Sophisticated Living St. Louis Jan/Feb 2014 by Sophisticated Living Magazine

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Jan/Feb 2014

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Up from the Ashes A volcano in Cerro Verde National Park, El Salvador.

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on the cover: Joyeux Anniversaire! St. Louis is turning 250 this year, and the city is pulling out all the stops!

Looking Forward While Looking Back

Paddle Priorities

The Story Behind the Wine

Curating a Lifestyle:

Finding the Art in Everyday

Up from the Ashes

Bibliotaph

Experiencing the “Audibahn”

Of Note... Spoken For

Beyond the Canvas

Barney’s and a Bon Viveur

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Simply Modern

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Social Calendar

Plaza Porsche’s “Pancakes & Panameras”

St. Louis Blues Golf for a Cause

Alexander McQueen:

Snap Shots of a Life

Big Love for Little Ones

A Queenly Gala Honors Chess

Reach for the Stars

The British Invasion!

The Good Life at Vanguard

Crossing Apartments

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PUBLISHER Craig Kaminer ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, EDITORIAL Veronica Theodoro ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, ADVERTISING Cortney Vaughn ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Debbie Kaminer ______________________________________________ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bridget Williams CONTRIBUTORS Writers Neil Charles Judith Evans Scott Harper Barbara Hertenstein Jacobitti Bridget Williams Photographers Tony Bailey Jeannie Casey Adam Gibson Gregg Goldman Chad Henle Andrew Kung Matt Marcinkowski Alise O’Brien Carmen Troesser Graphic Design Matt Bell Alex McClellan Jason Yann Special Tanks Lee Anna Pepple ADVERTISING SALES OFFICE 314.82.SLMAG ______________________________________________ SOPHISTICATED LIVING MEDIA Eric Williams - CEO Bridget Williams - President Michele Beam - Vice President Greg Butrum - General Counsel Jason Yann - Art Director

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Sophisticated Living® is published by High Net Worth Media, LLC and is independently owned and operated. Sophisticated Living® is a registered trademark of Williams Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sophisticated Living® is published six times a year. All images and editorial are the property of High Net Worth Media, LLC and cannot be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission. Annual subscription fees are $25.00; please add $5 for subscriptions outside the US. Single copies may be purchased for $5 at select fine retail outlets. Address all subscription inquiries to: Sophisticated Living®, 6244 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63139. Telephone 314-82-SLMAG.

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Operating out of St. Louis Lambert and Spirit of St. Louis Airports.

From the Publisher

Truth is, some of America’s cities are too big to fail. St. Louis, however, is not one of them, and so we must do everything we can to grow and to remain competitive in an increasingly global economy. As we began working on this issue, I couldn’t help but think about what life was like in St. Louis 250 years ago. Tere were thriving Native American communities, a burgeoning fur trade, and access to the Mississippi, but not much more. No Fortune 500 companies. No Cardinals Nation. No universities or medical centers. No Forest Park, no Saint Louis Symphony, no world-class Chess Club. I’m certain many visitors did some trapping, made some money, and moved on. But others stayed and created what became one of the wealthiest cities in America. As we celebrate the city’s 250th anniversary next year, how can we resurrect that momentum? St. Louis is in a better position today than it was 25 or 250 years ago, and it is growing stronger every year. Perhaps the biggest reason is our focus on the future. For decades we had a chip on our (collective) shoulders of having once been the third largest city in America. We couldn’t–or wouldn’t–move beyond that fact. But things are changing, and it’s invigorating to hear people talk about what the next fve years will look like with a truly residential downtown, new Arch grounds, Ballpark Village, a booming Central West End, etc. I urge all St. Louisans (born and bred as well as St. Louisans by choice) to do something tangible to invest in our future, to silence naysayers, and to inspire the next Lacledes and Chouteaus among us. We need a vision for the next 250 years, and a path to the top of the lists we–and most Americans–so admire. We owe it to the founders of St. Louis, to the great men and women who built this city, to the people who have come here and stayed here, and to our kids, who will someday choose to stay because St. Louis is the “place to be.”

Craig M. Kaminer Publisher craig@slmag.net

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LOOKING FORWARD WHILE LOOKING BACK Written by Craig M. Kaminer Photography by Matt Marcinkowski If you haven’t yet heard about stl250, the name might make you think a Grand Prix is coming to the streets of St. Louis. It’s not a road race — far from it — though an stl250 is an exciting idea. Stl250 is shorthand for the 250th birthday of St. Louis’ founding in 1764 and the name of the volunteer-led not-for-profit coordinating a year-long efort to celebrate hundreds of “grassroots-to-grand scale” events in partnership with institutions across our 15-county bi-state region. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley are co-hosts of the celebration. Ameren Chairman, President and CEO Tom Voss and his wife, Carol, are serving as co-chairs. “Stl250 provides all of us with opportunities to refect on who we are, where we come from, and the bright future ahead of us,” Slay says. “Over the past 249 years, countless people have worked, learned, and played in our region that is rich with history, culture, and the promise of opportunity. Together, we will make this anniversary year one we will cherish and remember forever.” According to Erin Budde, executive director of stl250, the goal of the organization is to use the milestone to increase pride in the region by building on excitement and momentum already under way. “Te celebratory events will be designed to encourage St. Louis residents and visitors to learn our city’s history, as well as share their personal stories and resources to improve the region,” she says. The timing of this bicenquinquagenary couldn’t be better. “Thanks to the work of many, St. Louis is safer, more sustainable, and more connected than ever,” Slay says. Crime is down 46 percent since 2006 in the city, and downtown has seen $5 billion of reinvestment in the past decade. Ninety-four percent of the city’s residents live within half a mile of a Metro stop; recently, the League of American Bicyclists recognized the city as a “Bicycle Friendly Community,” based on its investment in bike lanes. Under Mayor Slay, the city launched its frst Sustainability Plan and hired a sustainability director to help implement 29 agenda items over the next fve years in the areas of urban renewal, the arts, health and well-being, education, and employment. “We’re one of the top two cities in the country growing its collegeeducated populations,” Slay says, “and with the strength of our colleges and universities — not to mention improving public schools— the New Lou is arguably one of the most livable and welcoming cities in the country.” And

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this is good for business. According to a recent survey by credit card research site CardHub, St. Louis ranks 13th among cities most friendly to employees of small companies. CardHub ranked 30 metropolitan areas based on metrics ranging from net small business job growth and industry variety, to hours worked, to average wages for new hires. The conditions, which are perfect for St. Louis to grow, are strikingly similar to the abundance of Tis year is all about celebrating St. Louis. Here’s a look opportunities that our city’s founders, Pierre Laclede at a few of the celebrations commemorating our city and Auguste Chouteau, realized when they settled here. on the river. For a complete list, go to www.stl250.org. Te Mississippi River, which for many years has been ignored or underutilized, is likely to become one of our Burnin’ Love Festival key assets again. As many fast-growing cities such as Feb. 14, 4:30-10:30 p.m., Art Hill in Forest Park Austin, Texas, struggle with a lack of water, our great Live performances from Pokey LaFarge, the Royal river is a competitive advantage. Te Mississippi River Rhythm & Blues All-Star Review — and “Elvis” — Cities and Towns Initiative, which Slay spearheaded will headline this family-friendly outdoor event that and of which he is now the honorary chair, includes a also includes heated refreshment tents, freworks, an group of mayors from dozens of cities and towns along engagement ceremony for 250 couples (register online the Mississippi River, working together to leverage at stl250.org), videos of St. Louis, and a temporary federal dollars to better the river. CityArchRiver, a public art installation featuring a 25-foot heart on fre. project to connect the river and the Arch to the heart of downtown, is scheduled to open at the end of 2015, Biggest Birthday Ball thanks to private and public dollars. Feb. 16, 5-9 p.m., Missouri History Museum Our city center is also enjoying a renaissance. Tis cocktail party to celebrate the founding weekend In the last six years, vacant commercial buildings is expected to attract 700 attendees.Te party have been turned into chic, affordable apartments will feature St. Louis food and beverage stations, and condominiums for post-college age and emptyre-enactors mingling with attendees, commissioned nester residents. As the city fills up again, businesses short performances featuring St. Louis history, and are migrating back into the core. One of our great a tent on the south lawn showcasing local musicians. indigenous brands, Bissinger’s, is renovating a Tickets go on sale in January via stl250.org. 220,000-square-foot building in the shadow of the new Stan Musial Bridge. Ikea and Whole Foods are opening Cakeway to the West locations in the city, and market-rate apartments are Feb.15-Dec. 31, 250 locations throughout being built in Grand Center. The renovated Central the bi-state region Library, the relocated St. Louis University Law School, Two-tier, 4-foot-tall fberglass birthday cakes will and the bustling Park Pacifc Building are bringing life mark 250 locations of importance in our region. Two into parts of downtown that were dead zones just a few hundred of the locations will be chosen by stl250, years ago. To put this growth into perspective, when and 50 will be selected through a public vote. Tey Slay frst took ofce in 2001, downtown had 150 vacant will be unveiled Feb. 14. A stl250 app developed buildings. Today there are fewer than 30. by Arch Grants recipient Candy Lab will share facts So what does Mayor Slay hope for in the next 250 about each location and allow “check-ins” for a years? “Well, I would love to still be here, but I am not sweepstakes featuring St. Louis-themed prizes. counting on it,” he says. “With our focus on growing our college-educated population, our universities, biotech and life sciences, healthcare, logistics, fnancial services and start-up business, St. Louis is raising its level of importance on the national level. We are no longer a fy-over city. More people are coming here and establishing roots. We have a lot of work to do, but we are on the right track, and it’s an exciting time to be a St. Louisan.” sl

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PADDLE PRIORITIES Written by Veronica Teodoro Photography by Carmen Troesser

On Tuesday nights the men’s league is in full swing at St. Louis Country Club.

