Wag Magazine March 2020 by Westfair Business Journal

Patrick Mele Old school, young spirit

YAYOI KUSAMA AT NYBG Polka-dotted phenom HARRY AND MEGHAN Nesting in North America KIMBERLY HANDLER’S ‘ECLECTIC HOME’ JUDGED A

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MAGAZINE

IN NEW YORK STATE 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018

WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE MARCH 2020 | WAGMAG.COM

DESIGNING MEN Jonathan Adler, Michael Bruno, Peter Deane, Randy Florke, Carlton Varney

visionary designs

More fine reasons to visit The Club in March. As the new classic for Westchester county-style senior living, we offer residents entertainment, fine dining, comforts and engaging activities. Discover what life can be like at The Club by joining us for these March events: TASTE OF THE IRISH. Tuesday, March 10, 1 to 3 p.m. Erin go bragh at The Club. Be our guest for Irish dishes paired with craft beers, lively conversation and music. LUNCH CHAT. Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring your questions to lunch any Thursday this month. Answers, insights, casual conversation – and a great lunch too.

MEMORY CARE UNVEILING EVENT. Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m. to noon The Club’s memory support neighborhood with state-of-the-art design and awardwinning programs is truly unmatched. Meet the team and learn why memory care has never looked like this! LOOK | LEASE | SAVE. Save over $10,000 when reserving your new apartment home at The Club by starting your lease sooner than later. Call today to learn more and to schedule your private tour.

Find out more about healthy, active living at The Club. For more information or to RSVP for a March event, call 914-300-1821.

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CONTENTS MARCH 2020

A house divided

Home, eclectic home

Splendors indeed

Designing for a big year

Anatomy of a collaboration

Dotty for dots

One of a kind

Bo knows

The dapper head of Draper

Creative ‘Grounds’

If these walls could talk

Mixing ‘pedigree with pedestrian’

COVER STORY

Patrick Mele Soul man

Poetic license

Just fab!

An author’s tale

Plaza sweet

THIS PAGE:

Yayoi Kusuma’s “Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Infinity” (2017), mirrors, acrylic, glass, LEDs, wood panels. Collection of the artist.

V A L U E Y O U R C O L L E C T I O N . Experts in 30 specialty collecting areas; offering auction and appraisal services. Consignments invited. 212.787.1113 | newyork@skinnerinc.com

E VERY OBJ ECT HAS A STORY

worth telling, worth find ing. For buyers, consignors, and the passionately curious F I N D W O R T H AT S K I N N E R I N C .C O M

FEATURES HIGHLIGHTS

FASHION

88 The ‘Storie’ continues 90 Wellness with a flourish

HOME & DESIGN

72 Colonial charm in Cos Cob 78 Wright and not so wright 80 On design fairs — and fare 84 Yesterday meets tomorrow 86 ‘Fore’ward design

TRAVEL

92 A sun-kissed sojourn 94 Boston uncommon 96 ‘I do,’ again

FOOD & SPIRITS

98 A peppery delight 100 A warm Konnichiwa to Miku 102 All in the family

HEALTH & FITNESS

104 Don’t let DIY become ‘do it to yourself’ 106 Exercise for brain health

PET CARE

108 Looking for a home 109 Sit. Stay. Play.

WHERE & WHEN 110 Upcoming events

WATCH

112 We’re out and about

WIT

120 What’s your favorite room in your home?

Patrick Mele Old school, young spirit

YAYOI KUSAMA AT NYBG Polka-dotted phenom HARRY AND MEGHAN Nesting in North America KIMBERLY HANDLER’S ‘ECLECTIC HOME’ DESIGNING MEN Jonathan Adler, Michael Bruno, Peter Deane, Randy Florke, Carlton Varney

JUDGED A

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MAGAZINE

IN NEW YORK STATE 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018

WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE MARCH 2020 | WAGMAG.COM

visionary designs

WAGMAG.COM

COVER: Patrick Mele. Photograph by Bob Rozycki. See story on page 68.

MARCH 2020

108

Own this Unprecedented

Lifestyle Today

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Dee DelBello

Dan Viteri

PUBLISHER dee@westfairinc.com

GROUP ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/CREATIVE dviteri@westfairinc.com

EDITORIAL Bob Rozycki MANAGING EDITOR bobr@westfairinc.com

Georgette Gouveia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ggouveia@westfairinc.com Mary Shustack SENIOR WRITER/EDITOR mshustack@westfairinc.com

ART Sebastián Flores ART DIRECTOR sflores@westfairinc.com

Kelsie Mania ART DIRECTOR kmania@westfairinc.com

PHOTOGRAPHY Anthony Carboni, Sebastián Flores, John Rizzo, Bob Rozycki

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jena A. Butterfield, Olivia D'Amelio, Gina Gouveia, Phil Hall, Debbi K. Kickham, Doug Paulding, Giovanni Roselli, Bob Rozycki, Gregg Shapiro, Barbara Barton Sloane, Jeremy Wayne, Cami Weinstein, Katie Banser-Whittle

PRINT/DIGITAL SALES Anne Jordan Duffy ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/SALES anne@westfairinc.com Beth Emerich, Barbara Hanlon, Marcia Pflug ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

MARKETING/EVENTS Fatime Muriqi EVENTS & MARKETING DIRECTOR fmuriqi@westfairinc.com

Marcia Pflug SPONSORS DIRECTOR mpflug@wfpromote.com

Olivia D'Amelio EVENTS COORDINATOR odamelio@westfairinc.com

CIRCULATION Brianne Smith CIRCULATION SALES bsmith@westfairinc.com

Sylvia Sikoutris CIRCULATION MANAGER sylvia@westfairinc.com Robin Costello ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER rcostello@westfairinc.com

WAGMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

WHAT IS WAG?

Billy Losapio ADVISER

Irene Corsaro ADVISER

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., 701 Westchester Ave., White Plains, NY 10604 Telephone: 914-694-3600 | 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 914-694-3600, 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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WAGGERS

T H E TA L E N T B E H I N D O U R PA G E S

ROBIN COSTELLO

OLIVIA D'AMELIO

PHIL HALL

DEBBI K. KICKHAM

WILLIAM D. KICKHAM

RAJNI MENON

FATIME MURIQI

DOUG PAULDING

JENNIFER PITMAN

JOHN RIZZO

GIOVANNI ROSELLI

BOB ROZYCKI

GREGG SHAPIRO

MARY SHUSTACK

BARBARA BARTON SLOANE

JEREMY WAYNE

CAMI WEINSTEIN

KATIE BANSER-WHITTLE

COVER STORY: GEORGETTE GOUVEIA, PAGE 68

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MARCH 2020

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EDITOR’S LETTER BY GEORGET TE GOUVEIA

Design is not a topic that you usually associate with breaking news. But recently, the design world found itself in the crosshairs of controversy as the Trump Administration, spurred by the National Civic Art Society, announced that it would be “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again” by decreeing they should be classical in style rather than Modernist. This is not the space to debate the topic — although as a lover of the ancient Greeks, as readers know, I’m content. Still, as I noted in a lengthy post on the subject at my blog, thegamesmenplay.com, the great composer-pianist Duke Ellington once said, “There are only two kinds of music — good and bad.” So it is with all the arts. It’s not a question of one style or another but rather what is appropriate for an individual or a setting. The classical-versus-Modernist debate has been going on for a long time. Indeed, the Waterbury-born architect and late Westchester resident Ralph Thomas Walker — creator of such Art Deco gems as One Wall St. and the New York Telephone Building — decried the steel and glass boxes of the International Style, even as people once railed against the sleek, organic Art Deco. (As Andrea Bayer, deputy director of collections and administration at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, wisely notes in our story on the museum’s 150th anniversary: “Every generation confronts its own modern.”) It is fascinating, however, that the clash should arise at a moment when the pendulum seems to have swung away from the modern and back to the traditional in interiors, or at least to include the classic in the conversation. Designers ranging from rising international star Patrick Mele (our cover subject) and established player Carlton Varney are interested in color, pattern, texture. (Those whited Grecian temples and statues were once covered in paint.) “I’m a color person,” Varney told Jeremy. “I remember coming back from Papeete (capital of French Polynesia) and landing in LA. The hotel room was all beige and gray. I felt I was naked in a bowl of oatmeal.” “Color was everywhere,” Wares columnist Cami reports after visiting Paris, where she attended the biannual interior design fair “Maison et Object” and “Déco Off,” all about trade showrooms. So were prints and other distinctive patterns and natural materials, she writes. (And you know what? The same applies for the runway as Chuck Steelman, Neiman Marcus’ senior manager of VIP Private Client Experiences, explained during the Feb. 5 “Neiman Marcus Trend Report,” a benefit for St. Vincent’s Hospital Westchester, a division of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, at Neiman Marcus Westchester in White Plains. See our Watch pages.) Brown furnishings are back. So are “darker wall, ceiling and trim paint colors,” says Randy Florke, the decorator, Realtor and author whom Bob caught up with once again. Perhaps most important, stuff is back — displayed, utilized, loved as Jeremy learns in his talk with Jonathan Adler and Mary explores in her stories on Eclectic Home and Fayette Studio, both in Greenwich, and on wallpaper designer Cristina Buckley. No need to go all Marie Kondo here. This doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t get organized and declutter. Or that they don’t want contemporary amenities, like 12

WAGMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

Smashing pumpkin: Yayoi Kusama’s “Yellow Pumpkin” in Naoshima, Japan, has been reproduced as paperweights, snow globes, key chains and other items.

smart technology in their kitchens, as Phil discovered when he interviewed Connecticut kitchen designer Peter Deane.) Or that we don’t love the airy, lucent spaces with floor to ceiling windows that typify some of the houses we see in our Way column. It may just mean that people want more variety in what is ultimately a home that reflects their individuality and comfort. Nor does any of this mean that Modernism and contemporary art, which cut a wide swath, lack color, pattern and texture. One of the best-known artists today is Yayoi Kusama, whose delightful creations celebrate her love of pumpkins, polka dots and, of course, polka-dotted pumpkins. She’s the subject of a retrospective at the New York Botanical Garden (May 9-Nov. 1) that should turn the Bronx into an old-fashioned happening. Told about it, Bo Kim — the new vice president and general manager of The Saks Shops at Greenwich — donned a Dolce & Gabbana polka-dotted pumpkin-colored dress for a photo shoot for our story on her. Sharp lady. Elsewhere we play on house, design and home design with a look at the “House” of Windsor, specifically the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, alias Harry and Meghan, now making a home in North America. It’s the kind of thing we often write about in WAG Weekly, our e-newsletter, which has moved back to Fridays. If WAG gives you the unusual stories you never knew you needed to know, Weekly, WAG’s wacky cousin, goes behind the scenes or tells you what you might do, see or buy. It’s another way of extending our conservations with you, our dear readers. A 2018 Folio Women in Media Award Winner, Georgette Gouveia is the author of the new “Burying the Dead,” “Daimon: A Novel of Alexander the Great” and “Seamless Sky” (both JMS Books), as well as “The Penalty for Holding,” a 2018 Lambda Literary Award finalist (JMS Books), and “Water Music” (Greenleaf Book Group). They’re part of her series of novels, “The Games Men Play,” also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes. For more, visit thegamesmenplay.com.

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WHAT'S TRENDING

WA G S P O T L I G H T S T H E N E W A N D N O T E W O R T H Y PRINCESS DI COMES TO BROADWAY

LIGHTS, PLEASE When it comes to design, lighting is one element where creativity, literally, can truly shine. That was our thinking when we saw the latest creations from Hector Finch Lighting, the London-based company that offers its designs through showrooms across the U.S.A., including Harbinger at the New York Design Center. Here, the neoclassical Alabaster Bowl, small ($4,680) is fashioned with brass fittings. For more, visit hectorfinch.com. Courtesy Hector Finch Lighting.

She’s been gone almost 23 years, but Diana, Princess of Wales continues to live in the hearts and minds of her fans — and the creators of Broadway’s “Diana, a True Musical Story,” which begins previews at the Longacre Theatre on March 2. Written by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan (“Memphis”) and directed by Christopher Ashley (“Come From Away”), “Diana” features choreography by Kelly Devine (“Rock of Ages”), musical supervision and arrangements by Ian Eisendrath (“Come From Away”) and costumes by William Ivey long. It stars Jeanna De Waal as Diana, Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles and Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth II. For more, visit TheDianaMusical.com.

ICONIC — AND CLOSE TO HOME

IN THE KITCHEN When it comes to kitchen design, St. Charles New York has been at the forefront for some 85 years, and the venerable firm — whose creative director is Scarsdale resident Karen Williams (pictured) — shows no sign of slowing down. It has recently launched three distinctive kitchen styles in the St. Charles Collection — the sleek and minimal STC No. 1; STC No. 2, a modern take on prewar New York architecture; and STC No. 3, which, we’re told, “conveys layered refinement with a soft cove and warm edges.” For more, visit stcharlesnewyork.com. Trevor Tondro Photograph courtesy St. Charles New York.

WAGMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

“The Iconic Interior: 1900 to the Present” (Thames & Hudson, $35) will be released March 10. The hefty volume (368 pages and 600 illustrations) by Dominic Bradbury, with photographs by Richard Powers, is billed as “an essential” on modern interior design, showcasing more than 100 of the most significant interiors from the 20th century through today in an updated hardcover edition. WAG got a sneak peek and was delighted to see the stunning properties around the world featured a few with local ties both contemporary and historic. Among the treasures are industrial designer Russel Wright’s Dragon Rock in Garrison; the Sills Huniford Bedford residence of designers Stephen Sills and James Huniford; and furniture designer Jens Risom’s New Canaan home. For more, visit thamesandhudsonusa.com. Courtesy Thames & Hudson. —Georgette Gouveia and Mary Shustack

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A house divided BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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MARCH 2020

Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Photograph by Samir Hussein. Courtesy Getty Images.

“Happy families are all alike. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — Leo Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina” When it comes to familial unhappiness, few families would seem to be more uniquely, spectacularly qualified than the House of Windsor, headed by Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. And yet its members have endured, through bombings and wars, divorces and deaths, scandals and even an abdication. That abdication — of the queen’s uncle, the former Edward VIII, for the American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson — and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, haunt the recent decision by her younger son, Prince Harry, and his American-born wife, the former Meghan Markle, to “step back” from their duties as senior royals as well as the crown’s response to “Megxit.” Harry and Meghan had sought to become parttime royals with one foot in England and another in North America — specifically Canada but ultimately the United States — albeit with benefits. Anyone who’s ever tried to restructure a job — and the British monarchy is as much a PR company, nicknamed “The Firm,” as it is a family — knows how that goes. The queen reacted in the way you might imagine a savvy boss who’s also a wise grandmother would: She gave them a hard Megxit. Their most important titles, HRH, “His and Her Royal Highness,” gone — though not yet from their sussexroyal.com website as the changes do not become effective until the spring, with a review in one year. (The couple remain the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which may not be enough to enable them to create a line of Sussex Royal goods, even one in keeping with “the values of Her Majesty.”) Public funding, gone. Harry’s military appointments — with which this British Army and Afghan War veteran had such a deep, emotional connection — gone, too.

FROGMORE’S END?

And since the British seem to define relationships in part by real estate — see any number of English novels, particularly all of Jane Austen, the Brontës, Charles Dickens’ “Bleak House” and E.M. Forster’s “Howards End” — the duke and duchess have agreed to reimburse taxpayers for the $3.1 million in renovations to their British home, Frogmore Cottage, on the grounds of Frogmore Estate, adjoining Windsor Castle. Built in 1801 by Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, as a retreat for herself and her unmarried daughters, Frogmore takes its name from its preponderance of small frogs, which Queen Victoria found “quite disgusting.” Nevertheless, it has been at vari-

ous times home to the American theologian William James Sr. and his family, Victoria’s personal secretary Abdul Karim and the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, sister of Russia’s Nicholas II. In 2019, Harry and Meghan converted the stucco-faced, two-story cottage into a single-family dwelling with four bedrooms, a nursery for their future son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, and a yoga studio for the wellness-minded Meghan. The renovations became a sticking point for the British public, although the cottage was always scheduled for a revamp. Now Harry and Meghan are responsible not only for that cost but the $13,000-a-month rental, all for a place they will rarely if ever use as they’ll continue to stay at a friend’s multimillion-dollar home on Vancouver Island for the foreseeable future and plan to summer in Los Angeles — perhaps in part to be near Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland. (With support from Prince Charles, Harry’s father, and a combined worth of $45 million — most of which Harry inherited from his mother — the Sussexes are hardly wealthy in the Bloombergian sense. But that could change if deals with companies like Netflix come to fruition.) Frogmore Cottage is likely to remain a lightning rod as well as a symbol of a royal house — and public opinion — divided. More liberal websites like BuzzFeed, The New York Times and Vox decry the very real racism that the biracial duchess has been subject to in the media and among certain posters. Her supporters, along with her husband, see ominous parallels between her crucible at the hands of media jackals and Diana’s death in a Paris tunnel with the pursuing press photographing her dead body. But if the duchess is Diana 2.0 — as the young Meghan wished herself to be — she is also in the minds of conservative websites like that of Fox and The Daily Mail to be Wallis 3.0 — an opportunist using a malleable spouse to get what she wants. Men, however, tend to marry women who reflect their own ambitions. If Harry — who struck us as a regular bloke when he played in a celebrity-studded match for his Sentebale charity at Greenwich Polo Club in 2013 — longed to escape like his mother, who loved to play hooky in New York, perhaps the independent-minded Meghan merely provided the impetus for him to do so.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

It’s complicated, though, isn’t it? At the heart of this story — and what make it resonate with so many — is one of the challenges of the human condition, the

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relationship of the individual to the group. We want to be with others but belong to ourselves, to be a part of and apart from. “Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself,” the great French Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne advised. This is particularly true when a couple is recently married and starting a family — something the queen herself alluded to in her response to the Sussexes’ announcement. In this she was only echoing the thoughts of Jesus, who says in Matthew 19:5: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” But an exit is measured by the gracefulness with which it is executed. It didn’t help that the Sussex announcement appeared to be made in haste — perhaps to beat a press that had sniffed it out already — blindsiding the royals. Or that it was made right before the Jan. 9 birthday of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge — wife of Harry’s older brother, Prince William — who by many accounts had been trying to broker a peace between the increasingly estranged brothers and bolster a fragile Meghan. Nor were skeptics reassured by the Sussexes seeking to redefine the duties the queen had given them. But that’s a millennial thing. “It isn’t working for me,” Meghan reportedly said of the ribbon-cutting, fascinator-sporting life to which it now appears she was temperamentally unsuited as a feminist, an American and an expressive individual. If there is a racial and cultural divide in the tale of Harry and Meghan’s leave-taking, there is a generational one as well. After all, the Americans Princess Grace of Monaco and the now dowager Queen Noor of Jordan were beloved for their commitment to their adopted countries. That, however, was a different era.

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AN OCEAN AWAY

So the way Harry and Meghan departed for new digs stunned the royal family and British public. But that they left at all was bound to hurt. No one likes to be rejected and no one likes to feel like a fool, having been kept out of the loop. Setting up a new house in a new land begs the question, What of the family they have left behind, beginning with the queen herself, a lioness in winter with an ailing husband, a good girl who like many a good girl was always attracted to the bad boys and doted on the charmingly roguish, heart-on-his-sleeves Harry? What of the father, Prince Charles, who, perhaps because of the mistakes he made with his first wife, Diana, was attentive to their sons and supportive of their wives, accompanying Meghan down the aisle? What of the brother, William, who told The Sunday Times: “I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can’t do that anymore…I’m sad about that”? Or Catherine — Kate — whom Harry always said was more of a sister than a sister-in-law? Finally, what of the nation that watched a little boy follow behind his mother’s casket and took him into its heart? One thing about being the rejected: You can always reject in turn. In her Jan. 18 statement, the queen said, “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.” Those who saw a grandmother’s tenderness in those carefully chosen words missed the point. The phrase “will always” implies not a continuation but a leave-taking. Just ask Dolly Parton, whose song “I Will Always Love You” was written to free her of her contract to Porter Wagoner. In setting up house an ocean away, Harry and Meghan have gained but also lost.

Frogmore Cottage: Under the terms of the royal split, Harry and Meghan will pay for its $3.1 million upgrade.

