WAG March 2017

BOB & LEE WOODRUFF Designing a new life

STICKLEY AUDI & CO. Furnishing a legend

ROBERT KLEIN

Laughter caught on film

DALE CHIHULY

A glass master returns to NY

ARTIST TULA TELFAIR

A journey through landscapes

BEAUTY & THE BEAST

A timeless tale, refashioned

DEREK JETER

Dazzles off the diamond

exploring home

JUDGED

BEST MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK STATE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE

MARCH 2017 | WAGMAG.COM

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W W W. B I L O T TA .C O M

Alfred Sisley (1839–1899): Impressionist Master Final weeks – don’t miss it!

Alfred Sisley (French, 1839–1899) Une Cour a Chaville, 1879 Oil on canvas Private Collection

The exhibition was organized by the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut and Culturespaces, France.

®

BRUCE MUSEUM

Florence Gould Foundation David T. Langrock Foundation The Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation Robert Lehman Foundation

| Greenwich, CT | www.brucemuseum.org

CONTENTS MARC H 2017

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Timeless ‘Beauty’

Banking on the arts

Oh la la designs

The laughter continues

‘Mission’ possible

A cocktail of songs and reflections

Unique designs in the Kingdom of The Thunder Dragon

A whole new ‘World’

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52

32

54

34

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38

74

Beyond the diamond

All that ‘Jazz’

The complex design of the ‘One China’ policy

The Met Breuer marries the present and past

Doctor’s orders

The artist as traveler

Lymph Candy offers a clean approach

Glass master

86

Designed to serve

64

COVER STORY

THE WOODRUFFS, A NEW DESIGN FOR LIVING

This page A Great Big World. Photograph by Joseph Llanes.

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“After living in our spacious home for 40 years, we became empty-nesters and moved to the Ritz-Carlton Residences. The amenities offer a five-star lifestyle.”

Monica and Edward Kaufman

“We are an active retired couple and enjoy traveling around the world. Living here is a dream come true — no hassles, no worries.

We just enjoy life.”

In-aie and Edward Kang

“We’re thrilled with the living experience here. The amenities of the building and the attention to detail by the entire staff have lived up to our highest expectations.”

Alyce and Sanford Schwartz

EXCLUSIVE VIEWS, EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE, EXTRAORDINARY LIVING The Ritz-Carlton Residences Westchester II offers luxurious penthouses-in-the-sky with service and amenities usually reserved for Park Avenue. All of this in a leafy neighborhood of shops and dining that just a lucky few call ‘home.’

• Spacious 2,500 to 2,900 sq ft floor plans, starting at $1.9 million • Endless amenities: 24/7 staff, fitness center, swimming pool, and more • 146 guest bedrooms next door at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel

914.946.9200 | rcresidenceswestchester.com The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton Westchester II, 5 Renaissance Square, White Plains, New York 10601. Marketing & Exclusive Sales Agent: Houlihan Lawrence, Inc. Sponsor: Renaissance Condominium partners II, 7 Renaissance Square, White Plains, New York 10601. The complete offering terms are in an offering plan available from Sponsor: CD06-0794. We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, II are not owned, developed or sold by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC. Renaissance Condominium Partners II uses the Ritz-Carlton marks under license from The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC. Models do not represent racial preference.

“The services and amenities enhance our busy life.

Our grandchildren can’t wait to visit us and play in the playroom, swim in the pool and dine in the lobby lounge.”

Monica Lavin and Rick Ross

“We love our apartment with its beautiful views, the terrific staff, the services and amenities and the convenient location. Living here has exceeded our expectations.”

Dana and Randi Wiston

FEATURES H I G H LI G HTS

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WARES In praise of eclecticism

70

WAY A beautiful haven indeed

76

WEAR Naked beauty

78

WEAR Under the radar

80

WANDERS Beloved Barcelona

84

WANDERS Be their guest

88

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Designing a success story

90

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The Glass House, a well-designed season ahead

92

WONDERFUL DINING Café society

94

WONDERFUL DINING Of nymphs and Nutella

96

WINE & DINE Good sips for the money

98

WHETTING THE APPETITE Jackie Ruby’s Savory Beef Stew

100

WEAR The long of the short of it

102

WELL Frozen treat

104

WELL Are you headed for a fall?

106

WELL When dementia strikes the young

108

WELL High intensity meets high rewards

110

PET OF THE MONTH The real Clifford

114

WHEN & WHERE Upcoming events

118

WATCH We’re out and about

128

STICKLEY AUDI & CO. Furnishing a legend

ROBERT KLEIN

Laughter caught on film

DALE CHIHULY

A glass master returns to NY

BEAUTY & THE BEAST

A timeless tale, refashioned

DEREK JETER

Dazzles off the diamond

exploring home

JUDGED

BEST MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK STATE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

84

COVER STORY

Designing a new life

ARTIST TULA TELFAIR

70

WIT If you could design anything, what would it be?

BOB & LEE WOODRUFF

A journey through landscapes

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WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE MARCH 2017 | WAGMAG.COM

COVER:

Bob and Lee Woodruff.

See story on page 64.

Photograph by Cathrine White.

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EVER GREENE A full circle of design and inspiration shine in the Thorsen Dining Table inspired by the Greene brothers of Pasadena.

Solid cherry, punctuated by Blackwood details. Shown paired with Blacker House Chairs.

It’s Pasadena Bungalow style in the purest of forms.

Thorsen Round Dining Table and Blacker House Arm Chairs

207 West 25th St., Manhattan 212.337.0700 | 50 Tarrytown Rd., White Plains 914.948.6333 55 Route 4 West, Paramus 201.845.4649 | 242 Route 110 (Broadhollow Road), Farmingdale 631.770.3910

PUBLISHER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dee DelBello

Dan Viteri

PUBLISHER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR dee@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0749

ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR dviteri@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0772

EDITORIAL Georgette Gouveia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ggouveia@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0761 Mary Shustack SENIOR WRITER

Audrey Ronning Topping FEATURES WRITER

ART Sebastian Flores ART DIRECTOR sflores@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0756

Michaela Zalko ART DIRECTOR mzalko@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0756

PHOTOGRAPHY Anthony Carboni, Sebastian Flores, John Rizzo

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ryan Deffenbaugh, Jane K. Dove, Aleesia Forni, Phil Hall, Debbi K. Kickham, Jane Morgan, Doug Paulding, Danielle Renda, Giovanni Roselli, Bob Rozycki, Gregg Shapiro, Brian Toohey, Seymour Topping, Jeremy Wayne

Peter Katz COPY EDITOR

Billy Losapio ADVISER

ADVERTISING SALES Anne Jordan Duffy SALES MANAGER / ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER anne@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0764

Susan Barbash, Lisa Cash, Barbara Hanlon, Marcia Pflug, Patrice Sullivan ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Rebecca Freeman EVENTS MANAGER dbrody@westfarinc.com | 914-358-0757 Robin Costello ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER rcostello@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0760

Marcia Pflug DIRECTOR, PROMOTIONS AND SPONSORS mpflug@wfpromote.com | 203-733-4545

Marcia Rudy CIRCULATION SALES marcia@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0755

Sylvia Sikoutris CIRCULATION SALES sylvia@westfairinc.com | 914-358-0754

WHAT IS WAG?

124 Greenwich Avenue, 2nd Floor Greenwich, CT 06830 • 203.622.HAIR (4247) Book online 24/7 • christophernoland.com

Some readers think WAG stands for “Westchester and Greenwich.”

We certainly cover both. But mostly, a WAG is a wit and that’s how we think of ourselves, serving up piquant stories and photos to set your own tongues wagging.

HEADQUARTERS A division of Westfair Communications Inc., 3 Westchester Park Drive, White Plains, NY 10604 Telephone: 914-358-0746 | Facsimile: 914-694-3699 Website: wagmag.com | Email: ggouveia@westfairinc.com All news, comments, opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations in WAG are those of the authors and do not constitute opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations of the publication, its publisher and its editorial staff. No portion of WAG may be reproduced without permission.WAG is distributed at select locations, mailed directly and is available at $24 a year for home or office delivery. To subscribe, call 914-694-3600, ext. 3020. All advertising inquiries should be directed to Anne Jordan at 914694-3600, ext. 3032 or email anne@westfairinc.com. Advertisements are subject to review by the publisher and acceptance for WAG does not constitute an endorsement of the product or service. WAG (Issn: 1931-6364) is published monthly and is owned and published by Westfair Communications Inc. Dee DelBello, CEO, dee@westfairinc.com

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MARCH 2017

Restyled THE MALL YOU LOVE

RENOVATION COMPLETE 2017

JEFFERSONVALLEYMALL.COM

For Every Occasion

WAGGERS

TH E TALENT B EH I N D TH IS IS SU E

ANTHONY CARBONI

COVER STORY, PG.64 JANE K. DOVE

ROBIN COSTELLO

RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

ALEESIA FORNI

DEBBI K. KICKHAM

DOUG PAULDING

DANIELLE RENDA

JOHN RIZZO

GIOVANNI ROSELLI

GREGG SHAPIRO

MARY SHUSTACK

BRIAN TOOHEY

SEYMOUR TOPPING

AUDREY TOPPING

JEREMY WAYNE

NEW WAGGERS

BEN C. FREEMAN joined The Association of Frontotemporal Degeneration as development and communications director in February 2015. Ben works with AFTD’s staff, board and community to raise FTD awareness, while strengthening the organization’s visibility, effect and sustainability. He has more than 12 years of experience in nonprofit development and communications and a past background in journalism, IT and technology systems. Prior to his work with AFTD, he served as development director for the Bronxbased Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute. A resident of South Jersey, Ben has many personal interests, including recording music, fiction and spending time with family.

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JANE MORGAN, ASID, is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology with degrees in interior and graphic design. She is the founder of Jane Morgan Interior Design, a boutique firm in Westchester County, where she creates fresh, elegant and comfortable spaces centered on her client's personal vision. Jane began her career designing corporate interiors and later partnered with a luxury retail home accessories company to design soft furnishings for such clients as Bloomingdale’s, Barney's, Fred Segal, Horchow, Paul Smith, Saks Fifth Avenue and Gracious Home. Jane is passionate about art and design, culture, photography and writing.

MARCH 2017

Beauty. Quality. Selection.

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EDITOR'S LETTER GEORGETTE GOUVEIA Welcome to our annual design issue — which, in keeping with the spirit of WAG, considers the subject in many of its myriad forms.

When we talk about design, we generally mean home design and we have plenty of that. Herein you’ll meet several interior designers either again or for the first time. Brenda Kelly Cohn — whom many Westfair readers encountered several years ago in the Westchester County Business Journal, one of WAG’s sister publications — has found new love in her personal and professional lives as designer for Decorative Crafts Inc. Toronto-based Lori Morris — who has offices in Miami, Dallas and San Francisco — is seeking inroads into WAG country. Jane Morgan of Jane Morgan Interior Design joins us as our Wares columnist. We think you’ll be heartened by the overarching theme of their comments: Eclecticism is in.

Traditional with contemporary, classic with Modern, curves with angles, florals with geometrics, color juxtaposed with a monochromatic look. It’s all in service of you and how your home, as with your look, reflects your personality.

Design takes center stage in Jeremy’s wandering this month — to Barcelona, the ultimate design city. (Think Gaudí and beyond.) It also plays a big part in our ramblings to The Met Breuer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s showcase for 20th -and 21st-century art in light of its historical holdings, and to The Leopard at des Artistes, the West Side restaurant that is filling the culinary shoes of the legendary Café des Artistes, as Aleesia reports.

But design informs everything from the atom to Everest. Humanity is the greatest design of all and the most wondrously, horrifically complex. We consider home as the expression and evolution of the human heart in an exploration of the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” which comes to movie theaters this month in a new incarnation of the musical by North Salem’s Alan Menken. He turns out to have been a big influence on the duo A Great Big World, which spreads its brand of musical joy at the Ridgefield Playhouse this month.

We didn’t know that when we designed this issue. But such serendipity, a facet of WAG, reminds us that there is a design

“Beauty and the Beast’s” Chip and Mrs. Potts from the editor’s teapot collection. Photograph

by Sebastian Flores.

to this universe and we’re on our right track in it.

Briarcliff Manor resident Robert Klein’s design for making people laugh — the subject of a documentary by Ossining’s Marshall Fine and a Phil story; and Derek Jeter’s design for second and third career acts (Ryan’s piece): These stories get at the heart of the human design for living.

Few know more about this than cover subject Lee Woodruff. The Rye resident was vacationing with her four children and shooting a commercial for her public relations business when she learned that her husband, ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, sustained a severe brain injury in the Iraq War. “You can get better or you can get bitter,” Lee tells Jane in describing his road to recovery and the foundation they have started for wounded veterans. “Bob and I are not people for self-pity.”

“Accentuating the positive”: It’s the plumb line through this issue, indeed through our whole philosophy, and it’s exemplified in Mary’s story on Aminy Audi of Audi Stickley & Co., the 117-year-old furniture company with a showroom in White Plains. As Audi told Mary, she runs a business in which longtime workers of every stripe make furniture in harmony.

Sounds like the ultimate design for success.

Georgette Gouveia is the author of “Water Music” (Greenleaf Book Group) and “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press, 2017). They’re part of her series of novels, “The Games Men Play,” also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes at thegamesmenplay.com. Readers may find weekly installments of her novel “Seamless Sky” on wattpad.com.

GDV Interior Elements

Design Studio I Home Furnishings I Luxury Staging www.graysondevere.com Greenwich

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London

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Tonight, access to exceptional heart specialists kept Roger’s love of music alive.

When Roger Zeitel walked into White Plains Hospital’s emergency room, he had no idea he was having a heart attack.

He was quickly taken to the cardiac catheterization lab where Director of Interventional Cardiology, Dr. Mark Greenberg, discovered two coronary blockages and a failing heart valve.

Dr. Greenberg was able to immediately call on his long-time colleague, Dr. Robert Michler, Surgeon-in-Chief at Montefiore, who performed lifesaving open heart surgery at Montefiore.

The White Plains Hospital and Montefiore Health System partnership ensured that Roger is back to doing what he loves headlining the local music scene with his bandmates.

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A M E M B E R O F T H E M O N T E F I O R E H E A LT H S Y S T E M

TIMELESS ‘BEAUTY’

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Once upon a time — well, actually, about a quarter of a century ago — an animated musical scored by North Salem’s Alan Menken with lyrics by the late Howard Ashman transported Walt Disney Pictures, the animated film and the musical to “adventure in the great, wide somewhere.”

The moving “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), a box office and critical success, would become the first animated film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. (It won for Best Original Score and for Best Song for the title tune.) Three years later, “Beauty and the Beast” — which was essentially a Broadway show masquerading as an animated film, anyway — became the real deal and a first for Disney, a transcendent theater experience with new songs by Menken and lyricist Tim Rice that darkened but also deepened the film and the ancient story, crystallized in 18th-century France, of an arrogant prince-turned-beast and the beautiful young woman whose love transforms him.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Disney is set to release a live-action remake of the 1991 hit with Emma Watson (“Harry Potter”) as Belle and Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”) as the Beast. The film features three new Menken-Rice songs — including “How Does A Moment Last Forever,” sung

by Céline Dion over the end titles — and a new character, Cadenza the harpsichord, played by Westchester native Stanley Tucci. (Alas, the mov-

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ie won’t contain the Broadway version’s breathtaking “If I Can’t Love Her” and the diabolically delicious “Maison des Lunes.”)

But Disney’s protean creation is one of countless novels, plays, stories, operas, ballets, films, TV programs, songs, videos and even video games inspired by the original tale, including a 1987 TV series that served as an ingenious, poignant metaphor for a crime-ridden New York. Why so many?

Perhaps because “Beauty and the Beast” says something profound about the relationships of men and women, beauty and love and about the way these play out in the place we call “home.”

The source material — Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s 1756 version of novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s longer 1740 fairy tale — plays with a theme older than Adam and Eve, women’s fascination with the beast in men, be he the potentially monstrous Eros in the ancient Greeks’ “Eros and Psyche,” the Serpent in the Bible’s Book of Genesis or Bottom the Ass in Shakepeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Women’s sexuality, fragile yet fierce — remember these stories come out of thousands of years of male storytelling — is not only susceptible to the beast in men (the biblical Eve and the Serpent). It is even capable of transforming men into beasts.

(Circe in Homer’s “The Odyssey.”) But women can also tame the beast in men, the storytellers say, by making a home for them in their hearts.

Disney’s “Beauty” streamlines the 18th-century French fairy tale further, modernizing it and giving it a feminist twist that plays with the idea of women

Dan Stevens and Emma Watson in “Beauty and the Beast.� Copyright 2016 Disney Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.

Dan Stevens and Emma Watson in “Beauty and the Beast.” Copyright 2016 Disney Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.

as beast makers and masters. The magician who turns the proud, selfish prince into an animal has been replaced in a prologue by a stunning sorceress, who similarly curses the handsome prince with a beastly appearance that can only be reversed by a beautiful woman’s true love. Beauty, now called Belle, is no blond Disney princess but an inventor’s equally eccentric daughter, with brunette curls “and her nose stuck in a book.” (A fellow curly-haired brunette and bookworm, I remember thinking, “Finally.”)

As in the source material, Belle/Beauty agrees reluctantly to go live in the Beast’s castle to save

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her father’s life, expressing her misgivings in the song “Home.” But this being a fairy tale and a subsequent Disney production, the castle is like a fivestar hotel, with everything Belle/Beauty’s heart could desire (the original) and singing, dancing candlesticks, feather dusters, teapots and clocks (Disney). As Belle/Beauty and the Beast gradually warm to each other, Belle finds herself less a guest of enchantment and more a mistress of the Beast’s palace — and heart. If “Beauty” plumbs a classic male fear — of woman as witch and nurturer — it also explores a classic female fantasy — the misunderstood brute who gives her everything

she needs and wants, including a fabulous home.

(Shades of “Grey,” anyone?)

What makes a place are its people. Belle is torn between the love and life of the mind she had at home with her father and the love and the life of the mind and heart she has found in the home of the Beast. She must save the one first and then the other. But the Beast helps himself by letting her go to her father’s aid, even though it may spell his own doom.

It is the Beast’s selflessness — nurtured by and now worthy of the returning Belle’s true love — that sets him free.

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OOH LA LA DESIGNS

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Lori Morris’ sumptuous designs have been featured in the Robb Report and Dujour and Upscale Living magazines.

But really she had us at the Greek key pattern.

And the overstuffed furnishings. And the blowups of Dean, Brando, Marilyn and Liz. Not for Morris: the spare look. This is a woman unafraid of animal-print chairs, floral-textured walls, pillow shams and the color black.

Working with a team that includes creative director Julie Ballard, whose refined drawings bring her vision to life, Morris and her Toronto-based House of LMD (with offices in Dallas, Miami and San Francisco) design statement rooms for statement per-

“Edgy Opulence.”Photograph

by Brandon Barré. Courtesy Lori Morris-House of LMD.

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sonalities. And she’s eager to make a statement in WAG country. We caught up with her recently: Lori, you have a sophisticated, saturated style that tosses Minimalism out the window.

Tell us about your design philosophy.

“My design philosophy is based on a love for French and Modern design. Over the years, I have developed my own style of a synergized, harmonious balance of the two genres and created my own category — sexy French.”

Were you always interested in being a designer?

“I have always been interested in design, ever since I was a little girl (in Dundas, Ontario). I remember redecorating my own room at 10 years old. Anything design, whether it’s landscape or

Lori Morris. Photograph by Norman Wong. Courtesy Lori Morris-House of LMD.

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MARCH 2017

19

packaging or fashion, I’ve had a true love since I can remember.”

How did you get your start?

“I started in design school (the International Academy of Design & Technology) many years ago, and then started my business at a young age. I chose to take risks and surround myself with a fantastic team and here we are.”

What are today’s big trends?

“The mixture of both texture and different design eras. There is also more personality and color in a space now. People are starting to realize the impact and effect of artwork. The strong personality of color together with an eclectic style creates a lot of interest in any space.”

How can we update our homes without breaking the bank or ruining our schedules?

“New artwork makes a huge impact in a space.

Throw pillows, area carpets and new light fixtures can take a room to a different level without having to do everything. Also, a dark color palette on the walls is a great way to elevate a space.”

What’s next for you and any plans to do some projects in Westchester or Fairfield counties?

“Yes, I am starting to work in the area. I am also in the process of launching an LMD (Lori Morris Design) line of textiles, furniture and décor.”

For more, visit lorimorris.com.

“Pink Paradise.” Photograph by Brandon Barré. Courtesy Lori Morris-House of LMD.

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‘MISSION’ POSSIBLE

THE AUDI FAMILY’S FINE FURNITURE LEGACY

BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF L. & J.G. STICKLEY, INC.

A walk through a Stickley Audi & Co. furniture showroom, such as the one in White Plains, reveals a rich history living in harmony with a decidedly modern approach.

Furniture both contemporary and traditional — interspersed with an early American formality here or a playful infusion of Hollywood glamour there — is displayed in the most welcoming series of room vignettes.

And as expected, there is a treasure trove of the company’s trademark Mission furniture, a style that originated in the late-19th century and is perhaps most associated with the Arts and Crafts movement in America.

It adds up to a grand tour of the fine-furniture company’s styles, a reach encompassing a wide array of customer tastes that nonetheless serves as a testament to what’s described on the company website as “The Stickley Difference.” That says, in part, that great furniture “creates and carries memories across time,” and that strong design, craft and construction “lend permanence and meaning to what would otherwise be just an object.”

Those words remain at the heart of what L. & J.G. Stickley, Inc., owned by the Audi family, is all about. With headquarters in Manlius, in New York’s Onondaga County, Stickley has been a manufacturer of premium solid wood and upholstery furniture since 1900. The company owns and operates three manufacturing facilities and more 22

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than a dozen retail showrooms; markets its furniture in the U.S. and around the world through a network of dealers; and employs nearly 1,300 people.

WAG recently caught up with Aminy Audi, chairman of the board, CEO and wife of the late Alfred J. Audi.

Can you share a brief history of how you and your husband got into the business?

What was the company like back then — and what did you see in it that encouraged you to take the chance?

“My husband grew up sleeping in a Stickley bed.

He went to Colgate University and his fraternity was furnished with Stickley. Then he joined his father’s business in New York. (E.J. Audi Fine Furniture & Rugs). They were the largest Stickley dealer at the time. Alfred’s father was a very good friend of Leopold Stickley and a great believer in the quality of the Stickley product. When in 1974 Mrs. Stickley, who inherited the business from her late husband, decided to either close or sell the business, she called my husband and said, ‘Alfred, you are the only one who loves Stickley enough to keep its quality. Will you buy it?’ Thus began our journey of revitalizing the company that at that time had 25 employees and $235,000 in annual sales. There had been very little investment in the plant during the last 20 years. Most of the workers were retiring and it took a very long time to deliver the furniture, yet many people were willing to wait.”

What were some of the biggest challenges along the way?

“The challenges were finding and training em-

The Modern Loft from Studio by Stickley is a study in casual shapes and finishes.

