'Saratoga Living' - Spring 2020 - The Design Issue by saratogalivingmagazine

FEEDING OUR COMMUNITY IN CRISIS A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ESSENTIAL FOOD WORKER. *{the office’s kate flannery answers all the questions}

T HE CIT Y. THE CU LT U R E. T H E LIFE.

SPRING 2020

#strongertogether

Fashion! Décor!

our NEW design columnist

Tale of Two Sheps

Southern Charm’s Shep Rose and

THE

Vineyard Vines’ Shep Murray

DESIGN ISSUE

AT HOME WITH KEVIN & CLAUDIA BRIGHT

FRIENDS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND HIS SARATOGIAN WIFE GIVE US THE GRAND TOUR. BY WILL LEVITH | photography by DORI FITZPATRICK

PLUS: SARATOGA

RACE COURSE UPDATE

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thank you FROM

saratoga living • CAPITAL REGION LIVING • and these GENEROUS SPONSORS

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inside

Distinguished Properties From

SPRING 2020

42 THE ONE WHERE YOU MEET THE BRIGHTS

sign language Kevin Bright and his wife, Claudia, share a moment under a sign in their Saratoga home that appeared in Central Perk, the coffeehouse meetup spot on hit TV show Friends.

WI LL LE VI TH D ORI FI TZPATRICK

photography by

54 DOWNTOWN DETAILS: A VIRTUAL TOUR by

37 White Street, Units B & C, Saratoga Springs Starting at $779,600

K A RE N B J ORNL AND D ORI FI TZ PAT R ICK

photography by

60 BOARD CERTIFIED: SARATOGA'S MOST FAMOUS BOARD GAME CREATOR

THE

DESIGN ISSUE

57 Second Street, Amsterdam

34 Hearthstone Drive, Wilton

36 Staffords Bridge Road, Saratoga Springs

Julie A. Bonacio Broker/Owner c: 518.701.5080

Katherine Cristo Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.441.2237

Jennifer Johnson Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.588.1392

Lisa A. McTygue, ABR Lic. Real Estate Salesperson c: 518.598.4098

83 Ordelia Lane, Round Lake

30 Gick Road, Saratoga Springs (Commercial)

341 East High Street, Ballston Spa

32 Freeman Road, Greenwich

Katherine Cristo Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.441.2237

Monika Patrycja Cronin Lic. Real Estate Salesperson The Monika Cronin Team c: 518.577.1712

Lars Huus-Skladzinski Lic. Real Estate Salesperson c: 518.321.1282

Jane R. Sanzen Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.526.6056

$235,000

$619,900

$685,900

J E FF D I NGLE R

62 SHEP ROSE: GEAR UP TR ACY MOMROW K ATI E D OB I E S s t y l i n g b y E LI Z A D E ROCKE R by

photography by

66 SPAC TO THE FUTURE by

$323,000

J E FF D I NGLE R

68 FASHION, FORWARD by

MI TCH E LL FA MUL A RE

$4,999,000

$395,500

$499,000

72 TREKONDEROGA: WHERE NO FAN HAS GONE BEFORE by

DANI E L NE STE R ROB O’ NE I L

photography by

76 ON A CAROUSEL K A RE N B J ORNL AND p h o t o g r a p h y b y FR ANCE SCO D’AMICO by

16 King Road, Saratoga Springs

25 Route 146, Mechanicville

5 Iris Drive, Saratoga Springs

262 Broadway, Unit 203, Saratoga Springs (Commercial)

Jennifer Johnson Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.588.1392

Katherine E. King, GRI, CBR Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.524.9550

Tina Nigro Lic. Real Estate Salesperson c: 518.495.7164

JoAnn Potrzuski Cassidy Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.470.3281

$309,900

78 MADE WITH CARE BY THREE LOCAL ARTISANS

$339,000

$959,000

$31/SF

b y AB BY TE GNE LI A, WI LL LE VIT H, NATA LI E MOORE p h o t o g r a p h y b y FR ANCE SCO D’AMICO

84 VINEYARD VINES IS A WHALE OF A BUSINESS

–CLAUDIA WILSEY BRIGHT

KE LSE Y FRE D RI CKS

88 THE SARATOGA RACING MUSEUM GETS A MAJOR UPGRADE by

J E FF D I NGLE R

DORI FITZPATRICK

“My parents lived here, my brother and sister live here, and we would bring our kids here in the summer for a few weeks. My connection to this [place], my upbringing here, keeps me grounded.”

97 East Avenue, Unit 205, Saratoga Springs

87 Railroad Place, Unit 401, Saratoga Springs

132 Cedar Lane, Indian Lake

935 MacArthur Drive, Ballston Spa

Harold W. Reiser, III Assoc. Real Estate Broker c: 518.588.5224

Michelle LaFountain Lic. Real Estate Salesperson c: 518.791.9408

Christopher Marney Lic. Real Estate Salesperson c: 518.348.9358

Ashley Aquilo Lic. Real Estate Salesperson c: 518.528.8957

$348,000

$872,500

www.JulieCoRealty.com | o: 518.350.7653 |

$275,000

$469,900

inside SPRING 2020

14 From The Editor 16 Letter From The CEO 18 First Up

the front

24 26 27 28 30 30 31 32 33 34 36 38 39 40 92

90 SARATOGA RACING UPDATE: THE NEW STARTING GATE? by

BR I EN BO U Y E A

92 TROY BUILT: DAN PICKETT’S NEW VENTURE by

WI LL LE VI TH

photography by

FR A NCE S CO D ’A M I CO

Power Players: Giovannina and Ronald Solevo Insta Replay: I Saw Design Planet Saratoga: Ato Essandoh Interior: Extreme Makeover: Upstate New York Edition In The Clutch: Hilary Morrison Made In Saratoga: Saratoga’s Feathered History Jockey Club: Manny Franco Buy This!: The Shopping Must Go On! Celeb Alert: The Office’s Kate Flannery Ride-Along: Whole Harvest 108 Delivers The Goods Hot Date: Stay Fit (At Home) Back Then: This Old House Ranked: Skidmore Leads The Nation Panel: Interior Motives

the Back 100 Calendar 102 Gorgeous 105 Grooming 106 Décor 108 Drive, Fly, Float 112 Hot Chef: Seneca 114 Thirst: OWL Tequila 118 Travel: Disney’s Saratoga Springs 122 Saratoga After Dark 127 Play: Crossword 127 The List

the END

128 Saratogian Of The Month: Glenn Laporte

112

(Troy Built) FRANCESCO D’AMICO; (Shep Rose) KATIE DOBIES; (Solevos) DORI FITZPATRICK

21 Saratoga Inc.: Give Yourself (And Saratoga) The Gift That Gives Back 23 It’s True We Think: Is Whitehall Truly The Birthplace Of The US Navy? 23 The Numbers: The Navy In New York

Abby Tegnelia CEO

Will Levith EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

SENIOR WRITER SENIOR DESIGNER SPORTS EDITOR DESIGN EDITOR SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT EDITORS EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

MANAGING EDITOR

EDITOR AT LARGE

Retirement planning

Kathleen Gates Natalie Moore Jeff Dingler Linda Gates Brien Bouyea Sue Waldron Francesco D’Amico, Dori Fitzpatrick Hannah Kotler, Hannah Sacks Morgan Fechter, Connor McCann Simone Teague Susan Gates

with no wrinkles

ON THE COVER

Claudia Wilsey Bright and Kevin Bright, photographed by Dori Fitzpatrick exclusively for saratoga living. Hair and makeup: Robby Goodman, Hair Stylist, and Rachael Lund, Makeup Artist, Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness. Shot on location at the Brights’ Saratoga area home.

WRITERS

Karen Bjornland, Mitchell Famulare, Kelsey Fredricks Nicole Ianniello, Maria McBride Bucciferro Brian K. Lind, Marco Medrano, Sarah Midani Lisa Mitzen, Tracy Momrow, Katie Navarra Daniel Nester, Tom Pedulla, Joe “Woody” Wood

ARTISTS / PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kyle Adams, Katie Dobies Billy Francis LeRoux, Konrad Odhiambo Terri-Lynn Pellegri, Susie Raisher

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Teresa Frazer ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

saratoga living is published six times a year by Saratoga Living LLC. subscriptions: Domestic, $24.95 per year; Canadian, $44.95 per year (non-refundable). saratoga living 422 Broadway, Suite 203 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Volume 22, No.2 Spring 2020 Copyright © 2020 Saratoga Living LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Saratoga Living LLC. All editorial queries should be directed to editorial@saratogaliving.com; or sent to 422 Broadway, Suite 203, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. saratoga living assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions.

CHIEF OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

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ART DIRECTOR, MARKETING

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SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER PUBLIC RELATIONS

Tina Galante Tara Buffa, Annette Quarrier Steve Teabout Austin Bayliss Alyssa Salerno Rachael Rieck Baker Public Relations

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⁄ SPRING 2020

Securities offered through Fenimore Securities, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC, and advisory services offered through Fenimore Asset Management, Inc.

from the editor

Bringing It All Back Home ’m sitting here writing this Editor’s Letter in saratoga living’s Troy Bureau—a.k.a. my home office—because as a staff, we’ve been working remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and shut down all manner of everything in Saratoga Springs. It’s scary, because Saratoga’s not only where I work every day, it’s also my hometown. I was born at Saratoga Hospital, am a product of the Saratoga Springs Public School system and my parents still live off of North Broadway. Despite the world doing its best impression of Stephen King’s The Stand— and all of it going down just a few precious weeks before our magazine’s deadline—our small but formidable saratoga living staff stepped up in a major way, working lawyers’ hours to bring you the product you find in between your 20-second-minimum-washed hands. It was no easy feat, but it got done, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s the best issue we’ve ever done. What will you find in the pages of our annual Design issue? For one, you’ll get a peek inside the beautiful log-cabin home of Friends Executive Producer/Director Kevin Bright, and his wife, Claudia Wilsey Bright, who graciously welcomed our team into their home, despite the circumstances (more on the Brights and their humble abode on p.42). You’ll also find profiles of talented local artisans, whose handmade wares will make even the dullest of interiors delightful; get a tour of an exact replica of a Star Trek set located in Ticonderoga; obtain career advice from Shep Murray, Skidmore College graduate and co-founder of Vineyard Vines; and a lot more where that came from. Above all, you’ll find the blood, sweat and tears of the saratoga living team, who worked their keisters off to make this truly gorgeous issue a reality, under the most challenging of circumstances. Join me in thanking each and every one of them for going the extra mile. This is for you, Saratoga.

The Falls Venue The Falls Venue is the elegant centerpiece of your event.

Ceremony Hall is just outside and perfect, rain or shine, for a ceremony or cocktail party under a Hudson Valley moon. We offer Cocktail Hour in a separate space where your guests can enjoy appetizers and drinks. Our Bridal Suite has a stone fireplace, a television and a wet bar. It’s the perfect room for the bride and her maids to relax and get ready.

Best,

Will Levith EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

friends (from top left) saratoga living cover subjects Kevin Bright and Claudia Wilsey Bright; saratoga living CEO Abby Tegnelia; Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness Makeup Artist Rachael Lund (not pictured Robby Goodman); saratoga living Editorial Director Will Levith; and saratoga living Senior Photographer Dori Fitzpatrick.

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⁄ SPRING 2020

@willlevith EDMOND DeROCKER

@Mediawill

CHRISTINA SNYDER VENUE DIRECTOR t christina@jmscollective.com 158 UNION TURNPIKE HUDSON, NY 12534

office 518-719-1600 ext.140

t JMSCOLLECTIVE.COM/EVENT-SPACE

letter from the CEO

We Persevere

You’ve got

MORE IMPORTANT THINGS

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promo tv CEO Abby Tegnelia on the set of CBS 6 news promoting saratoga living’s “Miracle on Ice” event.

(AngioDynamics) HANNAH LUX; (Abby) NICK MADELONE/MILLENNIUM BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

gold standard Special thanks to our “Miracle on Ice” event goldlevel sponsor, AngioDynamics, who generously donated its back cover ad to the Capital Region’s COVID-19 Response Fund.

can’t believe how short a time it’s been since saratoga living was cheering on Team USA at a rousing party celebrating the 40th anniversary of America’s “Miracle on Ice” game from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Looking at the photos, it feels like it was a year ago. Or was that pre-pandemic soirée a lifetime ago? It was definitely a different world. I became CEO on a Friday and by that next Thursday was shutting down the office. Then it was a firestorm of setting up home offices, helping out our nonprofit partners, redoing copy—and completely reworking our distribution, so we could still deliver our magazine to you. Turn the page for articles of escape (Saratoga photographer Katie Dobies and Saratoga Closet owner Eliza DeRocker jetted down to Charleston, SC, before the crisis took hold, to photograph reality TV star Shep Rose, for example), as well as stories on how to help local businesses and what it’s like to help feed our community in crisis. Not only have we been working hard to bring Saratogians their magazines as they go stir-crazy at home (guilty!), but we now deliver to nursing homes from Hudson to Glens Falls. We’ve also upped our online coverage during COVID-19 and are including new magazines our staff created for The Hyde Collection and Saratoga Automobile Museum with many of our dropoffs at restaurants that are staying open during the pandemic. (Email us or check out our website for a list of eateries including our magazines with deliveries and pick-up orders.) We are so honored to bring to you as much to read as we possibly can during these quarantined times, and we take our role as connecter extremely seriously. We’re feeding our website as often as we can throughout the day, to make sure you have the information you need, from our governor’s most pressing items to what it’s like being an essential worker during this troubling time. Our team has been working from wake-up to evening every day, and through three straight weekends to make all of these changes happen. And it’s been a privilege.

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16 saratoga living

⁄ SPRING 2020

NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK

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MAY GO DOWN IN VALUE

first look

BOCES Offering Free Childcare To Essential Workers In Saratoga, Glens Falls And Queensbury Solevo Kitchen, Druthers And Other Saratoga Restaurants Nix All Service To Protect Public Health

COVID-19: How We’re All Surviving

S E PA R ATED BUT TOGETH ER: AS WE A LL ST R U GGLE D TO C O M P R E H E N D O U R M A N DATO RY LOCKDOWN, SARATOGIANS STO R M E D T H E I N T E R N E T F O R R E ASO N S O F SA NIT Y.

t press time, Saratoga Springs was three weeks into Governor Andrew Cuomo’s mandatory lockdown, Saratoga Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton had announced that people not practicing social distancing could be ticketed by Saratoga Springs police and Saratoga County had 150 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Saratoga’s nurses, doctors, EMTs, policemen and all other “essential employees” were hard at work, making the Spa City tick, and countless businesses and individuals were going out of their way to

help those in need. Many restaurants were offering takeout or delivery, while others chose to close their doors to help protect their employees and customers from the virus. With all nonessential employees in quarantine, many people—and the Internet—have taken to trying to put a positive spin on this most serious of situations. Who would’ve thought than an international pandemic (that is literally forcing us apart) would actually be working to bring people together? One of our favorite memes keeping us sane during quarantine.

Saratoga’s Playgrounds And Basketball Courts Temporarily Closed ‘Saratoga Living’ Quarantinis: Hamlet & Ghost’s Gin Gin Fizz, Two Ways Governor Cuomo: COVID-19 Patients From NYC Have Been Moved To Albany Med



overheard IN QUARANTINE “I just took a nap to stop myself from eating.” “My mom has rearranged her furniture so it’s easier for the dog to look out the windows.” “You’re telling me you wouldn’t go join Doc Antle’s tiger cult?” “I told him my favorite candy is Nerd Ropes, and now he isn’t responding.” “I haven’t put on shoes in two weeks.” “What are pants?” “Of course I’m in full makeup. I am sending dudes pictures!! I can’t look like a troll!!” “My mom gets it about as much as the spring breakers do. For once college kids and boomers unite.”

#518RainbowHunt A regionwide “rainbow hunt”—a grassroots campaign in which children and their parents hang rainbows in their windows—has taken hold. Families are encouraged to “hunt” for rainbows while they’re out on walks or drives, snap a photo and post it to social media using the hashtag #518RainbowHunt. Tag @saratogaliving in your #518RainbowHunt photos on Instagram or Facebook for a chance to be featured on our page!

9 Capital Region Venues And Museums Offering Free Remote Entertainment During The COVID-19 Crisis

“Guys, Rent the Runway has an unlimited option for loungewear.” “My cat stole a piece of my prosciutto. (I’m eating breakfast like a European to excuse the day drinking.)”

What It’s Like Being A Skidmore College Senior During The COVID-19 Crisis (Opinion) Saratoga Police Could Ticket People Who Aren’t Practicing Social Distancing Rochester Bakery Producing ‘Dr. Anthony Fauci’ Doughnuts What It’s Like Being A Nurse In The Capital Region During The COVID-19 Crisis Troy Baker Producing ‘Troylet’ Cakes In The Shape Of Toilet Paper Rolls What It’s Like Being A Parent Who Believes His Child Has COVID-19 Aqueduct Racetrack To Serve As Temporary Hospital During The COVID-19 Pandemic What It’s Like Being A Service Industry Business Owner In The Capital Region During The COVID-19 Pandemic Escape From Europe: How One Lake George Couple Got Out Of Dodge Just As COVID-19 Took Hold Saratoga County Nonprofits Under Strain To Provide For Increased Need Will Saratoga’s Summer Season Include SPAC? NYRA: Saratoga Race Course On Schedule To Open July 16 New York Governor Cuomo: 6,000-Plus Mental Health Professionals Volunteering Time During COVID-19 Outbreak

How Saratoga’s Homeless Population Has Been Affected By The COVID-19 Outbreak

saratogaliving.com New York Governor Cuomo: COVID-19 Outbreak Moving Across State Like ‘Bullet Train’

Saratogian Runs A Solo Marathon After The One She Was Scheduled To Run Was Canceled Due To COVID-19 Pandemic What It’s Like Being A Capital Region Doctor On The Front Lines Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

throughout the day, every day during covid-19

White House Launches Tech Consortium, Including RPI, To Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

What It’s Like Grocery Shopping During The COVID-19 Pandemic In The Capital Region (Opinion) 10 Musicians Performing Live On Social Media During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Saratoga County, New York State Appeal To Local Business For Medical Supplies

Governor Cuomo Orders A Statewide Lockdown For New York Due To COVID-19 Outbreak Saratoga Springs’ Restaurants Offering Free Meals To Those In Need NYRA Suspends All Live Racing Due To COVID-19 Pandemic How To Stay Up To Date On COVID-19 In Saratoga Springs

Saratoga County ‘Take Out Week’ Launches In Wake Of The COVID-19 Outbreak Kentucky Derby Rescheduled To September Due To COVID-19 Outbreak

10 ‘Saratoga Living’ Long-Reads To Enjoy While You’re Working From Home

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visit

Comfortex, Precision Valve & Automation Now Producing Medical Equipment To Help Out During COVID-19 Crisis

Skidmore Suspends Rest Of Semester; Students To Work Remotely

the front saratoga inc.

Give Yourself (And Saratoga) The Gift That Gives Back PURC H AS ING G IF T CARD S F RO M LO CAL B US INES S ES IS A G REAT WAY TO S UPPO RT T H E C O MMUNIT Y D URING T H E C OVID - 1 9 C RIS IS .

verybody knows that Saratoga’s small businesses are hurting right now; dozens of shops and boutiques have been forced to temporarily close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But our town is resilient, and the community is coming together to support its own. One way you can help out right now? Purchase gift cards from local businesses for use after the COVID-19 crisis is over. Here’s a list of non-restaurant businesses in Saratoga proper that you can support this way.

