The North Shore Weekend, October 29th, 2022

MEET LYDIA KUTKO

BY RONI MOORE NEUMANN THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Already a hyphenate—mother-fashion designer-art consultant-business owner, Lydia Kutko, at age 40, is building her art and fashion empire from her home base in Glencoe.

This Madison, Wisconsin native, turned New Yorker, went to the Big Apple with an art history undergraduate degree. She jumped into an Art Market Studies master’s program at the Fashion Institute of Technology, with her eye on gaining exposure to every aspect of the art world.

Her journey continued during her internship for the global “domestic doy enne”—author, entertainer, and business woman—Martha Stewart.

While working for America’s first selfmade female billionaire was not for the faint of heart, Kutko reveled in the role, as she built sets, staged product demonstra tions, and created holiday table settings.

“As I learned the basics of prop styling and beauty shots, what I appreciated first-hand is that Martha’s eye for display is impeccable, as is her ability to merchan dise and sell her brand extensions,” says Kutko.

During that time, Kutko also learned

to trust her instincts. When she saw a gap in the art consulting world, she fused her art education and sense of style with a set of edgy artist friends along with her jet fuel—passion—to launch an art consul tancy.

“I knew how to read an artist’s CV and gauge if this was the right artist to invest in and/or love. As a natural negotiator, I prided myself on representing clients’ best interests, while being respectful to the galleries and artists we partnered with,” says Kutko.

“Part of my goal was to remove the real and/or perceived snobbery from the process. I wanted to make the acquisition of and the appreciation for art more about access and valued relationships rather than a club that only a select few could be a part of.”

Fifteen years in, her firm, LK Art Consultants, “brings exceptional artwork and installations into homes, offices, gal leries, commercial, residential, and public spaces.”

“It didn’t matter if the art was $5,000 or $500,000, I wanted to make the buying and living with art relatable and fun,” she continues. “I think that this energy and purpose led to the great team I have at LK Art Consultants. We’ve grown to a

David Golder of Glencoe leads the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago's Board P14

MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY

firm that serves the major U.S. art hubs of New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles with clients everywhere in between.” Kutko opened an LK Art Consultants’ viewing room in Glencoe earlier this year and hopes it will bring exciting and relevant art and services to the community.

The formula for a residential consultation involves surveying a client’s space, developing a collection strategy, conducting viewings, and visiting art fairs across the globe. The ac

moved with their young family to a home in East Glencoe. The move was inspired, as many are, to be closer to family. “We were ready to put down roots and felt this was the right place for us. Stefan grew up in Glen coe and having grandparents for our young children has been a welcome change for us all,” she explains.

Bringing children into your life changes everything, and with that, Kutko realized another opportunity—this time in fashion.

As Kutko explains, “The breast milk, jelly, and cooking inspired me to search for an apron or a smock. After weeks of searching, I realized I hated the idea of a smock. Why would I wear one? I needed clothes that worked for me and that looked good going to work.”

quisition process is a seamless collaboration with private clients and/or interior designers, with the work involving overall coordination, framing, case design, pedestal fabrication, and refinement on an ongoing basis.

“I also needed them to feel good, look luxe, not pinch my changing waist and allow me to go in and out of my home with ease. My life was many things: I went from art fairs to dinners to the grocery and home, just as all people have many dimensions of their lives in one day.”

“I didn’t want to look like I was about to work out. I wasn’t working out. I was work ing hard in my career and hoping to work on myself, and so many of the young mothers I knew were doing many of those same things. And we all wanted to live our lives with a sense of the style we had always had.”

That’s when Mother Oxford came to life. “I always had a great button-up shirt, but truth be told they felt too menswear-like or too body-conscious. I needed something with great tailoring, that stood up to messes, and most importantly offered an easy, gener ous fit.”

“So, I grabbed my best shirt and started picking it apart. I wrote my “wish list” of attributes. I went as far as studying fashion sketching by learning how to make a croquis. It was exhilarating and I knew I was on the right path because I was facing my fear of drawing and it felt good to challenge myself.”

Six months later, friends started to hear she had this idea. They said: “make it and we will buy it.” “It felt like a revolution. We all wanted to have practical but gorgeous per formance apparel that spoke to our roles in and out of the family, as women. Mother Oxford was going to do just that.”

diverse array of sizes.

“We’re a “fit” company—performance quality is icing on the cake. What our team is doing with Mother Oxford is to dial distractions down for our customers. We’re trying to solve the ‘what to wear’ challenge

and to clear the clutter. It’s all about our customer, who I think about and I care about ... because I am her,” she continues.

“My biggest job as CEO is to make the brand,” Kutko says. And her brand continues to grow with fulfillment in a commercial facility in Northbrook. “It feels exciting to invest in the North Shore, to have offices and bring career paths to mothers here.”

According to Kutko, her well-honed eye for design helps art look its best when installed. “That’s a skill that we use to incor porate art into a client’s home, seriously and with joy,” she notes.