The Leopold’s Chair offers comfort matched by beauty, offering gently shaped and hand-carved arms.

ployees, having enough capital to invest in inventory and upgrading the factory and opening new dealers who had over the past few years given up on Stickley. The most encouraging thing was the loyalty of the Stickley customers and the support we got from the community.”

Was there a specific point — a collection, an award or a milestone — that let you know you had “made it”?

“There were several milestones along the way — our move to a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Manlius, New York, in 1985. We have had seven expansions since. Reissuing the Mission Collection in April of 1989 was perhaps the most pivotal moment. This was instantly hailed as ‘the revival of the fittest.’ This collection continues to grow and evolve with the additions of new designs and finishes.”

How has the industry changed over the years? How have consumers changed over the years?

“The industry has changed greatly. Several family-owned businesses have gone out of business or been bought by large publicly traded companies.

Many furniture factories have closed and moved manufacturing out of the United States. The customers’ shopping habits have shifted from merely shopping in brick-and-mortar stores to augmenting this with research on companies’ websites and, at times, purchasing online. E-Commerce is here to stay.”

What keeps Stickley Audi & Co. relevant to today’s consumers?

“We are a vertically integrated company.

We have three manufacturing facilities and a very loyal network of dealers. Our retail division (Stickley Audi & Co.) includes 14 company-owned showrooms and two more opening in 2017. We have recently added a Contract Division and have furnished several high-end hotels and university residences. We continue to introduce new products and finishes that resonate with today’s consumer. We have very well-trained and qualified designers on our showroom floors. We continually make major investments in our people, our facilities and infrastructure.”

What are some trends and/or key product launches for this year — and how much do trends affect what your company does?

“Our most recent launch includes Studio by Stickley, which features the Modern Loft that is a highly edited and curated collection. This can be seen in our White Plains showroom and on our website.

“While we monitor trends and incorporate colors and finishes that appeal to today’s consumer, we are mindful that Stickley is furniture built to last and to be passed from generation to generation.

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sis on quality in every aspect of the business sets us apart and defines the Stickley difference.

“In addition to Stickley, our showrooms feature other furniture lines as well and offer a very impressive collection of rugs and accessories. Our talented designers make house calls and can enhance the customer’s shopping experience.”

And finally, would you do it all again if you knew what the years would bring?

“While there have been times, especially in the early years, when I doubted the wisdom of our decision to buy Stickley, overall I would do it all over again. It has been such a rewarding journey, not simply in helping revive and grow such an iconic brand but in creating a welcoming work environment for people from 38 nationalities who work and live in harmony and contribute to the overall economy.

While I am very proud of what my late husband and I contributed to the growth of Stickley, I am equally optimistic about the future under our son Edward’s leadership and the very talented team we have in place. I am very grateful to our customers who keep investing in Stickley, enabling us to keep everyone working without any layoffs even during the latest economic slow down.”

For more, visit the Stickley Audi & Co. showroom at 50 Tarrytown Road in White Plains, 914948-6333; or stickleyaudi.com or stickley.com.

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UNIQUE DESIGNS IN THE KINGDOM OF THE THUNDER DRAGON STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH

BY AUDREY RONNING TOPPING

E

very nation creates its own distinctive culture expressed in its literature, music, art, architecture and design, which is usually inspired by the surrounding environs. In my extensive travels, the most innovative designs I have ever encountered were created in one of the most improbable places on this planet. It is known locally as Druk Yul and to outsiders as Bhutan, Kingdom of The Thunder Dragon.

I experienced these exotic and whimsical designs in 2002, when the Gangtey Rinpoche — high lama of the Gangteng Monastery in Bhutan, who is believed to be the ninth incarnation of the Buddhist patron saint Pema Lingpa — invited me to come to Bhutan and photograph a festival of lama dances to raise funds for the temple’s first restoration. I was delighted to accept and soon discovered that the mysterious monastery, founded five centuries ago, stands close to heaven in a scenic valley in the Himalayan Mountains.

Bhutanese believe that Buddha was born of a lotus and this distinctive monastery is akin to the heart of a lotus blossom while the surrounding mountains cup it like frosted lotus petals. Today it is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the world.

Bhutan, the last Buddhist kingdom in the Hi-

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Protector Dorji Kuntrak riding the skies on a dragon at Gangteng Monastery.

THE BEST EXAMPLES OF BHUTAN’S DESIGNS CAN BE SEEN IN THE DETAILS OF THE ANCIENT MURALS THAT FLANK THE ENTRANCE TO THE GANGTENG MONASTERY. THEY DEPICT 12 SEMI-ENLIGHTENED GODDESSES WHO BECAME 'PROTECTORS OF THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS.'

malayas, is about the size of Switzerland, with a population of some 700,000. The tiny country is sandwiched between two giants, China and India. But despite Bhutan’s location, the art and design found there is unique, perhaps because this “Mountain Fortress of the Gods” remained closed to the outside world until 1974.

The best examples of Bhutan’s designs can be seen in the details of the ancient murals that flank the entrance to the Gangteng Monastery.

They depict 12 semi-enlightened goddesses who became “Protectors of the Snowy Mountains.” To this day, they ride the skies over the Himalayas mounted on mythical beasts, including a dragon, a mythic bird called the garuda, and a multiheaded tortoise.

Bhutanese art and design capture an inimita-

ble paradox of the kingdom’s culture, in which erudition and shamanism co-exist. The Buddhist nature of Bhutan’s artistic heritage may be traced to the founder, St. Pema Lingpa, who was an accomplished artist and architect. The shamanistic aspect was inherited from the ancient Bon religion, a complex blend of nature worship, superstition and the supernatural involving evil and benevolent spirits dwelling in space, mountains, forests and lakes. The Bon belief flourished for centuries until one auspicious day, in the eighth century, when a bizarre miracle occurred. The mythological Buddhist saint and Indian mystic, Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) flew from Tibet, via Swat in present-day Pakistan, to the Kingdom of The Thunder Dragon on the back of a flying tiger to bring Buddhist dharma and other teachings to Bhutan. If you can’t believe that, don’t go to Bhutan.

According to legend, the Bon king got into a mess of trouble with the gods and beseeched the Tibetan Guru Rinpoche for assistance. The guru agreed to make peace by bringing Tibetan Buddhism to Bhutan. He was eventually able

to merge Bon with Buddhism by integrating the numerous Bon gods embodied in natural phenomena with Buddhist deities, many inherited from Hinduism.

But it wasn’t easy. After fighting 12 legendary battles, in which the guru appeared in eight malicious manifestations, he conquered the wrathful Bon gods. Then instead of slaying them, he granted them Buddhist mercy. In gratitude, they swore oaths to safeguard Buddhism.

Although the frescoes on Gangteng Monastery were painted almost 500 years ago with traditional paints made from earth minerals and vegetables reduced to powder and mixed with water, glue and chalk, they have been well-preserved in the dry mountain air. The brushes were composed of twigs and yak hair. The colors were applied in a particular order, laden with symbolic meaning, on a thin layer of cloth glued to the wall using a special paste. In recent times, chemical colors are sometimes used but all the restoration work in the Gangteng was done in the original way.

The murals are visually stunning but the issue of whether Buddhist art is beautiful or not is irrel-

evant to its intended purpose, which is to teach, by symbolism, the way to spiritual experience of which the painting is only the outward visible sign.

Traditional Bhutanese art and design, then, has two characteristics: it is religious and anonymous. Disciples of a master did all the preliminary work, while the fine work was executed by the master himself.

The art was contained in immense fortress monasteries called dzongs, extraordinary exemplars of Bhutanese architecture that stretched along strategic mountain ridges. These fairy-tale citadels dominate the major valleys and serve as administrative headquarters for secular and religious authorities. Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal unified Bhutan in the 17th century and built most of the dzong, which were all constructed on general design principles but with unique details. The architects relied on a mental concept for design and never used blueprints or nails. Yet every inch of the interiors, window sills, ceiling beams and columns burst with flamboyant traditional and abstract designs.

That was the true Bhutanese miracle.

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ALL THAT ‘JAZZ’

COOPER HEWITT TO EXPLORE THE 1920S

BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM

Calling all flappers and their sheiks.

Something’s coming to town that promises to be the bee’s knees, the cat’s meow and really just swell. OK, we’ll drop the period slang. It’s just a reflection of how much we’re stuck on “The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s.”

Set to open April 7 at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan, it’s billed as the first major museum exhibition to focus on American taste in design during that vibrantly creative decade of nearly a century ago.

The showcase, co-organized by Cooper Hewitt and The Cleveland Museum of Art, will feature more than 350 works representing architecture, interior design, decorative art, jewelry and fashion, music and film.

Organized by Sarah Coffin, curator and head of product design and decorative arts at Cooper Hewitt, and Stephen Harrison, curator of decorative art and design at the Cleveland museum, “The Jazz Age” is expected to be a must-see show.

“We certainly hope so — and we think so,” Coffin says. “I will say that there is a broad appeal of this period.”

The decade was a groundbreaking time for art and design, she says, with influences traveling back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean — most notably, 28

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from Paris, Vienna and Berlin to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

With a dazzling array of items drawn from both public and private collections, “The Jazz Age” did prove quite the challenge, with Coffin noting that with such a wealth of materials it was “very difficult to get it under control.”

There were, though, guideposts, including the pivotal Paris Exposition of 1925; the wave of designers from Austria and Germany that came to America after the first World War; and the influx of luxurious fashions, accessories and furnishings purchased on travels abroad.

Influences often crossed genres and fields.

“They were applying their knowledge… relating one design medium to another,” Coffin says of the way creativity crossed boundaries.

She can talk at length about wallpapers and telephone tables, necklaces and skyscrapers, which only serves to whet the appetite further for this step back in time.

At Cooper Hewitt, galleries on two floors will be filled with jewelry, fashion, furniture, textiles, tableware, paintings, posters, wall coverings and architecture that, when taken as a whole, demonstrate the bold colors and forms that came to define the times — with the jazz metaphor used to signify the era’s innovation and also reflect the new American attitude.

“The creative energy is huge — and it’s across

Muse with Violin Screen (detail), c. 1930. Rose Iron Works, Inc. (American, Cleveland, est. 1904). Paul Fehér (Hungarian, 1898—1990), designer. Wrought iron, brass; silver and gold plating; 156.2 x 156.2 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, On Loan from the Rose Iron Works Collections, LLC, 352.1996. © Rose Iron Works Collections, LLC. 29 WAGMAG.COM MARCH 2017

the country,” she says, with New York indeed the “port of entry.”

Through “The Jazz Age,” viewers will travel to nightclubs from Paris to Harlem, to the burgeoning world of cinema and even to shop.

“Department stores were a big source of design,” Coffin says, explaining that at the time the major ones in New York carried everything from antiques to modern furniture. Displays will explore how elements of history were reinvented in designs of the day through examples as relatable as tea sets.

The objects in “The Jazz Age” also offer a way to explore society adapting to a new perspective.

Women’s fashions and accessories, such as compacts, tell their own stories.

“Women are wearing less structured clothes,” Coffin says of the 1920s.

And, in this era of being what she calls “released from your corsets,” they were doing previously unheard of things such as applying lipstick in public.

“You didn’t do this outside the house,” before then, she says.

Visitors will follow the 1920s story through six themed sections: Persistence of Traditional Good Taste, A New Look, Bending the Rules, A Smaller World, Abstraction and Reinvention and Towards a Machine Age. The appeal of the era is ongoing.

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Screen, ca. 1928; Designed by Donald Deskey (American, 1894—1989); Silver leaf, lacquered wood, cast metal (hinges); Right Panel: 198.1 × 46.4 cm (6 ft. 6 in. × 18 1/4 in.); Center Panel: 168.3 × 61 cm (5 ft. 6 1/4 in. × 24 in.); Left Panel: 153 × 46.4 cm (60 1/4 × 18 1/4 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Promised gift of George R. Kravis II; Photo: Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution.

“There’s no question about it,” Coffin says. By example, she mentions not only the two upcoming movies about Zelda Fitzgerald in the works but also the elaborate exhibition devoted to French designer and architect Pierre Chareau (1883-1950) that continues at the Jewish Museum in New York.

Offering a look into a period of change, of immigration and of the importation of not only objects but also new ideas, “The Jazz Age” — some three years in the making — may just provide a perspective with added, maybe even unexpected, resonance for its contemporary audience.

As Coffin says, “It’s turned out to perhaps be a little more relevant, even than when we started.”

Among the related public programming are events that include a curatorial panel discussion on the exhibition set for April 19; a May 4 talk focusing on fashion; May 18’s walking tour of Harlem, offered in conjunction with The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, a Smithsonian Affiliate; and a May 24 lecture on music from the Jazz Age. “The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s” will run April 7 through Aug. 20 at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, at 2 E. 91st St. in Manhattan. It opens Sept. 30 at The Cleveland Museum of Art. For more, visit cooperhewitt.org.

THE MET BREUER MARRIES THE PRESENT AND PAST

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

L

ike politics, art is not immune to the swing of the pendulum. Where the traditional and the representational once reigned, the contemporary and the abstract are now all the rage.

A year ago this month, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan signaled an understanding of shifting trends as it opened The Met Breuer a few blocks south and east in the space once occupied by the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has moved to the Meatpacking District. The additional space has given The Met an opportunity to showcase 20th- and 21st-century masters while drawing on its own rich art historical resources.

The recent, popular “Kerry James Marshall: Mastry” exhibit — the largest museum retrospective of the 35-year career of this American artist — beautifully illustrated this. It not only featured gallery after gallery of Marshall’s exploration of being black in America. (Some canvases were even covered in black paint, forcing the viewer to peer at — to see, really — the figures beyond.) The show also contained a gallery of favorite Marshall works from The Met’s collection, like Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres’ cool, provocative nude “Odalisque in Grisaille” (circa 1824-34, oil on canvas), whose nifty shades of gray may have been a guide for engravers making black-and-white reproductions of the master’s “Grande Odalisque” (1814, Musée du Louvre). The exhibit offered a comforting remind32

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The Met Breuer, side. Photograph by Ed Lederman. Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

er that while we do not live in the past, we live with it. And history is the story of that past.

Certainly, The Met’s staff engaged the history of the former Whitney space to create The Met Breuer. At the time of its launch, Sheena Wagstaff, the Leonard A. Lauder chairman of the museum’s Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, said, “…We are honoring the history of this beloved building and embracing its significance to the cultural landscape of our city….”

Restoration of the building, designed by architect Marcel Breuer, was done under the guidance of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners LLC, which oversaw the renovation of Grand Central Terminal. The firm took care to maintain the familiar concrete walls, stone floors and bronze fixtures while also preserving weathered areas in a nod to what The Met calls “the patina of history.”

The museum collaborated with the Whitney on an infrastructure upgrade and commissioned landscape architect Günther Vogt to resurrect the sunken garden with a design that features a

perimeter of Quaking Aspen trees.

For these reasons, those with fond memories of attending Whitney shows here may not recognize the subtle, seamless changes.

But there’s one area that will stand out to past-present museumgoers and that is on the ground floor. Gone is the gift shop — which has moved to the first floor, off the lobby — and French countrified Sarabeth’s Kitchen. In their stead are Flora Bar café and restaurant, with the restaurant recently opening for weekday lunch to accommodate its status as a new hotspot. (The restaurant was already open for weekday dinner and weekend lunch and dinner.)

Critics of the culinary as well as aesthetic variety have taken note. The New York Times has raved about Ignacio Mattos’ Mediterranean-style seafood offerings at the restaurant, served up in sleek surroundings laced with jazz that is both cool and Latin-hot. The Times also said the cinnamon rolls in the café were the best around. Did someone say cinnamon rolls? We were so there.

We worked up an appetite for our Met Breuer

visit with a brisk walk over to its Madison Avenue at 75th Street locale. After checking our coat, we made a beeline for the café. Is there any greater pleasure than to settle down with a latte, a soupçon of something sweet and a notebook and pen? We were entranced. The cinnamon roll turned out to be a cross between a cinnamon roll, minus the icing, and a sticky pecan bun. It certainly lived up to the gooey hype and we unspooled it slowly, along with our thoughts on the page, savoring the leisurely moment. (Though the café was hopping, the spillover filled the restaurant space as the restaurant, alas, had not yet made its weekday luncheon debut. Meanwhile, students on a field trip brown-bagged it al fresco in the sunken garden on a winter day more like early spring.)

Having fortified the body, we thought it time to feed the soul further. We took the stairs — had to work off that cinnamon roll — and stopped off at the second floor for “Marisa Merz: The Sky Is A Great Space” (through May 7), spanning five decades of work in the first major American retrospective of the Italian sculptor. Once again, you saw the marriage of present and past in Merz’s use

The Met Breuer’s Flora Bar. Photograph by Glen Allsop. Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

of untraditional materials as well as figures and jeweled, gilded colors reminiscent of medieval illuminated manuscripts and Renaissance icons.

Then it was on to the third and fourth floors for the Kerry James Marshall show.

All of this seeing and thinking had given us an appetite, so it was back to the café for a nice roast beef sandwich on a crusty peasant square

with horseradish cream and a glass of iced Ceylon. This time we sat at the bar, talking to the wait staff, doing more scribbling and reveling in an experience that offered something for the palate as well as the palette.

For more, visit metmuseum.org/visit/metbreuer. And for more on Flora Bar, visit florabarnyc.com.

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THE ARTIST AS TRAVELER

BY DANIELLE RENDA PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF TULA TELFAIR.

At first glance, it’s hard to distinguish the work of Tula Telfair from photography.

These remote wilderness scenes, however, aren’t recreated from photographs or even memories but from the depths of the artist’s imagination. Having a childhood that spanned four continents, she has been inspired by her global travels as well as her thoughts and emotions.

“Making art is a form of self-portraiture,” says Telfair, a professor of art at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. “The work I create is informed by my extensive bank of experiences as well as my responses to the world in the moment that I’m creating a piece.”

WAG recently met with the Bronxville-born, Lyme, Connecticut, resident at the Heather Gaudio Fine Art in New Canaan for her latest solo exhibition, “Tula Telfair: Invented Landscapes,” running through March 25. On display is a stunning collection of oil paintings created from myriad techniques, palettes, lighting and imagined terrains to express distinct moods. Only close up can viewers distinguish between Telfair’s realistic landscapes and nature photography.

“While I’m painting, I think about changing weather systems, shifting light and color, and the amount of humidity in the air — because, if I can clearly portray these, the work will evoke an emotional response from viewers,” she says. “I’m interested in triggering recognition and longing with this work. I hope to inspire viewers to contemplate their past and future, recall meaningful moments they experienced in nature, and satisfy their desire to witness something that is both familiar and new 34

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in order to have an experience that makes them aware of being alive.”

Telfair, who works on all of her paintings simultaneously —12 to 18 works at once — uses some of the most precise detail to convey humidity, aridity and lack thereof.

“When I was a child, I had to walk onto the tarmac to get into an airplane,” Telfair recalls. “One hour I’d be in the sweltering heat of Africa — the doors would shut, and when they opened, I might feel dry bitter cold air in Switzerland … I now appreciate how deeply affected I was by the physical differences between places.”

None of her landscapes feature humans or animals, which is done purposely.

“I believe these paintings are evocative of what it means to be aware of a physical space that’s much larger and more permanent than we are,” Telfair says. “I don’t include human figures in my paintings so viewers can imagine encountering these epic spaces alone.”

The final product does not necessarily reflect the early stages of her work, or, sometimes, the original idea in its entirety. She explains how one painting can morph from a single idea into an entirely new concept, depending on how she feels about it.

“Each painting is a collection of different painterly techniques that create the final image,” she says.

“Sometimes a painting of a desert will become an arctic landscape, simply because I didn’t like the composition and wanted to change the intensity and interplay between the sky and the earth.”

She refers to one painting in particular, a breathtaking composite of hazy mountaintops in the background with speckles of pinks, reds and blues in the foreground. The brushstrokes represent the

"Reshaping Mythology," 2016, oil on canvas.

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area of the painting that remains unfinished. Occasionally, the speckled pentimenti peek through some of her finished canvases.

The creative process didn’t always come naturally to the artist. Telfair, who divides her time between Connecticut and New York City, moved from Bronxville to Central West Africa at just two weeks old. She recalls her upbringing in the cities of Libreville and Makokou and the town of Belinga in Gabon and frequent trips to faraway places — approximately every two weeks — like Paris, London or Hong Kong before returning to the United States at age 8.

But despite her exposure to foreign lands, she never actually anticipated being an artist, and it wasn’t until age 19 that she began painting. After struggling in art appreciation class at age 16, Telfair was prompted to improve her drawing skills and so she did. She then went on to pursue a fine arts degree at the Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, where she was encouraged to try painting, and later pursued a master’s degree at Syracuse University. This led to experimenting with a variety of styles, from industrial still life to photorealism and to her current pursuit of landscapes.

And though none of her landscapes exist in reality, perhaps they’re a compilation of all the places she’s ever seen — and will see.

“I’m always ready to make art,” she says.

For more, visit heathergaudioartgallery.com and tulatelfair.com.

Tula Telfair in her home studio.

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GLASS MASTER

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

At the New York Botanical Garden’s recent press luncheon, Todd Forrest made his way to the podium of the Grand Hyatt New York’s Manhattan Ballroom on crutches.

The cause of his damaged left Achilles tendon? American glass master Dale Chihuly’s return to the Garden.

“I jumped for joy that the day had arrived (for the announcement),” joked Forrest, the Garden’s Arthur Ross vice president for horticulture and living collections.

This month, glass pieces for some 20 installations, as well as works on paper, will be shipped to the Garden. They’ll arrive in early April in eight 15-foot-long tractor-trailers, along with 17 installers, for an exhibit (Earth Day, April 22, through Oct. 29) that builds on the enchanting 2006 Chihuly blockbuster, which, Forrest says, “made us see the Garden in a different way.”

Indeed, Chihuly’s dynamic, organic glassworks — which dotted the 250-acre site in the Bronx and helped illuminate it at night — cast the National Historic Landmark as a midsummer night’s dream. Eleven years later, Chihuly and the Garden have designed an exhibit that will echo highlights of his career and the past show while shedding light on his creative process and the Garden’s ever-changing landscape.

The graceful “Blue Herons” that seemed eternally poised to take flight in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Courtyard’s Tropical Pool in 2006 38

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— their necks elongated in yearning — will now be showcased with other Chihuly sculptures inside the Haupt Conservatory, itself an acclaimed example of the Victorian glasshouse.

The Tropical Pool and the water features of the Native Plant Garden — which opened in 2013 and so was not part of the earlier exhibit — will be the sites for Chihuly’s reimagining of the Artpark installation that he created for a 1975 group exhibit of temporary, outdoor works in Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls. Once again, handblown sheets of stained glass will capture the effects of shifting light as day passes to night.