23rd [and Fourth] 518.584.3700 23rdandfourth.com

Caroline & Main 518.450.7350 carolineandmain.com

Adirondack Cruise & Charter Co. 518.956.2626 adkcruise.com

Classical Concepts Salon 518.587.6039 classicalconceptssalon.com

Batcheller Mansion Inn 518.584.7012 batchellermansioninn.com

Complexions Spa For Beauty & Wellness 518.306.5502 complexions.com

Benson’s Pet Center 518.584.7777 bensonspet.com Brentwood Hotel 518.450.7861 brentwood-hotel.com

Embrace The Race 518.580.4500 embracetherace.com Family Vision Care Center 518.584.6111 familyvisioncarecenter.com Fred Astaire Dance Studios 518.587.0300 fredastaire.com Impressions of Saratoga 518.587.0666 impressionssaratoga.com Lifestyles of Saratoga 518.584.4665 lifestylesofsaratoga.com Make Me Fabulous 518.583.2626 makemefabulous.com Max Level Fitness & Athletics 518.596.0380 yourmaxlevel.com Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company 518.584.3500 mountainmanoutdoors.com Northshire Bookstore 518.682.4200 northshire.com Pro Nails Saratoga 518.580.8797 pronailssaratoga.wixsite.com/ nails Saratoga Saddlery & International Boutiques 518.580.4522 saratogasaddlery.com Saratoga Botanicals Organic Spa & Store 518.306.4108 saratogabotanicals.com

Saratoga National Golf Club 518.583.4653 golfsaratoga.com Silverado Jewelry Gallery 518.584.1044 silveradosaratoga.com Silverwood Home & Gallery 518.583.3600 silverwoodgalleries.com Spa Cascada 518.583.4850 spacascada.com Spa City Organics 518.306.4108 spacityorganics.com Spoken Boutique 518.587.2772 @SpokenBoutique The Children’s Museum At Saratoga 518.584.5540 cmssny.org The Dark Horse Mercantile 518.587.0689 @DarkHorseSaratoga The Downtowner 518.306.4063 thedowntownerhotel.com The Inn At Saratoga 518.583.1890 lauren@theinnatsaratoga.com

Saratoga Casino & Hotel 518.682.8888 saratogacasino.com

The Pink Paddock 518.587.4344 @thepinkpaddock

Compliments To The Chef 518.226.4477 saratogachef.com

Saratoga Flag 518.792.1776 saratogaflag.com

The Savory Pantry 518.450.1130 savorypantry.com

deJonghe Original Jewelry 518.587.6422 djoriginals.com

Saratoga Lake Golf Club 518.581.6616 saratogalakegolf.com

Tru Cutz Barber Shop 518.584.2889 trucutz.mystrikingly.com

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saratogaliving.com 21

FREIHOFER'S

ARTWORK BY ISA HAGE

the front

SARATOGA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2020

theory of revolution In the 1770s, Lake Champlain played a critical role in the Revolutionary War, as American and British troops fought for control over what was then a center of maritime trade.

JUNE 27 & 28

it’s true (we think)

Is Whitehall Really The Birthplace Of The US Navy? CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES! Nile Rodgers & CHIC • Kool & The Gang • Cassandra Wilson • Taj Mahal The Brubeck Brothers Celebrate Dave Brubeck’s Centennial • Fly Higher: Charlie Parker @ 100 • Eliane Elias • Issac Delgado & His Afro Cuban Big Band Ozmosys • Kurt Elling & Danilo Perez Duo • Matt Wilson’s Honey & Salt Javon Jackson Quartet • Ranky Tanky • Little Freddie King • Matthew Whitaker • Amina Figarova Sextet plus Strings • Tiempo Libre • Ryan Keberle & Catharsis • Connie Han Trio • Emmaline • Caffé Lena Presents Joyful Noise Shenendehowa High School Jazz Ensemble • ESYO Youth Jazz Orchestra

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT SPAC.ORG

Macdonough’s Victory on Lake Champlain. Watercolor by Edward Tufnell. (U.S. Navy Art Collection/Released)

T H E S H O RT ANS W ER? NO. H ERE’ S T H E LO NG ANS W ER. BY NATALIE MOORE

he first thing you see when you go to the website for the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce is “Whitehall, NY— Birthplace of the U.S. Navy.” Wait, what? How could a small, slightly rundown town in Upstate New York— that’s more than 150 miles from the nearest ocean, may we add—be the

place where the world’s most powerful naval fleet got its start? The chamber’s site goes on to explain that when Whitehall (then known as Skenesborough) was founded in 1759 by British Army Captain Philip Skene, it was the first settlement on Lake Champlain, which was then a center for maritime trade. During the Revolutionary

War, Skene’s trading schooner was captured, and American troops, led by famed future traitor Benedict Arnold, built a fleet of ships in the town. These actions led to a declaration by the New York State Legislature, almost 200 years later in 1960, naming Whitehall as the birthplace of the US Navy. One report on military.com tells a slightly different story. The website (not affiliated with the US government) pinpoints the birthday of the US Navy as October 13, 1775, the year before Arnold built his fleet at Skenesborough and on the day that the Continental Navy was adopted through legislation in Philadelphia. Along with Philly, the Navy also recognizes Machias, ME; Providence, RI; and Marblehead, MA as playing significant roles in the creation of the service branch. The claim that it’s Whitehall, however, “is based on naval and amphibious operations on Lake Champlain undertaken by the Continental Army under the command of Benedict Arnold,” the article explains. The US Navy considers its beginnings to be the Continental Navy, not the Continental Army. But Whitehall says Navy shmavy. Whatever ol’ Benedict did way back then was good enough for the state legislature, so it’s good enough for us.

by the numbers

THE NAVY IN NEW YORK 13

Number of vessels built by the Americans at Whitehall (then Skenesborough), within two months, in 1776 (one galley, eight gondolas/ gunboats and four row galleys)

2,700

Number of members of the New York Naval Militia, which responds to state emergencies and supports the National Guard

Number of years since the Naval Support Unit Scotia moved to Saratoga Springs (in 2010, it was renamed the Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs)

3,000

Number of active duty members serving at the Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs

50,000

Number of sailors who have trained at Kenneth A. Kesselring Site in West Milton since 1955

10,000

Number of artifacts housed in the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, a part of New York State’s Division of Military and Naval Affairs located in Saratoga

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the front sibling revelry Brother-and-sister combo Ronnie and Gigi Solevo have turned Solevo Kitchen + Social into the spot where Saratoga’s elite go to dine.

power player

Kitchen Clout

SIBLING RESTAURANT PARTNERS GIOVANNINA AND RONALD SOLEVO HAVE QUICKLY MADE SOLEVO KITCHEN + SOCIAL INTO THE HOTTEST MEETUP FOR SARATOGA’S LOCAL CELEBS AND POWER SET.

BY W ILL LEVITH

p h otograp h y by DO R I F I T ZPAT R I C K

hen Solevo Kitchen + Social opened its doors in September 2018, the restaurant faced an uphill battle—at least, on paper. That’s because of the obvious: Saratoga Springs is one bowl shy of becoming a Pastafarian shrine on any given

night, with Italian restaurants of all stripes, types and price ranges dotting the city. So, Connecticut-born brother-and-sister team Ronald and Giovannina Solevo—Ronnie and Gigi to friends—had just a single goal in their first year in business, “We wanted to be accepted into the [Saratoga] scene,” says Ronnie. The Spa City had been their family’s perennial summer

vacation spot, and they just wanted to do right by the place they loved. Fairytales do, in fact, come true. Everything seemingly fell into place for the Solevos, and these days, Solevo Kitchen + Social has become one of the city’s most-talked-about restaurants and the spot where high-profile clientele— the true power players of Saratoga— congregate. Ronnie, who serves as executive chef, and Gigi, Solevo’s frontof-house/business whiz, cut their teeth in the family restaurant business back in Connecticut and during stints in New York City. Things got real in 2013, when the siblings purchased their parents’ Italian restaurant and ran it together for four years. Then they sold it and moved to Saratoga, where their parents had retired—literally, across the street from where Solevo Kitchen + Social would end up opening. Gigi was actually the first to arrive here, and she remembers begging her brother to follow suit: “We’re not getting any younger—let’s do this now,” she told him. “We’re young, we’re energetic, we have what it takes…let’s go.” Thankfully, he agreed. Now, about those power players. It’s not just local execs who frequent the Solevos’ restaurant; it’s straight-up celebrities, who flock there because of its “see and be seen” atmosphere. The restaurant’s lined with windows that passersby can peer into, and it has the feel of a Downtown New York City haunt. (“People crave that vibe,” says Ronnie. “You can’t get that everywhere.”) During the all-day-allnight party that is the Saratoga track season, the Solevos have managed to rein in a litany of high-profile horsemen, including jockeys such as the Ortiz brothers and John Velazquez, who chose Solevo as the site of his victory meal following his Travers

famiglia italiana It’s not just a family affair inside Solevo Kitchen + Social; the siblings’ parents live directly across the street from restaurant.

Stakes win last year; and trainers Claude “Shug” McGaughey, Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott and Chad Brown. The list goes on and on. Bobby Flay’s been in for a drink. Ronnie and Gigi were even called up to cater for pop band Train, when the band rocked Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) last summer. With all of this momentum, the Solevos say they’re thinking about expanding. (Though Ronnie is quick to note that the COVID-19 outbreak and uncertainty of the economy could put these plans on hold.) In fact, they let us in on a little secret: “We’ve got some other things in the works,” says Ronnie. (When pressed on the subject, they wouldn’t go any further.) “I think one of the goals when Ronnie and I came up here wasn’t just to have one successful restaurant,” says Gigi. “It was to hopefully form our own version of a hospitality group.” Ronnie concurs. “I’m a dreamer, and she’s a businessperson,” he says. “I’d rather write a journal of restaurant concepts that I know would work in Saratoga and that I think Saratoga needs, and hand it to her and [have her say], ‘Let’s make this happen.’ And we’re trying to do that right now,” says Ronnie. We can’t wait. (At press time Solevo Kitchen + Social were temporarily closed due to COVID-19. Check saratogaliving.com for all updates.)

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adirondacksaltcave.com

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#fashiondesign follow this account ➷

electric pride Schenectady native Ato Essandoh, seen here at the opening night of West Side Story on Broadway this past February, has acted both in blockbuster films and hot new TV series.

planet saratoga

From Schenectady To Scorsese

follow this account ➷

#windowdesign

H O W AC TO R ATO E S S A N D O H W E N T F R O M T H E E L E C T R I C C I T Y T O W O R K I N G W I T H H O L LY W O O D ’ S G R E AT E S T D I R E C TO R S . n BY S I M O N E T E AG U E

t’s always a surprise when you find out an actor or actress you’ve seen on the big screen is from your neck of the woods—especially when your neck of the woods is

humble Schenectady. Some Schenectadian glitterati we’ve covered in the past include the late Ann B. Davis (The Brady Bunch) and actor Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler).

Another superstar to add to the ranks? Ato Essandoh, a Ghanaian-American actor best known for his roles in Jason Bourne, Blood Diamond and Garden State, who was born in the Electric City in 1972. After attending New Rochelle High School in Westchester County, he went on to study chemical engineering at Cornell University. It was at Cornell that Essandoh got his first taste of acting; during his junior year, his college sweetheart encouraged

him to audition for a play on campus. “I’ll never forget coming on stage and hearing people laugh, feeling them connect, hanging on every word we said,” Essandoh told Cornell’s alumni magazine. After college, Essandoh began studying at The Acting Studio in New York City and landed his first TV role as an injured bike messenger on NBC’s Third Watch in 2001. Since then, the Capital Regionite has worked with directors Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese on Django Unchained and HBO’s Vinyl, respectively, and has also appeared in HBO’s Girls, Netflix’s Altered Carbon and blockbuster X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Now, that’s electric.

#floraldesign

voted best wedding venue voted best wedding venue insta replay

I Saw Design

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E XPLORING TH E ART OF DESI GN ON I NSTAGRAM.

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#interiordesign

cal l us about a pr i vate cal l usviabout a pr i vate r tual tour vi r tual tour DESIGN ON

image by c hris s awic k i

#bardesign

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the front home run More than a dozen Upstate New York towns are vying to star in a new spinoff of HGTV’s hit series Home Town (seen here) called Home Town Takeover.

8, to be exact, if you’re, say, interested in streaming it on Amazon Prime—couple Jodi and Kirk and their two children set out from Stow, MA to find their forever home in Saratoga. (The family play together in Congress Park and eat ice cream at Dairy Häus—and filler shots include a drive-by of North Broadway.) “It’s really such a unique place,” says Kirk of the city. “There’s a great downtown with tons of restaurants, lots and lots of culture, and it’s very close to all the things we love.” But the couple has differing ideas of what they want: She’s looking for something traditional (Cape Cod/Colonial), while he’s got his heart set on something rustic (Craftsman/ Farmhouse). With a $650,000 budget, the couple sets out with Keller Williams real estate agent Michelle Poccia, who eventually hooks them up: They end up choosing the first house they see.

Not surprisingly, HGTV is in constant need of real people and houses to make its popular shows tick, and the Capital Region has made a number of cameos in its various series. Here are my five fix-it favorites.

If Walls Could Talk (1998-2008)

Extreme Makeover: Upstate New York Edition THE CA PITA L REGI ON’ S CRAZY CONNEC T I O N S TO H GT V. BY W ILL LE V IT H

’m a proud cord-cutter, but every time I find myself at my motherin-law’s house in the Utica area, I immediately fall back into my old ways. You know, surfing between Law & Order: SVU, American Pickers and SportsCenter. More often than not, though, I do a full stop when I get to HGTV, because its brand of home-décor-and-design-centric reality shows don’t make me feel as guilty as watching, say, American Idol, because I actually feel like I’m adulting. I find myself daydreaming about that nevergoing-to-happen second home in Paris via House Hunters: International or tricking out my Troy pad Home Town-style. Sometimes, I join Property Brothers for Demolition 101—though my wife would argue that it hasn’t helped my handiness much—and other times I

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get caught up in the too-cute-for-a-toolbelt lovefest that is Fixer Upper. What ultimately keeps me—and I’d venture a guess, most people—coming back to HGTV is that its shows are like a friendly, fantasy homeowner support group. Despite what some people might think, owning a home isn’t a walk in the park: Houses can be massive money pits and everyday sources of stress. No matter how many upgrades you make to your home, there will always be other ones begging to be tended to right as you think you’re done. But in the world of HGTV, none of that is your problem— and there’s always a resolution at the end of the show. You can sit back, blissfully, while a Property Brother takes a sledgehammer to someone else’s wall and finds a nightmare of electrical wires and mold behind it..

Offbeat America (2005-2007) The short-lived HGTV series Offbeat America went in-depth on the US’ quirkiest homes—including one that had a backyard amusement park, a natural light-less home built inside a cave, and an abode completely fashioned out of foam. The show stopped by Saratoga for the premiere episode of Season 5 to take a peek inside John “PJ” and Carolyn Davis’ house, which has a strong 1950s motif inside (John’s nickname should ring a bell: He’s the “PJ” behind hometown fave PJ’s BAR-B-QSA). Of entering his unique home, John told the Post Star at the time: “It’s a very calming feeling stepping out of today’s rush, rush world.”

House Hunters (1999–present) In a March 2017 episode of the OG House Hunters—Season 122, Episode

ty’s chi Ty Pennington, the host of the original Extreme Makeover: Home Edition series on ABC, now appears in a supporting role on HGTV’s 2020 reboot.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2003 – present)

HGTV

interior

HGTV’s show If Walls Could Talk started airing during my senior year at Saratoga Springs High School—and ran for a respectable 20 seasons. In its final season in 2008, the show aired an episode focused on 595 North Broadway in Saratoga—the famed Pruyn/Pettee home, built “backwards” so it’s not facing the road—which was owned by one-time Spa City Mayor Harry Pettee (the city’s second ever), who was active from 1917-19. Let’s just say he wasn’t that savory a character, embezzling $300,000 and disappearing under strange circumstances, never to be seen again. In other words, perfect fodder for cable TV.

Long before “Queer Eye and cry” was a thing, I was known for getting weepy during episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which originally aired on ABC in the early aughts, with proto-bro Ty Pennington hosting. The concept was simple: Pennington would find a family in need, and bring in a crew of workers and volunteers to do a shockingly amazing renovation of their house. The climax always featured Pennington, with a bus blocking the newly renovated home from its future occupants’ view, gleefully shouting, “Move that bus!” The big reveal was always awash in tears, hugs and high-fives. The show aired for nine years. In the 26th episode of Season 4—the two-hour 2007 season finale—Pennington and his crew, with 20 million viewers across the country eagerly watching, rolled into Colonie to help out a woman and her four sons, two of whom were HIV positive and had special needs. The resultant 3,700-square-foot home was a doozy—and according to a Times Union story that ran a few years later,

so was the woman who owned it (I’ll let you Google it). Just this year, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition got the reboot treatment on HGTV (so I hope you’ll forgive me that this technically isn’t a perfect HGTV anecdote), this time with Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson in as host and Pennington tooling around in a supporting role.

Home Town Takeover (2021) In 2017, HGTV debuted Home Town, starring wife-and-husband team Erin and Ben Napier, who are experts at restoring Southern homes in their (you guessed it) hometown of Laurel, MS (the show is currently in its fourth season). Late last year, the cable network announced that it would be launching a six-episode spinoff of the show called Home Town Takeover, to air in 2021. The concept? The Napiers would branch out from their neck of the woods (and one episode, one makeover format) and choose

one small town or village in the US to make over throughout the sixepisode run. The network put out a nationwide “casting” call, noting that potential home towns needed to have a population of 40,000 people or fewer and apply for the role online. The deadline was this past February. Unbelievably (or quite believably, depending on where you live), a plethora of Upstate New York towns and villages produced videos, arguing why they should be chosen to take the Napier plunge. Among them were Albany County’s Ravena; Rensselaer County’s Hoosick Falls; Washington County’s Whitehall, Fort Edward, Cambridge and Salem; and Fulton County’s Gloversville and Johnstown. Interestingly, Amsterdam, the birthplace of the late Kirk “I Am Spartacus” Douglas, originally told the Daily Gazette that it was all in but ultimately pulled out. Even some towns don’t want to be the next reality TV has-been.

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the front made in saratoga

Saratoga’s Feathered History

2 4

6 1 3

5 9

13 7 10 19

THIS PUERTO RICAN POWERHOUSE IS A HORSE RACING SUPERSTAR-IN-THE-MAKING. BY BRIEN BOUYEA

S PA C I TY I NV ENTO R SE YMO U R A I NS WORTH L A I D A GO LDE N E GG WI TH H I S FEATH ER FAN S IN TH E 18 00S . n BY SIMO N E T E AGU E

he must-have accessory of 1880s Saratoga Springs? Fancy feather fans. Back then, feathers were all the rage in women’s fashion, especially when used in elaborate hairpieces and headdresses. Before feather fans really started to soar globally, Saratoga inventor Seymour Ainsworth noticed the trend among the fluttering elite that gathered in Saratoga—then a wellness destination for the rich

ADAM COGLIANESE

Meet Manny Franco

jockey club

BORN

December 19, 1994 BIRTHPLACE

Carolina, Puerto Rico HEIGHT

5' 1"

WEIGHT

112 pounds

anny Franco is one of the top young riders on the New York circuit. In each of the past five years, he’s ranked among the top 15 in earnings among North American jockeys, and in both 2018 and 2019 had more wins at New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks than any other rider. Franco rode his first Breeders’ Cup winner in 2019, piloting Sharing to victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. He has eight Grade 1 victories in his career to date, including the 2017 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga Race Course. A regular rider of Sackatoga Stable’s Tiz the Law, which saratoga living picked as its top early Kentucky Derby contender, Franco finished ninth in the Saratoga standings with 17 wins in 2019. FUN FACT: Franco rode five winners at Aqueduct Racetrack on February 21. It was the third time in his career he’d won five races on a single card.

