STATE OF REAL ESTATE 2023
Some factors have cooled the uber-hot real estate market across the country. But make no mistake. We are still reaping the rewards of a highly in-demand Greenwich market. And there’s good news for both buyers and sellers.
by chris hodenfieldSOUND OF JOY
Greenwich native Susy Markoe Schieffelin opens up candidly about how her battle with addiction and shame set her on a path to help millions find their own inner peace.
by jamie marshall
16 EDITOR’S LETTER
16 FOUNDER’S PAGE
Of Riverside and Realty
20 STATUS REPORT
BUZZ Student-led Flower Pedals
Adaptive Dance gives dancers of all ages and physical abilities a place to build self-esteem and find joy. SHOP Accessory boutique Gas Bijoux opens on the Avenue; Find the workout gear that will actually make you want to work out. GO We take a once-in-a-lifetime journey to the heart of majestic Africa; Looking for something closer to home? A quick car ride will land you in the lap of luxury at Wildflower Farm in the Hudson Valley HOME Look out, curves ahead; Create the perfect potting shed. DO Stephen Candland of Greenwich Private Staffing offers advice on hiring the right people to manage your life. EAT A culinary delight, Il Pastaficio offers truly authentic Italian cuisine.
58 G-MOM
Estate planning is more than just a will—plan now to make things easier tomorrow; Greenwich Moms Network helps us spring into spring.
63 PEOPLE & PLACES
American Red Cross Metro New York North Chapter; Junior League of Greenwich; Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich; Transportation Association of Greenwich; Person to Person; Serpentine Jewels; Commuters & Shakers
77 VOWS
Haller–Seidenstein; Purse–Powell
105 CALENDAR
119 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
120 POSTSCRIPT
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Raised in Connecticut and a resident of New Canaan, Maureen P. McEvoy, MD, provides comprehensive breast surgery care using minimally invasive and oncoplastic techniques to achieve cosmetically optimal outcomes. She focuses on minimizing surgery and maximizing patient care, offering surveillance for those with a high risk of breast cancer, performing lumpectomies, mastectomies and nipple-sparing mastectomies, and practicing de-escalation of axillary surgery.
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Our reputation as a leader in luxury is unrivaled. Global industry experts at Luxury Lifestyle Awards have named William Raveis among the elite Top 100 Real Estate Brokers and Developers of the World for 2022. Everywhere, from Nice to Naples, Greenwich to Greece, people recognize our luxury brand and luxury personal service from agents who deliver best-in-class experiences.
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Sunlit 2022 seven-bedroom Colonial set high on 2 acres with pool and one bedroom guest house with kitchenette. Gracious rooms, 10’ ceilings, spectacular eat-in kitchen with large family room, finished 3rd floor and walkout lower level. Spacious primary suite. Private setting on quiet street near all that Greenwich has to offer.
$6,750,000
BK BATES
REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON
M 203.536.4997
BKBATES@HOULIHANLAWRENCE.COM
JOANNE MANCUSO
REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON
M 203.667.3887
JMANCUSO@HOULIHANLAWRENCE.COM
Since 1909, Cummings & Lockwood has provided sophisticated legal representation to individuals, families, family offices, closely held businesses, other commercial enterprises and charitable entities. Our core services include:
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vol. 76 | no. 3 | april 2023
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It’s been a long-standing tradition that every April this magazine takes a look at our ever-evolving, ever-changing real estate market. Some years the news is better than others. (Here’s looking at you, Covid.) But the one overarching truth is that no matter what the news, a real estate investment in all parts of Greenwich—made wisely—has always proved to be a smart move.
In “The State of Real Estate” (page 82), writer Chris Hodenfield conducts his annual investigation of the market and talks to experts in the field to get a sense of the winds of change. He looks at what’s selling (pretty much everything), who’s buying and the impact of consumer confidence.
At first blush the dip in homes sold (1,000plus in 2021 vs. 637 in 2022) may appear to signal a sluggish market. However, that’s far from the real story. Fewer houses sold because there were fewer houses to sell. Nobody wants to leave, in part due to those increased interest rates. A closer look also shows that pricing remained strong yet not exorbitant—good news for buyers and sellers alike. And as for
the amount of time that houses are staying on the market … well, let’s just say don’t blink. Contingencies are still being waived, all-cash offers still being submitted and bidding wars still ensuing.
As fierce as the competition may be, the payoff is worth it. And by payoff we don’t necessarily mean just the economic sort. The value of your home doesn’t come down to numbers alone. There’s the intangible reward of living here—a thriving downtown, vibrant social scene, variety of activities and cultural goings-on and, of course, the inspiring and interesting neighbors we meet along the way. While these may not exactly be monetizable factors, you’ve gotta admit they make living in our town a pretty rich experience.
In the early 1900s, a brick-laid Greenwich Avenue was commonly referred to as the Yellow Brick Road—a fact that I find wholly appropriate because, I think we can all agree, there’s no place like home.
Greenwich, CT • Luxuriate in resort-style living off Round Hill Road. Fabulous indoor and outdoor entertaining space characterizes this magnificent mid-country compound on 4.75 gated acres. Unparalleled six-bedroom stone/shingle home anchors this picturesque, private property outfitted with country club amenities including pool, pool house, tennis court, amazing party barn and two-bedroom guest house. The understated, elegant interior of the main home, designed for both intimate get-togethers and formal gatherings, combines 1920’s details with modern updates. Boasts double height skylit entry; exquisite floors in dining room; chef’s kitchen open to sitting room with fireplace; stone patios off living, dining, family, play rooms and sensational billiards room. Also offers two main level guest suites and second floor primary suite with fireplace, dressing room and spa bath. Jeffrey Hall transformed the spacious barn, with a catering kitchen, multiple game rooms, lounge with stone fireplace and bar into an epicenter for celebrations both large and small. Price Upon Request.
Listing presented by
MARIA K CROWLEY
Real
Estate SalespersonM 203.536.5534
mcrowley@houlihanlawrence.com
mariacrowley.houlihanlawrence.com
For me, our annual real estate issue begs the question: Why is Riverside so special? In 1963, when Jack and I bought our house on Meadow Road, I swear the western half of town had never heard of it. To some of our backcountry friends, it was like crossing the Gaza Strip to come for dinner. Anything east of Cos Cob was unknown territory.
But now, Riverside’s super popular. I've gotten a bunch of calls from people who want to buy my house (Not!), and the cacophony of new construction on our once-quiet dead-end street so spooked my cat this summer that she took off and didn’t come home for three weeks. Anyway, sixty years ago it was a different story, as we learned early on when Mary Alice and Peter Roome gave a party for us in their lovely home out on Close Road. At the dinner table, one woman, hearing our new address, remarked. “Riverside? Don’t you think that’s a little below the salt?” Mary Alice could have killed her. But there is a God: Soon thereafter, when the woman’s husband decided to leave the financial world to become a carpenter, she ended up in the backwoods of New Hampshire.
And we got lucky. Because of Jack’s promotion at Time Inc., we’d had to move from Cleveland fast—house-hunting midwinter in such a frenzy I even called a friend in Bronxville to check it out. Said Missy: “You don’t want to live here. You’re married to a sailor, for Pete’s sake!” I got all
excited when our wonderful realtor Agnes MacDonald of Sammis & Chadsey drove us down Meadow for a look-see: “Oh, this looks just like McCauley Road in Shaker Heights!” I enthused, to which she responded: “I don’t want you kids to be house- poor.” Well, we were that—having overextended ourselves with a $55,000 bid—but it was the best investment we ever made.
What did we like about Riverside?
It was close to the train station. Just a walk, which I learned the hard way the cold winter night I left my car there with its parking lights on and rode the rails into New York to meet Jack. “We’ll have a dead battery,” he groaned all through dinner and La Mancha. So back in Riverside at midnight, there we were, me in my high-heeled boots, slogging our way home through the snowdrifts in people’s backyards, their dogs yapping their heads off.
The schools and churches were tops. And still are.
It was a real neighborhood. We could call Ada at the candy store to find out where our kids were. “Oh, yah, Jonathan and David Sawyer just came by,” she’d report. “I think they’re headed your way.” We could bicycle for miles with our golden retriever beside us; we could teach our children to skate on God-made ice on nearby ponds. The goldfish the kids won at St. Paul’s Fair grew up to be carp in the Willowmere fountain. On Halloween, Jonathan and Audrey’s Country Day classmates loved coming to us, where
“That Riverside (and Old Greenwich, too) has become so popular doesn’t surprise me. I could see it coming.”APRIL 2023 / DONNA MOFFLY
houses were close enough together for serious trick-or-treating. And it’s still serious. The year before Covid, some 175 kids rang our doorbell.
We used to have tag sales and end up buying each other’s junk. Phil McKnight’s old leather chair became a bed for Chumley, the Hornady’s ill-tempered Lab. One badly informed bargain hunter walked away with Jack’s plastic goose decoys, saying she wanted them to scare off the geese. Poor thing.
With the Maffeis and Galbraiths we started an annual Fourth of July picnic in our adjoining backyards, until somebody bought the Maffei house and fenced it in. But Willowmere get-togethers continue—with cocktails on the beach in the summer and a holiday cookie exchange.
We took care of each other. With Kathy McKnight organizing the shifts, we delivered hot meals to a sick neighbor. And working for the Frantzes at the end of our street was a German couple who were afraid to drive in
the snow, so I did their grocery run to Old Greenwich in my little Volkswagen beetle.
We straightened each other out. Once when I was down with the flu, the Greenwich police called for me to come get our dog.
Ida Brace, a grand dame across the street, had objected to dogs running through her flowerbeds. Furious, I called her and said if she was mean enough to have Charlie arrested, she couldn’t come to our parties anymore.
“Oh dear,” protested Ida, who loved parties. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know it was Charlie!” Then she sent us as big vase of gladiolas and, of course, stayed on our guest list.
Our kids were independent. “You didn’t have to rely on your mother to drive you somewhere,” recalls Sue Maffei Plowden. “We could ride our bikes to Tod’s Point or Old Greenwich or the Riverside Yacht Club.”
No change there.
That Riverside (and Old Greenwich, too) has become so popular doesn’t surprise me.
I could see it coming. In 1963 there were only two babies on our street, our son Jonathan and Elizabeth Burke; today, it’s full of young families.
The price per square foot for houses in Riverside is now more than in the backcountry. Even so, when someone from out of town asks where I live, it’s tempting to reply “Greenwich,” a name everyone knows.
Sue Plowden sympathizes, recalling a dinner years ago on the deck of the Conanicut Yacht Club in Jamestown with Candy and Bill Langan, the celebrated yacht designer who grew up in Belle Haven. Reminiscing about the old days, Sue began, “When I was growing up in Greenwich … .” And Bill interrupted her with, “Well, you grew up in Riverside, not really Greenwich.”
“And he was serious!” says Sue with a laugh. “I really feel a sort of reverse snobbism about that. Thank God we grew up in Riverside!” I have to agree. I’ve lived here sixty years and haven’t changed my mind. G
“Edgy incarnations of luxury”
Condé Nast Traveler
by valerie foster • photography by nani ludivia
Dance evokes many emotions, as evidenced on a recent Sunday morning. As smiling dancers twirled, leaped and spinned to strains of the Nutcracker, their families looked on with pride, smiles, cheers and, yes, plenty of happy tears.
This was parent observation day at Flower Petals Adaptive Dance Company, a program tailored for those with differing abilities to dance, move, express their feelings and shine. What makes this program unique is not only the special needs dancers but the volunteer high-school dance teachers who work one-on-one with each participant, tailoring moves and ensuring a meaningful experience for all.