Over at the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the Garden will present a group of “Fire Orange Baskets” that Chihuly first developed in 1977 in homage to the Northwest Coast Indians. At the Library’s Art Gallery, visitors will be able to pore over works in pen, pastel and charcoal on heavy watercolor paper, which were not part of the 2006 show. The works — which began as a design element and a means of communication between the artist and his team at Chihuly Studio in Seattle — have become an end in themselves and, Forrest added, a way for viewers to explore a creative process that gives birth to sculptures like the spiky, kinetic “Tumbleweeds” and a new multicolored neon tower for the Conservatory Courtyard.

That process began in Tacoma, Washington, where Chihuly was born 75 years ago to a father of Czechoslovakian descent and a mother of Norwegian descent. Chihuly’s father was an organizer of meat packers; his mother, a homemaker who loved to garden. Chihuly lost his only broth-

Dale Chihuly’s “Blue Herons” (2006). The New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx.

Dale Chihuly at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 2016.

er when he was 15 years old, said Leslie Jackson Chihuly, the artist’s wife and president/CEO of Chihuly Studio and Chihuly Workshop.

“I’ve been his partner in life for 25 years and I’m not that old,” Mrs. Chihuly joked. At the luncheon, which offered a preview of spring on a balmy winter day, she illumined the life and work of a man “who has always thought of himself as an artist, not a glassblower per se. He still paints.”

At the University of Washington, where Chihuly studied interior design, he began to weave molten glass into textiles. One day, he blew a glass bubble. “It was,” Mrs. Chihuly said, “a ‘Eureka!’ moment.”

Chihuly went on to study in the first glass program in the United States, at the University of Wisconsin, and then at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he would later establish a glass program and serve as a popular teacher for more than a decade.

After receiving a Fulbright fellowship, he went to work in 1968 at the Venini glass factory in Venice. (He had sent out 100 letters to art glass companies and Venini was the only one to respond, Mrs. Chihuly said.) At Venini, Chihuly didn’t work on his own pieces but on assemblages that gave him insight into the team approach he uses today and

that we observed on video at the press luncheon.

Three years later, he cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, as a springboard for cutting-edge work that has netted him 12 honorary doctorates, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and entrée to the world’s great museums, including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre in Paris; the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, where more than one million saw his 1999 show; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the de Young in San Francisco; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

But Chihuly has always had an interest in outdoor exhibit spaces, threading the canals and piazzas of Venice with glass sculptures in 1995. He has shown at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago and at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London.

“Dale understands how his work will look in a garden,” Mrs. Chihuly said.

And, as viewers will once again discover, how that work can transform it.

For more, including information on the 39 “Chihuly Nights” and an interactive guide made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies, visit nybg.org. And for more on Dale Chihuly, visit chihuly.com.

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BANKING ON THE ARTS

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

W

hen other corporations bailed on the arts in the Great Recession, Bank of America doubled down.

The American multinational banking and financial services giant, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, has long supported exhibits and performances, lent works from its collections to create museum shows and provided cardholders with free admission to top cultural attractions. (It has also sponsored events held by Westfair Communications Inc., parent company of WAG.) “We always felt that… the arts tie communities together,” says Jeff Barker, New York state president of Bank of America.

Barker, an Armonk resident, walks the talk. Not only does he attend exhibits and performances in his professional capacity, but he enjoys cultural outings with his grandchildren — like the New York Botanical Garden’s perennial “Train Show,” featuring city landmarks made entirely of plant materials — and sits on the board of the Roundabout Theatre Co. in Manhattan.

So it’s no surprise to find that Bank of America is lead sponsor of the “Chihuly” exhibit at the Garden, and you can bet Barker will be there, perhaps at one of the enchanting 39 “Chihuly Nights,” featuring food, cocktails, shopping and performances all illumined by Dale Chihuly’s glass sculptures. Indeed for “Chihuly,” Bank of America has gone all in, even partnering with the Garden in a Twitter contest that will give the winner an exclusive weekend in New York City for the “Chihuly” opening (April 22-23). It includes a stay at the Grand Hyatt New York in Manhattan, hotel sponsor of the show; round-trip tickets to the Garden on Metro-North; a VIP tour of the exhibit; lunch at the Hudson Garden Grill; a signed personalized book from Dale Chihuly; and a Bank of America gift bag.

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Peter Moore. Photograph of Robert Rauschenberg’s “Pelican” (1963) as performed in a former CBS television studio, New York, during the First New York Theater Rally, May 1965. Photograph © Barbara Moore/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. © 2016 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Some “Chihuly” weekends will also be part of Museums on US, a 20-year-old program that offers Bank of America and Merrill Lynch credit and debit cardholders the chance to visit more than 150 cultural organizations in the United States free of charge on the first full weekend of every month.

The Garden’s “Chihuly” show is just one of the blockbusters and major institutions that Bank of America supports. It is a founding member of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; and the international tour sponsor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The bank serves as the primary sponsor for more than 10 museum exhibits per year. It is the global sponsor of the “Robert Rauschenberg” show, which will be at the Museum of Modern Art May 21 through Sept. 4; and a supporter of “Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim” (through Sept. 5).

But for Barker, all art is local. Westchester and Fairfield residents aren’t going to forego a visit to the Whitney Museum of American Art — of which Bank of America is a major sponsor — just because it is in Manhattan. Still, some of the museum’s support finds its way right into our backyard. The bank helped fund the Bruce Museum’s 2016 show of William Abranowicz photographs of the Mianus River Gorge, which runs right by Barker’s home.

Sponsorship and cardholder benefits are but two prongs in Bank of America’s multifaceted arts approach. The bank’s Art Conservation Project provides grants to nonprofit museums to conserve significant works of art, including those that have been designated national treasures. Since 2010, Bank of America has provided grants to museums in 29

countries for more than 100 conservation projects.

Among the works conserved in 2016 were Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Blue Boy” (1770), Andy Warhol’s “Jackie Frieze” (1964), three paintings by Salvador Dalí at The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida; a sixth century haniwa (terra-cotta tomb figure) at the Tokyo National Museum; and approximately 100 textiles and related objects at Emory University’s Michael C. Carlos Museum.

Meanwhile, the Bank of America Collection is a resource from which museums and nonprofit galleries may borrow complete exhibits at no cost.

“All you have to do is put a nail in the wall and advertise,” Barker says.

Since the program’s launch in late 2008, the bank’s collection has made more than 120 exhibits possible.

Current and upcoming shows include “Miradas: Ancient Roots in Modern and Contemporary Mexican Art,” at the Nevada Museum of Art through July 16; “Ansel Adams Distance and Details,” at the Upcountry History Museum, Furman University through June 4; “Andy Warhol Portfolios Stardust” at the Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa ( July 25-Oct. 25); “Wyeth Family: Three Generations From the Bank of America Collection,” at The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, March 11-Aug. 13 and at Portland Art Museum Sept. 30 through Jan. 21, 2018.

With so many approaches, it’s a win, win, win, win for the arts. Barker, who counts talking about culture among the pleasures of his job — and a nice break from other kinds of figures — laughs.

“We think so. It’s a good way for us to give back to the community.”

To learn more about these programs, visit bankofamerica.com/arts.

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THE LAUGHTER CONTINUES

BY PHIL HALL PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN RIZZO

Comedy legend Robert Klein turned 75 in February, yet he never dwells on his age. “I forget how old I am sometimes,” he says. “I work out three times a week and keep in pretty good shape. They say aging is in your head, but it’s in your tuchas and your knees.”

Klein doesn’t dwell on his longevity. His position as an elder statesman of stand-up comedy and his effect on a generation of comics has been the focus of a long-gestating project that will have its national premiere on the STARZ cable network March 31. “Robert Klein Still Can’t Stop His Leg,” is a documentary produced and directed by film critic and historian Marshall Fine.

“It was his idea,” Klein continues, referring to Fine, a fellow Westchesterite. “He did a big feature piece on me years ago and he wrote the liner notes for the box set of my first eight HBO specials. He had this idea because of comedians who were constantly saying that I was their inspiration or their template for going into the business. On the last ‘Tonight’ show with [Jay] Leno, for example, Billy Crystal was there saying to Leno: ‘I remember you had this terrible dingy apartment in Boston and you only had one thing on the wall — a poster of Robert Klein.’”

For Fine, a three-time chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle and critic-in-residence and programmer at The Picture House in Pelham, the documentary would have occurred sooner if a global catastrophe had not intervened.

“I remember having a conversation with Bingham Ray, who was one of the pioneers of independent film and who had just been named the head of United Artists,” the Ossining resident recalls. “I saw him at the Toronto Film Festival the day before 9/11 and I said I wanted to do a documentary on Robert Klein. And he said, ‘That’s an interesting idea.’ And then 9/11 happened.”

Fine came back to the idea about four years ago.

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viously directed the acclaimed 2007 documentary on film critic Rex Reed, “Do You Sleep in the Nude?”

— he realized that capturing Klein’s comic brilliance required a more observational approach.

“You don’t direct Robert Klein,” he says. “You point the camera and get out of the way. I wanted to make a movie that showed just how funny he was in real life as he is onstage. That was my marching orders from Robert from the start: It has to be funny.”

Indeed, one of the more delightful moments in the film occurred when Fine was filming Klein in the shopping district near his Briarcliff Manor home. The shoot attracted the attention of a group of elementary schoolgirls who were initially confused as to what was taking place.

“They didn’t really know who I am,” Klein says with a gentle laugh. “I said, ‘Your parents will know me. I was on HBO and in ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.’ And the little girls looked me up on their phones and said, ‘Oooo! Oooo! I know you! You’re on Google! Can we have a hug?’”

The spontaneous joy of the encounter made for wonderful nonfiction filmmaking, but Klein and Fine later realized that they had a major problem: They failed to get permission to use the girls in the film. As a result, they needed to go to the school and show their footage to administrators, who helped them locate the children and arrange for their parents to sign the proper paperwork enabling the sequence to remain.

In a way, this was among the easier hurdles that Klein and Fine needed to overcome.

“I could spontaneously break into song during a routine, but you’d have to clear the rights to the song,” Klein says, noting that one of his bits incorporating a Red Hot Chili Peppers tune had to be dropped because “we couldn’t clear that for a decent amount of money. That would upset the budget, so we couldn’t do that particular bit.”

But there was also another challenge: So much of

Klein’s work has become classic that it was impossible to squeeze everything into a 94-minute film. Even the film’s seemingly odd title — a reference to Klein’s beloved “I can’t stop my leg” routine — raises smiles from the comedian’s longtime fans.

“For people who know the material, they expect to hear it,” Fine says. “And for people that are not familiar, this is the best possible introduction to the material because it is what made him who he is.”

Fine was particularly lucky that Klein was the greatest archivist of his small-screen work. “Robert was an early adopter of VHS, so we had VHS tapes of virtually every TV performance he had since the late 1970s,” he adds, noting that the footage from the now-defunct medium needed to be digitally transferred for today’s viewing format.

“There were hundreds of them I watched looking for things I wanted to find.”

There was relatively little problem in bringing in comedy legends to talk admiringly of Klein’s influence on the stand-up scene: Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, David Steinberg, Fred Willard and Richard Lewis turn up on screen to acknowledge Klein’s effect on their careers.

“Seinfeld said I was The Beatles to him,” Klein remarks. “Stewart says that I’m subversive.”

Yet Fine did not want the film to be seen strictly as a memory lane visit to Klein’s career peaks. He brought his camera to three different contemporary stand-up shows where Klein enchanted audiences with new material.

“He is as strong onstage as he’s ever been,” Fine says admiringly.

Klein agrees, noting that he is still very much an active participant on the stand-up circuit.

“I still like to get up on the stage — that’s in the film, too,” he says. “It made me feel good that I’m not in the Museum of Natural History.”

Ultimately, Klein hopes that the film is more of a celebration of the joy of laughter. “It doesn’t get into deep philosophical meaning of what I do, except that my own contention is that making people laugh is a high calling,” he says. “Every physiological real world aspect of laughter is negative: Your blood pressure goes up, your teeth can hurt, your stomach can hurt, but it seems to have some therapeutic value.”

Robert Klein is at the Emelin Theatre March 4.

For more, call 914-698-0098 or visit emelin.org.

Robert Klein, left, and Marshall Fine.

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A COCKTAIL OF SONGS AND REFLECTIONS

BY GREGG SHAPIRO

G

reenwich singer-dancer Audrey Appleby hopes you’ll be “shaken, stirred and swept away” by her cabaret act at Café Noctambulo at Pangea in Manhattan March 3 and April 21.

“Ladies Cheap Cocktails: Concoctions and Confessions” features Appleby offering original songs and stories with the Darryl Kojak Sextet. It’s an act that’s been a lifetime in the making for the Boston-born, Florida-reared Appleby, who made up her first song (about a butterfly) at age 5, sang and danced in high school musicals and then embarked on a cabaret career after graduating from Tufts University.

A world traveler, Appleby has been living in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she and her husband raised their daughter, for 35 years. When it comes to singing the praises of Greenwich, she doesn’t hold back.

“It was an incredible place for my businesses,” she says. “First, I started a dance school in my house. It was different from what everybody else in dance does. I was welcoming people who didn’t feel any confidence, but they wanted to enjoy dance.”

Offering classes in a nurturing environment, Appleby incorporated live drummers and other creative ideas.

She finds Greenwich to be a beautiful, cultured place with quick access to New York City and her work in various venues there.

Recently, she took time from her “Ladies Cheap Cocktails” preparations to talk with WAG: When did you start writing your own songs?

“I didn’t start writing my own songs until the death of my father in 1993. There was all this grief that was pouring out of me. For the first time in my life, I started writing poetry. I wrote 100 po-

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Audrey Appleby in performance. Courtesy Audrey Appleby.

ems. I looked at them and wondered if someone could help me put them to music. I don’t read music, but I have this ability to hear a song and be able to sing it….I found a person from Uruguay and he wrote music with all of these different Latin rhythms to my poems.”

We’re glad you mentioned your songwriting collaboration, because your recent album, “Ladies Cheap Cocktails,” has songs written by you, as well as a number that you cowrote with others. What do you look for in a collaborator?

“The first album I ever did was all Latin music — cha-cha, samba, merengue. (For that album) I was looking for someone who could take my lyrics and make them into a song. (For the song) ‘Rue Blondell’ (on ‘Ladies Cheap Cocktails’) I actually got a French songwriter (Xavier Ferrain) and he did an incredible job. It’s very complicated musically. The lyrics for ‘Picasso Woman’ came out of a cabaret class I was taking about how to costume yourself. I was being made to feel terrible. I walked out of that class feeling depressed about my body, because it’s not a stick and it’s not a perfect Renaissance proportion. Another of my teachers (Shelly Markham) said he wanted to write the music to it. I said to that teacher, ‘I guess I’m just a Picasso woman.’ It’s a cabaret-style song. It’s an unusual piece of music, kooky and off-balance, like a Picasso.”

Your 2012 documentary “Tiny Miracles: Awakening Memory And Emotion In An Alzheimer’s World” is a powerful short film about the effect of music and dance on Koogie, a woman with Alzheimer’s. What compelled you to make it?

“Since I started my dance school 30-something years ago, I’ve always felt that I have so much to share with people and to help people, to make them feel better and inspired about themselves. My daughter was in film school at Tisch (New York University) and she didn’t know what to do for her documentary class. I had just started working at this Alzheimer’s facility.

The mother of a friend, who knew me through dance, had Alzheimer’s. (My friend) asked me if I would work with her mother. I had done everything else with dance and music, but I had never done that.

“I found that it’s like teaching anything. I saw that they were remembering the words to songs even though they couldn’t remember their names or anything else. It was awakening a part of their brain, their memory….”

Audrey Appleby performs at 7 p.m. March 3 and April 21 at Café Noctambulo at Pangea, 178 Second Ave., between 11th and 12th streets, in Manhattan. There is a $20 cover/$20 minimum. For reservations, call 212-995-0900.

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A WHOLE NEW ‘WORLD’

BY GREGG SHAPIRO

With two full-length albums to its name, 2014’s “Is There Anybody Out There?” and 2015’s “When The Morning Comes,” pop duo A Great Big World, alias Ian Axel and Chad King, appears to have the world at its feet.

Hit singles such as the Grammy Award-winning ballad “Say Something” (a duet with Christina Aguilera) and “Hold Each Other” have cemented the pair’s following worldwide. Influenced by Ben Folds, as well as the music and lyrics of North Salem’s Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, A Great Big World is the musical equivalent of a great big hug. The pair brings that hug to Ridgefield Playhouse March 22, and we talked with them beforehand: A Great Big World has helped usher in a return to pop music that is both sunny and serious, which is also exemplified in the music from “La La Land.” Do you see A Great Big World on the same musical family tree?

Chad King: “Both Ian and I were inspired as kids by Disney musicals ‘The Lion King,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Little Mermaid.’ We have that dream of putting our music to a movie, whether it’s an animated film or something like ‘La La Land.’”

Ian Axel: “That’s been the goal since we met. I told Chad that I wanted to write a musical with him. That’s what I originally wanted to do. Chad

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convinced me to start singing instead. We kind of got sidetracked. Now we’re finally writing a Broadway show. We love being artists and performers as well. We’re trying to juggle both.”

Which came first, the song “Cheer Up!” with the line about “a great big world” or A Great Big World as the name of the band?

IA: “The lyric came first, then the band name.

We were having the hardest time figuring out what to call ourselves. Then we said, ‘Let’s look at our lyrics.’ We felt like the song ‘Cheer Up!’ encompasses what our music is about — positivity and hope and love. We (also) try to connect with our inner-kids a lot of the time. That’s why we chose that line and that name.”

How did the Grammy-winning “Say Something” duet with Christina Aguilera come about?

IA: “’Say Something’ was written maybe six years ago. I released the song as a solo artist, when Chad was my manager. When we formed A Great Big World, we decided to record it for our album. It was on (the TV show) ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and the response was good. Christina heard it and emailed someone on our team. She said she wanted to sing the song. She was moved by it. We were floored and freaked out. We were like, ‘Is she sure she wants to sing it?’ (laughs). We flew to L.A. a few days later and recorded it with her.”

As longtime musical collaborators, what makes you play well with others and together?

CK: “Our relationship has evolved to the point where we’re brothers now. We’re honest with

Ian Axel and Chad King of A Great Big World. Photograph

by Joseph Llanes.

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each other; often more honest than we are with ourselves. That part of our relationship is beneficial for us as a band, as artists going through this journey together.”

IA: “When I met Chad, I was like, ‘Oh, yes, I know this guy.’ It was like I knew him from another lifetime, kindred spirits.”

What were some of the challenges and rewards of making a second album, such as 2015’s “When The Morning Comes”?

CK: “I think living up to what happened with the first album and ‘Say Something.’ How do we get beyond it? It was really difficult to do going into the writing and recording process. Everyone’s expecting something and that weight is on your shoulders.”

Have you begun work on your third album?

IA: “We’re just starting to write for it and figure out what that means. We’re also working on a Broadway musical at the same time. The last six months to a year has been spent working on that show. We’re just starting to transition back into the next album.”

A Great Big World performs at 8 p.m. March 22 at Ridgefield Playhouse. Tickets are $39.50.

For more, visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

Chad King and Ian Axel of A Great Big World. Courtesy Epic Records.

PRINCE WILLIAM HAS PRINCE HARRY, SNOOPY HAS SPIKE – YOU KNOW, THE BAD-BOY BABY BRO WHO’S A CHUNK OF CHARM AND A TON OF TROUBLE. That’s what WAG Weekly is to WAG. In our e-newsletter, we let down our hair (and occasionally, our grammar) to take you behind behind-the-scenes of the hottest parties and events, offer our thoughts on the most controversial issues of the day, share what couldn’t be contained in our glossy pages and tell you what to do and where to go this weekend – all while whetting your appetite for the next issue.

If you can’t get enough of WAG — or you just want to get WAG unplugged — then you won’t want to miss WAG Weekly, coming to your tablet.

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BEYOND THE DIAMOND

DEREK JETER DESIGNS HIS SECOND AND THIRD ACTS

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

Highlights from Derek Jeter’s storied baseball career are often famous enough to be described in quick phrases.

There’s The Flip, the “Mr. November” World Series home run, the home run for his 3,000th hit and the walk-off single that ended his career at Yankee Stadium.

Those highlights, along with a series of others, played on a screen at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown recently before Jeter was called to the stage to talk with broadcaster Jeremy Schaap about his career and life since he donned pinstripes for the final time in 2014.

Jeter said he’s still looking for things that quench his “competitive thirst,” which include improving his golf handicap.

But several hundred guests of the Business Council of Westchester’s “Getting in the Game” event came to hear him talk about that other sport, the one that led him to a storied career as New York Yankees shortstop. It has included five World Series titles, 14 All-Star game appearances and the retirement of his No. 2 jersey this spring — not to mention a likely date with Cooperstown.

Schaap, an eight-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster at ESPN (and son of sportswriter Dick Schaap), asked Jeter which of the World Series titles he was most proud of. Was it the one earned with the all-time great 1998 team, which won a record-setting 114 games in the regular season and swept the Series, or the 2000 team, which squeaked into the playoffs with just 87 wins before getting hot in October and beating the New York Mets in the Subway Series?

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said picking a favorite World Series team would be like asking a parent to pick a favorite child — though he did seem to lean toward one particular team.

“From wire to wire, I think the ’98 team is pretty special,” Jeter said. “Every year there are different things you go through, you’re faced with adversity and you overcome adversity, but ’98 was probably the most special group I’ve been a part of.”

Schaap also asked Jeter, who led the Yankees as team captain for the last 12 of his 20 seasons, about the different kinds of leadership he experienced early in his career, particular that of Paul O’Neill. A right fielder who played with Jeter from ’96 through 2001, O’Neill was a five-time All-Star who was known for his water-cooler smashing temper.

“Paul’s a little crazy,” Jeter said, drawing a laugh from the crowd. “There are different types of leaders. You have vocal leaders, people who lead by example. You want to have multiple leaders on the team… Paul O’Neill was a fiery leader. Tino [Martinez] was the same way.” On the other hand, centerfielder-musician Bernie Williams (October 2015 WAG) led quietly, Jeter added, when he wasn’t lost in his own creative thoughts.

While Schaap said he would be “more than happy to talk old baseball stuff for the whole time,” he noted they were also there to talk about Jeter’s entry into the business world. It was a Business Council event, after all. Jeter said he may be just as busy now as he was as a player, though in different ways.

“I never wanted to wake up and look in the mirror and say, ‘What am I going to do now?’” Jeter said.

He continues to run his Turn 2 Foundation, which seeks to keep young people away from drugs and alcohol and focused on healthy lifestyles. He also has an imprint through Simon & Schuster that publishes adult nonfiction, children’s picture books and fiction aimed at middle-grade students.

But his most high-profile venture is undoubtedly is The Players’ Tribune. The website was created to provide “athletes with a platform to connect directly with their fans in their own words,” according to a description on the site.

Throughout his career, Jeter was careful with his comments to journalists. So it was a surprise to some that he jumped from the diamond into the media world.

“A lot of time athletes get a bad rap, because people say they don’t want to speak up, they don’t want to share their thoughts. I heard it about myself all the time,” Jeter said. “My job was to limit distractions for my team and I knew what some members of the media were looking for. They’re looking for headlines.