MANNY FRANCO’S RECENT RIDING STATISTICS YEAR

MOUNTS

WINS

2016 1,480 192

WIN %

EARNINGS

13% $12,479,746

2017 1,327 187 14% $12,688,342 2018 1,419 252 18% $17,088,709 2019 1,340 221 16% $16,688,680 2020 196 48 24% $2,515,805* MANNY FRANCO’S CAREER RIDING STATISTICS (2003-2019)

MOUNTS

2013-2020 9,282

WINS

WIN %

1,336

14.39%

EARNINGS

$83,310,633*

*2020 AND CAREER STATS THROUGH MARCH 1

15 fan boy Saratoga inventor Seymour Ainsworth’s fans were light as a feather but earned him a hefty fortune.

in the clutch

HILARY’S DUFFLE WHAT’S INSIDE NIGHT OWL CREATIVE DIRECTOR HILARY MORRISON’S BAG? 1 2 3 4

Haute Shore leopard print bag Pure Barre water bottle Pure Barre sticky socks Emergen-C Daily Immune Support 5 Pixi Flawless Finishing Powder 6 Mario Badescu Fruit and Vitamin A Hand Cream 7 Elmore Mountain Therapeutics CBD Balm 8 Now Peppermint Oil 9 AirPods

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10 Crest 3-D Whitestrips 11 Dyptyque Paris Perfume 12 Night Owl business cards 13 Night Owl matches 14 Chanel sunglasses 15 Tazo Chai Vanilla Caramel Tea 16 Josie Maran Face Butter 17 Herbal Dynamics Beauty Rose Water Calming Face Toner 18 Adirondack Trust Company deposit receipt 19 Pen from Le Grand Colbert, Paris

and famous—and invested early in what would become one of his most profitable ventures. Ainsworth first fashioned fans out of turkey feathers, then switched to imported ostrich feathers, eventually patenting his feather fan in 1868. Soon after, there was a fan demand from featherweight socialites across the nation, and Ainsworth had a virtual monopoly, acting as the sole feather fan supplier of A.T. Stewart & Company and Lord & Taylor— perhaps the last time “fluffy” was fashionable.

(Morrison) DORI FITZPATRICK

architecture, interior design & construction management

Saratoga Springs, NY | Troy, NY 518.587.7120 | phinneydesign.com

the front celeb alert

5 Questions With ‘Meredith’ From The Office

ACTRESS KATE FLANNERY, WHO STARRED ON THE NBC HIT, WILL BE MAKING AN APPEARANCE IN ALBANY IN JULY. n BY KELSEY FREDRICKS

espite the COVID-19 outbreak temporarily axing live events of any kind in the Capital Region at press time, one glimmer of joyful hope is coming up on July 18. Actress Kate Flannery (a.k.a. The Office’s Meredith Palmer) will be doing an in-store appearance at Albany’s Heroes Hideout in Colonie Center. Ironically, Flannery, who played one hell of an HR nightmare on the hit NBC show, is a talented singer and dancer who’s been performing on the touring version of Dancing With The Stars (it, too, was postponed). saratoga living recently caught up with Flannery, who told us all about her multifaceted career— and the potential for an Office reboot.

5 this local wildflower honey, infused with ghost pepper chili from Saratoga Spicery.

buy this!

The Shopping Must Go On! HOW TO GE T SOME RETAI L TH ERAPY A M ID A M A N DATORY STAY-AT-H OME ORDE R . BY N ATA LIE M OORE

n each issue of saratoga living in 2020, we’re bringing you several items from Saratoga Springs shops that we think you need to see (and buy!). This time around, though, stores have been forced to close their doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped some local businesses from getting their products to the people who want/need them by way of curbside pickups or at-home deliveries. Now,

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32 saratoga living

more than ever, our locally owned businesses need your support. Here’s a shopping list to help you get started. 1 SIGNATURE CANVAS & LEATHER MESSENGER BAG Embrace The Race $120 While not all Saratoga shops have a means of selling products online, Embrace The Race does. Check out this professional and sporty messenger bag, on embracetherace.com.

⁄ SPRING 2020

2 VINEYARD VINES ‘SARATOGA STREET SIGNS’ TIE The Pink Paddock $90 Wear a piece of Downtown Saratoga around your neck with one of these silk street sign ties. The Pink Paddock is offering free local delivery and curbside pickup (in a mood-lifting flowered jeep, no less). Message them on Instagram at @thepinkpaddock or call them at 518.587.4344 for more information. 3 GHOST PEPPER CHILI INFUSED HONEY Saratoga Tea & Honey $17 Though its door may be shut, Saratoga Tea & Honey is open for curbside pickups; just be sure to call ahead or go online to saratogateaandhoney.com to prepay. We’d recommend

5 DEACON KING KONG: A NOVEL Northshire Bookstore $28.00 What better way to practice social distancing than by reading a brand-new book far away from anyone else in your house? New from National Book Awardwinning author James McBride is Deacon King Kong, a New York Times bestseller available for delivery from Northshire Bookstore. Visit northshire. com to place your order.

CHRIS HASTON

4 WANDERING BARMAN BOTTLED COCKTAILS By The Bottle $5.99 Need a stiff drink to get you through quarantine? By The Bottle is open for delivery and pickup; order on bythebottleshop.com or by phone, email or direct message. Need help choosing your “quarantini”? How ’bout a pre-mixed Marigold & Kaffir Lime Margarita from Wandering Barman?

You’re doing a meet-andgreet at Heroes Hideout in Albany this July. How’d that come together? Thanks to the love for The Office, I’ve received some really great invitations. Coming to Albany was another great “out of the blue” offer.

Sounds like a great party, and I rarely turn down an invitation to a party. Have you ever visited Saratoga during the horse racing season? I’ve never been to Saratoga Springs. I’m excited! I really like this area. I did a movie in Albany and Troy called Fourth Man Out back in 2015. I also played the Palace Theatre in 1994 in a tour

of the show The Real Live Brady Bunch. I know that my dance partner from DWTS, Pasha Pashkov, and his wife have danced there many times. You’re best known for playing Meredith on The Office. Did you base the character on a real-life person? How much of Meredith is actually you? The Office had the best writers on TV. I can’t take complete

credit for creating Meredith; however, I am a bar owner’s daughter. My dad ran Flannery’s Tavern in Philadelphia for 45 years. My grandfather opened it in 1933. I waited tables and bartended until I was 41. (Yes, I still had my restaurant job during the first season of The Office!) I waited on a lot of Merediths. Which of your Office co-stars do you still stay in touch with? I heard from five cast members this week! Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin), Oscar Nuñez (Oscar Martinez), Craig Robinson (Darryl Philbin), Andy Buckley (David Wallace) and Dave Koechner (Todd Packer). Don’t make me pick my favorite cast member. We are all like family! What can you tell us about the rumored Office revival? I don’t know for sure if there will be a reboot of The Office. It was the best nine years of my life, and I would love to do more. So we will see. I was 40 when I got the job on The Office, so I will always speak to the late bloomers. I know I have more gratitude and I am more grounded, but also, I have learned the value of hard work and enjoying every minute. Nothing lasts forever, so smile while you can.

kate of the union Kate Flannery, who played the oftdrunk Meredith Palmer on NBC’s The Office, says her character was partly inspired by the people she waited on at her father’s bar.

the front made things chaotic. “Our one-year anniversary was on March 14, and we had this big celebration we had to cancel,” she says. “But I feel for all the full-service restaurants with waiters and bartenders. Every day’s like, ‘What the hell is going to happen today?’” Heading to Work • 11:10am Whalen meets with her head chef, Kara Harrison, to do some meal prep at Whole Harvest’s location on Caroline Street. This morning, they’re making something special: three different large salads, part of a dinner for Saratoga’s homeless population sponsored by Code Blue and Leadership Saratoga’s Class of 2019.

12:36pm

these meals in reusable Pyrex glass dishes, Whalen makes a quick trip out to Target to pick up some more. Shopping during the pandemic, especially as a food industry worker, feels almost like crossing over into enemy territory. Whalen wears gloves and a mask inside all grocery stores as a further precaution to protect her staff.

1:41pm

ride along

Whole Harvest Delivers The Goods

Takeout • 1:41pm Whalen leaves a to-go order outside for curbside pickup. (The restaurant also partners with DoorDash for delivery of personal orders.) Before the pandemic, Whole Harvest would make 35-50 meals on a given Sunday. That number, of course, would’ve included customers dining in. Today, there have been fewer than 10 delivery/pickup orders. “People are still very nervous to order out,” says Whalen. “I’d say business dropped off about 10-20 percent when we closed the doors.” (Whalen has since told me that she’s down an average of 60-80 percent on any given day. “Consistency has completely gone out the window,” she says.)

saratoga living DOES A VIRTUAL RIDE-ALONG WITH THE DOWNTOWN SARATOGA RESTAURANT DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS.

BY JE FF DIN GL ER

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⁄ SPRING 2020

“virtual” ride-along with Kelsey Whalen, owner of Whole Harvest in Downtown Saratoga, to see what her restaurant and foodservice business has turned into in the age of COVID-19. Working From Home • 9am On a Sunday morning, Whalen and I “meet up” at her place via FaceTime. Though she usually goes into Whole Harvest around 10:30am or 11am, her day 9am actually starts earlier, at home, going over sales numbers on her laptop or checking in with the restaurant’s chefs. Though she’s grateful to be in business right now, Whalen says that COVID-19 has

11:35am

Prep Time • 11:35am Whalen and Harrison prep for their meal subscriptions, which will be delivered later this evening. Whole Harvest currently offers two meal subscription programs, one for regular $12 meals called Home to Harvest, and a brand-new program for low-income seniors. “Typically, we would prep at night for this,” Whalen says, “but because it’s slow, we get it done during the day to make for an earlier delivery.” Shopping During The Pandemic • 12:36pm There have been a few last-minute signups to the Home to Harvest meal program. Since the restaurant delivers

KELSEY WHALEN

akeout cocktails and drink orders might just be one of the few silver linings to this whole COVID-19 crisis. (We all have our coping mechanisms for the pandemic—don’t judge.) But while Saratoga Springs, like many other Capital Region communities, has gone to great lengths to advertise its food scene’s takeout and to-go options— even creating a “Take Out Week” in March—many restaurant workers are still scrambling to adapt to the new takeout-or-delivery-only reality created by the outbreak. For a deeper dive, saratoga living set up a

Break Time • 2:30pm While staff continue to hold down the fort at the restaurant, Whalen heads back home for a quick spin workout followed by vegan nachos and a protein smoothie. She also manages to squeeze in a 30-minute walk with her fiancé. Both of their schedules are so hectic that Whalen says a half hour per day is about all the time they have to spend together.

More Prep Work • 5:13pm Back at Whole Harvest’s kitchen, Whalen joins Ashley Daurio, the restaurant’s meal subscription coordinator, to put together this evening’s Harvest to Home meal subscriptions. On the menu tonight? Carrot dal with cucumber-mint dressing and fried mushroom coconut rice served with Whole Harvest’s signature salads and grain bowls. The program launched back in February and already has 14 subscribers. Whalen’s goal is “to grow these meal subscriptions programs enough to where that’s all we do at night.”

7:39pm

Final Delivery • 7:39pm It’s the last meal subscription delivery of the night, which means Whalen can finally go home. She says she plans on eating a meal with her family and then plopping on the couch with a glass of wine. Not a bad idea. I tell her to enjoy her meal and wine and then decide to do the same. BEST THING I SAW: It was incredible to see, in just one day, how much Whalen and her employees do for the community. From making food for Saratoga’s homeless population to providing affordable meal subscriptions to our seniors, I’ve come to realize that food industry and restaurant workers are essential.

5:13pm

Drop Off • 6:30pm Whalen leaves four meals for lowincome seniors with Lawrence Barisic, who works with the Saratoga Senior Center. Tonight, Whole Harvest made the seniors veggie rice with a hearty black bean soup. Birthday Celebration • 6:47pm Back at the restaurant, Whalen has a quick glass of wine with Daurio, who came into work on her birthday today. “It was just one glass,” says Whalen, with a laugh.

WORST THING I SAW: That’s easy: COVID-19. Whether it’s diminishing business for Whalen’s restaurant, and no doubt most other restaurants throughout the state, or creating all the extra precautions she and her workers are having to take right now, the virus is singlehandedly decimating the food industry. Even with takeout and delivery still available, most restaurants in the Spa City are hurting right now. THE BOTTOM LINE: Even after the COVID-19 crisis subsides and things begin to return to normal (who knows how long that will take to happen or what it will look like?), one thing will remain unchanged: People in the food industry are hard workers—and most of them don’t make a lot of money. I may be working from home for now, but the next time I place a to-go order, I’ll be sure to leave an extra big tip.

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the front

B hot date

Stay Fit (At Home) On National Fitness Day O N M AY 2, IT’ S TIME TO GET P H YSI CA L.

BY WI LL LE V I T H

physical embodiment of She-Ra, Princess of Power, Eileen also has a true calmin-the-middle-of-the-storm aura about her. Check out her expert spiritual guidance below—and a workout plan you can do anywhere on National Fitness Day this May 2.

ELARIO PHOTOGRAPHY

gym class hero Eileen Fitzgibbons (center), co-owner of anatomie gym in Troy, is now offering daily remote classes from anatomie’s Instagram page.

efore the COVID-19 pandemic hit and all manner of businesses in New York State were closed indefinitely, you could find me on most weekdays at anatomie gym in Troy, with a strained look on my face, sweating profusely, attempting to do burpees, hold a plank position or push a sled packed high with weights. And then, suddenly, anatomie closed and with it went my daily workout routine. But just days afterwards, the gym’s owners and lead trainers, Pat Boyle and Eileen Fitzgibbons, started posting live workouts to their Instagram page. Besides being the

“I don’t think anyone expected or was even close to being prepared for what has transpired with the COVID-19 outbreak. Life has been disrupted for everyone, and I knew I couldn’t step into victim mode. I had an opportunity to make the best of a situation that was beyond my control. My focus immediately turned from the short term to the long

term, from a community perspective. It was no longer about people showing up to our gym, but supporting them when there was so much uncertainty out there. I knew I had to get creative and stay connected. How could I show up for our team, our clients and our community and give them some normalcy and a reminder that, even though our doors were closed, we were still there for them? Every day this has been my focus: lean into community and lead in love, kindness and empathy—and think about our healthcare workers and all of those people directly impacted by this event.” —Eileen Fitzgibbons, coowner of anatomie

Home Workout Plan

4-minute round AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) 1-minute rest in between rounds

SET 1 10 squat thrusts / burpees 20 bicycle kicks SET 2 10 single-leg glute bridges (right side) 10 single-leg glute bridges (left side) 10 plank mountain-climbers SET 3 30 glute bridges 20 squats (or squat jumps) 10 reverse lunges SET 4 10 side-plank hip-dips from forearm (right side) 10 side-plank hip-dips from forearm (left side) SET 5 4-minute plank

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we at Quality Hardware want to assure the public that we are taking steps to protect our customers, and our employees. We are continually monitoring the developing situation and making adjustments to our practices in response to the changing conditions. We will be remaining open at this time in order to be a source of supply for essential needs that may arise during this time. If you choose to shop at our stores, please be aware that our staff will maintain a 6-foot personal distance. In addition, we are disinfecting the door handles, register counters and card readers frequently, all cashiers are wearing disposable gloves, and we have reduced our store hours to minimize the risk of spreading this disease. If you prefer not to shop in the store, we are taking orders by phone (518-747-6344 in Hudson Falls, 518-584-9180 in Saratoga Springs) and by e-mail (orders@sqhinc.com). In these instances, we can provide curbside pickup or delivery. If you choose to pick up your order, we will call and let you know it is ready. In many cases we may have orders ready sooner, but please allow a two-hour window before pickup. Call the store when you have arrived and we will bring the order to your vehicle. In the case of building materials, drive into the lumber yard and your order will be loaded for you, allowing for minimal physical contact. Golf Course • Fine Dining Steakhouse 518.583.4653 • Open Year Round primeatsaratoganational.com 458 Union Ave. Saratoga Springs Instagram: @prime_saratoganational Photos: @hcophotocinema • @tracey_buyce_photography • @alexandriaeigo • @exploresaratoga • @biglerstudio

We will be continually evaluating these new practices in order to protect our customers and employees, while providing the necessary service to keep our community running. We ask for your patience in this difficult time, and we welcome your feedback. Louise Eddy, Owner/Operator, Quality Hardware

the front ranked

back then

Skidmore Leads The Nation

This Old House

AT 2 0 0 YEARS YOUNG, SARATOGA'S O LDE ST H O U SE I S O N F R A N KLI N ST R E E T. O R IS IT ? BY NATALIE MOOR E n ph oto g r aph y by F R A N C E SC O D’A M I C O quite a bit further,” Israel says. “But as far as within Downtown Saratoga, I don’t think anyone knows of an older building.” There is some speculation that the oldest house is on the corner of Clinton and Van Dam Streets, but neither the Saratoga Room nor the Preservation Foundation could confirm, for certain, which house truly is the town's oldest. Undeniably, Israel’s home is more than 200 years old. “It’s a cozy little house,” he says. “They built them well back then. I think nowadays people build houses, and there’s a lot of room that people don’t really need to live [in], and that's inefficient. Even though it’s a very old house, it’s a pretty efficient house and a comfortable house, and I like it very much.”

CHRISTOPHER MASSA

f you were to drive south down Franklin Street in Downtown Saratoga Springs, you probably wouldn’t think twice about the small yellow house you passed on the left just before you got to Washington Street. But, once you know to look for it, you’ll notice its modest white trim, red window frames, ancientlooking stone foundation and, oh yeah, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation plaque next to the front door that reads “1815.” Now the home of longtime Saratoga resident Charlie Israel, 36 Franklin Street is the oldest house in Downtown Saratoga—or at least that’s what the general assumption is. “I know if you get outside of town, there are some farmhouses that go back

BEFORE THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK, THE SARATOGA COLLEGE WAS ONE OF FIVE US SCHOOLS RECOGNIZED IN ACTIVE MINDS’ HEALTHY CAMPUS AWARDS. n BY HANNAH KOTLER

t’s only fitting that Saratoga Springs, long considered a wellness destination for its healing waters and spas, is home to one of the healthiest colleges in the US. Active Minds, a national nonprofit that works to improve mental health awareness among colleges, announced that Skidmore

College was one of five schools to receive its 2020 Healthy Campus Award. (The awards were given out just a few short weeks before colleges were forced to send students home to wait out the COVID-19 crisis.) A panel of researchers and health experts chose Skidmore because of the school’s

health of nations Before Skidmore sent its students home in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was named one of the nation’s healthiest colleges.

commitment to student and staff wellbeing and its array of on-campus health programs. Skidmore, which was honored

alongside Denison University, University of Richmond, Santa Monica College and University of Arizona, went through a rigorous application process in order to be considered for the honor.

@crlmagazine | crlmag.com

everywhere anywhere @saratogaliving

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saratogaliving.com • CA LL TODAY: 518.584.7500

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(DeRocker) DORI FITZPATRICK

(Facebook)

@FrontStreetHome

DESIGN

EDMUND DEROCKER

EdMOND DeRocker

@saratogasignature

INTERIORS

SARATOGA SIGNATURE

NANCY SMITH

@togaheritage

TOGA HERITAGE

DePasquale

Deborah

@studio_sweet_store

STUDIO SWEET

TARA SWEET

@bflaninteriors

INTERIORS

BRENDAN FLANIGAN

Brendan Flanigan

@lisabatesdesign

LISA BATES DESIGN

LISA BATES

@suewaldron

DESIGN EDITOR

saratoga living

Sue Waldron

More color and inventive palettes

Charming, inviting, effortless

Tastefully historic, healthy

Timeless, transitional, equestrian

Enchanting, sophisticated, quaint

New construction architecture

Nothing

Limit modern design “improvements” to the racetrack

Nothing

Less homogenous design for new homes

Grand, historic, green

Historical, with sensibility

More buildings renovated and “re-loved” while preserving original structures

Historic, timeless, eclectic

DESCRIBE SARATOGA STYLE IN THREE WORDS.

IF YOU COULD IMPROVE ONE THING ABOUT SARATOGA, DESIGN-WISE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

SA RATO GA’S TO P DE S IGN EX PE RTS WE I GH I N O N SPA C I T Y DE SI GN .

Interior Motives

panel

the front

Less is more

Forget about trends—make sure your space reflects your own style and personality

Repurpose what you already own or bring in fresh flowers

Paint—a fresh palette is an easy way to create a focal point or subtle mood

Use mementos to reflect you in your space

Less is always more

Swap out your pillows, seasonally

WHAT’S ONE FOOLPROOF INTERIOR DESIGN TIP EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW?

