Business

North Texas artist Jon Flaming has an 18-piece installation at the Hilton Dallas

Park Cities. (PHOTOS: SAMANTHA JANE BEATTY)

HILTON PARK CITIES GOES ‘MODERN COWBOY’

Jon Flaming’s work gives hotel distinct Texas vibe, personality

By Rachel Snyder

rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com

The Stray, a large painting from Texas artist Jon Flaming’s Modern Cowboy series, welcomes guests to the Hilton Dallas Park Cities.

It’s one of 18-pieces installed in the Preston Center hotel to help guests feel they are in Dallas.

My mom started collecting his art because he did these kind of iconic images of Big Tex at the State Fair, and our family has been involved with Fair Park for, I would imagine, over 100 years. T. Dupree Scovell

“There’s rarely a true sense of identity that gives you a sense of place for where you are.”

“To have that Texas look and feel and brand but in a way that’s not expected – that’s really the whole goal for me with the series called Modern Cowboy that I created three or four years ago was to reimagine the Western art genre,” Flaming said. “Some of my earlier work was more impressionistic. I think with the Modern Cowboy, it’s going to be more influenced by cubism and primitive and modern and contemporary and folk art.”

Specifically, The Stray is a homage to artist Otis Dozier’s 1976 painting Stubborn Maverick.

Woodbine Development’s investment arm Woodbine Legacy Investments acquired the 224-room Hilton Dallas Park Cities in 2017. Dupree’s father, John, co-founded Woodbine Development with Ray L. Hunt in 1973. The Hyatt Regency with the landmark Reunion Tower was one of the company’s early projects.

The real estate development company now operates 1,500 hotel rooms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“What Woodbine has tried to do is ... take after the personality of the city that we are in to try and really create that sense of place,” Scovell said.

He’s long had his eyes on Flaming’s work, first learning of it through his mother, Diane, who’s collected the artist’s work for 15-20 years.

“My mom started collecting his art because he did these kind of iconic images of Big Tex at the State Fair, and our family has been involved with Fair Park for, I would imagine, over 100 years or something because my grandfather and his affiliation with the Cotton Bowl,” Scovell said.

So, when Scovell started thinking about art for the hotel, he immediately thought of Flaming.

“When Woodbine bought this hotel, and I saw kind of how disconnected the art was,” Scovell said, “I called Jon right away and just said, ‘Hey, I’ve got an idea. I don’t know if I can afford to have that many of your works in our lobby, but why don’t you come take a look at it and see if you kind of have the same vision I do?’”

“The goal here was to create a very cohesive look with the art,” Flaming said.

The pair walked the property and came up with an installation of pieces that showcased iconic Texas imagery. They began talking about the project in 2019, and the last piece was installed in the fall of 2021.

Eventually, Scovell hopes to add more of Flaming’s work throughout the property. They’ve also talked about a coffee table book highlighting Flaming’s photography.

From SMU to Sidley Lawyers continue 25-year tradition

By Rachel Snyder

rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com

Preston Hollow residents Angela Zambrano and Scott Parel have gone from attending law school at SMU together, where they graduated in 1997, to managing partners at global law firm Sidley Austin’s Dallas office.

“Angela (and I) were in the same law school class, graduated the same time, we started at the same firm at the same time, we made partner at the same time, and then we moved over to Sidley in 2013 at the same time as part of a large move from our prior firm here to Sidley,” Parel said.

Zambrano and Parel took over the role of Park Cities resident Yvette Ostolaza, who was recently elected to chair the firm’s management committee. Effective April 2022, Ostolaza will lead one of the two main governing bodies of the sixth-largest law firm in the U.S. in terms of revenue.

Zambrano also serves as a co-leader of the firm’s commercial litigation and disputes practice, head of Sidley’s litigation group in Dallas, and co-chair of the firm’s committee on the retention and promotion of women. She also serves on the board of Texas Appleseed, which seeks to promote social, economic, and racial justice for all Texans, and served as president of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association in 2016.

Parel is also a co-leader of the firm’s private equity practice and leads the corporate department of the Dallas office.

“We both found it to be an incredible law firm and platform for our clients,” Zambrano said.

Parel said they’re excited about managing Sidley’s Dallas office together.

“Angela and I have known each other for a long time ... so almost 25 years, and we trust each other, we have great respect for each other’s practices and leadership, and so I think we’re feeling pretty great about the idea of doing this together. It’s a big job, and there’s a lot to do.”

Among their goals in their new roles is continuing to grow Sidley’s Dallas office.

“We’re growing at a really nice pace, we continue to attract great talent to the platform here, we continue to strive to provide collaborative and really the best service we can to clients and achieve the results they’re looking for,” Parel said.

When they’re not working, they enjoy traveling and spending time with their families. Zambrano has three children, and Parel has two.

Angela Zambrano Scott Parel

(COURTESY PHOTOS)

Comings and Goings

NOW OPEN

MyFitnessStore.com

4500 W. Lovers Lane

The full-service fitness equipment dealer, formerly BusyBody, offers fitness equipment to residential and commercial users and services, including gym design, delivery, repair, and maintenance.

Fit Social Club

Mockingbird Station

The locally owned and operated boutique fitness studio opened in January and offers cardio, strength training, and functional movement classes.

MOVING

Anthropologie

Highland Park Village

The retailer is moving to the former home of Z Gallerie on Knox Street at 4600 McKinney Ave.

Chanel

Highland Park Village

The French luxury brand plans to temporarily move into the former home of Anthropologie in the historic shopping center this spring while expanding its 5,000-square-foot space into a two-level, 11,500-square-foot one.

TEMPORARILY CLOSED

St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange

Highland Park Village

The charity gift shop is briefly closing through the end of January for a store refresh.

– Compiled by Rachel Snyder

Anthropologie (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER) Fit Social Club (COURTESY PHOTOS)