And a lot of athletes do want to speak up, they have interests, things that are on their mind. So we wanted to provide them with that platform and the tools to do it an effective way.”

The Players’ Tribune has quickly become a major force in sports journalism. It publishes all first-person accounts written by athletes, from megastars like Jeter to lesser-known NFL journeymen.

It’s not just a site for players to promote their pet projects. The site has broken news and given players a voice on social issues. The Players’ Tribune had possibly the biggest sports scoop of 2016 — the decision of NBA MVP Kevin Durant to sign with the Golden State Warriors in July, which Durant announced himself in an article on the site. It has recruited more than 1,000 athlete-contributors.

While Jeter acknowledged journalists could view the site as a threat, he said he sees The Players’ Tribune as a complement to the traditional sports beat reporting.

“It’s been great, because when athletes are speaking to a trusted source, it’s amazing what stories come out,” Jeter said.

What’s next for him? Since retiring, he’s been open about wanting to own a baseball team. On this particular occasion, however, he was tight-lipped on which big league franchise in particular appealed to him.

“Unfortunately you don’t pick and choose where you own a team,” he said. “A lot of these are generational, so they don’t come up all the time. But that’s the next move.”

For more, visit theplayerstribune.com.

Derek Jeter. Photograph

WAGMAG.COM byMARCH 2017 Sebastian Flores. 53

THE COMPLEX DESIGN OF THE ‘ONE CHINA’ POLICY

BY SEYMOUR TOPPING

P

resident Donald J. Trump, in flippant disregard of a binding American historical commitment, thrust the United States recently into a dispute with China over the status of Taiwan. Ignoring what President Richard M. Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai negotiated in Beijing in 1972, Trump made an issue of Beijing’s core “One China” policy, which holds that the lush island off the South China coast with its 23 million people is part of the People's Republic of China.

The communiqué issued after Nixon's talks in Beijing stated: "The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China."

Trump came around to a respect for history after a phone conversation with President Xi Jinping of China. The White House described the call as a lengthy conversation during which Trump agreed to honor the One China policy, which he had previously refused to commit to, pending negotiation on such issues as trade deals. Nevertheless, the recent contretemps is a reminder that like a Chinese scroll painting, the One China policy is of delicate, intricate design.

President Jimmy Carter established formal diplomatic relations with the Beijing government on Jan. 1, 1979, and, at the same time, terminated diplomatic ties with Taiwan in conformance with Nixon’s commitment to the One China policy. Since then, the State Department has refrained from any contacts of a formal diplomatic nature with the Taiwan government in Taipei that would serve to 54

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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen with supporters last year. Courtesy Wikipedia.

rank the island internationally as a separate and independent nation.

Trump’s highly contentious slighting of the One China policy, traditionally Beijing’s most sanctified international policy position, ensued Dec. 2 with the president-elect’s acceptance of a telephone call from the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, congratulating Trump on his election. Trump's recognition thus of the Taiwanese president as the counterpart of his presidential self, head of an independent nation, was denounced by the Beijing government as a violation of the American commitment to the One China policy.

Trump's offhand reaction to this Beijing complaint compounded the incident into a major fraying of relations between Washington and Beijing.

In a television interview, Trump said he didn't feel "bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade." In yet another interview he reiterated that in dealing with China, everything is under negotiation, including One China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry retorted sharply with a statement rejecting Trump's suggestion that recognition of

the One China policy status of Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip in the negotiation on trade and other issues. A spokesman said that the internationally recognized One China policy position was not negotiable.

Beijing's evident resentment was so profound as to have a potentially divisive effect on such pending issues as Chinese cooperation with the United States on climate control, freedom of navigation through the contested South China Sea, trade and China’s continuing investment in U.S. Treasury securities, of which Beijing now has the largest reserve of any foreign country.

Beijing's outrage about the phone exchange with Tsai was heightened by the fact that Tsai is the leader of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party and a key player in the ongoing debate in Taiwan over what should be the political alignment of the island. Tsai was elected president last year by a very large margin, defeating the pro-Bejing Kuomintang Party founded by Chiang Kai-shek. There is a general reluctance on the part of a majority of the Taiwanese people to coming under the sway of the authoritarian Bei-

jing government. Tsai's ruling party has leaned to independence for Taiwan.

Despite the political standoff with Beijing, relations with the mainland have broadened recently on nonpolitical matters such trade, investment and tourism. In November, Tsai received a delegation of Beijing officials and mainland business leaders to explore broader cooperation in agricultural trade. Foreign tourists have also been drawn to the island in increasing numbers, particularly to visit the national museum, which houses fabulous antiques that Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists brought with them in ships when Chiang fled the mainland before the Communist advance in 1949.

The recent warming of commercial relations between China and Taiwan is in keeping with Beijing's policy of "peaceful attraction" of Taiwan to reunion with the motherland. The policy was first publicly enunciated in 1971 in an interview that Zhou Enlai granted to me and my journalist wife, Audrey, prior to his negotiation with Nixon the following year. The interview was published on the front page in The New York Times. While Zhou emphasized peaceful attraction, he also made clear that China could take military action to reintegrate Taiwan with the mainland if the leaders of the island unilaterally opted for independence. In 1950, President Harry Truman poised the United

Are you

States Seventh Fleet in the Taiwan Strait when the Maoists on the mainland were preparing an assault on Taiwan to reassert sovereignty over the island. Chiang Kai-shek with American support had freed the island of Japanese colonial control following World War II. The Pentagon has never lost sight of the possibility that there might be a repeat of that confrontation.

If it were to occur, it would be far riskier now to place American naval forces in the Taiwan Strait to block any Communist cross-strait military invasion of the island. The Communists recently have planted military sites on the mainland shore of the Taiwan Strait capable of firing land-to-ship missiles designed to knock out any American naval intrusion. Beijing has also recently staged maneuvers by military aircraft over the island and sent naval units through the strait, obviously to remind Taipei that China reserves the option of a military invasion if Taiwanese leaders should unilaterally declare independence.

While the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it does have a military defense commitment to the people of the island under the Taiwan Relations Act enacted

by Congress in April 1949. The act does not make an outright commitment by the United States to intervene militarily if China attempted a military

takeover across the Taiwan Strait. But it does state: "The United States will make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities."

Under that clause, the United States has been selling weaponry to Taiwan regularly despite Beijing's strong objections. As for the possibility of American military intervention, there is embodied in the act what had been described as "strategic ambiguity" intended to dissuade Taiwan from a unilateral declaration of independence in violation of the One China policy and to dissuade Beijing from unilaterally taking over Taiwan by military force.

Until now, Trump demonstrated little cognizance of the ramifications of tinkering with the delicate One China policy, which Beijing has shown readiness to uphold militarily. In brushing off questions raised about his protocol reception of Tsai, Trump said in a Twitter message: “Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.� Apparently it did not occur to Trump that the manner of his presidential reception of Tsai might have encouraged her to lead her party to an even stronger stand for Taiwanese independence with all of its consequences.

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DOCTOR'S ORDERS NEW LIFE REQUIRES NEW HOME

BY JANE K. DOVE

Dr. D. Douglas Miller has a design for life that works very well, weaving together his many talents and interests into an almost seamless tapestry that he finds gratifying.

A widely-recognized cardiologist and scientist, he has a strong clinical, educational, business and research background and uses them to advantage in his posts as dean of the New York Medical College School of Medicine (NYMC) and chief scientific officer of BioInc@NYMC, a biotechnology incubator that offers shared resources and space to promising entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Hudson Valley.

In between, Miller and his wife, Heather, are looking for a home in Westchester “within a 30-minute commute to the NYMC campus in Valhalla,” he said.

“We have been looking steadily since I was appointed dean of medicine as of Jan. 1, 2015.”

A native of Rockville, Ontario, Miller came to NYMC after serving as dean of the faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

“I already had colleagues at the medical college here and the position of dean of the School of Medicine was very attractive to me,” he said. “But I had not spent much time in the Westchester area, so that part of it was pretty much new.”

STARTING TO LOOK When the Millers arrived late in 2014, they decided to take their time finding the perfect house while renting an apartment in White Plains.

“Both of us found the Westchester-Fairfield area very lovely, with a beautiful and diverse housing stock,” he said. “It is also full of history, which we 56

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love. Heather had gone on Ancestry.com at one point and found that some of her ancestral family members had ties to the area that is now Armonk, so that was a pleasant surprise and incentive.”

Miller said he and his wife found an outstanding Realtor, Aaron Velez of Houlihan Lawrence, who filled them in on the backgrounds and amenities of the many towns within Miller’s 30-minute commuting radius. They then decided which communities were of interest and started looking at homes.

“We were especially drawn to the older homes with historic significance, although we did look at new ones, too. We visited a wide range of communities, from the Hudson River towns, over to Stamford, up and down the center of Westchester, including Chappaqua and, of course, the Armonk area,” Miller said he and Heather were impressed overall by the “sheer beauty” of the area and the variety of the housing. “It’s an incredible market and place to live,” he said. “We have lived in other nice places, but this area is special in many ways, including its proximity to New York City.”

It’s now been two years since the couple started looking for the perfect home and Miller said they were drawing near to the end of the search.

“There are a few places we are now very serious about,” he said. “One of the big considerations is the tax issue, but there is nothing we can do to change that. We are now almost ready to make the decision and move forward.”

FULL PROFESSIONAL PLATE Miller said that the couple’s house-hunting efforts had not distracted him from the wealth of professional business at hand.

Dr. D. Douglas Miller. Photograph by William Taufic. Courtesy New York. Medical College.

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“Things are going very well in both of my major posts as well as my private cardiology practice,” he said.

Miller’s résumé is a lengthy one. He has served as a leader in academic medicine for more than 25 years. Prior to the University of Alberta, he was dean of the School of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia.

In addition, he has held clinical appointments as an internist cardiologist, and medical imager at the University of Texas Health Science Center and at Saint Louis University. He received his M.D. from McGill University and later went on to earn a master of international business administration degree from Saint Louis University.

As chief scientific officer at BioInc@NYMC, he has found another successful leadership niche in the growing Hudson Valley biotech sector.

“I ran another similar incubator at the medical school in Georgia and also hold three patents in biotechnology. This has been an area of interest throughout my career.”

In addition to providing infrastructure and operational services, BioInc@NYMC assists its members with refining their business strategies, conserving capital, team-building and achieving funding goals.

The incubator launched in October of 2014, operating out of an 11,000-square- foot space on the Valhalla campus.

“We now have 10 groups housed in our incuba-

Dr. D. Douglas Miller with students at New York Medical College. Photograph by William Taufic. Courtesy New York Medical College.

tor,” Miller said. “It’s been really exciting and the idea has caught on. The overarching goal is to make breakthroughs in biomedicine.”

Miller said he is happy to be involved in a rich mix of activities and has met many great people and made good friends. “In the past two years, Heather and I have gotten a wonderful reception,” he added. “We are involved in a lot, both personally and professionally.”

Heather runs her own internet-based home business. Their two children, Caroline and Brendan, are grown and not a factor in the house-hunt decision.

One of Miller’s goals later this year, after settling into a new home, is running in the New York City Marathon. “I have run in several and hope I can find the time to train to do it,” he said. “I will be running against my personal best, not against their clock.”

A best that always sets the highest standard.

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A NEW DESIGN FOR LIVING

BY JANE K. DOVE

Lee Woodruff, wife of popular ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, was visiting Disneyland in late January 2006 with their four children when she got the horrifying phone call that changed their lives forever.

“It was Bob’s boss at the network telling me he had been badly wounded by an roadside bomb in Taji, Iraq, had taken shrapnel to the brain and was going into emergency surgery,” she says. “Bob was embedded with the Marines during the initial invasion of Iraq and was in the thick of the military action over there.”

Lee says the phone call, coming from “out of the blue” during a pleasure trip with her children combined with shooting a TV pilot for her own active public relations and marketing career, was beyond stunning.

But since that fateful day, well-covered by the U.S. and world news media, Bob has made an amazing recovery and is back to work in broadcast journalism, while the couple has started The Bob Woodruff Foundation, dedicated to assisting wounded service members and their families.

That new design for living, though, came after a long, hard road.

“I held myself together as best I could and told the kids their father had been injured but was alive. I did not go into too many details. I knew that would come later. I chose to stay hopeful for their sake as well as my own and waited for more infor64

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mation to come through.”

Bob had initial brain surgery in Iraq and then was flown immediately to a U.S. military hospital in Germany.

“Seventy-eight hours after hearing the news, I flew to Germany to be with Bob. When I walked into his room, I was shocked at what I saw. He was missing half his skull, his brain was swollen beyond belief and he was unconscious and on life support.”

Lee said Bob’s doctor tried to minimize hopes of his recovery and normal functioning.

“I believe he was being honest, because no one knows how a brain injury is going to turn out for the patient,” she says.

Bob was released from the German hospital and flown to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, with Lee following on a separate flight.

“All of this, from the explosion to his arrival back in the U.S., happened in less than a week’s time,” Lee says. “The goal was to get him back here as quickly and safely as possible for the specialized treatment he could receive at Walter Reed.”

With their four children staying with family in Rye, Lee took up residence at a Washington, D.C. hotel. “Bob was unconscious for five weeks,” Lee recalls. “The kids, ages 14, 12, and 5 for the twins, didn’t see their father and I protected them from a lot of the details.”

When Bob finally regained consciousness, the family was elated. “He had obvious cognitive deficiencies but improved little by little,” Lee says. “I knew he was going to come back but didn’t know

Lee Woodruff. Courtesy The United Way of Westchester and Putnam’s Women’s Leadership Council.

Bob Woodruff.

Photograph Cathrine White.

66 by WAGMAG.COM Courtesy Cathrine White.

MARCH 2017

how far he would come.”

Bob, however, surprised almost everyone. After extensive plastic and reconstructive surgery and having his shattered skull replaced with a large plastic prosthesis — he still has shrapnel buried in his face and neck, Lee says — Bob is now back working for ABC full-time as its Asia correspondent.

His first assignment, just 13 months after the roadside almost killed him, was an ABC documentary “To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports.”

BEFORE THE BOMB Lee, a native of Albany, and Bob, from Birmingham, Michigan, met while they were students at Colgate University. After graduating, they reconnected in 1986 in New York City. Lee was working for a public relations firm and Bob was in law school at the University of Michigan, working as a summer associate.

“The rest, as they say, is history,” Lee says. “We dated for a while and got married in l988 after Bob got his law degree and was working for a New York City law firm.”

But the financial crash of 1987 had sparked major changes in the couple’s life.

“Business slowed down for everyone and Bob, who had studied Mandarin Chinese in law school, decided to relocate to Beijing to teach law to Chinese law students. He stayed there a year and witnessed the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. He was actually there when the tanks rolled in and did some independent reporting. He liked the action and was always a history buff, so this put his mind on a different track.”

Despite his taste of journalism and the international action, Bob came back to the States to fulfill an assignment in San Francisco from his law firm.

The couple had their first child, Mack, and while Bob was committed to his law career, Lee says he still had dreams of journalism.

“Finally, he decided to leave the practice of law, taking a huge pay cut,” she says. “Our family actually qualified for food stamps. I helped support the family with my own writing while Bob worked for a variety of ABC network affiliates, starting out in Redding, California. He stayed there a year and then went on to Richmond, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and London.”

After working his way up through the ranks, Bob was assigned to the weekend anchor job at ABC in 2002.

The couple settled permanently in Rye in 2002 and Bob continued to advance up the ABC ladder, succeeding longtime “ABC World News Tonight” anchor Peter Jennings, along with Elizabeth Vargas. The war with Iraq was leading the news and Bob was one of several top journalists who went to Iraq to cover events behind military lines. Jan. 29, 2006, could have been the end, but instead it marked a new beginning.

A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE “The foundation was formed while Bob was still healing,” Lee says. Bob was getting a lot of attention in the news and the public was really rooting for is recovery. Lee says the couple wanted to do something beneficial with his story.

“We and other family members decided to start The Bob Woodruff Foundation to give our injured soldiers access to the highest level of support and resources they deserve, for as long as it is needed.”

That wish became the foundation’s mission.

As the foundation was taking shape, Lee and Bob wrote the best-selling book, “In an Instant,”

WE AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS DECIDED TO START THE BOB WOODRUFF FOUNDATION TO GIVE OUR INJURED SOLDIERS ACCESS TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SUPPORT AND RESOURCES THEY DESERVE, FOR AS LONG AS IT IS NEEDED. — Lee Woodruff

which garnered critical acclaim for its chronicle of their family’s journey to recovery after Bob’s brain injury.

Since the 2007 publication of their book, Lee and Bob have put a spotlight on returning war veterans and other Americans with brain injuries.

“The foundation is now 10 years old and, through it, we raise money to help brain-injured service members and their families receive the long-term care they need and also help them successfully reintegrate into their communities.”

Lee says the foundation donates to many grassroots organizations that serve veterans and provides funds for medical equipment like wheelchairs, caregiver support and other aspects of improving the quality of vets’ lives.

The foundation staff navigates a maze of nonprofits, looking to fund innovative programs serving the estimated 320,000 veterans who have sustained a traumatic brain injury and another 30,000 with psychological problems.

Today, the four Woodruff children — Mack, 25; Cathryn, 23; and twins, Nora and Claire, 16 — are doing fine in school and in life. Lee is a contributing reporter for “CBS This Morning” and has written two more books. As a freelance writer, she has penned many articles about her family and parenting and is sought after as a speaker, electrifying the audience at The United Way of Westchester and Putnam’s recent Women’s Leadership Council breakfast celebration.

“We live in a world where a lot people have problems and a lot people have been tested,” Lee says.

“A lot of people have ‘stuff’ they have to deal with.

The point is that nothing in life is easy. You can get better or you can get bitter. Bob and I are not people for self-pity. We want to spend our time with people that are honest and positive about their lives and that’s what we are doing.”

For more, visit leewoodruff.com.

A TIME FOR HEROES The 11th annual Stand Up for Heroes — produced by the New York Comedy Festival and The Bob Woodruff Foundation — will take place at 8 p.m. Nov. 7 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Stand Up for Heroes has raised nearly $40 million since 2007. Talent will be announced when tickets go on sale in September. Last year’s lineup included Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart and Bruce Springsteen (who has performed each year).

Funds raised from the event support programs for post-9/11 injured veterans, service members and their families. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

For more, visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org or email Amanda Scott at amanda. scott@bobwoodrufffoudation.org.

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WARES

IN PRAISE OF ECLECTICISM

BY JANE MORGAN

D

o you know what stylists are? You always hear about them in connection with movie stars and their outfits.

Stylists usually remain fairly anonymous and the only measure of their success is that the total look either works or it doesn’t. One wrong bracelet and the whole thing falls apart.

Stylists are really visual editors in the fashion world. They have to balance every element just right. My philosophy about interior design is that I am a visual editor in my environment. In my opinion, the most interesting interiors are collected, curated and eclectic. Everyone’s heard of “eclectic style,” but what is eclecticism exactly anyway? And how do you avoid that one wrong element?

“Eclectic” decor is a mixture of textures, colors, previous historical periods and cultural references in the same room that hang together, creating a charming and original atmosphere. Eclecticism is really a creative form of interior design — think collage, only in 3D. Putting things together that don’t necessarily “go together” is a fun and extremely personal way of expressing yourself. A truly successful space mirrors a person’s inner world and tells his story. After all, none of us is composed of just one emotional or mental attribute. We are, in our essence, an oppositional mixed bag.

But don’t go getting the idea that working in this vein is a visual free-for-all. The elements of a room must be chosen in thoughtful and logical connection to one another. That’s where the “hanging together” bit comes in. You don’t want to feel as if you’ve stumbled into the town dump.

Celebrate unexpected combinations. Juxtaposition means opposition, so no more matching bedroom sets. There is a formula, of sorts, to getting this right. In general, combine no more than two to three different styles at once. (Any more than that could become visually confusing). With fabric,

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Classic (Greek key-pattern rug) meets modern (red chair) in this room, which adds a touch of the international (Union Jack pillow) for a personal, pulled-together, eclectic look. Courtesy Jane Morgan Interior Design.

mix linear, graphic patterns with soft, rounded ones (think geometric plus floral). With furniture, mix curvy antiques with straighter, more modern pieces. (Bauhaus + 19th-century French). I also like to add something global like an English Union Jack pillow, a tribal African textile or a piece of Chinoiserie (Chinese pattern and motif) pottery.

Include quirky finds. All together, a purposefully “mismatched” look has a common thread while showcasing the element of surprise.

Please do not match the colors of the artwork on the walls to your sofa fabric. Keep color schemes limited to a two-color palette or even a monochromatic one. Three different types of furniture plus two colors are quite enough. If you’re afraid of color, as many people are, go for a scheme that combines a few different neutrals. Navy, gray, black, white and beige are instantly sophisticated. Marry lights, darks and mid-tones.

Don’t forget texture. Add chunky knits to the mix instead of going with all flat, woven pieces. Mix rough and refined finishes together.

Balance is the key. High with low. Heavy with light. Angular shapes with curved ones. Pattern on pattern with a solid color thrown in. Just make sure that the patterns differ in scale. Combine tailored and really comfy pieces together no matter what era they’re from. After all, it was Coco Chanel who said, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” If she doesn’t know style, who does?

Proportions must work in concert and not lean too heavily in one direction.

Just because a space doesn’t look uniform, that doesn’t mean the layout shouldn’t function properly. All good design principles regarding spatial flow still apply. Create focal points, conversation groups, clear circulation paths and separation between work and recreational spaces.

Finally, the great thing about an eclectic home is that your environment has a personal meaning that other people can recognize and appreciate along with you.

To see more of Jane Morgan’s work, visit janemorganinteriordesign.com.

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A BEAUTIFUL HAVEN INDEED The Belle Haven section of Greenwich certainly lives up to its name, situated as it is on a peninsula with its own club and beach.

The custom Colonial featured here spreads out on a one-acre private cul-de-sac at the corner of Belle Haven’s Walsh Lane and Otter Rock Drive.

Better yet, the 5,600-square-foot home boasts a meticulous two-year, top-to-bottom renovation.

Lee Ann Thornton’s interior custom design uses a blue, teal and white palette that gives the house an appropriate nautical feel.

There are elegant formal living and dining

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rooms, a light-filled sunroom, a spacious family room and a gourmet kitchen. The stunning first-floor master bedroom has a luxurious bath, while four bedroom suites await you on the second level.

Outdoors, the heated, in-ground pool and flagstone patio are perfect for seasonal entertaining.

And Smart Home technology with Lutron lighting, Savant Sound and a generator will help you feel safe. Plus, the unparalleled location is close to downtown Greenwich and Manhattan.

Sounds like you don’t have to do a thing but plunk down your $7,150,000.

For more, contact Yasmin Lloyds at 917-5970178 or 203-869-4343.

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LYMPH CANDY OFFERS A CLEAN APPROACH

BY MARY SHUSTACK

M

egan Hartman-Sparks and Pierre Andre were new parents fed up with what they have called “the lack of transparency in the cosmetic industry.”