Almost every item

A secretary desk with French details that I purchased when I was 15

Kintsugi eggshells by local artist Elisa Sheehan

A vintage 1930s Parisian club chair

A set of Parisian antique leather chairs from the Paris flea market

An old German baker’s rack on wheels

A vintage baker’s bench that was rescued from Skidmore College

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PIECE IN YOUR OWN HOME?

THE DESIGN ISSUE

The One Where You Meet The

hearth-strings Kevin Bright and his wife, Claudia, posing with the centerpiece of their log cabin home, a massive fireplace constructed out of Lake Champlain granite.

BRIGHTS Kev in Br i gh t, t h e Em m y-w i n n i ng E xec u tiv e P r od uc er /D i r ec tor of hit s itcom Friends , a n d h i s w i fe , C l au d i a , w elcom e you i n to th ei r Sa r atoga h om e . BY W ILL L EVITH D OR I FI TZPAT R I CK f o r saratoga living

photography by e x c l u s i v e ly

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The Brights are some of the loveliest people I’ve ever met, so I wasn't comparing them to Old Blue Eyes. But there was definitely, unequivocally “a cold” brewing that came awfully close to making sure I never got to know them at all.

t the beginning of March, I’d reached out to the Brights about capturing their story (and photographs) at their rustic, log cabin home for saratoga living’s Design Issue cover story—and they almost immediately said yes. But just 10 days later, on the eve of our photo shoot, I received the following note from Kevin (edited only slightly for punctuation and clarity): “Obviously, none of us planned for the world to be in chaos when we booked this photo shoot. I really want as few people here as possible, and I will request people take their temperature before coming in and I will want to know there has been no contact to a known carrier.” Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic was upon us. Would I arrive at his house just to be turned the dog-father away? As I write this, I’m quite An aerial photograph a few weeks into quarantine, of the Brights’ 400-acre and it’s hard to remember estate, taken by Claudia’s those early days. The day nephew, Jacob Veitch; Bright sent me that missive, (opposite) the Brights and their South Korean rescue dogs Hope (kissing Claudia) and Oscar.

(aerial) JACOB W. VEITCH

y no means would I ever compare myself to legendary scribe and father of New Journalism Gay Talese. But as this cover story—on Emmy Award-winning Executive Producer and Director of hit NBC sitcom Friends, Kevin Bright, and his wife, Claudia Wilsey Bright—was coming to fruition during very uncertain times, I had Talese’s tour de force, “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” on my mind. Mid-March, even as I took off from Troy on a brisk, sunny morning to interview the couple at their Saratoga area home, it was my battle cry of sorts. That famous article first appeared in Esquire magazine in April 1966, a once-in-a-lifetime journalistic feat rooted in the notion that, even if you are unable to reach the subject you’ve been sent out to cover—in Talese’s case, it was an uncooperative Frank Sinatra who was in the throes of a throaty cold, feeling his age and by no means in good spirits—you as a journalist have the responsibility to tell the story anyway. Instead of giving up on the assignment, Talese interviewed a number of Sinatra’s acquaintances, innercircle types and hangers-on—even Sinatra’s own mother!—and weaved it all into a noir-y, third-person omniscient narrative, that weighs in at a respectable 15,000 words.

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though, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had temporarily shut down restaurants, bars, casinos, movie theaters, gyms and other communal-gathering-type businesses, and implored employers to let nonessential employees work from home, in an attempt to stop the virus’ spread. Maybe it sounds insane now, but as soon as I received Bright’s email, I made up my mind, then and there, to confirm the next day’s photo shoot. It was Saratoga that had the “cold,” and damn the torpedoes, I was going to tell the Brights’ amazing story. None of us knew then how much that day would end up meaning to all involved. Beginning that evening, we would all go into indefinite self-isolation, wistfully looking back at that time we spent at the Brights’ house, working and laughing and conversing with other humans (almost) like it were any other day.

o truly understand the sheer magnitude of the Brights’ Saratoga area estate, one must be intimately familiar with the marvelous mansions of North Broadway, the castle-like Victorians of Union Avenue and even some of the Brobdingnagian new constructions that now dot our city. As a child, I had a number of chances to run around inside some of those palatial homes. Many of them have multiple, sticks and stones Scenes from the construction of the Brights’ Saratoga home; (opposite) the Brights standing on their front porch.

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cavernous rooms; extravagant interior and exterior designs; and lush, sloping lawns, which are tended to like golf courses during the summer months. In a word, they’re wonders of the design world. The Brights’ property, however—which has been in Claudia’s family for seven generations—makes these residences look like fifth-grade dioramas. In all, it covers, give-or-take, 400 acres in total area. (For privacy purposes, I won’t be disclosing its exact location.) Turning up the Brights’ stone gravel driveway, you’re immediately met by just how vast their property truly is. You pass through a gate with a “Queens Highway” sign on it, and there’s a massive pond to your right, with a floating dock smack-dab in the middle and a silver airstream-like trailer on its shores. Soon, you find yourself in the middle of a lush, verdant forest, before it gives way into a clearing, where you first see the Brights’ breathtaking lawn, which cascades down from their front porch like a river of green. “My ancestors are all here, and I feel the power of them when I’m here,” says Claudia of the property. “My parents lived here, my brother and sister live here, and we would bring our kids here in the summer for a

few weeks. One of [my sons] actually now lives in the area, and the other one was just married out there [she gestures towards the front lawn] in September. My connection to this, my upbringing here, keeps me grounded.” When I referred to it as their “log cabin home,” I wasn’t joking. Claudia procured it from the aptly named Original Lincoln Logs of Lake George building firm, which had several models to choose from. “I wanted something that could go up fast,” she says. “We made a few tweaks—changed doors, pushed out some walls and things.” She then points, chuckling, at the home’s centerpiece, a behemoth fireplace built out of what can only be described as a jigsaw puzzle of boulders, which were craned in in the middle of the winter. “It looked like fragile rock; they had all these tarps up, cutting stone. It’s all Lake Champlain granite,” says Claudia. Kevin quickly interjects, correcting his wife. “She meant Fraggle Rock, not fragile rock; that would be a different danger to contemplate,” he says, tongue firmly in cheek. The couple moved in in 2009. The rusticity of the home is amplified, tenfold, by its upscale design aesthetic, the majority of which is the handiwork of

‘Friends’ Fun Facts Us Weekly-worthy insider info from the Chief Friend himself. For big episodes, the Friends cast performed the entire show for multiple live audiences in order to keep the laughs fresh. “We had this whole approach to it,” says Friends executive producer/director Kevin Bright, who directed the two-part “The One With Ross’s Wedding” (Season 4, Episodes 23-24) in London. “We would shoot it three times, nonstop, in front of three different audiences, and that way, the most possible people could see the show.”

kitchen confidential Claudia and Kevin Bright enjoying a cup of coffee in their kitchen, where design flourishes abound, courtesy of DeRocker Design.

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Even fictional brides and bridesmaids want to look perfect on the wedding day. During that same shooting, “everything was going swimmingly,” until it came time for the actresses to change into their bridal gowns. “That took three

hours,” Bright says, leaving the live studio audience restless. “Three hours to put three girls in wedding dresses, makeup and do their hair! For the second show we decided, let’s just leave them in the wedding dresses, and we’ll just pick it up at that point. It was so crazy that when it was all done, because we kept moving things around, I realized we had only shot the processional to the wedding once!” The whole “Friends copied Seinfeld” debate was real. Coming on the heels of smash hit Seinfeld, Friends was relentlessly accused of copying the concept (a group of NYC best friends, two of whom live across the hall, hanging out). In reality, the creators were breaking new ground—by setting the show in a coffee shop (pre-Starbucks!). Bright

explains: “NBC was very worried that Middle America would not understand what a coffeehouse was. They wanted it to be in a diner like Seinfeld. They’d tell us, ‘People know what a diner is; they don’t know what a coffeeshop is.’ If you wonder, in these highlevel meetings, what kind of amazing, intellectual notes are passed between creators and buyers, that’s what you get. Can’t it be a diner like Seinfeld? Can’t it be something that’s already on television?” HBO Max’s upcoming Friends reunion special has been rescheduled. First, fans rejoiced that all six Friends would be on-air together again, and then (only less than a month later!) came the collective devastation when shooting became another victim of COVID-19. Would the

busy friends be able to reschedule? Bright says yes. “We were actually supposed to be shooting [the week of March 23], and now it’s probably not going to be shot until May,” the next time that all of the nowhousehold-name actors could get together. During the special, the actors will play themselves. The reunion will be a “nostalgic look back,” not the actors stepping into their beloved former roles. Says Bright: “We said to many people, ‘You know, you think you want to see the Friends again, but you got to trust us. You know what it’s going to be like? First episode you’re going to stop and realize that they’re not in their twenties anymore. Why would we want to do that show?” – WILL L EVIT H

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hortly after the modest saratoga living contingent— that would be me, CEO Abby Tegnelia, Senior Photographer Dori Fitzpatrick and two stylists from Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness—gingerly walked through the front door of the Brights’ home (we were all trying to avoid touching things), I approached Kevin, who was sitting alone on a comfy red couch, and asked him if he wanted to start our interview. Unlike Sinatra, Bright immediately lit up, looking back fondly on his career and life, which I was there, seemingly, to pry into. I started off with an icebreaker. “When was the last time you laughed really hard?” I asked him. “The Curb Your Enthusiasm ‘MAGA hat’ episode,” he answered. “There were some very, very gut-wrenching laughs in that one.” The irony of his answer won’t be lost on the diehard Friends fan: Curb’s creator and star, Larry David, also was the co-creator of the the wildly popular TV sitcom Seinfeld, which pre-dated the airing of Friends by some five years. Its co-creator and lead actor, comedian Jerry Seinfeld hasn’t minced words about his feeling that Friends ripped off his show. (Bright says that he and cocreators Marta Kauffman and David Crane were blindsided by the accusation.) I then asked Bright why he thought Friends has become such a lasting hit, and he explained why, vis-à-vis a recent Saratoga anecdote. “I was eating in a local Japanese restaurant at the hibachi counter—where they usually stick two families together—and a little girl, about 10 or 12 years old,

Edmond DeRocker (see p.52), who’s worked extensively on the Brights’ home and is currently embellishing other parts of their property, including picking up and moving an entire “party barn” onto another section of it. The main house is filled to the brim with pop culture memorabilia of all stripes, most of which is Kevin’s. There’s an original Janis Joplin concert poster from the Fillmore East’s opening night, framed and adorning the wall closest to the window overlooking the lawn; a tall, absurdist painting by actor/comedian Martin Mull, entitled October, which features a woman in marching band garb, in a rather seductive pose, in front of a quaint home, not unlike the Brights’ home itself; and a tin sign that appeared in the Friends coffeehouse, Central Perk (basically, the show’s Uncommon Grounds). He also has a basement full of pinball machines; ’50s drinking glasses; a photo signed by the late President Ronald Reagan; a felt campaign flag and metal pin from John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign; a black-and-white framed original photo of heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson in Ballston Spa, standing next to what appears to be a Lilliputian; and a mini Farfisa organ that he had me test out (it works).

collect call (clockwise from top left): Kevin Bright’s autographed photo of President Ronald Reagan; a vintage Caffè Lena poster; a one-of-a-kind Janis Joplin poster from the opening night at the Fillmore East; a collection of vintage ’50s drinking glasses; an absurdist painting by Martin Mull; (opposite):Whimsical touches throughout their home.

KEV I N S. BRI G HT ( WHO U S E S H IS MIDDL E I N ITIA L FOR T V C R E DITS ON LY ) DIRECT E D M OST O F OUR MUST-WATCH PICKS . BY N ATA L I E M O O R E

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“The One With The Rumor”

(Directed by Gary Halverson) Guest star Brad Pitt, who at the time was married to Jennifer Aniston (Rachel) in real life, plays a high school classmate of Ross, Monica and Rachel’s who ends up at their Thanksgiving dinner. (Pitt was nominated for an Emmy for the role.) His hatred for Rachel is quickly revealed, along with a rumor he and Ross spread about her in high school.

“The One With The Apothecary Table”

(Friends scenes) YOUTUBE

The 5 Most T Underrated ‘Friends’ Episodes

here are a handful of episodes that are burned into every Friends lover’s mind. There’s “The One Where Rachel Finds Out” and “The One Where Ross Finds Out” (equally heart melting), “The One In Vegas” and “The One In Barbados” (equally plot twisting) and “The One With Ross’s Tan” (singularly memorable—“I’m an eight!”). But while everyone can appreciate these iconic moments from the beloved sitcom’s 10-year run, everyone has his or her personal favorite episodes. Here are five underrated episodes you might’ve forgotten about; be sure to check out the director of each…you might see a familiar name.

(Directed by Kevin S. Bright) In an attempt to hide the fact that she bought the coffee table (and most of the other furniture) in her and Phoebe’s apartment from Pottery Barn, Rachel pretends she got it all at a flea market. Ross, who purchases the exact same table, makes it extremely difficult for Rachel to keep the lie going, and, as expected, hilarity ensues.

“The One With The Video Tape”

(Directed by Kevin S. Bright) Rachel and Ross get in an argument about who initiated things the night Rachel got pregnant. Luckily, Ross had accidentally left a video camera on, and recorded the whole thing, so the entire friend group watches the tape to get to the bottom of it.

“The One Where Eddie Won’t Go”

(Directed by Michael Lembeck) After Joey moves out, Chandler rents his room to a guy named Eddie (Adam Goldberg), who, when they first meet, seems normal enough. But when Eddie begins maniacally dehydrating fruit, accusing Chandler of hooking up with his ex-girlfriend, raising a Goldfish cracker as if it were alive and watching Chandler sleep, it’s clear he has to go.

“The One With The Embryos”

(Directed by Kevin S. Bright) While Phoebe is getting artificially inseminated in order to bear her brother and his wife’s baby (or, Spoiler Alert: babies), Monica and Rachel take on Joey and Chandler in a game of who knows whom better, hosted by Ross.

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came and sat down next to me, and she had a Friends t-shirt on,” said Bright. “So I said to her, ‘I like your t-shirt,’ and she said, ‘Thank you.’ I asked if she watched the show. She said, ‘yes,’ it’s my favorite show.’ ‘Your favorite show?’ I said. ‘You know, that’s an old television show. Why would that be your favorite show?’ She looked at me like I was an idiot and said, ‘Because it’s funny.’ I think the thing about Friends that connects is that the show is about either a time of your life that you’re in or about to enter or have been in and have wonderful nostalgic memories about. It’s your twenties. There’s something real about it.”

riends premiered in September 1994, averaging tens of millions of weekly viewers and garnering 62 Emmy and 10 Golden Globe nominations (plus a handful of wins) before

DeRocker ’N Roller Meet Edmond DeRocker, the Brights’ personal interior design master. By Will Levith

If you’re among the lucky souls who get invited to a summer soirée at Kevin and Claudia Bright’s Lincoln Log pad, you’ll immediately be struck by all of the just-so design flourishes: The general décor is decidedly elevated but cozy; it suits the Brights to a tee. That aesthetic comes courtesy of Edmond DeRocker, who owns and runs DeRocker Design, an interior design firm that specializes in luxury residential and commercial design work. DeRocker, who’s been in the design business for 35-plus years, first founded his firm in Glens Falls and at one point, also ran one, concurrently, in Nantucket, MA. DeRocker Design’s offices are now based in Ballston Spa, where he also owns Front Street Home, a design center and antique shop. “I’m very proud of the work I’ve done for [the Brights], because they’re a client from heaven,” he says. “And they also let me do anything I want to do.” (That last part he says with a chuckle.) “Besides that, I just adore them; they’re such nice people to work with.” Despite the reputation of his field, DeRocker says he likes to stay humble. “I’m more of a silent designer; it’s not about me, it’s about my clients,” he says. “I don’t have the ego that should go with my business.”

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bowing out in May 2004 in front of more than 50 million viewers. If it’s not entirely obvious at this point, that success, plus its recent resurgence on Netflix, has made everyone involved with the creation of Friends, including Bright, extremely wealthy and influential. But save for literally donning a black Central Perk hoodie with the Friends insignia written along its arms (at our request) at one point during the cover shoot, Kevin doesn’t wear his fame on his sleeve. He’s exceedingly generous, as is his wife, Claudia, and both have given countless hours of their time to worthy causes. “It’s my belief that we’re put in certain places at certain times for a reason, and I’ve been very fortunate in my life, and I’m not naïve to believe, gee, it’s just because I’m so much more talented than other people,” he says, that last part slathered in sarcasm. Kevin’s on the board of Ballston Spa’s end-of-life care organization, Gateway House of Peace, on which his sister-in-law, Patti Veitch, also sits; Caffè Lena, which launched its new music school via a donation from him and Claudia; Emerson College, his alma mater, where he taught for six years (he’s also the founding director of the college’s LA Center); and Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA, where he taught a filmmaking course to blind students (and ended up executive producing a documentary, Best and Most Beautiful Things, about one of the school’s students). Kevin’s also on the advisory board of the Dogs of Violence Exposed (DoVE) Project, which was co-founded by Claudia. These days, with TV mostly in the rearview, he’s thrown himself headlong into documentary filmmaking, having just completed his latest film, Neurongi (the Korean word for “meat/ shit dog”), about the South Korean dogmeat industry. (Another, about Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson bandleader, Doc Severinsen, is imminent; and one about Martin Mull—he of the absurdist painting hanging in Bright’s home—is in production.) Neurongi’s subject-matter is hyper-personal to the Brights, as they are both avid dog lovers; their pups, Hope and Oscar, are both South Korean rescues. In a little less than four years, Claudia and her DoVE co-founder, Tami Cho Zussman, have been to South Korea six times and rescued 700 dogs, while also putting together awareness and advocacy campaigns across the Asian nation. “It’s really important to us to do this without judgement; the animal activism world can be really judgmental,” says Claudia. Although their work has basically ground to a halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Claudia’s still bullish on their mission. All of the dogs are adopted either in Korea or the LA area, and each dog is given a lifetime promise of a forever home. The Brights actually have three homes: one in LA’s Brentwood neighborhood; a penthouse apartment in Boston; and their Saratoga home, which Kevin refers to as their “getaway.” He and Claudia will spend a few weeks here in the winter and more in the summer—but all in all, not a whole lot of time. So, their time here is precious. “What does having a Saratoga home mean to you?” I ask the Brights. “Particularly at this time,” answers Kevin, “it means comfort and safety and…” He trails off, only to have Claudia complete his sentence: “It’s our sanctuary.”

kevin almighty Save for literally donning a black Central Perk hoodie, with the Friends insignia written along its arms during the cover shoot, Kevin doesn’t wear his fame on his sleeve.

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THE DESIGN ISSUE

DOWNTOWN

you’re so vane This unusual weathervane is shaped like a bee, a sacred insect in ancient Egypt, and soars above the Batcheller Mansion Inn, the spectacular and oh-so-romantic Victorian on Circular Street. George Batcheller, who spent many years in government service in Egypt, called his home Kaser-al-Nouzha, Arabic for “palace of pleasure.”

DETAILS saratoga living takes you on a virtual stroll through Downtown Saratoga, pointing out all of the city’s signature oddities.

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CREDIT

BY KAREN BJORNLAND photography by DORI FITZPATRICK

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D O W N T O W N D E TA I L S

THE DESIGN ISSUE

ou’re probably stuck in your home or apartment, daydreaming about the last time you were able to take a carefree stroll around Downtown Saratoga Springs. Let’s face it: It’s been awhile since you were able to really enjoy being outside—you know, not worrying about whether you were properly social distancing and such. So, saratoga living would like to take you on a nostalgic, “virtual” walkabout of sorts—one you may’ve taken last April, when the world was a slightly different place. Back then, it would’ve been the perfect time to admire the exquisite and quirky details of the fabulous historic buildings of Saratoga Springs. We’ve made this guided walk down memory lane a breeze by pre-snapping photos of just a few of these architectural doodads. All you have to do is follow our lead. LEFT A ferocious lion bares its

teeth at the New York State Military Museum. The terra-cotta sculpture has been guarding the former New York State Armory for 131 years. The fort-like structure was designed by Isaac G. Perry, one of the architects who worked on the magnificent New York State Capitol in Albany.