In the middle of a St. Louis winter, when the temperature dips and most people take their workouts indoors, platform tennis players bundle up and head outside. Te colder the weather, the more they’re itching to get out and play. “Te perfect weather is 20 degrees and overcast,” says Barb Berger, an assistant tennis pro at St. Louis Country Club who was a regionally and nationally ranked platform tennis player. “Look at the sun,” she says, pointing through the window inside the club’s warming hut. “Right now it’s a little bright, if you ask me.” Platform season runs from mid-October through mid-March. It is in full swing on a Tuesday night at St. Louis Country Club, with spongy rubber balls ricocheting of the screens and players sprinting from the net to the baseline and back in pursuit, calling “Help me!” “I go!” “I got it!” “I’m here!” Inside the warming hut, the noise level is a bit lower and the fraternity among the players is palpable. Many have been playing together for years, and they are like one big family. “I was dying out there,” says one player as he takes a seat on the bench after a three-setter. “You were lumpy on the second set,” replies his partner. Tuesday nights belong to men’s “paddle,” as the sport is often called, and Wednesday at the Club is ladies night. “Most of us played college tennis,” says Margaret Condie, a

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mother of four who played college tennis at Duke. “But it’s the camaraderie that keeps us coming back.” Mary Ann Srenco, a former Division 1 tennis player at Brown, started playing platform 13 years ago. A friend introduced her to the sport and she’s loved it ever since. “It was a little bit of a relief from tennis,” she says. “I don’t have to be as competitive as I used to be. If I play well, then that’s great. If not, so be it. I just love being with my paddle friends.” Platform players are passionate about their sport, but in St. Louis the sport is limited, in part, because courts are available only at St. Louis Country Club, Racquet Club Ladue, and Bellerive Country Club. The women’s advanced league is comprised of 12 members and takes up two courts on Wednesday nights. Te men’s league has more depth. Based on a ladder system, it consists of 92 players and is played on 22 courts, at diferent times, at the three clubs. Bob Curtis, a top player and one of the league’s four organizers, keeps weekly track of who moves up or down on the ladder. Being good enough to play on one of the four courts at St. Louis Country Club means you’ve made it to the top of the food chain, and players work hard to stay there. Over the years, paddle tennis enthusiasts have tried to bring public courts to parks to open the sport to more people. “But

Platform tennis players take their sport seriously, but before and after game time there’s plenty of opportunity to catch up with friends.

it’s been difcult to get the city parks to give up green space,” Curtis says. Late last year, in a move to make the sport more widely available, Creve Coeur Racquet Club received Creve Coeur City Council approval to build two paddle courts, and players will have the option to become members of the platform courts for an annual fee. Te new courts are underwritten in part by a grant from the American Platform Tennis Association as part of its “Grow the Game” initiative. “We think this will be the start of growing the sport in St. Louis,” says Rick Randall, one of the league’s organizers. Although the leagues offer the only competitive platform tennis in St. Louis, they aren’t the only way to enjoy the sport. Paddle parties, where club members reserve the courts and the warming hut for an evening, are popular social events throughout the winter months. And, just like with tennis, club members can sign up for paddle clinics and lessons. While platform tennis has its roots in tennis, there are key differences. It is played on a gritty aluminum deck, for one. Natural gas, kerosene, or propane heaters are used under the courts to melt snow or ice so that play can continue despite bad weather. From afar, the courts look like tennis courts but they are one-fourth the size. Playing the screens, a 12-foot high

superstructure with taut 16-gauge chicken wire fencing, is a strategy that’s critical to winning points. “Te idea is to gently place the ball into the corners of the screens,” Randall says. “Te sport is a great equalizer. It isn’t about hitting the ball hard: it’s more about patience and strategy.” Players get one serve, unlike in tennis, and utilize a serve-andvolley style of play to win points at the net. It’s easy to see how players work up a sweat and shed layers of clothing as they play. Te rallies are long, and a typical point can last 40 to 50 hits. Back on the courts, on a Wednesday night, there’s no shortage of strategy in play. “Tat was a tennis shot,” comments Cathy Newbold, referring to her opponent’s extra slice spin shot at the net. “I have to do that,” replies Lindsey Smith, a tennis pro at St. Louis Country Club, “otherwise you’ll get to everything!” Each week, after 1½ hours on the courts, players convene at their favorite spots for a recap and some down time. Te women prefer Trufe’s in Ladue, where they’ve been getting together for years. And the men? As a visitor prepares to leave the grounds, a player calls out from the court: “See you at Lester’s!” sl Interested in learning more about platform tennis? Read more about it at platformtennis.org. Want to see it live? Te St. Louis Platform Invitational will be held February 8-9 at St. Louis Country Club, Bellerive Country Club, and Racquet Club Ladue.

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Te Story Behind the Wine I believe the favor and taste of wine is paramount, but after that a wine can be raised by the story behind it. I am not speaking about the whimsical animal labels or unrelated stories that some producers manufacture to market their wines, but instead the producers and places that make the wines what they are. I remember the very first book I bought on wine. It was Victor Hazan’s classic Italian Wine published in 1982. I didn’t know much about wine at that point, but I quickly became fascinated. Hazan’s book brought life to the liquid. Before reading Italian Wine, I was pouring wine into the glasses of the diners at the Italian restaurant I was working in without knowing the story behind the wine. Te book overfowed with more than the taste, it spoke of the style, favor, history, culture, geography, language, production methods, grapes, food pairings and more. I did not feel overwhelmed by this book like many of the later wine encyclopedias I would purchase. I read it cover to cover and was quickly able to tell guests a bit about the esoteric selections on the all-Italian wine list. Tis book and the passionate gentlemen I worked for were able to put color to the difcult Italian names I was seeing on the labels. I know now that it was these stories, and the ones I would learn from others and by traveling to the wine regions, that made it so interesting that it became easier to learn and hence talk about wine. Here are a few wines that possess a unique story: Vernaccia di San Gimignano Te wine comes from the village of San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy, which is noted for its many medieval tower houses. A family’s wealth was demonstrated by the height of their home’s tower, many of which still stand today. Vernaccia di San Gimignano was Italy’s frst wine to achieve the top classifcation of DOCG ("Controlled designation of origin"). Michelangelo was an early aficionado of the wine and is quoted saying that Vernaccia di San Gimignano “kisses, licks, bites and stings you.” Tis conjures a wide range of interpretations on what the master may have meant. Recommended producers: Fontaleoni, Teruzzi & Puthod, & Falchini Lacryma Christi Del Vesuvio Te name means “Tears of Christ” and is made red or white. Te story goes that when Lucifer was expelled from heaven, he took a piece with him and dropped it into the Bay of Naples on the coast of Campania. When Christ saw this, he cried, and where his tears dropped, the vines of Vesuvio sprang up. The white

Written by Scott Harper, Master Sommelier wine comes from a blend of indigenous white grapes: Coda di Volpe, Verdeca, Falanghina and Greco. Te red wines are made from a blend of indigenous red grapes: Piedirosso and Aglianico. Recommended producers: Mastroberardino, Terredora di Paolo & Feudi di San Gregorio Châteauneuf-du-Pape In 1308 when Pope Clement V, former Archbishop of Bordeaux, relocated the papacy to the city of Avignon in the Southern Rhone of France, he took up his summer residence in an area 20 kilometers north of Avignon in what is now called Châteauneufdu-Pape. Wine from the region was kept in regular supply at the papal residence and hence came to be known as Vin du Pape. John XXII, who succeeded Clement V, erected the famous castle that serves as a symbol for the appellation. Still standing today in ruin, it is known as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which roughly translates to “the Pope’s new castle.” Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine is made in both white and red versions; the red wines are made with a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre, and the white with Grenache, Blanc Clairette, Roussane, Bourboulenc and Picpoul. Recommended producers: Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Le Vieux Donjon & Château de Beaucastel Amarone Grapes are harvested ripe and then dried for around three months in special lofts called fruttai; these lofts have been modernized and are equipped with ventilators and de-humidifers to discourage mold and other issues when drying the grapes. During the drying period, which is from roughly October to February, the grapes lose 35 percent to 40 percent of their original weight, which concentrates the sugar, and extracts and decreases the amount of water in the wine. Te resulting grapes ferment to dryness and achieve alcohol levels of 14 percent to 16 percent. Tis process, called passito, adds to the expense but also contributes a unique taste impression or illusion of sweetness, because of the big concentration of alcohol and glycerin. Amarone is made in the region of Veneto in Italy from a blend of grapes, with the most important being Corvina. Recommended producers: Masi, Farina & Luigi Righetti sl

A Certifed Wine Educator, Scott is one of 135 professionals in North America and 211 worldwide who have earned the title Master Sommelier.

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Curating a Lifestyle: Finding the Art in Everyday

Written by Amelia and Jef Jefers

Left, a life-sized 19th century saddle-maker’s model is wonderfully folksy, yet exudes a stylish sophistication - and, of course, was an uncommon but appropriate accessory in a large Texas home. It sold at auction for $8,813. Right, game wheels are a favorite of many folk art collectors who love color, form and whimsy. Prices for the examples shown here ranged from several hundred to a few thousand dollars each. Te Imperial Res’t Home Cooking lit exterior sign was a popular auction item and fetched $3,643.

