Sheridan Road, August 2019

From left to right: Tom Hulick, WBS Financial Advisor*, Jeff Steinberg, Private Mortgage Banker, Colleen McCaffery, Wealth Advisor, Russ Gelberg, Private Mortgage Banking Sales Supervisor, Ellen Topel, Senior Private Banker, Greg Danziger, Wealth Advisor, Kim Kropke, Administrative Assistant, Shanise Evans, Fiduciary Advisory Specialist, Alan Myers, WBS Financial

, Irma

, Lisa Bertagna, Senior Private

Market

, Jim Sturgeon, Senior Private Banker, Mark Majoros,

CHICAGO REAL ESTATE

1250 W SCHUBERT AVE

6 Beds | 3.2 Baths • $2,995,000 1250WSchubert.info

Contemporary home on an extra wide lot with floor to ceiling windows. Huge kitchen has an oversized island, Miele appliances, wine cellar and a butler’s pantry. The second level boasts 4 bedrooms. The sumptuous master suite has a fireplace, fabulous bath and a walk-in closet. Penthouse level is prefect for entertaining with an open recreation room, wet bar and custom roof top deck. Lower level features radiant flooring, a theater, 2 additional bedrooms and a sauna. 5” hand beveled Oak flooring, a snow melt system, smart home technology and a 3-car garage! Truly a fabulous property.

159 E WALTON PL, 15A

3 Beds | 3.1 Baths • $2,225,000

159EastWaltonPl15A.info

Enjoy the ultimate Chicago living experience in the prestigious and historic Palmolive building! Corner unit with amazing lake and city views from each of the living spaces. Beautiful trim and moulding throughout. Expansive living and dining rooms make for wonderful entertaining. The kitchen offers top-of-the-line appliances, white cabinetry and white counters. Master suite has sensational space and views. The master bath features a spa tub, separate shower and Kallista fixtures. Two additional ensuite bedrooms. Attached garage parking for two cars included. Luxe full-amenity building!

1229 W MONTANA ST

5 Beds | 5.1 Baths • $2,995,000 1229WMontanaSt.info

60’ wide lot home flooded with sunlight and recently renovated interiors! The main level offers a formal sitting room and a large formal dining room with an adjacent sunroom overlooking the side yard. The spacious kitchen has granite countertops, high-end appliances and built-in banquette. Step down to the magazine worthy greatroom with 3 walls of windows. 3 spacious bedrooms are location on the 2nd level. The master suite has 2 walk-in closets and a spa-like master bath. 2 additional bedrooms, a media room, office, exercise room and wine cellar complete this residence!

2124 W PENSACOLA AVE

5 Beds | 4.1 Baths • $1,900,000 2124WPensacolaAve.info

Spectacular 5,200sf, single-family home on a 37.5’ wide lot. Built to perfection, this custom home has one-of-a-kind details not found in other homes. The kitchen has chef’s quality appliances, eat-in breakfast area, walk-in pantry, wine fridge and a butler’s pantry. Gracious master suite has 2 closets, dual vanity and a spa-like bath. 4 additional bedrooms with plenty of natural light. The home also features an exercise room, recreation room, wet bar, and the outstanding addition of a conservatory connected to the 3-car garage. Amazing roof deck. Walk to all North Center has to offer-shops, restaurants, Wells Park!

©2019 Byline Bank. Member FDIC.

LOVE YOUR HOME

For every single detail to be perfect, look no further than the concierge-style renovation services of Michael Gould. For over 25 years, Gould has brought his expertise in both architectural design and home building to projects throughout the North Shore. Eliminating the hassle (and expense) of hiring multiple contractors, his unique approach to making your home dreams come true truly sets him apart from the rest.

RAVINIA 100.2% OF LIST PRICE 4 DAYS ON THE MARKET* *Source: MRED LLC, 2019 Stop looking, start finding® atproperties.com

PRIVATE BEACH RETREAT

What are you searching for? Find it with @properties.

CHICAGO

Congratulations to Peter D. Geldner, MD on being named a 2019 Top Doctor for Women in Chicago Magazine! Honorees are regarded as sought after physicians, and are often the top referred specialists attracting patients from across the country.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

HAIR, MAKEUP & STYLING BY

JAMES

ALICIA SEGAL WEARING DRIES VAN NOTEN

DRESS AND GEORG JENSEN VINTAGE JEWELRY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA KASS ROGERS

HAIR, MAKEUP & STYLING BY CONSTANTINE JAMES

PERSONAL BRANDING: HOW TO REINVENT YOURSELF FOR GREATER OPPORTUNITY

Jody Michael Associates has been helping leaders and executives achieve their goals since 1997.

In this edition, CEO Jody Michael breaks down what personal branding is, how to use it to your advantage and what to look for in a personal branding coach.

Personal branding seems to be all the hype these days; can you explain what it is?

Think about a brand you admire. What does it mean to you? Personal brands are no different from product brands. It’s a representation of who you are personally and professionally: your values, your purpose, what you stand for and what people can expect from you. Just as brand value can help companies sell products, your personal brand can help sell yourself.

Professionally, there are two brands you should be concerned with: your internal brand (how you are perceived within your organization) and your external brand (how you show up online, in interviews, at conferences, etc.) Putting both at the top of your radar is key to thoughtfully and successfully managing your career.

How do I build my personal brand?

When you are focused on your internal brand, you want to target areas that will optimize your performance, add value to the organization and will close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Ask yourself: what are the conversations, performance, skills and perspectives that I need to embody to have others assess me as (fill in the blank)? Once identified, you need to act in accordance every single day.

When you are focused on your external brand, the focus shifts to assessing how effective the personal and professional image you’re putting out into the world online is. It’s all encompassing: your resume, your LinkedIn profile, your Facebook presence, your articles, your photos, etc. It all matters. This is the area where we strongly encourage you to engage a professional, because the nuances and positioning of a top-credentialed, experienced resume writer will curate your brand to another level, position you better and set the foundation for stronger negotiating.

How can an executive coach help me build my personal brand?

A coach can help your internal brand by identifying your blind spots – the biggest career advancement blockers for most individuals. They can then help you eliminate those challenges that undermine you while optimizing your performance, ultimately coaching you to transform so that others perceive the change. Externally, they will recommend a seasoned, highly credentialed personal brand expert

who will transform your online presence to attract prospective employers. For example, our JMA resume writer is one of only 25 writers who are credentialed at the Master Certification level.

What if I’m not looking to get a new job, just to become more successful?

Most people ignore their personal brand — until it’s time to look for a new job. But that may be too late. Your personal brand is a re-

flection of how you “show up” in the world; neglecting it — or leaving it to chance — can endanger the future of your career. An executive coach can help you purposefully design your personal brand to reach your goals.

Are resumes dead?

Technology has significantly influenced recruitment and hiring processes, prompting some to wonder if the resume is dead or dying. Resumes are not dead, but technology is undoubtedly impacting the hiring process, including resume and cover letter best practices. However, for social media profiles such as LinkedIn to fully replace the resume, human resources departments will have several hurdles to overcome.

Resumes are currently required for applicant tracking systems (ATS) storing and scoring. 48% of all companies are using HR software that is more than seven years old. Their system functionalities are not capable of accepting LinkedIn profile applications into their ATS for scoring, meaning a great resume is still one of the most valuable assets to opening new doors.

How often should I update my resume?

Most people think you only need to update your resume when you’re looking for a new job. Of course that’s one time you certainly should, but what people aren’t aware of is that the ways resumes are positioned and optimized for search engines are continually changing. Our resume writer is constantly reeducating herself on everything that’s new about resumes. Consequently, it’s imperative to change your resume far more often than you are used to. Every two years is a good time frame. But you should also update it every time you get a promotion, switch jobs or assume additional responsibilities, as it’s hard to remember details from previous jobs once you’ve moved on.

I don’t need an entire rewrite of my resume, I just need it tweaked.

95% of the people who come to us who say they need a tweak actually need a complete rewrite. They do not know what current best practices in resume writing are. They often do not include the right amount or quality of information. They may not have accurately or completely identified or represented their accomplishments. Think about building a house from scratch vs doing a rehab. Building it from the ground up is always more efficient, structurally sound and in the long run, more cost effective over doing patch work. Often-

times we will turn people away who just want to do a “tweak” because they’re not going to have the impact they need for the money they will pay. It’s simply being penny wise and pound foolish.

How do I pick the best resume writer?

Your resume should be carefully crafted as if your career depended on it — because, often, it does. Hiring a professional resume writer is an investment in your career, so it’s critical to choose a writer carefully. Be highly suspicious of a firm that offers an entire package (resume, cover letter, thank-you letter, LinkedIn profile) for less than $800. At this price point, it’s highly unlikely that a highly credentialed resume writer will be creating your package.

Expert resume writers understand all aspects of a professional resume – down to formatting and search engine optimization. They have experience and success in developing a professional resume that achieved the results their clients wanted. At a minimum, a professional resume writer should be credentialed as a Certified Resume Writer or as a Certified Professional in Resume Writing.

How do I use social media like LinkedIn to get a job?

Today’s hiring managers often read LinkedIn profiles before they read resumes. Your online presence, especially on LinkedIn, is now vital in developing and advancing your career. At JMA, we offer professional LinkedIn packages along with resume writing but anyone can, and should, use LinkedIn to their advantage in the following ways:

1. Make a good first impression

You only have one chance to introduce yourself. Be sure to make a positive, strong impact in your headline and summary. Creating a connection with your reader is vital. Tell your story. Differentiate yourself from the crowd by precisely stating why you do what you do.

2. Build connections

LinkedIn was created to be a networking tool – a place where you connect with like-minded professionals. Sharing your knowledge, gaining new information and becoming more engaged is one of the many benefits you’ll reap from connecting with people in your same field, function or locale. Better yet, the networks you build on LinkedIn could lead to your next big career move.

3. Influence and engage others

Publish articles! Writing about your area of expertise or what you are most passionate

about gives people even more insight into who you are. It engages the people who read your LinkedIn article and starts a conversation. Take advantage of this opportunity to publish on the world’s largest professional forum and leverage it to build your profile and your network.

Commenting on other people’s articles is also a great way to build an audience and a following. You can begin discussions around the topic of the article that showcase your point of view. It doesn’t matter if other LinkedIn users agree with you or not. What matters is the connections you created and the conversations you started.

What’s the biggest mistake people make in their professional brand?

Not hiring a professional to help them. The value of having an executive coach has been proven again and again; it’s the biggest ROI out there that exists. In a Fortune Magazine poll, executives who were asked to give a conservative estimate of the value of coaching said that the monetary payoff was about 600 percent, or six times as much as the initial investment. With this kind of ROI, it’s easy to see how hiring a professional will quickly pay off.

Need help taking the next step in your career? At Jody Michael Associates we offer everything from executive coaching and personal branding expertise to career changing resume services. Our resume writer is one of only 25 certified Master Resume Writers and has written over 7000 resumes, helping everyone from college graduates to C-level executives advance their careers.

ABOUT JODY MICHAEL ASSOCIATES:

We believe in you and your capacity to optimize your performance, decrease your stress and lead more powerfully. We say this with great confidence because for more than 20 years, we’ve been a catalyst for change, coaching thousands of individuals to transform their leadership performance.

Call us today at 773.275.5566 or visit jodymichael.com to learn more.

Founder & Publisher

Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Director

Senior Special Projects Editor

Contributing Editor

Style Director

Style Editor

Writer and Photographer

Contributing Writers

J.W. CONATSER

DUSTIN O’REGAN

SHERRY THOMAS

KEMMIE RYAN

ELAINE DOREMUS

CONSTANTINE JAMES

ALLISON DUNCAN

MONICA KASS ROGERS

ALEXA BURNELL, THOMAS CONNORS, ALLISON DUNCAN, MITCH HURST, ELIZA JARVI, JAKE JARVI, LAURA LAYFER TREITMAN, ALICE YORK

LIFESTYLE BOUTIQUE

Art Director

Production Manager/ Graphic Designer

Senior Graphic Designers

Editorial and Digital Assistant

Editorial Interns

Contributing Photographers

Contributing Illustrator

Assistant to the Publisher

Vice President of Advertising

Advertising Sales

Advisory Council

JORDAN WILLIAMS

LINDA LEWIS

DOUG ADCOCK, AMANDA

ALVARADO, AMEEN QUTTEINEH REDDING WORTH

ELIZABETH PORTER, NATALIE KLEIN

JON MILLER, LARRY MILLER, ROBIN SUBAR

ROBERT RISKO

MINDY KOVCO

JULIE YOVITS

GRETCHEN BARNARD, JENNIFER STURGEON

RAHEELA ANWAR, EILEEN BENNIN, RENEE CROWN, JEFFREY EISERMAN, MAUREEN GRINNELL, DANA HUGHES, JOYCE BRUCE JIARAS, JILL KATZ, LEXIE KNOX, YOANNA KULAS, ARTHUR MILLER, MEREDITH MITCHELL, SANDRA CASPARRIELLO MURPHY, RONI MOORE NEUMANN, IBBY PINSKY, AND MONIQUE WATTS

How to reach Sheridan Road

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: 847.926.0957 / ADVERTISING@SHERIDANRD.COM

GENERAL INQUIRIES: 847.926.0911 / INFO@SHERIDANRD.COM

ON THE WEB: SHERIDANRD.COM

445 SHERIDAN ROAD, SUITE 100 / HIGHWOOD, ILLINOIS 60040 Sheridan Road is published 10 times annually by JWC Media.

JWC Media accepts freelance contributions; however, there is no guarantee that unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or graphics will be returned. All rights to the contents of this magazine are owned in full by JWC Sheridan Road may not be reproduced in whole or in part, including but not limited to advertisements and articles, without written permission from the publisher. Sheridan Road assumes no responsibility for statements made or opinions expressed by contributing writers, editors, or advertisers. However, comments or corrections or differing opinions are welcomed. The publisher reserves the right to edit and place all editorials and ads. © 2019 JWC Media

EDITOR’S NOTE

Welcome to our rst ever Home & Design issue showcasing North Shore residents and their creative projects.