TOP ROW

Gleaming white and reminiscent of ancient Greece, the Adirondack Trust Company building is a Saratoga treasure. The next time you’re waiting for the light to change on Broadway, check out the glittering gold eagles that have perched above the front doors since 1916. CENTER ROW LEFT The classy stained-glass sign at Menges & Curtis

Apothecary, Saratoga’s old-fashioned drugstore, dates from 1870. MIDDLE In November 1901, the first Saratoga YMCA building was dedicated at 439 Broadway. The building is now home to Piper Boutique, Homessence and Union Hall Supply Co. RIGHT Look across Broadway from the Adelphi Hotel, and you’ll spy the words “Saratoga National Bank” on a 1902 Art Deco-style building. To read all about the curious remnants of the old bank's interior, head to impressionssaratoga.com. BOTTOM ROW

Can you identify the men in the decorative murals on the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center? On the left, there’s British General John Burgoyne surrendering to General Horatio Gates after the Battle of Saratoga.

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ABOVE Is it a gargoyle? A space alien? And how did it

land on the roof at Broadway and Caroline Street? According to Mark Straus, co-owner of the building, it’s a four-foot-tall ceramic figure of a saxophone player created by Dr. Brian McCandless. Mark and Brian put the sculpture up there about 10 years ago.

RIGHT The Algonquin and its posh apartments are

architectural icons here in Saratoga. Don’t you just love the white-on-black sign? It’s an original that dates back to 1893.

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BOARD

CERTIFIED S a r at o g i a n P e t e r M c P h e r s o n ’ s ‘ T i n y Tow n s ’ b oa r d ga m e i s a b i g h i t.

game time Saratoga native Peter McPherson’s Tiny Towns board game sold out of its 50,000-copy first run and has a new, expanded version available for online purchase now; (top) McPherson started playing with board game prototypes while he was a student at SUNY Oneonta; (left) McPherson at an event where more than 100 people played one giant game of Tiny Towns.

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BY JEFF DINGLER

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nspiration can come from unexpected places. For Peter McPherson, a Saratoga Springs-based freelance writer and board game developer, the idea for his hit board game, Tiny Towns, came from a little game that he and his father—John McPherson, the man behind the syndicated newspaper cartoon Close To Home— like to play while waiting on food at a restaurant. “We make a 5-by-5 grid on our napkins and take turns naming a letter that we each have to write down,” says McPherson. “Once there are no more spaces, whoever can make the most words wins.” That simple premise is what drives McPherson’s debut game, Tiny Towns, which was released last May by entertainment behemoth Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). In the game, each player is the mayor of his or her own tiny town, represented by a 4-by-4 grid. Instead of letters, players compete over five essential resource cubes to create different building types that interact in varying ways and score points based on their location and size. Once no more moves or buildings can be made, whomever has the most points wins. “It’s light on the rules and quick to play,” says McPherson. “You can also play with as many people as you want, as long as you have enough board games.” He’s not kidding; McPherson attended an event last year where more than 100 people were playing one giant game of Tiny Towns. McPherson grew up between Saratoga and Schuylerville (he calls both his “hometown”) and started playing with board game prototypes while he was studying English at SUNY Oneonta. “Tiny Towns was the first prototype I’d made where right after the first play I thought, ‘OK, I have something here worth pursuing,’” he says. The original model arrived in 2016. “I probably play-tested it at least 100 times before I started pitching it to companies.” Clearly, McPherson was onto something: The board game quickly sold out of its first run (50,000 copies), and an expanded version, Tiny Towns: Fortune, hit stores this past February. Though not yet sold in Saratoga, McPherson says that both are available online and at Zombie Planet in Albany.

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GEAR

UP S outhern Charm is r oaring bac k w it h a sev en th se as on— bu t first, star S he p R os e ta l ks up his S he p Ge ar Clothing Line that storm e d Saratoga l ast s u m m e r. BY TRACY MOMROW photography by KATIE DOBIES exclusively for saratoga living

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WARDROBE BY JORDAN LASH ON LOCATION IN CHARLESTON, SC

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styled by

southern comfort Shep Rose, star of Bravo’s Southern Charm, has his own casualwear line that’s available at Miss Scarlett Boutique in Downtown Saratoga Springs.

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ousewives, Hoarders, anything true crime–we all have our guilty pleasures on TV. And here we sit, with these shows suddenly at the forefront of our daily lives, providing crucial escapism as we find ourselves stuck at home during quarantine. My favorite? Bravo’s Southern Charm, a reality series that chronicles the lives of the lovable (and sometimes not so lovable) socialites of Charleston, SC. I eat it all up, from the polo matches and The Founder’s Ball, to an oyster roast and one of Miss Patricia’s infamous dinner parties. Proper southern etiquette isn’t always embraced! Part of the show’s (I can’t help myself) “charm” sits squarely on original cast member Shep Rose, a well-to-do bachelor known for his party-all-night and sleep-in-late lifestyle. He vowed to clean up his act and begin to settle down a bit, but then the show went on hiatus, leaving us fans hanging. Our favorite playboy wasn’t just sitting idle, though. In addition to running a few nightlife hot spots down in Charleston, he also started a clothing line that was a hit at Saratoga Race Course last summer (especially his signature American baseball caps and “Dad Bod” t-shirts). Locally, you can hit up Miss Scarlett Boutique (when we’re allowed) to shop Shep Gear. Until then, we await Season 7 of Southern Charm (hopefully out later this year, although they did halt filming because of COVID-19)—and drool over his interview with saratoga living.

bless his lil heart After the shoot, Rose played host and took the group for a cocktail at The Vendue Hotel’s glam rooftop bar; (inset) at the shoot, Rose fed his pug, Lil Craig, bacon from his dive bar, Palace Hotel.

We didn’t know you had any interest in designing. How did Shep Gear come about? I started it when I was wearing a homemade American flag hat. People kept asking where I got it, so I made some. They sold well, so I just started making shirts that I thought were funny. And people liked those, too. When not filming, who are you friends with from the cast? I’m close with many of them, Cameran [Eubanks, married mother-of-one realtor], especially. I stay with [co-creator and co-star] Whitney [Sudler-Smith] when I visit LA. You’re known for being a ladies man. With your impending 40th birthday this year, does your family pressure you to settle down? I’ve never felt any pressure from my family when it comes to my personal life. We just enjoy each other’s company. How is your adorable pug, Lil Craig? He’s great. He just jumped on me. I’ve got to take him to doggy daycare to work off all the energy with his little buddies.

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Are you seeing anyone? I am seeing someone at the moment. It’s going very well. Thanks for asking. What is it like dating on camera? It’s definitely a challenge. Putting a spotlight on something personal can make it all that more difficult. But the important thing is to never take anything too seriously.

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hat do Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan and Yo-Yo Ma have in common? They’re all playing gigs at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) this summer. If you’ve already nabbed lawn or amphitheater tickets to these great shows, you know that you’ve paid not only for the sensational music, but also the top-flight experience. In other words, the ability to enjoy world-class music in the verdant, wooded environs of Saratoga Spa State Park. Fortunately, that experience will only be getting better this summer, with the completion of two multimillion-dollar projects on SPAC’s grounds. To jog your memory, last October, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

SPAC To The Future concession grand A before and after look at SPAC’s concessions and restroom area; (opposite) last winter, SPAC underwent renovations to its amphitheater ramps; (opposite, top) The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra leader, Wynton Marsalis, welcomes his group to the crowd at SPAC.

The Saratoga Arts venue is unveiling major upgrades this summer.

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BY J E F F D I N G L E R c o n s t r u c t i o n p h o t o g r a p h b y K AT I E D OB I E S p e r f o r m a n c e p h o t o g r a p h b y FR A NCESCO D ’A MI CO

announced an impressive $9.5 million renovation project for the performing arts center’s concessions and restroom facilities (SPAC and Live Nation will provide $8 million of that). As if that weren’t enough, two months later, Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) awarded SPAC an additional $2 million in funding for a completely different project: transforming the Roosevelt II Bathhouse, a previously vacant space on the edge of SPAC’s property, into a multi-use space and venue. (The project’s total budget

is $7 million.) “It will be a complete transformation of the SPAC experience outside of the amphitheater,” says SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol. “The facilities will be ample and brand new—and, at the same time, we’re restoring the park-like feel and the original sightlines from the Route 50 gate over to the Victoria Pool. There’ll be much more spaciousness, along with significantly increased and improved amenities.” The most noticeable change for summer patrons and Live Nation concertgoers will be the new stateof-the-art concessions and restrooms facility. What had previously been several tent-like structures, providing drinks and light fare to customers, will now be replaced by a versatile, two-story building, complete with new bathrooms and concessions bays and a completely reimagined gathering space, covered by a large pavilion, right at the heart of SPAC. “With this new project, we address major issues of security and safety, aesthetics and functionality,” says Sobol. The new structure will also boast a rooftop terrace from which guests can view concerts, and perhaps most importantly, it will house the venue’s first-ever, yearround educational programming and community activity space, which Sobol calls “game-changing.” The Roosevelt II Bathhouse will also be open throughout the year, and its addition will elevate SPAC’s all-season cultural offerings. Once completed, the space will feature an art gallery; a black box theater; a teaching kitchen; and a soon-to-be-opened learning, wellness and leadership center called COESA, which will be teaming up with SPAC to offer special programming (last fall, the two partnered on a project featuring Vedic meditation and Ayurvedic cooking). “So, theatrical arts, visual arts, culinary arts—to complement healing arts provided by COESA—and, of course, SPAC’s on-going commitment to dance and musical arts, will all be under one roof,” says Sobol.

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stitched fix Stitched: The Capital Region’s Fashion Experience presented the largest fashion event in this region’s history last September at Albany’s Times Union Center; (opposite) in February 2020, Stitched presented the Forever Young Fashion Show at Hudson Hall in Hudson, NY.

FASHION,

Stitched, September 2019, Times Union Center designer: Jacky Tai photographer: TM Williams Photography

FORWARD Fa s h i o n e v e n t s e r i e s St i tc h e d i s c h a n g i n g t h e r u n way ga m e i n t h e C a p i ta l R e g i o n , o n e f l aw l e s s l o o k at a t i m e . BY M i tc h e l l Fa m u l a r e

Forever Young Fashion Show by Stitched, February 2020, Hudson Hall designer: Juda Leah Atelier photographer: Willam LeBlanc Studio

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udding upstate fashionistas needn’t take the train down to the Big Apple anymore to experience Fashion Week-worthy glitz and glamour. That’s because we have our own catwalk now—and it’s really starting to heat up. It all began in 2018, when Schenectady native Mike Schinnerer founded Stitched: The Capital’s Fashion Experience, a fashion spectacular that highlights local designers’ work on the runway, all the while raising money for good causes. Schinnerer, who serves as its executive director, and his team first presented their fashion week concept at Albany’s Times Union Center this past September—to rave reviews. “After spending 18 years entertaining the Capital Region with largescale collaboration projects and events,” Schinnerer says, “I was glad to assemble a team to bring fashion to the big stage of the Times Union Center.” Schinnerer, who also produces fashion editorials on his website, stitchedny.com, is no fashion industry novice, having worked with supermodels such as Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks while serving as art director at Sports Illustrated in the ’90s. (He also did turns at national publications such as The Source and Maxim.) But he’s spent the last two decades working to develop the fashion industry in the Capital Region, organizing the Volume! Fantasy Hair + Makeup Competition, as well as smaller shows at The National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs. His crowning achievement though is Stitched, which he has deemed the largest fashion event in the region’s history and last year benefited the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region. In February, Stitched presented the Forever Young Fashion Show, featuring children and teens dressed in motorcycle-punk styles, to benefit Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood at Hudson Hall in Hudson, NY. Clearly, Stitched is just getting started. “I’ve had preliminary talks with Teddy Foster at Universal Preservation Hall and have had several venues and partners reach out with great interest,” Schinnerer says. “We’ll let the coronavirus play out, and that will provide a better idea of the possibilities ahead. We look forward to making fashion matter in Upstate New York.” High hopes for high fashion in the Capital Region? Count us in.

1. Stitched, September 2019, Times Union Center designer: Khangle photographer: Lamont Aulet Photography 2. Stitched, September 2019, Times Union Center designer: Khangle photographer: William LeBlanc Studio 3. Stitched, September 2019, Times Union Center designer: Jacky Tai photographer: William LeBlanc Studio 4. Forever Young Fashion Show by Stitched, February 2020, Hudson Hall designer: Marine Penvern photographer: William LeBlanc Studio 5. Stitched, September 2019, Times Union Center designer: Khangle photographer: M.A.P. Graphics

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TREKONDEROGA:

Where No Fan Has Gone Before

Ta k e m e t o ( t h e S h at n e r - a p p r ov e d r e p l i c a o f ) . . .t h e b r i d g e . BY DA N I E L N E ST E R p h oto g r a p h y by R O B O ’ N E I L the real mccoy James Cawley’s Star Trek Original Series Set Tour is a hyper-authentic fan-made rendering of the original ’60s TV set, complete with a paint pallet approved by original art director Matt Jefferies and a point-for-point rebuilding of the iconic bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

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TREKONDEROG A

set painters to stun (clockwise from top left) James Cawley’s exact replica of the Enterprise’s sickbay, the interstellar hospital where Dr. “Bones” McCoy was on call; a front view of the original “Iron Throne,” Captain James T. Kirk’s bridge chair; a peek, bedside, at Captain Kirk’s quarters; Lieutenant Commander Scotty’s domain, the engine room; the tridemensional chess set played by Kirk and Spock in the original series’ episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”; Captain Kirk’s desk; (opposite, clockwise from left) tour guide Drew Malone in costume as a redishirt crew member (it’s an inside joke; redshirts often died soon after appearing on screen); an original, third-revision Paramount TV Productions Star Trek Guide, dated April 17, 1967; Star Trek Original Set Tour Owner (and Elvis Presley tribute artist) James Cawley standing in front of a display of original series costumes.

t’s a crisp Ticonderoga, NY afternoon, and I’m about to finish the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour, a surprisingly cathartic walk inside a to-scale replica of the classic science-fiction TV show’s set. I’ve stood on the transporter room’s platform, glanced at the copy of Moby-Dick in Captain Kirk’s quarters and spotted Dr. McCoy’s bottle of Saurian brandy in his office. I’m merely a casual Trek fan—I swear—but my mind plays three-dimensional chess on the memory banks when you’ve watched reruns since you were 11. So when our tour guide paused outside those redorange doors and asked if I “wanted to say anything,” you’re damn right I knew my lines. “Take me to the bridge,” I said, in my best attezmpt at a William Shatner baritone. When the doors swooshed open, dear reader, my knees buckled. Built to the exact specifications of Stage 9 at Desilu studios, the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour, housed inside a former Safeway in Downtown Ticonderoga, is the brainchild of James Cawley, Elvis Presley tribute artist and actor, who since 1997 has overseen several iterations of the set—from his grandfather’s barn and an old car dealership in Port Henry to its most recent destination, the former site of the aforementioned grocery store in Ticonderoga.

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It started out as a hobby, Cawley says, and a desire to produce fan-made episodes of Star Trek New Voyages, which ran from 2008-15. “I sort of foolishly said to myself, ‘if we’re going to make our own Star Trek, it has to look right, or people will dismiss it outright.’” After the rules for fan films changed in 2015, New Voyages ended and the tours began, under license by CBS. From stem to stern, every detail and doohickey has been built exactly to spec, through online sleuth-work, digital screen capture enlargements—every means humanly possible. “I’ve been known to tear something down if it’s off one-eighth of an inch,” Cawley says. The tour guides and staff in the lobby nod. No fact-check needed there. Paradoxically, the franchise’s immense popularity makes trying to find real-life objets d’Trek that much more difficult. Whenever the genuine article is found, word spreads, and eBay prices skyrocket. Take, to list just a few examples, the checkerboardpatterned fabric used as seat covers and sickbay blankets originally designed by Alexander Girard (1907-1993), a midcentury giant who worked at Herman Miller. The particular fabric used on Star Trek featured Lurex and gold flecks that shone on camera. Or take the “powder horn” bottles for Saurian brandy, a favorite of Dr. McCoy and evil Kirk from the episode “The Enemy Within,”

which were made from commemorative whiskey bottles the George Dickel Distillery produced only in 1964. Or the pinched decanters used in episodes such as “Journey to Babel,” which were made by Bischoff Glass Company, a subsidiary of Indiana Glass, in 1963. “You can go on eBay and find any number of Bischoff bottles, but not that one,” Cawley says. Finding the exact model of vase from Kirk’s quarters led Cawley, after several dead ends, to contact The Museum of American Glass in West Virginia, which produced hints at its origins that came from a museum newsletter reader. Cawley then found the glassmaker in Eastern Europe. The manufacturer’s name? “I [know],” Cawley says, smiling, “but I’m not telling you.” Through mutual friend Doug Drexler, an Emmy- and Academy Award-winning artist who worked on Star Trek’s The Next Generation series, Cawley was introduced to Matt Jefferies, the legendary art director of the original series, who designed the Starship Enterprise and its interiors, as well as props such as those iconic phasers. They became friends. One day, Jefferies took Cawley to the Dunn-Edwards Paints store, not far from what is now the Paramount lot, and picked out the show’s original colors. “He said ‘here’s the orange, here’s the gray.’ His mind was like a steel trap.” Cawley inherited a copy of Jefferies’ Trek blueprints in 1997.

Since 2016, the Trek tour has attracted fans from all over the world to Ticonderoga—Israel, Tokyo, Brazil, Australia, Ireland and every country in the European Union. “People show up in uniform all the time,” says Drew Malone, our tour guide. “It makes the pictures that much better.” Trekkies have proposed marriage at Spock’s science station in uniform. Grown men have dropped to their knees, overwhelmed, tears in their eyes. And then there’s Bill Shatner himself. “We were told for months ahead of time, ‘he’s not going to sit in the captain’s chair.’” Shatner came, and looked around, and said to Cawley, “take me to the bridge.” (Of course.) They walked him up there, and he said nothing for what Cawley swears was at least 10 minutes. “I was scared shitless because I thought, he doesn’t like it, it’s wrong, something is not correct. And, finally, he spoke up and said, ‘Bravo guys, the proportions are perfect. And that’s my chair.’” Since then, Shatner makes regular, um, treks to Ticonderoga for appearances. At press time, he planned to visit again this coming June for photo ops, a Q&A session and presentations. (But that could all change due to the COVID-19 outbreak.) He’ll also jump aboard a three-hour Lake George dinner cruise that features Cawley’s Elvis tribute as the entertainment. Shatner, it turns out, is a fan of his act.

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THE DESIGN ISSUE Locals of a certain age fondly remember when the carousel was in its previous location in Kaydeross Park on Saratoga Lake. When the amusement park closed in 1987, the city bought the carousel and put it in storage. After years of controversy over whether Congress Park was a suitable site for a merry-go-round, a community campaign that raised funds to restore the carousel won out. The carousel’s pavilion was built with labor and materials donated by area businesses and a state grant.

ON A CAROUSEL

Master carver Marcus Illions created the carousel around the turn of the century. He was also the man behind merry-gorounds in Brooklyn and Coney Island, and The New York Times dubbed him “the Michelangelo of carousel carvers.”

A S K I P ( S P I N ! ) D OW N M E M O RY L A N E BY K A REN BJ O RN L AND p h o t o g r a p h y by F RAN CES CO D’A M ICO

hen I was a kid, I was afraid of the horses on the merrygo-round. You remember me. I was that nervous, nerdy kid who went round and round while seated alone in a chariot instead of a saddle. Fast forward to adulthood, and I’m proud to say that I’ve gone for a ride—on an actual horse— on the 116-year-old Congress Park Carousel in Downtown Saratoga Springs. Want to give it a try yourself? Don’t be scared; no matter your age, it’s really just old-fashioned fun.

