Each chapter explores the foundational characteristics that built Seaside from the ground up. The Idea Boutique designed two covers for this publication, a navy blue and white cover of Seaside’s iconic “Bud the Dachshund” and a Seaside lifestyle image cover. This marketing strategy was designed to capture the eye of every shopper, no matter their style. To purchase this book, visit TheSeasideStyle.com or head to The Seaside Style® and Cabana in Seaside, Florida.

For more information on the publications of The Idea Boutique or to see the full portfolio, visit TheIdeaBoutique.com or follow us on Instagram @theideaboutique.

LE BON TON DIGITAL GRAFFITI AWARDS PARTY BY VIE

Dearest Reader, the VIE team thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the intersection between past and future and the winners of this year’s Digital Graffiti festival at Le Bon Ton, an Artistic Garden Affair in Alys Beach, Florida, on May 19, 2023. We donned our best Bridgerton-inspired frocks and partook in sips from Gulf Water Wines and Coastal Coffee Bar Co., savory and sweet treats from The Salty Butcher and On The Fly PCB, and the musical stylings of Top Hat Live, aka The Whistledowns. Fisher’s Flowers transformed the Gulf Green with event design, and Rose & Co. added pops of color with their stunning florals. Thank you to the artists who turned the green into an al fresco gallery: Andy Saczynski, Lindsay Tobias, Julia Kate Mace San Juan, ADARO, Brendan Parker, and Sally Neal. And thank you to Marie Nguyen of Marie Leoni Jewelry & Gifts for styling the VIE team with her stunning jewelry designs! Visit VIE’s Facebook to see the full photo gallery from the evening.

Kelly Curry, Alexis Miller, Jordan Staggs, and Lisa Marie Burwell

Photography by Hunter Burgtorf

Lauren Stokes, Gulf Water Wines

Mara and Jim Clark

Art by Julia Kate Mace San Juan, MadexMace

Marta Rata

Petit fours by On The Fly PCB

Nathan and Corina Lambert

Gerald and Lisa Marie Burwell with Sucre

A beautiful crowd on the Gulf Green in Alys Beach

Jordan Staggs and Nathan Cordle

Event design by Fisher’s Flowers, florals by Rose & Co.

Aubrey Craig, The Salty Butcher

Madra McDonald, Chris Burch, and Lisa Marie Burwell

Catherine Miles and Christine Tarpey

Hailey Bethke

Bo and Dave King

Coastal Coffee Bar Co.

Jack Kirkendall, Lisa Marie Burwell, Tracey Thomas, Jordan Staggs, Hailey Bethke, Hannah Vermillion, Sally Neal, Kelly Curry, and Addie Strickland

Ann Delaney and Julia Kate Mace San Juan

Hunter and Jami Ray

Stacy Hamilton

Marie Nguyen, Marie Leoni Jewelry

SINFONIA GOES POPS, FEATURING MORGAN JAMES

VIE’s editor-in-chief Lisa Marie Burwell joined longtime friends, singer-songwriter/Broadway star Morgan James and Sinfonia Gulf Coast music and artistic director Demetrius Fuller, in the stunning Alys Beach home of Bryan and Tina Corr for a meet and greet on May 28. James and Fuller then took center stage for a patriotic summer kick-off concert at the Alys Beach Amphitheater. Kudos to Alys Beach events director Alexis Miller and the entire Alys Beach team for another gorgeous fête under the palm trees!

Morgan James

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Demetrius Fuller

Photo by Kurt Lischka/Moon Creek Studios

Sinfonia Goes Pops in Alys Beach 2023

Photo by Kurt Lischka/Moon Creek Studios

Morgan James and Demetrius Fuller

Photo by Kurt Lischka/Moon Creek Studios

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Tina Corr, Morgan James, and Lisa Marie Burwell

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

The Corr Family

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Tina Corr

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Morgan James

Photo by Kurt Lischka/Moon Creek Studios

Demetrius Fuller, Marisol Gullo, and Lisa Marie Burwell

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Photo by Hunter Burgtorf

Photo by Kurt Lischka/Moon Creek Studios

Sara Becnel and Brendan Parker

Val Thompson and Greg Bahr

David Hester and McKenzie Burleigh

DCWAF dinner to

Rosemary Beach

Karah Fridley-Young and Kelly Curry

Better Together Beverage at DCWAF

Jennifer Steele and Russell Carter Chef Brendan Wakeham, Pescado

DESTIN CHARITY WINE AUCTION FOUNDATION WEEKEND 2023

The 18th Annual Destin Charity Wine Auction, presented by the Jumonville Family, raised $3.5 million for children in need in Northwest Florida. The auction weekend began Friday, April 28, with eleven patron dinners hosted in private homes and restaurants spanning from Gulf Breeze to Rosemary Beach, collectively raising more than $560,000. Hosted April 29 to a sold-out crowd of more than six hundred guests, proceeds from the live auction at Grand Boulevard Town Center benefited DCWAF’s sixteen partner children’s charities in Northwest Florida.

Children’s Volunteer Health Network directors and board members at Pescado

Photography by Epic Photo Co.

Jane and Greg Bahr

Lynn and Steve Dugas with James “Shorty” Murray

Jill Cadenhead and Tim Kruger

La scène

A TOWN OF IDEAS

—robert davis Seaside Founder/Visionary

Photo by Dave Warren

Solution on next page

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

BY MYLES MELLOR

Puzzle on previous page

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.

“ ”

—Jorge Luis Borges

One of the most EXCLUSIVE music FESTIVALS in the WORLD.

HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA

2ND ANNUAL SIP HEALDSBURG JULY 18–22, 2023

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO

7TH ANNUAL SIP CABO NOV. 29–DEC. 2, 2023

NAPA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

5TH ANNUAL SIP NAPA APRIL 17–21, 2024

Tickets and More Information: www.SongwritersinParadise.com

Three Beautifu L Locations, Three Festivals with Unique Songwriter Experiences

Once Upon a One More Time is now showing on Broadway in NYC. Learn more or buy tickets at OneMoreTimeMusical.com.

Au revoir!

BEFORE YOU GO . . .

Once Upon a One More Time, the sensational Broadway musical infused with the infectious pop anthems of Britney Spears, breathes new life into beloved fairy tales with a contemporary edge. Briga Heelan and Justin Guarini shine as Cinderella and Prince Charming, leading an exceptional cast on an empowering journey of rediscovery. With the enthusiastic endorsement of Spears herself, this captivating production takes center stage at the iconic Marquis Theatre, enchanting audiences with its imaginative fusion of timeless tales and the pulsating energy of pop culture. Prepare to be swept away into a world where fairy tales meet modern spirits like never before.

Photo by Emilio Madrid

Janie blue by Suzy Accola

“This high-stakes thriller offers a great balance between romance, mystery, and edge-of-your-seat action. It’s the perfect beach read for this summer!”