Our cover story highlights Celeste Robbins, founder of the Robbins Architecture rm. One of few female architects in the eld, she approaches each project rst with a listening ear. rough conversation she draws out the essence of how a client’s house should feel and function—the ultimate result is a house that feels exactly like the ideal home.

Speaking of beautiful houses and the people behind them, our second feature showcases Jim Malapanes owner of Homes by James, Inc. and his recent lakeside project. Malapanes walks us through the 20,000-square-foot masterpiece and reminisces about building his business.

Our third feature introduces Alicia and Robert Segal, founders of Unison—a home goods company where modern meets timeless design. ey take us on a tour of their gorgeous Tony Grunsfeld home showcasing their penchant for art and share the journey to founding Unison.

Moving back to building, Shore vs City catches up with Wilmette’s Jim Schueller, founder and president of Bloom eld

Development—a home building and remodeling rm. Schueller spends a lot of time on Sheridan Road traveling between projects and shares some of his favorite stops along the way.

Swapping houses for warehouses, e Preview presents an art soirée with an Andy Warhol vibe for the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Studio Party on September 28. Cool people encouraged.

Exchanging studios for stables, SR Teen looks at the design of dressage with Lake Forest’s Bia Le ngwell. Le ngwell is often found practicing dressage at Tempel Farms in Old Mill Creek—a fulltime dressage training facility founded by her great grandfather.

Art & Artist celebrates the much-discussed MCA exhibition Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech,” the rst museum exhibition to take a look at the work of the genre-bending artist and designer and yet another outstanding show for Chief Curator Michael Darling. If you haven’t had a chance to see the exhibition, hurry as it closes on September 22.

Staying on the art thread, Trending visits Lisa Gregg and Kate Lane Ferraro of Gregg Lane Art Management who reveal how they stay current between art consultations.

Swapping art buys for award-worthy cuisine, Dinner Date takes us to e Albert on Ontario. e design elements of this charming eatery will have you coming back for the global-inspired cuisine as much as the décor.

Finally, Home Tour celebrates the Rush Woman’s Auxiliary Board’s 2019 North Shore Cooks’ Tour with a look inside a Nantucket-inspired stunner.

Enjoy these last lovely days of summer!

Dustin O’Regan dustin@jwcmedia.com

Sashi Geo, Stitch, Montauk and Loop Rugs, available at unisonhome.com

Robbins Architecture focuses on creating “outdoors” rooms as evident in this mountain retreat

The Inside Bamboo Garden Chair, available at The Inside, theinside.com

YOUR GUIDE to the latest on people, places, and things on the NORTH SHORE

Bia Leffingwell with her horse Luke Skywalker in the stables at Tempel Farms. Photography by Katrina Wittkamp

SAVE the DATE

Sheridan Road provides the North Shore’s comprehensive social calendar to see what’s doing and who’s doing it.

AUGUST 22

AFTER HOURS BUZZ: SHAPE

WHERE: Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe

WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m.

TICKETS: $55 for members; $60 for nonmembers; $5 discount if purchased in advance. Join scientist Amy Iler, Ph.D. and the Chicago Botanic Garden for an after-hours discussion and cocktails in the Circle Garden. Dr. Iler will enlighten guests on why there is such a variety of flower shapes in the plant world. chicagobotanic.org/ beesandbeyond

AUGUST 30 –

SEPTEMBER 1

NASHWOOD: HIGHWOOD MEETS NASHVILLE

WHERE: All around Highwood

WHEN: From open to close at every restaurant and bar in Highwood.

Watch Highwood transform into Nashville for one weekend. All restaurants and bars will feature live country, southern rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, jazz, gospel, and more from the day into the late night hours. celebratehighwood.org/nashwood

SEPTEMBER 4

MIDWEST EVENING OF TRIBUTE

WHERE: Hilton Chicago

WHEN: 6 p.m.

TICKETS: Starting at $2,500 for two tickets and after-party admission.

The Navy SEAL Foundation and chairs Veronica and Bob Loquercio present the 2019 Midwest Evening of Tribute to benefit the Navy SEAL Foundation. Mix and mingle

WORDS BY NATALIE KLEIN

over cocktails before dinner and a program featuring keynote speaker Ambassador Nikki Haley and Fire In the Gut Award honoree Shannon Sedgwick Davis. Don’t miss the after-party at Kitty O’Shea’s. navysealfoundation.org/midwest

SEPTEMBER 6

BRIGHT FUTURES

WHERE: Theater on the Lake, Chicago

WHEN: 6 to 11 p.m.

TICKETS: Starting at $225; virtual tables available for $2,000. The Woman’s Board of Rush University Medical Center hosts its 2019 fall benefit entitled “Bright Futures.” The party is expected to draw more than 400 Chicago-area supporters and feature a cocktail buffet along with live musical entertainment from The Bob Hardwick Sound. The event is chaired by Colby Gaines of Chicago, Susie Healey of Wilmette, and Buffy Maier of Winnetka and funds raised will support the Rush Community Service Initiative Program (RCSIP). thewomansboard.org

SEPTEMBER 6

NORTH SHORE ART LEAGUE’S 95TH ANNUAL MEMBERS’ ART SHOW GALA

WHERE: Winnetka

Community House

WHEN: 6:30 to 9 p.m.

TICKETS: $80 in advance; $90 at the door.

The annual art show will be held in the community house 1st and 2nd floor galleries. This year, in conjunction with the art show, lectures and demonstrations from guest art

instructors will be featured. Guests get a first look at artists’ work at the Benefit Preview Party on September 6 and the show opens for general admission from September 7 through 30. Members’ Art Show is free to the public. northshoreartleague.org

SEPTEMBER 7

ILLUMINATE 2019: A MASQUERADE AFFAIR!

WHERE: Venue Six10, Chicago

WHEN: 8 to 11 p.m.

TICKETS: $75 early bird online Support Autism Speaks to Young Professionals (AS2YP) at the group’s Masquerade Affair party. This event will include tastings from Chicago’s top restaurants, entertainment, a live DJ, dancing, raffles, a silent auction, and an open bar. Blue cocktail attire and masquerade mask are encouraged. as2ypchicago.org

SEPTEMBER

8

MERRILL LYNCH BUTLER INTERNATIONAL & PRINCE OF WALES CUP

WHERE: Oak Brook Polo Club’s Prince of Wales Field

WHEN: 1 p.m. gates open; 3 p.m. match begins.

TICKETS: $12 for lawn; $50 for Saddle Club and Polo Lounge; $60 tailgating; $108 brunch and polo. Specialty packages available.

This second and final match of the International Polo Series features Oak Brook Polo versus the Wales Polo Team in a much-anticipated event with deep ties to England’s Royal Family. Don’t miss the prematch Louis XIII Tasting, Ford

Model T on-field car rally, and raffles supporting the Jackson Chance Foundation. oakbrookpoloclub.com

SEPTEMBER 9

WHAT YOU DO MATTERS: 2019 RISA K. LAMBERT CHICAGO LUNCHEON

WHERE: Sheraton Grand Chicago

WHEN: 11:15 a.m.

TICKETS: Starting at $250. After celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hosts its “What You Do Matters” luncheon focusing on the Museum’s next 25 years and the urgency of preserving the Holocaust memory as antisemitism and Holocaust denial and distortion rise around the globe. ushmm.org/ online-calendar/event/mwchiclunch0919

SEPTEMBER 13

HARVEST

PARTY

WHERE: Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe

WHEN: 6:30 to 10 p.m.

TICKETS: $250

Celebrate the harvest season with co-chairs Amie Alfe, Wendy Labrum, and Sally Brown Thilman for cocktails in the English Walled Garden and a farm-to-table dinner in McGinley Pavilion at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Proceeds benefit Windy City Harvest, the Chicago Botanic Garden’s urban agriculture education and jobs-training initiative to help build a local food system, healthier communities, and a greener economy. chicagobotanic. org/guild/harvest-party

SEPTEMBER 19

35TH ANNUAL AMERICAN CRAFT EXPOSITION BENEFIT PREVIEW PARTY

WHERE: Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe

WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m.

TICKETS: $200

The Auxiliary Board of NorthShore University HealthSystem hosts its Benefit Preview Party the evening before the 35th Annual American Craft Ex-

position opens to the public. Enjoy an exclusive first look at this year’s juried exhibits before the three-day show begins, running September 20 through 22. Preview Party tickets include admission to the show all weekend and discounted parking. All proceeds will benefit increased access to mental health services at NorthShore University HealthSystem. americancraftexpo.org

SEPTEMBER 19

SOIRÉE HOSTED BY WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE OF ILHMEC

WHERE: Morgan

Manufacturing, Chicago

WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m.

TICKETS: $175 before August 15, $200 after.

Join the Women’s Leadership Committee of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (ILHMEC) for delicious food, drinks, and entertainment. An evening not to be missed, funds raised will support the ILHMEC’s important exhibits and programs aimed to reduce hate crimes nationwide and teach tolerance. Please call 847967-4821 for tickets or more information.

SEPTEMBER 25

NORTH SHORE COOKS’

TOUR 2019

WHERE: Several North Shore Homes; luncheon at Winnetka Community House WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

TICKETS: $85 day of the event.

Hundreds of guests are expected to attend this annual event, showcasing the North Shore area’s most prestigious homes. The 2019 Cooks’ Tour will feature four homes on the North Shore with eye-catching architecture and interiors. All proceeds will benefit the Rush Medical Center’s Community Services Initiative Program (RCSIP). nscookstour.org

SEPTEMBER 28

THE STUDIO PARTY

WHERE: Lacuna Lofts, Chicago

WHEN: 8 p.m. to Midnight

TICKETS: $400

The Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago introduces a new fundraiser, The Studio Party, this year focusing on the experience of Pop art. The Studio Party’s theme is in anticipation of the Chicago opening of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again which opens on October 20 and runs through January, 2020 at The Art Institute of Chicago. artic.edu/ events4557/the-studio-party

SEPTEMBER 19

The Women’s Leadership Committee of ILHMEC will host its Soirée at Morgan Manufacturing in Chicago. Photograph by Brigid King

SEPTEMBER 19

Crow Boat III by featured artist Joseph Pozycinski at the 35th Annual American Craft Exposition Benefit Preview Party.

OWNER AND PRESIDENT OF BLOOMFIELD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, LLC

JIM SCHUELLER

ACTIVELY INVESTS AND DEVELOPS REAL ESTATE FROM LINCOLN PARK TO HIGHLAND PARK AND HAS BEEN DOING SO FOR MORE THAN 15 YEARS. THESE DAYS HE TRAVELS BETWEEN HIS GOLD COAST AND NORTH SHORE PROJECTS, AND HIS WILMETTE FAMILY HOME. HE TOOK A BREAK FROM DEVELOPING TO SHARE HIS CITY AND SHORE FAVORITES WITH SHERIDAN ROAD.

EDITED BY DUSTIN O’REGAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

What’s on the horizon? Expanding my business out of state, vacationing in the Bahamas, and spending as much time as possible with family Mantra? Life is too short to complain about trivial things Best grooming tip? Haircuts at Siren Salon in Lakeview Guilty pleasure? Round of golf on a Friday afternoon

Favorite foods? Steak at Mastro’s, Graeter’s ice cream, organic strawberries from the Wilmette French Market Music you love? Anything by The Beatles, Metallica, or Tchaikovsky Best advice ever given to you? Attitude is

ON THE SHORE

Your style is? Vineyard Vines Can’t leave the house without?