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Home, Eclectic Home BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI

DRIVING ALONG NORTH STREET IN BACKCOUNTRY GREENWICH, YOU’LL SEE ONE HORSE FARM AND GRACIOUS HOME AFTER ANOTHER. As you come into the area known as Banksville, you may notice a particularly charming white house. A pair of elegant figurative sculptures and comfortable chairs sporting faux-fur throws dot its porch, these artistic touches flanking a statement-making front door in an unexpected splash of teal-blue. What you’re seeing isn’t yet another well-appointed residence but rather the exterior of Eclectic Home, veteran interior designer Kimberly Handler’s new home décor and design store. And be assured, those hints of a stylish approach yield a big payoff once you step inside, as we do on a recent afternoon. Handler has promoted the store as offering a “vibrant mash-up of vintage and new furniture, accessories and art,” and we have to agree. Moments after entering, we’re captivated by the, well, eclectic mix of patterns and textures, goods and displays that feature everything from vases to pillows, chairs to books, lamps to mirrors, tables to accent pieces and an array of art both large and small — and yes, even some jewelry. The setting has proven ideal for Handler, who shares that she “had been thinking about opening a store on and off for years.” And, she adds, “I like that it looks like a house on the outside,” noting the interior’s footprint allows her to create an array of vignettes that can — and do — often change. “The store looks totally different today than it did three weeks ago,” Handler says — recapping her first weeks in business, having officially opened in early January. Eclectic Home offers her, she says, a different approach than her work through Kimberly Handler Designs does. Eclectic Home in Greenwich is filled with a sophisticated mix of stylish goods. MARCH 2020

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Following her studies at New York School of Interior Design, she worked for a Manhattan-based design firm before she launched her eponymous company in 2003. In her company, she focuses on residential design, renovation and new construction. Her approach is bold, an assured blending of the traditional look often favored on the East Coast with the relaxed feel of California living. It’s no surprise, since she and her family lived for a time in Malibu, where they still maintain a home. “To me, it’s the most interesting mix of people, from one end of the spectrum to the other,” she says of the beach community. She loves both the lifestyle — and its enduring influence on her work. “We go out as much as we possibly can.”

A WHIRLWIND START

Kimberly Handler at Eclectic Home in Greenwich.

“Everything you bring into a room has a purpose,” she says of the balance she always strives to create in her residential projects. Here, it’s a bit more, as she says, “fun” — a vibrant explosion of sensory experiences, from bold fabrics to unusual textures, intriguing art to unique interpretations of classics. “Opening a store has been a good learning lesson for me,” she says. And a bit later will add, “It’s kind of fun for my creative side, constantly moving stuff” — before adding with a laugh — “I don’t know if it’s OCD or what.”

EARLY DAYS

Handler, a Greenwich-based interior designer with nearly 20 years’ experience — her design studio is just down the road — is fulfilling her dream of bringing her design expertise to a wider audience with this retail venture. By design, it’s a showcase of hand-selected vintage, modern and one-of-a-kind home furnishings, accessories and art. The location was both perfect — and familiar. “I live in Greenwich and ride horses in Bedford,” she says. Handler, who grew up outside of Princeton, New Jersey, and went on to college at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, eventually got her start in the world of interior design.

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For Handler, Eclectic Home may have been in mind for ages but was quick in coming to life. “When I decide I’m going to do something, I normally rip the Band-Aid pretty quickly,” noting she decided to go ahead with the shop in November, officially opening Jan. 7. It sounds like an impossible feat. “This is what I do,” she said, noting she relied on her long-cultivated network of vendors and a test run before the holidays. It’s proven to be the perfect complement to her design work, she adds. “I think I was looking for a creative outlet, (a) way to pull together things that I love.” And often those things have local ties, from the handcrafted table created in Brooklyn to bold photography from Fairfield County’s Allyson Monson to signature artwork from Kerri Rosenthal, who has a flagship shop in Westport. (Both familiar to WAG readers from past features). The remainder of her inventory is a mix of design favorites, such as sassy home goods from Jonathan Adler (see story on page 64), to vintage finds and antiques. The latter Handler sources on buying trips that range from upstate New York to Vermont but, she adds, “Wherever I am, I’m looking.” “I think there’s nothing better than going and finding a treasure,” she says. Often, she will repurpose those finds to create a modern piece — the perfect example, a grouping of traditional Queen Anne chairs made new by her revamp featuring black-and-white Loro Piana fabric and vivid green lacquer. While she expects to have customers ranging from someone searching for a home accent to those looking for a stylish gift, Handler also is looking to become a resource for other designers. To that end, she offers a trade discount and the chance to source items for their projects on approval. As she looks around her new surroundings, Handler says she finds her new location ideal, expecting to draw customers from not only Greenwich and Bedford but also Armonk, Chappaqua and beyond. After all, she says, “I will drive to a store that I like.” And she hopes Eclectic Home becomes such a destination. Eclectic Home is at 1064 North St. in Greenwich. Call 203-340-9213 or visit eclectichome.store. For more on Handler’s design work, visit kimberlyhandlerdesigns.com.

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Splendors indeed BY MARY SHUSTACK

THOSE WHO SEEK OUT THE DEEDEE WIGMORE GALLERIES, NESTLED DEEP WITHIN THE AMERICAN WING OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IN MANHATTAN, WILL BE REWARDED WITH A MOST ARTFUL STEP INTO AN EARLIER TIME. From a wildly intricate brass étagère created by The Charles Parker Co. to an elaborately enameled table clock by E. F. Caldwell & Co., from a majestic chair featuring ebonized wood and gilding by A. Kimbel and J. Cabus to a gold-framed oil painting by William Stanley Haseltine depicting a New England shore, the sumptuous objects featured in “Aesthetic Splendors: Highlights from the Gift of Barrie and Deedee Wigmore” offer nothing less than a tour-de-force walk through the designs of an historic period. The evocative showcase of American paintings, home furnishings and decorative arts, along with a few pieces of art jewelry for good measure — primarily from the 1860s to early 1890s — celebrates the promised gift made by the Wigmores in honor of The Met’s 150th anniversary and features some 50 examples from their historic collection of treasures. Most of the items have never been seen by the public. Advance exhibition materials share that, “Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore have promised 88 superlative examples of American Aesthetic Movement and Gilded Age decorative arts and contemporaneous paintings from their collection — one of the preeminent holdings of late 19th-century American

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art in private hands — to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” In pre-exhibition comments, Max Hollein, director of The Met, noted, “Comprised of prime examples of American decorative arts and paintings, all created around the time The Met was formed, this gift has particular resonance in the museum’s anniversary year. We are deeply grateful to Met Trustee Barrie Wigmore and his wife, Deedee, for their exceptional generosity.” As visitors will learn from a text panel of the exhibit, “A key tenet of the Aesthetic movement was that art infused every aspect of a domestic interior, including not only furniture and woodwork but also ceramics, metalwork, lighting and wallpaper.” The installation, surrounded by incredibly vibrant reproduction wallpaper designs, has been organized to evoke the Wigmores’ own home in The Dakota, the legendary Central Park West apartment building. You can only imagine that meticulously appointed setting filled with historic furniture designs from New York makers Herter Brothers and Kimbel & Cabus and Philadelphia firms A. and H. Lejambre and Daniel Pabst. The interiors also feature work from Cincinnati, Ohio, ceramic legend Rookwood Pottery, design icons such as Louis Comfort Tiffany and artists including the Hudson River School’s Albert Bierstadt and George Inness. The Wigmores’ collection represents a period, The Met shares, “that coincides with many significant cultural achievements in New York, including the founding of The Met in 1870. The enormous wealth earned by post-Civil War industrialists and financiers gave rise to what is known as the Gilded Age — a period when highly skilled craftspeople, mainly immigrants, produced sumptuous

Fish vase by Edward Lycett, Faience Manufacturing Co. (1886-90), earthenware.

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Library table by Daniel Pabst (circa 1870-75), walnut, burled maple, casters, original and later felt.

Detail of a table clock by E. F. Caldwell & Co. (circa 1920), bronze, champlevé enamel. Images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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objects for a discerning clientele.” It’s clear that it would have had to have truly been a discerning customer who would not only appreciate but be able to afford such intricate works, including the commanding-yet-delicate Herter Brothers cabinet filled with marquetry, carvings and gilding or the finely detailed brassand-enamel table from The Charles Parker Co. of Meriden in Connecticut’s New Haven County. Throughout, there are vases and floor lamps, andirons and tables, music stands and chandeliers, each worth more than a moment’s study. Of the grouping, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, the museum’s Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang curator of American Decorative Arts, notes, “These works represent a truly transformative gift that will considerably enhance our strong collection by adding to areas of preexisting strength and building upon new areas of interest. The Wigmores have been collecting for the past four decades with extraordinary discernment and intelligence, and the items that will be coming to The Met are true masterworks in all media.” And even the quickest walk through “Aesthetic Splendors” makes that abundantly clear. “Aesthetic Splendors: Highlights from the Gift of Barrie and Deedee Wigmore” continues through Aug. 16 in the Deedee Wigmore Galleries within The American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. (at 82nd Street) in Manhattan. For more, visit metmuseum.org.

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Designing for a big year BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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MARCH 2020

The Mary and Michael Jaharis Gallery in The Greek and Roman Galleries, The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A YEAR AFTER THE CIVIL WAR ENDED, A GROUP OF NEW YORKERS MET IN PARIS’ BOIS DE BOULOGNE, WHERE THEY CELEBRATED VICTORY AND PEACE AMID THE BUCOLIC BEAUTY OF THE ICONIC PARK ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE 16TH ARRONDISSEMENT. Their thoughts, however, were very much on their own city, thousands of miles away and what they could do to enrich it culturally. “I think they wouldn’t even hope to create a museum like those they encountered on their grand tours of Europe,” said Andrea Bayer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s deputy director of collections and administration. “But they felt New York deserved a serious museum.” The time was ripe, Bayer added. Post-Civil War, Northern cities were feeling their oats. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston was founded in 1870. The American Museum of Natural History — the scientific yang to The Met’s yin across Central Park — was founded in 1869. That year, the idea of a New York art museum was referred to the art committee of the Union League Club of New York, with The Metropolitan Museum of Art incorporated on April 13, 1870. It had no building yet or collection, just a group of elected trustees and executive committee members. But it had one thing more — a dream that has grown from makeshift homes in midtown and on 14th Street to a Central Park building in 1880, which became the expansive Beaux Arts jewel that today houses 17 curatorial departments, in effect 17 individual museums.

TO A TEA

It’s no secret that the 2010s was, however, not the best of times for The Met, with a crisis in leadership that manifested itself in personnel issues, financial troubles and a controversial experiment with The Met Breuer, its museum of Modern and contemporary art, housed in the former, revamped Whitney Museum of American Art. But now with Daniel H. Weiss as president and CEO and Max Hollein as director, The Met has rebounded spectacularly. One proof of this is in the ambitious lineup of exhibits, programs, lectures, panels, concerts and interactive experiences the museum has designed to celebrate its 150th anniversary and demonstrate that it remains one of the great august but also democratic institutions of the world, accessible to all. Another proof is in Bayer herself, one of three women deputy directors at The Met. The trio is completed by Inka Drögemüller, deputy director for digital, education, publications, imaging, libraries; and

Quincy Houghton, deputy director of exhibitions — demonstrating, Bayer said, that women are making strides in museum leadership. Since joining The Met as an Italian Renaissance scholar in the Department of European Paintings in 1990, the Barnard- and Princeton-educated Bayer has proved to be knowledgeable and passionate, the perfect blend of sense and sensibility and an invaluable resource for us cultural writers. Recently, WAG had the opportunity to discuss with her the big plans for the big 150, which kick off with a happy happenstance. When Met officials were planning the sesquicentennial celebration, they had no idea that the refurbishment of the British galleries would be completed in time for the 150th anniversary. So the celebration begins March 2 with the opening of the newly installed Annie Laurie Aitken Galleries and Josephine Mercy Heathcote Gallery — 11,000 square feet featuring almost 700 works of British decorative arts, design and sculpture created between 1500 and 1900. The reimagined suite of 10 galleries (including three 18th-century interiors) offers a new take on a past filled with achievement but also complexity and pain. This will be seen in a much-anticipated gallery devoted to “Tea, Trade and Empire,” which presents a delightful display of 100 English teapots while also considering the human and environmental price for such lovely prosperity.

‘MAKING THE MET’

The centerpiece exhibit of the anniversary year is “Making the Met: 1870-2020” (March 30-Aug. 2), which Bayer organized to tell the chronological and thematic story of The Met in eight sections that draw on the entire collection. The first, “The Founding Decades,” notes the diversity of The Met’s holdings from the get-go, everything from Cypriot antiquities and Toltec reliefs to Japanese armor and Old Masters. The museum sought a wide audience, too, with study rooms for designers, artisans and students. The “Art for All” section demonstrates how The Met encouraged that mass appeal through the creation of its musical instruments collection; its textiles offerings, now the Antonio Ratti Textile Center and Reference Library; and a prints department that embraced everything from broadsheets to the works of the

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The Cuxa Cloister at The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s medieval wing in Fort Tryon Park, northern Manhattan. Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Northern Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer, Bayer said. “In the early years, there was a great debate: Should The Met be open on Sunday?,” she added. “Sunday was the day for the workingman. But the strict Protestants who founded The Met thought that was not right. It took (some 20) years for The Met to open on Sundays,” the first being May 31, 1891. Today The Met is open seven days, the exceptions being Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and, of course, the first Monday in May for its Costume Institute Gala. And it remains committed to reaching out to viewers through the media of the day, with “Primers” on upcoming exhibits from director Hollein on its website and #MyMetStory serving for a collection of visitors’ reminiscences of their Met experiences. “Princely Aspirations” looks at the inspiration the museum drew from the great royal and aristocratic collections, while “Collecting Through Excavation” considers not only the great discoveries of the 1920s and ’30s but how the policy has changed to research and conservation since The Met began excavating in the Middle East in 1906. “Creating a National Narrative” chronicles the run-up to the opening of the American Wing in 1924, while “A Vision of Collection” illustrates how the 1929 bequest of some 2,000 objects from Louisine and Henry Osborne Havemeyer exploded The Met’s holdings in European, American, Asian and Islamic art. (Many of these works

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were displayed at Hilltop, the Havemeyers’ 90-acre Greenwich estate.) Louisine was a great friend of Mary Cassatt, the only American artist invited to exhibit with the French Impressionists, and Cassatt presciently encouraged the couple to buy Impressionist works. She played a key role in The Met becoming one of the great repositories of 19th century art.

DAYS OF ‘RECKONING’

But The Met would soon lag in other areas, a subject it acknowledges in the “Reckoning with Modernism” section of “Making The Met.” “It is complicated,” Bayer acknowledges. “I don’t want to underestimate the complications of history. Every generation confronts its own modern.” But while The Met was quick to embrace changing styles of furniture, it wasn’t as quick to accept Modernism in painting and sculpture or even new art forms. It took 20 years for it to receive Alfred Stieglitz’s photographs as fine art. It never did accept the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney collection, which became the Whitney Museum. The promised billion-dollar gift of Leonard A. Lauder’s Cubist paintings, drawings and sculptures, however, will fill in what has been a gap in The Met’s holdings from the 1920s and ’30s, Bayer said. At the same time, The Met is ending its run at The Breuer after the “Gerhard Richter: Painting After All” show (March 2-July 5). The Frick Collection will take over the

lease during the renovation of its 70th Street home. But Bayer calls The Breuer experiment “enormously successful,” pointing to such shows as her own excellent “Unfinished Thoughts Left Visible,” featuring provocative, “finished” unfinished works that spanned the Renaissance to the present. Bayer rounds out “Making The Met” with sections on “Fragmented Histories” and the museum’s role in helping the Monuments Men and Women preserve the cultural heritage of Europe during World War II; “The Centennial Era” that explored the arts of Islam, Asia, Africa and Oceania; and “Broadening Perspectives,” which considers the importance of cross-cultural approaches. Those cross-cultural currents will flow March 4 in the “Crossroads” series of installations — “Power and Piety” in the Medieval Sculpture Hall; “Empires and Emporia” in the Asian Art Galleries Astor Forecourt; and “Mythical Beasts” at the intersection of Greek and Roman Art, Ancient Near Eastern Art, and Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia galleries. With all of this, what would those men dreaming in the Bois de Boulogne think of The Met today? Said Bayer: “I think they would be completely gobsmacked, amazed at the grandeur and the scale that draws seven million visitors a year.” For more, visit metmuseum.org/150 and contribute your recollections at metmuseum.org/Share-Your-Met-Story.

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Anatomy of a collaboration BY MARY SHUSTACK

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MARCH 2020

IN TODAY’S BUSINESS CLIMATE, WHEN IT OFTEN SEEMS THAT EVERY COMPANY IS OUT FOR ITSELF, IT’S REFRESHING TO HEAR ABOUT AN EFFORT THAT BILLS ITSELF AS ONE “PROMOTING COLLABORATION OVER COMPETITION.” Fayette Studio, a Greenwich-based designer and curator of luxury rugs and carpets, has partnered with Art + Loom, a bespoke rug company based out of Miami. The result is Art + Loom x Fayette Studio, not only a stunning capsule collection featuring four hand-knotted rug designs but also a testament to the power of collaboration. Each rug in the collection is made to order, customizable in aspects that include size, color and material composition and showcased in two to six different colorways. The rug designs include Vibration, which is designed to “evoke the feeling of movement;” Watercolor Dot, in which “multiple shades of one color create the image of an ink blot on wet paper;” Drifting Wings, “a romantic take on the crossing of two drifting butterfly wings;” and Etchings, “an illusion of words and communication.” Kyra Schulhof, founder of Fayette Studio, and Samantha Gallacher, founder of Art + Loom, are the forces behind the effort, each taking time to share their perspectives on the collaboration with WAG. As Gallacher says of the project, “We wanted to tap into the idea of a bohemian art studio where every medium of fine art could be interpreted and displayed on the floor. All drawn lines feel organic, and the stroke of a paintbrush creates movement and style.” The goal of the project was never far from thought, adds Schulhof. “Samantha and I share an incredible passion for making exquisite handcrafted rugs and a commitment to our customers that comes before any competition that may exist between us.” Here’s the story behind the collaboration, thanks to a behind-thescenes peek with each of the participants.

THE GREENWICH CONNECTION

A look at the collaboration, from Kyra Schulhof of Fayette Studio. Tell us a bit about your background — training, inspirations — and the founding of Fayette Studio. “Fayette Studio was founded somewhat unintentionally while trying to source carpets for many of my design clients. While designing homes, I continually had trouble sourcing exactly what we were looking for from our local carpet stores. I’m very determined to find the right fit, so that led me to working directly with sources in Nepal and India to custom-create rugs that fit our exact client needs. I can now customize design, size, color and material. “This customization option started catching on to other tristate designers and my business evolved to what is now known as Fayette Studio. We still source from all of our favorite designer-driven rug and carpet brands, but what makes Fayette Studio unique is our direct relationship with the mills that allows us to custom-make quite literally any type of rug you could dream of.” Who is your ideal customer? “I love working with clients who truly appreciate the customization work that our mills do abroad. The result is a one-of-a-kind piece of art that complements and elevates the look of your home. We mostly work with interior designers but we work directly with homeowners as well. Our clients all appreciate the concierge-like service we provide that ensures the process is smooth from conception to installation.”

(Top) Kyra Schulhof, founder of Fayette Studio in Greenwich. Courtesy Fayette Studio. Samantha Gallacher, founder of Miami-based Art + Loom. Courtesy Art + Loom.

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What do you think customers in the metro area look for when it comes to design for their homes? Are there common threads or is each project different? “Each project is definitely different in terms of needs and styles. We have a healthy mix of modern and traditional styles in this area. However, the common thread is that families in our area understand the value in quality. They’re looking for the best quality and design at a fair price. They want a rug that will be easy to maintain and look great for years to come.” How did the collaboration with Art + Loom come about? Is this your first collaboration? What were the goals — and do you think they were met? “One of my design clients fell in love with Miami-based Art + Loom designs and suggested I connect with the owner, Samantha Gallacher, regarding offering her rugs in Fayette Studio. I carry many brands (that) designers admire, and I love a collaborative approach, so I invited her to come visit my studio. Upon meeting, we quickly realized that we had gone to college together and had many friends in common. “There was an instant trust and excitement to come up with an exclusive collection for Fayette Studio. We’re both women business owners and value collaboration over competition. We share industry knowledge and bounce ideas off of each other all the time. Samantha has become a true friend and invaluable colleague through this process.” How did the design process actually work with you here in Connecticut and Samantha Gallacher in Florida? “It is very easy to communicate and collaborate with technology these days. Samantha and I are always in touch, whether it be texting, calling or emailing. We have a very open line of communication and we both understand the rug industry very well, so the design process was pretty seamless. There were lots of designs we shared and mulled over, ultimately selecting the strongest four designs that we thought would resonate with our design-driven audience the most.” How has the response been to the collection — any surprises? What’s been most rewarding about it, and do you see yourself creating future work with Art + Loom? “The response has been great. I am totally open to expanding

our capsule collection with Art + Loom. Samantha is a talented rug designer. I find it fun to see what she comes up with and how her mind works. We have learned a lot from each other and work really well together.”