Leery of harsh chemicals in everyday personal-care products and determined to offer their young son, now 17-month-old Charles, “chemical-free snuggle sessions,” the couple decided to take action.

The result is Lymph Candy, a Brooklyn-based deodorant line focused on bringing a nontoxic product to the global marketplace. Formulated to be highly effective with just six ingredients, the creations of Lymph Candy are also designed to promote lymphatic health.

As Hartman-Sparks and Andre share in their promotional materials, “Through our own research studying the biology of the human body for our own health, through various outlets, we know a properly functioning lymphatic system is one key to optimal overall health. For this reason, we have created Lymph Candy to stay out of the way of your body’s own ability to naturally detox through the lymphatic system.”

The effort is a true collaboration. Hartman-Sparks, who has experience in retail and advertising, serves as chief marketing officer, overseeing supplier relationships, business logistics and strategic partnerships. Andre, a school social worker, has long studied health-related topics. He serves as the chief knowledge officer and hand-makes each batch to ensure quality production.

In early days, the pair found themselves creating a deodorant that they began giving away to friends and family. It was officially launched as a business in July of 2016 and grew into a small thriving operation in their home.

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Top: Pierre Andre and Megan Hartman-Sparks with their son, Charles.

Photograph courtesy Megan Hartman-Sparks and Lymph Candy.

Left: Lymph Candy is a deodorant line focused on a product free of harsh chemicals. Photograph by Sebastian Flores.

Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, it continues to grow.

The products are available in two sizes, three strengths and, in addition to unscented, in lavender, lemongrass, lime, geranium and cedarwood.

Between fulfilling hundreds of Kickstarter rewards (Lymph Candy products sent to people who contributed to the funding campaign), Hartman-Sparks took a few moments to answer some questions for WAG. How has the company taken off in its early months?

“Our company has taken off in its early months through a very validating Kickstarter campaign that was 200 percent funded, raising $11,000. We’ve been in beauty boxes, partnered with Stand Up to Cancer in Nigeria, partnered with Instagram personalities on promotions and seen weekly online sales grow consistently. We are excited to announce we are an official FounderMade Wellness Partner and we’re part of their entrepreneur network.”

When creating this product, whom did you envision as your main customers and has that been proven true so far?

“We envisioned our main customers as ingredient-conscious. These people are reading labels, concerned about toxins and willing to step out of their comfort zone. This has been proven true as our customer base is partially made up of those ‘recovering from long-term chronic illness,’ some fitness professionals and mainly the holistic-minded, who are aware of the dangers of long-term toxic chemical use. They are evangelizing the nontoxic movement and sharing their findings with friends and family, including Lymph Candy.”

What is the most important thing you want people to know about this venture?

“The most important thing we want people to know about Lymph Candy is that we are foremost prioritizing everyone’s health as evidenced by the choice of ingredients. That our goal is to educate folks on what ingredients are impacting their health, good or bad. Hoping people will take this info and make a conscious effort to switch to nontoxic products, especially Lymph Candy. We want people to know it’s important to take control of their health, read labels, understand the impact of toxic chemicals and that the ability to change is within their control.”

For more, visit lymphcandy.com.

Fairweather Farm, North Salem, NY An icon of North Salem country living. Stone walls, babbling brooks & mown paths traverse 22+ acres of unspoiled pasture. The main house atop a knoll, tucked between a boxwood garden and in-ground heated pool. Colonial Revival home seamlessly blends original detail & modern amenities. The spacious public rooms all feature fireplaces. LR w/a south-facing bay window; library w/ elaborate millwork; DR w/hearth & French doors; study w/ vaulted ceilings & window seat. The EIK features traditional style combined w/high-end appliances.

Master suite w/a fireplace, bay window, WIC, & en-suite bath. 2 BRs connected by a full bath; guest room w/en-suite bath. Outbuildings: Immaculately restored caretaker’s cottage, barn/ studio w/ 2 apartments totaling 3 bedrooms. Splendid potential for horses. MLS#4601218 Price $3,750,000

North Salem, NY Elegant Colonial on charming back dirt road. 2007 & 2012- renovations w/ incredible attention to detail including a paneled hallway, DR w/ double height floor to ceiling windows.

LR w/fireplace & beamed ceiling has French doors that open to deck. Cozy library. The new kitchen, that includes a new Mud Room, has dining nook & opens to the recently added DR. The master BR has built-ins plus ensuite Bath & dressing room. 2 Family BR has one now being used as office w/ 2 built-in desks. Hall bath completes the 2nd floor. Easily maintained property features old Stone Walls, mature trees and complimenting perennials plus a seasonal stream & pond. Directly across the road is 1000 acre Mountain Lakes Park with beautifully marked hiking trails. 5 min. to Ridgefield, CT shopping and restaurants. 10 min. to Purdys Train & I684 MLS#464434 Price: $850,000

North Salem, NY Private & pristine colonial. Gourmet Kitchen w/ Wolf, Sub Zero, Miele & incl Breakfast Nook & Sitting Area w/FP. 3-season glass/screened-in Porch w/views. Liv Rm opens to Dining Rm w/doors to deck. Fam Rm w/Wood Stove & Built-Ins. Office. MasterBR w/ 2 WalkIn Closets, Master Bath. 3 fam Bedrms. Hall bath. 2nd Fl Laundry. Lower Level Playrm w/ Workspace & Storage. Sq Ft does not include 392 SQ.FT. In lower level. Numerous upgrades, incl new roof & painting of entire interior & exterior. MLS#4646243 Price: $845,000

Katonah, NY Sun-filled stone and shingle colonial with contemporary flair located at the end of a private cul-de sac. A welcoming front porch, a two story foyer with vaulted wood ceilings, and floor to ceiling stone fireplaces highlight this gracious home which is perfect for entertaining and casual family living. The gourmet eat-in kitchen with stainless steel appliances adjoins the family room with a stone fireplace showcasing the outdoors with large custom windows. The second floor has an en-suite master bedroom and three family bedrooms. There is a computer work station room. an office, and a loft with a third stone fireplace. The large backyard is private and has protected land buffering it. This home is walking distance from Fox Valley Park, where there are tennis courts, baseball fields, and open space. Two miles from schools. shopping, and Metro North. MLS#4642653 Price: $849,995

South Salem, NY

An amazing way to live. Spend summer days on the lake & cozy winter evenings by the fire.

Truesdale Lake three bed, two bath Deck House with open flow for entertaining. Kitchen w/ granite counters, Dining Room & Living Rm w/ Vaulted Wood Ceilings & Stone Fireplace, all w/ glass doors to wraparound Deck. Master Bedroom w/ En-Suite Master Bath, two additional Bedrooms & Office Area w/ Doors to Bluestone Patio. Fenced Backyard, short stroll to Beach.

Kayak, Canoe, Paddleboard, Boats w/ electric motor. MLS#4652927 Price: $509,000

WEAR

NAKED BEAUTY

BY DANIELLE RENDA

N

ordstrom is going au naturel.

The retailer — which anchors one end of The Westchester in White Plains — recently launched Nordstrom Naturale, a portion of its beauty department that is exclusively devoted to makeup, skincare and hair products that are free of additives, like parabens (preservatives), phthalates (plasticizers) and sulfates. All featured products are made from organic materials, like herbal extracts and basic minerals, to enhance natural beauty.

Existing Nordstrom brands include butter LONDON — nourishing cosmetics for the eyes, lips, face and nails — and Farmaesthetics, a skincare line infused with herbs, flowers, oils and grains cultivated from American farms. New to the store’s inventory is Raffaele Ruberto Skin, an organic skincare line with antiaging properties:

BUTTER LONDON’S SHEER WISDOM LIP OIL AND SERUM SHADOW Newest to the brand’s shelves are the creamy Sheer Wisdom Lush Lip Oil and the weightless Sheer Wisdom Serum Shadow.

The lip oil offers a nourishing, deep-conditioning treatment thanks to its blend of amino acids and botanical leaves. With one quick application, its ingredients — which include Tahitian coconut oil, prickly pear seed oil, chia seed oil, cloudberry oil and green tea extract — activate to protect and rejuvenate. The oil is available in six neutral, sheer shades, including warm nude, soft pink, mauve, rose, cocoa and wine ($22).

The long-lasting serum eye shadow includes an antiaging peptide blend, which works to decrease wrinkles and smooth lids. To apply, simply shake, dab three dots onto each lid and blend the powder with your fingers for a crease-free, matte finish. The serum is also available in six neutral shades, including vanilla crème, cool pink, beige, mauve, warm taupe and rich brown ($24).

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Photograph by Sebastian Flores.

FARMAESTHETICS’ ETHERIC INHALATION OIL SERVICES These aromatic essential oils can help ward off fatigue, improve the quality of sleep, uplift mood and promote relaxation.

To use, apply two to three drops to your palm and rub together to warm and release the vapors, cup your nose and slowly breathe for 30 seconds. Or, try adding drops of oil into a warm bath, (carefully) onto a bedside lamp light bulb or into a small cloth.

Each of the oils, which have a certified shelf life of two years from the date they’re opened, is hypoallergenic, nonirritating and dermatologically tested. Options include Adrenal Support, Dreaming, Pick-Me-Up and Warming ($27 each or $96 for a set of four).

RAFFAELE RUBERTO SKIN’S R-LIFT TRIO Molecular biologist Raffaele Ruberto created a contouring, three-step skincare line to help reverse the top five signs of aging — loss of skin elasticity, fine lines and pores, uneven skin tone, redness and puffiness and lackluster complexion.

Formula No. 9, a face and eye serum, works to lift and sculpt the jaw line and cheekbones, blur fine lines and pores, smooth uneven skin tones, erase under-eye puffiness and increase hydration ($90), while Formula No. 10, a neck and décolleté serum, is designed with the same purpose in mind, but for the neck area ($105). Formula No. 11, the crème, should be applied last to enhance overall results and further nourish the skin ($98).

For more, visit nordstrom.com.

LOCAL EXPERTISE. EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS.

RICHMOND HILL ROAD | $ 3,995,000 | WEB ID: 0068244

CONTEMPORARY RETREAT | $3,995,000 | WEB ID: 0068161

New England Shingle-style home designed by noted Greenwich architect Paul Marchese and

Enjoy resort living at home in this dramatic contemporary on 4 private acres, featuring both a

sited on four private back country acres on Richmond Hill Road.

tennis court & stunning heated pool with waterfall & spa.

Leslie McElwreath | 917.539.3654

Brad Hvolbeck 203.940.0015 | Marijane Bates Hvolbeck 203.983.3832

NORTH STREET | $3,800,000 | WEB ID: 0067980

ENCHANTING COMPOUND | $3,495,000 | WEB ID: 0068187

Unique in-town beauty with 11-foot ceilings and beautifully scaled spacious rooms. Seven

In the leafy beauty of an exclusive waterfront neighborhood, this enchanting compound is

possible bedrooms, and garaging for 4 cars.

situated in the private Chimney Cove Association on Indian Harbor on Long Island Sound.

Heather Platt 203.983.3802 | Carol Zuckert 203.869.4343

Cate Keeney| 203.536.8187

JEWEL ON PECKSLAND ROAD | $2,995,000 | WEB ID: 0068079

IN-TOWN RESTORATION | $2,650,000 | WEB ID: 0068363

Ideally located on one of Greenwich’s most beautiful roads, this quintessential Connecticut

Masterful restoration of a classic 1905 Four Square, shingle style home one block from

Colonial has been renovated with such grace and style.

Greenwich Ave shopping, restaurants and night life.

Martha Drake | 203.249.8713

John Graves | 646.981.8200

GREENWICH BROKERAGE | 203.869.4343 One Pickwick Plaza | Greenwich, CT 06830

sothebyshomes.com/greenwich

Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo areregistered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are notemployees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

WEAR

UNDER THE RADAR

BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM

W

For the right kind of lip service, try Nudus’ Lip Euphoria, handcrafted in Australia in small batches in a certified organic environment using no machinery. The formula incorporates super foods, antioxidants, vitamins, essential fatty acids and antiaging ingredients. Even more, Lip Euphoria incorporates extracts made from organic flowers, fruits, herbs and minerals. Available in a rainbow of colors, with No. 27 the bestseller. nudus.com.au or thechoosychick.com.

hy not add some of these hidden gems to your beauty routine?

FOR THE FACE Piibu (“pee boo”), meaning “skin” in Korean, is a monthly subscription box for facial sheet masks.

Each month, Piibu sends you a box of eight to 10 masks, offering you access to both popular and emerging brands. You’ll wonder how you ever lived without the Collagen Snail Mask Pack, the Pearl or the Sweet Melon. Piibu.com.

It’s one thing to put on some facial cream. It’s quite another to use cutting-edge technology and ultrasonic waves to improve application.

The Arbonne Intelligence Genius Ultra requires only a minute of your time and a circular motion to amp up uniform application of your favorite moisturizer, which is much better than just using your fingertips. It also has three warmth levels for cozy comfort. Arbonne.com.

Try it in tandem with something spectacular, such as the JK7 24-Hour Night and Day Cream — $1,250 for 1.5 ounces — which is made in Hawaii with mangosteen, pomegranate and orange essential oil and is the signature brand of the posh Sullivan Estate Spa & Retreat on Oahu. Additionally, try the addictive JK7 lemon and lime facial cleanser, which is bursting with citrus oils and has the most intoxicating aroma I’ve ever experienced in a beauty product. JK7 was created by Dr. Jurgen Klein, who founded the cult beauty brand Jurlique. All of his products are natural, organic

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Amalia Lipstick by Nudus’ Lip Euphoria. Courtesy Nudus’ Lip Euphoria.

and in a luxurious league of their own. shop.jk7skincare.com.

Most women hate the look of thick, cakey foundation. I’ve uncovered a great new product — light and airy — that leaves my face dewy yet covered.

It’s Sebastien Tardif’s Veil Sunset Skin Foundation, which has a soft-focus finish to reveal radiant results. It’s water-based and oil- and paraben-free and, after using it, you’ll look like you spent a week at a spa having nothing but facials. Veilcosmetics.com.

Wow your brows with Glossier’s Boy Brow. Inspired by hair pomade, Boy Brow thickens, fills in and grooms your eyebrows to give you back the bushy Brooke Shields brows you once had, in the color you want. Just use the tiny tapered brush, fill in and you’re out the door looking devastating.

Glossier.com.

FOR YOUR HAIR The luxury brand label.m USA has opulent options for your hair, containing dust particles of the finest conflict-free, real diamonds sourced from Belgium. Try the Diamond Dust shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and leave-in crème, which also contain luscious and, delightfully fragranced, white rose petal oil. These products — the official products of London Fashion Week — are sulfate-free. labelmusa.com.

Long a Hollywood secret, Viviscal tablets have literally been on the tip of many a celebrity’s tongues. Fans of Viviscal include Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, Karlie Kloss, Reese Witherspoon, Miley Cyrus, Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts.

Viviscal extra-strength hair-growth supplement is supported by 25 years of continuous research and contains a clinically proven marine complex, which is a patented formula to nourish thinning hair and promote existing hair growth. After taking Viviscal dietary supplements, my stressed blond strands — which are straightened, colored and bleached — have never looked or felt better, or stronger. Also available are Viviscal growth-densifying shampoo, conditioner and elixir that contain a complex of biotin, keratin and zinc to promote healthy-looking hair growth. viviscal.com.

And if you’re fighting frizz, try the Hair Remedie Frizz Eliminating Towel made of 100 percent cotton jersey knit to protect and dry your hair in the best way possible. hairremedie.com These will keep you on the Best-Tressed List.

For more about Debbi, visit MarketingAuthor.com, and GorgeousGlobetrotter.com

Bra d Hvo l b e c k & Ma r i j a n e B ate s Hvo l b e c k Pre s e n t

EXCEPTIONAL GREENWICH ESTATE | $11,450,000 | WEB: 0067611 Encompassing over five spectacular, private acres, this nearly 11,000 sq. ft. pre-war stone, stucco and timbers English manor house is filled with natural light and has been completely and masterfully renovated to the highest standards. Many special amenities include a fabulous guest house, gorgeous heated pool with spa and all-weather tennis court.

Brad Hvolbeck 203.618.3110 | Marijane Bates Hvolbeck 203.983.3832

EXQUISITE COUNTRY ESTATE | $10,400,000 | WEB: 0068291 A shining jewel in the heart of Round Hill, this exquisite country estate encompasses over five private acres of spectacular gardens, mature shade trees and rolling meadow. Over 11,000 square feet of elegantly inviting, sun-filled interiors marries a thoughtful renovation of the original antique house with a spectacular new addition to create an unparalleled residence.

Brad Hvolbeck | 203.618.3110 GREENWICH BROKERAGE | 203.869.4343 One Pickwick Plaza | Greenwich, CT 06830

sothebyshomes.com/greenwich

Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

WANDERS

BELOVED BARCELONA

BY JEREMY WAYNE

Marching down Las Ramblas in her charcoal-grey Zara pantsuit, tiny feet wedged into her Camper Kobos, a Josep Font saddle-bag strapped to her back like a limpet, you can spot a Barcelonesa at 300 feet.

She’s feminine, confident, equally paid and liberal — an inhabitant of the world’s most design-led city and proud of it. Milan may just trump it for fashion, and Tokyo may have the edge when it comes to futurism, but for Modernism, Barcelona always wins hands down.

The man who established the city’s design creds was the wonderfully named Ildefonso Cerdà y Suñer. He laid out the Eixample District, the elegant 19th-century grid, with its unique octagonal corners, which not only gives the city light but also makes it exceptionally easy to navigate — at least north of Plaza Catalunya. In his wake came Antoni Gaudí, whose unfinished, elaborately embellished cathedral needs no introduction, and Josep Puig y Cadafalch (with a name to match Suñer), whose triumphs include the Palace of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the exquisite Casa Amatller. And let’s not forget Lluís Domènech y Montaner and his glorious Palau de La Música Catalana, to name but one of his Modernist masterpieces. In effect these architects were the decorators in a city already beautiful in its design.

But what propelled Barcelona into the modern age — it’s now the most visited city in Europe after Paris and London — was undoubtedly the 1992 Olympics. Pasqual Maragall, the then-may80

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or, opened up the waterfront, which had always been ignored, and almost overnight changed Barcelona’s consciousness from a city that traditionally had its back to the water to one that reveled in its perfect location. And make no mistake, it is perfectly located — on the shores of the Mediterranean, a mere 90 minutes’ drive from the snowcapped mountains of the Pyrenees. Spanish operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé and rocker Freddie Mercury teamed for the eponymous song to the city, Whit Stillman made the movie and later Barcelona exploded into the millennium, when it would one day ultimately be celebrated by Woody Allen in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” The success of the city’s soccer club, FC Barcelona, which enjoyed near mythical status in Europe, didn’t hurt either.

There was no turning back.

The public transportation system, already one of the best in Europe, was upgraded and, in the last 10 years, the seedy and often dangerous neighborhoods of the Born and Raval have been reinvented. The state-of-the-art Maremagnum leisure complex — out by the harbor — was built on reclaimed land in the 1990s. A quarter of a century on, it continues to expand.

And culturally, of course, the city is a cornucopia, with its two symphony orchestras, three world-class concert halls and one of the world’s most enchanting opera houses. It’s a jazz hub, too, and there can’t be many an old rocker or new rapper who doesn’t jump at the chance of a gig in the Ciudad Condal, or City of Counts, to give it its local nickname.

Barcelona has more museums per capita than New York and twice as many bars per capita as

Inside Gaudií’s Basiîlica î Temple Expiatori de La Sagrda Familia.

Courtesy A Certain Slant of Light.

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View from Park Güell. Courtesy A Certain Slant of Light.

Berlin. It’s a powerhouse of Modern art. Throw in the legacies of Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró and it’s irresistible. As a tourist, there’s far more than you can hope to cover in a week or even a month, but you can start by scratching the surface. And remember, a scratch in Barcelona is like an excavation in any other city.

No one’s going to go hungry either in this town.

From hole-in-the-wall dive to molecular lab to fine-dining flash, the city’s restaurants are at the forefront of the new Spanish gastronomy. (Tickets — run by chef Ferran Adrià’s brother, Albert — and the part-experimental Alkimia are the cur-

rent hot restaurants, but blink and this will have changed.) And as for where to lay your head at night — not that you’ll be getting much sleep, as clubbing doesn’t finish until 6 a.m. — the city is bursting at the seams with “design” hotels. Some, frankly, are ridiculous, ergonomically sadistic torture chambers, where innovative design for its own sake has replaced common sense. But others like the Mercer and the Neri are jewels, referencing heritage while looking confidently ahead. This year’s eagerly awaited new opening is Almanac Barcelona, which promises zingy, latter-day design in addition to creating “sensory

perceptions” for its guests. Watch this space.

Yes, you’ve guessed it. I love Barcelona probably more than any city on earth, which is why I seldom write about it. A paean or ode I can understand, but going behind the scenes, sharing tips, revealing secrets? That’s surely kiss-and-tell stuff. So that’s why I won’t be telling you about the unimaginably lovely Hivernacle, or winter botanical garden, or the gob-smacking view from the military fortress at the top of Montjuïc, or the Dry Martini bar on Carrer Aribau — surely the most beautiful cocktail bar in the world.

I won’t mention the Hotel Palace, one of the “original” Ritzes, founded by César Ritz himself, in 1919 (or how my wife and I were able to rent a room for three hours one sunny Saturday in September 1997, not for any illicit purpose, but to watch the funeral of Princess Diana on television).

And I’m not even going to whisper that Barcelona is where our twin boys were conceived, or where we watched dazzlingly spectacular fireworks from the roof of our apartment on the eve of the millennium. And where, exactly a year later on another New Year’s Eve, just as promised, we saw newly minted, never-before-seen euros slip effortlessly out of the ATM when we popped in our card and PIN on the stroke of midnight.

Barcelona is too vivid, too thrilling, too exotic, too design-filled and, occasionally even, too silly — but above all too personal — to share. I want to keep it to myself.

So whatever you do, please don’t go.

Penny Pincher Boutique The Very Best in Women’s Luxury Consignment Established 1985

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WANDERS

BE THEIR GUEST

LUXE CONCIERGES HAVE SEEN, HEARD — AND DONE — IT ALL

BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM

Want your hotel room repainted periwinkle blue or its furniture replaced with workout equipment?

Need a wedding dress with matching Christian Louboutin shoes or an essential oil from Harrods?

How about finding a glassblower to replicate a ceramic dish, in just three hours?

Such requests are just the tip of the iceberg — rather, the ice bucket — and all in a day’s work at luxury hotels throughout the world.

Concierges at five-star properties have seen and heard it all. Nonetheless, they cheerfully make it happen — whatever “it” is — all to ensure their guests’ happiness and, maybe, to spoil them silly.

At Ireland’s Dromoland Castle, Managing Director Mark Nolan got an out-of-the-blue phone call a few years back on Christmas Eve, when the country manor was closed for refurbishment.