Sambazon Organic Amazon Energy Drink Transportation? Range Rover Velar Driving music? First three Smashing Pumpkins albums Place to eat? Mino’s in Winnetka ... the best gluten-free pasta hands down Shop? Highland Park’s Studio 41 Best thing about the Shore? Schools

Worst thing about the Shore? The morning commute on the Edens The perfect day is? Coaching my kids’ sports teams, golf, and family dinner in downtown Wilmette

everything Best advice you’ve given? Appreciate everything Earliest memory? Being stung by a bee at three years old When you wake up, you? Wish I could sleep in. I’m a night owl Before bed, you? Respond to emails, work out, and watch Netflix What’s on your bookshelf? Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham You can’t live without? Notre Dame Football Love to escape to? Four Seasons Chicago for a winter staycation Advice you would give to your younger self? Be more confident

IN THE CITY

Your style is? David Donahue button-down shirt, sport coat, and jeans Can’t leave the house without? Coffee from Heritage Transportation? Range Rover Velar Driving music? Podcasts, such as The Joe Rogan Experience or StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson Place to eat? Coq d’Or in The Drake Shop?

RH—love their casual luxury design and lunch at 3 Arts Club Café Best thing about the City? The architecture, of course— I’m a builder Worst thing about the City? Red-light cameras The perfect day is? Trying new restaurants and catching a show at The Second City or Steppenwolf with my wife

2019 Range Rover Velar

David Donahue shirts

1241 N. State Parkway kitchen

1241 N. State Parkway living room

Preparing Your Home for The Market

It’s never too early to start planning for the spring.

Four things you can start doing now so that your home is in top shape when it comes time to sell.

No.01 — Maintenance

Take care of any deferred maintenance that you have been avoiding. The cooler fall temperatures can be a great time to knock out that “to-do” list. It’s also an excellent time to replace roofs, do exterior painting, or work in the attic.

No.02 — Declutter

Go through closets, basements, and storage areas to remove or donate unwanted items. Consider renting a storage unit for extra furniture or items that you know you’ll want to keep for the long term.

No.03 — Staging

Staging is more than just furniture placement and flowers. Consider painting rooms, replacing light fixtures, or making cosmetic updates to help your home feel “new” again.

No.04 — Start Letting Go

Moving can be a difficult emotional journey as your home is more than just a house with walls and fixtures, but rather a place filled with years of memories and joy. It’s important to appreciate the past but be excited for what is to come. team@chungrealty.com

STUDIO PARTY

Silver clouds. Street artists. And a bartender creating what Esquire calls the “freakiest, dopest cocktails in town.” On September 28, the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago will introduce the Studio Party, a not-tobe-missed new event that gives guests a taste of creative genius in advance of the Chicago opening of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again. Co-chairs Dr. Shay Bahramirad, Joe Duffy, Bridget Jordan Levy, Tommy Miller, and Erin White say more surprises are in store. Held in what was once the world’s largest macaroni factory, the Studio Party promises to tap into the wit and ephemera of Andy Warhol’s Factory for an evening of pop art reverie. To purchase tickets, visit artic.edu/events/4557/the-studio-party.

THE WHO

You and anyone you know with a penchant for the fantastic THE WHERE Lacuna Lofts, Pilsen

THE WHEN

September 28, 8 pm to 12 am

THE WHY

Cocktails by Annie Beebe-Tron

THE WEAR

Factory chic—unconventional, aesthetic, and inspired

Co-chairs Dr. Shay Bahramirad, Joe Duffy, Bridget Jordan Levy, Tommy Miller, Erin White, and Aux Board President Matt Pettinelli

Lake Forest’s Bia Leffingwell trains in the art of dressage.

WORDS BY ALLISON DUNCAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATRINA WITTKAMP

BEING BIA W

hen Beatrix (Bia) Leffingwell says she was raised at “the farm”—“the farm” being Tempel Farms in Old Mill Creek, Illinois—she means it literally. “When my parents first left the hospital with me after I was born, we went straight to the barn, not home,” she says.

Many years prior to that, in 1958, the 15-year-old’s paternal great grandparents, Tempel and Esther Smith, imported 20 rare, endangered Lipizzan white stallion horses from Piber, Austria after a year of negotiations with the Austrian government, thereby founding the first full-scale Lipizzan stud farm in the United States. Now, Tempel Farms boasts the largest privately-owned herd of Lipizzans with more than 80 horses and is one of the few places in the world where Lipizzan horses are bred, trained, and performed on the same property.

In fact, 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the birth of the first Lipizzan foal at Tempel Farms and is also the 37th performance season of its signature 90-minute program of synchronized movements, athleticism, and harmony between horse and rider set to classical music.

“Tempel Farms has always been well-known for our cute baby horses,” says Leffingwell. “We’re calling 2019 the year of the baby because we’re celebrating the arrival of eight Lipizzan foals this season. I love the segment in the show with the babies. It’s hysterical to watch them run around. But it’s basically a 10-man job to get them where they need to be!”

The birth of the rare horses symbolizes hope for the future of the Lipizzan and shows Tempel Farms’ longstanding commitment to preserving the living history of the 400-year-old breed. And it remains a family affair: Leffingwell’s grandmother and great aunt are “in charge of the whole thing,” her second cousin Esther Buonanno directs Tempel Lipizzans, and her father manages Tempel Farms. Of the grandchildren, Leffingwell explains, she’s the most involved with riding.

Though, to say Leffingwell is “involved with riding” significantly downplays her accomplishments. She’s nationally recognized in the Olympic sport of equestrian dressage and is a 2016 Champion of the National Dressage Pony Cup, 2017 Reserve Champion in the National Championships of the USDF Children’s Division, and is one of the youngest in the country to receive the 2018 Silver Medal Award from the United States Dressage Foundation.

What she does is different, though, than what you’ll see at a Tempel Farms’ performance.

“Competitive dressage is a completely different sport,” Leffingwell explains. “It’s more modern and effortless, and it’s based on elegance. You have to look like you’re doing nothing when you’re riding, even though you’re trying to get through a brutal test. The horse has to look like this beautiful majestic creature that is not subject to gravity at all. It turns into an art form and is all about the way you present your picture.”

Leffingwell’s mother was formerly a dressage trainer and had

two students compete at the 2004 Olympic Games, and Leffingwell says she wants to “be like her mom” and describes her mother as her “biggest supporter.” Leffingwell has considered becoming a trainer, following in her mother’s footsteps, or a breeder, or a horse salesperson in the future but, for now, she has her sights set on a medal (or two).

“I know that I want to do this for the rest of my life,” she says. “The national recognition was reassurance for me that what I’m doing is my passion and now I have goals for different titles I can earn. I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics, which I know is something everyone wants, but I think I can do it if I put my mind to it.”

First, though, she has to qualify for the North American Youth Dressage Championships on the Juniors Team via the Global Adequan Dressage Festival this winter season. That means Leffingwell spends upwards of three hours at the barn every day during the school year and will now take just one day off per week in the summer for additional workouts. She rides two horses, Luke Skywalker, 19, and a new addition, Nymphenburg’s Sylvester, 11. Because of Luke Skywalker’s age, this year might be his last for intense competition, so Leffingwell plans to ride and train with both and see how far she can take them.

All that said, Leffingwell is still just 14-years-old, so she also plays on her school’s varsity field hockey team and loves to “work out, relax by the pool, and spend time with her family, friends, and dogs.” Sounds like the average American teenager, aside from the Olympic Gold we know is in her future.

For more information visit, tempelfarms.com.

Bia Leffingwell with her horse Luke Skywalker at Tempel Farms

Whole Beauty for the Whole Body

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EDITED BY ALLISON DUNCAN

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CULTURE & ARTS

THE NORTH SHORE’S MOST CREATIVE PURSUITS

FROM AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THE MCA’S VIRGIL ABLOH: “FIGURES OF SPEECH” TO WRITERS THEATRE’S TWIST ON THE CLASSIC INTO THE WOODS, HERE IS YOUR GUIDE TO ALL THAT IS TRENDING

Abloh backstage at the Autumn Winter 2019 Off-White Womenswear Runway Show.

Photography by Bogdan Plakov

VIRGIL ABLOH: an

architect

of CONTEMPORARY culture

Virgil Abloh’s Streetwear Style is on view until September 22, at the MCA.

WORDS BY LAURA LAYFER TREITMAN

Virgil Abloh. Photograph by Katrina Wittkamp

One of Virgil Abloh’s first fashion debuts was a screen-print T-shirt made for the store Colette in Paris. Art and fashion patrons and students alike know the prestige of such a premiere. Located on the exclusive retail respite of Rue Saint-Honoré, until its close in 2017, this was a mecca for a “cool” trendy clientele. A place where clothing, accessories, music, books, and more co-existed in a mix of high and low inventory, as well as invitations, aka those who could afford versus those who could only appreciate and all were a part of the “see and be seen” crowd. It was a most apropos welcome for artist and designer, Abloh, now the subject of a major retrospective, Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech” at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), on view this summer through September 22.

In fact, when Abloh did his first runway fashion show for Louis Vuitton menswear, the line he now oversees as Artistic Director, he wanted everyone, including store staff, to attend. “I used to think the name on a label was the only one doing the work,” admits Abloh, emphasizing the value he places on the efforts of a team. From runways to reality, his path has never been direct and that is just the kind of creativity that attracted Abloh’s artistry to MCA’s Chief Curator, Michael Darling. “His projects have unfurled with intention, precision, critique, historical awareness, cultural sensitivity, and rigor … merging together in a novel way.” In 2012, Abloh began his clothing line Pyrex Vision featuring iconic images such as a Caravaggio painting, as the techniques of the sixteenth-century Italian artist had captivated

Abloh. A year later, the brand Off-White emerged, producing clothing out of Milan for men and women. The line has its own status symbol of a black and white diagonal logo that can appear on the print of an evening gown like the one in the exhibition and made for Beyoncé’s Vogue cover, or on an accent belt to wear with casual jeans, but wherever those signature angled lines appear they represent a nod to the unexpected nature of where life takes us.

One can be a “Tourist” or a “Purist” as the words flank the walls for visitors to decide where they fit in at the start or finish of Abloh’s show. For example, a neon sign “You’re Obviously In The Wrong Place,” a décor piece from an Off-White runway show, is a sentence taken from the 90s film Pretty Woman where actress Julia Roberts’ character is told by a Rodeo Drive salesperson that she shouldn’t be shopping in their boutique. It is a contemplation, Abloh says, of his own conflicted experiences. “We draw lines between each other based on where we are born; in Chicago, there is the north side and south side, with Michigan Avenue in the middle and stores such as H&M, Zara, then Louis Vuitton and Gucci, and you may not feel like you fit in anywhere.” The exception is the MCA, located a block in from the main thoroughfare and, according to Abloh, a place to be seen as “a

Abloh backstage at the Autumn Winter 2019 OffWhite Womenswear Runway Show.

Photograph by Bogdan Plakov

Installation view, Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech,” MCA Chicago June 10 – September 22, 2019.

Photograph by Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech,” MCA Chicago June 10 – September 22, 2019.

Photograph by Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

MCA Chief Curator Michael Darling.

Photograph by Maria Ponce

center point.” As a young boy, images from advertisements shaped his own perceptions of desire and consumerism, but what he really wants to share is the understanding of how one can “create your own environment.”

Abloh grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where his parents had emigrated from Ghana. Textiles and artistic tools were part of the family business, as his mother was a seamstress and his father was employed at a paint company. Yet it was after attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison when Abloh returned home to pursue a Masters in Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology that his career trajectory developed. He felt inspired pursuing his studies on a campus designed by modernist Mies van der Rohe and was introduced to the work of famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. Soon after, he was commissioned to design the McCormick Tribune Campus Center at IIT. It is also when Abloh connected with musician Kanye West, another famous name with Chicago roots. Abloh himself is a desired DJ in the music industry, having performed at Lollapalooza, among other venues. His post as Creative Director for West’s concerts, merchandising, and stage sets is highlighted at the MCA with a large-scale 3-D album cover designed by Abloh for West’s Grammy-nominated album, Yeezus

There are also photographs, paintings, jewelry, and furniture (a line with IKEA is forthcoming) that are part of Abloh’s oeuvre. Additionally, two CTA red line cars are adorned with his graphics, there is a West Loop pop-up store, and another store called Church & State located on the 4th floor of the MCA. In the galleries, a canvas of solid background with the title of the work Advertise Here and a phone number in the foreground evokes the look of a billboard sign, and if the viewer actually dials the digits a message picks up of Abloh discussing his Spring/Summer 2016, “Blue Collar” Off-White Men’s collection. A Louis Vuitton classic leather duffel bag is shown chained to the ground, suggesting

the lock of luxury on society. However, that is not what Abloh wants anyone, particularly youth, to interpret. For example, as he says about the assortment of Nike gym shoes he designed for the company, “I want a kid that wants those shoes to do what I would if you don’t have the money to spend—go out and make your own version.” This may be why Darling describes the accompanying 500-page show catalogue (that includes an essay by Koolhaas) as a “user manual of cheat codes that Abloh generously shares.” Individual expression is perhaps the best definition of the streetwear style he has made fashionable. A powerful approach to popular culture, for observers of all ages, not to emulate but rather originate. That, it would seem to Abloh, is true collaboration.