In 2021, Kutko and husband, Stefan,

Kutko designed and created the “Mother” of all oxfords. Today, her company, Mother Oxford, offers a highly curated selection of spillfriendly fashion pieces: button-up shirts and dresses which speak to moms and beyond, including a

“For now, Mother Oxford is focusing on retail and wholesale strategies, but its real win is direct to consumer. We are crush ing online sales and are excited to bring women new Mother Oxford styles—such as the short sleeve with detachable collars so Mother Oxford wearers can switch up the color or pattern of their collar in a snap.” A versatile product just like the woman who designed it. Stay tuned, there’s more to come from the art and fashion-savvy Kutko.

For more information, visit lkartconsultants. com and motheroxford.com.

Barbara Kasten, Collision 121, 2019. Digital Chromogenic Print

Kutko in front of Antone Könst, Tiger Lilies, 2021, oil on canvas. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY

Spencer Finch, Study for Goldberg Variations 22, 23, 24, 2021, (6) 48”. Fluorescent fixtures, lamps, and filters

Dashiell Manley, February possibly (August), 2020. Oil on linen

MINUTES FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS

ENGEL & VÖLKERS

On Saturday, October 15th, Engel & Völkers hosted our third annual 60 Minutes for Special Olympics fundraising event. All Engel & Völkers Americas’ shops and network members participated in the fundraiser and pledged to spend 60 minutes engaged in any form of exercise to support the cause.

We are excited to share that our network has exceeded our fundraising goal for this event, raising a record-breaking $102,399.99 over the past weeks.

Thank you to all who participated, donated, and supported this fundraiser!

As leaders in our communities, we seek to empower others not only to better our neighborhoods but our world. We are committed to giving back to and investing in the neighborhoods our clients desire because these too are the places in which we live, play, and raise our families. Special Olympics athletes contribute to our story. From them we learn, we think differently and realize what we can accomplish as individuals, as local brokerages, and together across time zones—it’s a common good that unites us. Every hour given, every dollar donated, every kind word spoken and every door opened creates opportunities for those who need it most. We believe that in order to lead, we must empower others to do the same.

NORTH SHORE FOODIE

NEW YORK CRUSTLESS CHEESECAKE WITH CANDIED LEMON

BY MONICA KASS ROGERS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

INGREDIENTS

• 6 large eggs

• 2 cups (1 pound) sour cream

• 4, 8-ounce chubs of cream cheese

• ¼ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus 2 Tbsp for greasing the springform pan

• 1 ½ cups pure cane sugar

• ¼ tsp salt

• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• Juice of ½ fresh lemon, to make 2 tsp

• 2 tsp lemon zest (I use a microplane to grate)

FOR CANDIED LEMON SLICES

• 2 fresh lemons, washed and sliced into very thin wheels, seeds dis carded

• 3 cups sugar

• 3 cups water

• Parchment-lined sheet pan

METHOD

MAKE CHEESECAKE: With oven rack in center position, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Generously grease the sides and bottom of a 9 x 3-inch springform pan with 2 Tbsp of butter. (Wrap the sides and bottom of the pan in foil to prevent any leakage while the cake bakes in water bath.) In standing mixer, with whisk attachment, whip eggs and sour cream well. Remove mixer bowl and fit stand mixer with second clean mixer bowl OR pour egg/sour cream mixture into a bowl and set aside, refitting egg/sourcream coated mixer bowl onto stand mixer. Place cream cheese in mixer bowl and whip until very smooth, using spatula to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 1 stick softened butter a few pieces at a time and continue to whip until all butter is incorporated into the cream cheese and mixture is very smooth. Turn mixer speed to medium low and add the egg/sour cream mixture, continuing to beat until very smooth, using a spatula to scrape any remaining cream cheese bits from the side of the bowl. Beat in vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Place batter-filled springform pan into a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water around the cheesecake pan to create a water bath that reaches about half-way up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours and 15 minutes. While cake bakes, make candied lemon slices.

MAKE CANDIED LEMON SLICES: In a large pot over medium heat, bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to low. Add lemon slices. Simmer lemon slices for one hour, stirring gently on occasion to move slices to different depths in the syrup. Once finished, the slices will be transparent. Remove candied lemon slices, shake off extra syrup, and place on a parchment lined drying rack. Use a fork to smooth the center fibers of the lemon. Allow to air dry for 24 hours. Slices will still be pliable.

FINISH CHEESECAKE: After 2 hours and 15 minutes of baking, remove water-filled roasting pan and cheesecake from oven and set on a wide, secure surface. Remove cheesecake pan from water bath. Remove and discard foil wrapper. Set cheesecake, still in springform pan, on a cooling rack and completely cool. Place cooled cheesecake, still in pan, in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours (overnight is best.) To serve, remove cake from springform pan and place on serving platter. Deco rate with wheels of candied lemon and some daisies or other edible flowers.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA KASS ROGERS

GUIDANCE IS GOLDER

BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT

Former New Trier East High School JV wrestler of the year David Golder isn’t a hard man to pin down off the mats.

Named the chair of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago’s Board of Directors on September 15, the 65-yearold Golder—a former Winnetkan and a Glencoe resident since the early 2000s—has always, always, always been all about everyone but … David Golder.