It seems that the rock band U2 was stranded at Shannon Airport — just 7 miles away. Band leader Bono, who had stayed at the resort previously, wanted to check in at Dromoland — and only at Dromoland — and Nolan had to think quickly.

Faster than you can say “The Edge,” Nolan made arrangements for the band to stay overnight and, then, with no chef on hand, arranged for his wife to serve the entourage her homemade shepherd’s pies. “We had no food, no nothing,” Nolan says.

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The rooftop of The Peninsula New York in midtown Manhattan. Courtesy The Peninsula New York and (below) the Taj Boston. Courtesy the Taj Boston.

But, he adds, the globetrotting rocker/humanitarian and his band “were the nicest, most appreciative people you could ever meet.”

At the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Chef Concierge Jeanne Mills had to arrange for a guest from Qatar to check his $1.2 million Bugatti on Emirates airline so he could fly with the car stored in the cargo hold. The cost of that extra baggage?

“It was in the tens of thousands of dollars,” Mills says. Another time, a socialite asked Mills to get her a not-yet-released Louis Vuitton handbag from Paris. “We obtained the bag, had it shipped to the Beverly Wilshire, and she had it when she boarded her flight to London,” Mills says.

It’s all about going that extra frequent flyer mile at places like The Ritz London. There Head Concierge Michael De Cozar, known as “the Fixer,” has

done everything from fetching fresh seawater from Brighton for a guest’s evening bath to arranging the purchase of a battleship for another guest who wanted a souvenir of distinction from the United Kingdom. De Cozar’s most memorable tale has to do with assisting a guest who needed a horse’s saddle for her dressage competition. In just 24 hours, he collected the saddle and made arrangements for another of his clients to bring it with him on his British Airways flight. “His driver then hand-delivered the saddle to my client’s home,” he says.

One person’s saddle is another’s foodstuff. A celebrity who frequented The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan was in the process of filming a movie in Mexico when she realized that there were no blood oranges on hand for an important scene. Distraught, she phoned The Towers’ Concierge Michael Romei, who purchased the oranges, flew them and a passenger to Mexico and arranged a special meet-and-greet to facilitate customs and immigration.

One of the world’s most challenging requests came from a famed musician who had stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney. As his private plane departed Sydney Airport, the musician called the Shang and arranged for room service to deliver a special meal to his partner. Easy, right? But here’s the hitch — that person was staying in a remote village in Thailand. Says Concierge Colin Toomey: “It took a number of phone calls to various colleagues in Bangkok to put the arrangements in place and we certainly called in a lot of favors that day, but we got there in the end.”

Other challenges remain in-house. What if you’re a celebrity and you find out another boldfaced name is wearing the same dress to an event? It happened at The Peninsula New York, where Chef Concierge Frederick Bigler had only a few hours to arrange for a stylist to come in with several chic choices and, of course, a fitting. “I pulled that together very quickly,” he says. “That was a nail-biting situation.” In thanks, the celebrity told Bigler, “You moved the world for me and I appreciate it.”

For more on Debbi, visit GorgeousGlobetrotter. com and MarketingAuthor.com.

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DESIGNED TO SERVE

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY RIZZOLI

M

arshall Watson is one interior designer who believes in serving his client’s vision, rather than imposing his own.

“I use my talents, training and experience — really everything I’ve learned in the course of a lifetime — to become a conduit for other people’s aspirations,” Watson writes, with Marc Kristal, in “The Art of Elegance: Classic Interiors” (March 2017, Rizzoli, $55, 256 pages). “The great playwright Samuel Beckett spoke of learning to write ‘without language.’ You might say that I have sought to design without a personal signature style, to absent myself to the greatest possible extent and make each project about realizing and refining my clients’ most heartfelt fantasies of home. “ Perhaps Watson’s approach stems from the fact that he was not a designer first but rather at last.

The Kansas City, Kansas, native studied engineering and literature, along with design, at Stanford University. This led to a first act as a painter and a second one as a theatrical designer. A third act found him exploring character acting. In the end, he realized, that all these professions were excellent preparation for a 30-year — and counting — career as a designer of homes that are intimate, integrated and understated in their luxuriousness.

“Thus my projects may not scream ‘look at me’ and, you may ask, if my objective is to disappear into every role, then what makes a ‘Marshall Watson interior’?“ he writes. “What constitutes my indelible set of fingerprints? My answer would be that, in all ways, I embrace the principles that transform a series of rooms into the true definition of elegance: Warmth. Light. Peace. Balance.

Proportion. Livability. “ As the book's pages attest, that rings true from the Italianate and Spanish-style forecourt 86

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The forecourt of a Mexican hacienda overlooking the Sea of Cortés fuses Italianate and Spanish styles in a stunning outdoor room. Photograph by Geno Perches.

I EMBRACE THE PRINCIPLES THAT TRANSFORM A SERIES OF ROOMS INTO THE TRUE DEFINITION OF ELEGANCE: WARMTH. LIGHT. PEACE. BALANCE. PROPORTION. LIVABILITY. — Marshall Watson

of a Mexican hacienda, with its arcade of Doric columns overlooking the Sea of Cortés, to the Georgian pool house that echoes a 1920s home in St. Louis to the richly tropical media room/ bar of a Bahamian residence.

Watson’s own neoclassical East Hampton home — which he enjoys with husband Paul — closes the book. Unable to afford an architect after having gone way over budget, Watson decided to create the house of his dreams himself. It’s here that you may notice a thread through the book — the use of a Van Gogh-ish, blue-and-yellow palette that conveys the light and warmth of which Watson writes.

It’s perhaps as close as the reader is going to get to a signature for a designer whose style is really your own.

For more, visit rizzoliusa.com.

EVERYTHING WE DO IS BUILT AROUND MAKING YOUR WEDDING A SUCCESS! TO BOOK YOUR EVENT OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT OUR WEDDING AND EVENTS SPECIALISTS 914-821-1377 66 HALE AVENUE, WHITE PLAINS NY WWW.CPWESTCHESTER.COM

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

DESIGNING A SUCCESS STORY

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

I

n October of 2012, the Westchester County Business Journal, a sister publication to WAG, featured a story about designer Brenda Kelly Kramer, now Brenda Kelly Cohn.

The self-taught Cohn is a designer who has been much in the news in recent years. Her business took off formally in 2007 when House Beautiful magazine featured the newly designed and decorated kitchen of her Chappaqua home as “The Kitchen of the Month” in its March issue.

The kitchen capitalized on what she calls “my knack for finding the old and mixing it with the new — a bit of Calacatta marble from the University of California, Berkeley here, an island top from Australia there. (Her English sunroom and master suite and sitting room would be showcased in the July 2008 Better Homes & Gardens and the February 2009 Better Homes & Gardens, respectively.)

The design world took note again in 2008 as Brenda moved an approximately 1,200-square-foot cottage that had once been part of banker-merchant Moses Taylor’s Annandale Farms estate in Mount Kisco, piece by piece, to become an addition to her 1931 Dutch Colonial home in Chappaqua.

(The cottage had been a sentimental touchstone on childhood trips from Irvington, where she grew up, the daughter of graphics designer Ken Kelly, on her way to visit her grandfather, manager of the Mount Kisco Country Club.)

Cohn furnished the house with all things Bermuda — “We love Bermuda. It’s a big family destination,” she says — right down to Bermuda limestone and sand.

Now Brenda, a warm redhead who honed her

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Courtesy Decorative Crafts Inc.

eye and business acumen at the former B. Altman & Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, is making another big splash with a venture in which professional success dovetails with personal happiness.

Three years ago, she married Jeff Cohn, president of Decorative Crafts Inc. in the Byram section of Greenwich. Founded in 1928 by Jeff’s grandfather, the company was a longtime fixture in Mount Vernon before moving in the 1980s to the more than 60,000-square-foot facility that had once belonged to Peter Brant, chairman and CEO of White Birch Paper (and better known in these pages as the founder of Greenwich Polo Club).

Jeff says he didn’t merely gain a wife. He’s gained a designer, one whose creativity not only balances

his flair for numbers and organization but who has also reimagined Decorative Crafts’ showroom.

“It had beautiful things, but it needed some life,” Brenda says of the rather antiseptic former showroom. Now it teems with color, texture, pattern — life — in a series of environments that mixes classic and modern, old and new, high-brow and affordable. There are powder blue chaise longues and black wood, gilded chairs with green cushions and painted backs that would have been at home in one of Jane Austen’s novels; knobby glass bowls that Brenda designed; prancing horse sculptures; leafy crystal chandeliers; comfy, oversize sofas; inlaid wood or glass end tables; a secretary that’s a fine example of Chinoiserie; and another that Brenda has

cleverly turned into a bar.

Many of the more than 750 pieces on display come from the couple’s buying trips in Italy. They contribute to “the warm feeling people have when they come in.” So do the complimentary glass of Prosecco and the monthly wine events in which a bowl is raffled off.

But perhaps best of all for the public is the yearly entrée to the facility’s warehouse, which contains a photo studio for DC’s catalog items, a repair shop and new inventory as well as leftovers and other sale items the public can scoop up. WAG was delighted to get a sneak peak at the cavernous space, in which some of the couple’s eight boys — yes, eight boys, ranging in age from 8-year-old identical twins to 26 — ride their skateboards.

With enough family for a baseball team and a designated hitter (if you throw in the parents), Brenda recently thought of tossing out her couch for something more affordable — and durable. Instead, recognizing its quality, she had it reupholstered.

“I only buy really good furniture,” she says.

Something Decorative Crafts patrons can say as well.

Decorative Crafts Inc. is at 50 Chestnut St. in Greenwich. For more, call 203-531-1500 or 800431-4455 or visit decorativecrafts.com.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

THE GLASS HOUSE A WELL-DESIGNED SEASON AHEAD

BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY THE GLASS HOUSE

D

esign enthusiasts, art lovers and tourists from around the world have been faithfully making the journey to The Glass House in New Canaan since it opened its doors to the public in 2007.

WAG was among those visitors, touring the design destination for a story that graced the pages of our June 2015 issue.

The home of architect Philip Johnson (19062005) — a weekend retreat-turned-residence for Johnson and his partner of 45 years, curator and art collector David Whitney — is commemorating its 10th anniversary as a public museum in 2017.

And in mid-January, the National Trust for Historic Preservation site announced the appointment of veteran Johnson scholar Hilary Lewis as chief curator and creative director.

A member of the site’s Advisory Council who has spent more than two decades focused on Johnson’s work, Lewis shared in the announcement that, “Having sat side-by-side with Johnson for years, I feel confident that what would honor his and David Whitney’s memory most would be for the property to evolve further as a center for the appreciation of architecture, design and art not just as a museum of Johnson and Whitney’s lives in New Canaan.”

Lewis, an architectural historian, curator and journalist who co-authored “Philip Johnson: The Architect in His Own Words” and “The Architecture of Philip Johnson,” took time to chat with WAG on a recent morning, just two weeks into her new role.

Already, she notes, The Glass House is about much more than its May-through-November tour season. Off-site programming, such as a late-Febru90

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“Winter Dusk.” Photograph © Robin Hill.

ary “Glass House Presents” lecture at the New Canaan Library, is an example of audience building.

In the beginning, Lewis says, tours filled very quickly, “because there were so many people in the fields of architecture and art” wanting to see the property. Today, she says, the reach is broader, with visitors drawn from a wider spectrum of interests.

Having its Visitor Center in the heart of New Canaan’s downtown is “a huge boon,” Lewis says.

Shuttles take visitors from the Center, which gives visitors their first glimpse into the site’s aesthetic, to the house and back.

“We have a very vibrant design store, which has had great success,” adds Lewis, who is embracing both her expanded role — and its timing.

“This is an opportunity to look towards the next 10 years.”

Guiding her will be a keen perspective, firsthand knowledge of “how Johnson and Whitney utilized the site, their approach to collecting” and their thoughts on art and architecture.

“I’m trying to bring that all,” into play, she says, while ensuring The Glass House is part of the larger “architectural conversation.”

She says she also hopes to raise the awareness of how important landscape was to Johnson, in both his professional and personal lives.

“When Johnson purchased the property, originally in the 1940s, it was only a five-acre spot,” Lewis says. “I think it’s important to note Philip Johnson

was passionate about landscape” and would eventually expand his holdings to nearly 50 acres.

“That was an ongoing passion for the two of them, to work with the landscape,” she says of Johnson and Whitney.

Johnson’s vision, she continues, encompassed “the entirety of the property,” likening the approach to “the way someone would talk about Villa Borghese in Rome.”

In his residential design work, Lewis adds, Johnson would evaluate client requests, pointedly asking, “But do you have land? Do you have the right kind of land?”

While Johnson’s New Canaan showcase continues in a most artful manner, enhanced by an ongoing commitment to restoration and preservation, the property also comes to life through its lineup of exhibitions and performances. In addition, it’s also sought after for photo shoots and private events and is even witness to the occasional brush with celebrity. Vogue’s February cover story on actress Dakota Johnson — no relation — mentioned it as one of the story’s interview sites.

Trending is simply part of life at The Glass House, where a pretty big party is also planned.

Details are forthcoming for the annual Summer Party, set for June 10 — but Lewis assures this year’s edition is “our special 10th anniversary gala, which will be even more exciting.”

For more, visit theglasshouse.org.

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CAFÉ SOCIETY

BY ALEESIA FORNI

Husband-and-wife duo Gianfranco Sorrentino and Paula Bolla-Sorrentino say that giving new life to the former Café des Artistes — now The Leopard at des Artistes — has truly become one of the most rewarding journeys of their careers.

And it shows — in the refreshed Howard Chandler Christy murals discussed in a related story and in the menu — which can only be described as classic Italian. Chef Vito Gnazzo, a partner in the restaurant and the man behind the eatery’s assortment of authentic dishes, says he draws inspiration for the eclectic menu from the culinary traditions of Southern Italy, with pasta, vegetables and cheese marrying seafood ingredients from the Amalfi Coast.

This is perhaps no more apparent than in the first starter we try on a recent visit, which features grilled octopus on a bed of escarole salad.

The charred octopus is topped with celery, olives, delicious pickled onions and an olive oiland-lemon dressing.

Doughy buffalo ricotta gnocchi, known as “gnudi,” are served in a butter and Parmigiano Reggiano sauce with a sage and mushroom ragout. We’re also treated to a small plate of fried and creamy rice balls, toast topped with creamy ricotta and a bowl filled with an assortment of breads and

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crunchy breadsticks.

A plate of busiate trapanesi with shellfish ragout features mussels, clams, scallops and calamari tossed in a red sauce that delivers just the right amount of spice. In a second pasta dish, paccheri noodles are cooked al dente and covered in a Genovese sauce. The juicy shredded pork that tops the dish is enough to make up for noodles that are a bit chewy for my liking.

At The Leopard at des Artistes, the owners pride themselves on outstanding hospitality, and our visit is no exception. Our host makes frequent stops to our table to check on us and answer any questions we have. We are even treated to conversations with Chef Gnazzo, who speaks about the inspiration

The bright dining area of The Leopard at des Artistes. Courtesy The Leopard at des Artistes

behind each dish and his homeland of Campania.

In one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, a perfectly cooked pan-seared duck breast is drizzled with an aged balsamic vinegar and sits beside pickled raisins and a tasty vegetable caponata.

Choosing a single dessert from the restaurant’s menu proves one of the few challenges of our evening. It’s hard to pass up what our host tells us are the restaurant’s most popular evening-enders, like a traditional torta di mascarpone served tiramisu style or a Nutella chocolate mousse served with a banana gelato. We instead opt for a fluffy bignè filled with a hazelnut cream and topped with a wild berry sauce, which we enjoy alongside a hot cup of espresso. The sweet cream within the bignè

pairs wonderfully with the tart topping and becomes a true standout of the evening’s dishes.

During our dinner, a throng of patrons enters the restaurant, from an older couple relishing their romantic dinner to a pair of 20-somethings sipping after-work cocktails and commenting on the stunning artistry that adorns the walls. It seems we are not alone in our appreciation for The Leopard’s ability to provide new takes on old Italian favorites, while continuing to honor the historic roots of its predecessor.

The Leopard at des Artistes is at 1 W. 67th St. between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue in Manhattan. For reservations and more, call 212-787-8767 or visit theleopardnyc.com.

From top: Grilled octopus on escarole salad; buffalo ricotta gnocchi with mushroom ragout; paccheri noodles in a Genovese sauce; and busiate trapanesi with shellfish ragout.

Photographs by Aleesia Forni.

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WONDERFUL DINING

OF NYMPHS AND NUTELLA

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA Howard Chandler Christy’s “Fountain of Youth” is one of a series of his murals of female nudes that graces The Leopard at des Artistes, the former Café des Artistes. Courtesy The Leopard at des Artistes.

A

t The Leopard at des Artistes on Manhattan’s West Side, the radicchio and roasted butternut squash salad, dressed with Balsamic vinaigrette, goes down easily.

The rigatoni is cooked to al dente perfection and caressed by an eggplant tomato sauce topped with shavings of ricotta. And the Nutella chocolate mousse with hazelnut crunch is (fingers together at the lips, which make a kissing sound).

The Southern Italian fare is rivaled by a courteous wait staff — all of whom seem to have some variation of the name George — that bustles about but is never obtrusive.

But there is a third element to this success story that sees foodie and Westchester native Stanley Tucci, Steven Spielberg, Howard Stern, Kyra Sedgwick, Steve Martin, conductors James Levine and Valery Gergiev, conceptual artist John Baldessari and writer and onetime Picasso love Françoise Gilot among the restaurant’s fans. It’s a series of murals of female nudes frolicking amid a springtime palette that Gianfranco Sorrentino and Paula Bolla-Sorrentino — the husband and wife who own The Leopard with charming chef Vito Gnazzo — call ‘’the stars” of the show.

The murals have special meaning for us at WAG, as they no doubt do for many patrons. We remember in particular delighting in their sensuous innocence — along with a meal featuring prawns and a custard dessert — before a performance at the New York City Ballet when the restaurant was Café des Artistes. (Then and now, it lies not far from Lincoln Center at 1 W. 67th St. at Central Park West.)

Café des Artistes once served as the “kitchen” for the Hotel des Artistes, which wasn’t a hotel at all but the largest “studio” building in New York City, one of 94

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several co-op buildings for artists designed by George Mort on this block between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue in 1918. Walter Russell developed the “hotel” several years after American Impressionist Childe Hassam and other artists built a studio building at 27 W. 67th St. The 18-story, neo-Gothic Hotel des Artistes features a façade decorated with figures of artists and 115 apartments, most of which are duplexes with double-height living rooms and balcony bedrooms.

Many of them have English Renaissance paneling, beamed ceilings and fireplaces. Tenants enjoyed squash courts, a swimming pool, a theater, a ballroom and their own switchboard.

Today, no one has need for a switchboard; the theater and ballroom have been converted to other uses; and most of the apartments have their own kitchen.

But back in the day, the likes of New Rochelle’s Norman Rockwell, dancer Isadora Duncan, critic Alexander Woollcott and playwrights Noel Coward and Fannie Hurst made do with a café whose other patrons included artist Marcel Duchamp and silent screen divo Rudolph Valentino.

Among the hotel's residents was an artist and illustrator who was as well-known in his day as Rockwell — Howard Chandler Christy. The artist, who lived in the hotel until his death in 1952 at age 80, had illustrated the Spanish-American War, in which he served; created “the Christy Girl,” the Jazz Age answer to the Gibson Girl; depicted everyone from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini; and painted “Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States” (1940), which hangs in the House of Representatives wing of the U.S. Capitol.

Between the late 1920s and mid-‘30s, he created “Fantasy Scenes With Naked Beauties” — a series of oil on canvas murals, mounted on wood or directly on to the wall — for Café des Artistes. (Christy’s lover

Elise Ford was the model. The one male figure is said to have been modeled on Olympic gold-medal swimmer and “Tarzan” screen star Johnny Weissmuller.)

Over the years, these lithe, naughty but nice nymphs — similar in playfulness to the Vargas girls — watched as patrons came and went. In 1975, George Lang, who escaped from Hungary during World War II, took over the restaurant, transforming it into a go-to place for the glitterati that Karen Gantz Zahler described in “Taste of New York” (Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1993) as “a salon du thé reminiscent of a turn of the (20th) century Budapest café.”

The Great Recession forced Lang to close it in August of 2009. But the space wasn’t dark for long. Enter the Sorrentinos -- he a Neapolitan with 40 years in the hospitality business, she a Brazilian of Italian descent with a background in fashion and graphic design and a penchant for hospitality. Together they also own Mozzarella & Vino and Il Gattopardo, which is across from The Museum of Modern Art. The MoMA connection would prove fruitful as the museum worked with the Sorrentinos to clean and conserve the murals when they revamped the restaurant at the Hotel des Artistes in 2011 as The Leopard. (Il Gattopardo, which is also the restaurant group’s name and means “The Leopard,” takes that name from the seminal 1963 Luchino Visconti film.

The Leopard restaurant features a sculpture of the animal running.)

The proof of the murals’ restoration is in the pudding, as they say. The colors have a new vibrance.

Just one quibble: The name The Leopard at des Artistes translates as The Leopard at of the Artists — too many prepositions.

But it is a marvelous experience, whatever preposition you use.

For reservations and more, call 212-787-8767 or visit theleopardnyc.com.

WINE & DINE

GOOD SIPS FOR THE MONEY STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH

BY DOUG PAULDING

T

here are inexpensive wines in the world that tend to be fruity and one-dimensional. And there are expensive wines in the world that are fruit-driven with spices and other flavors and textures and a nuance that gently morphs and evolves with each taste. But they are expensive. What I look for in a wine is something that has structure and taste and over-delivers for the price. Price- to-value ratio is a subjective scale in my mind that I employ to determine if the current wine in my glass is worth pursuing again. I recently dined in Manhattan with winemaker Clara Canals of Campo Viejo winery in the Rioja region in north central Spain, whose wines could be the best in the world, on a price-to-value ratio.

Canals is one of three women winemakers at Campo Viejo. She was oenologically educated in Montpellier, France, and has worked in wineries all over the globe but decided her native Spain was her home and nearby Rioja would be her base.

Campo Viejo is a mega-producer with a recently constructed, environmentally friendly, carbonneutral winery that has a massive, underground oak-barrel aging room. Campo Viejo encourages visitors to tour the facility and offers tours seven days a week. It owns more than 300 hectares (740 acres) of vines and has contracts with other wineries to buy their grapes. Campo Viejo produces more than 25 million bottles annually and has won many prestigious awards for its wines. It is a bit unusual for a producer of this many bottles to have just a few styles. The winery offers two sparkling Cavas, one white wine, one still (non-sparkling) Rosé and maybe five reds. This approach allows the winery 96

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Carla Canals, one of three women winemakers at Spain’s Campo Viejo winery.

to focus and concentrate on a particular style for each particular wine.

Clara wanted to spotlight its wines with a progressive tapas experience, in which we would visit three tapas restaurants, each pairing wine-friendly tapas to a couple of the wines. We met in the Chelsea area of Manhattan’s Lower West Side. First, we tasted two Cavas, which are Spanish sparkling wines made in the traditional method, like Champagne. The Cava Brut Reserva is made from three Spanish grapes, Xarello, Parellada and Macabeu, and is deliciously dry and fragrant with bright citrusy flavors that have an energetic effervescence.