AND FROM MIAMI

Samantha Gallacher of Art + Loom offers her take on the project: Kindly tell us a bit about your background and the creation of Art + Loom. “While I am an interior designer by trade, I took a break from design for a few years to develop textile designs for West Elm. There I fell in love with the craft, particularly when it came to designing rugs. There were no limitations, no minimum orders and no pattern repeats. The rug became my canvas. After moving to Miami in 2009, I resumed my interior design business and, with my newfound rug knowledge and factory relationships, I started making original rugs for my clients. It snowballed to me designing rugs for friends’ clients and so on. As a result, I launched Art + Loom, which was born from the concept of me taking my drawings to the loom… from Art to Loom.” Can you tell us about your history with collaborations — the challenges and rewards? “Collaborations are so much fun because you have a meeting of two different creative brains with completely different ideas and skill sets, working together to create something completely unique. As long as you collaborate with some you trust and admire, the process should be near seamless.” How did you end up working with Fayette Studio? How did you know it was going to be a “fit”? “I was introduced to Fayette Studio by a designer who was purchasing a rug from me. The designer said, ‘I know you are competitors, but I have a feeling you guys can work together in some way. You seem like you should be friends.’ Once Kyra and I met, we realized we actually went to college together. We were so excited about working together we decided to think outside the ‘competitive’ box and see how we could develop on a mutually beneficial project together.” What were some of the challenges of this project — and the rewards? “There have not been many challenges with this project aside from the typical rug-sample waiting process. You never know how the first samples are going to turn out. But honestly, the waiting process with rug samples is the same no matter who is creating a rug. It’s just part of the process. We both bring different skill sets to the table, so that has resulted in a very positive experience for me. It’s good to lean on each other’s strengths.” What are you most proud of with the launch of this collection? “I am most proud of the uniqueness of the collection. The designs and colorways are unexpected yet remain easy to use when designing a space.” Who do you think will be its ideal customer? “Interior designers who have a transitional vibe with an edge, someone who is not afraid to make a statement in a room.” For more, visit fayettestudio.com.

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Hyatt Regency Greenwich is pleased to announce a full renovation of its 35,000-squarefoot meeting, pre-function and special event space. The renovation project is strategically designed to focus on isolated sections of meeting space at one time, in an effort to lessen disruption and continue business as usual for our groups in-house. The renovation project design – led by dash design, a leading NYC-based interior design firm is inspired by Greenwich’s old-world charm with its tree-lined streets, quaint buildings and proximity to the sea. Elements of traditional details will be combined with nautical references of sailcloth, elegant ship-building and rich woods with a color palette that will reflect the colors of the sea with deep blues, neutral greys and warm whites. A guestroom renovation – inspired by a similar design – will also take place and timing will be announced soon. 1800 East Putnam Avenue, Old Greenwich 203-637-1234 Greenwich.hyatt.com

Dotty for dots BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

POLKA DOTS. PUMPKINS. PUMPKINS WITH POLKA DOTS. AND TREES WITH POLKA DOTS. DON’T FORGET THE TREES WRAPPED CHRISTO-LIKE IN POLKA-DOTTED MESH. PLUS, POLKA DOT PICNICS AND PUMPKIN POWER WEEKENDS, ALONG WITH IMMERSIVE INFINITY MIRROR INSTALLATIONS. The Bronx will be even more of a happening place this spring as the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) presents “Kusama: Cosmic Nature” (May 9-Nov. 1), a multimedia exploration of the legendary 90-year-old Japanese artist, whose work fuses the aesthetic and the organic, the infinitesimal and the infinite. In announcing the exhibit, NYBG CEO and President Carrie Rebora Barratt called Yayoi Kusama “an artist for our time and our place, taking her cue from our planet and all that matters to us in our world.” Just how timely the artist has become was evident in 2017 when some 160,000 art lovers snaked around the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. to spend a half-minute in each of six “Infinity Mirror” installations — a phenomenon that drew the national press, including “PBS NewsHour’s” chief arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown. (Expect more of the same when the Hirshhorn opens another Kusama show April 4.) For the NYBG exhibit, Barratt said there will be two different types of tickets, one of which will include timed access to the “Infinity Mirrored Room — Illusion Inside the Heart” — an immersive outdoor installation responding to the ever-changing daylight and seasons — to ensure everyone has his experience of both the fleeting and the eternal.

MELDING ART AND NATURE

“Infinity” is just one of four new works, including “Flower Obsession,” the artist’s first-ever “obliteration”

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greenhouse, where visitors can cover the interior with coral flower stickers; “Dancing Pumpkin,” a dynamic 16-foot-tall bronze painted in Kusama’s signature yellow with black polka dots; and “I Want to Fly to the Universe,” a bright 13-foot-high sunflower-like form with a yellow face and, yes, polka dots. To accompany the intense design aspect of Kusama’s work, the garden will create a rich patchwork of flora that will also respond to the seasons as bulb plants like daffodils, irises and tulips as well as blossoming fruit trees give way to roses, day lilies and hydrangeas and ultimately to pumpkins and kiku (for “chrysanthemum,” Japan’s harbinger of the fall). On the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory lawn, “Dancing Pumpkin” will boogie with river birches, flowering plants, grasses, ferns and whimsical topiary. (In the pas de deux between art and nature, Barratt said, no botanical would be harmed.) “Hymn of Life: Tulip” (2007), made of three outsized fiberglass flowers, will commune with the conservatory courtyard pool’s water lilies. Inside the conservatory’s exhibit galleries, “Starry Pumpkin” (2015), festooned with pink and gold mosaic, will have pride of place in a similarly colored woodland garden of flowers and foliage, while “Alone, Buried in a Flower Garden” (2014) will serve as a blueprint for a changing arrangement of plantings, separated by river rocks, to replicate the painting’s bold shapes and palette. Across the 250-acre campus, the Library Building will feature an array of Kusama’s botanical sketches, paintings, works on paper, biomorphic collages, assem-

Yayoi Kusama with her “Pumpkin” (2010), © the artist. Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo / Singapore / Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; 37 MARCH 2020 WAGMAG.COM David Zwirner, New York.

Now and then: Yayoi Kusama in 2020. (Right) Yayoi Kusama around age 10, circa 1939. Courtesy the artist.

blages and recent soft sculpture and canvas works that consider the infinite variety of floral structures — a theme addressed in the magnified images of plants viewed through electron microscopes in the library’s Britton Science Gallery. In the library’s “Life” (2015) installation, visitors will navigate a circular space enclosing polka-dotted forms with mosaic surfaces. In “Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Infinity” (2017), they’ll encounter a mirrored cube reflecting an infinity of polka-dotted pumpkins. It’s accompanied by a statement in which the artist describes the pumpkin as “beloved of all the plants in the world. When I see pumpkins, I cannot efface the joy of them being my everything, nor the awe I hold them in.” If it’s true that you grow to resemble what you love, Kusama looks like her adorable pumpkins, with her flame-colored, Louise Brooks-bob of a wig and matching attire.

MYSTICAL CONNECTIONS

Kusama’s love of art and nature was born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, where she grew up in a rich but troubled family of merchants, who owned a plant nursery and seed farm. Like the artist Louise Bourgeois, Kusama was forced to become a go-between in her parents’ adulterous marriage, which in Kusama’s case meant spying on her father and his various lovers for her mother. From an early age, she escaped into an art that was heightened by her hallucinations of light, auras, fields of dots and talking flowers, which would become the key elements in her works. It was as if she was looking to become lost in them. She refers to her art as “self-obliteration,” and indeed a drawing she did as a 10-year-old of a woman in a kimono pre-

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sumed to be her mother shows the subject engulfed in dots. At 13, Kusama was sent off to a military factory to make parachutes for the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, which she would later describe as a period of darkness. After the war, she studied traditional Japanese painting at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts. But Kusama was increasingly drawn to the avant-garde styles of the West and, after initial success in Japan, she moved to New York City in 1957. Over the next 15 years, she would establish herself at the forefront of the avant-garde — befriending artists like Donald Judd, Eva Hesse and, especially South Nyack’s reclusive Joseph Cornell, who gave her many of his Surrealistic assemblages. She also explored sex, sexuality and political protest in happenings that often involved nudity. While these gained her fame, they distressed her family and this, coupled with her inability to sell her work — which was often successfully copied by men — led her to two suicide attempts. In 1973, she returned to Japan, took up fiction and autobiography, became an art dealer briefly and checked into Seiwa Hospital for the Mentally Ill, where she continues to live voluntarily, not far from her Tokyo studio. (The city is also home to the Yayoi Kusama Museum, a hotspot since its opening in 2017.) In the 1980s, Kusama’s art career continued to simmer, but she would soon turn up the heat. At the Venice Biennale in 1993, she blazed, presiding over a mirrored room filled with her beloved pumpkin sculptures. In the new century, her polka dots would adorn everything from cellphone cases to Lancome lipsticks to Louis Vuitton and a collaboration with Marc Jacobs, who once said, “I don’t think there is ever a wrong time for polka dots.” Or indeed for Kusama. For tickets and more, visit nybg.org/kusama.

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One of a kind BY PHIL HALL

WHEN WAG LAST CHECKED IN WITH PETER DEANE, PRINCIPAL OF THE FAMILY-OWNED DESIGN FIRM DEANE INC., IN MARCH 2016, HE HAD JUST RETURNED FROM THE ANNUAL KITCHEN AND BATH INDUSTRY SHOW IN LAS VEGAS WITH INSIGHT INTO POTENTIAL TRENDS, INCLUDING BREAKTHROUGHS IN SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS TOUCHACTIVATED AND PEDAL-CONTROLLED FAUCETS THAT DISPENSED SPARKLING WATER ALONGSIDE CHILLED DRINKING WATER AND FEATURED THEIR OWN IN-SYSTEM WATER FILTERS. “At the touch of a button, our clients can turn on the lights to a specific setting to create an appropriate ambience while turning on their music and raising their window blinds,” he said at the time. Fast forward to today and smart home technology is a staple in Deane’s work rather than a fanciful trend shining in a trade show expo hall. Deane’s company has been at the forefront of incorporating these systems into its designs. “The biggest value our clients see in integrating smart technology into their kitchens is within their appliances where manufacturers can diagnose their products off-site to determine service requirements,” he says. “The trend we are noticing from our clients is their desire to escape the pervasiveness of technology and devices and spend their time in their kitchens cooking and enjoying time with their family and friends.” Four years ago, Deane also called into view new design trends promoting sustainability through the use of reclaimed woods combined with textured hard plastic, as well as man-made countertops that challenged

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metal-based versions for resiliency. Today, Deane is still keeping an eye on emerging design trends. But he is also cognizant of not rushing to embrace design trends that will quickly go out of date. “Designing a kitchen within the architectural integrity of the home is one way to combat the ‘I don’t want a trendy kitchen’ pushback,” he advises. “However, more important is working with your kitchen designer to create a space that is suitable for your family’s lifestyle and fits your aesthetic.” Deane Inc. was originally founded in Pound Ridge in 1961 by Raymond Girard, Deane’s grandfather. Deane’s father, Peter M. Deane, came on board in 1965 and the company opened its first Connecticut showroom in Darien. Deane worked for a general contractor in Breckenridge, Colorado, and later at a cabinetry shop in New Holland, Pennsylvania, before coming into the family business, which now consists of Stamford and New Canaan showrooms that he co-manages with his sister Carrie. What is the secret to keeping a family-run operation in business for so long? Deane

modestly denies himself main credit for the company’s longevity. “Deane’s success is team driven,” he says. “Taking on a kitchen renovation is very cumbersome and overwhelming. When working with Deane, we surround your project with a team of professionals that are with you every step of the way. Our designers guide you through space planning, cabinet design and material selections. Our project design manager engineers the designs and our field supervisor manages the field conditions and the installation of your project.” Deane and his team work on approximately 100 projects per year, with clients in Westchester and Fairfield counties. No two endeavors are ever identical. “These projects are all in different stages — ranging from preliminary design, production or installation. A realistic timeline for planning your project would allow for approximately six weeks for the upfront design phase, three months for cabinet production and four to six weeks for the completion of installation. These time frames vary based on the scope of work for each project.” Deane does not force ideas on clients but instead encourages them to share magazines, photographs, Pinterest boards and Houzz idea books that inspire possible design concepts. While the aesthetic aspects of the design are important, so are the financial. He advises clients to have a realistic budget that will cover the various parts of the project. As for the current trends that shape his ongoing work, Deane states that “hints of color and organic textured woods will continue to be integrated into our designs for 2020. Painted white and light gray cabinetry will dominate the primary finishes with pops of colors and textured woods. These colors are usually presented in islands, open shelf cabinetry or even on custom hoods. Additionally, the use of textured woods creates an organic vibe that is very currently popular.” But that’s not to say Deane is ready to accept all inquiries. Some prospective clients have to be politely turned away. “Occasionally, there are projects that are on an extremely tight timeline,” he says. “Due to the customization of our designs and highend nature of our products, their delivery takes time. Therefore, clients need to make a decision if they want to invest in this process or selected stock products that are readily available. Ultimately, we want all our clients to love the finished result, so we are always sentient about meeting expectations and delivering a quality experience.” For more, visit deaneinc.com.

Peter Deane. Courtesy Deane Inc.

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WAGMAG.COM

BEGUILING

lthough many childhood dreams are packed away in attic boxes with old report cards, school pictures and baseball trophies, some dreams — of being an explorer on an African safari — can live again. Imagine waking in a magical place, far from our digital world, with only the sounds of the savanna to keep you company. Your heart skips a beat as an 18-foot giraffe (the tallest mammal on earth) appears from behind an acacia tree and walks slowly, gracefully and purposefully toward you. Quiet and elegant, they seem to float across the savanna plains with the finesse of a runway model. Their elongated necks seem africaphototours.com

to defy gravity. It’s surprising that they, like humans, possess only seven vertebrae in their necks. Daily, their only task seems to be chomping away on more than 100 pounds of leaves a day needed to fill their bellies. Luckily, their 16-plus inch long black tongues have evolved so they don’t get sunburned. Insomniacs of the animal kingdom, giraffes seem to go without sleep. It wasn’t until the 1990s that scientists discovered they sleep in one to 35 minute bursts. They are the original “power nappers.” So what do they do all night instead of sleeping? They hum. Yes, hum! Just imagine listening to a giraffe’s lullaby. In Kenya and Tanzania, there are three types of giraffes —

AFRICA PHOTO TOURS “THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT SAFARI LIFE THAT MAKES YOU FORGET ALL YOUR SORROWS AND FEEL AS IF YOU HAD DRUNK HALF A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE — BUBBLING OVER WITH HEARTFELT GRATITUDE FOR BEING ALIVE.” – Isak Dinesen

BLONDES

the Reticulated, the Masai, and the Rothschild. The Rothschild giraffes were once so endangered that in 1932 a sanctuary was built in Nairobi, Kenya for their protection. This special place, Giraffe Manor, is open to tourists. The star attraction at the sanctuary are the 12 giraffes in residence who often peek their heads into the second floor windows to share breakfast with the delighted guests. There are so many fascinating things to discover about giraffes and all the other creatures that can be found on safari with John Rizzo’s Africa Photo Tours. It’s an unforgettable trip filled with lions, elephants, leopards, zebras and rhinos — all waiting to be

discovered by you. Rizzo, an award-winning photographer, leads a team of experienced guides specializing in safari and tribal tours within East Africa — Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. His experienced team brings an intimate group of guests of all ages to see the “Big Five” (buffalos, elephants, lions, leopards and rhinoceroses) as well as visit with the Maasai, Samburu and Turkana people. It’s a once in a lifetime experience, far more beautiful than any of your childhood imaginings. Some dreams are so worth waiting for. For more, visit africaphototours.com. africaphototours.com

The dapper head of Draper BY JEREMY WAYNE

“DECORATING IS FUN,” ACCORDING TO THE TITLE OF DOROTHY DRAPER’S 1939 BOOK — OFTEN CREDITED AS AMERICA’S FIRST INTERIOR DECORATING BOOK. Not that you’d necessarily know it, though, talking to Carleton Varney, Draper’s mentee, who still runs the business he took over from her on her death in 1969, and who has recently overseen the republication of the book. For the wonderfully oldschool yet also dazzlingly contemporary Varney, who dispenses insight, charm and mordant wit in equal measure, decorating is actually quite a serious business. One of America’s favorite decorators, Varney brings a fascinating combination of unbridled enthusiasm and practiced world-weariness to his role as president of the company, making it his personal mission to carry on Draper’s bold tradition of colorful and pattern-filled design. He is also a prodigious writer himself, the author of a celebrated biography of Draper, two novels and a clutch of decorating books. In addition to this, he pens a much-loved weekly decorating column, “Your Family Decorator,” in the Palm Beach Daily News. If this seems a dizzying workload, Varney airily dismisses it. “I’m 83,” says the self-appointed high priest of black-and-whitewith-a-splash-of-color decorating, a style inherited from Draper and still practiced to this day. (It’s also trending on the runway for spring as well. See the “Neiman Marcus Trend Report” in our Watch pages.) “But really, the numbers should be reversed. I feel like I’m 38.” He regrets how times have changed and bemoans the fact that “people no longer have sensibilities or decorum,” but a healthy — never mawkish — nostalgia and appreciation of the past seems to keep him going. With a home and office in Palm Beach, Varney has a penchant for Palm Beach-style, pastel-colored or cream blazers, which he wears over richly patterned long silk scarves,

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tied as voluminous ties, in what has become something of a signature look. Those ties are as famously loud as Varney himself is cultivated, low-key and debonair. Along with those great splashes of color, there are even — heavens to Betsy — horizontal stripes, a decorating no-no that would have Syrie Maugham and Elsie de Wolf, those mistresses of cream design and Draper’s precursors, spinning in their graves, yet somehow, on

Clockckwise form above, apartments decorated by Varney in Washington, D.C. Courtesy Dorothy Draper & Company Inc. and Carleton Varney. Courtesy Carleton Varney.

Varney, they look good. “I’m a color person,” he says, almost superfluously. “I remember coming back from Papeete (capital of French Polynesia) and landing in LA. The hotel room was all beige and gray. I felt I was naked in a bowl of oatmeal,” he laments, still recoiling at the memory. His decorating canon is vast and prodigious. There have been castles in Ireland (where Varney also has a home), governors’ mansions, ambassadorial residences and even airplane interiors. “I recently flew from Denver on United,” he tells me, by way of introducing the subject. “In first class, they served mushroom soup, then a burger with a ramequin of button mushrooms. Imagine.” Whether it is the mushrooms themselves, or their lack of color, to which he objected, I fail to establish, but what is abundantly clear is that Varney did not care for them. “I think back to the planes we did with white ceilings and gold stars, with bright red seatbelts, or to the era of Braniff,” he says with a sigh. He has done The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Musuem and the former presidential yacht USS Sequoia. And then there are hotels — more than 400 of them — from Hawaii to London, from the Midwest to Japan, which are always at the fore. His parents instilled a strong work ethic in him. Firmly grounded and disciplined, his great skill has been to combine a highly attuned Carleton Varney.

aesthetic with unswerving pragmatism. “Interiors,” says Varney, “are all about looking at pretty things but they must always be practical.” And he says he has to be “surrounded by beautiful things,” just as he also likes “to be around people that are happy.” Gardens have a special place in Varney’s heart. He waxes lyrical about his garden in Ireland and says that, no matter where he is, he is “never without a flower.” While he celebrates the past and grieves over a certain seemliness that has been lost, modern is not necessarily taboo. He has just done a property in Armonk that is “a little bit sleek. Wood floors, stencils, no drapery and (deep breath) panels of photography as art,” as well as a 10,000- squarefoot-home (‘compound’ might be a better word) in Greenwich, for Mark and Arlene Comora. As for decorating, “it is never finished.” But Varney maintains he is not into “novelty decorating,” meaning that a classic interior will always win out over fad and fashion. Practicality is not only one of his guiding principles, it was also one of Draper’s. Doubtless, the company owes much of its longevity and success to the fact that design and style never trump comfort and functionality. The truth is, in the world of the extraordinary Carleton Varney, they must be part and parcel of it. For more, visit carletonvarney.com and dorothydraper.com.

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Melissa Grounds. Photograph by Jane Goodrich.