“I believe strongly in servant leadership,” Golder says, referring to the approach to leadership that asserts the most effective lead ers strive to serve others, rather than establish power or exert control.

His late father, Stanley Golder—one of Chicago’s pioneers in the field of venture capitalism and a man who built furniture in his basement and a sterling reputation as a serial philanthropist—held an identical belief.

“My father,” Golder says, “enjoyed tremen dous business success. But he also found the time to show, in many ways, a commitment to giving back, one being the founding, with my mother (Joan), of the Golder Family Foundation.

“Many people told me, after his death, how well he treated people. A number of others mentioned their appreciation for the time my father spent mentoring them.”

A number attached to the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago: 500,000.

That’s how many Chicago-area people— Jewish and non-Jewish—the communitydriven humanitarian organization has posi tively impacted this year. The Jewish United Fund (JUF) believes in the extraordinary power of its resilient community to unite, empower, help, and heal.

For more than 120 years, JUF has served people of all faiths in Chicago, Israel, and across the globe. It’s a welcoming and inclusive community, inspired by Jewish values, committed to eradicating hunger, isolation and inequities, and uplifting people to find health, harmony, unity, prosperity, and peace.

JUF’s wonderful, endur ing mission, in essence: “To amplify our collec tive strength to make the world a better place—for everyone.”

The world became a wobbly place when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Ukraine was home to 200,000 Jews then. Tens of thousands hid from explosions in bomb shelters or

synagogues, and thousands more abandoned their homes to flee the fighting.

JUF acted swiftly, the only way it knows how to act in times of crisis. At the onset of the hostilities in Ukraine, JUF advanced $1 million in emergency funds to its partners on the ground. An additional $6.71 million in emergency allocations followed.

JUF provided $21.6 million in COVID-19 relief funding across the Chicago area in five key areas: emergency financial aid; health and safety; expanded social services; organiza tional stability; and food assistance.

Among its other “How We Help” pro grams are Health and Security; Israel and Overseas; Jewish Experiences; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and Advocacy and

cool stuff,” says Golder, who, in addition to his vital JUF role, manages investment strategy as managing partner of Golder Investment Management, LLC, and oversees philanthropic operations as vice president and treasurer of the Golder Family Foundation. “There are a lot of components to JUF; the range is wide.”

JUF has a long and widely respected legacy of leadership. We have an incredible opportunity to make an impact on so many levels in Chicago and

legacy of leadership. We have an incredible opportunity to make an impact on so many levels in Chicago and around the world. I am truly honored to take on this role. People have asked me, ‘Are you ready for this?’ I tell them, without hesitation, ‘Yes!’ What makes it quite manageable, and rewarding, for me is the professional team we have in place. Our board leadership is fantastic.”

Golder, the NTEHS grappler, was a quiet teen and a focused student, with a small circle of friends. He majored in Speech Com munications at Drake University and later collected a graduate degree in e-business at the University of Chicago.

One of his first jobs in his 20s was as a photographer’s assistant. Golder handled lighting duties and set up scenes for photog raphers employed by Better Homes & Gardens, Good Housekeeping, and Architectural Digest, among other magazines.

He also worked in the First National Bank of Chicago’s in-house TV production depart ment.

Years later he launched Lightfall Interac tive Media and served as its president.

One of Golder’s priorities in the first year of his two-year term as chair of JUF/Jewish Federation of Chicago’s Board of Directors is to gain a deeper understanding of what draws younger folks to become con nected to JUF and its calling.

Stanley Golder built tables and cabi netry in his Winnetka basement all those

His son plans to construct bridges— the figurative kind—for JUF. The ones that connect genera

“I have come to a place in life where I feel a tremen dous responsibility to contribute all I can to the community,” says Golder, who previously cochaired JUF’s Health and Human Services Commission, chaired JUF’s Government Affairs and Breakthrough Fund committees, and served as vice chair of the board from “JUF,” he continues, “has a long and widely respected

At the national level as a Jewish communi ty leader, Golder is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and chaired the Domestic Policy & Government Affairs Council for JFNA.

One of the past chairs of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie?

Golder.

A past president of Temple Jeremiah in Northfield?

Golder.

One of the past chairs of the Board of Trustees of Drake University?

You get one guess.

“I don’t like to sit around,” Golder says.

Neither does his wife, Carol, the chair of Open Communities, an Evanston-based organization that encourages fair housing practices through education.

David and Carol raised two children, Cait lin, 28, and Jacob, 24.

David Golder likes to fly fish and play golf in his free time.

His inquisitor wants to know the best part of Golder’s golf game.

“Easy,” Golder begins, cracking a fairwaywide smile. “When I put my clubs away.”

No need to worry about Golder’s JUF “game.”

It’s long and straight.

Every time.

The Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, 312-346-6700, is located at 30 South Wells Street, Chicago. Visit juf.org for more information.

GLENCOE’S DAVID GOLDER IS HONORED TO SERVE AS CHAIR OF THE JEWISH UNITED FUND/ JEWISH FEDERATION OF CHICAGO’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

David Golder