The Cava Rosé is a beautiful, vibrant, celebratory and saturated orange-pink color, tasting of strawberries and lemon and fun. These wines made everyone smile for two reasons: The taste profile and structure compared favorably to noteworthy sparkling wines of the world and the price. These wines can be found in the United States for under $16 and $13 respectively. It wouldn’t have been surprising to find wines of this caliber at two or three times that price.

We then progressed to another tapas restaurant a few blocks away, where we tasted a pure Tempranillo and a pure Garnacha, also known outside of Spain as Grenache. Both of these wines showed pleasing dark fruit, tempered by flavors of licorice, finely ground black pepper and spice, integrat-

ed into the wine by several months of oak aging.

These wines are balanced and lovely with depth and structure and don’t disappoint, from first sip to last drop. And both are easy to find, close to home, for under $10. What?

At our third stop, we were presented with Campo Viejo’s Reserva and Gran Reserva. Spain is a country where the Reserva and Gran Reserva designations actually mean something. Regional rules exist for time-aging minimums and juried blind tastings in order to use these titles. Both wines are crafted using 85 percent Tempranillo, 10 percent Graciano and 5 percent Mazuelo. The Reserva is oak barrel-aged for 18 months, then bottled and allowed, or required by law, to rest for flavor integration in the cellar. The Gran Reserva sits in barrels for 24 months and then in bottles for three years before release. The taste profile showed dark cherry, plums, hints of leather, cinnamon, licorice and spice. There are balanced tannins for mouthfeel, texture and depth. These two wines can be found for around $22 and $13.

For the quality of the fruit, the time spent in oak, the additional years spent in the bottle for self-actualizing, these wines are crazy overachievers. Here’s an idea. Instead of bringing one more semi expensive bottle to an event, grab all six for under $85.

You will be a hero.

Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.

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Photograph by Sebastian Flores.

SAVORY BEEF STEW

BY JACQUELINE RUBY

YOU WON’T HAVE TO ‘STEW’ OVER THIS HEARTY RECIPE March is that time of year when the weather is still chilly. Not sure what to make? My Savory Beef Stew will be a hit with the family. There is nothing like comfort food on those cold rainy days. Enjoy.

For more, contact the Saucy Realtor at jacquelineruby@hotmail.com.

Tableware courtesy Casafina.

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INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• •

3 pounds boneless beef chuck cut into 1½-inch cubes 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon fresh pepper ¼ teaspoon turmeric 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 small onions cut into 1-inch pieces 5 garlic cloves smashed 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar 2 cups dry red wine 2 cups beef broth 2 cups water 1½ tablespoons tomato paste 1 bay leaf 2 tablespoons chopped fennel, chopped parsley 1 pound mixed mushrooms 2 sprigs fresh rosemary ½ teaspoon dried thyme 3 sage leaves 4 large carrots cut into 1-inch pieces ¾ pound small, white Yukon potatoes cut in half

•

•

•

•

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.

When oil is hot and shimmering, brown meat in small batches, about 5 to 8 minutes per batch. Add more oil as needed. Transfer meat to a plate and set aside.

Add onions, fennel, garlic and balsamic vinegar to pot, stir and scrape brown bits from bottom of pan, 3 to 4 minutes. Then add tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes. Add beef back to pan and sprinkle with flour. Stir until flour is dissolved. Add wine, beef broth, water, bay leaf, thyme, turmeric, rosemary and sage. Stir and cover pot with lid and bake in oven for 2 hours.

Remove pot from oven and add carrots, potatoes and mushrooms. Cover and put back in oven for another hour. Cool off and garnish with parsley. If needed, add more salt and pepper.

Serve with a slice of thick crusty bread.

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WEAR

THE LONG OF THE SHORT OF IT

BY BRIAN TOOHEY

T

here is a new direction in fashion. On the runway this season, it is the 1990s. Alexander Wang presented a fabulous collection that is elegant and strong. The models had shorter hair and the style looked fresh and new. I remember cutting hair in the salon at Barneys in the ’90s so this was for me a happy reminder that the beautiful work of the past can inspire change today.

This brings me to a recent experience with a new client, Amanda. As we were introduced, I felt a distinct openness about her that was confirmed when she said, “My hair is too long. I know I need a change. I don’t mind cutting it shorter. “ I always step lightly when a client says she wants change. I asked what she was thinking.

“First off, I am really more edgy than I appear,” she said. I raised my eyebrows. Then she added, “I have tattoos.” She was a breath of fresh air. I felt a good connection as we discussed the possibilities.

Amanda’s hair was lovely. She had fresh highlights and there was plenty to work with (most clients think their hair is too thin or not responsive) and I knew all that was needed was a well-shaped cut. As we were determining the length Amanda let me know that she had had a challenging year.

There were four traumatic events, any one of which would have sent someone over the edge. It stopped me in my tracks when she followed with this statement, “You know, Brian. It is only hair. It will grow back.”

We decided to cut her long hair to the collar100

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Courtesy dreamstime.com.

bone. It would be a good start. I couldn’t help but think about the strength and vibrance this charming woman embodied after all she had been through. Later she would inspire me to consider how often women are empowered by adversity, stepping beyond their circumstances to bring about great change.

Hair can be a symbol of that, like Jo in Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” cutting off her long dark tresses — her most beautiful feature — to raise money for her father’s care. Flappers in the 1920s bobbed their hair as a statement of liberation.

That same spirit seemed to pervade this young woman in my chair.

As we finished Amanda’s haircut, she noticed it was about an inch above her collarbone and she said, “You tricked me. It is above the collarbone, but I am happy you did it because it was the right thing to do.” We both laughed. I asked her to stand for me as I always like to see the haircut in the reflection of the mirrored wall next to my station. As Amanda walked towards it, she stroked her hand through her hair several times and said, “I love it.

It is perfect.” It was obvious that it was more than she expected.

It gives me joy to make a client happy. You see,

so much goes into design — understanding the material you are working with and the style that is possible to achieve. Most important for me is who the client is — her essence. There is always something beautiful for me to see. I always want the style to represent the best of her.

Shorter hair is coming this spring along with a more relaxed look. Color is changing as well.

Highlights are more refined, with finer strands achieved through balayage, which adds a glow to the color.

Not surprisingly, I call the technique “The Glow.” It’s a wonderful complement to shorter hair. Remember, shorter hair doesn’t have to mean short. We just want it to be more current and reflect the sense of freedom that is fashion moving forward.

As I observed Amanda paying at the front desk, I was pleased to see how put together she now appeared. Her new haircut and color were in perfect harmony with her attitude. She was ready for the world, knowing where she was coming from — and where she was going to.

Visit Brian at Warren Tricomi Salon, 1 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich. To book an appointment with him, call 212-262-8899.

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WELL

FROZEN TREAT

HEALING THE BODY AT 250 DEGREES BELOW

BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI

A

s the winter season winds down, it’s hard to imagine intentionally putting your body into a specially designed chamber that would expose your bare skin to temperatures as low as minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit. But that’s what I did recently at Nordic Cryotherapy in Eastchester — and all in the name of wellness.

Cryotherapy, which dates from 2500 B.C. to the ancient Egyptians, has been used by European athletes since the 1970s. Today superstars such as basketball superstar LeBron James and former boxer-turned-promoter Floyd Mayweather understand and appreciate the benefits of this therapy. From treating serious debilitating diseases such as arthritis and fibromyalgia to the enhancement of sports performance, cryotherapy has become a valuable tool.

As a fitness professional always looking for new and improved wellness techniques, I wanted to try it out for myself. In the past, this therapy has been frequently used for pharmacotherapy and kinesiotherapy in rheumatologic and neurological diseases. However, recently its application has been effective for quicker athletic recovery and also for cosmetic enhancements. Dr. Marie O’Connor understood these benefits and recently opened Nordic Cryotherapy.

After giving some background information and filling out the proper paperwork, I’m ushered into a room where I am told to put on a robe, mittens and slippers. Once the chamber was available, I disrobed and exposed my body from the neck down to the chilling air.

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procedure is for patients. “We have several members that would come in about three times a week,” Marie says.

She describes dozens of documented benefits, including a reduction in pain and inflammation, quicker athletic recovery, improved circulation, boosted metabolism, help with depression and anxiety and prevention of osteoporosis.

But many of Marie’s clients come for the beautifying effects of this nitrogen blast, including cellulite reduction and tighter skin.

The 2- to 3-minute blast of liquid nitrogen vapors only affects the outer layers of the body but triggers the brain to produce anti-inflammatory proteins as it goes into survival mode. Your blood quickly travels to your core organs, which gets enriched oxygen.

Once the treatment is done, the enriched blood travels throughout your body and begins the healing process, repairing tissue damage.

Due to the dramatic stimulation of a body’s immune response, this leads to an increase in circulation, metabolism, detoxification, tissue repair and immune function.

For those a little hesitant about voluntarily stepping into frigid temperatures for up to three minutes, Marie is confident in the therapy’s ability to deliver. “Three minutes of cold temperatures is nothing compared to the way you will feel when you step out. I rarely have people end their sessions early. In fact, I do it every day.”

Whole body cryotherapy is not FDA-approved, nor is it recommended for pregnant women or those people who have heart conditions. Before trying any new treatment, check with your physician.

Reach Giovanni on twitter @GiovanniRoselli and his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.

WELL

OSTEOPOROSIS: ARE YOU HEADED FOR A FALL?

BY BETSY KREUTER, PT, CLT

T

here is a misconception that bone loss is something that concerns only the elderly when nothing could be further from the truth. Children and teens experience the most rapid increase in bone mass during the formative years, as long as they are physically active and have balanced diets. By the age of 17, however, a person’s bone density is at its peak and the pace of new bone growth starts to slow down, gradually leading to weaker bones. Because the bone disease osteoporosis is at first painless and develops over a long period of time, sometimes decades, most people don’t realize their bones have become brittle until they experience a break or fracture from a minor fall or sometimes, just a sneeze.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that by the age of 50, one-half of all women and one in four men will break a bone due to osteoporosis. That’s why it’s crucial to develop health habits that promote and protect strong bones.

While it’s best to protect your bones from an early age, it’s never too late to make a few lifestyle changes to help reduce bone degeneration.

Diet, lifestyle, gender and genetics all play a role in a person’s risk to develop osteoporosis.

While people cannot choose their own sex at birth or their parents, making adjustments to the factors that can be controlled helps diminish the danger. We know that proper nutrition is a key component to overall health, for instance, and eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin D are known to benefit bones.

Regular exercise is equally important. Bone strengthening activities not only build muscles and endurance, they trigger new bone tissue to form and maintain the density, or thickness, of 104

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Betsy Kreuter

... MOST PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THEIR BONES HAVE BECOME BRITTLE UNTIL THEY EXPERIENCE A BREAK OR FRACTURE FROM A MINOR FALL OR SOMETIMES, JUST A SNEEZE. — Betsy Kreuter

bones. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of daily activity, which can be done all at once or at intervals throughout the day, focusing on increasing strength, flexibility and balance.

Even if you have never been particularly active, there are simple exercises you can do in your home and around your neighborhood to

help your body build healthy bones. In most cases, a combination of nonimpact, low-impact and weight-bearing exercises is recommended. These include walking and using an elliptical machine.

Muscle-strengthening exercises, also known as resistance exercises, can be accomplished by lifting hand weights, using elastic exercise bands or lifting your own body weight with push-ups, lunges and rising up on your toes while standing. Nonimpact exercises can help improve your posture and balance, which decreases the risk of falls and broken bones. These can be done by simply balancing on one leg and then the other, or taking up practices such as tai chi or yoga.

If you are new to exercise, or have been relatively sedentary for a period of time, start out slowly until you establish balance, holding on the back of a chair or a countertop if you need support. Gradually make each exercise more challenging by increasing the repetitions, moving unsupported for longer periods of time or at an accelerated pace, or increasing the weight of the objects you are lifting.

As with any new exercise program, always consult with your physician about what is right for your individual condition.

A R E YOUR K NE E S HOLDING YO U BAC K ?

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WELL

WHEN DEMENTIA STRIKES THE YOUNG

BY BEN FREEMAN

N

ot all dementia is Alzheimer’s, nor does dementia affect people only later in life.

In his mid-30s, Andy Nissen of Texas began to act with a lack of discipline uncharacteristic for a former member of the U.S. military. He started neglecting his hygiene, forgoing showers and wearing the same clothes for days. He ate sunflower seeds obsessively, to the point where he became allergic.

At times he even ignored his young daughter, Athena, instead watching TV all day long.

His wife, Shana, was at wit’s end. She didn’t know whether Andy had depression or some other mental illness. She feared that somehow she was the cause of his strange mental state.

“His behaviors were just not him — very out of character,” she said. “I would ask what’s wrong and he would say, ‘I’m perfectly fine,’ like there wasn’t a problem at all.”

Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) is a progressive and fatal neurological disease that gradually damages the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes. It is characterized by a gradual decline in behavior, language and/or movement.

People with FTD may lose their inhibitions and act in an antisocial manner. Some develop obsessive, repetitive actions. The ability to communicate can be impeded. Once-familiar words lose their meanings and speech can occur in a halting, hesitant tone until muteness sets in. FTD can also affect movement.

Working becomes difficult, then impossible.

Eventually, most people with FTD require fulltime care.

“I told Andy to go to the doctor. He went on his

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own,” Shana said. “He came back and said the first doctor told him he was fine — no follow-up necessary, no tests.”

Because many doctors are unfamiliar with the symptoms of FTD, receiving an accurate diagnosis can be a frustrating, multiyear process, full of false starts and dead ends. Compounding these challenges, FTD more often affects younger people. Andy Nissen was just 37 and had visited several doctors when he was diagnosed in 2012 with FTD, after exhibiting symptoms for years. FTD is actually the leading cause of dementia for people aged 40 to 60.

Raising awareness of this under-diagnosed, still misunderstood disease is critical. The country’s leading organization dedicated to addressing FTD, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), has made FTD awareness one of its primary missions.

“Too many families receive inaccurate information about their loved ones’ condition,” AFTD Executive Director Susan L-J Dickinson said.

“FTD is commonly misidentified as Alzheimer’s,

depression or even a midlife crisis. You can’t cope with a disease if you don’t know you have it.”

There is no cure for FTD, and today there are no approved disease-modifying treatments. But organizations like AFTD offer a host of resources and support for people affected, and Dickinson said that hope surrounding this disease is rising.

“In just the last few years, the scientific community has published groundbreaking research on FTD. More people are being effectively diagnosed, more research is being funded and several long-term studies are still ongoing,” she said. Further, she added, “there is increasing consensus that FTD may hold the key to unlocking a cure for a range of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s. AFTD is proud to be at the forefront of this work.”

Andy died in 2016. Today, Shana helps to run an FTD support group in San Antonio, Texas, and she and Athena both dedicate themselves to raising awareness of FTD, “so that others don’t feel like they are fighting this disease by themselves.”

For more, visit theaftd.org.

For better or worse...in sickness and in health... you promised to stay together.

Edgehill will help you keep that vow. Couples often worry that if they move to a senior living community, and one spouse’s health needs change, they may have to live apart someday.

We have the ability to care for residents who have different health care needs—right in our community.

With our Lifecare Advantage, we can provide access to a full continuum of health care services, at little or no additional cost.

Discover our new expansion and renovations!

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Find out how Edgehill will keep you right where you belong…together.

Call 1-877-598-0814 to schedule a personal presentation.

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122 Palmers Hill Road | Stamford, CT 06902 | www.RetireAtEdgehill.com/vow

WELL

HIGH INTENSITY MEETS HIGH REWARDS

BY DANIELLE RENDA

S

tepping inside the fitness studio at Barry’s Bootcamp in Scarsdale is like walking into a mini nightclub.

Sexy, soft red lighting surrounds guests, while dance music pulses through overhead speakers.

Floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflect motifs of black and red that are carried from the décor to the exercise equipment.

I’d never been to a Barry’s before, but I quickly learned that its sleek design isn’t without purpose.

The studio’s classes, which offer one hour of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), are held in an upbeat environment to motivate guests through challenging exercises. Each class, which boasts 700 to 1,300 calories burned, guides small groups through a series of highand low-energy exercises using a combination of cardio and floor work.

Classes vary in terms of time spent on the treadmill and weight or resistance training. Some days may consist of 30-minute intervals, while others may include intervals of 10 minutes or less.

Guests know which part of the body they’re exercising on any given day, but they don’t necessarily know what to expect.

“That variation is great for getting you into shape, because your body is very clever about what your workout is,” says Rhonda Hunt, community brand manager, studio manager and certified fitness trainer.

But regardless of the intensity, Barry’s main-

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The studio at Barry’s Bootcamp. Photograph courtesy Barry’s Bootcamp.

tains a noncompetitive environment, where guests of all ages, physiques and athleticism are encouraged to work at their own pace.

I visited Barry’s on a bitter Monday evening for its 5:30 p.m. arms and abs class with Hunt. My first impression of the approximately 3,000-square-foot studio — which opened its doors in December, following 29 other worldwide locations — was a sense of coolness. A soothing candle sits on the front desk across from a selection of Barry’s trademark fitness merchandise. To the left, a wall features a backdrop of the Barry’s logo, where, Hunt says, guests take “sweaty selfies” to share on social media.

“My mission here is for people to not be afraid of Barry’s,” Hunt says with a smile. “You work at your own pace and move up from there. I want people to not be afraid to try, because they’re a lot stronger than they think.”

Hunt’s passion energized the class, as I anticipated, along with the dance music. She guided

the group through a series of three, 8-minute cardio and three, 8-minute floor workouts. I was admittedly weary about the running component, which comprised a good portion of the class.

However, I didn’t feel pressured to keep up with the group and adjusted the treadmill according to my abilities.

My favorite part of the class was the floor workouts. Hunt guided the group through arm exercises using weights and resistance bands — which were chosen according to skill and body weight. The most difficult exercise for me was the plank, a variation on the push-up, but I willingly attempted it.

The class flew by, feeling like far less than an hour. I left the studio feeling different, in a good way — refreshed and reenergized, rather than sluggish and tired.

But, most important, I felt great about myself, overall. And isn’t that the best part?

For more, visit barrysbootcamp.com/scarsdale.

E R OA R I N

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2 0’

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SI

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MUSCOOT

Voted!

TAVERN

One of New York States Top 15

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Stop in and experience the charm of this historic eatery, a neighborhood favorite since the Roaring ‘20s! Enjoy our cozy tavern where it’s always lively and cheerful or relax on our patio overlooking our horseshoe and bocce ball courts.

Live music on Saturdays and some Fridays On Sundays, enjoy outdoor live music from 4 to 8:30 Happy Hour Daily from 4-6 and again from 9-11 on Thurs, Fri and Saturday nights.

105 Somerstown Turnpike, Katonah, NY (Corner of Rt. 100 and Rt. 35) www.muscoottavern.com 914 • 232 • 2800

PET OF THE MONTH

THE REAL CLIFFORD

Ever wish you had your own Clifford, the big red dog of Scholastic and PBS fame?

Well, here’s the next best thing — meet the SPCA’s Clifford and, like his namesake, he’s a gentle giant.

Technically, this Clifford is a red nose American Staffordshire Terrier. He’s a 7-year-old with imposing looks. But don’t let appearances fool you. The big guy’s got a big heart to match, even if he’s lost his way a bit recently. He came into the SPCA as a stray that no one ever claimed, which the shelter thinks is strange, because he was clearly loved. More important, he’s ready to show love to a family with other dogs and older children, one who won’t mind that he thinks of himself as a lap dog.

To meet Clifford, visit the SPCA of Westchester at 590 N. State Road in Briarcliff Manor.

Founded in 1883, the SPCA is a no-kill shelter and is not affiliated with the ASPCA. The SPCA is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. To learn more, call 914941-2896 or visit spca914.org.

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PET PORTRAITS

W

AG copy editor Peter Katz and his wife, Susan, have three felines in their family.

Cocoa Puff is a combination Maine Coon/Calico. Daphne has some Bombay in her, and Leopold is part Abyssinian. Susan has a special fondness for animals and cofounded the Hudson Valley Pet Food Pantry in White Plains. It’s an all-volunteer nonprofit that provides free pet food to families, disabled people and veterans experiencing financial difficulties so they won’t have to give up their pets or service animals.

For more, visit hvpetfoodpantry.org .

New Rochelle resident Barbara Weir writes of her dogs: “Holly is a 1-year-old Goldendoodle we purchased last January from Missouri. She arrived by plane in White Plains via a stopover in Pennsylvania. From day one, she has given us so much plea-

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sure. She is a true Goldendoodle – smart and loyal, easy to train and eager to please.

“We chose this breed after losing our 11-and ½-year-old rescue, who was the love of our lives.

She was more human than canine. She had a great life. My son and I felt lost without her and decided to get a Goldendoodle as my other son had one for over a year, and we thought it would be a great breed for us.

“When Holly was 1, I went to support a local rescue fundraiser for the SPCA in Briarcliff Manor at Paws and Play in Tuckahoe. I should have known I couldn't just go and support the event. I fell in love with Brandy, who had just been saved from being euthanized in North Carolina. The next day, my son Ryan and I went back to the rescue facility and we came home with our beautiful Brandy as a companion and sister for Holly.

“Brandy was a fearful dog from the trauma she had gone through. It was only a matter of a couple of days, however, before she was running around and tormenting her sister, Holly, to get into mischief. They are very good together but completely different in many ways. Now they are the loves of our lives.”

MARCH 5

Decoda An afternoon of chamber music

12 Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood - LIVE! 18 Danú Traditional Irish ensemble 19 Ignacio Berroa Quartet Afro-Cuban Jazz & Beyond 25 Shen Wei Dance Arts 26 The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey 30 Joanna Gleason From Campfire to Cabaret

APRIL 1

The Orchestra Now

2

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

7

Rosanne Cash

8

David Sedaris

23

Fei-Fei Dong, piano

27

Joanna Gleason From Campfire to Cabaret

29

Jazz at The Center A Celebration of Sonny Rollins

30

National Theatre Live Hedda Gabler

APRIL 7 ROSANNE CASH

E X PE RI E NC E .

THANK YOU

THE HANNAH & WALTER SHMERLER ENDOWED FUND

S OM E T H I NG .

R E A L.