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CREATIVE ‘GROUNDS’ BY JEREMY WAYNE

GOD, THEY SAY, IS IN THE DETAILS, AND DETAILS ARE WHAT MELISSA GROUNDS OF WESTCHESTER DESIGN CONSULTANCY MOD CREATIVE DESIGN BRINGS TO ALL HER CLIENT PROJECTS. DETAILS THAT OTHERS MISS, DETAILS THAT OTHERS SIMPLY NEVER THINK OF. When we meet for coffee at Cafeto, the yearold, “designer” coffee shop near Melissa’s homebase in Larchmont, she brings her office with her. There are notebooks all around her, swatches, leather samples, “placecards” etched on marble and agate and menu covers, including the one she did for the 40th birthday party of Mirka Federer — wife of tennis great Roger — in Ibiza, Spain. She studied graphic design at Penn State University, thought she wanted to be in marketing but became an administrative assistant at a financial firm. “And then suddenly one day I remember thinking, that’s it, this is my life now, and I realized I had always wanted to be in design.” She left her job in Rye, hoping things would look up, and moved to another in Manhattan, where an understanding boss allowed her to get her various financial industry licenses. She still hated the job. What happened next, Melissa — Meliss to all and sundry — describes as her perfect storm. A friend at Vanity Fair, the former head of red carpet events, left the magazine to start her own company. She was working with a client who wanted to design and produce an invitation, which would go into an egg, which in turn would be hammered open with a mallet. When her friend asked Meliss if she could help (“I need someone who will take this on and make the eggs — all 150 of them,” was what she actually said, back in 2016,) Meliss rose to the challenge. She mocked up the first egg in plaster, painted it robin’s egg blue and bound it with string, complete with a label saying “crack me.” She then hand-sculpted the 149 remaining eggs in her off time. They took several months to complete —

Plaster egg. Photograph by Melissa Grounds.

and that, thought Meliss, was that. The God of small things, who is also the God who’s in the details, had other plans for Meliss, however. It just so happened that Reese Witherspoon was a guest at the egg-invitation wedding, and one thing led to another, as things do and soon more requests for design novelties started to come Meliss’ way. This coincided with her being laid off, which in itself was not a good thing, except that she thoroughly disliked her job. And, as luck would have it, her boyfriend, Scott — who is now her husband — was “crazy supportive”

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Top, Capiz shell place cards in St. Barts. Bottom, Leather menu for the 40th birthday party of Mirka Federer in Ibiza, Spain. Photographs by Melissa Grounds.

of her going into business on her own. They had met at Meliss’ first job in finance, a career which Meliss had chosen not to pursue, but which Scott had, so it was extremely useful to have him on board. “When people come up with an idea,” Meliss explains, “they don’t realize you can’t just buy this stuff. Not in a regular store.” She sits down with clients and so begins the long creative process, coming up with original ideas for custom props to “stage” an event and then figuring out how to produce them. Projects are diverse, from weddings, bar mitzvahs and Sweet Sixteens, to product launches for clients like Sally Beauty and Laughing Cow cheese. For one particular client, Nutritious Life in Manhattan, Meliss transformed a drab event space with a tarp she bought from Home Depot, dyeing it in her bathtub and heat-pressing the company logo on to the canvas before attaching it to an 8-by-8-foot wooden frame. Sounds easy, no? Who are her most demanding clients, I want to know. “The mothers of bar and bat mitzvah kids can sometimes be a little challenging,” she concedes, when pressed. “Some clients have a hard time letting go. But you have to put your trust in somebody.” Meliss works closely with event planners but emphasizes she is not a planner herself. It’s hard to put a name to what she does, she says, but “event production” and “custom event décor” get close to it. Her ideal commission is a blank canvas, as she calls it, “when a client says you can style it any way you want.” She loves to create a sense of cohesion throughout a project, with colors and fonts that match or complement one another. She is also hands-on when in attendance, even if she has only had a hand in designing a small part of the event, and has become known for her emergency kit, which she keeps in the car, so that when she is helping set up for an event she is always prepared for the unexpected. “There’s no such thing as a perfect event,” she says knowingly, “but there is such a thing as a person who can solve all the problems which come up.” For more, visit modcreativedesign.com.

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“Metropolis Sunrise” rendering by Amanda Browder

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www.bermanbuyscollectables.com • 914-244-9500 MARCH 2020

WAGMAG.COM

If these walls could talk… BY MARY SHUSTACK

THE POWER OF WALLPAPER HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TIME AFTER TIME. And the wallpaper designs of Cristina Buckley showcase that power in vibrant colors, bold patterns and sophisticated design. Buckley’s approach is designed to create a mood and evoke emotion, drawing on her background, training and inspirations. Raised in New York City in a family of designers, she has long cultivated a love of art, interiors and collecting. Destined for a creative career, she began in set design for film and television, which sparked an interest in textiles and wallpaper. It was in 2018 that Buckley introduced her own line of six wallpapers, inspired by a love of pattern-on-pattern fashions and interiors, travels in California and a love of saturated color, with the artisanal approach realized by a screen-printing by hand process completed here in America. This spring, Buckley’s second wallpaper collection — The Muses Collection — will be introduced, featuring designs that draw inspiration from Art Deco, chinoiserie and Ornamentalism and are what she collectively calls a “bold statement for the new decade.” Returning to New York after years in California, Buckley gives WAG a glimpse into her world of design. Can you share a bit about your background, training and influences? “As my parents were both designers (my father worked in print advertising and my mother was a package designer for cosmetics), I grew up in an environment that was very visual. I knew from a young

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age that I wanted to be an artist. I attended the (Fiorello H.) LaGuardia High School (of Music & Art and Performing Arts) in New York City, which is a specialized school where students concentrate on art, dance, drama, vocal or instrumental music. It was a wonderful immersive experience that exposed me to so much talent and inspiration. “In college I studied art history and film (film theory, history and production). I became deeply interested in how a film looks and how production design creates and informs the mood. After college back in NYC, I began working in the art department on independent movies and television. I started out as a production assistant and eventually worked as a set dresser and set decorator. So much of this work is about sourcing and shopping for everything in a set — the furniture, art, lighting, etc. I worked on some films in small towns in Texas and Mississippi where there weren’t prop houses or any real shops for home furnishings, especially not period or vintage items. Through word of mouth I’d find people in the towns who would let me rummage through their basement or someone’s barn. It was the most fun part, getting to meet people, hear their stories and discover some dusty treasures they would lend us for the project. “Through researching and shopping for different settings and time periods I became fascinated by antique textiles and wallpaper, so much so that I decided to go back to school to study textile and surface pattern design at (the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan). FIT is a great school that trains students

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Wallpaper designer Cristina Buckley is launching her second collection this spring. Images courtesy Cristina Buckley. MARCH 2020

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ible growth for her as a brand and as a company. Eventually, I was overseeing the design and development of Kelly’s rugs, dinnerware, decorative accessories and bedding. Through Kelly I was exposed to a lot of new styles and designers. She has an incredible eye and limitless curiosity. It was great to be on the periphery of her interior design projects and see how they came together from sketch to finished property. There also was a lot of overlap. We would design bedding, which was used in the hotels, or we would rescale a design from a rug to use on a tea cup. It was very fluid and very inspiring.” Can you talk about your own design business — and the launch of your first wallpaper collection in 2018 — including the challenges and rewards? “One of the most rewarding things was seeing my first design being printed at the screen printer in LA. It really was thrilling and I don’t think I will ever grow tired of it. It is a great feeling of accomplishment, because it’s a very long process from design idea to final production. And then to see my wallpapers hung in someone’s home is beyond exciting. From it to go from something flat to having a physical presence in space is wild and gratifying.”

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for the practical world. They really give you the tools you need for the workplace of whatever field you’re studying. At FIT I learned how to create repeats from my artwork, which was fascinating and is still one of my favorite aspects of the process. I also took courses in screen printing, weaving and color theory. “During this time, I decided to do an internship for school credit to get some on-the-job experience. I was placed in an internship at Schumacher, which was an opportunity that really impacted my career. First and foremost, it was a great learning experience. I got to see how a collection is put together — from taking original artwork or an antique textile document and adjusting its scale or repeat to adhere to technical requirements, creating multiple colorways, adjusting samples from the printers, etc. When my internship ended, I was offered a position at Schumacher as a colorist. This involved painting designs by hand, mixing paint for color chips to go to the printer and putting designs into repeat.” Can you share a few details about your time in both creative fields, what you did and what you learned from the experiences? “At Schumacher I worked in several different divisions on which each had a distinct style, such as very traditional collections for Colonial Williamsburg to historic toiles to updating mid-century Modern designs from the company archives. I was exposed to the whole history of textiles and wallpaper by the breadth of what the company produced and from its own past. Eventually as creative director for Schumacher’s contemporary line, ‘Decorators Walk,’ I worked with Kelly Wearstler on her first licensed collection of fabric and wallpaper. We really hit it off and it was a great experience to help bring her designs to life. “I moved to Los Angeles to work for Kelly as creative director of her home furnishings lines. It was a time of incred-

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Please share a bit about your moving back to New York from California and the effect it has had on your design work. “I’m in the midst of finishing up my second wallpaper collection, and I think being back in NYC has influenced the color palette of my work more than anything. The patterns were already in the works (or at least in my mind or sketchbook) while I was still living in LA, but the quality of light really is different. Being in a climate that is sunny and warm almost every day definitely influenced me to use very saturated and bright colors. Being in NYC has led to me rediscovering more muted, somewhat chalkier colors.” And finally, tell us a bit about your new “Muses” wallpaper collection — its inspirations, creation and what you hope it will bring to the world of design. “I named my second collection ‘The Muses Collection’ because I’m paying homage to my design muses — both actual design figures such as Dorothy Draper and Tony Duquette, but also things that give me inspiration while I’m working such as jazz music. My five new designs are evocative of Art Nouveau, chinoiserie and ornamental decoration. And the color palette is deeper and richer. “The collection is all screen-printed by hand, which is important to me. I love the quality of the ink and the way each color slightly overlaps and is absorbed into the paper. I want to help to keep this artistic tradition and trade alive, as well as add to its legacy. I hope people will be inspired to use my papers to create a mood and bring joy into their spaces. Color is such an amazing way to change up a room and I couldn’t live without it.” The Muses Collection will be sold exclusively through Studio Four in Manhattan, as well as Harbinger in Los Angeles, Supply Showroom in Austin, Texas, The Grand Tour in Palm Beach, Florida; and, coming soon, Spruce in New Orleans. For more, visit cristinabuckley.com.

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Mixing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; pedigree with pedestrian BY BOB ROZYCKI PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY RANDY FLORKE

54 WAGMAG.COM Randy Florke.

MARCH 2020

RANDY FLORKE IS A RENAISSANCE MAN — A SUCCESSFUL DECORATOR, AUTHOR, MAGAZINE EDITOR AND REALTOR. HE WAS EVEN THE CO-STAR OF A REALITY TV SHOW PILOT ALONG WITH HIS BROTHER FOR THE A&E NETWORK CALLED “MY FLIPP’N BROTHER.” Florke was a contributing editor to Country Living for 14 years, where he had numerous decorating projects and articles featured in the magazine. He is also the author of two Country Living decorating books, “Restore. Recycle. Repurpose: Create a Beautiful Home” (Hearst Books, 2010); and “Your House, Your Home: Randy Florke’s Decorating Essentials” (Hearst Books, 2005), reissued as “Simple Sustainable Style: Ways to Make a House Your Home” in 2012. He began his career working for internationally acclaimed interior designer Juan Pablo Molyneux. And at the same time Florke also sold vintage country furniture from his native Iowa in a storefront in New York City. From there, he developed his own interior design practice and began selling real estate in Sullivan County through his firm, The Rural Connection. Randy has also designed an eco-friendly, farmhouse-style, modular home for New World Home, where he is a founding partner with Mark Jupiter and Tyler Schmetterer. When he’s not working, he’s espousing the issues of equality and civil rights. Since marrying Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney in June 2014 — and becoming the father of three adopted children — Florke has leveraged his higher profile public platform to advocate for an understanding of equality by sharing his life story and work through a lecture series with students in higher education. The always busy Florke took some time out to answer our questions on design and maybe the possibility of a new book:

What do you look for when taking on a project? “If I can accomplish the goals of the client within the budget they have.” Do you ever turn down a project? “Yes, if I can tell that the clients aren’t going to have the bandwidth to take the project to its fruition. I hate leaving a project before it is 100% complete.” What are people asking for? “People are asking for a home that looks stylish but doesn’t feel like ‘a golden jail.’” If they’re going in a wrong direction, how do you steer them away? “I hold their hand and try and sample items so they can begin to visualize themselves in the new space.”

Benjamin Moore Jamestown Blue painted walls give a sense of history to this large dining room, which includes an 86-inch round Ralph Lauren slipcovered table.

What trends are you seeing now in interior design? “I believe designers are using darker wall, ceiling and trim paint colors.” In these modern times, is home as sanctuary more important than ever? “Yes, more people are spending more time at home because of telecommuting and with children staying or moving back home until an older age.”

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The greenhouse located off the butler pantry is frequently used as a more informal dining location and takes advantage of the 10-mile Hudson River views.

Patterned fabrics and a Greek key carpet make Congressman Sean Maloney’s home office feel cozier.

What do you think is going to be the next big thing? “I’ve been mixing ‘pedigree with pedestrian’ items for years and now people are asking for that mix so that their home looks less like a furniture showroom.” Is simple still the way to go or is there room for creating more complex rooms? “I think people are enjoying more layers than they used to. It’s not that they want their home to look cluttered, but they do want it looked lived in and loved.” How have things changed since you wrote your first book: What things endure, what hasn’t, etc.? “I used to do everything on a budget and now people want that comfortable look but with higher-end items that no matter what

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era is your style, the items will last for many years and are timeless.” Any new books on the horizon? “I’d love to pitch a décor book based on the history of our Cold Spring, New York home, which is called Lower Windwolde. It has had three interesting families who have owned it before us and yet its elegant style has remained the same but has been improved upon over the years.” Where’s your favorite places to find antiques or knacks knick or what have you for houses? “This fall I bought a large carload of items for our Florida apartment in New Milford, Connecticut, where they have a few shops and a weekend flea market.” For more, visit theruralconnection.com.

Cross river Presiding over 62 private acres is one of Westchester’s premier equestrian properties. This property has bucolic green pastures, lush woodlands, and a sylvan pond. The outstanding professional 20 stall equestrian facility has an attached indoor ring, a 100’ x 180’ outdoor sand ring, a 3BR attached managers cottage, groom’s apt., a 7 large paddocks, & 3 run in sheds. The farm’s proximity to the 4700 acre Pound Ridge Reservation offer endless hours of recreational horseback riding and hiking trails! MLS#4961648 $7,500,000

North salem Originally built in the 1700’s, this 7,203 sq. ft., 5BR, 4.2 Bath colonial was expanded & renovated in 2008. The house melds 1700’s architectural elements w/today’s amenities. Original details include 5 masonry fplcs, antique wood floors & beams. Additional highlights include coffered ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, oversized windows, French doors & a spectacular wine cellar. Sited on 2 open acres abutting 38 acres of land Conservancy for walking & horseback riding, property includes a 29’ x 49’ pool with pavilion, pool house & garden shed. MLS#4973384 $3,495,000

KatoNah Originally built in 1901, this 4 BR, 5 Bath stucco home has taken its inspiration from French country architecture. The house displays antique elements w/today’s amenities. Original oak flooring, 5 masonry fplcs & a sun-filled solarium. Sited on 11.4 acres, the property is a blend of park landscape & open fields. Addtnl venues incl. a pool, separate office building. A detached 3 car garage. The horse owner’s dream includes a 9 stall barn, a pony barn, gym barn, run in sheds, 5 paddocks, 100’ X 200’ riding ring. Min. from train, highway & shopping. MLS#: 5111942 $1,949,000

south salem Bright Antique Country Colonial w/a modern twist. 6+ acres overlooking the pond. Fully renovated. Foyer/Parlor w/stone fplce, sitting area, Office, ½ bath. Open floor plan, Chef’s EIK w/island. All new appliances. Sun Filled Rms. Large DR. Screened-in porch w/patio. Large Fam. Rm. w/stone fplce. BR’s on 2nd fl, Hall bath w/heated floors. MBR suite w/ fplce, built-in closets, skylights & vaulted ceilings. MBTH w/heated floors. Separate Cottage w/woodburning stove, loft. Large Barn. MLS#6003955 $1,175,000

North salem Inspired by the warmth of an English Country House, this lovely 4BR, 4.2 Bth home displays architectural integrity & old world craftsmanship. Details include 10’ ceilings, oak flooring, custom cabinetry, 5 fplcs, picture windows & French doors. LR & DR offer sweeping views of the hunt country beyond. 12 acre Equestrian property adjacent to 150 acres of conservation land w/riding & walking trails. 6 stall barn & 2 stall shed barn. 2 storage & tractor sheds. Chicken coop. 3 large fields, 4 paddocks, 2 medical paddocks, & a 100’ x 200’ outdoor ring. MLS#5057256 $2,999,000

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Bo knows BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Bo Kim anticipates a spring trend and the New York Botanical Garden’s “Kusama: Cosmic Nature” show in Dolce & Gabbana polka-dotted pumpkin. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.

BO KIM’S FIRST DAY AS VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE SAKS SHOPS AT GREENWICH WAS CERTAINLY A MEMORABLE ONE — HALLOWEEN, MORE OF A TRICK, METEOROLOGICALLY SPEAKING, THAN A TREAT.

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“Torrential rain,” she recalls. “The rain came down sideways, and I was not quite as prepared for the cold as I should’ve been, having relocated from the Beverly Hills store.” Here we pause for the reaction that we know the reader shares with us: Why? Why, oh why would you leave “Beverlee — Hills, that is. Swimming pools. Movie stars,” as “The Beverly Hillbillies” theme song says. Kim gets that a lot. Along with “Sorry,” (for the weather here), she says. But hey, Greenwich — no slouch, right?

Isn’t Greenwich Avenue often referred to as the Rodeo Drive of the East? And the winters, though a challenge, do have their pleasures — quietude, a spare, spectral beauty and sherbet sunsets. Besides, “the offer to come to the store presented itself,” says Kim, who was one of the assistant GMs in Beverly Hills. East or West, Kim is going to continue to do what she says Saks does best — personalized service. “It’s really tailoring it to each and every client.”

Valentino’s Panther JunglePrint Silk Flare Dress.

That includes spa treatments from the skincare lines Clé de Peau, La Prairie, Sisley Paris and Valmont as well as Saks at Your Service, which offers style advice and personal shopping. No need to tote your bags among the four Saks Shops at Greenwich. Saks will be happy to deliver them to your home. Kim is equally excited about items in Saks’ collection that reflect spring trends. They include “long dresses, free and flowing,” a bright 1970s update represented by Valentino’s Panther Jungle-Print Silk Flare Dress and Oscar de la Renta’s Floral Chiffon Midi Dress; sunset shades, seen in Akris’ Orizzonte Pleated Silk Gown; natural materials, crystallized by Valentino’s Medium Rockstud Spike Raffia Shoulder bag; the pouch (Bottega Veneta’s Pouch Leather Clutch); and embellished ankle wrap sandals, including Alexandre Birman’s Clarita Bow Snakeskin Sandals, Valentino’s Rockstud Torchon Espadrille Ankle-Wrap San-

Carolina Herrera’s Polka Dot Dress.

dals and Aquazzura’s Mae Faux Pearl-Embellished Lace-Up Leather Sandals. They’re all part of Saks’ It List. Kim is also big on polka dots. (She’s loving Carolina Herrera’s Polka Dot Dress.) Told that there will be lots of polka dots in the New York Botanical Garden’s “Kusama: Cosmic Nature” show and especially for its Polka Dot Picnics — see story on page 36 — she laughs with the same delight she brings to our conversation. She is so there. Like the Japanese Kusama, Kim began her life in Asia, South Korea specifically. When she was 5, her family moved to northern California. She grew up there and in Maryland, where her sister lives. Kim’s family would’ve preferred that she become a doctor or lawyer. But ultimately they came to understand that “my passion was fashion,” she says, and she earned a degree at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. A stint with Nordstrom eventually

Oscar de la Renta’s Floral Chiffon Midi Dress. Images courtesy Saks.

led to luxury retail and Saks. A lifelong clotheshorse who would often change outfits several times a day, Kim says that now depends on how much time she has. Mornings, she dresses to her upbeat mood rather than the weather, which means lots of colors, little black. Among those getting dressed with her at their Fairfield County apartment are her “fur babies” — rescues Drake, a Cheagle, and Penny, a Chihuahua. “They are my children,” she adds, and while they don’t always coordinate with mom, they do with each other. Kim is looking to volunteer in the community — helping animals, the young and the elderly, vulnerable populations being a specialty. All we can say is Beverly Hills’ loss is Greenwich’s gain. For this is a woman who defines style as “being confident in who you are,” one who knows that the clothes don’t make the woman. Rather, it’s the other way around. For more, visit saks.com.