When a successful Texas gentleman began decorating his 10,000-square-foot home several years ago, he could have looked to top interior designers for inspiration. Instead, in search of a unique and engaging aesthetic, he sought advice from a select few of America’s top antique and folk art dealers. Over a fve year period, he made purchases for his home based on color, form and whimsy, resulting in a collection that popped against the new architecture, spoke to his humble roots and sang to his guests most of whom had never seen such an assemblage before. In January of 2013, the collection of this Texas gentleman came to auction at Garth’s - to the delight and enthusiasm of folk art buyers all over the country. Bidding was fervent - with some items selling well above the high-retail prices he had paid. Folk art collectors rejoiced, and whispers were heard throughout shows in New York City just a week later, “Is the market back?” Born in the 1930s under the tutelage of art world visionary and patron Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the “folk art market” has experienced as many highs and lows as any other economic sector. Te peak is considered to have hit around 2006, when examples like a copper weathervane in the form of an American Indian chief sold for $5.8 million at auction. Despite the astronomical prices of that period, as a segment of the art and antiques market, folk art has often struggled for respect - with many a discussion surrounding exactly how to defne the category.

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In its infancy, the folk art market refected artwork created by unknown, itinerant and accidental artists of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Primarily (although not exclusively), folk art is an American phenomenon, speaking to the developing landscape of our earliest days as a country. Schoolteachers found extra income by painting portraits for students’ families; artists traveling westward for the promise of prosperity exchanged artworks for room and board; young girls whose family could aford the luxury of a day school produced intricate needleworks portraying family life. As it has grown, however, the folk art market has gobbled up categories like painted furniture and utilitarian objects that have been enhanced with whimsical decoration. Today, a folk art auction or show may contain objects from any of the past 300 years of American material culture; items are usually included as much because of the feeling the object inspires as the intention with which it was made. With style makers touting a rustic, reclaimed aesthetic, look for more focus on this nebulous and intriguing market. In the meantime, get comfortable with thinking outside the box and start looking for the art in your everyday. sl Amelia and Jef Jefers are the co-owners of Garth's Auctioneers & Appraisers, an international frm located outside Columbus, Ohio.

Most experts in the field today would agree that the “folk art market” was born from the intuitive eye of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. Her combination of fnancial means, formidable connections in the corporate world, hard work and a passion for art in all forms provided gifts to our cultural heritage that are invaluable today, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Colonial Williamsburg, where the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum resides. Abby’s interest in art was as wide and deep as one can imagine - from Picasso and Monet to unidentifed artists of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries whose works had gone largely unappreciated before. It was Abby’s ability to independently define what “art” meant for her (and finding it in everyday objects) that has inspired several generations of collectors, including our Texas gentleman.

An interior scene from the home of a Texas gentleman whose folk art collection sold at auction earlier this year. Te game boards (mostly 19th century), barber pole and other items were just a small portion of the nearly $1M in material with which he parted. Te painted stepback cupboard in the foreground sold for $6,025.

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Up from the Ashes As tourism grows in El Salvador, there are numerous options for adventurous travelers to add to their bucket lists Written and photographed by Bridget Williams

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Cerro Verde National Park. Photo by Jason Z. Guest.

With a land area roughly the size of Massachusetts, El Salvador is the smallest but the most densely populated country in Central America. Situated along the Pacifc Ring of Fire, the country boasts more than 300 rivers, two parallel mountain ranges, 20-plus volcanoes (only two of which have been active in recent years) and several volcanic crater lakes. In spite of its diverse terrain and a settlement history that spans to the preColumbian era, what often springs to mind is El Salvador’s violent civil war that spanned from 1979-1992 and took more than 75,000 lives. As a native Kentuckian, a Commonwealth that is certainly no stranger to stereotyping, my interest was certainly piqued when I received an email from Salvadorean Tours extolling the attributes

of this tiny country along with an invitation to join a small group of journalists from around the country on a guided fve-day visit. I can count the number of Spanish words I know on one hand, so I was on edge when we arrived at Comalapa International Airport – the country’s only airport serving international flights – located about 25 miles outside San Salvador. Te sinking feeling increased in the customs line, when no one, with the exception of my daughter and me, seemed to be speaking in English. You could imagine my immense relief when just past the customs desk I spied a friendly young man holding a sign with my name on it. Te conversation in our taxi to the Hotel Mirador Plaza was comprised of a combination of his fractured English and my daughter's rudimentary Spanish.

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Located in one of the wealthiest areas of San Salvador near World Trade Center San Salvador (complete with a Ruth Chris Steakhouse and a Bennigans), our hotel was basic but immaculately clean, with rooms overlooking a garden and outdoor pool. After breakfast, we made the acquaintance of Eduardo with Salvadorean Tours, who served as our guide throughout the duration of our visit. Te subsequent walking and driving tour of the capital revealed a country of contradictions. Shiny high-rise office towers cast their shadows on bustling streets packed with makeshift vendors where commerce was of the more basic variety. Seniors citizens conversed on benches and children

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frolicked under the mature trees of Cuscatlán Park, an urban oasis with a more somber side: a 300-foot-long, 10-foot-tall granite Monument to Memory and Truth that is inscribed with the names of 30,000 deceased and disappeared victims of the civil war. Eduardo was almost giddy with excitement when he led our group to Freedom Park, a leafy square in the heart of San Salvador bordered by a pair of ornate buildings constructed in the early 1900s. Pointing to what appeared to be a dilapidated concrete building on the edge of the plaza, he hustled us past “working girls,” roaming vendors and uniformed school children for the frst of the trip’s many “wow” moments.

Lake Coatepeque. Photo by Jason Z. Guest.

Leaving the noise of the city behind and passing through the darkened knave of Iglésia El Rosario, we emerged into a rainbow created by a soaring stepped ceiling inset with stained glass panels. The crudeness of the fabrication, including religious efgies and an abstract stations of the cross rendered of scrap metal, made the austere impact of the space that much more powerful. Later that evening we headed to the Las Terrazas Multiplaza, a Western-style shopping mall and entertainment complex to have dinner at Mai Tai with local restaurateur Jaime Castro. While we indulged in exotic cocktails and sushi, Castro, an Australian native who lived on nearly every continent before putting down

permanent roots in El Salvador, implored us to let our readers know that “our children don’t ride donkeys to school,” and added “I represent the positive side of economic growth in El Salvador.” In the subsequent days our itinerary was packed, and in four days we flew through many weeks’ worth of offerings provided by Salvadorean Tours EcoExperiencias division. Te company is committed to being on the forefront of making conservation a part of the country’s burgeoning tourism program. “Five years ago locals would collect sea turtle eggs and sell them for $5 a dozen. We want to use responsible tourism to get families out of poverty,” explained Rodrigo Moreno, owner of Salvadorean Tours.

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Left to right top to bottom - La Casa de Mamapan in Ahuachapan. Colorful murals decorate nearly all of the buildings in the town of Ataco. Sunset at LaCocotera Eco Resort. Pupusas being made at Pupseria Olguita in Ahuachapan. Iglésia El Rosario in San Salvador. Mojarra Rellena de Camaroncillos (local lake fsh stufed with shrimp) at Rancho Alegre on Lake Coatepeque.

We did not have to travel far from the city center to enjoy breathtaking scenery. El Boquerón National Park is located within and around the crater of the El Boquerón volcano (dormant since 1917) and is a popular weekend destination for residents of San Salvador. Wild calla lilies and beautiful flora dotted the more than three miles of trails with lookout points that ring the crater. As we were exiting the trail, Eduardo stopped to purchase cups of atol, a sweet hot drink with the consistency of drywall paste that is made from corn, milk, sugar and cinnamon that was being sold by a local family through a hole in the chain link fence that protected the park’s periphery. A billboard warning to take protections against Dengue Fever on the bumpy road that led to Lake Coatepeque had us double checking our supply of bug spray, but those worries were soon forgotten when we arrived for lunch at Rancho Alegre, located on a multi-level pier on a crater lake. Te scene was a bustling one, with live music, jet skis pulling inner tubes laden with giggling children and primitive looking boats trolling by offering tours. Our lunch – Mojarra Rellena de Camaroncillos (local lake fish stufed with shrimp) – was delicious and an absolute bargain at $9.50 (the US dollar is the ofcial currency of El Salvador). 40 slmag.net

Our après lunch nature hike at Cerro Verde National Park, nestled among three volcanoes, was led by a required local guide – ours, at the ripe old age of 13, had served in the role for more than six years. By evening we were in the city of Ahuachapán near the Guatemalan border. Distinguished by colorful and whimsical murals on its exterior, Mama Pan, our guesthouse in the historic district, was by no means luxurious, but charming nonetheless with tiled foors, open air courtyards and friendly owners who displayed a tremendous pride of place. The culinary highlight of this stop came courtesy of Pupuseria Olguita, a tiny hole-in-the-wall joint that was standing room only. Sold by vendors on street corners everywhere, a pupusa is a traditional hand pie comprised of fillings that include cheese, meat and refried beans that are cooked inside a circle of maize four dough. We were invited into the kitchen for a pupusa primer and to try our hand at the process, which looks easier than it actually is. Te daily pupusa oferings (a mere 75 cents each!) are listed on a dry erase board hanging on the door to the kitchen. Each is served piping hot and best enjoyed with a side of curdito (a tangy cabbage slaw)

Left to right top to bottom - Workers at the El Carmen estate cofee plantation. Coastline at La Libertad. Te pre-Columbian settlement of San Andres. Live music is an integral part of the experience at Rancho Alegre on Lake Coatepeque. Te road to LaCocotera Eco Resort passes through several remote villages. A vendor in San Salvador.

and salsa. To this day my daughter and I still rave about the simple goodness of this memorable meal and lament the fact that we have never come across anything remotely close to it in our corner of the world. Those among our group who could not imagine life without cofee requested a visit to El Carmen cofee mill, part of an expansive estate, and left with a greater appreciation of what goes into our morning cup of Joe. Workers earn less than $7/day using wooden implements to move vast piles of cofee beans for drying, a task few among us could handle for more than a few moments! After our tour, a tasting of Ataco Gourmet Cofee prepared with a traditional chorreador dripper gave us enough of a jolt to fuel our ambitious schedule of activities for the day. In the nearby town of Ataco, defined by cobblestone streets lined with long buildings adorned with colorful murals, we stopped by the Portland Grill & Bar, a local hotspot operated by an Oregon native whose wife is an El Salvadoran. Located in one of five small towns that comprise the famed Ruta de las Flores (Route of the Flowers), we stopped at several spots to peruse purveyors of local arts and crafts.