It all began during Covid, when Katherine Reynolds and Angelica Cilio, who dance together on the Greenwich High School dance team and at the Greenwich Ballet Academy, learned about adaptive dance and wanted to teach their own class. They enlisted the aid of Katherine’s mom, Erika, who
searched for a space to call home. Because it was during Covid, she got many no’s but eventually found space on the third floor of the Greenwich Arts Council, which is now filled every Sunday with seventeen eager dancers and twenty-four helpful volunteers.
Both Katherine and Angelica have brothers with autism and understand how difficult it is to find recreational programs for special needs children. They recognize that this group wants to have full, fun experiences in safe environments where no one is judging their abilities or actions. “When we’re in public, I often see people staring at my brother, often judging, and it makes me sad,” Katherine said. “That doesn’t happen here.”
Joining the leadership team is Ella Grace Worraker and Emily Bates. Ella Grace, a senior at Staples High School in Westport, is also a ballerina who taught a traditional ballet class before Covid, but was so intrigued when she discovered adaptive dance, she wanted to become a part of the
program. “Working with the special needs community is so much more interesting, with an added layer of complexity,” she says. “It has sparked a very solid this-is-what-I-want-todo-with-my-life-career path.” She is applying to colleges that offer both dance and education majors, planning to pursue a career as a therapist or special education teacher.
All three young women were certified to teach adaptive ballet at the Boston Ballet. They also help the other volunteers perfect their teaching skills, along with the fourth leader, special needs consultant Emily Bates, who is working on her master’s degree in speech language pathology at New York University and has previously worked in applied behavior analysis therapy.
“Many of our kiddos are nonverbal, communicating in different ways, which means we pay attention to facial expressions and behavior,” Emily says. “Additionally, many of the dance moves need to be adjusted to fit each student’s needs, so I work with the teachers to modify the steps to make it challenging, yet attainable.”
For Greg and Amanda Wierenga,
Flower Petals is a lifeline, the favorite place for their eight-year-old daughter Amber to be herself. “She never danced before, just jumped around the house,” says Greg. “But oh how she loves being here. There is the social aspect, plus it’s really increasing her self-confidence.”
“Our lives can be quite isolated,” Amanda adds. “Here, we can be us.”
Exceptionally skilled cardiac surgeons delivering extraordinary outcomes are now just a short drive from home. Internationally renowned heart surgeon Dr. Robert Michler, and his esteemed colleague Dr. William Jakobleff, Jr., are performing open-heart surgery at White Plains Hospital. They lead a team of expert cardiac specialists, delivering an advanced level of cardiac care that only a few hospitals in the tri-state region can provide. Visit wphospital.org/cardiacsurgery to learn more about our award-winning care.
Patients may also schedule appointments with Dr. Michler in Greenwich at his Specialty Surgeons of Connecticut office.
WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL MONTEFIORE-EINSTEINA look at how far FLOWER PETALS ADAPTIVE DANCE has come in such a short time
2022
NOVEMBER
Flower Petals received its 501(c)(3) designation, which means it can solicit donations as a nonprofit.
When asked what’s needed for Flower Petals Adaptive Dance Company, Erika Reynolds responds: “More volunteers!” Currently, the group has plenty of dance teachers but is in need of help with marketing, event planning, web design, fundraising and bookkeeping—all tasks she is currently tackling For more information, you can contact Erika at flowerpetalsadaptivedance@ gmail.com or visit flowerpetalsadaptivedance.com.
DECEMBER
With the help of Tatiana Mori, executive director of the Greenwich Arts Council, the organization received a grant from the Horseneck Club of Cos Cob, a relief for Erika who has been bearing much of the expense to grow the dance company.
2023
JANUARY
Flower Petals launched a hip hop-dance class taught by professional dance teacher and choreographer Rick Long of New York City.
FEBRUARY
The group held its first event as an official nonprofit and featured music by the Jewels Harrison Ensemble.
2023
Saturday, JUNE 10
Flower Petals will have a table and perform at the Old Greenwich Festival
At twenty-three she is one of the senior dancers and sums up the success of the program
she says with a huge smile that was there when she arrived and never left her face. As she looks around the studio, with her hands outstretched, she enthusiastically adds, “I love this place. I never want to stop coming here.”
“I love to sing and dance and make friends. I get to do it here. I never, ever miss class,”
Combining the architecture of a historic candle-wick mill with modern industrial features, The Mill offers a unique residential experience in the heart of downtown Westport. Residents will enjoy concierge living with all the amenities of a fine custom home.
If your style goal is to accessorize in a way that makes you stand out from the masses, then Gas Bijoux is the spot for you. Tucked away at the top of the Avenue in a small but stylish space, the shop exudes a chic beach vibe.
Greenwich is only the fourth location in the U.S. to score the brand’s limited-edition, fine handcrafted jewels. New Canaan resident Erica Juneja loved the Madison Avenue location and decided to bring the jewel box setting to her own backyard. Warm light, soft stucco walls and white woods envelope the space, creating the perfect backdrop for the special pieces. Unique
earrings and cool cuff bracelets are just waiting to be discovered.
18 Greenwich Avenue, gasbijoux.com
Gas Bijoux’s jewels are the perfect mix of bohemian glamour and South of France chic. Items with intricately detailed metal adorned with rustic gems are the perfect pairing to any summer look. The collection rotates monthly, offering up new pieces to layer into your collection. They also make the perfect gift. In addition, Erica has curated a combination of trendy French items like colorful Rose Carmine sweaters, Maria La Rosa handbags and Van Palma hats. Pop in and have a look around. We’re sure you’ll find your next favorite statement piece.
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WE TAKE A MAJESTIC JOURNEY TO THE OLDEST INHABITED CONTINENT ON EARTH
Classical elegance, quality and privacy define this bespoke, beautifully renovated Colonial set on 2.5 flat acres with pool on prime mid-country cul-desac, south of the Parkway. Interior showcases custom millwork, deluxe finishes and four fireplaces. First floor boasts fabulous chef’s kitchen, two family rooms opening onto Brazilian mahogany terrace and pool, cherry paneled library, game room and sophisticated formal rooms. Second floor offers primary suite with sitting room, spa bath and four further en-suite bedrooms. Lower-level playroom, wine cellar and gym. Elevator shaft to all floors.
Listing presented by
JULIA ALLAN
Real Estate Salesperson
M. 914.482.2735
JuliaAllan@HoulihanLawrence.com
juliaallan.houlihanlawrence.com
PLATINUM AWARD WINNER 2020 & 2021
You feel the approach of a male lion before you see it. The birds chirp out warning calls, lesser animals scatter, and the air around you feels charged. Sitting in the safari jeep, sans door, I froze as the male we nicknamed Scar paced directly toward me. The guides assured us we’d be safe if we didn’t stand up and reveal that we were humans. Seated, we were supposedly indistinguishable from a car part. My encounter with Scar was on the last drive of my thirteen-day safari. I covered two countries and five camps, traveling on twelve planes, four helicopters, two boats and more jeeps than I can recall.
The guides knew Scar wasn't looking for a meal. His lioness brought home a warthog for dinner the night before. Scar had a full belly and no desire to eat blonde lady travel writers. He was on the hunt for his family. It seems Scar ate the entire kill, leaving nothing but scraps for his family. When he awoke that morning, he couldn't find them. He was agitated and marching toward me as if I might have an answer for him. He came close enough that I could feel his breath as he turned, brushed the jeep with his side and continued his search. Later that morning, we found his pride sleeping peacefully under a bush. It turned out the lioness was intentionally ignoring his plaintive roars after he hoarded the meal for himself. I've never felt closer to nature.
Like everything else in travel and life, not all safaris are created equal. I stayed in a five-star resort in South Africa and a range of four- and five-star camps in Botswana. While I had experienced the wonder of the untouched wilderness and was left awestruck, I overheard passengers at the small airport leaving Botswana who did not. Their guide didn’t speak English, so they were left to guess what was happening around them. And don’t get them started about the horrid man who never washed his hands and was always grubbing around in the sundowner snacks.
My first game drive was in South Africa with Cheetah
Plains, an ultra-luxe safari resort on a private reserve in the northeast corner of the Sabi Sands Game reserve. While the wildlife viewing was extraordinary, the occasional sight of power lines and vehicles from other camps broke the spell of being in the vast untouched wild.
Cheetah Plains is the safari experience you would expect Mark Cuban to book. The lodge is straight out of Architectural Digest
A swimming pool overlooked a pond full of hippos, and a little elephant visited me on my back patio while I was enjoying my
“I watched a family of baboons start their morning with THE BABY DOING SOME BACKBEND STRETCHES IN MOM’S ARMS ON A TREE BRANCH, while dad squatted sentinel below them.”
• AN UNFENCED PORTION OF A NATIONAL PARK THAT IS PRIVATELY MANAGED
• ACCESS RESTRICTED TO GUESTS STAYING AT THE PRIVATE LODGE OR CAMP WITHIN THE CONCESSION
• LIMITATIONS ON VEHICLES, NIGHT DRIVES AND OFF-ROADING ALLOWED
• EXPERIENCED, VETTED GUIDES
• NATIONAL LAND SET ASIDE FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION—WITH KRUGER NATIONAL PARK AND SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK FALLING INTO THIS CATEGORY
• OPEN TO PROFESSIONAL TOUR OPERATOR AND THE SELF-DRIVING PUBLIC
• DOZENS TO HUNDREDS OF VEHICLES CAN CONVERGE ON A SINGLE SIGHTING
• DRIVERS MUST STAY ON THE PAVED ROAD, LIMITED GAME DRIVE HOURS
• QUALITY OF GUIDES CAN VARY WILDLY
morning coffee. I saw the Big Five (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and African buffalo) within the first twenty-four hours of my arrival. This is the perfect safari for someone who prefers solid walls and lockable doors to a tent and is not willing to get on a small plane to safari genuinely off the grid. But, at roughly $10,000 a night, it doesn’t come cheap. All gourmet food, including your private fully stocked wine cellar and private sommelier, are included.
While most safaris no longer have a hunting aspect, many are still causing more harm than good. In 2006 two nature documentarians set out to change that. Dereck and Beverly Joubert had been working with National Geographic and believed there was a better way to safari, that tourism could be sustainable. They created Great Plains Conservation, a foundation offering world-class safari experiences where all the profits go to conservation efforts. Great Plains has camps in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe. I traveled with the team from Great Plains for a week, visiting different camps in Botswana, including Duba Plains, Selinda Camp and Zarafa. We reached some by small plane, some by helicopter and one by boat.
While many companies green-wash their efforts, the Jouberts are serious about preserving the land and the animals for future generations. I was surprised to learn
that lions, like Scar, are considered vulnerable and could be extinct in our lifetime. Dereck and Beverly have been appointed “Explorers in Residence” by National Geographic and, among piles of other awards, were awarded the 2021 Explorers Medal, described by filmmaker James Cameron as the Academy Award for exploration. They join the ranks of previous honorees such as Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary.
Each Great Plains camp sits on a private concession, the safari term for land, rates being about $7,000 per night based on double occupancy. The most critical part of a safari is the game drive. The game drive experience on a private concession is almost always superior. In Botswana, I never saw another human who wasn’t on safari with me— no vehicles with iPhone-wielding tourists jockeying for position when we watched a baby elephant practicing his charge or a pair of lions mating. (Did you know lions mate every five to fifteen minutes for three days straight? I do, and I have a disturbing amount of video to prove it.)
A typical day on a luxury safari starts with the team waking you around 5:30 a.m. with a gentle knock at your tent and a tray of coffee. At one camp, it couldn't be left outside “because the baboons might take it.”
Early morning game drives have the most action; the late-night predators are headed to bed and everyone else is waking. I watched a family of baboons start their morning with the baby doing some backbend stretches in mom’s arms on a tree branch, while dad squatted sentinel below them. Most game drives last at least four hours. Breakfast is usually served in the wild. Depending on the camp, you might be eating off the jeep’s hood, or there will be a full dining table complete with cloth napkins and silver.