MARCH 2020

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60 WAGMAG.COM Patty Larkin Photographs by Jana Leon.

MARCH 2020

Poetic license BY GREGG SHAPIRO

SINGER/SONGWRITER PATTY LARKIN HAS SOME ANNIVERSARIES TO CELEBRATE. First is the 35th anniversary of the release of her first album, 1985’s “Step Into the Light,” as well as the 10th year anniversary of 2010’s “25,” a double disc set on which she teamed up with an amazing array of guest artists, including Dar Williams, Janis Ian, Suzanne Vega, Rosanne Cash, Jonatha Brooke, Merrie Amsterburg, Bruce Cockburn and others. Additionally, Larkin is continuing the 25th anniversary “On a Winter’s Night Tour” with fellow singer/songwriters Christine Lavin, Cheryl Wheeler, John Gorka and Cliff Eberhardt. Larkin also has cause for celebration because her new album, “Bird In A Cage” (Road Narrows Records) — in which she set poems by William Carlos Williams, Dante, Kay Ryan, May Sarton, Billy Collins and Stanley Kunitz, to name a few, to song — has just been released. We spoke with Patty about the new album and more prior to her March 15 “Winter’s Night Tour” at The Ridgefield Playhouse:

I knew that I wanted that second version of that love of literature. There are some talented people who can convey that in an intellectual way. For me, it’s very visceral and personal. I loved Shakespeare in college, because he’s funny. He’s also very good. That was a surprise to me that I liked Shakespeare. The thing that’s rewarding about this for me is that I found the process of taking these poems down and attempting to sing them as a song, that the emotional impact of the poetry got even deeper for me. That was unforeseen and it was also an immediate response. If I was paging through someone’s book of poetry and thought, ‘Let me try writing music to this,’ and it didn’t work and I tripped and fell on it, I said, ‘OK, next page.’ I didn’t overthink it.”

Patty, as I was listening to your new album “Bird in a Cage” (Road Narrows Records), I thought about your beginnings as an English major in college and the songs “Pundits & Poets” from your 1993 album “Angels Running” and “The Book I’m Not Reading” from your 1997 album “Perishable Fruit.” I’d like to begin by asking you to say a few words about the role of literature in your life. “I was thinking about that recently because, of course, this is bringing up a lot for me, the kind of album this is, the concept that it is. Literature looms large for me. I was doing one of those sort of life reviews. I was an English major and then I got my teaching certificate because my mom kept saying, “You might need something to fall back on.” All my cousins were teachers and they’re all retired now, and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. That might have been the way to go.’ But I think for me it’s less authoritarian in terms of how I absorb literature and share books and poems with my friends versus it’s much more personal. I knew as a songwriter kid in college,

Seven years passed between the release of “Bird in a Cage” and its predecessor “Still Green,” which is your longest stretch between albums. Was there a specific reason for that duration? “I know. We had this ready to go last fall, but we just held it for a minute. I could have shaved a year off there. After “Still Green,” I had three different projects in mind that I was working on simultaneously. One was setting poems to song. One was an instrumental record, which I thought would be my next thing. I was also working on music for a dance company that didn’t end up coming to fruition. I started writing songs again, because some of the instrumentals morphed into songs. I don’t like the phrase ‘no brainer,’ but I thought this will be a project that I have in hand. It’s basically done. Part of the process was contacting all of the poets. The poets that I know and the living poets were very quick to respond with a ‘yes.’ The poets who have passed, their entities were harder to reach, harder to get into an agreement. I had to kind of feel my way through that and hire a lawyer. That took a year. I probably

Nothing sounds forced at all. It sounds like these were meant to be. “It was very from the gut for me.”

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Patty Larkin.

spent two years trying to figure out what I was going to do next, a year with the poets’ negotiations. We were getting ready to mix it and my co-producer (Mike Deneen) passed away. It’s not an excuse, but it really threw me for a loop and it took a while to get back up. I hired a management consultant and she’s helped me stay focused and get through all the paperwork and details and production and stuff.” The album’s title comes from the William Carlos Williams poem “The Fool’s Song.” Why was that line chosen for the title? “That was the last poem that I set to song. I looked at the list and I thought about how frustrated I am by our social dilemma, our politics in this country now. The way the world is swinging to the right in so many ways. I went online and started reading poems. I came across this poem and it really resonated with me at the time when the whole border wall detention centers were starting to kick in, the hopes and dreams of the Dreamer phenomenon being shut down. When I saw this poem, I thought it was perfect. In a broader sense, it was about trying to change or suppress the truth and have it morph to your own benefit.” “Bird in a Cage” is one of your most vocally experimental albums, especially on songs such as “Introduction to Poetry,” “Rain,” “Imagination” and “Green Behind the Ears.” What brought that about? “It’s interesting, isn’t it? I think I found the freedom to find the voice in the poem. I didn’t start with, ‘This is a Patty song.’ I started with what I thought maybe the voice the poet was looking for. There was a lot of freedom involved for

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me. It was so much fun doing this. I can’t describe it. I teach a lyric writing workshop every summer at the Fine Arts Work Center (in Provincetown, Massachusetts). A woman (Dawn Zimilies) who works there took the workshop. She had never written a song before. She works with the poet Kelle Groom. She took one of Kelle’s poems and turned it into this song. We ended up performing it for Kelle. When I was putting the album together, I thought that I could get this heroin-addicted voice out of it, this just eerie, ethereal, angsty, needy thing coming out of these lyrics. I really enjoyed that. ‘Paradiso’ is another one for me, with it’s really high vocal. I haven’t attempted to sing it live yet. I’ll have to get an auto-correct voice thing below the stage.” April is National Poetry Month. Have you thought about doing events in coordination with that celebration? “Yes, yes, we have. We’re working on ideas of getting as many of the poets together as we can and doing one or two performances. It hasn’t gelled yet, but it will.” On March 15, you are performing at Ridgefield Playhouse with Christine Lavin, Cheryl Wheeler, John Gorka and Cliff Eberhardt as part of the 25th anniversary “On A Winter’s Night” tour. What does it mean to you have such history with these musicians? “It’s huge. We did a tour of nine dates in November (2019) and there were so many last-minute details. Cheryl Wheeler wrote me an email right before we met up. She said, ‘You know what, Patty, I think it’s going to be really fun. We all love to laugh.’ That was pretty much the

case. All those details fell to the wayside and you sit down with these people that you’ve known for 25 or 30 years. It’s not like I’m traveling around all the time with a band. I used to travel with a road sound guy. You get clicking with them and you get these jokes and you have this camaraderie. But mostly now it’s all solo work for me. To be able to sit there and talk about history or venues. Some of the most precious moments for me were backstage listening to Cheryl and John Gorka talking about songwriting. Having this low-key discussion before the show, just hanging out because we had another hour: It was so fascinating to me to hear some of the stories. To realize that some of the stories that I thought were made up were actually true. There are a lot of Bob Dylan stories going through and they’re all true.” Finally, Patty, I’ve always wanted to ask you this question. What did it mean to you to have Cher cover your song “Angels Running” on her 1996 “It’s A Man’s World” album? “Oh, that was a thrill, a huge thrill. It was completely unexpected. Someone said, ‘Congratulations,’ at a gig in Pittsburgh. I said, ‘No, you must be talking about (‘From A Distance’ songwriter) Julie Gold or someone else.’ They called our office (answering) machine and left her version (on it). It had come out in England first. We didn’t get any notice that it was coming out. It was really great. I still get little bumps from it when it gets rereleased in Czechoslovakia or something like that. It’s very fun to have that on my résumé.” Patty Larkin performs on March 15 at The Ridgefield Playhouse. For more, visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

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MARCH 2020

IT’S BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE WAG LAST SPOKE WITH JONATHAN ADLER, THE GENIAL, CHARMING POTTER, DESIGNER AND AUTHOR WHO OPENED HIS FIRST STORE IN SOHO IN 1998. We caught up with him again for our annual home design issue to ask him what’s new in the world of Jonathan Adler, and for a sneak peek of what the year ahead holds. “For accessories, our Muse pottery — the white pottery with surreal interpretations of body parts — is a favorite. I’ve always treated it as sacred and precious, but last year I decided to deface it. I applied gold graphics — lightning bolts, eyes, swirls — and I love it more than ever. Nothing is too precious to deface.” The trustees of The Met, or indeed the Louvre, might beg to differ, but Adler is — has always been — his own man. “For furniture, our Reform collection is inspired by the Brutalist architecture of Modernist temples and churches like Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp and Temple Israel in Miami. The original pattern for the doors is sculpted in our pottery studio, then it’s carved onto wooden doors and clad in a sheet of brass, which is hand-hammered and polished. If it sounds labor intensive, it is. And if it sounds fab, it definitely is.” Fab is an Adler word and so is glamour. The latter is key and should find its way into everybody’s home. And the idea of filling your home with things you love — being brave, being bold, following your own style — is a recurring theme for Adler. What should no home be without? “A chandelier that is bigger than you think you need and

more expensive than you think you can afford.” Just when everyone is throwing everything out, Adler, it seems, takes the view that we need more — well more of the good stuff — good pots, good furniture. Compromise, by contrast, would not strike you as an Adler word, nor does he lay down rules. He believes we live in an “anything goes” world, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “Our two best-selling scents are Grapefruit and Champagne. I don’t know what that means exactly, but there you go.” Although he closed his flagship store in New York last year, he still has three stores in the city, as well as a gorgeous emporium in the heart of Chelsea in London, where neighbors include the Conran Shop, housed in the iconic Michelin building opposite. When asked about the future of retail in New York, Adler is forthright. “I wish I knew. I’d be a billionaire.” Instead of worrying though, he says, “I just concentrate on filling (the stores) with things I love and crossing my fingers that other people love them, too.” Other people seem to. His Now House collection, originally launched with Amazon in 2018, has really taken off and is now available through other retail outlets nationwide, with new product lines constantly being added. A stationery line was launched in the fall of 2019 and a bath collection will launch this spring. Pet products (Adler is a dog-lover) are slated to come on stream this summer. What is he especially excited about? “Our Pompidou collection is epic — and I promise I’m not biased. The vases pair ’70s-inspired patterns with bold color. The glossy finish adds power-pop glory.” He still pots, though not necessarily as a way to unwind. “For me, pottery is a swirl of work and creativity. The pottery studio is where I work out all my ideas, but I wouldn’t say it’s relaxing. I wish I could say I had a highbrow way to relax, but the truth is it’s a combo of watching TV, reading and paddle boarding, (though) not all at the same time.” That might be a stretch, even for the waggish, multitalented Adler. With a punishing work schedule WAG wonders if this consummate professional, who claims he’s insular, ever gets time to travel for pleasure and, if so, where he likes to go. “The Amangiri in Utah is transcendental. It’s bone-crushingly expensive, but it’s worth it.” For more, visit jonathanadler.com.

Pompidou vases.

MARCH 2020

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An author’s tale MARGARET ATWOOD — AUTHOR OF “THE HANDMAID’S TALE” AND ITS SEQUEL, “THE TESTAMENTS” — WILL BE THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT THE 2020 FAIRFIELD COUNTY’S COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S FUND FOR WOMEN & GIRLS LUNCHEON. The event, which will be held April 3 at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women’s right to vote. “It is a privilege to welcome Margaret Atwood, one of the world’s best-selling authors, as our keynote speaker,” said Tricia Hyacinth, senior director of the fund, which has invested more than $7.5 million in programs to ensure all Fairfield County women and girls are economically secure, healthy and safe. “Ms. Atwood, regarded for her feminist perspective, is a trailblazing icon whose work transcends generations. Our theme, ‘Unite & Rise,’ is a call to action to advance gender equity and also pays homage to women’s suffrage. We look forward to this special gathering of friends and supporters, both new and existing.” Atwood is the author of more than 50 books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her most recent, record-breaking novel, “The Testaments,” won the 2019 Booker Prize. Her other works include the Giller and Booker Prize-shortlisted “Oryx and Crake,” “Alias Grace,” “The Robber Bride” and “Cat’s Eye” as well as the Booker winner “The Blind Assassin.” With “The Handmaid’s Tale” entering its fourth season on TV, Atwood’s prescient prose depicting a dystopian future is more relevant than ever. She has received the German Peace Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize and the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, among others. In October 2019, Atwood was presented with the Companion of Honor award by Queen Elizabeth II, making her only the third Canadian to receive the distinction. The annual luncheon attracts hundreds of supporters from throughout Fairfield County, across Connecticut and beyond. Previous keynote speakers include Tracee Ellis Ross, Billie Jean King, Abby Wambach, Maya Angelou, Geena Davis, Madeleine Albright, Soledad O’Brien and Gloria Steinem. For more, visit fccfoundation.org. — Georgette Gouveia 66

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MARCH 2020

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Soul man BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI

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MARCH 2020

Patrick Mele. Photograph by Bob Rozycki. MARCH 2020

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PATRICK MELE IS A SELF-DESCRIBED “OLD SOUL BUT WITH A YOUNG, FRESH SPIRIT AND A NEW PEP IN HIS STEP.” AND THAT TRANSLATES INTO HOW HE FEELS ABOUT PEOPLE AND INTERIOR DESIGN. Though still relatively young on the birth certificate — he presented a boyish mien when we met at his booth at the “Greenwich Winter Antiques Show” Dec. 6 — Mele has been in design for some 20 years, beginning with a window-dressing business he established when he was a 14-year-old student at Greenwich High School. Ultimately, his clients would include many Greenwich Avenue retailers. “My father had restaurants (in Fairfield and Westchester counties) and was in retail. He designed these restaurants,” Mele says of his dad, Richard, who is perhaps best known for 64 on the Avenue. On the day we call Mele’s Greenwich store to set up the interiew, his father answers, minding the phone for his wife, Patricia, who runs the 500-square-foot lifestyle shops, which includes a design business. “They had a passion for making their home a home” — something they’ve passed on to their son, whose tastes run to “warm, inviting color palettes, classical lines and brown furnishings. …Those were the homes I grew up with.” Indeed, he discusses brown furnishings in a four-page spread on a Pelham house whose interiors he designed in Carl Dellatore’s “On Style: Inspiration and Advice From the New Generation of Interior Design,” which Rizzoli published last September. Mele is also featured in Architectural Digest’s Star Power issue this month, along with a flat he did on historic Cheyne Walk in London’s Chelsea section, “using lots of heirlooms and new pieces.” The Cheyne Walk apartment typifies Mele’s approach to style. “I love decorating and I love making people feel great,” he says. “Everyone can’t wait to get home at the end of the day.” And since our homes are our castles, they should reflect us and not some cookie-cutter approach or trend, he says. “I love homes that have a true identi-

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MARCH 2020

ty and feel. If it’s pure glass and chrome, that’s great.” But Modernism and Minimalism aren’t for every personality, says Mele, who also doesn’t believe in trends for trends’ sake. “I’m one who believes in following your gut in fashion and home design. Those who follow trends end up looking tired and dated.” Instead, Mele focuses on an individual approach, one that mixes periods, materials and bold colors. His shop, which he opened in 2017, is a perfect example, with its blend of vintage and new, metals, glass and wood and jewel colors in lighting, mirrors, furnishings, art, jewelry, fabrics and even fragrances for trade and retail culled from his travels around the world. Mele honed this eclecticism at Syracuse

University, where he studied environmental design, and at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, from which he graduated with a degree in art history and cultural studies. While at Syracuse, he was assigned to squire around visiting design luminaries, including the late Kate Spade and husband Andy. He would intern with the couple for four years. “Spade was my first hands-on experience in New York City, the real start of my education in the world of fashion and design,” Mele told Connecticut magazine in August 2018, two months after Kate’s suicide. “Kate’s innate ability to intermingle the two definitely impacted me…. Kate was old school, old world. She valued genteel environments and people. To have spent time with her was a gift.” Mele has credited his internship with the Spades with leading to his full-time job with Ralph Lauren, where he worked in the home division of the company’s flagships in the United States and Europe. He has also worked for the New York-based fragrance house Bond No. 9; Schumacher, which creates products for interior designers; and the jeweler David Yurman. Mele launched his eponymous design business in 2011. Whether he’s working on a project in Bedford or St. Barts, Mele believes in a form of conspicuous consumption. When he travels to homes in Europe, he says he notices that “stuff is out” — books line shelves; antiques are on display. In the end, living in a home means living with the things you love. “Build your home piece by piece, little by little. And do it forever. It will give it a timeless quality. “And use your stuff. Life goes by so quickly. A china cup and saucer has such a lovely feeling.” For more, visit patrickmele.com.

MARCH 2020

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WAY

HOME & DESIGN

COLONIAL CHARM IN COS COB PRESENTED BY SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

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MARCH 2020

5 BEDROOMS 5 BATHROOMS 1 HALF BATHROOM 1 BREAKFAST ROOM, POOL AND CABANA

JANUARY MARCH 2020

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Urban sophistication meets Colonial charm in this Cos Cob home that dates from 1760. Some 250 years later — in 2015 to be exact — the 4,413-square-foot house was given a complete makeover, with New York designer Charles Pavarini III and the owners offering an artistic interior design that is nonetheless replete with state-of-the-art technology. The 12 rooms, which include five bedrooms and five full bathrooms and one half-bath, look out on a sunny, rolling 1-acre property on Cat Rock Road, landscaped by Sheri Forster of the Scottish Gardener. The exterior design includes outdoor living spaces for all seasons and a lovely in-ground pool and cabana. This chic country compound is centrally located with easy access to downtown Greenwich, Cos Cob, trains, restaurants and public and private schools. At $2,695,000, it’s a perfect family home or an ideal weekend retreat — particularly for those who enjoy stepping back into history without leaving the comforts of the 21st century. For more, contact Mary Jones at 203-249-2950 and 203-869-4343.

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MARCH 2020

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Plaza sweet BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

THE PLAZA HAS A “SUITE” IDEA FOR THEATERGOERS THIS MONTH — A “FROM THE SUITE TO THE STAGE” PACKAGE, WITH ORCHESTRA SEATS FOR TWO TO NEIL SIMON’S “PLAZA SUITE,” STARRING MATTHEW BRODERICK AND SARAH JESSICA PARKER, ALONG WITH A STAY IN AN ACTUAL PLAZA SUITE AND PRE-THEATER COCKTAILS AT THE PALM COURT. What makes this production, at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre March 13 through July 12, unusual is the casting, which harks back to the original 1968 production. Those familiar with the play’s later iterations will remember the conceit in the 1971 film adaptation of Walter Matthau playing the male lead to three different actresses in its three separate acts, or stories, all of which are set in Suite 719 of The Plaza hotel in Manhattan. (In the 1987 telefilm adaptation, Carol Burnett reversed this, playing the female lead to three different actors.) The two-time Tony Award-winning Broderick and the two-time Emmy Award-winning Parker, who are married, bring the play full circle, playing the three sets of couples, as George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton did in the original production. In the poignant first act, “Visitor From Mamaroneck,” a wife seeks to celebrate her wedding anniversary, unaware at first that her husband is cheating on her. In the second act, “Visitor From Hollywood,” a movie producer sets out to seduce an old flame. And in the uproarious third act, “Visitor From Forest Hills,” the exasperated father and mother of a nervous bride, who has locked herself in the bathroom, are desperate to get her downstairs to the wedding — before the cake and the guests melt.

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MARCH 2020

But “Plaza Suite” is just one of many works in which the landmarked 20-story luxury hotel and condominium apartment building has figured. It’s where the main characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” face off as they seek to escape the oppressive heat of a New York summer. (Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, knew the hotel well, once frolicking across the way in Grand Army Plaza’s Pulitzer Fountain.) Where Cary Grant arrives for a luncheon at The Oak Room, setting in motion a case of mistaken identity that will lead to international intrigue and murder in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North By Northwest” (1959). Where Barbra Streisand tenderly bids farewell to Robert Redford at the end of “The Way We Were” (1971). And, of course, where then-owner, now President, Donald J.

The first Plaza hotel, begun on the site of the old New York Skating Club in 1883, was plagued by financial problems and deemed too small. It ultimately gave way to Henry Janeway Hardenburgh’s château-like creation, which includes The Palm Court, right.