Founded In the mid-1500s, the central plaza in the quaint town of Juayúa – noted for its weekend food festivals - faces a gleaming white cathedral that holds a black Christ statue carved in the late 16th century. Nearby is a popular hike to a waterfall spilling from the top of a dormant crater. Driving to our next destination, Eduardo had the driver come to a screeching halt so we could observe a pair of young men who earn a living transporting frewood to the bottom of the mountain at blistering speeds via a makeshift sled – a harrowing proposition on the windy roads. Throughout the journey, we bounced from past to present, with stops at the archaeological site of Joya de Cerén, preserved by a volcanic eruption around AD 590 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993, and the preColumbian settlement of San Andres, distinguished by an Acropolis with pyramids and other ceremonial structures. An absolutely surprising gem awaited us at the terminus of a long and bumpy road that wound through several small communities before stopping at a wide beach with sand fecked with black volcanic ash. With no hotel in sight, we were taken on a short beach stroll to LaCocotera Eco Resort, a sixslmag.net

Walkway leading to the beachfront rooms at LaCocotera Eco Resort. Photo by Jason Z. Guest.

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A newly released sea turtle makes his way to the ocean at LaCocotera Eco Resort.

room boutique hotel spread out in three two-story thatched roof buildings. Despite its apparent remoteness, there was no shortage of creature comforts. The hub of the all-inclusive resort, nestled between the Pacifc Ocean and a peaceful estuary, is a freeform swimming pool with a pair of coconut palm tree islands and a voluminous thatched roof rancho where daily meals are served. After the frenetic pace of the previous days, we ordered a cocktail and headed straight to one of the welcoming chaise lounges around the pool. Our fnal day was spent kayaking in the estuary, walking the nearly deserted beach (the ocean water temperature is between 78-86 degrees Fahrenheit year round), snorkeling in the waters of the Los Cóbanos Natural Protected Area, and learning about La Cocotera’s sea turtle conservation program. Of the eight species of sea turtles known worldwide, four have been found to nest on the Salvadoran coast: the leatherback, the hawksbill, the green sea and the Olive Ridley, which lay their eggs on the beach just steps away from La Cocotera. A pair of climate-controlled tanks near the estuary on the resort’s property is home to turtle hatchlings for a maximum of three months before they are released into the Pacifc. From October through

Te swimming pool at LaCocotera Eco Resort.

January, property guests can assist the tiny turtles on their epic journey by choosing one to release. On the morning of our departure, my daughter and I carefully eyed the miniature specimens furiously swimming in their temporary home, each selecting one and becoming instantly enamored by the way their strong back flippers grasped our thumbs as we gingerly held them by their middle on the walk from the estuary to the ocean. Stopping a dozen yards from the waves, we said goodbye to our charges and wished them luck before placing them on the warm sand. Without hesitation, they set off towards the water, taking breaks here and there before enough water came between their undersides and the sand to carry them with the tide. Knowing that the odds are defnitely not in their favor, it was a bittersweet moment, but the cherry on top of a trip that far exceeded our expectations. Seeing our reactions, Eduardo appropriately remarked, “Don’t you think it’s time for people to revise their bucket lists?” For more information on guided tours of El Salvador, visit salvadoreantours.com. For reservations or information about La Cocotera Eco Resort, visit lacocoteraresort.com. sl slmag.net

Bibliotaph In his second book, photographer Tim Flach presents striking portraits that pay tribute and give equal billing to breeds ranging from rescue dogs of unknown pedigree to Westminster champions. Lewis Blackwell (author), Tim Flach (photographer) - Dogs - Hardcover, 216 pages, Abrams Books (abramsbooks.com).

Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of love from an old dog will appreciate this collection of profles and photographs of canines in their golden years. Gene Weingarten (Author), Michael S. Williamson (Photographer) - Old Dogs: Are the Best Dogs Hardcover,160 pages, Simon & Schuster (simonandschuster.com). Utilizing feature articles, fction, humor, poems, cartoons, cover art, drafts, and drawings from the magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s archives, the New Yorker provides a defnitive compendium on man's best friend. Malcolm Gladwell (Foreword) and Contributors Susan Orlean, John Updike and James Turber - Te Big New Yorker Book of Dogs Hardcover, 416 pages, Random House (randomhouse.com). Americans spend close to $60 billion annually on their pets. Dog devotees in particular know no limits to their afections as this exploration of fancy doggie accoutrements - including toys, leads, dishes, kennels, carriers, clothing and baskets - attests. Manuela von Perfall - Luxury for Dogs - Hardcover, 220 pages, teNeues (teneues.com).

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bib 'li' o 'taph, [bib-lee-uhtaf, -tahf ]: a person who caches or hoards books A lighthearted collection of witty poems written from the perspective of man's best friend. R.D. Rosen, Harry Pritchett & Rob Battles - Trow the Damn Ball: Classic Poetry by Dogs Hardcover, 128 pages (us. penguingroup.com).

Known for candid black and white photography that captures the absurd in the everyday, this oversized tome is solely dedicated to Elliott Erwitt's distinctive dog photographs. Elliott Erwitt Dogs - Hardcover, 144 pages, teNeues (teneues.com) Photo ÂŠ 2008 Elliott Erwitt/Magnum. Ever wonder what's going on in the mind of your fourlegged friend? Comedic artist Christopher Rozzi provides his take in a collection of funny and endearing portraits with captions including "I forgot where I buried that thing that you loved." Christopher Rozzi - Tiny Confessions: Te Secret Toughts of Dogs, Cats and Everything - Hardcover, 96 pages, Perigee Trade, (us. penguingroup.com).

In this heartwarming gift book, author Rebecca Ascher-Walsh presents a collection of inspiring dog stories and touching photos from dogs who comfort veterans to dogs who learn to surf. Te common thread among their varied tales is that each one is devoted. Rebecca Ascher-Walsh - Devoted: 38 Extraordinary Tales of Love, Loyalty and Life with Dogs - Hardcover, 160 pages, National Geographic (randomhouse.com).

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Experiencing the “Audibahn” Audi’s European delivery program allows customers to put German engineering through its paces Written by Austin Pembroke My wife and I knew we were in for a driving treat when a Skoda Octavia taxi wagon we were riding in pushed 200KM en route from the Munich airport to the Mandarin Oriental, causing the landscape under cloudy skies to pass by in a whirl of muddled greens and grays. Communicating in broken English, our driver gave us a primer on the ins and outs of the Autobahn, GermanyÕs most celebrated stretch of asphalt, which we would be exploring behind the wheel of our new Audi S6 in just a few days. Reluctant as we were to leave Munich, whose hidden treasures we were just beginning to uncover, we were anxious to meet our new Audi, which weÕd ÒbuiltÓ online just a few months prior. Since the S6 is equipped with a twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI eight-cylinder engine delivering 420 hp and the potential to propel riders from zero to 60 mph in a mere 4.5 seconds, we opted to participate in the European delivery program, which would allow us a few days to (legally) put the car through its paces in an ÒeverydayÓ driving environment. Working with our dealer, the whole process was meticulously arranged, beginning with a very punctual driver who met us at the hotel for the short drive to the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt (Germans, as we quickly learned, are very keen on being on time, all the time!). 46 slmag.net

Audi Forum Ingolstadt

Audi S6

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A new Audi drives of the assembly line in Ingolstadt every 30 seconds. Te sprawling campus in the heart of Bavaria employs more than 35,386 people and is home to the company’s largest production facility, Audi Group headquarters, Audi Forum and the Technical Development division of AUDI AG. Opened in 2000, nearly a half-million Audi enthusiasts converge upon the Audi Forum annually, and the site handles in excess of 120,000 customers taking delivery of their new Audis every year. As part of the European delivery program, upon arrival our luggage was placed in secure storage for placement in our car at the predetermined delivery time, and we were given VIP wristbands for access to the Audi museum, factory store, shop and all cooking stations, including the Market Restaurant and the AVUS fne-dining restaurant, both of which have received multiple awards for quality, service and atmosphere. We kicked of our tour of the museum by settling in to watch the Audi Museum Mobile movie, projected on a 180-degree panorama screen some 90-feet in length and 12-feet tall that provided an exhilarating overview of the brand. The museum’s circular architecture physically conveys the theme of mobility, echoed in a timeline of exhibits chronicling signifcant milestones in Audi’s development alongside notable global historical markers. Following the self-guided museum tour we headed across the plaza for a scheduled guided tour of the factory, organized by our dealer as part of our European delivery experience. Encompassing a full two-hours, it was a very interesting (albeit long) insight into the manufacturing process and the symbiotic working relationship between man and machine. One of the more advanced body manufacturing facilities in the world, the Ingolstadt factory is home to A3, A4, A5 and Q5 production, and vehicles move efciently through the assembly process in pristine environs. Prior to our late afternoon delivery appointment, we enjoyed lunch at the Market Restaurant and shopping at the Audi brand shop (so much so that we missed our name as it came up on the television screens mounted around the facility indicating that we were on deck to enter the delivery floor!). As we were now very familiar with both the promptness and thoroughness of the Germans, we were mentally prepared for an extensive introduction to the myriad features of our new S6. While I was quick to note the handsomeness of the Valcona leather and diamond stitching of sport seats embossed with the S6 logo, the Alcantara headliner, a pair of sculptural Bang & Olufsen tweeter lenses that arise from the dashboard near the front corners of the windshield and carbon fber detail on the console and doors, I was nearly driven to distraction thinking about the driving euphoria that was soon to be mine courtesy of the V8 under the bonnet.