Yes, it’s true; the carousel horse’s superlong tails are made from real horsehair.

Want to rent the entire carousel for a wedding, family photo shoot or birthday party? It’s $50 for 15 minutes, with the carousel hosting private events about 35 times per year.

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horses, all handcarved from wood, line the Congress Park carousel.

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Keeping those handsome horses in shape is an ongoing job for the City of Saratoga Springs: This past winter, six were removed and restored, costing the city

$3,600 per pony.

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The Congress Park Carousel

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Each carved wooden horse is unique, with a different colored body or saddle; some have gold, flowing manes, while others sport neatly trimmed ones.

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Saratoga’s is one of just vintage carousels still operating, according to the National Carousel Association.

850,000

children and adults have taken a spin since it re-opened in 2002 in its new home in Congress Park.

Visitors can grab a mount from May through October (expect opening delays this year because of COVID-19);

it costs only , and kids under the age of 4 ride for free.

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MADE WITH CARE

engrave-y train Amanda VanPelt believes that everything—from the right gift to a corporate award—deserves a personal touch.

BIG BOX IS OUT, #SHOPLOCAL IS IN: THESE THREE AREA ARTISANS BRING THE PERSONAL TOUCH TO ENGRAVED GIFTS, HANDMADE CANDLES AND CUSTOM FURNITURE. photography by

FRANCESCO D’AMICO

Lasered Focus

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hen Amanda VanPelt was laid off from her marketing job at Liberty Mutual Insurance after 13 years with the company, she took it as a lesson in silver linings. In almost no time at all, she was at the Detroit headquarters of AP Lazer picking out her own engraving machine she named Saratoga Sue. After a few months of practicing in her garage, she opened Saratoga Custom Engraving in Downtown Saratoga in June of last year and quickly became one of the top local engravers, making everything from hotel coasters and swag items for the town’s biggest-name companies, to one-off wedding gifts and bulk orders of all kinds (think awards and plaques for businesses and sports teams). “Some of my most popular engravable items are personal tumblers and handwritten recipes on cutting boards,” says the entrepreneur, who works with materials such as glass, leather, stainless steel and anodized aluminum. ”I can also cut materials such as wood and acrylic, so cutting ornaments for various shops was popular during the holidays.” The creative Ballston Lake native is also carrying on a family tradition of artisanship. “My father passed away unexpectedly in 2018, and the last conversation we had was about my starting this business in Downtown Saratoga,” she says of her woodworking hobbyist dad. “My father was not a man to talk about feelings, and the last thing he said to me was that he was proud of me.” —A B BY T EG N E L I A

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Candle With Care

ollar City Candle’s origin story sounds like the plot of a middle-aughts rom-com. In 2004, newlyweds Jamie and Josh Wallbank were celebrating their first Christmas together, and Josh went out shopping the day before, saw a candle-making kit and thought it sounded like a fun gift for his new wife. Clearly, Josh had Jamie’s number. “We both got really into it,” says Jamie of the candle-making craft, and it eventually blossomed into a business. Home base for the couple’s candle-making production is, well, in their home’s basement, which houses their 70-pound waxmelter and commercial scent collection. Popular candles from the Wallbanks’ growing waxy oeuvre include scented candles with tongue-in-cheek names such as “Birch, Please” and “Gin & Juice.” In lieu of a brick-and-mortar, Collar City Candle normally sets up weekly at the award-winning Troy Farmers’ Market, where the Wallbanks have become a popular fixture among the reusable bag set. (Since the COVID-19 outbreak has temporarily shut down the market, the Wallbanks have been doing all of their business online.) “The market has changed our lives,” says Jamie. They’ve also smartly partnered with a number of local businesses such as Troy’s anatomie gym and Albany’s Nine Pin Cider on signature candles—a savvy way of expanding their reach (Jamie’s got a marketing degree from Siena College). They’ve even launched their own crafting pop-up series, Craft + Draft, which is hosted monthly at different bars around the Capital Region and is exactly what it sounds like—a chance to make your own candles while drinking with friends. (Obviously, the series is on hold until further notice.) Totally wick-ed, we say. —W I L L L EV I T H

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wax poetic The Wallbanks founded Collar City Candle after Josh bought Jamie a candle-making set as a last-minute Christmas gift.

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go figure Fig Tree Furniture started when owner Andrew Figliozzi offered to build a dining room table for his brother.

Go Fig And Go Home

ost construction workers enter the field as laborers. From there, they may learn some framing and eventually work their way up to custom carpentry. That wasn’t the case for Saratogian Andrew Figliozzi, owner of Fig Tree Furniture. “I came into construction backwards,” he says. “I was basically learning to build cabinets my first day. I started with very precise, intricate and detail-oriented work, and so I love that stuff.” Fig Tree Furniture is essentially a passion project for Figliozzi, who also coowns Figliozzi Potter Group, a commercial and residential contracting firm. “It started when my brother needed a dining room table,” he says. “He was looking at all these tables from Pottery Barn that aren’t necessarily better quality and are very expensive, and I was like, ‘Dude, I’ll just build you a table.’” Two-and-a-half years later, Figliozzi is a one-man furniture machine, creating built-in units, fireplace mantles, tables and other custom pieces for clients who find him mainly by word of mouth and via Facebook (@figtreefurniture). He’s built tables and a floating bench for Saratoga steakhouse Salt & Char, and is currently selling his cutting boards to raise money for the American Cancer Society. His design aesthetic? “Tough but warm,” he says. “You can tell my furniture is meant to be used—you don’t have to worry about putting a cold drink on it—and it looks good in someone’s hunting cabin or in a million-dollar house.” In the coming years, Figliozzi hopes to spend more time in his shop building furniture, while still running his contracting firm. “I want to be a shop rat but then still get out and meet people and just rub elbows in Saratoga,” he says. Saratoga, as it turns out, is a pretty good place to do that. — N ATALIE MOOR E

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WHALE of a

BUSINESS H ow Sk idmore grad S he p Mu rray and his brother birthed a billion-dollar business. BY KELSEY FREDRICKS

shep’s ahoy Shep Murray (at right) and his brother, Ian, quit their jobs on the same day to found Vineyard Vines clothing company.

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THE DESIGN ISSUE

aving spent their childhood summers on Martha’s Vineyard, Skidmore College graduate Shep Murray and his younger brother, Ian, got a taste of the good life. And in 1998, the two young men, ready for an adventure, 86ed their crummy desk jobs and founded Vineyard Vines, a uniquely American clothing and accessories brand (you’ve probably seen Vineyard Vines’ smiling-pink-whale-logo-ed shirts, shorts and ties at Saratoga National Golf Club or Saratoga Race Course). “Vineyard Vines, as a company, was two brothers who quit their corporate jobs and wanted to go live the American Dream,” Shep tells saratoga living. They accomplished that and then some: 22 years later, the brand now has thousands of employees, 110 locations across the country and an estimated value in the neighborhood of $1 billion. We recently caught up with Shep to talk about his time in Saratoga Springs and how his Skidmore education helped launch one of the most successful clothing brands in the country. On quitting his job to found Vineyard Vines with his brother: It was actually really, really empowering. I was told by my account team to think more “inside the box,” and at Skidmore, I was taught to think a little bit differently. Their [motto] is “Creative Thought Matters.” And so I was like, “You know what? I have this idea and I don’t want to live my life thinking inside the box. I didn’t want my boss’ job. And so I quit. Twenty-two years later, Ian and I own the entire company, and the way we’ve done well is by surrounding ourselves with an awesome team. We’ve listened to our team, we’ve listened to our customers, and that’s been the key to success. On the significance of that iconic pink smiling whale logo: When we were growing up, our dad used to carve whales, and so we

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always had a wooden carved whale above our front door. When it came time for a logo, Martha’s Vineyard was one of the most successful whaling ports in the world, and it was natural to have the whale be the logo. We were like, “Why not make it smile? Why not make it happy?” In terms of its being pink with navy lettering, there’s a store called Murray’s Toggery Shop on Nantucket—not on the Vineyard anymore—and they were our business partners for awhile and one of our customers. They had these pants called Nantucket Reds, and they’re a faded red—almost a pink. They’re kind of the unofficial uniform for the summer crowd on Nantucket or the Vineyard. And then there’s the navy polo shirt to go with it. So, that’s how the logo happened. On his most memorable Skidmore College professors: I had a professor, Peter Griffin, who was really, really great at encouraging us to read short stories and write them. I took an entrepreneurship class with Professor Marty Canavan, and he encouraged me to look at the great entrepreneurs of the world and what their recipe was for success, which was always very, very simple. And then there was Professor John Holmes, who talked about how in marketing it’s about creating the win-win situation, where everybody wins in the partnership. On Saratoga as a college town: What I liked about Saratoga was that it was a really peaceful place to go to school. It was a nice town with lots of culture. There was always a concert or a lecture or a bar or a restaurant to go to, and that’s why I chose to go there. I keep in constant contact with my friends from Skidmore, and my memories of my time there have always been great. like a fine vine “We never started Vineyard Vines to be successful,” says Co-owner Shep Murray. “We started Vineyard Vines because we believed in what we were doing. And we loved it.”

On advice to budding business owners: You know, you have to do things for the right reason, and what we always say is we never started Vineyard Vines to be successful. We started Vineyard Vines because we believed in what we were doing. And we loved it! If you love what you do, success will follow.

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THE DESIGN ISSUE

RACING

AHEAD T h e Nat i on al Museum of Rac ing a n d H a l l of Fame i s set to u nve il ma j o r up g ra des, j ust i n tim e fo r O p e n in g Day at Saratoga . BY JEFF DINGLER

horsing around The Hall of Fame’s new 360-degree screen will allow museumgoers to participate in an immersive, cinematic experience focused on horse racing.

he National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs has its sights fixed firmly on the future. On Thursday, July 16— Opening Day at Saratoga Race Course, which at press time, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) said is still a go—the museum will be unveiling the results of a multimillion-dollar renovation, meant to completely revolutionize the visitor experience at the museum. “We want to be the best sports Hall of Fame in the country,” says the museum’s President John Hendrickson. “Our sport deserves it. Come mid-July, I believe we’ll have accomplished that goal.”

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What can horse racing fanatics expect? A major. tech-heavy upgrade, for starters. The fully redesigned Hall of Fame will feature interactive displays, replacing its original plaques with an explorable digital format that will include videos, photo galleries and other multimedia offerings. The e-plaques will offer a wealth of knowledge about the various inductees— far more information than could have ever fit on a single plaque. “You’ll get to play videos of Secretariat winning the Triple Crown, Rachel Alexandra’s historic Woodward victory at Saratoga and Zenyatta’s incredible Breeders’ Cup,” says museum Communications Director (and saratoga living Sports Editor) Brien Bouyea. They’ll also include a plethora

of rare historical documents about and images of the Hall of Famers. “Many of these documents that we’re going to be showing have rarely or never been seen by the public,” Bouyea says. “It’s really going to bring the Hall of Fame inductees to life.” In addition to the upgraded displays and plaques, museumgoers will stand in awe of the Hall’s new 360-degree screen, which will allow attendees to participate in an immersive cinematic experience focused on the Sport of Kings. A signature 8K-resolution horse racing film is being created by Louisville-based Donna Lawrence Productions, which has done film work for an esteemed client list that includes Walt Disney World, New-York Historical Society,

American Museum of Natural History and Thomas Jefferson’s historic estate, Monticello. “The filmmakers were very creative, and the cinematography is beautiful and entrancing,” says Bouyea, of what he’s seen of the film so far. “It’s going to be a game-changer for us, and something the entire sport of racing can take pride in.” Additionally, updates will include the addition of a new Race Day Gallery and gift shop. The museum’s planning some sneak previews for donors and media in the lead up to the grand opening in July—so keep your eyes peeled for updates on saratogaliving.com. (Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, previews may be subject to change.)

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THE NEW

STARTING GATE?

The Kentucky Derby date change has likely upended the Travers—but there’s a possible way forward that makes sense for both Saratoga and the Triple Crown. BY BRIEN BOUYEA

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alabama shakes? With the Ketucky Derby now moved to Labor Day, that could mean that Saratoga’s Alabama and Travers will be moved to earlier in the upcoming summer meet.

ith the Kentucky Derby being uprooted from its traditional date of the first Saturday in May to the first Saturday in September (Labor Day weekend) because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the logistics of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown series and the sport’s traditional meet schedules are in a state of flux. At press time, no decision had been made on the status of the Preakness Stakes or Belmont Stakes. All options are on the table for those races, as well as the Saratoga Race Course summer season. Racing has continued without fans in attendance at many tracks throughout the country since the pandemic began, with the canceled prestigious spring meeting at Keeneland in Kentucky being a notable exception. The New York Racing Association then announced it was suspending racing indefinitely on March 19 following the news of a backstretch worker at Belmont testing positive for COVID-19. What will happen in the next few months for the sport is difficult to foresee. Sports certainly don’t rate among our highest priorities during healthcare crises of this magnitude. But when racing venues are eventually given clearance to accept spectators again, it will be a welcome return to say the least. For fans of the Sport of Kings, my glass-half-full scenario for the Triple Crown would look something like this: It makes a lot of sense the Preakness Stakes at Baltimore’s to completely revise Pimlico Race Course would take place on the stakes schedule at Saturday, September 12 and the Belmont Saratoga to early in Stakes on Long Island three weeks later the meet and have on October 10. This potential schedule the Travers and maintains the traditional spacing between Alabama serve as the three Triple Crown events. ‘super preps’ for the So where would that leave Saratoga? Derby and Kentucky If this schedule is adopted, there’s little Oaks, respectively. chance of the Travers Stakes taking place on August 29, as currently slotted. I think it makes a lot of sense to completely revise the stakes schedule at the Spa, moving major races such as the Travers, as well as the Alabama for fillies, to early in the meet and have them serve as “super preps” for the Derby and Kentucky Oaks, respectively. If the Travers and Alabama stay on their current dates, they would be unlikely to attract top fields with their close proximity to the major races at Churchill Downs. The Oaks, the most prestigious threeyear-old event for fillies, is scheduled for Friday, September 4. Another thing to consider would be the race distance of the Travers and Alabama, both of which cover 1¼ miles. It will be interesting to see if those races maintain their traditional length, or will be shortened to better serve as preps. The Derby is contested at 1¼ miles, and the Oaks is a furlong shorter than the Alabama at 1⅛ miles. There are certainly a lot of moving parts for racing’s leaders to consider, and the situation will likely remain fluid throughout the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak. Hopefully, this Labor Day weekend, we’ll be looking back on another spectacular Saratoga racing season and can turn our attention to Churchill Downs for one of America’s greatest sporting traditions and the beginning of a unique Triple Crown series. I’ll happily raise a mint julep to that!

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TROY BUILT The future of behavioral health care is aptihealth—and one of the Capital Region’s most successful businessmen, Dan Pickett, is behind it. BY WILL LEVITH photography by FRANCESCO D’AMICO

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bout three years ago, I was offered psychologists interact in the health care space—and save all the opportunity of a lifetime: to work involved boatloads of time and money in the process. remotely from my Troy home office One of those key factors is the stigma attached to for a New York City-based digital behavioral health issues, which keeps people who are startup that I’d helped launch, writing suffering from them from getting the assistance they need all day, every day. (It’s not lost on before they’re struggling (like I was) or potentially, become a me that I’m now, basically, doing the danger to themselves or others. That, subsequently, puts a same for saratoga living during strain on hospitals and emergency rooms, which are woefully the COVID-19 pandemic.) As far as I underequipped to help people suffering from behavioral health was concerned, I was living the dream, but soon enough, my issues, and those visits end up costing all parties involved a lack of interaction with the outside world started to adversely lot more money. (Behavioral health currently has a $200-$300 affect my mental health. Full disclosure: I’ve battled anxiety billion stranglehold on the US health care system.) A second and depression for most of my life and have been in therapy, factor is the hair-pulling-out madness that is navigating the on and off, for about a decade. So, I went to see my new health care system in the first place and the lack of an easy doctor in Troy and told her that I was feeling blue and that I handshake between your family doctor and psychologist, needed a refill of my anti-anxiety medication, which I’d been both of whom have your well-being in mind but often have prescribed years earlier by my doctor in Manhattan. Much to no way of knowing what the other has diagnosed or analyzed my surprise, she said she couldn’t help me, instead referring about your state of body and/or mind. Dr. James Aram, MD, me to Troy’s Samaritan Hospital, who runs a private family medical which put me through a long, practice in Troy, and opted in to arduous psychological evaluation the aptihealth platform in 2018, that, arguably, exacerbated my says “it’s widely acknowledged, symptoms. To make a long story and it’s certainly true for me, that short, I didn’t get my meds refilled getting behavioral health care is until I changed doctors months fragmented, it doesn’t happen later. The whole process left me quickly, and there’s a paucity of feeling like a character from One providers.” With more than 30 Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. years of experience under his While I’d like to believe that belt, Dr. Aram says that aptihealth my experience happened in a is the first time in his career that vacuum—that, at my lowest and he’s seen an organized effort most vulnerable, I made some to fold behavioral health and grave error in judgement, and primary health care into one unit, – DAN PICKETT that’s why my doctor couldn’t systematically working in favor help me—the reality is that that of a patient. kind of uncomfortable interaction That do-si-do between behavioral happens all the time. According to health and primary care doctors the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a gets even more complicated when medication is involved quarter of American adults suffers from some kind of “behavioral (see: my situation), as patients can’t get prescriptions from health” disorder (the phrase in quotes being a catchall that psychologists (PhDs), and have to track down or already be encompasses mental health issues, eating disorders and the patient of a prescribing psychiatrist or up-to-speed doctor addictions). And the reason people like me find themselves (MDs). Dr. Aram says that he sees this kind of situation all the dealing with roadblocks to the path to good behavioral health time, noting that some physicians, like himself, treat patients with care hinges on several interconnected factors, all seemingly antidepressants, while others are more comfortable referring working against one another, says Dan Pickett, co-founder patients out (as my first Troy doctor did). The other important and CEO of aptihealth, a new digital platform and mobile app, component missing in this scenario is the actual psychotherapy, which has set out to disrupt how patients, physicians and which many people who are taking antidepressants take part in. To that point, Dr. Aram says he simply doesn’t have the time to sit down with a patient for 45 minutes to an hour to walk them through what they’d need to do to get proper counseling. In what’s up, doc? short, aptihealth is cutting out the middleman. (opposite, from left) Dr. Alex Marsal, PhD and Dan Pickett, Lastly, this all goes nuclear if you simply need a referral to the co-founders of aptihealth, are looking to disrupt the a behavioral health professional. Say you’re having a nervous healthcare industry with their new digital platform and app.

“You have a world today where the physicians are burned out because of how much behavioral health is part of their medical practice, but at the same time, it’s very difficult to manage and navigate.”