Trump directs Macaulay Culkin to the lobby in the 1992 film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (“Down the hall and to the left”). (Today The Plaza is owned by Katara Hospitality and managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which owns its sister hotel in Boston, now called the Fairmont Copley Plaza.) But perhaps the most famous works associated with The Plaza are Kay Thompson’s 1950s “Eloise” books about a mischievous little girl who lives at the 123-year-old French Renaissance-style hotel. Modern Eloises can stay in her suite, which fashion designer Betsey Johnson has decorated to pink-and-white striped, floral, zebra-carpeted, over-the-top perfection; savor Eloise-themed tea and birthday parties; participate in jewelry box- and birdhouse-decorating workshops; and shop in her very own shop for books, clothing, accessories and more. (It’s one of several tony Plaza offerings that include Assouline Books & Gifts, Guerlain Spa and Warren Tricomi Salon.) More goodies await at The Plaza’s underground food hall. (Enter on 58th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues or through Todd English at The Plaza on Central Park South.) The hall offers everything from doughnuts to dumplings, tacos to tartines. There’s also The Plaza Hotel Finishing Program, taught by Myra Meier of Beaumont Etiquette. Is it any wonder then that The Plaza has been the go-to place for celebs to rest their weary heads — and kick up their heels? When The Beatles arrived in America in February 1964, they were booked into The Plaza. And when author Truman Capote of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” fame wanted to throw a black-and-white masquerade ball for The Washington Post publisher (and onetime Mount Kisco resident) Katharine Graham, he did so in The Plaza’s Grand Ballroom on Nov. 28, 1966, a night later remembered as a pinnacle in New York social history. That same ballroom hosted Trump’s second wedding, to Marla Maples, in 1993. The hotel has changed a great deal over the years. Gone are The Oak Room and the sense of grandeur and sweep when you entered — as well as the feeling that you could just pop in to powder your nose. But there is still enough of the iconic place — and fond memories of birthday parties and lunches in The Palm Court and Oak Room to remind you that while the hotel has often been the backdrop for the arts and artists, everyone knows who the real star is. For more, visit plazany.com.

MARCH 2020

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HOME & DESIGN

WRIGHT AND NOT SO WRIGHT BY PHIL HALL

Throughout his career, Frank Lloyd Wright challenged the limits of design and engineering. Many of his works were initially greeted with intense controversy due to his unorthodox approach to architectural aesthetics. But within Wright’s legendary canon is a property that generated controversy before construction began. In 1949, Wright received a commission to design a house for Ahmed K. Chahroudi, an engineer who purchased Petra Island (also known as Petre Island), an 11-acre wooded oasis in the middle of Putnam County’s Lake Mahopac. Wright conceived a one-story, four-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot home based on a triangular grid that included a 25-foot cantilevered balcony that soared out over the lake. The latter design element

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MARCH 2020 MACRH

recalled the famed terrace at Fallingwater, the rural Pennsylvania home that many consider to be Wright’s residential masterpiece. Chahroudi would later claim Wright envisioned this work to surpass his earlier achievement. Wright created six drawings to illustrate his ideas initially, but Chahroudi balked when presented with a proposed $50,000 construction budget. Plans for the house were jettisoned and Wright circled back to design a 1,200-squarefoot cottage for the island’s center. This modest structure became the Chahroudi family vacation home for many years. In 1995, Joe Massaro, a sheet metal contractor, bought Petra Island and its cottage for $700,000. As part of the transaction, he received the drawings for the never-built Wright home. In 2000,

The Massaro House. Courtesy Derek Lindstrom.

Massaro sold his business to make the construction of the Wright home a fulltime mission. But there were challenges in Massaro’s path, not the least being an absence of Wright-crafted blueprints to serve as a guide for the project. He hired Thomas Heinz, an architect who worked on the renovation of several Wright structures, to fill in the missing aspects and introduce modern elements that were not available in Wright’s day, including air conditioning and radiant heating. Heinz used 3-D computer software to visualize Wright’s sketches at greater depth and kept all of the work in line with contemporary building codes. But Massaro quickly ran afoul of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the nonprofit launched by the master

architect in 1940 to preserve his legacy. The foundation claimed copyright ownership of the Wright sketches, while Massaro claimed the foundation demanded $450,000 to render working drawings from Wright’s sketches and to serve as the construction supervisor on the project. The parties went to court, with each claiming a victory: Massaro retained copyright ownership of the sketches, but the foundation forced Massaro to refer to his property as merely “inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright” and not being a bona fide Wright creation. One aspect of the design that surprised Massaro was Wright’s fireplace fondness. The master architect was not content with a single living room cubbyhole for burning a few logs. “Frank Lloyd Wright was big on fireplaces and we have six of them,” Massaro said in a 2007 interview with the trade journal Alternative Energy Retailer, “in the master bedroom, the library, the dining room, the living room, another bedroom and one outside on the deck that backs up to the living room and shares a chimney. The one in the living room is over 5 and ½ feet high and 8 feet wide.” Oddly, Wright’s design had nothing regarding chimney caps. Rather than welcome the elements down the chimney, Massaro tapped Derek Lidstrom, owner of Chimney King in Gurnee, Illinois, to fill this void. Lidstrom began researching Wright’s houses to see what he used to cap chimneys, only to discover something strange. “I went through about 120 Frank Lloyd Wright houses and blueprints and none of them had chimney caps,” he told Alternative Energy Retailer. “That was Wright’s eclectic style. He made his own rules.” Obviously, those rules did not work on this project, and Lidstrom created custom-designed chimney caps for the property that encircle a rooftop helipad, another non-Wright feature. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation would publicly complain about other changes to the Wright concept that strayed from his modus operandi. These included the decision to have the decorative “rubblestone” protrude from the wall rather than be flush with it and the use of domed skylights rather than

the flat variety Wright preferred. Massaro claimed flat skylights have a tendency to leak. He also insisted he could not build Wright’s planned exterior stairway from the balcony due to code problems. Nonetheless, what Massaro, Heinz and their construction team brought forth was visually dramatic, starting with the entry hall’s naturally occurring “whale rock” measuring 12 feet high and 60 feet long. The “tail end” of the rock is incorporated into the kitchen, which includes African mahogany woodwork custom-built to Wright’s specifications. Twenty-six triangular skylit windows offer brilliant natural illumination. Massaro commissioned Wright-designed furniture, including built-in pieces that further enhance the setting. Massaro’s construction crew reportedly poured 150 tons of concrete for the floors and some of the walls to hold this creative vision in place. The total budget for the construction has never been made public. While Massaro invited a PBS camera crew to record the construction’s completion in 2007 for a documentary, he never opened the house for the general public. Walter Cronkite was among the prominent guests invited for a private tour, and Massaro stated the veteran newsman commented, “I feel Frank in this house.” Massaro and his family used the property as a residence until 2012, when he listed Petra Island, the house and the Chahroudi cottage for $19.9 million. But the listing attracted no serious inquiries. A 2013 rumor that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were house hunting on Petra Island put the house back in the news, but potential buyers were not that starstruck. The listing has been on-and-off the market for the past eight years, most recently in 2017 with a listing price of just under $15 million and then again in early 2019 for $12.9 million, where it remains today. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Massaro acknowledged the criticisms he shouldered with his property but would not offer regrets. “You hear these purists that talk about how no unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright house should ever be built because Frank Lloyd Wright isn’t here anymore,” he said. “And then you take a look at this masterpiece of his. I’m sure Frank would rather have it built than not built at all.”

MARCH 2020

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WARES

HOME & DESIGN

ON DESIGN FAIRS — AND FARE BY CAMI WEINSTEIN

This past January, designing eyes turned to Paris as the City of Light played host to “Maison et Objet,” a biannual interior design fair at Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, and “Déco Off,” which focuses on trade showrooms. I was fortunate enough to attend and, despite the many trains and subway strikes making it difficult to get around the city, thought it was fantastic. It was wonderful to see all the new spring offerings in the trade and the passion that everyone involved in our industry has for interior design. The last several years have given us the rise of online furniture — fast, inexpensive and generally generic. What has been lost and minimized is the time-honored traditions of custom-made furniture, lighting, fabric and wallpaper houses. It was wonderful to see beautifully constructed materials and furnishings that are still being created for Wares columnist and interior designer Cami Weinstein at “Déco Off” in Rue de Jacobs, Paris, in January.

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MARCH 2020

homes. I was delighted to meet many of the owners of these venerated companies. Their love and commitment to their products reassured me that there is still a vibrant industry with many gorgeous product offerings available to the public through interior designers. The industry offerings at “Maison et Objet” included those from many American companies as well as from businesses around the world. The diversity of products and design viewpoints was inspiring. There were several takeaways from the weeklong fair. First, color was everywhere. Fabrics and wall coverings at “Deco Off” had many bold patterns and felt fresh again. Wall coverings were au courant, offered as they were in paper weaves, grass cloth and vinyl. Thin pieces of wood veneers are making the scene, creating outrageous wall coverings. Hair-on-hide was also popular and was featured on many wall coverings. Prints, either bold and graphic or antiqued, took center stage on walls. Wallpaper panorama panels were new and suggested an interesting way to create a feature wall if you don’t collect art. The panoramas also popped up on fabrics, giving plain panel window treatments a new focal point. Custom rugs were woven in sisals, leathers, wools and some mixes of all the materials mentioned. I also found leathers that were so beautifully woven and colored that they looked and moved like fine fabric — perfect for dining room chairs, ottomans, pillows and, for full-on luxury, club chairs or sofas. Other huge hits of the shows were the performance fabrics. The new performance fabrics can withstand spills and heavy use and are becoming harder to distinguish from finer fabrics. Although they are initially more expensive to use on upholstered furniture, their ability to withstand kids and pets is unparalleled in the marketplace. Many clients don’t realize that fabric that is on their furniture and used heavily only has a three-to-five year lifespan. Performance fabrics can withstand a longer time frame or at the vey least “perform” better by holding up to stains, pets and kids. For active households they should be a definite consideration. Spending time at the fairs allows you to see upcoming trends and innovations in the field, expanding the knowledge you can give to your clients. The new trends also invigorate your work and creativity. They also include the use of environmentally friendly paints, stains, fabrics and furniture that is ethically sourced as well as the mixing of materials. There were tables made of wood, metal, marble or some combination of these and rugs made of combined wool, leather, natural fibers and cotton. A delicious edition — chunky throws to curl up with or those made of the finest wool and cashmere.. Whatever your style is, mix in some of the newer trends to freshen up your rooms. Update them with a new wall covering or a bold color. Recover that old sofa in a new performance or panorama fabric. Then sit back and savor the transformation. For more, call 203-661-4700 or visit camidesigns.com.

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Your new kitchen starts here

Spectacular Kitchens and Remodeling Done Right. A new kitchen from KBS is the right investment for your home. At Kitchen & Bath Source, you’ll find a great selection of America’s finest cabinetry and professional remodeling services – all under one roof. Our innovative designers and project management team will deliver the beautiful new kitchen you desire while adding unsurpassed value to your home. Learn more at kbskitchen.com then visit us for a design consultation. 50 Virginia Road, North White Plains, NY 10603 (914) 946-8600 kbskitchen.com Cabinetry | Design | Remodeling

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WHAT’S NEW AGAIN

HOME & DESIGN

YESTERDAY MEETS TOMORROW BY KATIE BANSER-WHITTLE

We have high expectations of the place we call home. It must be comfortable, welcoming and functional. We also want it to be a place that our families, our friends and our pets enjoy and find restful. But wait, there’s more — much more. We also want our homes to be beautiful and expressive of our tastes and life experiences. As New York-based interior designer and Skinner collaborator Phillip Thomas puts it. “Interiors should reflect people and their personalities…Visualizing an interior (and its myriad possibilities) will often allow the confidence to secure unique and one-of-a-kind items to complement or complete an interior.” The basics are the same whether the space is a grand formal drawing room or a tiny studio apartment. Balance, scale and proportion are the fundamental principles of successful

Interior designer (and Skinner Inc. collaborator) Phillip Thomas. Courtesy Skinner Inc.

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MARCH 2020

design. Contrasts of color, shape and texture guarantee a pleasing result. Designing an interior may be strictly do-it-yourself or a collaboration with professionals. However the process is managed, one of the most exciting parts is combining old and new to create that indefinable ambience that makes a place truly “home.” Thomas explains: “In my interiors, it is key that a space excite the eye and keep the onlooker engaged. This is not necessarily achieved by bright colors, for example, as one would think. What really keeps my eye engaged and interested is when an interior incorporates pieces from various eras that are made from varied materials with differing densities, reflectivities, etc. I like to feel that I create a ‘dynamic tension’ in my interiors through my selections that engages the eye and keeps it thinking about and analyzing an interior. When a space is too safe, it loses its soul.” A room that is furnished and decorated entirely with objects from a single period, style or culture is likely to seem impersonal and academic. It can feel too much like inhabiting a museum. Variety is indeed the spice of life — and of living. But where to begin? One proven strategy for creating a setting that expresses a unique personality is to start with a favorite object. It can be a painting, a piece of furniture, a rug, a decorative item. Each can be the nucleus of successful design in any architectural setting. It’s the mindful counterpoint between old and new, hard and soft, spare and lush, rustic and sophisticated that makes a home come alive. For example, the signature statement from which a lovely room evolves could be a collection of antique cloisonné vases that delights the eye with fine workmanship, subtle texture and rich color. It may suggest a palette of blues and greens echoed in the upholstery and floor coverings. The contrast of sinuous curves with the sharp geometry of streamlined Modern furniture makes both styles more distinctive.

An eclectic living room can allow for time travel, taking in a George Nakashima free-form walnut table that embodies the vitality and strength of nature and a pair of Victorian chairs, whose mixed woods and rich carving showcase a different approach to the same material. Professional designers and do-ityourselfers alike have long recognized that antique and vintage pieces can live together harmoniously in even the most contemporary settings. Fine materials, careful workmanship and attractive lines are always in fashion. Older furniture in good condition is often better made and more affordable than many of the latest styles offered for sale. Another bonus is that the passage of time adds its own indefinable personality. By their very nature, old things are survivors and possess individuality that something fresh from the factory cannot. Create a vibrant space by repurposing an antique or vintage item. Presenting something familiar in a new way gives it fresh appeal and makes intriguing what previously may have seemed just oldfashioned. If this is done thoughtfully, the intrinsic value of the object is preserved. Fortunately, it’s no longer the practice to drill holes in antique Chinese vases to make them into lamps. A prime example of creative repurposing is the display of old game boards as graphic design. (See our August article, “Game On.”) Hung on a wall or mounted on a folding screen, these colorful vintage amusements take on new life as abstract art. Outdoor furniture can flourish and function beautifully inside. Many leading mid-century furniture designers experimented with the new materials that appeared after World War II, such as aluminum, plywood, fiberglass and plastics. Sleek, functional chairs and tables were often specifically designed for the popular, less formal indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Moved from patio to parlor, a chaise by Salterini or a pair of sturdy chairs by Russell Woodard brings with them a breath of fresh air. Whatever your aesthetic, don’t be afraid to get creative. Find what you love and build from there and feel free to create an eclectic combination of antique objects, furniture and works of art, all inspired by the world around you. For more, contact Katie at kwhittle@ skinnerinc.com or 212-787-1114.

‘FORE’WARD DESIGN BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Pity the poor golfers. You’ve seen them out on our local links all winter, bravely pretending it’s not 40 degrees (if you’re lucky), the ball ricocheting off or surrendering to frozen sod. And that’s if you can get on a course. Ajay Gautam, Ajit Padda and Purnendu Kagtada didn’t want to be among them. The three golfing amigos, Trumbull techies, “were frustrated that courses close at the end of October,” says Paul Wilson. “They saw an opportunity in Fairfield.” In 2018, the three founded Golf Lounge 18, which enables players of all ages and skill sets to golf virtually indoors. “With great community support in Fairfield, they saw an opportunity to expand,” says Wilson, the company’s relationship manager. Another location opened last year in Orange, Connecticut. Last month, they added Westchester County — specifically, The Westchester in White Plains — to the mix. From these locations, you can hit balls on a driving range or play any of 55 internationally recognized courses, including the PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland; and, of course, St. Andrews Links in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the birthplace of golf. How’s it possible? Golf Lounge uses TrackMan software, which is what the pros on the PGA tour use when they practice, Wilson says. Each of the participating courses has been mapped via drones. When you hit a ball in one of Golf Lounge’s five bays, Wilson says, “TrackMan analyzes the data, then shows you where the ball is going on the real course or range.

Now you can play at Scotland’s St. Andrews Links, the birthplace of golf, without leaving WAG country at the new, virtual Golf Lounge 18 at The Westchester in White Plains.

You can golf indoors regardless of weather or season at the new Golf Lounge 18. Courtesy Golf Lounge 18.

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“It’s the most accurate way to simulate the golf experience, the most realistic simulator on the market.” Best of all, you can do this in a relaxed, social environment, he says. “If you’re a novice, a golf course can be intimidating.” Here, golfers of every caliber can hang with their buds or hone their skills with a PGA-certified pro instructor. John Humphries, who won the 100th Louisiana Amateur Championship last July, is head of instruction. As with country clubs, there are memberships, leagues and tournaments. Or you can rent a bay by the hour. (Best to sign up online as tee times fill up fast.) No need to buy or bring your clubs as Golf Lounge can provide you with a set to use on the premises. (If you want to bring your own to The Westchester, Wilson suggests parking in P5 Green, which puts you just feet from the lounge.) GolfLounge serves local craft beers, wine and soft drinks, and also caters parties. It also partners with First Tee, a nonprofit that introduces underserved kids in the metro area to the game. Already, Golf Lounge is looking at other locations. “We have an aggressive expansion plan.” And we’re ready to tee off. For more, visit golflounge18.com.

MARCH 2020

WAGMAG.COM

WEAR

FASHION

THE ‘STORIE’ CONTINUES BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA Back in June 2018, we wrote about Storie Veneziane, a collection of five fragrances that Sophie and Didier Guillen, who head the Valmont Group’s Swiss beauty line, created for the company, inspired by their passion for Venice. Now the couple, she is Valmont’s CEO; he, its artistic director, are extending the Storie Veneziane narrative by collaborating on two new collections — Palazzo Nobile, after Didier’s nickname for Venice’s Palazzo Bonvicini, which he purchased and refurbished to present exhibits that include his own works; and Collezione Privata, which captures different facets of womanhood. The fragrances are built around a central character, Venice’s native bad boy, Giacomo Casanova (1725-98) — played so deliciously by the late, lamented Heath Ledger in the movie “Casanova” (2005). Inspired by the eternal seducer, Didier has created Casanova 2161 (Palazzo Nobile’s address). Its woody essence is embellished with spicy juniper, elegant iris and grassy vetiver.

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For the pleasure seeker in every man — or every woman — Sophie has created five eaux de toilette: Sea Bliss — in which the tiare flower and white musk blend for a beachy effect; Secret Bamboo — a powdery floral with green notes; Satin Musk — created with a bouquet of exotic flowers; Bright Poppy — whose floral musk sports a youthful air; and Blooming Ballet — with freesia, roses and white musk joining in a pas de trois of fresh femininity. Casanova meets his match in the women who’ve inspired the three eaux de parfum in Sophie’s Collezione Privata. The first is a free spirit. For her Sophie has created Jazzy Twist, a floral gourmand with notes of magnolia, tuberose, Madagascar black pepper, chocolate, patchouli, vanilla and Tonka beans. Lady Code is for those coolly elegant ladies who know how to keep their passion in check until the right moment. This chypre gourmand combines spicy pink berries with fruity Arabian jasmine and candied almonds. The inner-directed women who’d wear Private Mind may prove the most challenging of all. Imagine a Damask rose swathed in cashmere and couched in velvet. It’s the perfect scent for the woman who takes her cue only from herself. Palazzo Nobile and Collezione Privata are available this month at lamaisonvalmont.com; saksfifthavenue. com; Spa Valmont at Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Manhattan, 212-606-4675; and Valmont for The Spa at The Setai, Miami Beach, 855-923-7908.

Courtesy the Valmont Group.