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Audi S6

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I felt as though I needed to take notes as our car concierge explained the extensive amenities of our S6: award-winning Audi connect system with factoryftted in-vehicle Wi-Fi connectivity for passenger use; an Audi MMI Navigation plus system with GoogleEarth maps and MMI touch with handwriting recognition; adaptive cruise control with stop and go; power-adjustable, autodimming, heated side mirrors with memory; BLUETOOTH streaming audio and mobile phone technology; Head-up display; voice control system; top and corner view cameras; Night Vision Assistant with pedestrian detection and warning; Audi side assist; and full LED lighting technology. All in all, the S6 makes 2,000 decisions per second to assist the driver, leaving my wife to wonder out loud if the car could actually drive itself! Orientation complete, paperwork signed and keys in hand, we exited the delivery showroom, activated the navigation system and set out for our next destination – another motoring mecca – Stuttgart. After meandering through the scenic countryside, I merged onto the A8. More than half of the total length of the German autobahn network has no speed limit, so I anxiously awaited the appearance of the trafc sign that indicated the end of all speed restrictions (although the sudden acceleration of those alongside us was a pretty good indication as well). Te 4.0T twin-turbo V8 of the Audi S6 is mated to a seven-speed S tronic transmission. I was quick to note the grip of the Quattro permanent all-wheel drive system that is further enhanced through the sport differential, which delivers superior cornering and agility through turns by directing power to the outside rear wheel during a turn. Proving that I had paid attention during our orientation, I adjusted the settings from Auto to Dynamic, which made subtle but noticeable alternations of the throttle response, shift points, electromechanical steering and adaptive air suspension. Traveling in excess of 100mph (the electronically limited speed function certainly came into play), the S6 demonstrated an efortless response when putting the pedal to the metal. Within the supremely appointed cabin, the driving experience was smooth and stable; the combination of technology and safety innovations results in a car that is balanced, hugs the road and provides heart-pumping acceleration, all without compromising driver or passenger comfort. Over the course of our week, we were able to experience the capabilities of the S6 in a variety of driving conditions. When it was time to return home, the process for returning the car to Audi for shipment to the US was exceedingly easy: as simple as meeting an Audi representative at the airport, signing a few more papers and handing over one of our two sets of keys. Ninety days later, we were reunited with our old friend. A fnal caveat should you fnd yourself behind the wheel of this performance powerhouse attired in the car equivalent of a little black dress: expressways in the US have speed limits, and it’s easy to surpass them without even realizing it! sl

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Of Note... Spoken For 2

3 4

5 7

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1) Custom oval fngerprint bracelet ($150-220) by Jackie Kaufman. Available through CustomMade (custommade.com). 2) Mens slipper with custom monogram ($455) from Del Toro Shoes. Available in linen, suede or velvet (deltoroshoes.com). 3) Customized Mother's Necklace (approx. $4,075 as shown) from Heather B. Moore Jewelry (heathermoorejewelry.com). 4) Custom engraved lapis cufinks ($420-450) by John Sanger. Available through CustomMade (custommade.com). 5) Bespoke social stationery from Mrs. John L. Strong (price upon request; mrsstrong.com). 6) Monogrammed 18"x18" pillow ($50.75) from Designs by Southern Charm (designsbysoutherncharm.com). 7) Te Elisabetta handbag ($398) from Mark and Graham is made in Italy and features a middle zippered section, metal feet and a foil-embossed monogram (markandgraham.com). 8) Monogrammed small leather goods from Tumi ($50-$175, tumi.com). 9) A sweet surprise to warm the body and spirit - a personalized hot chocolate silver-plate spoon ($37) from Ticket Chocolate. Te vintage silver-plate spoon is stamped with your personal message (store.theticketkitchen.com). 10) Personalized 36"x53" Initial and Blocks blanket ($130 acrylic; $414 cashmere) from Butterscotch Blankies (butterscotchblankies.com). 11) Personalized 'Adam' arm chair (price upon request) by Mark Hampton for Hickory Chair (to the trade; hickorychair.com).

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BEYOND THE CANVAS American artist Christopher Wool

Since his emergence in the 1980s, Christopher Wool has forged an agile, highly focused practice that ranges across processes and mediums, paying special attention to the complexities of painting. Each new work is a site of restless experimentation in which Wool continually disrupts and renews the terms of his artistic production. Born in Chicago in 1955, Wool settled in New York City in the early 1970s, where the anarchic, interdisciplinary energy of the punk and No Wave scenes were a defning infuence on his creative development. In the subsequent decade, he set out to explore the possibilities of painting at a time when many considered the medium outmoded and irrelevant to avant-garde practice. For a group of 1987 pattern paintings, Wool used paint rollers incised with foral and geometric designs to transfer allover patterns in severe black enamel to a white ground. Collapsing any distinction between the physical process of making the painting and its visual content, these everyday tools provided the artist with a repertoire of readymade imagery that avoided both spontaneous gesture and self-conscious compositional decisions. Instead, the works focus attention on the small failures that occur within this mechanized framework, allowing breakdowns and slippages in the patterns to accrue a delicate emotional resonance. During this same period, Wool initiated a body of work that similarly subverted a set of existing forms, this time taking language 54 slmag.net

as his appropriated subject matter. Rendering a word or phrase in bold, blocky stencils arrayed across a geometric grid, he preserved the specifc form and order of the language but freely stripped out punctuation, disrupted conventional spacing, and removed letters. Te resulting works oscillate between verbal communication and pure formalism; their structural dissonance refecting the state of anxiety and agitation conjured by the texts themselves. From the early 1990s through the present, the silkscreen has been a primary tool in Wool’s practice. In the earliest examples of his screen-printed paintings, Wool expanded on the vocabulary of his pattern works, isolating their stylized foral motifs to use as near-abstract units of composition. A number of works created in 1995 evidence Wool’s introduction of a new, wholly freehand gesture in the form of a looping line applied with a spray gun—an irreverent interruption of the imagery below that evokes an act of vandalism on a city street. Wool’s attraction to the bleak poetics of the urban margins was amplified in his first major photography series, Absent Without Leave (1993), comprised of images taken during a period of largely solitary foreign travels in Europe and elsewhere. Saturated with alienation and shot without any concern for technical refnement, the raw contingency of these vignettes was intensifed when Wool transformed them into black-and-white

Left to right, all by Christopher Wool: East Broadway Breakdown, 1994–95/2002, 160 inkjet prints, 21.6 x 27.9 cm each, edition of 3, © Christopher Wool; Trouble, 1989, Enamel and acrylic on aluminum, 182.9 x 121.9 cm; © Christopher Wool; Minor Mishap, 2001, Silkscreen ink on linen, 274.3 x 182.9 cm, © Christopher Wool; Untitled, 2000, Enamel on aluminum, 274.3 x 182.9 cm, © Christopher Wool; Untitled, 2001, Silkscreen ink on linen, 228.6 x 152.4 cm, © Christopher Wool

photocopies. Te same mood of disafection pervades a parallel body of photographic work titled East Broadway Breakdown (1994–95/2002), but in this series Wool focused on a more familiar journey— his nightly walk home from his East Village studio. Highlighting the city’s unadorned, off-hours existence, the images depict a nocturnal landscape emptied of citizens and stripped down to a skeleton of streetlamps, chain-link fences, blemished sidewalks, and parked cars. A critical conceptual shift occurred in Wool’s practice in the late 1990s when he began to purloin his previous creative output as material for new, autonomous works. He would take an image of a fnished picture, transpose it to a silkscreen, and then reassign it wholesale to a fresh canvas. In works such as He Said She Said (2001), the original image is left untouched after these acts of self-appropriation, although uncannily transformed by the process of mechanical reproduction. At other times, Wool manually reworked his silkscreened doubles, adding new rollered paint (Untitled, 2001) or sprayed enamel (Last Year Halloween Fell on a Weekend, 2004) to create disorienting hybrids that entwine recycled and original gestures. Over the past decade, Wool’s simultaneous embrace and repression of painting’s expressive potential have culminated in an open-ended body of work he calls his “gray paintings.” In these

large-scale abstractions, Wool alternated the act of erasing with the act of drawing, repeatedly wiping away sprayed black enamel paint with a rag to create layers of tangled lines and hazy washes. Te artist describes the cycle of composition and loss inherent to this process as an attempt to harness the condition of doubt as a generative creative force. Te same challenge to the authority of the unique, original gesture is extended in a group of 2011– 12 canvases in which Wool used digital processing to distort the scale, color, and resolution of his painted marks, often merging them with details from other paintings. A single work might synthesize the traces of multiple past moments of creation, with images returning in new guises to be considered afresh within Wool’s evolving pictorial investigations. Te most expansive retrospective of the artist’s work to date - 90 paintings, photographs and works on paper from the mid1980s through the present - are on view through January 22nd in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda and adjacent gallery at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Accompanying the exhibition is richly illustrated catalogue with a cover specially designed by the artist, a critical overview of the artist’s career by exhibition curator Katherine Brinson, and the most authoritative exhibition history and bibliography of Wool’s career yet compiled (Guggenheim.org). sl slmag.net