For more information, visit mcachicago.org.

Installation view, Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech,” MCA Chicago June 10 –September 22, 2019. Photograph by Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech,” MCA Chicago June 10 –September 22, 2019. Photograph by Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

HTP Mainstage

A Celebration of Lar Lubovitch

Featuring Ballet Austin, The Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and more

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Director Gary Griffin kicks off Writers Theatre’s 2019/20 season with award-winning musical Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim’s rebellious take on the classic fairy tale.

the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, serving as their Associate Artistic Director before stepping down in 2017. “Musicals and Shakespeare have a lot in common, the poetry, the heightened language,” Griffin explains. During his tenure, he directed several Sondheim works, including A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George During that time, the Rockford, Illinois-native also made his Broadway directorial debut with The Color Purple, in 2005.

Writers Theatre is launching into their 2019/20 season with panache, calling on Gary Griffin, one of Chicago’s most esteemed and versatile directors, to breathe new life into the perennial favorite Into the Woods. Tackling a musical with such name recognition and pedigree is no easy feat: premiering on Broadway in the fall of 1987, Woods was a runaway hit, garnering several Tony Awards, prompting subsequent U.S. and world tours, and even a Meryl Streep-led Disney feature film in 2014, which was nominated for multiple Golden Globe and Academy awards.

Often described as both smart and subversive, Woods remixes the stories of some of the most recognizable storybook characters, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of Beanstalk fame), Rapunzel, and Cinderella. It’s a story of adventure, of family, with some witches’ curses for good measure, all set to music by the incomparable Stephen Sondheim.

This will not be Griffin’s first time at the proverbial rodeo when it comes to Sondheim’s work. During his tenure with Pegasus Theatre on Chicago’s north side, the director was joined by the iconic composer and lyricist on a staging of Saturday Night in the late 1990s. It began a lifelong camaraderie between the two.

From there, Griffin moved to

When Michael Halberstam, Writers Theatre’s Artistic Director, approached Griffin with the idea of adapting Woods for their stage, they together posed the question, “What do these stories mean to us now?” In taking a new look at the material, Griffin discovered, “The show is really mischievous, but it also has really fascinating and important things to say about community and responsibility.”

Griffin is particularly thrilled about his cast, including Halberstam as narrator, and Writers Theatre’s inventive staging, a must in reimagining a well-trod tale such as this. “We have an amazing cast—that’s when you really get to direct, when you have people making strong choices who allow you to see the characters in fresh ways,” he says.

The biggest task was scaling the production appropriately to make it fit like a glove for the space: “We want to make the audience feel as though they’re in the woods, not watching the woods. To intensify the intimacy, we’re doing the production in the round. The audience will be right alongside the cast, so close they can take in the texture of the costumes.”

“Especially if you think you know the show, we hope to lead you into a new discovery,” Griffin shares. “There are some fun surprises in store.”

For more information, visit writerstheatre.org.

Art SENSE

Fine art consulting rm Gregg Lane Art Management is celebrating 10 years in 2020 and the two women behind its incredible success owe it in part to their di erent perspectives. LISA GREGG and KATE LANE FERRARO are like two sides of a coin—o ering both the art world’s edgy and modern options. Here is how these creatives stay current between art buys.

EDITED BY DUSTIN O’REGAN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

ON THEIR NIGHTSTANDS

Gregg: “Gather As You Go: Sharing Lessons Along e Way by Carol Lavin Bernick. e longtime Chicago executive of Alberto Culver and current philanthropist shares her life lessons on leadership, philanthropy, and promoting women in business.” Ferraro: “Inspired by Christie’s New York Spring 2018 auction of Peggy and David Rockefeller’s estate, and the acquisitions they made from Gertrude Stein’s estate, I returned to Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast with tales depicting his life and friendship with Stein in Paris in the 1920s and her collection of Modernist masterpieces. I’m fascinated with Modern art and the group of artists and patrons of this time, including Picasso, Matisse, and Cezanne.”

ON THEIR MOBILES

Gregg: “Hunt Slonem on Instagram—his use of color and animals is creative and just plain joyful. We have placed this artist many times and have followed his career for years.”

Ferraro: “I follow a handful of galleries and the artists they represent including English print dealer Lyndsey Ingram from whom we purchased a beautiful set of 1972 Frank Stella prints and Houston dealer Sicardi gallery that specializes in avant-garde Latin American artists, including Hugo di Marziani.”

IN THEIR EARBUDS

Gregg: “I listen to what my teenagers listen to. Everything from the Jonas Brothers to Ariana Grande, but when I take control, I listen to the other Arianna … Hu ngton and her TED talks on sleep.” Ferraro: “For podcasts, I love How I Built This hosted by Guy Raz for the ultimate inspirational interviews with entrepreneurs and how they started their own businesses. For music, I follow my son Mathew and the playlists he posts on Spotify. As a sophomore at Yale and a lover of all kinds of music, he DJ’s parties and events on campus playing current sounds by Frank Ocean and Robert Glasper, plus ‘throwbacks’ like e Cure.”

HAIR, MAKEUP & STYLING BY CONSTANTINE JAMES

@huntslonem

Lisa Gregg and Kate Lane Ferraro

FOOD & TRAVEL

FROM GLORIOUS ITALIAN WINERIES TO A HIP CITY EATERY, HERE IS A TASTE OF THE BEST OF FOREIGN TRAVEL AND LOCAL CUISINE

Cantina Tramin in Termeno, Italy

THE ALBERT

WORDS BY JAKE AND ELIZA JARVI PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

For our Home & Design issue, we’re heading a little further afield than usual to Hotel EMC2 in the heart of downtown Chicago. Tucked next to the lobby is a two-story temple to culinary creativity named The Albert.

The atmosphere is striking. Stuffed bookshelves and file cabinets of all varieties stacked two stories high take up the entire east wall. An elevated booth is backed with a chalkboard full of equations. The lights in the foyer are a constellation of frosted bulbs in a variety of shapes. Above the bar, a giant decorative infuser stands like laboratory scaffolding made of oversized jars and flasks. The contents of the jars cycle with the season, for our visit it was a picturesque tangle of vines and wildflowers. The design of each dish is as arresting as the flavors on the plate. Even the cocktails. A drink called In Theory mixes the flavors of a Manhattan with a margarita while a thick black stripe of preserved lime salt runs the vertical length of the glass. Stylish and delicious. Every plate coming out of Executive Chef Larry Feldmeier’s kitchen is a statement piece. One glance at the Crispy

Crispy Chicken Leg

This dish turned every head in the restaurant on the way to our table. We suppose it had to do with the flash fried chicken foot, talons and all, attached to the perfectly prepared chicken thigh on the plate. The meat is so tender. It’s heritage chicken, dry-aged a week, confit in duck fat, and flash fried. The skin is well seasoned and tantalizingly crispy, balancing smokiness with an Asian influence and speckled with black sesame seeds. We squeezed the grilled satsuma mandarin over the top and enjoyed the flavorful flourishes of chili aioli, pickled carrots, and cilantro. We didn’t eat the foot.

Chicken Leg is proof enough that the man knows how to command your attention. From starters to dessert, we couldn’t have enjoyed our evening more.

The Albert is located inside Hotel EMC2 at 228 E. Ontario Street in Chicago, 312-471-3883, thealbertchicago.com.

From an elaborately decorated two-story accent wall to every plate that arrives at the table, The Albert is synonymous with exquisite design.

Luna Piena

This dish was the highlight of the evening. It’s named after the full moon, evoked by the perfect pasta disk that covers the entire plate. Two thin sheets of house made pasta are stuffed with slivers of wild onion ramps that create a zebra stripe pattern. Folding back the blanket of pasta reveals a centerpiece of lobster meat surrounded by a pool of coral butter made of melted butter, white wine, and lobster roe. The sauce has a touch of spice to it as well, which enhances both the lobster and the pasta. The result is simultaneously light and decadent. Absolutely addictive.

Buttermilk Mousse

This is the kind of dessert we needed after a series of dishes we couldn’t stop eating. It’s light, airy, and beautifully balanced. The mousse is delicately sweet and bounces against the sharp tang of a rhubarb gelée and the crumble of orange chiffon cake. A perimeter nest of crispy Greek phyllo dough called kataïfi adds a welcome counter-texture. For all the fancy touches courtesy of Pastry Chef Allison Schroeder, this delivers the deep comfort flavors of upscale key lime cheesecake.

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CIN CIN!

Take the road less traveled to the vineyards of Northeastern Italy.

WORDS BY THOMAS CONNORS

Octopus can be a tricky critter to cook. Underdone, your mouth feels it’s chomped down on something it shouldn’t. Cooked too long and your molars will be at it all night. Done right, there’s nothing like it. And Chef Marco De’ Matt of Trieste’s Pier e Roof restaurant does it righter than right, serving up thin slices of mouth-bogglingly tender legs touched with a bit of smokiness from the charred (but absent) head, and topped with a lavender-hued foam spun from blue potatoes. It’s a delightful surprise. And for those whose familiarity with northeastern Italy is limited to tourist-besieged Venice, it’s but one of many you can expect as you head into the countryside and leave La Serenissima behind.

e cities in this neck of the woods—including Padua, Verona, and Vicenza—are not short on charm and attractions—but for the wine lover, nothing beats a vista of hill-creeping vineyards and tasting rooms o ering bottles that aren’t on every list back home. Celebrating local grapes, as well as demonstrating their ability to fashion unique expressions of international varietals, is a common practice among leading vintners in Friuli, the Veneto, and Alto Adige. At the Zorzettig winery in the Friuli region, visitors can get acquainted with local varietals, such as Pignolo and Ribolia, as well as a Sauvignon Blanc whose tongue-charging fruitiness is more peachy than tropical or grassy (zorzettigvini.it/en/). Headquartered at Caprino Veronese (just a few miles from Lake Garda) and with land situated across three di erent appellations, the Monte Zovo portfolio ranges from top-shelf Amarone and its more accessible kin, Valpolicella Ripasso, to Bardolino (produced from Veneto stalwarts Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella) and Crocevento, a 100 percent Pinot Nero bottling (montezovo.com).

Wines made from Gewürztraminer may not be as alien to casual wine drinkers as Malvasia or Schioppettino, but it’s a good bet most would be surprised by the way the grape is expressed at Cantina Tramin in Alto Adige. Part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918 (German remains the mother tongue of many here) and home to the sky-scratching pinnacles of the Dolomites, the area is known for its world-appreciated white wines.

Gewürztraminer produces a sweet wine that too often hits the mouth like cotton candy. But in the right hands, it can be a

special experience—spicy and oral—and with food, a welcome alternative to the usual suspects. A star in Alsace, Gewürztraminer has taken root far from France, with winemakers in Australia and the Paci c Northwest doing their best to honor this cool weather grape. At Cantina Tramin, veteran winemaker Willi Stürz has made a project of Gewürztraminer (the grape is thought to trace its origins to the town of Tramin, here on the Adige river), producing a range of bottles, from the decidedly sweet Epokale (aged for seven years in a former silver mine) and the almost austere Nussbaum, to the honey-like, late harvest Terminum (cantinatramin.it). Okay, Gewürztraminer may still not be your thing. But look where you are.

STAY AWHILE

You don’t have to travel for a good night’s rest after a day at Zorzettig winery. Its nine-room Relais La Collina is a little gem of escape, with a laurel-enclosed pool, views that go on forever, and the sound of birds and church bells to make you dream. e guest house at Monte Zovo—Casa Ma ei—lies at the end of an unpaved road, but don’t let the dust deter you. is charming rustic retreat sleeps eight and if your veal tonnata isn’t what it ought to be, no worries, the winery can arrange meals for you. When you’re not sni ng and swirling, take time to explore the countryside, shopping and strolling the town of Garda, or zip across the Adriatic on a private boat to the old Austro-Hungarian port of Trieste. ere’s a cephalopod there with your name on it (grabboatrent.it).

Cantina Tramin

Convivo Zorzettig

OUTDOORS BOUND

WORDS BY MITCH HURST / PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BOUNDLESS ADVENTURES

When Lorrie Funtleyder and her husband, Brian, took their kids on vacation to West Virginia in 2012, they had no idea how the trip would change their lives.

The family spent a day at an outdoor climbing and ziplining park, and Funtleyder looked on as her previously shy daughter opened up and tackled the challenges of the various climbing courses.

“It was really the first time that we as a family all did something together that each of us enjoyed,” Funtleyder says.

Fast forward seven years and the Funtleyders now run three outdoor adventure parks of their own. Boundless Adventures has locations in New York, Massachusetts, and in nearby Kenosha, Wisconsin in Bristol Woods Park.

The Funtleyders met at NYU’s Stern School of Business, and both were enjoying successful careers in the finance industry when they got bit by the bug to start their own business.

“I spent 17 years analyzing businesses so I started researching the aerial park industry and how they work,” says Funtleyder. “I found someone who had the expertise and we were on our way.”