One of the Great Plains camps, Zarafa, located on the 320,000 acre Selinda Reserve has a barge-style boat with a fringe top, aboard which they serve lunch as you float down a river and greet the elephants as you pass by. Days at camp are a mix of naps and spa appointments. You won’t find many gyms in the tented camps. One camp bought a rowing machine. The baboons continually disassembled it until finally, the baboons won. No rowing machine.
Evening game drives finish with the famous sundowner. As the sun drops, your guide will find a spot directly facing the sunset, set up the ultimate speakeasy and pour the cocktail of your choice, as you watch the sun dip under the horizon and realize you haven’t checked Instagram or sent an e-mail in hours. You hope you never have to again.
cheetahplains.com; greatplainsconservation.com G
by megan gagnon
The Hudson Valley has exploded with hospitality options over the last few years, beckoning city (and suburb) dwellers to discover a quieter, slower pace, complete with bucolic landscapes, picturesque mountain ranges, and lakes and streams that weave along wooded trails. The
latest addition—and perhaps the most-anticipated—is Wildflower Farms, a country-chic retreat with Auberge Resorts Collection amenities on 140 secluded acres in Gardiner, New York.
Owners Kristin and Phillip Rapoport know all too well about the necessity of the weekend reset. After many trips from NYC to Gardiner—where they’d initially visited for rock-climbing excursions—the couple bought a home in the area. Years later, they acquired the land that would become Wildflower Farms, a site that was once a tree nursery, set against the background of Shawangunk Ridge (“the Gunks,” as it’s known locally). They enlisted the help of business partner Zachary Kleinhandler, and now—as managing directors for the resort—the Rapoports invite
guests to fall in love with the region, too.
Stroll the orchards, get your hands dirty with a tour of the namesake farm, and take
advantage of seasonal activities, including those happening at Maplehouse, an interactive education center where visiting chefs test new recipes and
Working Equestrian Farm on 15.4 Acres l Ridgefield
$3,400,000 | Indoor Riding Ring | Web# 170503923
Sally Slater: O 914.234.4590 | M 914.584.0137
6 BR, 6.1 BA | Web# 170546559
John Engel: O 203.889.5580 | M 203.247.4700
Alyssa Novak: O 203.889.5580 | M 203.667.4418
Meticulous Compound | Croton-On-Hudson
$3,700,000 | 6 BR, 6.2 BA | Web# H6210418
Emily Lyon: O 203.622.4900 | M 917.797.6000
Grand Estate in Natural Oasisl | Greenwich
$2,800,000 | 6 BR, 5.2 BA | Web# 117508
Elizabeth Forrest: O 203.622.4900 | M 203.651.9674
Elegant Colonial on Approx. 79 Acres | Canaan
$1,899,000 | 7 BR, 6.2 BA | Web# 170548177
John Oliveira: O 203.622.4900 | M 914.447.2081
Jillian Pajer: O 203.622.49001 | M 845.591.4202
local artisans host pottery and baking workshops. Don’t forget to schedule a treatment at Thistle—the gorgeous spa dedicated to wellness and therapeutic bodywork—after a day’s hike or foraging mission.
A trip back to your cabin— one of 65 on the property— reveals minimalist architecture and décor inspired by the surrounding land. Design firm Ward + Gray pulled together warm wood, rich leather, handmade accents,
and textiles in shades that coordinate with the changing leaves.
And those eggs you collected earlier while visiting the chicken coop? They can be prepared for you at the resort’s restaurant, Clay, ensuring a true farm-totable experience. Chef Rob Lawson utilizes local ingredients (many grown or raised on-site) for his New American menu. Pairing a Berkshire pork chop or dry-aged porterhouse with wine from one of the carefully selected New York vintners will only make your meal more memorable.
The best place to end your day (or start your morning) is sitting around the giant fire pit on The Great Porch, an open-air anchor and gathering spot at the center of the property’s entrance. Grab a cozy chair and a craft cocktail, and take in the sweeping views of Hudson Valley’s natural beauty.
Wildflower Farms
2702 Main Street Gardiner, NY 12525 aubergeresorts.com/ wildflower-farms
There are multiple places to unwind in the Meadow Cottage, including at the built-in window seat, in front of the gas fireplace, or in the freestanding soaking bathtub.
With 1,150 square feet inside and additional outdoor space, there is plenty of room to spread out in the Ridge Suite. Bring the whole family, knowing you can indulge in the private cedar hot tub, when necessary.
The Bower Cabins offer a chance to take in the canopy of surrounding trees from your personal terrace.
With floor-to-ceiling windows in each cabin, you’ll always have the best view.above: Sample the seasonal culinary selection in Clay’s elevated rustic dining room. above: Get back to nature among the fields of namesake wildflowers.
121 Lower Cross Road, Greenwich, CT
7 Bedrooms | 8.1 Bathrooms | 8,627 SF
Magnificent new construction just completed in December of 2022. Resort-style living on 3 manicured acres includes private guest quarters, generous primary suite, heated garage and heated in-ground pool.
Stefanie Lacoff | 203.536.9403 | $8,599,000
46 Carriglea Drive, Riverside, CT
4 Bedrooms | 3.1 Bathrooms | 3,334 SF
Special Riverside waterfront with sparkling water views and west facing sunsets. 150+ feet of water frontage with its own platform leading to a private dock with boat lift. Privately located at the end of a cul-de-sac.
Ann Simpson | 203.940.0779 | $5,950,000
248 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT
5 Bedrooms | 7.1 Bathrooms | 8,644 SF
Gated Round Hill retreat offers an opportunity to renovate and customize your 8,644 dream home on 3+ level acres in an ideal location. Indoor pool/spa, two kitchens, spacious rooms, and four fireplaces. Entrance on Quail Road.
Gloria Falcon & Cesar Rabellino | 203.559.1604 | $4,450,000
GREENWICH | 136 East Putnam Avenue | 203-869-0500
OLD GREENWICH | 200 Sound Beach Avenue | 203-637-1713
GREENWICHBHHSNE
445 Cognewaugh Road, Cos Cob, CT
4 Bedrooms | 2.1 Bathrooms | 3,590 SF
Spacious mid-century modern showcases 21st century luxury amenities. State-of-the-art kitchen, luxurious primary suite, large lower level. Located adjacent to the serenity of the 220 acre Mianus River Park . Malka Kravitz | 203.979.2050 | $2,250,000
1 2 3
1 TACCHINI Julep sofa in Teddy mohair sable; $20,500. MONC XIII, Greenwich; monc13.com
2 BOWER Melt mirror IV; $4,500. bower-studios.com
3 NOIR Triumph bookcase in black steel; $5,939. Schwartz Design Showroom, Stamford; schwartzdesign showroom.com
4 MITCHELL GOLD + BOB WILLIAMS Niles chair; $3,060. Greenwich; mgbwhome.com
5 CRATE & BARREL Annie 73” natural media credenza by Leanne Ford; $1,899. Westport; crateandbarrel.com
4
“ we’ve seen furniture taking on more curvaceous lines as people have become focused on creating sanctuaries within their homes. simple organic, sensual shapes give the interior a feeling of calm serenity.”
—jenn gibbs, svp of design at mitchell gold + bob williams
6 FERM LIVING × HOME PAGE Up step stool; $189. aplusrstore.com 5 6
ALL THE MAKINGS FOR A PERFECT POTTING SHED
“having a potting shed is a great way to feel organized and prepared as a gardener. i recommend having a large table or countertop with a mix of drawers and open shelving below and some open shelving above.”
—miranda gould, master farmer, homefront farmers
greenwichmag.com
1 BAREBONES
Garden scissors; $48. Outdoor Design, Fairfield; od-l.myshopify.com
2 RH Condorcet metal shade sconce; from $725. Greenwich; rh.com
3 FERM LIVING
Orb watering can; $139. fermliving.us
4 SERENA & LILY Crosby teak console; $1,498. Westport; serenaandlily.com
5 GARDEN GLORY Eucalyptus Leaf garden hose; $129. Gardenglory.com
6 KINGSTON BRASS Widespread bridge faucet; $130. Bender, Norwalk; benderplumbing.com
7 TERRAIN
Earth fired clay dish and saucer; $60 for set of three. Westport; shopterrain.com
8 CANE-LINE Drop greenhouse; $5,560. cane-line.us
503
p: 434.295.1131 f: 434.293.7377
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is this Palladian inspired masterpiece called Edgemont. Surrounded by 572 acres of rolling Virginia farmland, with the Hardware River running through the lush fields, is a home whose design is reputed to be the only remaining private residence attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Complete with tennis court, pool, pool house, and guest house. Great location just 25 minutes south of Charlottesville. www.HistoricEdgemont.com
Unparalleled in its beauty and charm, this exceptional 1,471± acre Virginia estate, circa 1776, featuring an impressive Georgian-style manor home, a twostory Georgian Revival-style stone carriage house, extensive farm and equestrian improvements, and a shooting preserve. Located less than one hour to our Nation’s Capital and 45 minutes to Dulles International Airport. This extraordinary historic property is a rare offering of a National treasure. www.NorthWalesVa.com WWW.MCLEANFAULCONER.COM
Stephen Candland and his team at Private Staff Group function as professional matchmakers for high-net-worth individuals and families looking for top-shelf staff to manage their households, personal affairs and often, jetset with them to their far-flung residences.
With offices in Greenwich, the Hamptons, New York City, Palm Beach and San Francisco, Candland has spent more than a decade translating his clients’ unique wish lists into the right candidates to keep their busy lives running smoothly.
We checked in with him recently to discuss trends in domestic staffing.
GM: What are your clients looking for, and how do you help?
SC: We’ve been doing this for eleven years, and we always have interesting searches going on. Our niche is finding staff for high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients. This clientele usually has the resources and vast business and personal needs to require full-time support managing their personal lives. That can range from a private chef to a house manager capable of running their homes. Sometimes we’re working with someone who has a sizable staff already and needs someone to oversee it all. Most of our hires are full-time and long-term, but sometimes there may be a need for some kind of short-term project management. For example, you’re relocating to Greenwich, and you need some help getting settled and getting the house up and running.
What we don’t do is nannies, part-time housekeepers or senior care. That tends to be more niche and, in the case of seniors, more on the medical side.
GM: Do your clients have preferences in terms of how much their private staff is part of their overall family dynamic?
SC: Yes! You’ll have someone say my ideal person is someone who is doing this for twenty or thirty years and is very comfortable running their affairs but plays more of an executive role and isn’t part of the daily life of the family. In some cases, they’re even a buffer between the family and the staff. On the other end, you’ll have someone looking for a very active individual–often this is for a young family or a family that travels a lot—who is quite happy to be on the move all the time. They are really interested in someone multifaceted who
is able to shift from managing business needs to the kids’ schedules.
GM: Has Covid changed your client’s staffing needs?
SC: More and more of our clients are working remotely and moving about their various residences for longer stays. They might go to the Hamptons for three or four months or Florida for five or six months. Pre-pandemic, these were places they went for vacation, but now they are settling in for longer periods of time.
GM: How do you recruit candidates?
SC: A big part of our process is working with our clients to create a detailed job description. That
way we’re able to present several carefully screened and well-qualified candidates. Because we’ve been doing this for more than ten years, we have a very strong data base of talent. So, even if someone isn’t the right candidate, we may know them as a great networking resource. We are strong at networking and using technology as a resource for recruiting. With Zoom, we’ve been able to widen the net and do some of that initial screening virtually.
GM: How important is discretion?
SC: It’s almost always a top priority. Initially, we don’t disclose anything about the client except for a general overview of the role. As we move forward with a candidate, we always do so in a way that protects the client.
GM: Lots of people in Fairfield County may not be in the market for full-time staff but do have some kind of household or child-care help. Any tips for them?