MARCH 1 The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favorites 6 It Gets Better 14 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Milestones 14 Ballet Folclórico Nacional de México SILVIA LOZANO 15 A Cappella Live! 20 Mariachi Los Camperos 22 Treehouse Shakers: The Boy Who Grew Flowers 27 Black Violin 28 Doug Varone and Dancers APRIL

Visit our website for tickets & event info

18 RUBBERBAND: Ever So Slightly 19 Westchester Philharmonic Eternal Spring 25 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Masterworks MAY 2 Gravity and Other Myths: A Simple Space 5 Tania Pérez-Salas Compañía de Danza

914.251.6200 www.artscenter.org LUCILLE WERLINICH, Chair of Purchase College Foundation

Pictured: Doug Varone and Dancers © Jonathan Hsu

Experience Something Real

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FASHION

WELLNESS WITH A FLOURISH BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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MARCH 2020

It was in the spring of 2017 when WAG met with self-styled “serial entrepreneur” and Larchmont native Michael Bruno to discuss the Tuxedo Park resident’s plans for a wellness complex in neighboring Sloatsburg. Fast forward to today and Bruno’s vision has become a reality as the Valley Rock Inn & Mountain Club. Situated on 3 acres nestled between Sterling Forest and Harriman State Park, the complex includes four renovated Victorian guesthouses totaling 17 guest rooms and 16 baths, an art gallery, a 7,000-square-foot gym, a 75-foot swimming pool, an organic market and, coming this summer,

Michael Bruno. Courtesy Tuxedo Park Deena.

Rose Garden at Valley Rock Inn. Courtesy Valley Rock Inn.

a motel-style building offering another dozen singleoccupancy rooms. The Lodge, which opened last month, offers dinner Thursdays through Sundays and weekend brunch. (There’s also the Cantina, an outdoor, patio-style restaurant.) “This region has a vibrant, athletic and healthconscious community and, as it continues to grow, we felt something was missing,” says Bruno, founder of 1stdibs, an online marketplace for luxury goods. “What we have created is a haven for outdoor recreation, ideal for visitors with a modern, active and healthy lifestyle.” For the interiors of Valley Rock Inn, Bruno turned to Lisa Bowles, a Manhattan designer, to create sophisticated yet inviting spaces. For each guesthouse, Bowles blended works by local artists, antiques and 20th century design. Much of the furniture comes from the collection Bruno amassed while traveling throughout the United States and Europe for 1stdibs. Bowles married these to custommade pieces, items from her gallery, Roark Modern Inc., and new furniture to give each space its own distinctive look. With a challenging athletic program, fragrant, burbling seasonal gardens and an outdoor event space, the inn and club offer what Bruno calls an escape for everyone — “especially for city dwellers who want to get away from it all but not that far away.” Valley Rock Inn & Mountain Club is at 27 Mill St. in Sloatsburg. For more, visit valleyrockinn.com.

The Lodge Lounge. Coutesy Jean-Francois Jaussaud. MARCH 2020

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WANDERS

TRAVEL

A SUN-KISSED SOJOURN BY BARBARA BARTON SLOANE Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, is a seaside community located just 18 miles south of Jacksonville and a 35-minute drive from its airport. At the turn of the 20th century, Ponte Vedra Beach was a pristine wilderness of sand dunes, swamps, alligators, twisted oaks and wild palmetto trees. It had its beginnings as a humble mining town attracting prospectors to its mineral-rich lands and pristine sands. Once mining ceased, a stately, elegant community began rising out of the sand. When the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club opened in 1928, affluent families from across the nation began traveling there to experience its fine offerings. In 1997, the Inn & Club and The Lodge & Club Ponte Vedra Beach combined resources to create the award-winning Ponte Vedra Beach Resorts. Today, north Florida’s most prominent resort address remains a storied haven for outdoor recreation, family vacations, corporate retreats and social events, as I

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discovered during a few blissful days recently. The Inn & Club has 222 guest rooms and 40 suites while The Lodge has just 66 rooms. My peaceful, pastelcolored room at the Inn & Club had a sweeping ocean view, a marble-accented bathroom, a private terrace, a fireplace and a lovely king-size bed that I happily welcomed after a full day’s travel. If you’re someone of epicurean taste — and don’t we all sometimes think we are — dining at the Resorts offers a truly mind-dazzling experience with more than a dozen fine establishments, casual restaurants, lounges and bars. That evening I chose the Seahorse Grille and my feast of crab and corn bisque, buttery sea scallops and the finale, a fanciful caramel apple cheesecake, perfectly topped off a delightful day. I had no trouble filling my next few days with fun activities. I spent time languishing at a couple of the Resorts’ four inviting pools. I played a bit of tennis on a Har-Tru clay court and was interested to find out that the Ponte Vedra’s Racquet Club is the “Official Tennis Club of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour. And although I don’t (yet) play golf, after taking a tour of the Resorts’ courses — pristine, green and glorious — I “got it.” I suddenly understood the lure of golf and found it hard to drag myself away from this seductive scene. I mentioned to my guide this feeling now stirring within me that I might just want to take up the game. With a knowing smile, he acknowledged that this is how it typically begins. You’ll also find a state-of-the-art fitness center, kayaks, paddleboards and bicycles. For guests with kids, there’s a

Photographs courtesy Ponte Vedra Beach Resorts.

playground and nursery as well. I ask you, what would a first-class resort be without a swoon-worthy spa? Not much, I venture to say, but never fear because the Spa at Ponte Vedra Resorts is recognized as this region’s largest with 30,000 square feet of tranquility and sophistication. It has received glowing reviews from In Style, Vogue and none other than Oprah herself. Donning a soft terry robe and slippers, I entered a large relaxation area, part-Florida sunroom, part-Mediterranean magic — graced with grand marble pillars, wispy white draperies, soothing music and trickling water sculptures that set the mood. And my Japanese body treatment — Hanakasumi — was mood-altering and awesome. My therapist began with an application of warmed exfoliating Cherry Blossom cream, then foot reflexology, and finished with a full body massage of melted aromatic shea butter. OK, right then I wanted to make a beeline straight to my room and head off to dreamland. Only the thought of an evening dining on the beach and sampling S’mores under the stars kept me going and yes, it was worth it. Leaving, I realized just how these two properties have earned their reputation of being the singular premier resort in northern Florida. Whether it’s a quiet, solitary getaway, a memorable family reunion, or a romantic wedding event, the Ponte Vedra Beach Resorts can and do it all with style and grace. My sweet, sun-kissed visit may be ending, but not for long if I can help it. I’ll be back. For more, visit pontevedra.com.

MARCH 2020

WAGMAG.COM

BOSTON UNCOMMON

BY JEREMY WAYNE PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES BAIGRIE

WANDERS

TRAVEL

There is an ‘on-off’ simplicity of design to The Whitney, Boston’s new 65-room luxury hotel, handily situated at the corner of Charles and Cambridge streets, where Beacon Hill brushes the Charles River. Take the light switches: They go on, they go off. No degree in electronics, no expertise in wiring needed. I love that. Ditto the drapes. You pull them this way, they close. Pull them the other way, they open. Design has always been a doubleedged sword, where style and innovation are often at odds with ease and comfort, and design and technology are not always a partnership for good. For my part, I have enough problems grasping the technology in my own, relatively tech-light home, where I have had years to absorb it (the TV remote, for instances,) so I certainly don’t want to have to learn new tech-tricks merely for an overnight stay. Functionality in design can be a pleasurable thing and it becomes even more so when married with great aesthetics. It’s this combination at the end of the day, or even the beginning — as I check into the hotel on a mid-winter day, shimmering with glorious, electric blue Boston light — that The Whitney offers in spades. At the hotel entrance on Charles Street, where pulling up in a car or cab is always straightforward, my car is whisked away instantly by the valet. I will be happy not to see it again until my moment of departure, but I note the modest overnight parking fee includes in-and-out privileges. (Do you hear that, New York? In-and-out privileges. How very unManhattan.) The doorman, concierge and valet, working well as a team, all know my

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name within minutes of my arrival and nobody can do enough for me. In the hotel’s Peregrine restaurant, with its open layout straight out of HGTV and which makes it an integral part of the first floor, there is a laidback feel that is unmistakably Boston. Nobody cares what labels you wear here (although Newbury Street is a stone’s throw away) and lumberjack shirts for men and flats (or sneakers) rather than heels for women are the look du jour. The coat check is not a room or space but rather wall-hooks, since no one in Boston is too fancy to hang up their own North Face. Outlets under the table for phones and laptops are a sensible, practical feature for Generation Z, which has more interest in photographing its food and staying connected in restaurants than actually eating or drinking anything. Except here at Peregrine, you’d be crazy to miss out on the food. Developed by Joshua Lewin and Katrina Jazayeri, the duo behind Somerville’s award-winning Juliet, the new restaurant offers locally sourced cuisine influenced by Sardinia and Sicily, as well as the neighboring influences of Corsica and Catalonia. “Barcelona is Spain’s answer to Sardinia,” our waitress informs us, when I inquire about the cross-culture, and she is not entirely wrong. Dishes I tried and would return for include hearty mussels and clams and roast chicken with saffron rosemary sauce, although a ‘Catalonian’ cheesecake lacked any real clout. Nevertheless, on a Monday night in winter when you would have thought most of Beacon Hill would have been nuzzled in beside a blazing fire with a copy of Henry James in their left hand and a hot toddy in their right, Peregrine was absolutely humming. A design theme — broadly Mediterranean — touches all aspects of this hotel. There are Spanish potato chips in the minibars and Moroccan, zellij-style tiles in the elevator, along with panels of deep blue paisley behind glass. The elevator is so big incidentally, you could throw a substantial cocktail party inside and still have room for half a dozen hotel guests and their bags. A small pantry on each floor provides light refreshments, free of charge. Back in my guest room, I love the fresh cut flowers, the Frette linens and the gray herringbone throws, along with a clutch

The Whitney, Boston, exterior. Bicycle at The Whitney, Boston. Elevator tile detail.

of interesting bedside books, including a copy of ‘Stolen.’ (The slim volume shows all the works of art taken in the notorious 1990 theft at the city’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, as well as the pictureless frames that have been famously left hanging empty on the walls.) In the bathroom, the white subway tiles are a counterpoint to the gloriously rich ones in the elevator, while the Grown Alchemist products — the hip new brand coming out of Australia — show that The Whitney, for all its old-money, Beacon Hill address, is definitely on-trend. Outside the hotel, central Boston is on your doorstep, most landmarks and shops no more than a 15-minute walk away. Guests can also take a bike out for the day, while for the more adventurous, The Whitney on The Water program lets you rent a sailboat or yacht to cruise the Charles River. The Whitney being a petfriendly place, you could even bring Rex to stay and have him sail with you — at the helm, naturally. In Beantown, a touch of style never goes amiss. For more, visit whitneyhotelboston. com.

MARCH 2020

WAGMAG.COM

‘I DO,’ AGAIN BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM

WANDERS

TRAVEL

I just had a vow-renewal celebration ceremony — with my beloved husband, Bill — to celebrate 20 years of marriage. Now, we’ve had vow renewals several times in our years together, and it’s a great idea. (More on that in a minute). We wanted our 20th to be something special. So we booked a week in an Over-the-Water Bungalow at Sandals South Coast, a beautiful resort in Jamaica, where the wedding team coddled us left, right and center as we got ready to ReTie the Knot. Why get married again in a vow renewal? We’re not the first ones to tell you that being married — and staying happily married — can be hard. The divorce rate is almost 70% last time I checked. Marriage takes compromise, sacrifice and a dedication to be committed to both of you as a team. We’re lucky — before we married, we completed couples’ therapy based on the work of Harville Hendrix, who frequently was a guest on Oprah’s former TV show. Hendrix wrote a book, “Getting The Love You Want” and another, “Keeping the Love You Find,” which explains probably the two most important things everyone should know about marriage. A great deal of the struggles that can develop between couples unconsciously originates from emotional wounds suffered in childhood. Having a “conscious marriage,” and stretching and growing to meet your partner’s needs, winds up being, ironically, the thing you need to do for yourself, to create wholeness within yourself. That book changed my life and I recommend it to everyone who wants to have a happy relationship. The beauty of a vow renewal, I believe, is that it reminds you of why you married your partner in the first place. And it also provides a reminder that you continually need to nurture the relationship in important ways, in order to maintain a happy union. It can certainly fan the flames of passion. It was twice-as-nice to re-tie the knot at Sandals South Coast — about one and 1/2 hours from Montego Bay, in the town of Whitehouse and the parish of Westmoreland. Indeed, the resort hosts about 500 weddings and vow renewals annually. It’s easy to see why. Sandals South Coast is a luxury all-inclusive resort, which means that all of your meals, alcohol and watersports are included — at no extra cost. After you check in and place your wallet in the safe — your credit cards stay there and are not up-charged. And every room there has an ocean view. It’s essentially five-star service in an idyllic physical and geographical environment. The resort wedding team at Sandals South Coast — Rita Johnson and Rochelle Barnes — met with us, several days in advance of our vow renewal, to attend to all the arrangements so that getting re-hitched would go off without a hitch. Pink-andwhite rose bouquet — check. Sparkling cider and ginger beer for the toast — check. Wedding dress ironed — check. On our big day, we happily posed by the pink golf cart known as the “wedding chariot” as we made our way to the Over-theWater Serenity Wedding Chapel onsite. The boardwalk all along

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Still in love: Debbi K. and William D. Kickham. Courtesy Debbi K. Kickham.

the way was decorated with white flowers and offered a stunning backdrop to the ocean surrounding us. The wedding chapel also has a glass floor, so that you can literally “walk on water” to get to your minister. I wore a flowing Greek-goddess type of dress and Bill wore an light-green polo shirt and white linen trousers. Rev. Joseph Campbell welcomed us with beautiful words explaining that marriage is a serious commitment that must be looked and entered into soberly. Bill and I also rewrote our marriage vows. Bill said that I was God’s gift to him, and that he grows and changes every day of our marriage to give me a happy childhood within our adult lives. I vowed to continue also to give him the same and to savor every day of our journey together. Our day had all the special characteristics you would find at a marriage ceremony — special cake (carrot), beautiful music (we danced to our song, “Some Enchanted Evening,” from “South Pacific”), and a delicious meal. We had a cocktail party (bring on the coconut shrimp, my favorite) and, later that evening, had a fabulous celebratory dinner in Eleanor’s (one of nine restaurants on the resort), where we were well taken care of by the maître d’, Sir Earl. His charm and graciousness flowed like the Caribbean Sea, as he enthusiastically enveloped us in his hospitality. Later, we returned to our Over-the-Water Bungalow. We had previously only stayed in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora, and to have this delightful option in the Caribbean was a thrill. “Some guests never leave their Over-the-Water Bungalow the entire time they are here,” says Sandals South Coast General Manager Adrian Whitehead. The Over-the-Water Bungalows are so popular, that they average a 97% occupancy rate throughout the year (not just high season, during winter). What’s not to love? From the moment you wake up in your comfy bed, you walk a few steps and you can jump right into the ocean. “There’s one pair of butlers for every two bungalows, plus a night butler,” Whitehead told us. And they are there to cater to your every need. So when you see my butler on your way out — can you do me a favor? Order me a plate of grilled shrimp for lunch. For more about Debbi, visit Debbikickham.com.

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WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COOKING?

FOOD & SPIRITS

Photograph by Aditya Menon.

A PEPPERY DELIGHT BY RAJNI MENON String green peppercorns are in abundance in Kerala, with some of the best green peppercorns coming from the coastal, Malabar region. They grow on vines and are dried and used to make different sauces. My recipe is a flavorful sea bass fry using green peppercorns. This is a popular dish in an area called Kozhikode. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usually made with sardines but most fishes can be used for this dish. The sea bass is smothered with a green peppercorn paste and then shallow-fried. This dish goes well with hot steamed rice or mashed potatoes. For more, visit creativerajni.com.

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SEA BASS WITH STRING GREEN PEPPERCORNS INGREDIENTS: 1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped 20 curry leaves crushed 2 sea bass fillets 3 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons whole green pepper 2 shallots, peeled 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons coconut oil 2 tablespoons water

DIRECTIONS: 1. In a food processor, mix curry leaves, cilantro leaves, lemon juice, water, garlic, green pepper, salt and shallots to make a rough, slightly thick paste. 2. Rub this paste over the fish steaks on both sides and marinate them for half an hour. 3. Place coconut oil in a nonstick pan on medium heat, then add in the marinated fish to sear it well. Lower the flame and cover to cook the fish for about 3 minutes. 4. Open the lid after 3 min to flip onto the other side. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes covered. 5. Place the fish over a bed of mashed potatoes or rice.

TRUTH AND FICTION FROM WAG'S EDITOR

PROVOCATIVE POSTS ON POWER thegamesmenplay.com

A NOVEL OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT FROM JMS BOOKS

NEW FROM JMS BOOKS

NEW FROM JMS BOOKS MARCH 2020

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A WARM KONNICHIWA TO MIKU BY JEREMY WAYNE

WONDERFUL DINING

FOOD & SPIRITS

There’s a nice play on classic cocktails at Miku Sushi, the swish new Japanese restaurant that opened last May on Greenwich Avenue, where Manhattans are mixed with Suntory and mizuna (Japanese mustard greens), and an avant-garde Old Fashioned — if that is not an oxymoron — has Bombay Sapphire gin bedding down with peach bitters. Using prime Japanese ingredients and with a natural flair for Japanese style, the cocktails speak as much to the invention and creativity of Miku’s bartenders as to the restaurant’s authenticity. A sister restaurant to Kumo in Scarsdale, Miku is helmed by boyish owner K, who co-owns the fish distribution company in Queens that supplies the restaurants. This allows him the pick of the catch, ensuring that down the line some of the freshest and most sought-after fish in the world will arrive on your plate. “Do you have a, er, last name?” I ask K, after settling down with a lychee Mojito mocktail, served ice cold, with a speared lychee, maraschino cherry, mint leaf and edible flower for decoration, which makes liquor redundant and could have me renouncing white rum forever (almost). “People just call me ‘K’,” says K, and I decide not to press the point, although I subsequently learn he is K. Dong. Originally from China, K has lived in Italy as well as Taiwan, where he met his wife. We shoot the breeze a little about Taiwan, which I was fortunate to visit a couple of years ago, and agree it has one of the most vibrant food scenes in Asia. “Travel is my passion,” says K, beaming. The long and wide room features brick walls, a long, gleaming sushi bar and five semicircular booths for larger parties at the rear of the restaurant. Ceiling lights like medieval monarchs’ crowns sit high above diners’ heads and the quilted sea green upholstery adds a subliminal fish-eye, or wink, at the ocean. The menu reinforces this, with glorious fish and shellfish. A rock shrimp tempura, comes to the table piping hot in a light, golden tempura, the tempura more of a vest than an overcoat, served with a hot and sweet spicy mayo. There is wonderfully juicy Chilean sea bass, sitting on baby batons of asparagus, luxuriating in a rich,

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reduced miso sauce, the bass almost meaty in texture. And I could down Miku’s cold water California oysters, which come sitting on a bed of shaved ice and are topped with ponzu — the sauce’s slight sweetness cut by the mollusc’s essential brininess — until the cows came home and, even when they did and were safely back in their barns, I would still be asking Miku’s server for more. White wine or sake would make good accompaniments to all of the above. Forty dollars will buy you a respectable bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio at Miku and sake starts at $25 for a 300 ml carafe. For purists, three sushi chefs behind the Yoshimasaemblazoned sushi counter work diligently through service, producing sushi and sashimi platters of epic size, variety and freshness. Yellowtail, red snapper, eel and scallop all vie for your attention, along with the various classes of tuna (toro and maguro.) Salmon is so creamy, so ambrosial, so artery-cloggingly rich, I daresay it should come with a health warning. To these glorious sashimi slivers you might add

Clockwise from above, Sushi Chef Steve Chen with a lighthouse roll at Miku. Chef Steve Chen (left) and Miku owner K. Dong. Photographs by Sarah Bamford. Rock shrimp tempura at Miku. Photograph by Jeremy Wayne.

those insistent, almost crunchy baby beads of flying fish roe, which the Japanese call tobiko, or plum pearls of salmon roe, which you instinctively burst, like Joy’s grape, against your palate, to borrow a line from Keats. Uni, or sea urchin, is another Miku delicacy, which (along with scallops,) is served live. But the restaurant is out of it today, which only sharpens my intention to return. Miku’s demographic, K is keen to point out, is distinct from Kumo. In the Greenwich restaurant, hedge-funders and an international “ladies who lunch’ set, crowd in at lunchtime, some for the many noodle dishes on offer — including, stir-fried udon or soba — with many taking advantage of the ramen lunch special (at a relatively modest $17.50). The background sound of four European languages I distinctively hear on my visit give the restaurant a sophisticated vibe. Evenings and especially weekends, meanwhile, see lots of families with children. “And the kids don’t just eat California rolls,” says, K, almost proudly. “They want everything.” Having read the runes just right — or so it seems to me — he is rightly proud of the restaurants he has created. Staffers are patient and well trained, explaining the often-perplexing array of dishes and Japanese culinary terms with admirable patience. They undergo an exacting training before getting to serve on the restaurant floor, with the result that service has an almost balletic quality to it, silent and unobtrusive, with dishes brought and removed without you even noticing, as if by sleight of hand. While not an inexpensive outing, Miku is an intensely satisfying one, culturally almost as much as gastronomically. Miku also operates an outreach program in the community (the nonprofit partner for March is the Alzheimer’s Association,) so when K tells me he has plans to start a reservation-only omakase (chef-chosen) dinner soon, as well as to open another restaurant in Westchester, I can only say, “bring it on.” Miku is at 68 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich. For more, visit mikugreenwich.com

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ALL IN THE FAMILY BY DOUG PAULDING

WINE & DINE

FOOD & SPIRITS

The Hahn Family Wines, crafted in the Santa Lucia Highlands and California’s Central Coast, came to be from the collaborative efforts and imaginations of Nicolaus and Gaby Hahn, a couple who as minors fled the hostilities in Europe leading up to World War II with their respective parents. Nicolaus, from Switzerland, eventually worked in London, Paris and New York. Gaby earned law degrees in Germany and France. They both thought the United States would be a better place to settle down with a business plan and start a family. In 1979, they purchased Smith & Hook vineyard. In 1980, they produced their first wine. A decade later they bought Doctor’s Vineyard followed by Lone Oak Vineyard in 1992. In 2001, they decided to focus certain plots and then replanted many acres to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Today, they have 1,100 acres of estate vineyards, planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but also to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre — bringing to market over 5 million bottles a year. Philip Hahn, Nicolaus and Gaby’s son, is now chairman of Hahn Family Wines. His sister Caroline received her doctor of veterinary medicine degree, specializing in horses. She helps to educate people through guided tastings of Hahn Family Wines. Both of them grew up in the vineyards and lived and learned of the vines and the juice. I recently got an opportunity to dine with Philip, and director of winemaking Paul Clifton, while tasting several of their wines. The takeaway message through their entire inventory is fresh fruit flavors and unmanipulated, honest wines at a great price. Clifton told me, “All of our wines show balanced oak, for people who don’t like big oak bombs.”