Boundless Adventures launched its first park in New York in 2018 and in 2019 opened their location in Kenosha through a partnership with the Kenosha County Division of Parks.

“The county is getting revenue on its land plus it’s a great feature for the community,” Funtleyder says. “So it’s a win-win situation.”

The outdoor season in the Midwest is compact. Families push to pack in as many activities as possible before the inevitable cold seeps in and the accompanying snow. Boundless Adventures is open for three seasons, with each one offering a different beautiful view to enjoy.

Boundless Adventures offers an alternative to the usual summer activities—the pool, the beach, theme parks—by providing both a fun and challenging experience.

The Kenosha location features nine climbing and zipline courses with varying degrees of difficulty. Each family member will find a challenge that’s within their grasp and, upon completion, develop a sense of accomplishment. You can’t get that at Great America.

“What we offer is nothing like what most families have done before,” Funtleyder says. “There are only 20 parks in the country that feature a similar experience.”

Parents will appreciate the fact that Boundless Adventures limits the number of people using courses at any given time, unlike a theme park where families might wait hours to get on a roller coaster.

“We keep you active and engaged 100 percent of the time you’re here,” says Funtleyder.

In addition to providing a unique outdoor experience for families, Boundless Adventures also hosts corporate team building outings, charity events, scouts, camps, and high school and college sports teams, providing the opportunity to bond through a shared, challenging experience.

Earlier this year, the Boundless Adventures location outside Boston hosted an event for autistic children with a member of the New England Patriots.

“Just to let you know how challenging our most difficult courses are, a very fit NFL player didn’t want to attempt to complete our black course,” says Funtleyder.

It all adds up to providing a one-of-a-kind adventure for individuals and families that don’t want to just be entertained, but want to be challenged as well.

“If you have kids of varying ages where else can you go where there’s something for everyone?” Funtleyder asks. “We offer a challenging and rewarding experience for all ages.”

Boundless Adventures is located at 9800 160th Avenue, in Bristol, Wisconsin. Call 262-287-0933 for ticket information or visit boundlessadventures.net.

Boundless Adventures offers more than just fun for the whole family.

Snowboarding across the tree canopy 45 feet up

Grisha Neginsky, age 8, traversing the beginner course with ease

COOKS’ TOUR

Glitz, glamour, and goodwill define the 47th annual Cooks’ Tour.

WORDS BY ALEXA BURNELL / PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEGAN CHAFFIN

Beauty and benevolence will yet again be combined during the 47th annual September 25 Cooks’ Tour— the sole fundraiser of the Rush Woman’s Auxiliary Board, uniting more than 600 guests each year, over the intrigue of exquisitely designed homes.

After a luncheon at the Winnetka Community House, guests will be dazzled by the homes on display—The Historic Estate, Serene Retreat, Breath of Fresh Air, and finally, Nantucket Charm-owned by Amber and Ommid Farashahi.

While this Winnetka couple worked alongside Builder, Leo Birov of Heritage Luxury Builders, and Designer Dominique Birchmeier, the final creation is a true reflection of their own vision.

Amber put a considerable amount of thought into the design, favoring an open concept floorplan that combines elegance with livability for her two young children. For example, an impressive mudroom on the first floor allows for easy dispersal of kids backpacks, sports gear, and more.

The white, open, and airy kitchen is minimally decorated with hints of blues and grays, a custom designed oven hood, and similar lighting fixtures, Amber explains that she considered both style and comfort for the design.

“I would describe my kitchen as bright, comfortable, and luxurious,” Amber says. “We like that we can all sit at the island for an informal meal and that it opens up into our family room. We have

A striking Visual Comfort chandelier adds glamour to this bold and vibrant living room.

other lounging spaces in our home, but somehow, everyone always ends up in the kitchen and family room.”

Around the corner from the kitchen is a stately, elegant, and creatively designed staircase. Amber decided that each riser would be covered in wallpaper with the same hints of blue, white, and grey, providing an endless and natural flow throughout the entire first floor.

“I found a beautiful picture of risers dressed in wallpaper that looked like it belonged in my house. It had the blues we incorporated into our home and a laid back beach feel I just loved. I ordered the wallpaper from Arhaus right then and there.” Amber explains.

Both Ommid and Amber appreciate nature, working collaboratively with Landscaper JP Popiolek of Ruffolo Landscaping. The outdoor space is now just as functional and enjoyable as the indoors.

“Our backyard is one of the main highlights. We created slightly separate outdoor spacing—one for cooking and eating, another for play. We are big music-lovers so we have installed a sound system that allows us to enjoy the songs we love, without blasting the neighbors. This space is truly livable,” Ommid said.

Along with being inspired by the homes on the Cooks’ Tour, guests can relish in the good feeling that comes with knowing all proceeds will benefit the Rush Community Service Initiative Program (RCSIP)—giving students, faculty, residents, and fellows the unique opportunity to make a direct impact in Chicago’s most needy communities.

Co-Chairs Sophia Kondos, Betsy Lewis, and Laura Elsaden, explain why they are proud to host an event that benefits so many.

“RCSIP allows medical students to apply their education, talent, and skills to real-life situations in communities where quality medical and preventative services aren’t the norm,” Elsaden explains. “A program like this one teaches medical students about empathy while reinforcing the fact that as doctors, they have the

power to make a real difference in the lives of their patients and the communities in which those patients live.”

Funding donated to RCSIP means that Rush medical students have access to a medical mobile van, allowing for treatment for the homeless. Likewise, various health clinics stationed around the city, along with a 20/20 vision care facility, means more access to preventative care for all.

“When we first learned about RCSIP, we were told the startling statistic that the life expectancy of people who simply live five miles outside of the loop is 16-years less than a citizen in a more affluent community; a truly eye-opening fact,” Elsaden shares. “Plain and simple, RCSIP is a program that works. It’s revolutionary and we are honored to support the mission any way we can.”

For Kondos, the most heartwarming aspect of the Cooks’ Tour is the simple fact that families are eager to open their doors for the day.

“Year after year, it brings us such joy that so many families welcome the public without hesitation, simply because they want to support a good cause,” Kondos says “Not only is their graciousness appreciated by visitors and the Board alike, but this event is a good way to showcase the many talents of local builders, designers, and landscapers too.”

For more information on the Cooks’ tour, email cookstourwinnetka@ gmail.com or visit nscookstour.org/.

Winnetka’s Amber Farashahi with the assistance of Designer Dominique Birchmeier created a sophisticated costal kitchen that is functional for a young family.

Beautiful millwork and suede Phillip Jeffries wallpaper are the inviting elements for the warm and luxurious dining room.

Wallpapered risers are a reminder to have fun with design and that great design is often found in the details.

GLAM GALLERY

01 Hermès Horsecut Paperweight in Lacquered Wood, available at Hermès Chicago, 312-787-8175 02 Brushstroke Colorblock Art in Soft Pink & Emerald, available at Brooke & Lou, brookeandlou.com 03 Teil Duncan Art, available at Teil Duncan Art, teilduncan.com, image courtesy of Teil Duncan Art 04 Lipstick Beaded Wall Art, available at Jonathan Adler Chicago, 312-274-9920 05 North Beach Framed Print, available at Of a Kind, ofakind.com 06 Design Inspired Journals, available at Style Shack Highland Park, 847-579-4525 07 Pema Quilt by John Robshaw, available at Bedside Manor Ltd Lake Forest, 847-441-0969 08 Op Art Bar Cart, available at Jonathan Adler Chicago, 312-274-9920 09 Black and White Longhorn Artwork, available at Walter E. Smithe Old Orchard, 847-933-1481

10 Penn Green Metal Vase, available at CB2 Chicago, 312-787-8329 11 LOLOI Wall Art, available at LOLOI, loloirugs.com 12 Ashley Mary Art, available at Ashley Mary, ashleymary.com, photograph by Grace Beck 13 Grey Marble Wood Sculpture, available at Crate&Barrel Old Orchard, 847-674-6850 14 e Inside Delft Chintz Pillow, available at e Inside, theinside.com 15 Turn a New Leaf Credenza, available at Walter E. Smithe Old Orchard, 847-933-1481 16 Pulp Heavy 3 by Katie Pumphrey, available at CB2 Chicago, 312-787-8329 17 Vase Study No. 2, available at Ri e Paper Co., ri epaperco.com 18 Josh Young Design House Artwork, available at Josh Young Design House, joshyoungdesignhouse.com

MARVELOUS MAKEOVER

A Chicago suburban home gets a major interior design upgrade with staging by experts at Linly Designs.

WORDS BY SHERRY THOMAS

Kitchen

Staging a home for sale has become very common in the high-end luxury market. But when Linly Designs of Clarendon Hills was recruited to take on a property in Hinsdale’s picturesque Woodland neighborhood, they gave the concept of “staging” a whole new meaning. This was not a simple in-and-out, add throw pillows and accessories kind of job. Janet Linly and her team partnered with a local real estate agent to transform the 5,800-square-foot home into a masterpiece.

“The house already had great bones and just needed the Linly touch,” Linly explains. “Since we do a lot of work in that area,

we couldn’t have been more excited for this wonderful opportunity. There are many houses on the market, especially homes that have recently undergone renovations, but we knew that what our design team and our crew could accomplish would be nothing short of perfection.”

Inspiration for the project was drawn from the home’s existing character and architecture.

Priced at $1,876,000, the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house already had a lot of impressive design features to work with, including three fireplaces, a wine cellar, and a dramatic open staircase that wraps around the entire second floor.

“The gorgeous coffered ceilings and striking wood beams combined with the two-story fireplace in the family room are details we wished to enhance,” says Linly. “Furthermore, we were equally inspired by the exterior. The exaggerated roof lines, copper details along the façade, and front courtyard create such a stately entrance.

While Linly Designs is known throughout the area for excellence and the highest quality design, this project was big—even for Linly.

“We often work with clients and begin in one or two areas of their home and once those spaces are complete, we continue to other rooms of the house,” says Linly. “However, with this house, this was the first time we had the opportunity to design every inch of a home—floor to ceiling redesign, exterior, interior, landscape, etc. which proved to be an excellent blank canvas for us to work with. It was such a rewarding feeling to see the entire home and room-by-room flow together so seamlessly.”

Client collaboration is one of Linly’s favorite things: “We

absolutely love hearing their ideas, incorporating their personal touches, and getting their input. And there is no greater feeling than seeing the look on their faces when their project is complete and they truly love the results and spaces our design team has created for them.”

Working on this project was especially liberating for the team.

“We all were able to collaborate on our individual design concepts and be a part of the project from conceptualization to completion inside and out,” Linly explains. “Our carpenters, electricians, cabinet makers, and other skilled professionals are true craftsmen.”

In an industry where homes are being built, renovated and remodeled all the time, quality often suffers.

“It took us years to develop this team. They take pride in what they do and understand that we build and construct rooms and cabinetry to last a lifetime, not only from an aesthetic perspective but also from a structural perspective,” she says. “Our team and our crew are what set Linly Designs apart from any other design and remodeling company. Our drive, creativity, teamwork, and high standards that we set for ourselves continue to allow us to work on amazing projects with amazing clients.”

Located within the award-winning Hinsdale Central School District and just minutes from downtown Hinsdale, the house is now perfectly appointed and ready for its next owners to move right in (furniture is available for purchase) and make it a home.

For more information about the property, visit 527princeton.com. For more information about Linly Designs and its staging services, call 630-280-9448 or visit linlydesigns.com.

Curved staircase that wraps around the second floor

SCULPTING SPACES

As Principal and Founder of Robbins Architecture, Celeste Robbins blends high design with livable space, creating modern architecture that feels like home.

WORDS BY ALICE YORK / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR HAIR, MAKEUP & STYLING BY CONSTANTINE JAMES

earing Celeste Robbins describe the childhood forts she would construct out of blankets and safety pins, or the time growing up she tried to convince her father to bring the garden hose inside to create an eye-catching water feature, it is abundantly clear she was born with the instincts and eye of an architect.

Fast-forward to 1995 and the founding of Robbins Architecture, the realization of a lifetime of ingenuity, dedication, and innate talent. From its inception, the modern architecture firm, where Robbins serves as principal and founder, has received numerous accolades: the firm’s first new construction, a Jackson Hole retreat, was featured in Architectural Digest, and since then they have received multiple AIA Awards and have had multiple media features in print and on TV, and taken on projects across the Shore and all across the country.

Based in Winnetka, Robbins Architecture focuses on residential, ground-up builds, but has also tackled large renovations, including projects in downtown Chicago and New York City. She counts the Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, as one of her biggest influences, which can be seen in the serenity and conscious use of materials she brings to her structural designs.

Robbins first started the Chicago chapter of her architectural career at Perkins+Will, where she was part of the competition for the redesign of Navy Pier in the mid-‘90s. When her oldest son was born 24 years ago, she knew she needed more flexibility, and decided to venture out on her own. Robbins had early success working independently. “I’m still doing work to this day for those clients—they’re old friends at this point,” she says.