For event details & tickets call 914-251-6200 or visit

WWW.ARTSCENTER.ORG

people who inhabit them. Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers; 914963-4550, hrm.org

WHEN & WHERE

THROUGH MARCH 12 YCP TheaterWorks presents “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” a comedy that follows the relationships among middle-aged siblings. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, Shrub Oak United Methodist Church Parish Hall, 1176 E. Main St., 914-245-2184, ycptw.org

THROUGH MARCH 18 Amy Simon Fine Art presents the work of Geoffrey Detrani and Eric Jiaju Lee in “In Your Dreams!” Lee’s work stands at the intersection of Modernist abstraction and traditional Chinese painting, while Detrani creates large-scale works on paper that explore nature and civilization. 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1860 Post Road East, Westport; 203-2591501, amysimonfineart.com

THROUGH MARCH 25 The Pelham Art Center hosts “OP-ED: Art Image in the Service of Ideas,” an exhibit that features images from newspapers and magazines. Works by six artists plumb political, personal or cultural stories illustrated by the graphics. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays, 155 Fifth Ave., Pelham; 914-738-2525, pelhamartcenter.org  The Second East Coast Screenprint Biennial showcases a range of art, from framed prints to sculptures, videos, ephemera and posters. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, 299 Mathews Park, Norwalk; 203-8997997, contemprints.org

THROUGH APRIL 23 “Activism in Art: Art Changes Things” considers how artists respond to social injustice and environmental issues. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Rockland Center for the Arts, 27 S. Greenbush Road, West Nyack; 845-358-0877, rocklandartcenter.org

THROUGH MAY 14 The Hudson River Museum presents “Wyeth Wonderland,” an exhibit featuring French photographer Josephine Douet, whose photographs are inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s Pennsylvania landscapes and the

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MARCH 1 Grammy Award-winner Los Lobos has been one of America’s most original bands for more than 30 years.

Band members continue to impress audiences around the world with their eclectic sound blending rock, TexMex, country, folk, rhythm and blues and traditional Spanish and Mexican music. 8 p.m., Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 E. Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org  Celtic music group Lúnasa will perform with special guest Karan Casey, Irish folk vocalist. Lúnasa’s arrangements and distinctive musical approaches have created a singular sound that has propelled Irish acoustic music into new territory. 7:30 p.m., Sacred Heart University’s Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts, 5151 Park Ave., Fairfield; 203-371-7908, edgertoncenter.org

“OP-ED: ART IMAGE IN THE SERVICE OF IDEAS” PELHAM ART CENTER THROUGH MARCH 25

MARCH 3 The Emelin Theatre presents “Dance Off The Grid,” an eclectic performance series that features worldclass companies surveying the diversity of today’s dance landscape. The performance showcases dancers Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener, RIOULT Dance NY and contemporary Bessie Award-winning Souleymane Badolo. 8 p.m., 153 Library Lane, Mamaroneck; 914-968-3045, emelin.org

MARCH 3 THROUGH 25 Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT) presents “Lot’s Wife,” a new play based on the biblical tale of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Times vary, WCT Performance Space, 23 Water St., Ossining; WCTCompany@gmail.com or wctheater.org

“IN YOUR DREAMS!” AMY SIMON FINE ART THROUGH MARCH 18

MARCH 4 A night of masks, music and magic highlights “Venetian Carnival,” presented by the Stamford Symphony along with the Greenwich Choral Society. Delve into the works of composers who played a part in the history of carnival, including Albinoni, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Mahler and Stravinsky. 8 p.m., Stamford’s Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St.; 203-325-4466, stamfordsympony.org  “Music Mash ‘17” is a record fair produced by the nonprofit, community radio station WPKN 89.5-FM. It has more than 50 vendors from all over New England

selling vinyl LPs, 45s, CDs and other music collectibles.

Read’s Art Space, 1042 Broad St., Bridgeport; 203331-9756, wpkn.org

MARCH 5 New Choral Society presents “Petite Messe Solennelle” (“Little Solemn Mass”), one of two well-known sacred works by Rossini, a composer more often identified with opera. 3 p.m., Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, 6 Greenacres Ave., Scarsdale; 914-725-1678, newchoralsociety.org

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Psychic-Medium to the Stars as seen on A&E and Lifetime Movie Network!

APRIL 1

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APRIL

10 Rob Schneider

From Saturday Night Live!

18 Leslie West of Mountain Special Guest Eli Cook

19 Hotel California “A Salute to The Eagles” 22 A Great Big World Special Guest Allie Moss With their smash hit “Say Something”

25 Jesus Christ Superstar – The Rock Opera

21 Del & Dawg featuring Del McCoury & David Grisman 22 Peter Wolf & The Midnight Travelers

MAY

4 Comedian Kevin Nealon 5 The Everly Brothers Experience

Featuring The Zmed Brothers

6 Paul Shaffer & The World’s Most Dangerous Band

Special Guest Vocalist Valerie Simpson

26 Raul Midón 30 The Zombies

9 The Tenors

31 The McCartney Years

10 Robben Ford

april

14 Timothy B. Schmit

Odessey & Oracle 50th Anniversary Tour The #1 Paul McCartney Tribute Experience!

2 Lea Salonga

From the Tony Award winning Broadway show, Miss Saigon!

6 Jon Cleary

Special Guest Jamie McLean Band

8 Ethan Bortnick

16 year old phenom as seen on PBS!

9 Gary Gulman

The thrilling vocal group as seen on PBS! Premier Blues Guitarist!

of the Eagles

17 Under the Streetlamp 18 Paul Anka: Celebrating 60 Years of Hits - His Way 19 Satisfaction: The International

Rolling Stones Show

From Last Comic Standing

13 Ricky Nelson Remembered

21 Ben Vereen 26 Nick Fradiani

19 Squirrel Nut Zippers and Ozomatli United Together Tour

31 Pink Martini

Starring Matthew & Gunnar Nelson

With Singer China Forbes

203.438.5795 • RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG

MARCH 8 Amid global confrontations involving Islam’s role in the 21st century, Somalian human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali presents a luminous example of courage, passion and persistence at great personal risk. Honored

by Time magazine as one of the world’s “100 Most Influential People,” she will talk about “Refusing To Be Silenced: My Nomadic Journey From Islam To The West,” 8 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, 1037 N. Benson Road; 203-254-4000, fairfield.edu

MARCH 10 Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Silvermine’s Art Partners Outreach Education Program with a “Jazz Performance by the Melissa Newman Trio,” offering selections from traditional and arcane jazz songbooks.

7 p.m., Silvermine Arts Center, 1037 Silvermine Road, New Canaan; 203-966-9700, silvermineart.org

MARCH 11 The Ty Louis Campbell Foundation presents a “Gatsby Gala,” its fourth annual dinner party, casino night and auction. More than 250 friends from New York City and Nassau, Westchester, Fairfield, Dutchess and Putnam counties will gather to honor Ty’s memory and raise funds for pediatric cancer. 1920s attire in encouraged but not required. Hyatt Regency, 1800 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich; 845-204-5447, thetlcfoundation.org

MARCH 11 AND 12 Those in the mood for a treasure hunt can head to the 23rd edition of the “Larchmont Antique and Collectibles Show, for everything from mid-century Modern furniture to antique maps, vintage posters, costume jewelry, glass and silver. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Post Road Gym at Mamaroneck High School, 1000 W. Boston Post Road; 914723-6989, larchmontantiques@gmail.com.

MARCH 11 THROUGH APRIL 8 The Rye Arts Center presents “A Way of Seeing: Portraits by Cal Swanson,” an exhibit featuring Swanson’s photographs during the 1970s and ’80s. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 51 Milton Road; 914-967-0700, ryeartscenter.org

MARCH 12 For more than 50 years, South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo has warmed the hearts of audiences worldwide with their uplifting vocal harmonies, sig-

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nature dance moves and charming onstage banter. 7 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts, 1037 N. Benson Road, Fairfield; 203-254-4000, fairfield.edu

MARCH 14 The League of Women Voters of New Castle presents a “Sparkle for A Cause” fundraiser in recognition of Women’s History Month, an annual March event to celebrate the achievements of women in the past and the successes of women today. The event will honor former town Supervisor Marianna “Polly” Kuhn. There is no cover charge and Crabtree’s Kittle House will donate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to the League of Women Voters of New Castle. 6 p.m., Crabtree’s Kittle House, 11 Kittle Road, Chappaqua; 914-772-7363, lwvnewcastle.org/index.html

MARCH 15 THROUGH 17 Phil Lesh & Friends — Phil began playing under the moniker Phil Lesh & Friends in 1998, following the death of his friend and “Grateful Dead” band-mate Jerry Garcia in 1995. He has kept the music of the Dead fresh in the bands he has put together. 8 p.m., The Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; 914-937-4126, thecapitoltheatre.com

MARCH 15 AND 16 Come to the Greenwich Arts Council for “Play With Your Food” lunchtime theater series. Enjoy a gourmet lunch followed by three one-act play readings by award-winning and emerging writers and a talk with the professional cast. Noon, Greenwich Arts Council, 299 Greenwich Ave.; 203-293-8729, jibproductions. org

MARCH 16 THROUGH APRIL 2 The longest-running play on London’s West End, “The Mousetrap,” comes to Lyndhurst Mansion. It’s murder and spine-tingling fun when an eclectic group of strangers is stranded in a remote mansion during a snowstorm. Will the sergeant find the murderer before another one is committed? 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 3 and 7 p.m. Saturdays and 3 and 6 p.m.

Sundays, 635 S. Broadway (Route 9), Tarrytown; 888-71-TICKETS, lyndhurst.org

MARCH 18 THROUGH 26 Clocktower Players presents Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” based on the award-winning animated film. 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, Irvington Town Hall Theater, 85 Main St.; 914-591-6602, clocktowerplayers.com

MARCH 19 Yonkers Philharmonic offers a program of French and German Romanticism, including Ravel’s “Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte,” Franck’s Symphony in D minor and Reinecke’s Flute Concerto, with soloist David Ordosky. 3 p.m., Saunders Trade High School, 183 Palmer Road, Yonkers; 914 631-6674, yonkersphilharmonic.org  The New Haven Symphony Orchestra presents its first full-length musical, Lerner and Loewe’s “My Fair Lady,” in concert form. 3 p.m., Shelton High School, 120 Meadow St.; 203-865-0831, newhavensymphony. org

MARCH 31 Celebrity guest host John Tesh will emcee the “Golden Paws Gala” to benefit two of Westchester’s nonprofit animal rescue organizations — Cat Assistance of Ardsley and Friends of Mount Vernon Shelter Animals.

The gala will feature a buffet dinner, cash bar, silent auction and a 50/50 raffle. All proceeds will go directly to providing abandoned cats and dogs with urgently needed veterinary attention, training, foster care, good homes and other important services to improve the lives of shelter animals and increase their chances for adoption. 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., Mulino’s at Lake Isle, 600 White Plains Road, Eastchester; 914-667-7877 or 914-632-7155, catassistanceny.org or mtvernonanimals.org

MARCH 31 THROUGH APRIL 2 The Harrison Players Community Theatre Group presents Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee’s “Inherit The Wind,” directed by Anthony J. Valbiro. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, The Veterans’ Memorial Building, 210 Halstead Ave., Harrison; 914630-1089, brownpapertickets.com/event/2842839

MARCH 17 Smart Arts presents Russian Season Dance Company and its program of various dance styles, from Broadway to Irish, Ukrainian, gypsy, flamenco and tango. 8 p.m., Westchester Community College Academic Arts Theatre, 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla; 914-606-6262, sunywcc.edu/smartarts

Presented by ArtsWestchester and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.

For more, visit artswestchester.org and culturalalliancefc.org.

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PARTY’S ON AT TERRA AND HOTEL ZERO Recently, more than 300 people from Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, Ridgefield, Mahopac, Somers, Katonah and North Salem gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Terra of Danbury restaurant and Hotel Zero Degrees. The evening featured tastings of northern Italian cuisine and tours of various new spaces that will host events, from the ballroom to the lobby, the restaurant and picturesque outdoor patio.

1. Vincent Demarzo, Randy Salvatore and Kevin Gross 2. Rose Aglieco 3. Adam Zakka, Albert DeAngelis, Ramze Zakka and Joseph Hamboussi 4. Dixon Mallory and Charles Mallory 5. Diane Disher and Kristen Cognetta 6. J Berry, Carlos Dominguez, Erika Back, Nicole Caruso Carlin and Nic Casey 7. John Brannelly, Jeanne Muchnick and Tom Renner 8. Christine Flynn Devine, Jessica Fogg and Reina Sutch 9. Jeff Miller, Cristina Kelleher and Valerio Zambrano

WIHD RIBBON CUTTING The Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) recently celebrated the unveiling of its newly renovated Child Welfare Space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The redesigned space represents the culmination of the Building on Excellence Child Welfare Initiative, a three-year project that included the transformation of eight therapy rooms and the designated waiting area into warm, bright, calm spaces with fresh paint, cheerful wall graphics, new carpeting, durable, child-friendly furniture, functional storage and new therapeutic toys and games, to better serve all the children and families who come to WIHD for services.

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10. Danielle Weisberg, Dr. Susan Fox and Pamela Thornton 11. Kevin M. McGuire; Marina Yoegel and Janiah Keller 12. Ken Kirshenbaum and Wendy Breitner

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I FEEL SO POWERLESS. WE HAVE TO WATCH HER EVERY MINUTE. FAMILY AND FRIENDS STOPPED COMING AROUND. HE KEEPS SAYING: “THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME.” IT’S DESTROYING OUR FAMILY. I FEEL SO GUILTY WE HAVE TO MOVE HER INTO A HOME. IT’S SO HARD TO CARE FOR SOMEONE WHO’S MEAN TO YOU. HE HIDES THINGS ALL THE TIME. I’M GRIEVING THE LOSS OF SOMEONE WHO’S STILL ALIVE. WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START.

LIVING WITH FTD IS HARD. LIVING WITHOUT HELP IS HARDER. THERE’S COMFORT IN FINDING OTHERS WHO UNDERSTAND. WE FINALLY FOUND A DOCTOR WHO GETS IT. I GOT SO MUCH ADVICE FROM OTHER CAREGIVERS. UNDERSTANDING MORE HELPS ME DEAL WITH HER SYMPTOMS. SEEING THAT OTHERS MADE IT THROUGH, I KNEW I COULD TOO. WE HONOR HIM BY ADVOCATING FOR A CURE. NOW I’M BETTER AT ASKING FOR HELP. NO MATTER HOW BAD IT GETS, WE KNOW WE’RE NOT ALONE. It can feel so isolating and confusing from the start: Just getting a diagnosis of FTD takes 3.6 years on average. But no family facing FTD should ever have to face it alone, and with your help, we’re working to make sure that no one does.

The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) is dedicated to a world without FTD, and to providing help and support for those living with this disease today. Choose to bring hope to our families: www.theAFTD.org/learnmore

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55 KEEPS ARTS ALIVE New York State and Westchester County elected officials, along with the board of directors of ArtsWestchester, recently gathered at Gallery 9 at ArtsWestchester in White Plains to present $55,440 in Arts Alive grants to 25 organizations and four artists for projects throughout Westchester County.

This year’s grant recipients represent cultures from around the world and an array of genres. The projects range from a three-day festival of West African art and an Asian American Heritage Festival to an arts-in-education program, workshops for seniors and concerts for all to enjoy.

Photographs by Margaret Fox 1. David Buchwald and William and Rose Kaung 2. Members of the Ossining Documentaries & Discussion Series donned ArtsWestchester's winter hats in support of the arts.

3. Evan Bishop, Ray Blue and John Rivera 4. Froma Benerofe and Vinnie Bagwell 5. Janet Langsam 6. John Brathwaite, Francis Corcoran and Sandy Galef 7. Thomas Roach, Claudette Bell and Andrea StewartCousins 8. Teddy Poneman, Karen Leahy and George Gierer 9. Katie Schmidt Feder and Sol Miranda 10. Rebecca Tomas, Alyssa Jacobs and Maryanne Oros

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TIKI BARBER AT UJA Former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber served as guest speaker at UJA-Federation of New York’s 11th annual “Sports Talk” recently at Lake Isle Country Club in Eastchester. Barber holds almost every New York Giants rushing record, including total yards, rushing yards and rushing attempts, and is second in rushing touchdowns. He is also the co-founder and co-chairman of Thuzio, which empowers brands and businesses to grow by leveraging influential people, content and experiences.

The event raised funds for UJA, which supports a network of nearly 100 nonprofit organizations that serves every population from early childhood to old age and offers critical assistance in almost every life circumstance.

11. David Kleinhandler, David Perlmutter, Richard Leroy, Carl Finger, Tiki Barber, Scott Zemachson, Barbara Bel and Ken Fuirst 12. Tiki Barber signs footballs for guests.

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HGAR’S DYNAMIC DUO The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors recently paid tribute to two special women at its installation gala, which explored “We Are the World.”

Dorothy Botsoe was installed as the first black president in the 101-year history of HGAR and Renee Zurlo was installed as the president of the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service. Botsoe was originally from Ghana, West Africa. Family and friends were on hand to honor both women, who have been in real estate for more than 20 years.

Photographs by John Vecchiolla 1. Chirag and Kristen Shah 2. Bonnie Koff, Barry Kramer and John Crittenden 3. Terri Crozier, Roseann Paggiotta and Gloria Welcome 4. Dorothy Botsoe (center) surrounded by family from all over the world 5. Renee Zurlo and Dorothy Botsoe 6. Richard Haggerty and Marcene Hedayati

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NCC TURNS 75 Nepperhan Community Center (NCC), one of the leading social services agencies in Westchester County, recently celebrated its 75th anniversary and honored the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at its annual dinner at the Castle Royale in Yonkers.

This year’s theme was “Keeping the Dream Alive Despite the Hindrances.” The Nepperhan Community Center Youth Choir and other local artists performed, and the keynote speaker, Bishop David G. Evans, offered a stirring address.

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7. Dr. Jim Bostic 8. Andrea Stewart-Cousins 9. Mike Spano 10. Sekou Laidlaw

RED-LETTER DAY Brown & Brown dba the Rollins Agency in Rye Brook recently marked its 10th anniversary of participation in the American Heart Association’s annual “Go Red for Women Day.” Each year the staff increases its awareness of the risks of heart disease and stroke in women and comes away with the knowledge and power to make better choices to prevent these life-threatening health conditions for themselves and their loved ones.

11. First row: Liz Guillen, Cheryl Martin, Mary Gerhardt, Joy Arzaga, Ariadna Garcia and Helen Lisica second row: Renee Marengo, Sara Beatty, Carollee Cabot, Gloria Pizaro, Lissette Roman, Nicole Pancaldo-Banks, Shelly Seenarine and Stephen Soliman third row: Rosaria Padron, Elizabeth Savarese, LuAnn Silano, Carol Russo and Amelia Romero fourth row: Karen Kismatali, Donna Witt and Shirley Mejia

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PORT OF CALL Recently, more than 200 art lovers from Westchester and Fairfield to Buenos Aires attended the opening reception of “Leandro Erlich: Port of Reflections” at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase. Erlich, the 2017 Roy R. Neuberger Prize winner, has created an illusory world of a nighttime harbor in the museum’s cavernous Theater Gallery.

Photographs by Lynda Curtis

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1. Patrice Giasson, Helen Stambler Neuberger, Leandro Erlich, Tracy Fitzpatrick, Jim Neuberger and Helaine Posner 2. Nigel and Susan Gaines 3. Tony Maddalena and Cristina and Robert Weisz 4. Joyce Schroeder and Rob Verf 5. Barry Pearson, Carol Gillette and Paul Zukowsky 6. Marilyn and Hugh Price 7. Isabel De Katona, Sydney Briggs and Reinhard Beck

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A TOUCH OF GLASS About 100 members of the press, sponsors and trustees were on hand for a luncheon at the Grand Hyatt New York in Manhattan as the New York Botanical Garden announced one of the must-see shows of the year — “Chihuly” (April 22-Oct. 29). Attendees enjoyed a spring-like luncheon in the hotel’s sleek Manhattan Ballroom that mirrored a surprisingly balmy winter day as well as presentations by such experts as the Garden’s Gregory Long and Todd Forrest and Leslie Jackson Chihuly, president and CEO of Chihuly Studio and the artist’s wife.

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8. The “Chihuly” announcement at the Grand Hyatt New York, a show sponsor.

9. Leslie Jackson Chihuly and Gregory Long

BIG WIN FOR THE ART$ ArtsWestchester recently hosted a reception at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains to thank Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino and county legislators for their continued support for the arts in Westchester. Forty-seven arts organizations raised a total of $342,982 in new funds through the 2016 Art$WChallenge and, with the support of the county, ArtsWestchester was able to match those funds with an additional $200,978. As a result, the public/ private program successfully leveraged more than $544,000 for arts and culture in Westchester.

Photograph by Leslye Smith.

10. Robert P. Astorino, Seth Soloway, Laurent Fisher, Francis Corcoran and Michael Kaplowitz

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Donald Byrd

Victoria Erickson

Choreographer and Executive Artistic Director, Spectrum Dance, Seattle resident

“ I would build a time machine, like in the movie ‘Arrival’ where they go back and forth in time. I would like to build one to do that. ”

UX/UI designer, Schüco, Armonk resident

“ Shoes, heels: They are pretty but also should be cheap. No one makes the ones I want to wear, like the ones I designed in college…. ”

Susan Hodara

“ You put a magnet on the bottom of all cars and on the sides, all charged the same way so they repel each other and prevent car accidents. ”

Razia Iqbal

Joseph Mastrolembo

“ I’d design a new house. It would be full of light — floor-to-ceiling windows, double aspect; exposed brick walls; and industrial steel and aluminum fittings; large rooms for open plan living and a wood burning stove in a central position….

The best room in the house would be my study — large to house a vast number of books; rich, velvet upholstered chaise longue to recline and read in. ”

“ If I could design something, it’d be a shower with dry-erase walls.

As a writer, that’s where a lot of thoughts come from, so with it I’d be able to write them down without forgetting. ”

freelance journalist, Mount Kisco resident

“ I would design a machine that detects deliberate falsifications of the truth and notifies recipients of those (shall we call them lies) by permanently changing their output either audibly (in person or over the airwaves) or visually (on screens, in print), making their falsehood undeniably evident. ”

Stella Heinz

Purchase College junior majoring in creative writing and gender studies, Hopewell Junction resident

BBC News special correspondent and the Emily and Eugene Grant distinguished scholar, Purchase College

Purchase College sophomore majoring in screenwriting, Queens resident

Justine Matteis

Retail manager of the Bruce Museum Gift Shop, Stamford resident

“ It would be the perfect beach house with Key West colors, big windows and lots of art. ”

Evelyn Mertens

Principal, QED Associates LLC, Briarcliff Manor resident

“ I’d design a tall bookshelf with motorized shelving so you could just push a button and the top shelves rotate downward while the lower shelves rise—no need for a far reach or step ladder. Of course, I’d really like to design a more unified nation and a much less violent world. ”

* Asked by Purchase College Community Reporting Initiative contributors Jeffrey Cabrera, Ethan Gresko and Arielle Young.

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Keisha Prioleau-Martin painting and drawing major at Purchase College, Queens resident

“ Home office space. I would design a home office space, because I feel that everyone works best when they are at their home. ”

Aprille Young

William James College, Leadership Psychology PsyD Program, Elmsford resident

“ I’d design an interactive treadmill that works like a video game — elevation changes depending on what terrain you’re in. The location you pick presents difference challenges, like a bear attack: You must outrun him. I think I’d be fun. ”