SC: Always think of these part-time hires as what they are: an employment situation. You should always be focused on protecting your family’s privacy, security and personal information. You need to do a thorough hiring process. That includes doing the right reference checks and asking the right questions. For some people, for example, it might be important that their help live near the community where they live. Then, it’s really important to offer a sensible letter of employment, even for a part-time person. Stipulate things like, “Here’s what you get paid. This is how we’ll deal with extra hours.” Discuss things like benefits and time off. Have clear conversations about anything that may be uncomfortable. I really encourage people to feel like they’ve done their due diligence. Also, pay people on the books. That’s something you should do to protect yourself.
by mary kate hogan • photography by venera alexandrova
Plenty of people trek into the city from Fairfield County to try top restaurants or visit their favorite Italian markets. Not many make a reverse culinary commute. But one family travels from Manhattan every weekend for their standing lunch reservation at Il Pastaficio in the Mill Pond Shopping Center. What’s the draw? The freshest handmade pasta and authentic regional dishes you won’t find elsewhere. The husband, who is Italian, brings his wife and two-year-old son to Pastaficio simply because they love the pasta and have made Sunday lunches there a family tradition.
“They say they have never tasted pasta like this,” says Pastaficio owner Federico Perandin. For Federico, who moved from Italy to Greenwich in 2016 with wife, Anissa, and pursued his passion of opening an artisanal food business, this family’s loyalty is the ultimate endorsement. “They are willing to drive an hour every week to eat here.”
Another Italian native, the chef for Ferrari U.S., who appears regularly on Italian national television, also frequents Il Pastaficio and hosted his team’s Christmas lunch in this petite eatery.
The pasta market and restaurant has gained such a following since its opening in 2018 that
opposite page: Gigli made with ancient grains grown in Sicily, tagliatelle, eggless spinach ravioli, pappardelle, eggless ricotta ravioli this page, top: The pasta-making process bottom: The man behind the pasta—Federico Perandin
Federico has expanded into Westport, recently opening a second Pastaficio, and he has secured space for a third location in Darien.
When you walk into the Greenwich eatery, the aroma of a Bolognese sauce simmering scents the air. Sauces and pastas as well as desserts are made fresh daily. There are several ways to enjoy it all. You can bring home fresh pasta and sauce from the refrigerated cases (it takes just a few minutes to cook), order one of the entrées to go or eat in and bring your own wine or other drinks. There are only two large tables plus outdoor café seating in Greenwich, but the Westport location seats forty and has an expanded menu with fish and meat entrees, and vegetable sides and a full bar.
In Greenwich some regulars stop in every week for the same type of pasta, whether
lasagna Bolognese or ravioli tartufo, while others come to explore different flavors and specialties. Federico, who has an advertising background and once worked on the Giro d’Italia race (Italian equivalent of the Tour de France), offers his own tour of Italian regions through his food that represents Northern,
Central and Southern Italy as well as Sicily and Sardinia. Sicily is known for its eggplant and ricotta salata, and he will serve Pasta la Norma with fried eggplant, tomato sauce, basil and imported ricotta salata. In Northern Italy in the Veneto region, a popular pasta consists of long, thick noodles made with eggs and grappa called bigoli; this variety holds sauces very well. Fresh homemade sauces include pomodoro, ragu, amatriciana, cacio e pepe, pesto and puttanesca as well as twists on classics such as the hearty wild boar Bolognese.
Because the pasta here is made daily with special flours from Italy (ten varieties are used depending on the type of pasta) and no preservatives, many people who have gluten sensitivity find that they’re able to indulge in food
“When you walk into the Greenwich eatery, THE AROMA OF A BOLOGNESE SAUCE SIMMERING SCENTS THE AIR. Sauces and pastas as well as desserts are made fresh daily.”
213 East Putnam Avenue, Cos Cob, 203-900-1199; ilpastaficio.com
from the regular menu. But Pastaficio’s team also produces gluten-free pasta daily using legume flours of chickpea, beans, lentil and peas. It’s higher in protein than regular pasta and delicious. Some of the pasta is made with ancient grains, rich in vitamins and also lower in glycemic level, so it’s lighter and easier to digest.
Dessert lovers will appreciate the creations of the dedicated pastry chef who has impressive credentials and was previously head pastry chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant in Florence. Tiramisu and crostata (baked tart) are among the coveted treats as well as a special “salame di cioccolato.” Shaped like a whole salame, this fudgy delicacy blends Italian cookies, butter, egg yolks, sugar, Belgian cocoa and dark rum and gets sliced into rounds, an elegant alternative to cake. Federico
Monday–Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
recently launched a gelato brand called Figo with a location in Little Italy and another Figo coming to Astoria, Queens. There’s a case of Figo gelato inside Pastaficio, so you can bring home pints to go with your meal.
Events are part of the mix at Pastaficio, too: Book both tables in Greenwich to hold a private party for your group (BYOB). In Westport, Mondays and Tuesdays are dedicated to pasta-making classes taught by Federico. In the future, Federico and Anissa plan to host an upscale trip to Italy, visiting Bologna—the inspiration for Pastaficio— along with Modena, Parma, Verona, Padua and Venezia. Meanwhile, people can experience true Italian food right here. Says Federico, “My real goal is that people can feel, eat and live like in Italy for an hour or two.” G
by eileen bartels
BEN FRANKLIN PUT IT BEST: NOTHING IS CERTAIN EXCEPT DEATH AND TAXES. APRIL IS THE PERFECT MONTH TO PLAN WISELY FOR BOTH
Just as you diligently prepare your taxes, take the opportunity this month to also do some estate planning. It doesn’t have to be grim. This is a celebration of what you have accomplished and accumulated. You do not need to be a millionaire to benefit from estate planning. It is more than creating a will and includes things like guardianship designees for children and medical directives in the case of an accident.
No one is ever fully prepared for bad things to happen. But they do. Illness and death are not topics most people want to think about, let alone plan for. But what you do not plan for now, others will have to handle later. And managing that, on top of the weight of grief, is a burdensome bequest.
I spoke with my own estate lawyer, Michael Arlein of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, about estate planning, as well as several women who have gone through the estate process as widows and gathered the following tips.
Yes, you can do an online will. You could also sell your own home and fix your own car, yet employing a professional will save you money in the long run. By hiring a lawyer who specializes in estate planning, you’re making an investment in protecting your assets and wishes. They will have the experience to know what to ask, keep up to date on ever-changing legislation and streamline the process to make it simple to maintain for a lifetime. Ask your friends, financial planner, accountant or lawyer for referrals.
Take the time to create a comprehensive list of all your advisors, account numbers, insurance agents, bank accounts, credit cards, passwords and contact information. This go-to file should include things like passwords for your phone, important apps and computers. Obviously keep it somewhere secure, but be sure someone you trust knows where it is. You can have a will, life insurance and various accounts; but if you do not have contact names, numbers and accounts written down, you create a guessing game for those left behind. Make it a habit to update the file annually.
You know who you want to make choices about your health care when you cannot. This is a lot like bringing an umbrella out on a cloudy day; you hope you won’t need it but young or old, accidents happen. To ensure your wishes are followed, designate decision makers in the case of your incapacitation.
When a person passes without a will, the estate can go to probate court, and things may take a period of time to resolve. Even with a will, failing to regularly update or review estate planning is a mistake. A good financial advisor or estate planner will check in with you annually to remind you to review any significant changes that have occurred that may impact your estate—marriages, divorces, deaths, sales of companies, financial windfalls or inheritances. Failure to update estate planning can result in errors like an ex-spouse remaining a primary beneficiary or listing a dead parent as a trustee.
Mention power of attorney and some people may think you’re trying to take away their literal power. The reality is, in case you become incapacitated, whether in a coma or struggling with dementia and unable to manage your own finances, you will need someone you trust to make medical and financial decisions for you. That requires having a durable power of attorney on file.
As part of your estate planning you will choose an executor or trustee to manage your estate. This can change and be updated, but someone has to be designated. Just as you have different people in your life that you trust with various things, you can designate one person to make medical choices if you cannot, one person as your child’s guardian and another to be the trustee. Have a conversation with those you intend to designate to make sure they are comfortable accepting the responsibility.
When you create your your Go-To file, consider if there are things that could be streamlined. Determine what accounts could be closed or condensed. In addition to legal documentation, estate housekeeping should involve looking at beneficiary designations for everything from bank accounts to long-forgotten first-job IRAs, pensions or insurance policies. The more condensed your finances are, the easier it will be for your family to manage.
Look at titles, deeds and even annual season tickets. If you’re married, having both your names on assets can have advantages. Speaking to several widows, they said some of the worst parts of the estate process were the simple things they wish they had done like having names jointly on certain assets such as cars. Changing deeds and other holdings in a deceased spouse's name after the fact may involve physically bringing in a death certificate to transfer ownership. Compounding your grief is the fact that a death certificate states both cause of death and social security number— information you may not want to share.
There should be no stigma in talking about your final wishes. A decision made today can be revisited and changed down the road. Another thing a family member or key friend should know is your organ donor status. You may check this box off at the DMV and proudly display it on your driver’s license but make sure your family knows. Same goes for your final resting place. If you were to pass tomorrow, would you want to be cremated or buried? Do you have a spot in mind? If you don't make these decisions part of your estate planning, someone else will need to make them for you.
Give back to the community we all love so much by helping various cleanup efforts and Earth Day Activities on Saturday, April 22. Every year, Greenwich Land Trust, Friends of Greenwich Point, Greenwich Historical Society and the town of Greenwich have events and ideas to get the whole family involved. It's the perfect way to spend time together, while teaching the value of giving back. gltrust.org, friendsofgreenwichpoint.org, greenwichhistory.org, greenwichct.gov
Connecticut’s premier farm-to-home delivery service has opened its flagship Cos Cob store that also serves as a hub for the community to learn about food. Sourcing directly from 250 small, local farmers and artisans, Mike’s Organic offers the highest-quality organic groceries—local produce, pastured meats and eggs, grass-fed dairy, wild fish, organic pantry selections, baked goods and Made by Mike’s prepared foods. More than a market, Mike’s Organic is an experiential destination that features a rotating lineup of food-forward programming. Bring the kids to meet a farmer or watch a sheep shearing while also stocking up on goodies for the week. mikesorganic.com
Penguins! Past and Present will showcase the story of the most remarkable birds on Earth April 2 through August 6. Immersive dioramas, breathtaking videos and interactive displays will entertain guests and reveal how penguins evolved, adapted to some of the most extreme environments in the world and continue to survive in the face of ongoing threats, natural and man-made. brucemuseum.org
If you’ve been following this page, you probably realized that I like a good theme when celebrating holidays. I came across these Peep Rice Krispies Treats on Instagram and couldn’t wait to make them with my kids. (Bonus: They’re super easy to make.) I was a little impatient when it came to letting them cool and harden—learn from my mistake.
• Cooking spray
• 2 packages each of yellow, blue and pink peeps or peep bunnies
• 1 box Rice Krispies
• 1 stick of butter
• Pastel sprinkles
Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray baking pan with cooking spray.
• Layer the peeps across the bottom of the pan so that it’s covered.
• Pour in Rice Krispies so that the layer of peeps is covered.
• Add another layer of peeps over the Rice Krispies.
• Cut butter into chunks and scatter it over the peeps (I used a whole stick of butter but would probably only use ½ to 3/4 next time).
• Bake in oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and stir until Peeps and Rice Krispies are fully combined.
• Sprinkle pastel sprinkles on top.
• Let cool and harden for about an hour before cutting into squares. G
We are a 13,000 square foot gallery with more than 3 dozen dealers featuring a wide range of styles from antiquities to mid-century modern, with everything from jewelry and vintage clothing to furniture and art.