HThis structurally suspended stair floats in this two story entry hall in a mountain home designed by Robbins Architecture.

Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the ravine views into this North Shore study. A suspended desk custom designed by Robbins Architecture is a sculptural solution to create a work space that did not block the views.

Before the Ohio native returned to the Midwest and set the foundation for what would become Robbins Architecture, she graduated from Cornell University. It was there she developed what would become the guiding principle for her future career: “I learned what defines architecture as an art form—a built space should have meaning and be a form of expression. Using light, proportion, and materiality, I discovered how basic design principles can sculpt spaces,” she shares. “I’ve held onto this sentiment ever since.”

While the homes Robbins designs are decidedly works of art, creating warm, livable spaces is her mission. “Though they photograph well, this work is not just about the picture. Architecture is more than a moment in time. It’s orchestrating an experience between movement and space.”

She continues, “We treat each home as a sanctuary and carefully craft each space, continuing to edit until the solution has beauty that is so clear it looks effortless.” Another driving force for Robbins in her designs is the connection to nature. By making use of the prominent windows inherent in modern design, Robbins and her team create framed and purposeful views with a thoughtful connection to the outdoors: “My feeling is that nature doesn’t get it wrong. It has an intrinsic beauty that you can count on to bring warmth and serenity to a home.”

This attention to detail is a thread that runs throughout her entire process, starting with that initial meeting with new clients in what they call the Pre-design Phase. Here, Robbins assesses the clients’ wants and their aesthetic. “This is the information gathering stage. It’s a lot of conversation,” Robbins says. “I don’t think there’s a formula—each family, each client, lives differently, so we listen to and learn before we start the design process.”

She continues, “We always present multiple options to give clients something to compare. We want them to be part of the process—it’s a collaboration and options encourage conversation. Together we discover the solution that fits their unique dream.”

Though Robbins now has nine architects working alongside her—and is proud to say that half of those are female in what is a notoriously male-dominated field—she remains personally involved in every project they take on. This dedication and hardworking ethos can be traced back to her first foray into the uncertain waters of entrepreneurship. “I carried Robbins Archi-

tecture for eight years on my own. I would put the kids to bed and work late into the night. It was tough, but I loved every minute of it.”

This experience has translated to how she leads her company: “I was able to do this profession and raise my kids, so I want to support people in the office who are trying to do the same. I try to provide flexibility, whether that’s working from home or being able to go to school visits or carline pickups. I want to allow for real life.” Her designs reflect a similar family-oriented attitude: “I use my perspective as a parent to design in a way that keeps family connected, that allows them to overlap in their space.”

For Robbins, family is her two kids and her husband of 25 years, the owner of an accounting firm. “Our kids have grown up with two people who have their own businesses and are passionate about what they do,” she shares. “Our son and daughter have grown up seeing that our professions are an extension of ourselves, not just a job. We each think of our businesses as integral parts of what fulfills us in life.”

Though work and family are their greatest joys and biggest priorities, the couple makes time for walks to the lake with their dogs and are regulars at Writers Theatre and Guildhall. But it is travel that captures Robbins’ imagination most: “I love to see and experience new places. After soaking up all the visuals, I come back completely inspired and ready to create.”

It is unsurprising, then, to learn that the firm specializes in destination homes. “We do a lot of second homes: Jackson Hole, Aspen, Wisconsin, Idaho, and are now doing our third lake house in Michigan. We work closely with our clients to help them select a site and a contractor in an unfamiliar location—we have learned to roll into a new community and sniff out who to work with there,” she says. “If you have an architect out of state, that relationship and collaboration can be less intimate. We pride ourselves on staying connected and facilitating every step. Even after projects are completed, our clients still stop by our office.”

As Robbins says, “While our work is modern and edited, we create spaces that have the warmth and livability that make a home.”

To learn more, visit robbins-architecture.com or find her at @robbinsarchitecture on Instagram.

This stained wood feature wall is a beautiful garden backdrop to this dreamy reflecting pool. Moving water, koi fish and lily pads add serenity to this modern outdoor living space.

Large sliding glass door pockets into the wall for easy access to the backyard. A long banquet adds a cozy hang out space to this bright and open kitchen with metallic pendant lights by Tom Dixon.

ONE BEAUTY AT A TIME

Homes by James, Inc. owner James Malapanes takes great pleasure in building houses with character.

WORDS AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA KASS ROGERS ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRAD SCHADE FOR VHT STUDIOS

By mid-morning on a quiet weekday, Jim Malapanes’ most recently completed house project is abuzz with activity. Workers are carefully laying paving stones around the curving walkway, landscapers are putting the finishing touches on the front garden and at the side entrance, locksmiths are busily working on a series of doors.

Rising above us, the house itself stands in full, finished glory, a curvaceous beauty, clad in limestone and field-

stone, her slate roof pointed and peaked with towers and turrets. And the views through her ample torso show the glittering blue of Lake Michigan beyond.

“Curvaceous is right!” laughs Malapanes, owner of Homes by James, Inc., and affectionately known as “Builder Jim” or even “JTB,” for short. “This house is full of curves—curved walls, radius walls, multiple two-story rooms with round turrets, towers and domed ceilings, curved staircases and balconies, a curved bar. Even the pool house has curved glass doors.”

Building a 20,000-square foot house on the lake with such curvilinear complexity has been challenging,

OPPOSITE PAGE: The conservatory’s ceiling and wall glass panels reveal lakefront views in all directions. The flooring is blue chinois aged stone adding to the “outdoor” feel of the “indoor” space. TOP: The inspiration for the entry foyer floor design was brought forth by the owner. Carrera and Thassos marble is bordered by a curved 7-inch band of Carrera butting up to hardwood floors fashioned in a herringbone pattern. The curved walls have custom, radius moldings. The curved staircase with wrought iron railings leads up to a beautiful curved balcony. LEFT: Homes by James, Inc. owner Jim Malapanes ABOVE: The library’s cabinetry has curved door and drawer fronts with pilasters that separate the windows. Recessed motorized blinds allow privacy. The flooring is 6-inch white oak in a herringbone pattern with a slight beveled edge and a wire brushed finish.

but then again, Malapanes, builder of more than 80 homes scattered throughout Winnetka, Glencoe, Wilmette, Northfield, and Lake Forest—as well as other Chicago suburbs, likes it that way.

“I’m all about the character and detail,” he says. “I don’t just take any house project that comes my way. I like high-end design with a high level of finish, homes with detail, charm, and Old World styling.”

This North Shore manse has all of that. And, as he’s done since founding his general contractor business in 1995, Malapanes built it with a “give-each-house-itsdue” credo.

“I always commit to doing only a few houses at a time so that I can constantly be on site, running the job and dealing with the owners directly,” he explains. “This way, because I’m not spread too thin, my clients get my full attention and a better product in the end.”

It’s a mantra he’s stuck with from the beginning, coming up to general contractor status the hard-scrabble way, taking every odd job he could as a youngster to prove himself to his dad, co-owner of Des Plainesbased Hercules Construction.

“I was always ambitious,” he says. “From the time I was little, I’d do whatever I could around a construction site, sweeping floors, cleaning up, and when I got older, doing demolition.”

His father taught him the basics, how to use a level, square, table saw, router, and other power tools, and by the time he was 8, Malapanes could be found in the family’s garage workshop, using those tools to build toy cars out of scrap plywood.

Indoors, you might find him poring over the thick, MAP books his Realtor mom brought home, full of property listings.

LEFT: Living room: 20-feet-tall curved bay windows soar to a barreled ceiling revealing gorgeous lake views. Completing the room is fine crafted millwork, an Indiana buff limestone fireplace surround, underscored by 7-inch white oak planked flooring that has a slight beveled edge and a wire brush finish. BELOW: Lower level bar and wine room. The 12-foot ceilings show off the beautiful crown moldings and beams, all designed to tie into the curved cabinetry. ABOVE: The master bathroom contains honed Dynasty Pearl white marble floors and floor-to-ceiling wainscot panels that surround the free standing tub’s intimate space

“I would scour through them, looking at the houses and lots that were available. I just loved it. Even as a teen, I was already planning to build my own house someday.”

Those plans, along with a gift for organization, had Malapanes saving every penny from early jobs selling pizza, working at gas stations, and doing odd jobs for his dad’s construction company. He continued to learn all he could about construction, building out basements, building decks. And by the time he was 22, working early hours at O’Hare Airport as a fleet service clerk, Malapanes started bringing his construction tool belts along in his car.

“When I finished my shift, I’d drive around in neighborhoods looking for building sites where a house was being framed up. I’d go on to the site and ask, “Can I work here? Let me work, and pay me what you think I’m worth.”

Such moxie paid off. At 24, Malapanes took $27,000 he’d saved and bought one of the lots he found in his mom’s realty-listing books. With his father’s help, he built his first house.

After that, Malapanes attendance at a custom home-builder’s symposium landed him his first client, a young couple who wanted him to build their new home. And then a bit of luck shone down: Because the property on which he built the couple’s two-story Prairie-style home involved a teardown, a photo of Malapanes next to the finished house was featured in an article about teardowns in the Daily Herald newspaper’s business section.

“Bob and Marcie Paddock, publisher of the Daily Herald, saw the photo of me with that house, and hired me to build their new home in Arlington Heights,” says Malapanes.

From then on, word of Malapanes and the quality of his con-

struction work spread. He has never had a lull since, working with a carefully cultivated group of skilled subcontractors, and bidding jobs for well-renowned architects, and attracting clients throughout the North Shore.

Looking ahead, Malapanes says he will continue his quest to build beautiful custom homes one at a time.

“General contractors are a dying breed—I’m a dying breed. But I love what I do and want to keep doing it,” he says.

To pay that forward, Malapanes says he hopes to mentor other young builders who have the same passion he has. “When you sit down with clients who are full of the vision for the custom home they want you to build, and you know you can personally help them bring that into being, well, that’s a great thing to be a part of.”

For more information, visit homesbyjamesinc.com.

ABOVE:The kitchen island made of Bianco Oro Terrastone Quartz spans 17 feet in length and features a mitered waterfall edge with veining that carries over each side. Behind the island is a 5-foot Wolf dual fuel range with a handcrafted zinc hood that is wrapped with stainless steel banding and rivets. RIGHT: The home theater features a 2-1/4-inch-thick floating marble countertop with a waterfall edge that seats four. Two lower levels have comfortable seating all with a view of the massive diagonal 161-foot screen. Fabric inlay panels flank wall pilasters that tie in beautifully with the beams above. A Lutron lighting control system allows you to set the proper ambiance, and the theatre’s Dolby Atmos format with a Sony projection system feels like a commercial theater.

SEEK SOMETHING MORE.

EXTRAORDINARY MICHIGAN AVENUE CONDOMINIUM RESIDENCES

MODERNIST BY DESIGN

Robert and Alicia Segal. Alicia wearing Maison Margiela dress, Cities In Dust earrings, and Marni bracelets. Robert in J.Crew velvet jacket and Paul Smith tie.

Photography by Monica Kass Rogers

Unison founders Alicia and Robert Segal share their design journey.

WORDS BY MONICA KASS ROGERS / HAIR, MAKEUP & STYLING BY CONSTANTINE JAMES

It’s 9:30 on a sunny summer morning and Alicia and Robert Segal are sitting in their Winnetka living room, talking about the new showroom they are building. It’s for Unison, the modern home goods company the couple founded in 2006, and when the showroom opens in September, it will give visitors the chance to see and touch the carefully crafted minimalist collections shoppers have come to know through Unison’s online store. There are living and dining room furniture collections, tabletop pieces, bedding, and exclusive collaborations designed by local artists such as Chad Kouri, Stephen Eichhorn, and Andrew R. Wright. In all, Unison carries 200 different collections. As the Segals talk about the work, you notice that many of the items they are showing have a clean, simple style very much in keeping with the modern, minimalist aesthetic that’s carried throughout their home.

“That’s no accident!” laughs Alicia, pointing out vases by Maaria Pykalainen, original quilts using vintage Marimekko fabric by Katy Elo, a rug by Armi Ratia, and a blown glass and ceramics collection from Finland. In fact, Alicia and Robert fell in love over Scandinavian minimalist design. More specifically? Over textiles by Finnish design icon Marimekko, as the two gifted creatives met throughout their high school years to talk about music, fashion, art, and design.

“We were obsessed,” explains Alicia, whose parents, a landscape architect and art instructor, filled their 1950s Glencoe home with good design—furniture by Charles Eames and George Nelson for Herman Miller, and colorful accents like Alicia’s childhood bedding, by Marimekko.

In fact, Alicia liked the bright red and pink design called “Happy” by artist Fujiwo Ishimoto on her bedding so much, “I took my scissors and tried to cut the hearts out of “Happy,” she smiles.

Meanwhile, Robert, whose parents founded Crate&Barrel in Chicago in 1962 and pioneered Finland-based Marimekko’s vibrant textiles and apparel in the United States, had fond childhood memories of both the cheerful fabric patterns and the high quality but accessible home goods design his parents championed.