Barney’s and a Bon Viveur Exclusive Resorts treats its members to an afer-hours shopping extravaganza with Barney’s Creative Director Simon Doonan Written by Bridget Williams

When I was younger, I had a recurring dream about being locked in a department store alone after hours, and I would while away the time by gleefully jumping from bed to bed in the mattress department, only intermittently interrupted by the flashlight beam of the night watchman. Recently, a grownup version of this dream came to fruition when Sophisticated Living was invited to a private after-hours shopping event at Barney’s with Creative Director Simon Doonan for members of Exclusive Resorts (exclusiveresorts.com). We were privy to the full experience aforded to the 3,500 member of the world’s leading luxury destination club, starting with accommodation in a chic two-bedroom, two-and-onehalf bath handsomely appointed apartment at Park Avenue Place. Located on 55th between Park and Madison Avenues, the building is perfectly situated for serious shoppers and one of several apartments the company owns in the high rise (Exclusive Resorts also owns luxury suites for members’ use in the nearby Trump International Hotel & Tower). A cornerstone of the Exclusive Resorts experience is access to a dedicated Exclusive Ambassador who learns the members’ needs, preferences and priorities and uses that information to help them make the most of their Exclusive Resorts experience. The ambassadors work in tandem with a team of Exclusive Concierge, who are local, destination-based experts that are at members’ beck and call during a specific trip. The concierge creates individualized itineraries for each Club vacation so that all arrangements are in place before members even arrive. In New York, the concierge team works out of a suite in Park Avenue Place, making them closer than a phone call away! Concierge Jeffrey Behrens made our long weekend sojourn one of our smoothest visits to the Big Apple in recent memory, 56 slmag.net

even introducing us to a few hidden gems we would have never discovered on our own. The after-hours shopping event at Barney’s was part of the company’s expanding roster of Exclusive Events oferings. Other examples include behind-the-scenes and all-access passes to the Masters Tournament, Kentucky Derby and Milan Fashion Week to name a few, in addition to events created specifcally for members. Just prior to the store’s closing, an intimate group of nicelyturned-out ladies (and a few dapper gentlemen) assembled in the private dining room at Fred’s at Barney’s for cocktails and conversation. During a candlelit dinner, the affable Simon Doonan highlighted some of Barney’s more covetable pieces, from exclusive perfume lines to his own drool-inducing bag from Goyard, complete with a bold, hand-painted custom monogram. Clicking heels keeping time with spoons clinking against tall glasses flled with the simple goodness of vanilla bean ice cream topped with warm dark chocolate sauce that was served for dessert alerted us to the arrival of a team of personal shoppers that would be at our disposal for the remainder of the evening. After everyone was paired up with a shopping expert, Doonan extended air kisses and best wishes as our group giddily dispersed to embark on a shopping adventure: two-hours of crowd-free access to every inch of the legendary luxury retailer. Following a short dalliance in the frst foor handbag department, I noted the feeting time and made a beeline for the designer shoe salon on the fourth foor, where I proceeded to indulge in every shoe lover’s fantasy: trying on pair after pair to my heart’s content, creating multiple towers of boxes in the process. While I was not afforded the opportunity to jump on any beds, the handsome additions to my shoe collection certainly put a bit of spring in my step on the short walk back to the apartment at the end of the evening! sl

Zanna Roberts Rassi, Brittany Adams, Simon Doonan, Kathryn Floyd

Bedroom at Park Avenue Place.

Living room at Park Avenue Place.

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G L O B E T R O T T E R S

M I X E D M E D I A G R A P H I C C O N T E N T

Prints Charming

W E A R A B L E A R T WA T E R C O L O R S G A R D E N VA R I E T I E S Patterns were plentiful around the globe during the spring/summer 2014 runway shows.

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Ana Locking

Elena Rudenko

J. Mendel

Naeem Khan

G L O B E T R O T T E R S Photos by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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Custo Barcelona

Herve Leger By Max Azria

Mara Hofman

Tibi

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Francis Montesinos

M I X E D

Odeeh RTW

Burberry Prorsum

Tory Burch Photos by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

M E D I A Falguni & Shane Peacock

Diane Von Furstenberg

Nicole Miller

Noon By Noor

C O N T E N T

MoisĹ˝s Nieto

Juana Martin

Carlos Dias

Angel Schlesser

G R A P H I C Photos by Frazer Harrison & Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

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Tel Aviv Fashion Week Collection

Slavia Zaitsev Pret-A-porter De Luxe

Desigual

Jill Stuart

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W E A R A B L E

Eva Soto Conde

Andrea de la Roche

Ana Locking

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada Photos by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.

A R T ROB-ART by Katya Rozhdestvenskaya

Natalia Goncharova

Belarus Fashion Week Collective

Tatyana Parfonova

Photos by Fby Frazer Harrison, Fernanda Calfa & Joe Kohen/Getty Images.

Maya Hansen

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Simply Modern An art-loving couple fnds their dream home in a historic mid-century house Written by Veronica Teodoro Photography by Alise Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien 66 slmag.net

“Te original architects of the home used ordinary materials—stone, glass, brick— in imaginative ways,” says Chuck Schagrin of Amherst Corporation. Te silhouette of the house is comprised of masses stacked on top of each other. In the summer months, the roof’s overhang provides shade for the second foor, while the balcony shades the frst foor.

Sometimes some things are just meant to be. That’s what the current owners of a rare, International Style home in one of St. Louis’ most sought-after neighborhood’s say about their decision three years ago to purchase the house that was once owned by Morton D. May, the St. Louis philanthropist and former president, chairman, and CEO of May Department Stores. Te couple was in the process of building a home in another Clayton neighborhood when the listing for this one set them on an unexpected path.

“When we were discussing plans for the new house I told my husband I wanted a contemporary take on a mid-century modern, but he had no idea what I was talking about,” says the homeowner. “One day, while flipping through a local newspaper, I saw the ad for this house. ‘Tis is it! Tis is what I’m talking about,’” I said to my husband. “So I told him to go and look at it because if he didn’t like the style, we’d have to move in a diferent direction.” slmag.net

Steve Schuepfer, showroom manager at Centro Modern Furnishings, worked with the homeowners to update their furniture. “It’s such a specifc house that we’d rather have an empty room for a couple of years than something that isn’t right,” says the couple. B&B Italia’s Grande Papilio, in red, features a fuid design carved out of an upside down cone, and the company’s Bend-Sofa provides contrast stitching to underscore the idea of motion.

The couple admits it was hardly love at first sight. “We loved the freplace and I loved the cow statue outside but that was it,” she says. “There weren’t a whole lot of redeemable features at that point.” Te stone and painted brick home, which is partly obscured by a row of birch trees planted 10 ft. of-center, had been on the market for a year and being marketed as a possible tear down. When the couple first walked through it they laughed, and wondered who in their right mind would ever buy it. Months passed. Plans to build a home inched forward but there was chatter that the architectural drawings for the house might not meet with the review board’s approval. More telling, the house they had at frst dismissed had surprisingly seeped into their hearts. “‘I keep 68 slmag.net

thinking about that house,’ my husband said to me. So I said to him, ‘Go look at it again and get it out of your system. Because if you don’t like it that’s the end of it,’” she says. But it turned out to be just the beginning. Soon the couple decided to abandon plans to build. They sold the property and closed on the house in December 2011. “When we started researching the house and its amazing history and the incredible legacy of Morton May, it felt like it was meant to be,” says the couple, who are both from St. Louis. A mild winter enabled them to begin construction right away; and the swimming pool was removed. Most of the interior demolition had been undertaken by the previous owners and revealed the home’s sub floor and studs. Tere was no kitchen to speak of, or bathrooms, and a large

Te homeowners worked with Philip Slein Gallery to augment and enhance their existing art collection.

column stood in the center of the former kitchen area. A second, back staircase would need to be removed along with a warren of maid’s quarters on the second floor, which ultimately turned into a master bathroom and closet. Te couple hired Charles W. Schagrin, president of Amherst Corporation in St. Louis, as their architectural and landscape designer. He also designed the home’s rehab work to qualify for historic tax credits. “Te biggest challenge was eliminating interior walls. Tis is a very well built home. When I say there’s a ton of steel in it I’m not kidding,” he says. A large wet bar off the living room, reminiscent of the home’s 1950s roots, was taken out and a first-floor laundry room took its place. An oddly shaped closet space, also on the main foor, morphed into a perfectly designed mudroom for the

family of four. Te couple elected to install herringbone foors throughout the house with the exception of in the kitchen, where the Indiana Flagstone foor was maintained. “Some areas were missing stone,” says Schagrin. “Locating the right stone was a challenge,” he says. “Luckily, I have a great supplier at Midwest Ceramic Tile.” All the woodwork in the home is new, as is the geo-thermal heating and cooling systems. For a house so young, it’s certainly seen a lot of life. In comparison to many of the neighboring homes that are celebrating their centennial, this home was built in 1952 by Fischer and Campbell on the site of a garden adjacent to “Buster” May’s father’s former home. In 1956, St. Louis architect Frederick Dunn designed a three-room, first floor addition, slmag.net

Te owners wanted a specifc look for their kitchen cabinetry, and found it through Henry Built, a New York and Seattle supplier. Teir contractor, Chuck Schagrin, reviewed the cabinetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production run on-site before they were shipped.

Te present kitchen eating area is part of the Frederick Dunn addition, built in 1956.