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and video chat are both Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 [HIPAA] compliant). Most crucial, at least for my purposes, would’ve been that the platform enabled my physician to add a prescriber to my “care team,” who would’ve managed and prescribed me my meds. So, simply using aptihealth would’ve saved me months of headaches and more than a few copays, among other outof-pocket expenses along the way. But that was all one big hypothetical. Does it really work, though? Last August, Pickett’s business partner and co-founder, Dr. Alex Marsal, PhD, a behavioral health expert and licensed clinical psychologist who’s had a private practice in Troy for 25 years, along with Joe Kelly, a licensed clinical social worker (now aptihealth’s clinical operations director), completed a six-month case study based on aptihealth’s thennascent platform. The results (based on 75,000 participants) o, how, exactly, does included these astonishing data: aptihealth work? It exists After beginning to use aptihealth, as both a desktop version patients made 68 percent less and smartphone app, and anyone emergency room visits; there can sign up for it—though, it helps, was a 44 percent reduction in dramatically, if you have health symptom severity among patients; and overall, physicians saw a insurance and/or your provider 100 percent decrease in patient has opted in to the platform. To hospitalizations. It’s clear, then, get a better understanding of why Pickett sees aptihealth, what it does, let’s relive my earlier, which is headquartered in Boston not-so-awesome experience at and has a satellite office in Troy, the doctor through the lens of as nothing short of a deus ex aptihealth. Assuming my original machina for the behavioral health doctor had opted in to the –DR. ALEX MARSAL care industry. And his record in platform, I would’ve said, “Hey, the Capital Region business world doc, I’m feeling depressed,” and she would’ve pointed me towards should be all the proof anyone the platform, which would’ve been on my smartphone. From needs that this is nothing short of a world-changing idea. there, I would’ve taken a comprehensive, artificial intelligencePickett, who was born in Troy, raised in Mechanicville and driven, multiple choice behavioral health assessment quiz via graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), is the app—as well as been given the ability to tell my own story, best known for founding Clifton Park-based tech solutions privately, to behavioral and primary health care professionals. juggernaut, nfrastructure. After building the company into The health care professionals would’ve then been able a billion-dollar powerhouse, with clients such as Starbucks, to create a personalized treatment plan for me and if, say, Disney and adidas, Pickett left his post as president late last I didn’t already have a wonderful therapist, they would’ve year to join aptihealth. (nfrastructure was acquired by West helped get me connected to an in-network psychologist, Coast IT giant, Zones, Inc., in 2016.) “I really wanted the next whom I would’ve been able to message, in the app itself, and 10 years to be purpose-driven,” says Pickett of his shift to set up in-person appointments with thereafter (Pickett likens aptihealth. “Building networks is great, but it’s not as profound.” the experience to locking down a restaurant reservation Dr. Marsal echoes Pickett’s sentiment. “We’re using technology on OpenTable). I could’ve even video chatted with my new to enhance care and disrupt the health care industry, and I psychologist right on my smartphone (the message system think that that’s different than companies that are started from

breakdown, and a doctor tells you that it’ll take six to eight weeks to get in front of someone who can help—and even that’s not a sure thing. Your options are basically to suffer, give up or get lost in a sea of phone calls, paperwork and red tape at your absolute worst. And maybe hardest to grasp might be the strain all of this puts on the minds of the physicians themselves. “You have a world today where the physicians are burned out because of how much behavioral health is part of their medical practice, but at the same time, it’s very difficult to manage and navigate [the behavioral health care system],” says Pickett. And that, ironically, leads to behavioral health issues among many doctors (a study, published within the last three years, concluded that about 40 percent of physicians were reluctant to reach out for mental health treatment for fear of losing their licenses).

“We’re using technology to enhance care and disrupt the health care industry, and I think that that’s different than companies that are started from a tech perspective; they see a problem and then they apply technology to fix a clinical problem.”

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a tech perspective; they see a problem and then they apply full-time employees, plus a few dozen contractors. (By year’s technology to fix a clinical problem,” he says. Besides having end, the headcount could be as high as 50-75 employees, expertise in the behavioral health care industry, Dr. Marsal per a company rep.) The current aptihealth staff consists of was an administrator at Samaritan for a decade and himself three types of employees: clinical scientists, like Dr. Marsal, launched a successful health care-focused digital business, who understand all aspects of behavioral health and how to Vanguard Behavioral Solutions (VBS), a patient assessment diagnose it and treat it—as well as circumnavigate the health and treatment platform, which served as the basis for care system attached to it (MDs and PhDs); clinical engineers, aptihealth. In the early aughts, Pickett invested in Dr. Marsal’s who take that knowledge and tech-ify it at the point of care; behavioral health research, and top-flight user experience which included demonstration (UX) engineers, who studies on various practices understand how patients and in the behavioral health care physicians will interact with the sector. Despite the majority aptihealth platform, and can of his time being devoted to give it an inviting, consumernfrastructure, Pickett gained friendly format (among other a keen appreciation for his key hires, the company has friend’s work and by 2016, added Sean Austin, formerly when nfrastructure was sold of music streaming service to Zones, Pickett agreed Spotify, to help build out the to stay on for an additional UX; and Kori-Ann Taylor as its three years and then leave CMO, most recently director in October 2019. So, about a of client services and year and a half before Pickett marketing at Saratoga-based stepped down at nfrastructure, 32 Mile Media). he was on the lookout for his Even with all the excitement pickett’s charged When Dan Pickett (at right) asked next big adventure. One night, involved in having a potential his friend and business partner Dr. Alex Marsal to prove to he, Dr. Marsal and their wives mint of a company now open him that aptihealth worked, he did and then some, signing were dining at 15 Church for business, aptihealth still on 55 physicians, with 100,000 patients in their care. in Saratoga Springs. That has a way to go before evening, apropos of nothing it can truly scale. Pickett at all—and an unintended harbinger of things to come—Pickett estimates that aptihealth will need at least $100 million in had brought along a bottle of Screaming Eagle wine to share, additional investments to go global. There’s also the critical one of the priciest pours around. In their booth, the pair “talked issue of privacy protection and the seeming pervasiveness about the fact that the problem that we’d been working on, of major breaches these days, which have been happening scientifically, for 10-plus years was getting bigger and bigger,” at an alarming rate to corporate giants such as Yahoo and says Pickett. And that the two men were confident that they Equifax, and even local conglomerates such as Community had a unicorn of an idea—one that capital markets investors Care Physicians, where my wife and I share a primary care would fawn over, because it hinged on solving a widedoctor. But Pickett is bullish on the platform’s Fort Knox-ness. reaching, global problem. Pickett asked his friend to prove to “Our CTO Mike Martin is deeply experienced in multi-stack him that the concept could actually work, with living, breathing security, so the whole aptihealth application runs in Amazon’s patients and doctors. Dr. Marsal tracked down seven primary cloud, and from a multi-factor authentication perspective, care practices—55 physicians, with about 100,000 patients in we’ve got everything locked down each step of the way,” their care—and all of them signed up for aptihealth. Talk about says Pickett. “We’ve also got a lot of AI tools that are running proof of concept. Soon after, the two founded aptihealth, and so if anything out of the norm should happen, aptihealth Pickett became the first seed investor in the project, investing immediately locks down.” millions of his own dollars in the company. The two were All of this might sound like pie-in-the-sky thinking for a tech then able to secure $2.5 million in additional venture capital startup, but Pickett’s damned near sure it’s going to succeed. funding. “We really started hitting our stride in late 2018,” says “The opportunity for this company is massive,” he says. (It’s Pickett. “We put the initial team together, and last year, we currently only available to patients in the US.) As far as I’m really started to accelerate the pace.” concerned, the next time I go to my primary care physician, Likely, you’re assuming that Pickett and Dr. Marsal have I’m going to suggest her practice signs up for aptihealth. hordes of employees at their beck and call by now. But during Because I can already see how much easier my future health care interactions could and should be. its launch year and still at press time, aptihealth had just 12

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Concierge Effect

One-click shopping: 23rd [and Fourth] will soon be launching an e-commerce hub, where customers can buy all of the products seen here.

MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO JANET LONGE AND JAMIE DAVIES, CO-OWNERS OF SARATOG A’S CONTEMPORARY FURNISHINGS SHOP 23RD [AND FOURTH], CONSIDER THEIR CLIENTS FAMILY.

J This is the place for you. Imagine hundreds of exceptional bath, kitchen and lighting products from trusted brands, in settings that help you envision them in your own home. You’ll find classic styles alongside the newest trends. A friendly, accessible staff offers guidance and detailed coordination to ensure that your project goes smoothly. Find details and hours for more than 40 showrooms at frankwebb.com.

BALLSTON SPA 1 McCrea Hill Road ALBANY 17 Erie Boulevard

ust under a decade ago, the co-owners and founders of Saratoga Springs’ 23rd [and Fourth]—mother-daughter team Janet Longe and Jamie Davies—noticed a growing need for a contemporary furnishings store in the city. They jumped at the opportunity to provide Saratoga and the surrounding region with a home furnishings and design destination, offering its ever-growing clientele— from Saratoga to Albany, Lake George and beyond—premier, clean-lined interior design and fine furniture. So, in 2012, the duo combined their respective expertise in interior design and business and launched 23rd [and Fourth], which has been greeted with success and support ever since. (If you’re wondering about their name, it’s a nod to Davies’ and Longe’s birthdays, March 23 and September 4, respectively.)

A big part of what keeps customers coming back to 23rd [and Fourth] is its focus on providing customers with individual attention. “We become close to our clients, and they essentially become friends and family,” Davies says. “We really care about their needs and wants and how they live and their lifestyles. One’s concept of ‘home’ is specific to individuals and families, so the more we know about our clients, the more we can create a space that is really to their want and lifestyle.” Currently, 23rd [and Fourth]’s 3,000-square-foot showroom is located at 130 Excelsior Avenue in Saratoga, after moving from Franklin Square a few years ago. The store offers customers a wide range of items for purchase in-store, including sofas,

chairs, lamps, bedroom furniture, area rugs, window treatments, custom draperies, chandeliers, sconces— the list goes on and on. Additionally, 23rd [and Fourth] will be launching its own e-commerce hub in the near future, which will allow clients to browse everything from the showroom and purchase online. Committed to fulfilling its clients’ needs, Longe and Davies can also connect customers with area contractors for interior design projects, large or small. These include projects everything from one-room design and commercial work to design work on a client’s entire home. “We have a great interior design customer base,” says Davies. “People come in the store, and their reactions are all positive—like Saratoga needed this.” Indeed they did. ■

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Pure Beauty

DENISE DUBOIS, ESTHETICIAN EXTRAORDINAIRE AND OWNER OF COMPLEXIONS SPA FOR BEAUTY & WELLNESS, IS LAUNCHING A CLEAN YET POWERFUL NEW SKINCARE LINE RIGHT HERE IN SARATOGA.

s the saying goes, it’s what’s on the inside that counts—and that’s why Denise Dubois, Founder and Owner of Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness, is set to launch her own completely clean, eco-friendly and highly effective skincare line early this summer called “Dubois Beauty.” Upon recognizing a need for better products on the market, as a licensed esthetician and wellness expert for the past three decades, Dubois decided to take matters into her own hands and make them herself. Over the past four years, Dubois has applied her expertise in crafting quality products in creating the new line. Wishing to keep the community involved, Dubois allowed clientele to submit brand name ideas to her team, settling on her own name after receiving more than 1800 submissions. “Using my name gives it the credibility,” Dubois says. “When an esthetician puts her name on a product, it had better be good.” The name “Dubois Beauty” keeps it simple and pure, like the skincare line itself, which is formulated without any unsafe synthetic ingredients that are commonly found in skincare products, such as parabens, sulfates or other potentially harmful ingredients. Staying true to Complexions’ signature style, the look of the line will reflect the beauty of nature with a continuous leaf-vein

design and hues of yellow and green that calmly evolve into water’s crystal blue. Products will also come with airless pumps and in airless packaging to keep the ingredients active and effective for as long as possible. Dubois has focused on what she calls “a foundational four pillars of skincare” that are essential to a proper routine: start by cleansing and exfoliating the skin; follow that with preserving it; then stimulate and repair the skin; and, finally, hydrate and protect the skin. And Saratogians are in for a special treat: A few of the products in the line will be an ode to Saratoga’s historic reputation as the “Queen of Spas,” as Dubois has used Saratoga’s very own spring water in her mineral mists to create something “indigenous” to this area. The line of 14 products will also include facial cleansers, toners, moisturizers and serums—and won’t be weighed down by superfluous packaging. “Say, you buy a moisturizer, and it comes in a box,” she says. “The box is simply there for the presentation, but that goes against what our beliefs are, because it’s just going to be thrown out into the trash. So why bother having it?” Once Dubois Beauty launches, those interested in enhancing their skincare routine can head on over to Complexions’ Saratoga spa location at 268 Broadway, or the Albany

Summer Skin: Complexions owner Denise Dubois is launching her own line of clean (and eco-friendly!) products in time for summer.

location at 221 Wolf Road to purchase. Besides the skincare line, Dubois is also set to publish her first book, Living Beautifully: Creating a Holistic Spa Lifestyle, in May. To learn more about the latest buzz surrounding Dubois Beauty, you can sign up for its official newsletter at duboisbeauty.com, where you can also check out some great healthy living tips. ■

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the back ⁄ barriers for people looking to join the tech workforce and promote pathways to tech careers for interested parties throughout the region. Classes are streamed on Albany Can Code’s Facebook page (@AlbanyCanCode) and cancode.org/popup.

A Social Distancing Social Calendar W ITH A LL PU B L I C EVENTS ON H OLD, saratoga living I S BRI NGING YOU FUN WAYS TO PAS S THE T I ME WH ILE YOU’ RE AT HO M E . BY N ATA LIE M OORE

See A Concert

Lena Stay Home Sessions The nation’s oldest continuously operating folk music venue has taken its programming virtual: Check out Caffè Lena’s Stay Home Sessions, which are live-streamed regularly on the venue’s YouTube Channel. For more info, visit caffelena.org.

Dave Matthews. To add a little oomph to the initiative, Verizon is encouraging viewers to support local businesses, and in addition, the telecom giant says it will donate $5 million to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national nonprofit that boosts economic opportunities for people and communities across the US.

National:

Take A Class

LOCAL: Caffè

Pay It Forward Live Series On March 26, Verizon launched Pay It Forward Live, a performance series livestreamed weekly on Twitter (@verizon) and Yahoo’s entertainment vertical that kicked off with a 30-minute solo set by Saratoga royalty

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LOCAL: Albany

Can Code Pop-Up Coding Lessons Nerd out by learning how to code in free, live-streamed classes put on by Albany Can Code, a nonprofit that’s working to shift public opinion on who can work in technology, remove

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National: The Science of Well-Being Course In 2018, Yale University launched what would become its most popular class in the school’s 300-plus-year-history. Now, a 20-hour online iteration of the original course, renamed The Science of Well-Being, which teaches students to lead happier lives, is available for free to non-Yale students on coursera.org.

Stay Active LOCAL: The

Hot Yoga Spot Flow From Home Videos The Hot Yoga Spot, which has locations in Saratoga Spring s, Albany, Clifton Park, Latham and East Greenbush, has two free options for “flowing from home.” Choose to downward dog on your own time with an assortment of free, pre-recorded yoga videos, or tune in

to classes with Hot Yoga Spot instructors livestreamed on Zoom. Visit thehotyogaspot.com for more information. National: Live-Streamed Planet Fitness Workouts Planet Fitness—a.k.a. the Judgement Free Zone—is offering free, live-streamed, in-home workouts with different trainers daily at 7pm Eastern Time. All classes live on Planet Fitness' public Facebook page (@planetfitness), so anyone—not just members—can watch them live or later on. Now that’s good judgement.

Get Artistic LOCAL: Saratoga

Paint & Sip Studio’s Take ’N Paint To-Go Kits Saratoga Paint & Sip Studio is offering to-go kits, available for pickup Thursdays from 5-7pm at its Henry Street studio. Choose from one of three kits, which include a canvas, paint, brushes, online step-by-step instructions and a bottle of wine for an additional $15. For more info, visit paintandsipstudios.com.

National: SchaeferArt YouTube Videos Artist Brandon Schaefer’s how-to art videos have been viewed millions of times on his YouTube page, SchaeferArt, for good reason. The artist has videos on all manner of art topics, from drawing for beginners and sketching your cat to mixing colors for portrait painting and painting en plein air during quarantine.

the back Gorgeous ⁄

Spring Into a New Beauty Routine S KIN CA R E PRODUCTS TO MAKE YOU LOO K—AND FEEL—YOUR BEST, E V E N IN Q UARANTINE. BY M A R CO MEDRANO

facial distancing Treating yourself right can lift your spirits during troubling times.

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tudies have shown that people are generally happier in the springtime. Not only do we feel better as the snow begins to melt and the weather grows warmer, but we also want to look better as we come out of our winter hibernation. Of course, this spring is an exception, as most of us are cooped up in our homes—and not feeling all that happy—as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. One way you can bring positivity into your life right now is by taking a little bit more time to focus on you. Let’s start with some skincare, shall we? Thanks to groundbreaking advances in the skincare industry, many products are going organic, making them safer for our bodies. So...hop on the bandwagon, social distancers: We’re off on an in-home, vitamin-rich skincare product ride. Heavyweight HydroPeptide continues to hit the market with unique skincare firsts. Its HydraFlora Probiotic Toner Essence is a pre- and probiotic microflora balancer that refines pores with coconut water and Blue Agave. Follow it up with the brand’s LumaPro-C Face Serum (the “C,” if you couldn’t tell, stands for Vitamin C!), and finish with its NimNi Day Cream. This luxe finisher is ahead of the trend, as it restores fullness and volume to skin and promotes collagen production. The best part? Each of these is effective—you can see the results. For more info, visit hydropeptide.com. One of the early gamechangers (although admittedly, I was late to the party) in probiotic skin science was Columbia Skincare. The combined validation of doctors and skincare professionals should have sold me on the brand eons ago, but I’m here now and can tell you: I was sold from the very first application of the Probiotic Concentrate Serum and Probiotic Complex Cream. Columbia Skincare is the definition of safe, accelerated skin renewal. For more info, visit fcsturtevantcompany.com.

skin in the game Thanks to groundbreaking advances in the skincare industry, many products are now safer for our bodies.

Want to be so next year, right now? Here’s some self-care to get you there. KÖVO Essentials’ plant-based CBD + Probiotic skincare line is made with Bakuchiol, a rarified (green) retinol alternative. With KÖVO’s Facial Serum and Toner Mist, you can almost skirt a cream application. Collagen, combined with peptides and broadspectrum CBD oil, means non-GMO beauty. Score! For more info, visit kovoessentials.com. One of my new favorites in the

“glass skin” innovation arena is Vitabrid C¹², which, to kick off its massive US launch, is offering enormous online price savings. I’d first check out the Facial Boosting Water; it gets the skincare party started with powerful peptides and hyaluronic acid to boost the power of all that follows. But the hero product is Dual Drop

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the back Gorgeous ⁄ Serum, a blend of stabilized Vitamin C and peptides that address aging, skin tone, firmness and hydration, all at once. The Eye & Face Cream is something else I find to be a revelation. It has all of the above potency in an all-in-one product. And the Daily-C Balancing Cleansing emerge and see With the proper skincare routine, you’ll emerge from quarantine with smooth, healthy and radiant skin.

Balm is an addicting, water-activated C-infusion cleanser. For more info, visit vitabrid.com. Over 40? Circadia by Dr. Peter T. Pugliese is used by many med-spa heavyweights, doctors and reputable estheticians, and has an amazing following of dedicated believers with gorgeous skin. The Vitamin A Boosting Cream treats dull, rough, heavily keratinized or sundamaged skin, rewinding damage gently. Circadia is advanced professional skincare and many of the pro series serums should be used in unison with HydraFacial systems. I’d highly recommend seeking out the company’s Oxygen Rx Facial System treatment services. For more info, visit circadia.com.

Speaking of sun damage, get out in front of it with an SPF that does more than provide protection. My favorites? NEOVA SmartSkinCare’s DNA Damage Control Everyday Broad-Spectrum SPF 44 (neova.com), Clarins’ UV PLUS Anti-Pollution Sunscreen SPF 50 (clarinsusa.com) and Saian’s Sunscreen Mist SPF 30 (saian.net). You can also check out CōTz, which has a deluxe silk powder finish, and Amarte’s Ultra Veil SPF 50+ (amarteskincare.com). I do hope the COVID-19 pandemic is over and done with in time for us to enjoy at least a little bit of the spring season. But whenever we reach the other side of this, we’ll be ready to greet the world with smooth, healthy and radiant skin.

Moisturizing Is A Man’s Best Friend

EX P LO RING T H E S K INCARE P RO D UC TS YO U D ID N’ T K NOW YO U NEED ED. n BY MARC O MED RANO

here are many young men who use bar soap, speed shave and don’t moisturize. And their skin looks good—great even. Well, wait ’til their skin stops producing collagen and starts resembling a Shar-Pei’s before they turn 40. Sorry, not sorry. Skincare not your thing? The person staring back at you in the mirror in 10 years may beg to differ. Lab Series Skincare for Men is backed up by real science and will ensure you look good when the big 4-0 arrives. If you use only one of the brand’s products,

consider Rescue Water Lotion. It’s truly a gamechanger. After washing or shaving, it closes your pores and calms your skin, while Hydra2G technology attracts and binds water to your skin. Ready to man up and go all in? Future Rescue Repair Serum’s potent ingredients promote your skin’s natural collagen production. And for those dealing with skin damage already, Maxellence Dual Concentrate’s powerful Meteorite Extract revives the old you. Visit labseries.com for more info.