“Our home was full of simple but beautifully designed functional items, everything from coffeemakers, to chairs, and tables,” says Robert. “I especially remember a Design Research wicker sofa with cushions covered in Unikko, the iconic poppy pattern by Maija Isola that Marimekko was known for,” he notes. While he didn’t take scissors to cut the poppies out of the cushions, he did start collecting.

“I would visit the Crate&Barrel offices and sample room, and if there were Marimekko samples that the buyers didn’t approve or need anymore, I’d bring them home,” he recalls.

Large abstract paintings by Katie Loomis and two Unison Home Irving sofas flank the living room’s massive limestone fireplace, while a 25-foot wall of windows shines light on the pecan wood floors. Photography by Monica Kass Rogers

Stitch Bedding, Elston Bedrame, Fulton Oak Furniture, available at unisonhome.com

So when Alicia made her first visit to Robert’s home, “Robert ran out to fetch this enormous stack of Marimekko fabric samples, T-Shirts, and other apparel. I was so impressed.”

While they laugh about it now, Marimekko’s early influence in the couple’s lives would lead the two up the path that eventually resulted in their launch of Unison. Robert did two internships in Finland, and when the couple finished school at RISD—Alicia with a photography degree, and Robert with an MFA in Textiles, they moved to Helsinki and worked at Marimekko for five years.

“We were deeply impressed with the culture, the design, the environment, and the atmosphere there,” says Robert. “And as a company, Marimekko always took a very painterly approach to textiles, hiring young creatives who were encouraged to draw and paint patterns that the company had the technology to reproduce.” While there, Robert was given the opportunity to design fabrics, and to help with several product lines.

“It was a very exciting time because Europe was in the middle of a rebirth and new appreciation for Scandinavian modern design—both the original work, and the new creations artists made in that spirit,” says Robert.

Returning to the U.S. in 2004, when modern design magazines such as Dwell and Wallpaper had taken hold, and interest in new Modernism was exploding, “We knew it was the right time to start our own company,” says Robert.

Initially launched with a collection of bedding, Unison began as a wholesale company. But as the couple expanded their offerings to include limited editions of artist-made home design objects, “It just made sense to transition away from wholesale to a direct to consumer business, with the emphasis on online sales,” explains Robert.

With so many talented artists in the Chicago area, the couple started working with local makers and designers. Unison’s upholstered bed frames are manufactured on the South Side of Chicago by a family-owned company that has been in business since 1946. A recent collaboration with Chicago artist Chad Kouri resulted in a unique throw blanket and a hand-tufted rug being introduced this fall.

At the same time, their family had grown to include three children.

“We knew we wanted to move to the North Shore to be closer to our parents,” says Alicia. “But finding an existing home that fit

our design aesthetic, seemed impossible. We thought we would have to build.”

Then a small miracle happened. Friends who lived in a Modern-Minimalist home that famed architect Tony Grunsfeld had built in Winnetka in 2003, were moving.

“We couldn’t believe our luck,” says Robert. Built on a well-wooded lot, the home, like others Grunsfeld built, was created with windows and orientation designed to capture the best light at all times of the day. The Japanese tradition of positioning the home’s front door at the end of a bending path was used along with an expansive entryway. Other features include the 13-foot ceilings, a 25-foot wall of windows and a massive stone fireplace in the living room. Floors are of pecan wood, stone accents are fossil, and because the house was originally built for a gallerist’s art collection, lighting is designed to showcase artwork.

“When we moved into the space, we were coming from a loft in Chicago, but had no paintings or artwork, except for the textiles and blown glass we had collected from Scandinavia,” says Alicia. New furnishings in their home now include Irving sofas, LaSalle floor lamps, a Kolmar dining table, and 811 dining chairs all from Unison.

And given the vast expanses of clean wall space and gallery lighting, they invested in paintings, drawings, photography, and other works by artists they admired. Large abstract paintings by Katie Loomis welcome visitors in the entry alcove and flank the living room fireplace. In the dining area, twin large-scale floral collages by Stephen Eichhorn are mounted. Photography by Debbie Carlos as well as work by Matthew Hoffman, the custodian of the You Are Beautiful campaign, are also displayed.

“When I grew up, my mother had an easel for us in the backyard and my father used to bring home his hand-drawn design blueprints for me to color,” says Alicia. “They always encouraged us in our art and experience of beautiful interior and exterior spaces. It feels good to raise our children with a similar outlook.”

Looking ahead, Alicia and Robert hope to bring good design into the consciousness of more Americans through Unison.

“We believe versatility and quality are what people are looking for,” says Robert. “We strive to create and offer product that is warm and approachable through honest materials, quality craftsmanship, and a neutral color palette—all of this to fit harmoniously into each individual’s home.”

For more information, visit unisonhome.com.

Heller Dinnerware and Stelton Carafe and Galvin Flatware, available at unisonhome.com

Irving Sofa, Gunnison Armchair, Sashi Geo Rug, Dome Lamp, Collum Tables, available at unisonhome.com

simply stunning

LIVING & GIVING

PEOPLE, PHILANTHROPY, AND EVENTS

The Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital hosted an opening night party for the 3rd Annual Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show raising more than $200,000.

PAGE 108

DINING & CONVERSATION GALA, PAGE 102

SOS Children’s Villages Illinois welcomed 150 guests for dinner and intimate conversations with celebrity luminaries at its annual gala.

EXPANDING OUR HORIZONS, PAGE 106

The Art Center Highland Park (TACHP) hosted its annual Spring Benefit, celebrating 50 years in the community and the opening of Bert Leveille’s Streaming Reflections and TACHP’s enLIGHTen

BGCC’S SUMMER BALL, PAGE 112

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago’s (BGCC) Woman’s Board hosted its 70th annual Summer Ball raising $2.68 million for Chicago area youth.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

Sally Brown Thilman, Sarah Vaile

& LIVING GIVING

DINING & CONVERSATION GALA

sosillinois.org

SOS Children’s Villages Illinois hosted 150 guests at its annual gala, Dining & Conversation, sponsored by Sodexo, in May. The day began with a Leadership Reception at 210 Design House, a tour of Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, and an opportunity for SOS Illinois foster parents to discuss the rewards and challenges of caring for foster children. The evening dinner was held in the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, as the 2019 Luminaries visited each table for an intimate conversation with guests.

Luminaries included Christian Bale, Adam McKay, David Eigenberg, Zach Filkins, Gillian Flynn, and more.

Jonah Siegellak, Gina Adduci, Tina Balderas, Mel La Giglia, Natalie Wyeth Earnest, David Eigenberg, John La Giglia, Zoe Borys, Reyahd Kazmi

SOS Illinois CEO Tim McCormick, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Rich Gamble

Brad Lozier, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, Michael Landers, Reyahd Kazmi, Michael Collins

Zach Filkins, Jim Wolfe

Roni Neumann, Christian Bale

SOS Illinois Alumni Tevin Marteth, Gillian Flynn

Christian Bale

& LIVING GIVING

MRW BENEFIT COMMITTEE LUNCHEON foundation.northshore.org/mrw

The Myra Rubenstein Weis (MRW) Benefit Committee hosted its 23rd annual luncheon with a sellout crowd and record-breaking $100,000 in proceeds. Funds raised will be used to support wellness and education through NorthShore University HealthSystem, including the “Arts 4 Health” program, a new mental health initiative for teens, and an innovative pilot project aimed to educate the next generation about personalized medicine.

A SHOW OF SUPPORT

famservice.org

Family Service of Lake County hosted its 10th annual A Show of Support event on May 4 at Exmoor Country Club. The magical evening supported high-quality counseling for all ages and education programs for community members in need. Guests enjoyed Mediterranean-themed appetizers with bubbly drinks, and had the opportunity to win big in both the silent auction and paddle raise. Randy Bernstein caught the attention of guests with an amazing comedic magic performance.

Jamie Engle, Ari Goldsmith, Debbie Ori

Eileen Rubenstein Goldstein, Gabrielle Cummings, Paul Goldstein, MD

MRW Benefit Committee

Paul Caccia, Carmela Zammuto

Rolly Davidson & Terri Tiersky

Marcia Kozak, Claire Kozak, Rick Kozak, Eileen Kozak

& LIVING GIVING

The Art Institute of Chicago celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Modern Wing with its bi-annual gala, Masterpiece19, on May 4. The spectacular event, raising vital funds for the museum’s operations, was co-chaired by Andrea and Jim Gordon, Stephanie and John Harris, and Nancy and Scott Santi. Nearly 400 guests enjoyed delicious bites at the reception in the museum’s Modern Wing, which included engaging installations and a special performance by the Chicago Children’s Choir. Guests then proceeded across the street to a tent on the South Promenade of Millennium Park for dinner and an after-party. Following dinner, guests danced the night away to a performance by music industry legends, The Temptations.

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Karen Gray-Krehbiel

Richard Townsend, Scott Johnson, Gary Metzner

The Temptations

Nancy Santi, Stephanie Harris

Alexandra & John Nichols

Lamont Jones, Stacy Sharpe

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY

& LIVING GIVING

JILL ALBERTS JEWELRY GRAND OPENING

jillalberts.com

North Shore style maven Jill Alberts hosted guests in her new showroom located at 311 Park Avenue, in Glencoe, in early May. Guests sipped bubbly and explored the new store’s collection of elegant, modern jewelry designed by Alberts, and handcrafted pieces from a variety of artists hand-selected by Alberts.

EXPANDING OUR HORIZONS

theartcenterhp.org

The Art Center Highland Park (TACHP) hosted its annual Spring Benefit, celebrating 50 years in the community. The event is the center’s largest fundraiser and this year honored Wendy Abrams and Jacqueline Chilow. Zoraida Sambolin from NBC 5 News Today served as the celebrity host and Marla Gilbert and Debbie Hall served as co-chairs, planning a brilliant and creative evening. Two exhibits opened during the evening including Bert Leveille’s Streaming Reflections and TACHP’s enLIGHTen.

Marcy Travis, Jennie Soudan

PHOTOGRAPHY

Laura Lederer, Sally Lou Loveman, Vicki Stauber

Jill Alberts & Henry Givray

Paula & Michael Winter

Debbie Hall, Marla Gilbert

The Chilow Family

CONTEMPORARY HOMES. ICONIC ARCHITECTURE.

All floor plans shown are for illustrative purposes only. Floor plans may not depict final design of units as constructed and may not be drawn to scale. All sketches, renderings, architectural models, materials, plans, specifications, terms, prices, conditions and statements, including estimated timeframes and dates, contained herein are proposed only and are not intended to constitute representations. Developer reserves the right to make modifications in its sole discretion and without prior notice. All photographs and renderings are merely intended as illustrations of the activities and concepts depicted therein as interpreted by the artists. Developer makes no representations regarding any view and/or exposure to light at any time including any existing or future construction by either owner or a third party. Square footage and ceiling heights are approximate and may be based on various measurement methodologies, subject to construction variances and tolerances, as well as redesign, and vary from unit to unit (and may vary from floor to floor). This brochure shall not constitute a valid offer in any jurisdiction where prior registration is required and not yet fulfilled. Where used, developer shall mean Tribune Tower West (Chicago) Owner, LLC and its affiliated entities and their respective managers, members, directors, shareholders, partners, agents, affiliates and employees. The CHICAGO TRIBUNE® sign is used under license. All Rights Reserved. Developer License #2556130.

DL# 2556130

& LIVING GIVING

CHICAGO ANTIQUES + ART + DESIGN SHOW OPENING NIGHT

chicagoantiquesartdesign.com SHERIDAN ROAD 108

The Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital hosted an opening night party for the 3rd Annual Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show at Merchandise Mart before the three-day show opened to the public. The event featured more than 60 premier national and international exhibitors who presented an array of fine antique furniture, and decorative and fine arts from the 17th through 20th centuries. More than 325 guests attended the opening night party and over $200,000 was raised to support Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Cathy Busch, Charlotte Busch

Stephanie Madigan, Elizabeth Bigelow

Fernando Wong, Leslie McLamore

Sarah Vaile, Sally Brown Thilman, Nicholas Wolfe, Jenny Brown, Kelly Kaiser

Stuart Dyer, Alison McNally, Elizabeth Pruett

Holly Cortes, Charenton Drake

Cathy Busch, Amanda Lindroth, Fernando Wong

& LIVING GIVING

A COURAGEOUS CONVERSATION

usagainstalzheimers.org

On May 7, Brain health advocate and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) board member Karen Segal hosted A Courageous Conversation at Neiman Marcus Northbrook Court, detailing the latest risk reduction research as part of UsA2’s nationwide launch of the Be Brain Powerful Campaign. The guest panel included Meryl Comer, Darby Morhardt, and Kelly O’Brien.