Open 7 days a week 10:30-5:30 daily
39 Knight Street Norwalk CT 06851 (203) 826-8575
fair eldantiqueanddesign.com
Instagram: @fcantiquedesign
487 East Main Street • Mt. Kisco, NY 800-486-7553
914-666-5802
LN# WC17260-HO5 CT HIC.0560846
We design and build high quality wrought iron gates and railings, wood gates and fencing, automated gate systems, security and entry systems, handcrafted stone walls, pillars, stairs and patios.
Hinoki in Greenwich recently turned over its bar to some familiar faces for a great cause—to raise funds for the American Red Cross. Bartenders included Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo, CT State Senator Ryan Fazio, Red & White Ball cochairs Connie Anne Harris and Lauren Walsh, Moffly Media’s Andy Amill and Stephanie Dunn Ashley, CEO of the American Red Cross Metro New York North Chapter. The event was a fun kick off for the upcoming Red & White Ball at Greenwich Country Club on Saturday, April 29. redcross.org/redandwhiteball »
Nothing kicks off the holiday season quite like the Junior League of Greenwich’s Enchanted Forest. Guests of all ages had a blast over the weekend with endless activities like the Children’s Giving Shop, photos with Santa, DIY crafting with Mrs. Claus and holidaythemed games. The Festival of Trees, which also includes spectacular and unique gingerbread houses, was a sight to behold. jlgreenwich.org »
Everyone truly understood the assignment at the twenty-fourth annual Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich benefit, Summer of Love. This psychedelic 1960s-themed party was led by co-chairs Claiborne Swanson Frank, Louise Oram-Cho and Katerina Pergola. Guests enjoyed amazing cuisine, signature cocktails and dancing the night away. Proceeds support the club’s mission to offer children aged six to eighteen a safe and productive place to thrive. bgcg.org »
The Metro North Media and Technology Community recently gathered at Yieldmo’s second Commuters & Shakers executive happy hour at Polpo Restaurant & Saloon in Greenwich. Yieldmo is a leading advertising technology company that has multiple executive team members living in Greenwich. They decided to host this event for clients and partners also living outside the city. It was a great opportunity to reconnect and celebrate the end of a successful year with the AdTech community over cocktails, light bites and great company—minus the commute. »
PENDING | 20 Mackenzie Glen, Greenwich, CT
Newly constructed ultra-chic five bedroom Colonial home in mid-country designed for indoor/outdoor living.
SOLD | 22 Pilot Rock Road, Riverside, CT Sensational coastal home graces 1.31 waterfront acres. Master suite deck overlooks the Sound and NYC skyline.
SOLD | 5 Lockwood Road, Old Greenwich, CT
Stylish, renovated Colonial home embodies the charm of classic Old Greenwich with modern amenities.
The mission of Breast Cancer Alliance is to improve survival rates and quality of life for those impacted by breast cancer through better prevention, early detection, treatment and cure. To promote these goals, we invest in innovative research, breast surgery fellowships, regional education, dignified support and screening for the underserved.
To learn more visit breastcanceralliance.org
Breast Cancer Alliance, 48 Maple Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830
info@breastcanceralliance.org
Yonni Wattenmaker, Executive Director breastcanceralliance @BCAllianceCT @breastcanceralliance
WESTY guarantees that a Customer’s rent will not be increased for two years from the Agreement date.
WESTY guarantees that there will not be a registration or administration fee.
WESTY guarantees your total satisfaction. If you are not totally satis ed for any reason within the rst seven days of signing your Agreement, Westy will refund all your money and void your Agreement.
Person to Person, the Darien-based nonprofit and host of the annual Transforming Lives luncheon, strives for educated, financially stable and hunger-free homes for all. This year’s benefit featured renowned chef Lidia Bastianich, along with chef and Aux Delices owner Debra Ponzek. More than 350 guests attended the event, helping raise more than $240,000 to assist people in need throughout lower Fairfield County. p2phelps.org »
Welcome to John’s Island. A cherished haven enjoyed by generations who have discovered the undeniable allure of life by the sea in Vero Beach, Florida. Over 1,650± acres, miles of sandy beach, three championship golf courses, 17 Har-tru tennis courts, pickleball, squash, croquet, oceanfront Beach Club, newly renovated Golf Clubhouses, endless fishing and more! Discover personal bliss at JI.
772.231.0900
VisitJohnsIsland.com
Exclusively John’s Island
greenwichmag.com
TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION OF GREENWICH / The JHouse
The JHouse in Greenwich looked more like a Vegas casino for a fun evening in support of the Transportation Association of Greenwich. Showgirls worked the room while Elvis got guests All Shook Up. High rollers enjoyed gaming tables, slot machines, cocktails and an auction. ridetag.org »
This beautifully landscaped Georgian Colonial is ready to be enjoyed by the next generation. Wonderfully maintained and updated, this approximately 7,198 square foot home on 1.82 acres provides multiple living areas for entertaining and informal living. With its large eat in kitchen, butler’s pantry, formal dining room and living room plus family room, paneled media room and office with adjoining private bar, the first floor allows ample space for today’s discerning buyer. The second floor boasts a primary bedroom with two bathrooms, dressing room and two walk in closets, an additional 6 bedrooms, three ensuite and kitchenette. A large workout room, finished lower level with added square footage, mudroom and heated three car garage completes the picture of practicality and charm. With multiple outdoor seating areas, master vegetable garden, extensive mature specimen plantings plus a separate vintage artist studio with fireplace, this home is the ideal midtown retreat. LISTED: $5,300,000
greenwichmag.com
All the local ladies turned up to support designer Ali Galgano, founder of Serpentine Jewels at the opening of the Serpentine Townhouse. This is a destination for custom fine jewelry and ready-to-wear staples, rooted in high fashion. Serpentine’s collections offer an edgy contemporary aesthetic. Get ready to fall in love with all that glitters (by appointment only) at 115 Mason Street. serpentinejewels.com G
Go ahead, try it out. Point your phone’s camera at the Flowcode to scan.
by alison nichols gray
Brittany and Ben met at the Rose Bar in the Gramercy Park Hotel just before Thanksgiving. Conversation and cocktails continued into the early morning hours. A few months into their relationship they knew it was a lasting love and moved in together. They called the Archive Building in the West Village home until relocating to Greenwich after two years. But not before Ben proposed on the rooftop of their building overlooking the New York City skyline.
The ceremony was held at the General Theological Seminary and officiated by Father Michael C. McCarthy, S.J., now of Boston College, who had been Ben’s theology professor at Santa Clara University in California. The reception followed at The High Line Hotel. After a few tune-up lessons at the Arthur Murray dance studio, the couple performed their first dance to Sam Cooke’s “Nothing Can Change This Love.”
A special moment came when they toasted the groom’s late father, Dr. Harvey Seidenstein, who had been a physician at Greenwich Hospital for over thirty years and the chief of cardiology.
The bride, daughter of Michael and Karen Haller of New York, graduated from Walt Whitman High School, the Fashion Institute of Technology and Relay Graduate School of Education. Brittany is a seventh-grade teacher at the Stamford Charter School for Excellence.
The groom, son of Jacquelyn Peters Seidenstein of Stamford and the late Dr. Harvey Seidenstein, graduated from Kent School and Santa Clara University. Ben is a private wealth advisor for Goldman Sachs in Manhattan.
The newlyweds honeymooned in South Africa and the Maldives before returning home to Greenwich. »
Hayley and Mason met in Manhattan by happenstance because of their living arrangements. Mason’s roommate, Charlie, was dating Hayley’s roommate, Brooke, and they crossed paths for the first time at Brooke’s birthday party at The Standard Biergarten. The two hit it off immediately, but Mason had recently committed to a new job in San Francisco and was leaving in six weeks. Geography could not stop these two lovebirds. They dated long distance for almost three years before Hayley moved to the West Coast. Mason proposed in Lake Tahoe at their favorite spot on Skylandia Beach overlooking the water at sunset.
Pastor Kevin Van Brunt officiated at the ceremony at the Purse home on Lake Winnipesaukee, and the reception followed at Bald Peak Colony Club in New Hampshire.
The bride, daughter of Charles and Carole Purse of Boynton Beach, Florida, formerly of Greenwich, graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich and Elon College. Hayley is the merchandise manager for The RealReal in San Francisco.
The groom, son of Richard and Kathryn Powell of Virginia, graduated from Bullis School and Gettysburg College. Mason works in private equity/real estate for The Carlyle Group in Washington, D.C.
The newlyweds honeymooned in Japan. They call Sausalito, California, home. G
We are looking for fantastic photos of Greenwich and Greenwich people to feature every month on our new back page. If you would like a chance to be published in Greenwich magazine and win $100 here’s what you should know:
• Photos can be whimsical, historical, serene, funny or beautiful but they all must be taken in Greenwich.
• Photos must be submitted digitally to photos@mofflymedia.com and be 300 dpi and 7 inches high or larger.
• We will need:
1 Photographer’s name, address, phone number and e-mail
2 Subject of the photograph (identify people in the photo)
3 Location of the photograph
4 Inspiration behind the photograph
5 Any interesting anecdote about the photograph or featured subject
LOW INVENTORY AND HIGHER INTEREST RATES MAY HAVE COOLED THE MARKET, BUT THE FACT REMAINS: IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO BUY IN GREENWICH, PUT ON YOUR RUNNING SHOES. IT’S STILL A RACE TO THE FINISH
realtor here in town actually heard a client complain recently that it took all of thirty days to sell their house. The beleaguered tone was what you used to hear after six months.
Statewide, sales might have dropped by nearly a third last year, but Greenwich real estate, unlike Tesla stock or a portfolio of bitcoin, seems to have stayed reliably healthy. »
It would be considered even healthier if there were more houses to sell.
The giddy land rush set off by Covid, when thousands of New Yorkers were suddenly “yearning to breathe free” in our plentiful gardens, meant record sales numbers, but this was followed by a unique hollowing-out of the inventory. In 2021, more than a thousand homes sold.
Last year: 637.
“The story is that we’ve never seen a situation like this,” says Pam Pagnani of Sotheby’s International, “with such low inventory and the voracious appetite of buyers.”
Indeed, the calls and inquiries keep coming, and the deals keep closing with hearty handshakes. Last year started out strong, but halfway through the year rising interest rates led to something of a chill in the market.
It’s a topsy-turvy market that demands a clear-eyed assessment. “You need to distinguish between value and volume,” says Scott Elwell, Douglas Elliman Real Estate “While the number of sales is down, there is no sluggishness in pricing.”
“Last year was not quite as successful as 2020 and ’21,” admits Pam Pagnani, “but historically it was a good year.”
In the early period of Covid hibernation, 2020-21, sales were so meteoric that the numbers are now useless as a point of comparison. It would be better to consider trends over the past five years, says Eric Bjork of Berkshire Hathaway. That helps especially when you consider the jarring number of houses available for sale at the end of 2022—all of 180, far less than the five-year average of 428. “For twenty-five square miles and 65,000 people, to only have 180 houses is extreme. I’ve never seen it that low.”
The old expression “days on the market” has now become “minutes on the market.”
“As fast as stuff was coming to market, it was going to contract,” says Bjork. “I remember a beautifully done house in Cos Cob. It was renovated top to bottom, beautiful location, for $1.55 million. It was a week before Christmas, and it still got forty-five showings and twenty-two offers. Ten of those had no contingencies.”
A competitive market like that can create “buyer’s fatigue.” It
comes from dealing with the emotions of falling in love with the perfect house, only to to see it swept off to the arms of another.
“Homes being what they are to people,” nods Eric, “it’s been a rather stressful time.”
This mighty churn of activity, however, has created a new atmosphere in town.
“When Covid hit,” notes Kevin Sneddon of Compass, “wealthy families wanted to exit Manhattan. A lot made short-term moves and went to Florida and the Hamptons, but families that wanted to plant the flag, they wanted a worldclass town. Greenwich caught fire through Covid, and now you can’t get a kid into private school or get into a country club. A younger crowd has taken over the town. Old money never goes away, but the demographic has shifted younger.