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the back Décor ⁄

ThreeSeason Rooms For The Win saratoga living’S BRAND-NEW DESIGN EDITOR GETS RIGHT TO BEAUTIFYING YO U R S A R ATO G A H O U S E . STORY AND PHOTO BY SUE WALDRON

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hen I was asked by the saratoga living team to come on board as Design Editor for the magazine, I couldn’t say “yes” quickly enough! My love for all things décor began at a very young age: I’m a selftaught Saratoga Springs decorator/ designer and a huge advocate for repurposing, rearranging and looking at things you already own with a fresh eye. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be featured in several national and local magazines, including saratoga living, and won an award for best interior décor/ design in the luxury category of the 2018 Saratoga Showcase Of Homes. And so, it’s my absolute pleasure to share my passion with you. One of my favorite rooms (especially as we “shelter in place” during this year's temperature rise) in my house is my threeseason room, and in the spirit of the spring season, that’s where I’ll begin. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a three-season room is a space attached to your home that’s not heated, is full of windows (or screens) and is enjoyed spring through fall. Here are a few ideas for freshening up your three-season room (or, if you don’t have one, your porch, pergola or gazebo) after its long winter nap. Bring The Outdoors In Of course, we all love three-season rooms, because

pillow talk Colorful pillows and a throw blanket will go a long way in making your three-season room the coziest spot in your home.

they give us the feeling that we’re outside. Take advantage of all the natural sunlight by adding a few mood-lifting plants—you’ll feel more in touch with nature. Add Some Color Because of that outdoor feel, wrought iron and resin wicker furniture are perfect for these areas. But don’t be afraid to add some personality to it with a fun coffee table or end table in a bright color. Adding a colorful indoor/ outdoor area rug, even if your space is carpeted, will also bump up the cozy factor. Make It Cozy Speaking of cozy—go all out. Add some fun pi.llows, a supersoft throw blanket for relaxing on cooler days (or nights), some battery-operated candles for ambiance and a hanging swing, and you’ll have the perfect spot for relaxing or entertaining. Now, all that’s left… What’s a three-season room without plenty plenty of seating to enjoy your family’s and guests’ company? A table and chair set is a must for game night, as well as coffee on Sunday morning or dinner with friends. After all this work you did, it’s only fair to show it all off—at your next postquarantine gathering, of course.

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n any given summer day on the placid waters of Lake George, you’ll catch boats of all shapes and sizes, zooming hither and yon enjoying the sun on this “Queen of American Lakes.” Most blur into a parade of white-plastic look-alikes—production pieces targeted at the everyman. Every once in a while though, a real eye-catcher will dart past, one that was clearly the brainchild of a master builder and didn’t sport a “preowned” sticker in the offseason. No, these beauties are the type that, to paraphrase The Beach Boys, purr like kittens ’til the lake nights roar. Feast your eyes on the wares of these five upper-crust boat makers.

Chris-Craft

FRO M THE H IGH EST L EVEL OF WATER SP O RT DE SI GN TO T H E H AU T E C O U T U R E O F B OAT MAK ING , WE H AVE ALL YOUR LUXURY B OAT I N G N E E DS C OV E R E D. n BY B R I A N K. LIND

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Riva Yachts (Chris-Craft) BOATS BY GEORGE

You’re Gonna Need a Better Boat!

With a rich, 146-year history of boat building, Chris-Craft has maintained a reputation for producing solid, beautiful, timeless designs. Its current lineup offers a cutting-edge approach to modern boating, while paying homage to its classic years that will forever be defined by the “classic runabout” (i.e. cockpit-style seating and a below-deck engine). ChrisCraft’s newest model, the Launch 31 GT, debuted just this past November at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The 31 GT adds plenty of classic mahogany, teak and stainlesssteel accents to a modern launch-style dayboat. It features a walkthrough transom, a side-boarding door and multizone LED lighting to create unique onboard ambiance after dark. Italian yacht builder Riva produces everything from dayboats to superyachts. The modern masterpiece manufacturer draws inspiration from the lines of classic cars, which give its yachts an elegant, timeless aesthetic. Both inside and out, you’ll find warm exotic woods and supple leathers. While the average boater sees a

Riva as a work of art to be admired both inside and out, experts look beyond simple aesthetics to the engine room. The engineering, performance and handling of Riva Yachts are what make them sensational seaworthy statements.

italian nice (from top) The interior of Riva’s new Dolceriva line; the Dolceriva is a 48-foot yacht built for onboard living; (opposite) Chris-Craft has maintained a reputation for producing solid, beautiful, timeless designs.

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So, what Are You Waiting For?

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Boats by George

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Castaway Marina

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Hacker-Craft

Searching for a yacht that’s both classic boat-inspired and -designed? Look no further than Hacker-Craft. And you won’t have to go too far to find one, as Hacker-Craft, the largest builder of classic mahogany boats in the world, is headquartered on the northern end of Lake George. But prepare to queue up for the experience: Hacker-Craft produces only a small number of boats per year, each one a bespoke, handcrafted showpiece that demands thousands of hours of attention to build. From

iconic gentlemen’s racers to classic runabouts, these boats are built to last—and show off.

MasterCraft

If you’ve ever spent an early summer morning breaking the glass of Saratoga Lake with a slalom ski, then you probably know the name MasterCraft. The company’s revolutionary designs have always been focused on creating the perfect wake for watersport enthusiasts. MasterCraft just redesigned its X26 towboat to combine luxury and

performance for all-day cruising and watersports fun. The redesigned X26 features leading performance designs such as MasterCraft’s Gen 2 Surf System. The new X26 also brings luxury features and finishes to a towboat that’s just as enjoyable to cruise around the lake in as it is to “hang 10” on wake waves. If you’re trying to track down a premium watersports boat with the features of a day cruiser—that doesn’t sacrifice performance—let’s just say you’ve found the new objects of your desire in MasterCraft’s numerous designs.

Hinckley Yachts

Hinckley Yachts may be the quintessential definition of Downeast yacht design. Its motoryachts, picnic boats and runabouts grew out of the lobstering traditions of Maine, where form followed function. Hinckley yachts are known for their low profiles, sweeping lines and quality

craftsmanship—as well as their cuttingedge technology. There’s no better example of where classic design meets brilliant tech than Hinckley’s luxury, allelectric Dasher 2.0 Launch. Powered by two BMW i3 lithium ion batteries, Hinckley’s silent Whisper Drive propulsion will have you gliding through the water in stunning silence.

life-hack Hacker-Craft produces only a small number of boats per year, each one a bespoke, handcrafted showpiece; (opposite) MasterCraft recently redesigned its X26 towboat to combine luxury and performance for all-day cruising and watersports fun.

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noodles” are made in house and braised for 24 hours, a great example of the unique food we bring to Saratoga Springs.

eneca had an air about it right from the beginning. Coowners Mike and Shelley Spain opened one stunning hot spot—reservations were tough to get from day one, the wines were bold (Gruner by the glass!) and the hand-crafted cocktails are inventive and delicious (I dream of their ginger-packed carrot juice concoction). And then there’s the food. Chef Mike Spain leads a talented team that shows off via open kitchen, cooking stand-out dishes that Saratoga has never seen before. “We get fist bumps, high fives, guests telling us that our pierogis are just as good as their grandmother’s,” he says. “It’s our greatest compliment.” At press time, Seneca has shut its doors to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic.* You say you take a “nonconformist” approach to your food. Explain. We sourced out a wood-fired grill that nobody has ever seen in this area, and we’d actually never even cooked on it before. To this day, we are still learning new ways to incorporate the grill into new dishes. As for food, our beef cheek “slap

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grill master “I’m always self-educating, researching new techniques and experimenting with new flavor combinations,” says Seneca Chef Mike Spain.

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What is your most popular dish? Our brick oven swordfish. I was a little surprised to see a seafood dish shine as much as it does. The romesco sauce has elements of toasted hazelnut, woodgrilled red bell peppers and tomatoes. The swordfish itself thrives in a high-heat cooking application, so the end result is a firm, but juicy piece of fish.

RYAN MANNING

•

Hot Chef

What gets you most excited about food and cooking? Cooking is a language, and I’ve been able to express myself more through my dishes than I ever have with words. I’m very competitive and always have been. My ultimate goal since I started in a kitchen has always been to win a James Beard award. Now more than ever, it’s not only a personal goal, but also a goal for Seneca and the city of Saratoga Springs. (At press time Seneca was temporarily closed due to COVID-19. Check saratogaliving.com for all updates.)

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the back Thirst ⁄

MAGAZINES, BOOKS, NEWSPAPERS AND SOUVENIRS We have everything you need to enjoy your trip! A large variety of beverages and snacks. Our friendly knowledgeable staff is here to help. Stop in and visit soon.

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(Elovich) CATHY DUFFY

hen the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Believe it or not, Jimi Hendrix said that—and you can find it on a bottle of tequila, should you need some encouragement while day-drinking at home during these tumultuous times. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill firewater, Saratoga: It’s One With Life (OWL) Tequila, an award-winning, certified organic brand, which is handcrafted from pesticide-free blue agave grown on a third-generation family farm in Mexico, and headquartered right here in Saratoga Springs. Launched in 2015, OWL is the brainchild of Saratogian Lisa Elovich, who says that she gets her bottlebased quotables from her customers. “There’s a hidden inspirational

owl have another (from top) One With Life Tequila founder Lisa Elovich; OWL is headquartered in Saratoga Springs; (opposite) Elovich on the \family farm in Mexico where the blue agave used to make OWL is grown.

message on the back of the front label,” she says. “We use quotes that we get from tequila friends over social media.” Five years after launching in New York and Florida, OWL is sold in every liquor store in Saratoga and poured in bars across New York State. Once the COVID-19 crisis passes, OWL will be expanding its reach to New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and California. For Elovich, who jumpstarts her day with yoga and meditation and got her business name from an Eckhart Tolle book, a spiritually aware spirits venture seemed like a dream come true after years as a criminal justice attorney. Now, get that saltshaker and lime at the ready; it’s time to taste that other Saratoga “water.”

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the back Thirst ⁄ OWL Margaritas, Three Ways

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the back Travel ⁄

Let’s Go To Saratoga Springs, Saratoga! DISNEY’ S SARATOGA SP R I N GS R E SO RT I S T H E P E R F E C T P LAC E FOR A TROPICAL GE TAWAY—A N D F E E LI N G C LO SE TO H O M E .

motherlode of vacation destinations: Walt Disney World. What better way to make sure Disney’s Saratoga Springs did justice to the real Spa City than to bring in a native? Saratogian Kevin Cummings was commissioned by Disney to oversee the project in 2004; the finished product certainly reflects the impressive grandeur of North Broadway, as well as the cultural importance of a fantastic spa getaway. In fact, Disney’s Saratoga Springs might just give you a glimpse at what the turn-of-the-century version of Saratoga looked like. Saratoga-inspired attractions include the High Rock Spring Pool, the Paddock Grill (great for poolside burgers and salads) and the Turf Club Bar & Grill, a steak house emulating a 19th-century horse racing club. The Turf Club’s lounge is the place to go for adults-only freedom, or you can spend some quality family time indulging in Disney’s pizza delivery magic treehouse Stay among the trees at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa’s Treehouse Villas.

pool play Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa’s High Rock Spring Pool is named for one of the real Spa City’s oldest-known mineral springs.

DISNEY

BY M A R C O M E DR A N O

t’s never too early to start planning a getaway for when this global COVID-19 crisis is over. Has Florida’s Walt Disney World been on your bucket list? What if I told you that after an exhausting, long day at the parks, you’re just a short drive from a resort where you can settle in and feel right at home? Enter Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, a fantasy getaway where you can indulge in more grown up activites and make sure the kids have an unforgettable Mouseketeer experience. Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa is one of several themed lodging experiences that dot Disney’s sprawling 25,000 acres of property (see: Disney’s Old Key West Resort, Port Orleans Resort, Caribbean Beach Resort and Polynesian Village). Disney’s “Imagineers”—the creative minds who design and build all Disney parks, resorts and attractions—must’ve known how special our part of the world is, with its elevated small-town charm, Victorian architecture, horse racing prestige and healing waters, because they sought to replicate it in a four-star resort right smack dab in the

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the back Travel ⁄

toga party Water taxis leave Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa every 20 minutes for Downtown Disney.

service, followed by a trip to one of the resort’s arcades. “The architecture of the buildings drew inspiration from the sprawling New York country retreats,” a Disney Parks & Resorts rep told saratoga living in 2018. “The team was inspired by Saratoga Springs’ architecture and its focus on health, history and horses.” OK, logistics time: Let’s suck down some helium, put on our mouse ears

DISNEY

come to your senses What would a Saratoga-themed resort be without a spa? Senses is a full-service spa and health club located at the resort.

and get started. Scheduling is key to any successful Disney vacation, so before your trip (i.e. now, while you’re stuck at home in quarantine) get ready by creating a detailed itinerary. It may sound stressful now but will allow you to enjoy being in the moment when you get there. I’d also recommend purchasing FastPasses for the family, so that when you’re in the Disney parks—that is, if you ever want to leave the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa— you’ll spend less time waiting in line and more time at shows and on rides. Sure, getting to the parks from Disney-ified Saratoga is super easy: Buses, shuttles, water taxis and Mini Mouse cabs can all have you there in mere minutes. But why not take a day or two away from the crowds to explore and enjoy the faux Spa City?

Check out Senses, the onsite spa, and the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. Set amidst a lush wildlife sanctuary, Lake Buena Vista is designed as a full-on country club experience. Other Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa amenities include a gym, outdoor fun areas, pools with waterslides, Sunrise Yoga classes, nighttime showings of classic Disney movies under the stars,

bike rentals, tennis courts, basketball courts and walking paths that stretch the entire resort. All this, with your home base being a Disney Deluxe Villa—that has a kitchen, washer, dryer and separate bedrooms. It might be the perfect resort getaway for you and your significant other. And if you have them, you can tell the kids it’s all about them.

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It’s A Miracle!

PRE-QUARANTINE, SARATOGA CELEBRATED TEAM USA AT saratoga living’S ‘MIRACLE ON ICE’ PARTY AT PUTNAM PLACE.

BY NATALIE MOORE

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY

ust a short time before all large gatherings were temporarily banned because of the COVID-19 crisis, saratoga living threw one last (of course, how could we know it would be?) feel-good party to cheer on Team USA and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” hockey game 5 at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The evening kicked off with a VIP hour, featuring food from Marrello Restaurants’ Jacob & Anthony’s, beer from Northway Brewing Co., tunes by NonStop Music and a panel discussion with both former and current professional hockey players, moderated by NewsChannel 13’s Mark Mulholland. VIP guests also received special swag bags, filled

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H A N N A H LU X

with items from The Morning Skate podcast, SummerSkates, Adirondack Thunder, Austin Bayliss Catering & Cakes, Bellini’s Counter and Hockey Innovations. The first 25 VIP guests to purchase tickets also received a copy of saratoga living’s Winter Issue signed by “Miracle On Ice” star Goaltender Jim Craig. The general admission portion of the evening began with a breathtaking performance of the National Anthem by local vocal phenom Kelsey Dodd, followed by a complete re-showing of the “Miracle On Ice” game on Putnam Place’s 17-foot LED screen. Food was provided by the Olde Bryan Inn, Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar, Goodfellas Pizzeria and Austin Bayliss Catering & Cakes; and NonStop Music’s Outside The Box Photobooth captured super-

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fun images and boomerangs. Official “Miracle On Ice” merchandise was also for sale, including hats, shirts, stickers and pins; in addition to Blade Shades sunglasses, which donated more than 50 percent of the proceeds toward the construction of a statue commemorating the “Miracle” game in Lake Placid.

AngioDynamics was the event’s gold-level sponsor; Union College, CAPITAL REGION LIVING and saratoga living arts were silver-level sponsors; and Marrello Restaurants was the bronze-level sponsor. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales went to Saratoga’s Vernon and Weibel Avenue ice rinks.

myriad on ice 1. The team from AngioDynamics, the event’s gold-level sponsor, wearing VIP jerseys made by Hockey Innovations; 2. local singer Kelsey Dodd singing the National Anthem; 3. a fan revels in a Team USA goal; 4. Erica Ziskin and Adirondack Thunder player Conor Riley; 5. VIP guests received Team USA-themed swag bags; 6. the crowd watched the exciting (yet 40-year-old) game on the edge of their seats, led by saratoga living’s Events Director, Austin Bayliss (center in VIP jersey); 7. bronze-level sponsor Marrello Restaurants provided food from Jacob & Anthony’s; 8. The Morning Skate podcast’s Jimmy Collins and Garrison Grant came ready with “Miracle On Ice” swag; 9. Northway Brewing Co. poured beer samples; 10. a group representing the Adirondack Thunder ECHL hockey team.

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(from left) Renee Farley, Arthur Palmer, Thea Hotaling, Desiree Farley, Nicole Rifenbary, Shane Stiel

(from left) Samantha Kercull, MacKenzie Zarzycki, Marissa Romero

Winter Ball guests take to the dance floor

SPAC Winter Ball: The Future Is Now

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELDON POLACCO Performer Acadia Rae

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(back row, from left) Kevin Murphy, Nick Ferrera, Josh Ettinger, Matt Crayne, Alexandra Crayne, Dan Giblin, Melissa Curry; (middle row, from left) Maddie Murphy, Cecily Remillard, Janet Snell, Samantha Santiago, Eric Snell, Amanda Ettinger, Ali Birdsinger; (front row, from left) Michael Polacco, Kevin Luteran, Samantha Kercull

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monsieur masseur “The body really heals itself—I just help facilitate it and lead it in the right direction,” says Glenn LaPorte, the Capital Region’s “Mobile Masseur.”

Born in Central New York and raised for most of his life in Colonie, Glenn now resides in Clifton Park, home base for his massage operation. He calls himself The Mobile Masseur: Rather than working out of one studio, Glenn travels to his clients, specializing in in-home (or -hotel) massages. He also gives massages at sporting events, such as marathons and 5Ks, and at health fairs, employee appreciation days and bridal showers. And he keeps busy—once, Glenn tells me, he gave massages for a total of 12 hours in one day. I caught up with the man behind The Mobile Masseur.

Glenn LaPorte’s Healing Hands S W EET DELIVERY: MEET TH E CA P I TA L R E GI O N ’S ‘ MOBILE MASSE U R .’ BY NATALIE MO O R E

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

first met Glenn LaPorte at a party— saratoga living’s “Miracle On Ice” party at Putnam Place, if we’re being specific. Surrounded by the din of drinks clinking, music blaring and people laughing, Glenn was noticeably calm, as if what was happening around him had little to do with his own existence. It’s not

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that he wasn’t aware of the party or wasn’t having a good time—he was just taking it all in. So, it didn't surprise me when I found out that Glenn is a masseur. That inner calm so few of us find on a day-to-day basis? Glenn exudes it. I guess that’s part of the job; he’s there to make his clients feel as relaxed as possible.

What’s something about your job as a professional masseur that might surprise our readers? Before I got into it, I didn’t realize how male therapists can be discriminated against by both genders. People are more open to a male therapist now than when I first started in 2003, but there are still females who may not be comfortable with a male therapist, and males who will say, “Oh, I don’t want a guy touching me.” Do you consider yourself a healer or practitioner? My first thought was healer, but the body really heals itself—I just help facilitate it and lead it in the right direction. I would say God is a healer, and I want to have Him work through me even more, so I can have a greater impact on people. What does success look like after a massage? When a client’s demeanor changes. When they’re brighter and have a bigger smile and they’re like, “That was amazing.”