25TH ANNUAL SPRING LUNCHEON

thewomansboard.org

The Woman’s Board of Rush University Medical Center hosted its 25th Annual Spring Luncheon. 530 guests enjoyed a reception and seated lunch, followed by an inspiring speech by keynote speaker Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, who also serves as Chair of The Elders, UN Special Envoy on climate Change, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. More than $300,000 was raised and will support the Medical Center’s education, research, and community service programs.

Emily Merjan, Joani Oslan, Geena Zaslavsky

Dena Perry, Karen Segal

Meryl Comer, Frenchye Harris, Karen Segal, Linda Piepho

PHOTOGRAPHY

Gwen Solberg, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, Anne Loucks

Wilma Smelcer, Malou Rawls, Anne Hokin

Colby Gaines, Elizabeth Maier

Karen Gray-Krehbiel

Choose

& LIVING GIVING

BGCC’S SUMMER BALL

bgcc.org

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago’s (BGCC) Woman’s Board hosted its 70th annual Summer Ball in June, raising funds for Chicago area youth and honoring the dedication of seven women—Renée Crown, Linda Gantz, Ellen O’Connor, Barbara Pearlman, Bonnie Stearns, Lisbeth Stiffel, and Jocelyn Stoller—who have all served on the Board for more than 30 years. With more than 500 in attendance, the event raised a record-breaking $2.68 million.

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and True Value Keystone & Torch Club Members

Linda & Bill Gantz

Robin Hungler, Caroline Gantz Burns, Ashley Dannis Ellen O’Connor

Barb Speer, Nancy Santi with event performers

WORDS BY ELIZABETH PORTER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT CARL AND BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF CHICAGO

& LIVING GIVING

ERIKA’S LIGHTHOUSE 15TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

erikaslighthouse.org

Nearly 200 supporters turned out for Erika’s Lighthouse’s signature springtime fundraiser, this year celebrating the group’s 15th anniversary. Guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while raising nearly $100,000 in net proceeds. The evening featured a live auction with luxury exclusive and experiential packages, a paddle raise, and music at the Valley Lo Club in Glenview.

Betsy Kaplan, Demi Charalab, Miranda Catallo

Sam Winegardner, Spencer Shiele

Ginny & Tom Neuckranz

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY MILLER

BY ANA MIY ARES AND BOB

& LIVING GIVING

MUSIC INSTITUTE ANNIVERSARY GALA musicinst.org

On May 20, the Music Institute of Chicago hosted 300 guests at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago for its 2019 Anniversary Gala. The evening consisted of a cocktail reception followed by a chic dinner and presentation of awards. Several music performances took place throughout the event, including a surprise performance from 2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis and Music Institute students. The event raised more than $850,000 from contributions, ticket sales, and table sponsorships.

Christine Morse, Wynton Marsalis, Jeff Morse

Alexandra Nichols, Caryn & King Harris

Wynton Marsalis

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

needs,” Porter says. “For us, no two clients are the same and every relationship is customized. We don’t take a cookie cutter approach.”

The Porter Group provides customized investment solutions for their clients by striving to keep the team continually educated about a broad range of investment options.

“Intensive education combined with Merrill Lynch’s extensive menu of choices and services enables us to bring unparalleled value to our clients,” says Porter.

Porter adds that the wealth management process has evolved over the years with a particular focus on diversification, including investment alternatives such as hedge funds, private equity, and real assets.

“Investment alternatives were a steep learning curve for our team but are now a key ingredient of our portfolio for the right client,” Porter says.

Porter also understands the multi-generational aspects of family investments, and the challenges involved in wealth transfer.

“Wealth management and retirement planning are very important but so is wealth transfer planning and trust and philanthropic services,” Porter says. “We partner with Bank of America Trust Services and are very involved in both the cumulation and distribution phases of assets.”

Family relationships can sometimes be tricky, but Porter says it comes down to education and building trust with clients, and taking a team approach.

“Being involved in the overall family dynamic is important,” he says. “We spend time with the whole team—the accountants and the lawyers—that a family needs so we can understand every facet of a client’s financial picture.”

From a financial products standpoint, Porter says, the investment advisor field has largely become a commodities business rather than a personalized one. Type in a few keystrokes and let the system do the work. The wise choice is to get financial guidance from an advisor who’s willing to take the time to understand you and who knows the process and products.

The Porter Group utilizes an investment model developed by Merrill Lynch that looks at a client’s age and existing income and develops a long-term plan based on multiple factors.

“A client might have some guaranteed income, such as social security or a pension, or some traditional assets like stocks and bonds, or an annuity.” Porter says. “We want to be able to look at the full picture and then bring our knowledge of additional investment opportunities to the table to educate them and broaden their options.”

The fact that Porter has been with Merrill Lynch for his entirecareer, in a business where advisors often switch companies, brings an added stability for clients.

“It’s challenging to find someone like myself who’s been with the same company that long,” he says.

Steven K. Porter wants to poke his nose into your business. In a good way.

A Wealth Management Advisor who leads The Porter Group, located in the Merrill Lynch Northbrook office, Porter and his associates pride themselves on building close, long-term relationships with clients.

“The most important components of the wealth management business are relationships and understanding clients’ goals and

Porter grew up on the golf courses of Chicago’s Western Suburbs, starting out as a caddy and eventually becoming an assistant pro. Then serendipity struck.

“Growing up on golf courses, around people making deals, an opening came up to join the financial industry and I took a flyer on it,” he says. “Thirty-seven years later here I am.”

Steven K. Porter and the Porter Group are located at 1033 Skokie Boulevard in Northbrook, 847-564-7213, fa.ml.com/illinois/northbrook/theportergroup/.

WORDS BY MITCH HURST

The Porter Group provides customized investment advice built on a foundation of close relationships with clients.

Steven K. Porter

CANCER SCREENING GUIDELINES

WORDS BY CHIRAG PATEL, MD PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK ISHMAN

For both men and women over age 50, recommended cancer screenings include colon cancer and in certain cases lung cancer. Men also test for prostate cancer and women for breast and cervical cancers.

Colon cancer screening starts at age 50, although screening is recommended at an earlier age in high risk family history cases. Various testing options are available including fecal immunochemical test (FIT), guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT), stool DNA test, or MT-sDNA, CT colonography or virtual colonoscopy, and the colonoscopy. Capsule endoscopy is a newer procedure where the patient swallows a capsule with cameras on each end taking thousands of pictures, transmitted wirelessly to a recorder. Although less invasive than the colonoscopy, it is not the first choice for cancer screening and more often is used for small intestinal surveillance, where scopes cannot reach.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. Lung cancer screening is considered on a case by case basis. In patients with a chronic smoking history, lowdose CT scans are recommended for early lung cancer detection. The frequency of these scans should be determined by your primary physician or lung specialist (pulmonologist).

For men, prostate cancer screening is recommended at age 50 onward. The common blood test called the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is often ordered with routine blood testing performed on a yearly basis. However, the PSA is not specific for prostate cancer as its level can be elevated due to other conditions such as infection, elevated parathyroid hormone, or an enlarged prostate. Physicians have varying opinions on whether to test and how frequently testing should occur.

Women with an average risk of breast cancer should undergo regular screening mammography starting at age 45. Women aged 45 to 54 years should be screened annually. Women 55 years and older should screen every other year. Screening should continue biennially with a life expectancy of 10 years or longer. Other newer testing includes blood marker tests and MRI of the breast, although these tests should not replace the mammogram screening.

All women should begin cervical cancer testing (screening) at age 21. Women aged 21 to 29, should have a Pap test every 3 years. At age 30, a pap test is combined with an HPV test every 5 years. This interval testing should continue until the age of 65. The testing interval changes based on test results, high-risk factors, and other medical conditions based on your primary care and/or gynecologist’s recommendations.

There are always exceptions to the rule, so be sure discuss your personal health and cancer screening with your primary care physician.

Hansa Medical Groupe has offices at 5250 Old Orchard Road, Suite 300, in Skokie, and in Chicago, 847-920-0902, hansamedicalgroupe.com.

The Right Bathroom Fan Matters

Reduce the chances of mold or condensation damage to your home while creating a healthier indoor air environment for your family. From simple renovation to full-scale remodel, no bathroom makeover is complete without an energy-efficient, whisper-quiet ventilation solution from Panasonic. Our bathroom fans create cleaner, healthier environments for families big and small. These powerful, Energy Star® fans can be easily managed with humidity sensors to clear moisture and motion sensors that automatically activate the fan when someone enters the room. A built-in timer will even turn the unit off to reduce home energy costs.

WORDS BY STEVEN BLOCH, M.D.

Plastic Surgery Update: Male Breast Reduction

Gynecomastia or over development of the male breast is a common condition. Some studies indicate that the incidence may be as high as 25 percent. It may be the result of heredity, disease, or the use of certain drugs. For many, it begins in puberty. If the case is mild it may disappear on its own. For more significant cases surgery is usually needed.

Gynecomastia can cause significant emotional problems and impair one’s self-confidence. Often it causes the male to avoid certain physical activities and intimacy.

In general, gynecomastia can surgically be treated by removing excess fat, glandular tissue, and/or skin. More mild cases can often be successfully treated non-invasively with either CoolSculpt or Liposonix. Both of these technologies destroy some of the underlying fat in a targeted fashion.

For larger cases, liposuction or open surgical intervention is required. Liposuction techniques have advanced to the point that it can be used to treat most cases. Newer techniques using Laser Assisted Liposuction or Ultrasound Assisted Laser help to tighten the overlying skin, avoiding large incisions. In the case of more glandular tissue, this can often be removed through the same liposuction incision with instruments that can grind up the glandular tissue so that it too can be suctioned out.

The procedure is usually performed under light sedation on an outpatient basis. Risks and complications are usually mild but, like any procedure, may involve contour irregularities and bleeding. Occasionally other procedures may involve nipple reduction or areola reduction. This may be done either at the same time or as a secondary procedure. I have found over the years that these patients tend to be some of the most grateful. For many, it gives them the self-confidence to enjoy their bodies and participate in activities that they once avoided.

For additional information, visit bodybybloch.com or Dr. Bloch can be reached at his Highland Park office at 847-432-0840.

BodyByBloch bodybybloch Steven Bloch MDBodybybloch

CONSTRUCTING HIS BUSINESS

Ted Pickus parlays experience in his family’s construction business into a successful real estate career.

WORDS BY MITCH HURST PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

Take an early morning stroll along the boardwalk of Highland Park’s Rosewood Beach and you’re likely to find Ted Pickus engaged in his daily workout routine.

“Rosewood Beach is my sanctuary,” Pickus says.

A real estate broker with @properties in Highland Park, Pickus has deep roots in the North Shore. He’s lived in Highland Park for 25 years and has raised his four children in the community.

Pickus was born in Waukegan to a family that had real estate in its DNA. His grandfather started a construction company, which was carried on by his father.

“I grew up in the construction and development environment,” Pickus says. “I got a good taste of real estate so it was natural for me to go into the business. I knew I always wanted to do it.”

After studying real estate and finance at Arizona State University (he says the weather made it tough to come back home), Pickus returned to the North Shore to join the family business.

By then the business had purchased a large parcel of land in Island Lake along the Fox River and was developing a subdivision, including housing and retail. Pickus headed up marketing and sales for the project.

“It was very rewarding to see the development of a community, from raw land to a full community,” he says.

Pickus immersed himself in the business as it expanded to develop more housing and commercial properties.

The death of Pickus’s father in 2008 and the downturn in the construction business precipitated a move to establish his own real estate business.

“I started out buying and rehabbing homes and selling them,” Pickus says. “But I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of subcontractors, and after five homes I realized I just wanted to be a broker.”

More than a decade later, Pickus has firmly established himself as a top broker in Highland Park, from where 70 to 80 percent of his business is generated.

“I really love what I do,” says Pickus. “It’s very satisfying to help clients move into a first home, move up into a family home, or downsize into a home or a condo.”

He adds, “My kids played youth sports and I got to know a lot of parents going to their games. I parlayed those relationships to build my business.”

When he first started selling real estate on the North Shore, one thing Pickus noticed was that selling brokers rarely showed up for showings.

“I feel if a client has hired me to sell their house I should go to

every showing,” Pickus says.

As his business expanded he added two team members, Lisa Schulkin and Aaron Walsh, to make sure there was representation at every showing.

“Together we learn the house so we can best represent the seller when showing a home to potential buyers,” he says.

While Pickus doesn’t give direct advice to buyers on how they might rehab or make additions to a property, his background in construction comes in handy.

“I have an eye that gravitates toward ceilings or water heaters,” he says. “I can provide insights into the home and opportunities for remodeling.”

He adds, “Buyers might ask me if they can open up this or that wall. I feel like I can give them an educated answer even though I advise them to confirm with a contractor.”

The journey from family business to building his own has been serendipitous, but Pickus has embraced it.

“I thought I’d be with the family business forever,” he says. “This is where I’m meant to be.”

Ted Pickus’s @properties office is located at 607 Central Avenue in Highland Park, 847-432-0700.

Ted Pickus