“I look at Greenwich as the East Coast Beverly Hills,” he adds. “You’ve got world-class athletes, billionaires and the schools are better than Beverly Hills.”
And you’ve got business churn such as Apollo Global Management buying up 100 West Putnam Avenue and moving in 200 people. Sneddon says: “You’ll have 200 well-paid executives looking for real estate,”
nyone contemplating the act of selling a house must first go waltzing through that arcane land of pricing.
When homeowners hear the term “sellers’ market” and read that houses are going for the asking price or probably a little above, they understandably imagine their property really is worth an exalted number, possibly bordering on fabulous.
But, maybe not. “You can scare people very quickly,” warns Douglas Elliman’s Scott Elwell. “Buyers are very disciplined in the brackets they search. People searching for $980,000 to a million don’t always look at $1.1 million. People don’t search above their bracket; and if you’re above that number, they’re not going to look at your house.”
Sellers, he adds, also have to be careful not to overvalue the work done on the house. Just because you put $300,000 into a new kitchen doesn’t mean you can automatically tack that amount on to your price.
“The art of pricing remains an art,” says David Haffenreffer of Houlihan Lawrence. “It’s better to price too low than too high, because this market will correct it.”
Another temptation for sellers now is to skimp on preparation. Just do a swift vacuuming and pronounce it ready for the market, right? While anecdotal evidence suggests that today’s buyers are not as white-glove demanding as they used to be, they didn’t just check their high standards at the bus station. And bear in mind that Greenwich shoppers still want all those high-class touches.
“New buyers want houses highly designed,” says Jen Danzi of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury/ Tamar Lurie Team. “They want all the bells and whistles. They don’t want to do any work necessarily— that’s the same scenario as it always has been. But they want to see things like the Lutron Light system, automatic shades, blackout shades. They want vents to be hidden, radiant-heated floors, smart home communication via cell phone. All those critical extras.” She even knew of a house with an indoor rifle range.
“It’s a great time to sell a house,” says Haffenreffer, “as long as you don’t get goofy with the price. Buyers are not playing ball with houses that feel overpriced.
“We’ve been through the greatest gold rush we ever seen, and sellers feel it’s a great time to be a seller. But the buyers are digging their heels in saying they want a better bargain or better condition.”
All through Fairfield County there is a lot of real estate movement just from townspeople in transition: going to a bigger house to raise the kids, then going smaller when the kids are gone. One obstacle to that flow now is that folks aren’t moving as much. Downsizers just don’t have that many options in condos.
“Why aren’t people moving?” asks David Haffenreffer. “The main reason why people are staying put is because of interest rates. They don’t want to give up a favorable mortgage rate. No one with a 2 percent loan wants to go to 7 percent.” »
“There is definitely a lack of inventory,” says Shelly Tretter Lynch of Compass. “When the interest rates were at a record low, most property owners refinanced. Given the increase in the rates, many homeowners are finding it difficult to sell their current property and finance another one. The question is, how much equity is there in these properties? If there is good equity, a purchase at a lower price is a good investment to move forward in life. Waiting out the markets is not the answer.”
Kevin Sneddon adds, “The only thing that’s going to unlock this market is that prices will really go up and people will realize, they can get this much for a house? ‘OK, I’m a seller.’ ”
At the higher end, Sneddon sees an “investor mentality.” A couple buys a mid-country house two years ago for $7.5 million, and now it just went for $8.75. “It’s really incredible what’s going on. The high end is about confidence. Consumers lost confidence in 2014, but now they’re opening their checkbooks.”
While sellers are busy with staging, buyers need to be preparing, too. “Prepare psychologically for bidding wars,” warns Haffenreffer. “Ask yourself if you can drop the contingencies and maybe eventhe inspection.”
“There is pent-up demand for new listings,” says Perry Gaa, lending manager at Citibank, “and it’s important for the buyer to do their homework and know their budget and have their team in place. By team, I mean working with a realtor, attorney and a mortgage loan officer.
“I recommend customers start the home-buying process by obtaining a pre-approval so they make an informed decision based upon sound facts, including how much they can afford, what documents will be required and what to expect every step of the way. The pre-approval acts as a business plan for buying the home, and it can provide consumers a competitive advantage when bidding on a home versus other potential buyers.”
ne area where there is less concern about interest rates is the province of The Very Big Deals, where a large percentage of sales are cash. These buyers are simply not impacted by things like jumbo rates.
Going above $3 million saw a decrease of 30 percent. Moving up last year, sales in top-shelf properties did not match previous eras of $50- and $40 million houses. “I think we did the biggest sale in 2022,” says Pam Pagnani, whose Sotheby’s firm did both sides of a $25 million property at 209 Taconic Road that never even hit the market. “It wasn't on the water,” she said of the “backcountryish” setting. The 11,000-square-foot home is set on eleven acres.
The largest on-market sale in 2022 was 435 Round Hill Road, an 14,000-square-foot backcountry house once owned by Tommy Hilfiger that sold for $17.6 million.
“The town saw sales of ten houses for over $10 million,” says Jen Danzi. “In 2021, there were sixteen.” »
he “staging” of homes for sale continues apace. For buyers who have trouble imaging themselves in a prospective house, staging, says Shelly Tretter Lynch, creates that lifestyle with “a beautiful vision and the sense of space and airiness and light.”
In this new era, however, there might be less importance on paint colors and more on the actual living space.
“Buyers are looking for homes with more intimate rooms where one can find peace and quiet,” says Shelly. “New construction has shifted away from the open-floor concept to putting up more walls. The size of the house is not as important as the way the house is architecturally designed to create better use of the square footage available.”
“Have there been changes in the last decade?” says Scott Elwell of Douglas Elliman. “Absolutely. People seem to be looking for home offices. That’s definitely in high demand. It doesn’t have to be a functioning office, it could be another bedroom that’s used as office, or quiet spaces. That’s the primary topic today, but there are lots of requests for pools or a basketball court. Outdoor activities are in very high in demand. Walkability is in high demand. That being said, a lot of clients want privacy.”
Those seeking serious privacy inevitably head out to backcountry.
ur town’s lifeline for the past century has been regular emigration from New York City. Now, the Groovemeisters from Brooklyn have made their presence known in Greenwich and Westport. All of this has added up to a slightly more urban mindset. Along with the bucolic beauties of our terrain is the addition of a raft of outstanding new restaurants.
The commercial real-estate scene has totally flipped, notes Eric Bjork. “We once had a lot
available space, but it’s getting sucked up like crazy. That’s a good sign. People recognize that Greenwich is a great place to be.”
Driving the emigrant wave along might be the perception of rising crime in New York. And then there is what Eric Bjork calls the Boomerangers.
“These Boomers went to Florida and came around to say, ‘I’m not sure I want to be here.’ Finding a great school, even in Palm Beach, is tough.”
Increasingly, says Kevin Sneddon, people have come to enjoy the delights of having multiple houses, and the Greenwich property is the safe haven after Florida, Europe and the far-flung and exotic.
“All those sales we’ve had in the past few years,” says David Haffenreffer, “that’s a lot of people coming to town, and they need services. So, there’s very little empty space along the Avenue. The business of Greenwich seems to be pretty good.”
We are not an outer borough of New York City yet, but we do enjoy a new level of sophistication that will likely stay forever. G
Spiritual healer SUSY MARKOE SCHIEFFELIN shares how her own journey of recovery and transformation is helping millions of people find inner peace
by jamie marshall
was everything a Greenwich girl is supposed to be—smart, ambitious, thoughtful, raised to believe anything is possible if you work hard, study hard, go to the right schools and belong to the right clubs. She and her three equally talented younger sisters were known around town as the four blond Schieffelin girls. “We wore matching outfits and always had bows in our hair,” she says. But Susy was hiding a secret beneath her golden locks, a secret that led her down a shame-based path of addiction. She started losing her hair when she was seven. “As a young girl, my hair was such a huge part of my identity. I just remember thinking, ‘what’s wrong with me?’”
Susy was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called alopecia areata, for which there is no cure. “I was worried people would think I was a freak and ugly and I wouldn’t fit in. I developed a lot of social anxiety as a result,” she says. In middle school she discovered alcohol. “It was like this magical elixir that quieted my mind. I could finally relax and have fun.” For years she hid her condition from all but a few trusted confidants. She maintained the façade of perfection through high school, college and, eventually, into a full-time job working for an upscale restaurant group in New York City. As her addiction to drugs and alcohol worsened, Susy started to feel hopeless. One night, she wrote a note to her family and prepared to take her own life. Miraculously, she woke up the next morning in her bed. She called her mother, younger sister Louisa (“my angel,” as Susy refers to her) and a friend, and they came to pack her up and bring her home to Greenwich. Susy left for treatment a few days later.
“I knew that something had to change for her,” says Louisa, about that morning. “I said, ‘Enough is enough. You need to come home with us and get help.’”
That was in September 2015. Since then, the thirty-four-yearold has been on a powerful journey of recovery. She moved to California. Ditched her all-black wardrobe. Stopped taking any substances. Got off her anxiety medications. Developed a strong sober support network. Began going to sound baths. Began leading sound baths. Got certified as a Reiki master and kundalini yoga instructor. Developed a big following on Instagram and YouTube. Launched a business. Shaved her head and threw away her wig. Met and married her husband, Mark Doody, who is the vice president of a technology company. Had a baby.
Talking to Susy now, it’s hard to square the hopeless, selfloathing addict she used to be with the warm, confident, effusive woman she has become. Her energy is palpable, her gratitude inspirational. Around her, it’s impossible not to feel just a little bit lighter in mind and spirit. “I’ve been given so much,” she says. “I feel this great need to pay it forward.”
In January, Susy and her nine-month-old son, Jack, traveled from her home in Santa Monica to Greenwich, where she led a “healing through harmony” breakfast sound bath at Meli-Melo Creperie on Greenwich Avenue. More than forty people showed up for the midmorning session, where they sipped a Calming Latte, which she developed in collaboration with the restaurant’s owner Marc Penvenne. Made with blue butterfly pea, ashwagandha root, Ceylon cinnamon and topped with dried rose petals, the drink’s sky-blue hue evoked a sense of joy and, yes, calm. “It’s this yummy, blue, magical drink, with every healing benefit under the sun,” says Louisa. It was a full-circle moment of sorts. “It’s funny that she’s now very, very healthy. As a kid, she was the one who wouldn’t eat one fruit or vegetable and only drank blue or purple Gatorade. So, she’s come a long way.”
One attendee, Elizabeth Buffone, founder of Greenwich-
The Copper Vessel Collective Sound Healing membership is $44 a month or $444 a year. It features an extensive library of on-demand sound baths ranging in length from three to five minutes for a variety of different intentions—from morning gratitude to deep sleep to heart healing and more. There are also sound baths with and without guided meditations. Members get VIP access to all of Susy’s live virtual sound bath events and an extensive library of past live events.
During the three-month program, participants learn how to play the crystal singing bowls, as well as how to host in-person and virtual sound baths for one-on-one healing sessions and groups. They gain all of the foundational tools needed to create their own unique brand and build a profitable healing business from the ground up.
$3,333
START AT $33
The pricing represents angel numbers, which hold special energetic frequencies. “I think it’s fun to come up with pricing that resonates with people in a certain way,” she says. “It’s like a secret password into the spiritual world.” For information on one-on-one sessions, group sound baths, and mentorships, please contact The Copper Vessel directly. thecoppervessel.com
FROM PRIVATE AND GROUP SESSIONS TO CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS, SUSY ENCOURAGES SPIRITUAL AWAKING A VARIETY OF WAYS
based Be Seen Strategies, a social media strategy and production company, was at a career crossroads in 2018 and dreamed about going out on her own. She says talking to her friend Susy about her successful business launch gave her the inspiration she needed. “Susy has been an amazing expander for me. If she can do it, I feel like I can do it too.’”