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Te stone wall in the study is perfectly balanced by a stone wall in the living room, which sits directly opposite the study area.

which today incorporates the family’s airy, daylight-filled kitchen. Te home is a “study in masses,” says Schagrin, built in the International Style, a mid-century architectural look that never caught on in St. Louis the way it did in other parts of the country. Lucia P. May lived in the home from 1982-2001. She was married to the late “Buster” May during part of that time before his death in 1983. She remembers the home as a perfect place to gather for chamber music parties and concert receptions, both indoors and outdoors. “It was easy to live in, too, in that there were the casual lived-in rooms that remained private from the formal rooms that were always ready for meetings or rehearsals,” she says. May, who now resides in St. Paul, MN, with her family, remembers the home as a joyous place. “It was inconceivable to me that there was so little awareness of the historical importance of the house as we were trying to sell it,” says May, 53. “When I lived there I was accustomed to the criticisms. One neighbor said the house looked more like a boat than a house. An artist who was commissioned to make a drawing of it complained that the house was an “unwelcoming place” since she couldn’t fnd the entrance.” “Tere’s no crown molding or anything ornate in the house. It doesn’t need much,” say the owners. “We just like to showcase it as it is.” Te couple, like the late May, love art and appreciate the indoor wall spaces, which allow them to consider larger

canvases. The home’s neutral palette let’s them go wild with color and design. “I like a lot of artists who might have a more restrictive palette, but here you can pretty much do anything and it works,” says the owner. Philip Slein, of the Philip Slein Gallery in the Central West End, works with the couple to enhance their collection and deepen their understanding of art. “Tey came into the gallery four or fve years ago and I was struck by this relatively young couple who was looking at some pretty sophisticated paintings. I’d love to cultivate more of that in St. Louis,” he says. It’s fitting that young collectors would be attracted to the house, with its bursts of light, huge horizontal expanses, and the art storage racks installed in the carriage house during the years the Mays lived there. The house was meant to be a backdrop for her late husband’s collection, says May. “Buster loved Fauve and German Expressionist paintings and sculpture, sculptures by Gerhardt Marx and Ernst Barlach as well as Oceanic and PreColumbian art,” she says. Looking at the house today, it’s hard to believe that under diferent circumstances it might have been razed. “We like to put our own stamp on things,” say the homeowners, “and with this house we got what we wanted and made it work. It took a lot of vision, but we think the house turned out better than we had hoped.” sl slmag.net

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How can you tell a true St. Louisan? Answering the ubiquitous “where’d you go to school?” question with the name of a high school is a sure sign. Equally telling, although less frequently discussed, is an enthusiastic “yes” when offered a Bissinger’s molasses lolly. These milk chocolate-covered lollipops, chewy and sweet and richly favored, are the most historic confection made by a company whose history reaches beyond 1668, when King Louis XIV of France recognized the Bissinger family’s confectionary excellence. In 1927, Bissinger’s first St. Louis store opened on McPherson Avenue in the Central West End. “There are people still around who remember going to that store in the ’30s,” says Dave Owens, Bissinger’s chief chocolatier and vice president of taste. Today, Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier welcomes customers to a combination European confectionary and café on Maryland Plaza in the Central West End and to a shop in Plaza Frontenac. Far-flung customers can visit Bissingers.com or fnd selected products at specialty grocers, natural food stores, luxury department stores and airport gift shops across the country. Over the years, Bissinger’s chocolates have won fans from Hollywood— 74 slmag.net

Lauren Bacall was once a Bissinger’s spokesperson—to the world of big media: its chocolate St. Nick was named a “Favorite Ting” in O Magazine, Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, and Wine Spectator Magazine and Te Food Network have singled out the company as one of the nation’s top confectioners. Tis summer, the company plans to move production to a hundred-year-old warehouse at 1600 North Broadway, just north of downtown and just south of the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. “It’s a business that’s looking forward without losing its foothold in the past,” Owens says, crediting the company’s new leadership, including Tim Fogerty, who became CEO in March 2013. “Te team that’s in place now really appreciates the history and the quality.” With 220,000 square feet of foor space and 25-foot ceilings, the building is much larger than what the company set out to fnd, Fogerty says. “We’ve been in the city for 86 years, so it was important for us to continue to be in the City of St. Louis. To fnd the right size space and to stay in the city was hard.” Tat challenge led to opportunity, and Bissinger’s is transforming the top floor

Bissinger’s chocolates are handcrafted. Te molasses in the lollies, above, is hand-pulled using hooks.

of the warehouse into a top-fight event space, complete with an outdoor patio. Owens, who has spent most of his career running the kitchens of fne-dining restaurants, will oversee the food. “I really believe it’s going to be the most unique space, certainly in St. Louis, from here to Chicago,” he says. It will engage all the senses: Te room and patio will ofer a sweeping view of the new bridge, downtown, and the Arch–and the air will be scented with chocolate. Until he joined Bissinger’s, Owens’ chief experience with desserts was as the pastry chef at Cardwell’s in Clayton. “I saw it as a good opportunity, being able to work the sweet side,” he says. Owens came on board at Cardwell’s as a prep cook while still a culinary student. When owner Bill Cardwell opened Cardwell’s at the Plaza in Frontenac, Owens came along as a partner and executive chef. After 11 years at Plaza Frontenac, Owens left to open Terrene, a vegetarian-friendly, locally focused restaurant in the Central West End. His move six years ago from Terrene to Bissinger’s, along with his wife and fellow chef Margaret Kelly, took St. Louis foodies by surprise. (Kelly is now at Robust Wine Bar.)

When he started at Bissinger’s, Owens’ culinary chops outshone his knowledge of confectionary. “I had a slight understanding of the tempering of chocolate,” he says, referring to the heating and cooling process that keeps chocolate smooth and glossy when it’s melted and used as a coating. While his confectionary skills have grown by leaps and bounds, Owens continues to refine his knowledge, attending technical seminars every year. “I’ve got a network of people I can reach out to,” he says. Always looking to stay one step ahead of chocolate industry trends, Owens called in a consultant for a day to help refine the recipe for Bissinger’s caramel filling, which is used in milk chocolate bars flled with salted dulce de leche. Tat whisper of favor that cuts the sweetness and adds complexity? Cinnamon. At Bissinger’s Owens describes himself as the “go-to” for product development: “Is this right? Is it wrong? What’s the favor profle?” He works to modernize the line, developing those dulce de leche bars and figuring out how to coat puffed quinoa with agave syrup, which keeps the quinoa crisp when it’s added to dark chocolate and shaped into bars.

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Bissingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recipes are steeped in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history

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Dave Owens is Bissinger’s chief chocolatier and vice president of taste. “I think about the people who have come before,” he says, contemplating the company’s brand and its history.

“We’re a broad-line producer,” he says, ranging from traditional to trendy, from molded Easter bunnies to boxes of chocolates. Te company’s gummy pandas and chocolate-covered wine grapes have each won sofi (Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation) awards in 2008 and 2011, respectively. Te gummy pandas, which come in a variety of favors, are made with organic tapioca syrup and cane sugar, and favors include key ingredients such as acai fruit, green and white tea, and grape seed. Most of Bissinger’s chocolate confections are made by hand. Te molasses in the lollies, for example, is hand-pulled using hooks. Unlike many chocolate companies, Bissinger’s buys cacao beans, not chocolate, and oversees their transformation into chocolate. Chocolate’s flavor depends on several factors: the variety of beans, where they were grown, how long they were fermented, and how they were roasted. Owens tastes the unsweetened chocolate in liquid form, called chocolate liquor, before it is made into chocolate. All of Bissinger’s chocolates–

milk, 60 percent dark and 75 percent dark–are made from the same base chocolate liquor. “Tey taste congruent,” Owens says. Bissinger’s chocolate is made in Europe from Rain Forestcertifed cacao grown on the Ivory Coast, the source of 60 percent to 70 percent of the world’s chocolate. Bissinger’s joined forces with the Rain Forest Alliance Organization in 2010 to ensure the cocoa it buys is from sustainable and socially responsible farms. Currently, Bissinger’s is considering sourcing chocolate directly from Ecuadorian farmers. In 1900, the South American country was the largest producer of chocolate in the world, Owens says. “Te Ecuadorian government is focusing on growing good chocolate again.” As he works, Owens contemplates the Bissinger’s brand and its history. “I think about the people who have come before.” In addition to his other responsibilities–chocolatier, cacaobean sourcer, plant safety and quality control overseer–Owens is Bissinger’s brand ambassador, building on 350 years of tradition. It’s a sweet job. sl slmag.net

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January 1 3-4 10 12-19 13-26 15-19 15-19 16-17 23-26 24 25 25 25 26 30 30-31

Society

Indianapolis Auto Show, www.indyautoshow.com Garth’s Early American Furniture and Accessories Auction, www.garths.com Fif-TEA: 14th Biennial Teapot Exhibition Opening Reception, www.craftalliance.org Barret Jackson Collector Car Auction, www.barrett-jackson.com/scottsdale/ North American International Auto Show Detroit, www.naias.com London Art Fair, www.londonartfair.co.uk LA Art Fair, www.laartshow.com RM Auctions, Classic Car Auctions Arizona, www.rmauctions.com St. Louis Auto Show, www.saintlouisautoshow.com Garth’s American & European Paintings Auction, www.garths.com Garth’s Continental & American Fine & Decorative Objects Auction, www.garths.com Dancing with the St. Louis Stars to beneft Independence Center, www.dancingwiththestlouisstars.org The 4th Annual Joshua Chamberlain Society - Price of Freedom Gala, www.priceoffreedomgala.org Bach Society of Saint Louis Young Artist Recital, www.bachsociety.org Thodos Dance Chicago: The White City and Fosse Trilogy, www.art-stl.com Art Los Angeles Contemporary, www.artlosangelesfair.com

February 1-2 5 8-9 8-17 11 21-23 26 28

Art Los Angeles Contemporary, www.artlosangelesfair.com RM Auctions, Paris, in association with Festival Automobile International, www.rmauctions.com St. Louis Invitational, Men’s National Ranking, www.platformtennis.org Chicago Auto Show, www.chicagoautoshow.com Chamber Music Society of St. Louis, www.thesheldon.org Race Retro, www.raceretro.com Pulitzer Concert, www.stlsymphony.org Celebrate Freedom Dinner, www.slmag.net

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PLAZA PORSCHE’S “PANCAKES & PANAMERAS”

ST. LOUIS BLUES GOLF FOR A CAUSE

Plaza Porsche and Sophisticated Living Magazine hosted “Pancakes and Panameras” on October 5, inviting guests to a catered breakfast before catching a first glimpse of the 2014 Porsche Panamera, a perfect blend of performance and luxury. Te four-door vehicle is built for enthusiasts who want both driving dynamism and room to haul the stuff they love – the children and their golf clubs. Porsche debuted the Panamera in 2009. For 2014, the company added a plug-in, S E-Hybrid model.