Watching Susy bring everyone to a standstill during the morning rush at Meli-Melo spoke to her gifts as a spiritual healer and speaker. “It just showed her power and grace to be able to command a roomful of people in a busy restaurant,” Elizabeth says. “Even the waitstaff stopped what they were doing to take a moment to feel restored and rejuvenated.”
The next day, Susy led a longer sound bath at Christ Church, her first since 2019. Longtime friend Gabriella Gentil was among the sixty or so attendees. “There’s a science behind it. She uses her voice to guide you to a very safe place. The sound makes you feel like you’re wrapped in a warm blanket,” she says.
There is a science behind sound baths. Participants lie down on a mat and close their eyes. The sound healer then begins a guided mediation while playing a collection of crystal bowls. The healing frequencies activate and align the chakras, stimulate alpha, theta and delta brain-wave states and promote deep rest and relaxation. Put simply, “a sound bath is like an energetic deep-tissue massage for your body, mind and spirit,” Suzy says. “After just one session, most people feel very calm and relaxed.”
Which is exactly how Caroline Monteglas felt after the January event. The Greenwich Academy English teacher didn’t know Susy when she was a student there, but she taught her three younger sisters. “I’ve been to a lot of sound healers and there’s something magical about the way Susy plays the crystal bowls,” she says. “She chooses note and alchemical combinations that are beautiful but also aim to connect to certain chakras for deep physical healing. I always come home relaxed and sort of floating through the world.”
Susy will be the first to admit that part of her shame was fostered by growing up in Greenwich. “You’re surrounded by people who are smart and successful and beautiful. There can be a lot of pressure to keep up with that.”
When she first started losing her hair, the teachers thought she might be pulling it out, recalls her mother, Susan. “I told them there was no way she was doing that.” Together they made the rounds of traditional doctors and dermatologists. They prescribed lotions, pills and cortisone injections. She says it was heartbreaking to watch her daughter struggle with her affliction. “When she was in high school, she loved to dance. But she
always stayed in the junior dance corps, because the movements were less extreme and she could be more controlled. She was so afraid of a bald spot showing.” Her mother was determined to find the cause and began taking her daughter to energy healers, ayurvedic healers and acupuncturists.
“At that time, in the late nineties, it wasn’t really common to explore alternative healing in the way she did for me,” Susy adds. “I think that really does tie back to where I am today with the work I do.”
From the outset, Susy didn’t drink the way her friends did. “I went from this lovely girl who did what she was supposed to do and had it all together and got straight A’s and dressed appropriately to being the girl who let it all out—saying whatever was on my mind and having no inhibitions. I would wake up the next morning and feel really ashamed.”
Susy excelled as a student at Greenwich Academy, where she learned Chinese and spent a semester abroad in LeShan in China’s Sichuan province. She graduated cum laude and was accepted into the University of Virginia early decision, where she majored in East Asian and Religious studies.
She mostly dreamed about getting married, buying a house in Greenwich with a white picket fence and having a baby—all
Susy’s sound baths have been VIEWED BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE worldwide and can be experienced on EVERY UNITED FLIGHT . She has collaborated with notable artists such as Leann Rimes and played her crystal bowls with the LOS ANGELES
PHILHARMONIC .
by the time she was twenty-four. The universe had other plans. She moved to New York, did a six-month program at culinary school, then started working in the hospitality industry.
Plagued by constant anxiety, Susy turned to prescription medications. “It was a glorious but also dangerous cocktail when mixed with booze,” she says. “I’d end up at the emergency room and not know how I got there. My parents and my friends were like, you might want to think about controlling your drinks.” But she was powerless over her addiction. Though she could go days, weeks, even months without drinking, once she started, she couldn’t stop. For Susy, this was the beginning of the end. “I feel like there were angels around me even as I was going down this dark path. I could see I needed help.”
She started an outpatient program at the Freedom Institute in New York. That experience planted a seed, but it would be another few years before she was ready to leave substance abuse behind. That moment brings us back to the night in December of 2015 when she almost took her life but managed to make it through with the help of her family and friends, and get herself into an in-patient rehab.
Once there, Susy began a daily gratitude practice, something she remembers Oprah talking about during a speech at Greenwich Academy. “The concept of gratitude was something I didn’t understand. I felt like the victim. Why is my hair falling out, why didn’t my relationship work out? Why can’t I stop drinking. Nothing was going according to my plan, and I wasn’t grateful.”
With the help of her counselor, she began to turn those thoughts around. After thirty days, something shifted. She started to read spiritual books, had Reiki healings, began meditating daily, did music therapy—“all things that connected me back to my essence,” she says. “I started paying attention to the breadcrumbs.”
Newly sober and living at home with her parents, she followed the breadcrumbs to L.A. to support her younger sister, who was presenting research at a psychology conference. Like many diehard East Coasters, Susy had always made fun of the laid-back California lifestyle. No one was more surprised than she was when she got there and felt at home. “I realized I needed to live there.”
Every day in her meditation she began visualizing her life in California. “I could see and feel the details, even though I didn’t know how or when they would happen,” she says. In May she saw a Facebook post from a friend who was moving out of her apartment in Santa Monica. “It was the apartment I’d been seeing in my meditation,” Susy says. “Right down to the beachfront location.”
She signed the lease sight unseen and moved in July of 2016.
The only people Susy knew in L.A. were her mother’s sister and a sober friend, who connected her to a twelve-step group. When her aunt invited her to a sound bath, she said yes, without a moment’s hesitation.
For Susy, the experience was life-changing. “It’s something that my soul had been searching for all those years of reaching for pills and alcohol,” she says. “I finally felt calm and at peace, and that everything was okay.” She started attending sound baths on a regular basis, began training to be a eiki master, got certified as a yoga instructor. She lost weight. The light started to come back into her eyes. She says the cumulative effect of the different healing modalities was transformational. “It shifted my frequency from addiction and a scarcity mindset to a new frequency of healing and abundance and unconditional love.”
Another pivotal moment came in October 2016, when she attended her first breath-work sound bath. “This message came to me—this has helped you so much, you need to learn this and share it with other people.” The instructor offered her a mentorship. “He would pay me $100 a night, and I was like, ‘this is amazing. I’m getting paid for doing something I love, and I would have done it for free.’”
After nine months as his assistant, she started to feel like it was time to leave her full-time job. “I sensed the work I was doing wasn’t in alignment with my spirit anymore. But the job was too cushy to leave,” she says. In April of 2017, she read the book the Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer, author of the Untethered Soul. “I finished it and said out loud, ‘I surrender. Put me on my path.’” The next day she received a phone call from her boss, offering her a position at a corporate office in downtown L.A. Susy declined. “I knew if I went back to my former lifestyle, I would drink,” she says.
She called her mom and said, “I just quit my job. I’m a healer now. I’m going to start my own business.” »
It shifted my frequency from addiction and a scarcity mindset to a new frequency of HEALING and ABUNDANCE and unconditional
Breakfast Sound
On her last day of work, Susy went down to the beach, smoked a cigarette and threw away the rest of the pack.
“I’m done holding myself back,” she remembers saying. “I’m a healer now.” She turned around, packed a bag and flew to New York, where she had been invited to speak about her recovery at the Freedom Institute’s annual fundraising gala at the Mandarin Oriental. She still has the off-the-shoulder black dress she wore that night—the only item of black clothing in her wardrobe.
Starting a successful business didn’t happen overnight. “I made it up as I went along,” she says. She used her savings to hire a team of professionals—coaches, lawyers and accountants—to help. She gave herself a deadline. She already had a name for her new venture—The Copper Vessel.
“I woke up one night thinking about a bunch of names; and as I reached for a glass of water from the copper vessel I kept on my nightstand, I thought, hmm, the copper vessel.” She pauses at the memory. “Copper represents the divine feminine. It’s a healing metal and a great conductor of energy.”
When a friend asked why copper? Why not platinum or gold? Susy said, “It’s not gold or platinum. It’s not the Susy show. It’s a humble metal. It’s here to serve.”
She launched the Copper Vessel in May 2017 and offered her first public sound bath at the beach on July 22. She texted all her friends, and twenty-six people showed up and donated a total of $500. Within a month she led her first class at a local meditation studio, which led to a gig doing sound baths at the sober living house at USC. She started sharing sound baths at a twelve-step meeting she attended.
“The first six months of my business I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage. I literally made $150 a week. I just kept following the breadcrumbs. I just kept showing up.”
Then the pandemic hit. Like a lot of small business owners, she wasn’t sure she’d survive. She pivoted and started offering sound baths online. The response was overwhelming. Her business doubled in a year. She did nearly $450,000 in 2020, $550,00 in 2021.
“It’s not just about the healing. She is a very disciplined businessperson,” her mother says. For Susy, there’s something honorable about that. “In the beginning no one was charging as much as I did for a sound bath. People told me I had guts. But I believe if you’re not able to support and sustain yourself and thrive in the world, you won’t be able to do your work in the same way.”
Over the years, Susy’s sound baths have been viewed by millions of people worldwide and can be experienced on every United flight. She has collaborated with notable artists such as Leann Rimes and played her crystal bowls with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She has brought sound healing to corporate groups at Google and Pandora, among others. She has established a large celebrity following.
“Even if I hadn’t signed NDAs, I would be reluctant to divulge names,” she says. She recalls a time in treatment when she was working with a Reiki healer. “She said, ‘I see you in a big home sharing spiritual healings.’” Susy remembered that moment when she was called to work with a high-profile client. “I was in this person’s home, and I was like ‘here I am. This is it.’” Not quite. She envisions a time when her Sound Healer’s Academy will be the international standard for training, she will be a published author, and she will have elevated sound healing into a mainstream activity, performing at venues like Madison Square Garden and the Sydney Opera House. Most of all, she will continue to bring hope and healing to people struggling with anxiety, addiction and other mental health issues.
Given her track record, it’s easy to believe she’ll accomplish all of this and more. As her friend Gabriella says, “I believe in Susy and her light. Her honesty is disarming. She makes herself vulnerable so others can make themselves vulnerable. I think some people are real life fairies. She walks out of your house, and she leaves a trail of fairy dust in her wake.” G
The
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Greenwich Country Club
6:00 p.m. Cocktails and Silent Auction
7:00 p.m. Dinner, Program, Live Auction and Dancing
Co-Chairs: Connie Anne Harris and Lauren E. Walsh
2023 Exceptional Service Honoree
General Eric M. Smith, 36th Assistant Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
2023 Humanitarian Honoree
Pam Farr
2023 Corporate Leadership Honoree
Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association
To purchase tickets, sponsorships and journal acknowledgments please visit redcross.org/mnynball
Red & White Ball A Salute to Service and Valor
Focus on French Cinema 2023 (FFC2023) will present a “hybrid” version of the film festival this year with a curated selection of new releases and festival favorites both in-person and online from Thursday, April 20 through Sunday, April 30. For the past seventeen years, the Alliance Française of Greenwich has presented one of the best French Film Festivals in the U.S., with a selection of the latest French and French-language movies, including many U.S. premieres and award-winning films. For more information visit afgreenwich.org or call 203-629-1340.
( for more events visit greenwichmag.com )
ALDRICH MUSEUM, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, 438-0198. Tues.–Sun. aldrichart.org
AMY SIMON FINE ART, 1869 Post Rd. East, Westport, 259-1500. amysimonfineart.com
BRUCE MUSEUM, 1 Museum Dr., 869-0376. brucemuseum.org
CANFIN GALLERY, 39 Main St., Tarrytown, NY, 914-332-4554. canfingallery.com
CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS, Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah, NY, 914-232-1252. Caramoor is a destination for exceptional music, captivating programs, spectacular gardens and grounds, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. caramoor.org
CAVALIER GALLERIES, 405 Greenwich Ave., 869-3664. cavaliergalleries .com
CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY PRINTMAKING, 299 West Ave., Norwalk, 899-7999. contemprints.org
CLAY ART CENTER, 40 Beech St., Port Chester, NY, 914-937-2047. clayartcenter.org
DISCOVERY MUSEUM AND PLANETARIUM, 4450 Park Ave., Bridgeport, 372-3521. discoverymuseum.org
FAIRFIELD MUSEUM AND HISTORY CENTER, 370 Beach Rd., Fairfield, 259-1598. fairfieldhistory.org
FLINN GALLERY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 622-7947. flinngallery.com
GERTRUDE G. WHITE GALLERY, YWCA, 259 E. Putnam Ave., 869-6501. ywcagreenwich.org
GREENWICH ARTS COUNCIL, 299 Greenwich Ave., 862-6750. greenwichartscouncil.org
GREENWICH ART SOCIETY, 299 Greenwich Ave. 2nd fl., 629-1533. A studio school that offers a visual arts education program for kids and adults. greenwichartsociety.org
GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 47 Strickland Rd., 869-6899. greenwichhistory.org
KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART, Rte. 22 at Jay St., Katonah, NY, 914-232-9555. katonahmuseum.org
KENISE BARNES FINE ART, 1947 Palmer Ave., Larchmont, NY, 914-834-8077. kbfa.com
LOCKWOOD-MATHEWS MANSION MUSEUM, 295 West Ave., Norwalk, 838-9799. lockwoodmathews mansion.com
LOFT ARTISTS ASSOCIATION, 575 Pacific St., Stamford, 247-2027. loftartists.org
MARITIME AQUARIUM, 10 N. Water St., S. Norwalk, 852-0700. maritimeaquarium.org
NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase, NY, 914-251-6100. neuberger.org
PELHAM ART CENTER, 155 Fifth Ave., Pelham, NY, 914-738-2525 ext. 113. pelhamartcenter.org
ROWAYTON ARTS CENTER, 145 Rowayton Ave., Rowayton, 866-2744. rowaytonarts.org
SAMUEL OWEN GALLERY, 382 Greenwich Ave., 325-1924. samuelowen.org
Gabby Bernstein
2023 Sole Sisters Guest Speaker
SILVERMINE GUILD ARTS CENTER, 1037 Silvermine Rd., New Canaan, 966-9700. silvermineart.org
SANDRA MORGAN INTERIORS & ART PRIVÉ, 135 East Putnam Ave., 2nd flr., Greenwich, 629-8121. sandramorganinteriors.com
SOROKIN GALLERY, 96 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, 856-9048. sorokingallery.com
STAMFORD ART ASSOCIATION, 39 Franklin St., Stamford, 325-1139. stamfordartassociation.org
YALE UNIVERSITY ART 1111 Chapel St., New Haven, 432-0611. artgallery.yale.edu
ARENA AT HARBOR YARD, 600 Main St., Bridgeport, 345websterbankarena.com
AVON THEATRE FILM CENTER, 272 Bedford St., Stamford, avontheatre.org
CURTAIN CALL, The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Ave., Stamford, 329-8207. curtaincallinc.com
DOWNTOWN CABARET 263 Golden Hill St.,Bridgeport, 576-1636.
FAIRFIELD THEATRE
On StageOne, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, 259-1036. fairfieldtheatre.org
GOODSPEED OPERA 6 Main St., East Haddam, 860-873-8668.
RIDGEFIELD THEATER BARN, 37 Halpin Ln., Ridgefield, 431-9850. ridgefieldtheaterbarn.org
SHUBERT THEATER, 247 College St., New Haven, 800-228-6622. shubert.com
STAMFORD CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford, 325-4466. stamfordcenterforthearts.org
WESTPORT COUNTRY
PLAYHOUSE, 25 Powers Ct., Westport, 227-4177. westportplayhouse.org
STAMFORD MUSEUM & NATURE CENTER, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 977-6521. stamfordmuseum.org
UCONN STAMFORD ART GALLERY, One University Pl., Stamford, 251-8400. artgallery.stamford.uconn.edu
WESTPORT ARTS CENTER, 51 Riverside Ave., Westport, 226-7070. westportartscenter.org
YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven, 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu
( for more events visit greenwichmag.com )
GREENWICH LIBRARY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 622-7900. greenwichlibrary.org
JACOB BURNS FILM CENTER, 364 Manville Rd., Pleasantville, NY, 914-773-7663. burnsfilmcenter.org
LONG WHARF THEATRE, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven, 787-4282. longwharf.com
RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, 438-9269. ridgefieldplayhouse.org
Sorelle Gallery is a woman-owned fine art gallery and art advisory firm in Westport. Representing nearly fifty artists, Sorelle carries a variety of art styles from modern abstract to impressionistic landscapes. Its mission is to not only support the emerging and established artists they represent, but to help clients curate their own spaces and invest confidently. During the month of April, On View: Linda Bigness, Nealy Hauschildt, and Tony Iadicicco will be on display at 19 Church Lane, Tuesday through Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sorellegallery.com. »
In the rural community of Marre à Coiffe, Haiti, students and families climb the equivalent of 200 flights of stairs from the bottom of the mountain to access clean water, healthcare, and an education. This April, we’re challenging YOU to virtually hike Marre à Coiffe in solidarity while raising funds to support education, public health, and clean water initiatives across Hope for Haiti's 24 partner communities.
REGISTER NOW: WWW.GIVE.HOPEFORHAITI.COM/HIKE
HONORING MEGAN FLANIGAN AND RICK SWIFT
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
6:30 - 8:30 PM | Live Auction at 7:30 PM Richards • 359 Greenwich Avenue
Please join us for the 4th Annual Shatterproof Benefit at Richards honoring Megan Flanigan and Rick Swift. It will be an evening to remember as we raise vital funds in support of Shatterproof’s lifesaving mission to end the devastation the disease of addiction causes families.
To purchase tickets, please visit: www.shatterproof.org/get-involved/events
ALDRICH MUSEUM, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, 438-0198. aldrichart.org
AUDUBON GREENWICH, 613 Riversville Rd., 869-5272. greenwich.audubon.org
AUX DÉLICES, 231 Acosta St., Stamford, 326-4540, ext. 108. auxdelicesfoods.com
BOWMAN OBSERVATORY PUBLIC NIGHT, NE of Milbank/East Elm St. rotary on the grounds of Julian Curtiss School, 869-6786, ext. 338
BRUCE MUSEUM, 1 Museum Dr., 869-0376. brucemuseum.org
CLAY ART CENTER, 40 Beech St., Port Chester, NY, 914-937-2047. clayartcenter.org
CONNECTICUT CERAMICS STUDY CIRCLE, Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Dr. ctcsc.org
FAIRFIELD MUSEUM AND HISTORY CENTER, 370 Beach Rd., Fairfield, 259-1598. fairfieldhistory.org
GREENWICH BOTANICAL CENTER, 130 Bible St., 869-9242. gecgreenwich.org
GREENWICH LIBRARY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 622-7900. greenwichlibrary.org
KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART, 26 Bedford Rd., Chappaqua, NY, 914-232-9555. katonahmuseum.org
STAMFORD MUSEUM & NATURE CENTER, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 977-6521. stamfordmuseum.org
Y OU’RE I NV ITED ! JOIN US F OR A GR A CIOUS G IVIN G SHO PPIN G EVENT
Come shop for a cause, with 10% of sales
(Final list of brands coming soon)
Tuesday, April 18th 5pm–8pm
Field Club of Greenwich 276 Lake Avenue, Greenwich, CT
Saturday, April 29, 2023 An Evening with Laurel House
Delamar, Greenwich Harbor
6:00 to 10:30 pm
flowers bloom, so does hope.”
-Lady Bird Johnson
greenwichmag.com 110
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Honoring 2023 Champions for Recovery
The lovely ladies Erin Jensen and Ronit Weinberg, behind the chic new baby brand Timo & Violet, a female-led business that creates timeless, whimsical baby linens, are hosting an inaugural shopping event with multiple brands at the Field Club of Greenwich on April 18 from 5 to 8 p.m. It will be an evening of shopping for the littles and all the mothers on your list with 10 percent of sales going to the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich. Stay tuned to our Instagram account for more information. » Save
The Laitman Family
Robert S. Laitman, MD, Ann Mandel Laitman, MD and their son, Daniel Laitman, BA
Also honoring Town Champions who make their towns better places in which to live and work.
To reserve your table or tickets, please contact Lauren Talio at 203-324-7735 or ltalio@laurelhouse.net
www.laurelhouse.net
“Where
1 in 4 women will be a victim of domestic violence in her lifetime
Domestic violence is the most reported violent crime in Greenwich
YWCA Greenwich is the only provider of domestic abuse services in Greenwich
Buy a bag, save a life!
ALDRICH MUSEUM, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, 438-4519. aldrichart.org
AUDUBON GREENWICH, 613 Riversville Rd., 869-5272. greenwich.audubon.org
AUX DÉLICES, (cooking classes), 23 Acosta St., Stamford, 326-4540 ext. 108. auxdelicesfoods.com
BEARDSLEY ZOO, 1875 Noble Ave., Bridgeport, 394-6565. beardsleyzoo.org
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREENWICH, 4 Horseneck Lane, 869-3224. bgcg.org
BRUCE MUSEUM, 1 Museum Dr., 869-0376. brucemuseum.org
DISCOVERY MUSEUM AND PLANETARIUM, 4450 Park Ave., Bridgeport, 372-3521. discoverymuseum.org
DOWNTOWN CABARET THEATRE, 263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport, 576-1636. dtcab.com
EARTHPLACE, 10 Woodside Lane, Westport, 227-7253. earthplace.org
GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 39 Strickland St., 869-6899. hstg.org
GREENWICH LIBRARY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 622-7900. greenwichlibrary.org
IMAX THEATER AT MARITIME AQUARIUM, 10 N. Water St., S. Norwalk, 852-0700. maritimeaquarium.org
KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART, Rte. 22 at Jay St., Katonah, NY, 914-232-9555. katonahmuseum.org
MARITIME AQUARIUM, 10 N. Water St., S. Norwalk, 852-0700. maritimeaquarium.org
NEW CANAAN NATURE CENTER, 144 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan, 966-9577. newcanaannature.org
RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, 438-5795. ridgefieldplayhouse.org
STAMFORD CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford, 325-4466. palacestamford.org
STAMFORD MUSEUM & NATURE CENTER, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 977-6521. stamfordmuseum.org
STEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN, 303 West Ave., Mathews Park, Norwalk, 899-0606. steppingstonesmuseum.org
WESTPORT ARTS CENTER, 51 Riverside Ave., Westport, 222-7070. westportartscenter.org
WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE, 25 Powers Ct., Westport, 227-4177.
Every year, the Stamford Public Education Foundation (SPEF) hosts the Excellence in Education Awards, which honors the hard work of community leaders who invest themselves in the education and enrichment of Stamford’s next generation. This year’s event will recognize community leaders who are committed to inspiring a passion for reading in all students.
All proceeds from the event will benefit SPEF’s educational programs, which are delivered to students in Stamford’s 21 public schools.
For more information, please call us at 203.965.7733, or visit us at www.spefct.org.
greenwichmag.com
Moffly Media is one of the leading providers of professional event photography and marketing services in Fairfield County. We capture compelling, high-quality images of individuals and groups at meaningful events. With our wide range of capabilities from video to social media, Moffly will customize a marketing program that’s just right for you.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: BOB CAPAZZO, KRISTIN HYNES, MELANI LUST & MARSIN MOGIELSKI
Think someone is excited for spring? Even though Mother Nature spared us a brutal winter of bone-chilling temps and blizzard warnings, we can certainly identify with Sophie Mickelson’s spring fever. Who doesn’t love a warm day with the promise of summer fun around the corner? We should all ditch our shoes and dance in the petals. G