Te damp, cool weather on October 7 didn’t stop season ticket holders, sponsors, and supporters from participating in the St. Louis Blues 14 Fund Golf Classic at Norwood Hills Country Club. Foursomes included one Blues celebrity as the ffth player. “Anytime you can give back and take time out of your day to do something as simple as playing a game of golf with a kid, it’s going to be something he’ll always remember.” says Blues forward Chris Stewart. Te annual event benefts the St. Louis Blues 14 Fund, the team’s charitable trust.

Jay Paplawski, Kevin Rodermund, Bob Reasoner

Patrik Berglund, Roman Polak, Vladimir Sobotka

Bill Procarione, Casey Eldridge

Bob Plager, Barret Jackman

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Vladimir Tarasenko, Derek Roy, Maxim LaPierre

Richard Schwarzen, Christine Bowman

T.J. Oshie, Jaden Schwartz

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Find more photos at facebook.com/sophisticatedliving

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ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: SNAP SHOTS OF A LIFE

An invitation-only gathering of art patrons and collectors welcomed French photographer Anne Deniau to an opening reception at the Philip Slein Gallery on October 16. Ms. Deniauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s images, With the Mind, were presented as part of A Queen Within exhibition at the World Chess Hall of Fame, which runs through April 18, 2014. Deniau comprised part of British fashion designer Alexander McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inner circle, and is the sole photographer with behind-the-scenes access to his collections and shows. Limited edition prints will continue for sale at Q Boutique at the World Chess Hall of Fame.

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Photography by Blacktie Missouri

Alan E. Brainerd, Ken Gerrity

Anna Spector, David Etling

Susan Sherman, Jan Goldstein, Debbie Kaminer

Amber Riegerix, Jacqueline Nicole

Ellen Soule, Hideki Seo

Jennifer Shahade, Kelly Peck

Aurelien Caoudal, Myrian Blundell, Philip Slein, Anne Deniau

Justin Scarbrough, Greg Lukeman, Jeremy Scarbrough

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BIG LOVE FOR LITTLE ONES

Te Little Bit Foundation’s annual fundraising gala “Join the Journey” was held on October 19, at the Edward Jones headquarters. Te organization’s largest fundraiser featured a live auction of destination packages, a silent auction of student-inspired artwork, dinner and musical entertainment. KSDK News 5 reporter Heidi Glaus served as mistress of ceremonies. Founded in 2001, The Little Bit Foundation provides for the basic needs of disadvantaged children in the St. Louis area by partnering with local schools. It serves 4,300 students in 16 St. Louis area schools and, in the 2012-2013 school year, distributed more than 101,000 items.

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Photography by Blacktie Missouri

Jake and Lesley Whittle

Johanna Dunn, Cindy Canepa, Maureen Bahn

Rachel Stern, Swan Disario, Amanda Kosty, Raymond Breckenkamp, Madeline Triplett

Cori Frank, Sean Murphy

Brady and Trisha Miller, Carrie Miller

Allison Amann, Tara Boland, Allison Edmonds

Laura Wilhelm, Amy Johnson

Gina Moschiri, Clara von Matt Gontard, Bremehr, LillyRosemary BoccardiHanley

Find more photos at facebook.com/sophisticatedliving

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A QUEENLY GALA HONORS CHESS

Te Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gala celebrated the debut of A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a unique fashion exhibition dedicated to drawing women and girls to the game of chess. Saks Fifth Avenue hosted the event on October 18, transforming Plaza Frontenac into an evening ft for a queen (and a few kings). More than 300 guests enjoyed cocktails in the Contemporary department, followed by dinner and an auction on the second foor. Te gala welcomed special guests including Dukes of Melrose star Cameron Silver, photographer Anne Deniau, and Valerie Steele, director of Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, among others.

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Photography by Blacktie Missouri

Katherine Lazar, Sam Foxman, Helene Sayad

Marc Lazar, Angela Robins, David Sherman

Bridget Melloy, Hide Kiseo, Kelly Peck

Rob and Susan Werremeyer, Laurie Garland, Michael Weisman

Dorte Probstein, Laura Kathleen Baker, Michael Drummond

Saskya Byron, Susan Barrett

Paula and Jef Reed

Aurelien Caoudal, Myrian Blundell, Derek Blasberg, Anne Deniau

Find more photos at facebook.com/sophisticatedliving

REACH FOR THE STARS

Te Cystic Fibrosis Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most elegant and anticipated event of the year, Te Reach for a Star Gala at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis raised more than $300,000 on November 8. Te 22nd annual black tie afair, presented by Express Scripts, was co-chaired by Virginia McDowell and Gary Wimberly. Diane Katzman, president of Diane Katzman Designs, received the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolf Inspiration Award, given annually to St. Louisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; most active and inspiring community leaders or organizations. In addition to working with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Katzman has participated in breast cancer awareness campaigns, heart health projects, and school art programs.

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Photography by Blacktie Missouri

Ali Graef, Brittany Zehr

Kevin and Kameron Herwech, Lee Metcalf

Julie Moloney, Mary Pat and Jim Hardin, Janey Brewen

Tom Sandifer, Mary Ann and Joel Schwartz, Jo Ann Sandifer

Veronica and Daniel Teodoro

Cortney Vaughn, Ryan Proctor, Lauren Proctor, Rick and Lisa Proctor, Kaye and Dave Steck

Jim and Angie Glik, Kathie and Jim Myer

Gianna Jacobson, Tom and Mary Stillman, Diane Katzman, Lisa Kramer, Patty Croughan

Find more photos at facebook.com/sophisticatedliving

Beyond Your Dreams, Within Your Budget.

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THE BRITISH INVASION!

Te Backroom, Te Cheshire’s intimate, members-only lounge and tobacco shoppe, was the place to be on November 14 for a private smoker and Scotch tasting event. Sophisticated Living Magazine partnered with Te Backroom for the special occasion, which also featured a preview of Tudor’s new line of luxury watches and an exclusive look at Aston Martin sports cars. Along with Scotch fights and cigar sampling, guests enjoyed a fabulous fall menu, roasted over open grills, on The Backroom’s inviting, front patio.

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Photography by Blacktie Missouri

Logan Mann, Cortney Vaughn, Debbie and Craig Kaminer

John Runner, Brian Cary, George John, Jenna Purk, John Weiss, Mr. and Mrs. Rich Striler

Rick Whiting, David Morris, David Shockley

Claire Erker, Tony La Martina, Karen Bland

Nate Davidson, Scott Miller

Allison Engelsmann, Bill Latz, Janet Meyer, Veronica Teodoro

Simon Katz, Jacque Phillips

Willam and Clara Lisa von Cohen, Gontard, Debbie Lillyand Boccardi Gary Sherman

Find more photos at facebook.com/sophisticatedliving

Private Getaway for the Cigar Aficionado

The Back Room is an exclusive lounge and tobacco shoppe at The Cheshire offering a selection of boutique and internationally renowned cigars. The lounge provides a private place for guests to entertain friends, take business clients and relax with a full bar, flat screen TVs, cigars and in–lounge dining options from The Cheshire’s on–site award–winning restaurants – Basso and The Restaurant. Annual and monthly memberships are limited. For more information or for a complimentary one-day membership pass, contact Logan Mann at lmann@backroom-stl.com

At the Cheshire - 7036 Clayton Ave, St. Louis, MO 63117

THE GOOD LIFE AT VANGUARD CROSSING APARTMENTS

After much anticipation, November 21 ushered in the grand opening of Vanguard Crossing Apartments, new and sophisticated living located in University City. Guests visited the grand clubhouse for food and music, and the wine cellar for a tasting provided by Chandler Hill Vineyards. The Vanguardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s courtyard, which includes a sparkling salt-water pool, cabanas, and outdoor entertainment bar, was on view from inside one of the featured one, two, or three bedroom apartments.

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Photography by Blacktie Missouri

Chuck Beard, Adrian Keys

Lynne and John Hayes

Taylor Marx, Annie and Jamie Marx

James Boudeman, Aaron Alexander, Evan McNeill

Yasmin Hakim, Abida Farooqui

Andrea Kimes, Tim Sampson

Nicole Strand, Erin Manuel, John Brueggmann

Lonjezo Malivo, Julie Garcia, PJ Jourdin, Rachel Abramson

Find more photos at facebook.com/sophisticatedliving

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Articles inside

Simply Modern