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Paul Clifton, director of winemaking, Hahn Family Wines. Courtesy hahnwines.com.

The Santa Lucia Highlands and the adjacent Arroyo Seco, where most of Hahn Family Wines’ grapes are grown, are both perfect for growing their grape selections. It’s cooler than the Russian River Valley and a touch warmer than Burgundy, giving ample time for ripening. The altitude, the soils, the predictable winds all contribute to nuanced and flavorful grapes at harvest to bring to the winery. In the early 1980s, Nicolaus and some of his neighbor winemakers petitioned the state for protected AVA (American Viticultural Area) status as a wine-producing region, which was finally granted in 1987. The Hahn Family vineyards are farmed certified sustainable — which indicates safe and eco-friendly practices, including using certain good predators to eat or repel bad ones, reducing water and power usage and carefully monitoring the vineyards to fix any problems early. We began with the 2017 Hahn SLH (Santa Lucia Highlands) Chardonnay, which was oak-aged for 10 months in selected barrels. It showed fresh citrus of mostly pleasant lemon, with notes of peach and pear and a lovely restrained oak, giving the wine an extra dimension in the mouth. It retails for $25 and will never disappoint. Our next wine was a 2017 Hahn SLH Pinot Noir — tasting of fresh red cherries, strawberry and finely ground white pepper, with a good tannic structure to draw out the taste and mouth feel. The oak presence was there but quietly supporting the fruit flavors. Winemaker Paul said, “We make the best wine we can to represent the AVA.” Retailing in stores or on the Hahn Family Wines website at $30, you will be satisfied.

Philip then poured for us a small plot Pinot Noir from the Lone Oak Vineyard, 2016 Hahn SLH Orchestral PN. This 5-acre plot was planted with multiple Pinot clones similar to what you would find in Burgundy. This wine threw off big aromatics of fresh red fruit, cinnamon, black pepper and other spices. Again the oak was present but well integrated, which enhanced the sensory perception and not so much the flavor. At $90 this might be a special-occasion wine for many of us, but well worth it. Our next three wines were from the Lucienne collection and the ridges of the Santa Lucia Highlands. The first was a Lucienne 2017 Chardonnay from the Smith Vineyard. This is a classic and well-made Chardonnay ($40), with muted lemon and a balanced, drinkable loveliness. Then we tasted the Lucienne 2017 Pinot Noir from the Smith Vineyard, showing red cherry and raspberry with a soft spiciness of cinnamon and allspice. And lastly we tasted the Lucienne 2017 Pinot Noir from Doctor’s Vineyard — again showing red fruit with an integrated darker fruit presence and a balanced acidity, with hints of spice and leather. The Smith and the Doctor’s Vineyard Pinots both retail for $50 and are a true pleasure and well worth the price. We also tasted the 2016 Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon and the S & H Proprietary Red Wine Blend, featuring Merlot, Petite Sirah, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of these wines offer darker fruit flavors balanced with restrained oak influence. At $25 each, they are both a steal. Any of the wines we tasted, by the glass or by the bottle, will improve your day. Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.

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DON’T LET DIY BECOME ‘DO IT TO YOURSELF’ BY ALEJANDRO BADIA M.D.

WELL

HEALTH & FITNESS

It’s spring, and thoughts turn to improving and updating your home. Doing it on your own can save money and provide a sense of achievement. But plan those projects carefully, because do-it-yourself (DIY) often becomes “do-it-to-yourself.” For orthopedic physicians, DIY season usually means another round of treating lacerations, fractures and joint dislocations, along with strains and tears to tendons and ligaments — injuries especially affecting hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders. Statistics from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System indicate more than a third of annual home-project mishaps involve hands and fingers; another 6% affect wrists and shoulders. In a report published several years ago in the journal Hand, scientists determined that more than 45 percent of upper extremity injuries in general occur at home, with finger and hand lacerations, abrasions and fractures; wrist fractures; shoulder sprains; and lower-arm fractures having the highest incidence rates. Of course, totals in the report only include injuries that drove patients to seek hospital treatment. Patients who opted to self-treat at home — or who visited an urgent care center or their own physicians when complications developed — are not counted in the study. Serious hand and finger puncture wounds and deep cuts top the DIY-emergency list. That’s not surprising, considering nails, screws, tacks and bolts, which are forcibly applied to wood, metal and other materials, are the reported culprits in almost 30 percent of home-improvement injuries. Falls from ladders, resulting in elbow, arm, shoulder and wrist sprains and fractures, as well as head injuries, account for another 11 percent; power saws, more than 8 percent, including finger amputations; and hammers, nearly 7 percent. Instinctively, we outstretch arms and 104

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The first rule of DIY home repair — safety and health are paramount.

the palms of our hands to break a fall. But doing so can cause wrist strains and fractures, especially a break in the scaphoid bone, one of eight bones that compose the wrist; injuries to the phalanges or finger bones; fractures of the bones in the hand (metacarpals); and thumb sprains — not to mention possible dislocation and sprains of elbow and shoulder joints caused by the jolt of hitting the ground.

WE NEED OUR HANDS (AND EVERY OTHER BODY PART) Aristotle said, “The hand is the tool of tools.” Our hands and wrists are amazing anatomical structures. They make us unique in the animal kingdom, owing to the presence of a thumb and flexibility of the carpometacarpal joints of our smallest fingers — “pinky” and ring finger -- which can move across the palm of the hand, meet the thumb and create incredible grasping and gripping strength. That’s why hand injuries — even injuries to just the thumb — can prove debilitating and life-altering. Think how many everyday activities — like holding eating utensils, changing light bulbs or writing with pen or pencil — would be exceedingly difficult to perform without use of a thumb, especially on the dominant hand. (Not to mention the ubiquitous texting.) Unprotected hands, of course, are not only what’s at risk in DIY projects. Falling directly onto the shoulder, can dislocate the joint, tear the labrum — the joint’s supporting cartilage — and damage the

rotator cuff, which stabilizes and helps control shoulder-joint rotation. A fall may also fracture the collarbone or cause a proximal humerus bone fracture in the upper arm.

ALL ABOUT PREVENTION Bottom line: Orthopedic injuries happen even to the most experienced do-ityourselfer, but risks can be reduced by taking a few precautionary steps: • Wear gloves appropriate to the job to protect hands. • Follow the 4-1 rule for ladder placement. Pull the bottom of a ladder one foot away from the wall for every four feet of ladder height. And don’t lean out to the side when standing on the ladder. If you are too far away, spend the extra two minutes to climb down and move the ladder. • Read — and adhere — to instructions for power tools. Position yourself properly when using these tools. • Respect large gasoline- and batterypowered maintenance equipment, including lawnmowers and snowblowers. Completely disengage them — disconnect the spark plug wire — before making any adjustments to them. • Keep the work area clean and well lit. Ensure the surrounding environment is free of hindrances, including children and pets. • Don’t get overconfident. Don’t rush to complete a job. • And, even though this is an orthopedic column, don’t forget your eyes. Wear goggles to protect them from any filaments or splinters that might fly up in your face. Should an orthopedic injury occur, avoid going to the hospital emergency room, unless the mishap causes significant bleeding, major amputation or a large, severe open bone fracture, or involves an open bone fracture in which the ends of the broken bone break the skin. Contact an orthopedic physician specialist, instead. Orthopedic walk-in centers are beginning to crop up in many communities and are your best bet for accessibility, efficiency and expertise. The specialist can make a diagnosis much more quickly, with superior treatment of the problem at much less cost and with fewer tests than primary care or hospital ER physicians. Alejandro Badia, M.D., FACS, is a hand and upper-limb surgeon and founder of the Florida-based Badia Hand to Shoulder Center and OrthoNOW, a walk-in orthopedic care clinic in Miami. For more, visit drbadia.com and orthonowcare.com.

CELEBRATING LIFE, LOVE, & THE POWER OF FLOWERS SINCE 1925 4th Generation, Locally Grown & Locally Owned

www.BlossomFlower.com 914.304.5376 MARCH 2020

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EXERCISE FOR BRAIN HEALTH BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI

“Precision-exercise and physical activity, coupled with cognitive training, is the future of brain health.”

Giovanni Roselli. Courtesy Roselli Health and Fitness.

— Ryan Glatt, psychometrist and Brain Health coach As I’ve written in many of my past articles, I think it’s safe to say that no matter how different we are, we all ultimately have one thing in common — to have a good quality of life. To achieve a nice quality of life as we age, it is understood that we need to keep our minds as sharp as we can. Guess what is one of the best ways to keep our minds sharp besides the popular crossword puzzle and reading? You guessed it: There’s even more evidence and reason to believe that exercise will keep not only your waistline trim, but your mind razor sharp.

WELL

HEALTH & FITNESS

BRAIN HEALTH I am currently taking a Brain Health Trainer Certification, which covers many topics that I’ve been interested in, most notably how to make a dent in the exponentially increasing rates of cognitive decline. Taking a deep dive into neuroscience, this course helps explain how exercise (and all different types of exercise) can play a role in preventing and slowing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The five main areas that affect our cognition are exercise, sleep, stress, nutrition and environment Were you expecting something different? These are the same things that we have constantly heard about as all-important pieces of our large health and wellness puzzle. If one or more of these are off, our brain health will certainly be compromised.

NEUROPLASTICITY I plan on recapping my experience going through this course in a future article, but there’s one phrase I’d like to briefly touch on — neuroplasticity. This is the ability of the brain to change. Yes, we can actually shape our brains and they have the ability to change.

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You aren’t just “stuck” with what you have. In exciting news, recent discoveries reveal that the brain can maintain the ability to undergo neuroplastic change into later adulthood. This should be an encouraging sign to those who are looking to prevent neurodegenerative diseases, or those who may be on the decline looking to put it on a slow halt. However, these changes to the brain do not come without some hard work. As a matter of fact, the older you are the more effort that change requires. This is a strong reminder as often when individuals age, they may put less effort into healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as exercise, and move less to enjoy life more, or to avoid pain and discomfort. THE KEY With all of this being said, what’s the best way to train the brain? Running? Lifting weights? High intensity interval training? Balance and stabilization training? Well, it’s actually a combination of a few. When looking at executive functioning, processing speed, memory and attention, the key is something referred to as multicomponent training. This is a training style that combines aerobic training, resistance training and motor training. So basically, exercise that involves a heart rate response, with some type of resistance, that makes you think and be mindful at that moment. All three of these components happening at the exact same time: You cannot space out during multicomponent exercise. You cannot mindlessly perform exercises. You want some examples? If I just gave some to you that wouldn’t exactly make you think now would it? Talk about a cliffhanger. Think about what you are doing, not doing, and/or can do to help train your brain. Need some help and ideas? Shoot me an email at GiovanniRoselli.com or reach me on Twitter @GiovanniRoselli.

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PET OF THE MONTH

PET CARE

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LOOKING FOR A HOME PHOTOGRAPH BY SEBASTIÁN FLORES

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Hard times are hard on two-legged creatures. But they may be harder on the four-legged ones, who can’t necessarily understand or certainly express why they’ve been abandoned by those they loved. Nene, a 2-year-old Chihuahua and Jack Russell mix, was surrendered with her sibling when her owner fell on hard times. Now the SPCA is trying to find the pair a forever home. Nene is shy with new people and surroundings initially but warms up quickly and becomes your little shadow once she gets to know you. She is a calm girl whose soulful, big, brown eyes will just melt your heart. To meet Nene, 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 914- 941-2896 or visit spca914.org.

Photographs by Geoffrey Tischman, Tischman Pet Photography.

SIT. STAY. PLAY. BY ROBIN COSTELLO

They say every dog has its day. If that’s true, then no bones about it, lucky dogs get to spend their day at Pets a Go Go. For more than 15 years, the doggie daycare company extraordinaire has served the needs of doting pet parents in Westchester County at its Briarcliff Manor location. Now with a second site recently opened in Stamford, pets in Fairfield County are off the leash with enthusiasm. “I am excited that this longtime dream of expanding Pets a Go Go has come to fruition,” says company founder Nicole Goudey-Rigger. “We pride ourselves on the peace of mind we give pet parents that when they close the door or get on a plane, their fur babies will be in the best of hands. We are excited to share that peace of mind with pet owners in Fairfield County.” Goudy-Rigger created Pets a Go Go after an unfortunate experience

with a kennel. She saw there was an unmet need for more accountability and a more personal touch in pet care services — and the idea for Pets a Go Go was born. Her company offers customized pet care in a green-friendly, 24-hour staffed, cage-free facility. Considered the ultimate resource for pet parents; Pets a Go Go offers not only day, night and home care but expert training, grooming and spa services (even deskunking). Some popular amenities include private or group dog walks, runs and hikes. What differentiates Pets a Go Go from the competition is its dedicated, diligent team of caregivers, called The Paw Squad, which provides the finest care and attention to the animals. Squad members care for your pets as if they were their own. For more, visit petsagogo.com.

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WAG

WHERE & WHEN

March 5 UJA-Federation of New York-Westchester will celebrate Scarsdale residents Rikki and Barry Kaplan and Allison and Ben Friedland for their commitment to philanthropy, community and leadership and UJA’s effect on the county at its “Westchester Celebration 2020.” A community-wide event, it will feature strolling entertainers, along with Shake, Rattle & Roll dueling pianos, drinks and a buffet. 6:30 p.m. Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; 914-385-2108, ujafedny.org/westchester-celebration.

March 7 “Let It Sing!” — Back for an encore performance of her sold-out debut show, Corinne Curtis Broadbent delivers an evening of Broadway favorites, featuring humorous and poignant selections by Gershwin, Berlin, Sondheim, Comden & Green, Styne and many others. 8 p.m., Magnolia Room, 57 Main St., Norwalk; 203-864-6964, bjryansmagnoliaroom.com.

Macy Gray appears March 8 at The Warehouse, FTC.

Through March 27

March 1

New Rochelle Council on the Arts will honor Women’s History Month and the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, with its exhibit “Notable Women of New Rochelle.” The show will celebrate the lives of prominent women and their distinct ties to the city. Times vary, New Rochelle Public Library, 1 Library Plaza; 914-632-7878, newrochellearts.org.

The Breast Cancer Alliance presents an afternoon of fashion and fun with its annual “Kids for a Cause.” Enjoy face painting, balloon animals, games, arts and crafts, refreshments and magic as well as the fashion show, featuring playground to party wear from Hoagland’s of Greenwich modeled by a group of 3 to 10 year olds. 3 p.m., Round Hill Club, 33 Round Hill Road, Greenwich; 203-861-0014, breast cancer alliance.org/events.

Through March 29 ArtsWestchester invites community members to take part in the creation of a massive fabric sculpture, designed by artist Amanda Browder, which will transform the façade of its building in May. During a series of Public Sewing Days, participants will arrange, pin and sew fabric shapes that will build the large-scale public art piece. Times and locations vary; 914-428-4220, artsw.org/browder.

Through May 20 Radius, the gallery at Arc Stages, presents “Urban Suburban,” a photography exhibit that showcases the works of local artists Gina Randazzo, Chris Rivera and Randy Matusow. In this show, each of the artists captures life in suburban Westchester County. Times vary, 147 Wheeler Ave., Pleasantville; 914747-6206, arcstages.org.

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March 3 Randall Griffey, associate curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, speaks on “The Met @ 150 — Looking Back/ Looking Forward,” recalling a rich history that has embraced both progressive foresight and periods of retrenchment. 7:30 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, 1073 N. Benson Road; 203-254-4010, quickcenter.fairfield.edu. New Canaan’s Pollinator Pathway partners present the renowned conservationist Doug Tallamy speaking on his book, “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard.” 7:30 p.m., New Canaan Country School, 635 Frogtown Road; 203-972-1270, newcanaanlandtrust.org.

Off Center Dance Theatre presents its Spring Invitational Dance Concert in White Plains. The event will feature performances in classical ballet, jazz, modern and hip-hop. 5 p.m., Archbishop Stepinac High School, 950 Mamaroneck Ave.; 914-381-5222, dancecavise.com. The Fairfield County Chorale celebrates Beethoven’s 250th Birthday by performing his majestic and rarely performed Mass in C major and the revolutionary Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, the “Emperor” Concerto. 7:30 p.m., Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Ave.; 203-858-3714, fairfieldcountychorale.org. Join MoCAWestport in celebrating its Inaugural Gala, honoring architect Howard Lathrop and featuring the art of Helmut Lang. This benefit and VIP preview of MoCA Westport’s spring exhibit includes cocktails, dinner and dancing. 5:30 p.m., 19 Newtown Turnpike; 203-222-7070, mocawestport.org.

March 7 through June 14 Hudson River Museum will present the works of multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams during its “Buoyant” exhibit. Adams explores race, history and popular culture through his art, exemplified by the three series — “Floaters,” “We Came to Party and Plan” and “Tables Turned.” 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers; 914-963-4550, hrm.org.

March 8 The American Classical Orchestra celebrates the 20th anniversary of its award-winning Classical Music for Kids program with the return of its most popular program, “The Magic Recorder,” in an interactive family performance. Children will be able to try out different instruments of the orchestra at the "instrument petting zoo" before the concert. 3 p.m., Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Ave. 212-3622727, aconyc.org/magicrecorder. Her unmistakable rasp, unshakable grasp on soul and funky spirit ensured Macy Gray her status as a 21st-century icon since her arrival with the triple-platinum “How Life Is” in 1999. She plays in concert at 8 p.m., The Warehouse, FTC, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield; 203-259-1036, fairfieldtheatre.org.

March 12 Pelham Art Center presents an evening gallery concert featuring the Angels in the Chamber. The band weaves elements of rock, pop, classical and improvisational music into a genre all its own. 7 p.m., 155 Fifth Ave., Pelham; 914-738-2525, pelhamcenter.org.

March 14 The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College presents the internationally recognized Ballet Folclórico Nacional de México de Silvia Lozano. The troupe uses authentic dance and music to preserve and promote traditional Mexican culture. 8 p.m., 735 Anderson Hill Road; 914-251-6200, artscenter.org.

March 15 New Rochelle Public Library presents “Read 650,” a literary forum for true personal stories, each limited to 650 words, read aloud by the writer before an audience. During this event, a group of writers will share their stories of religion and cultural identity. A reception will follow the program. 3 p.m., 1 Library Plaza; 914-632-7878, nrpl.org.

March 20 The Music Conservatory of Westchester will host an evening with Elliott Forrest. The WQXR radio host and Peabody Award-winning broadcaster will discuss music in movies, from classic cinema to contemporary films, during a multimedia presentation. 7 p.m., 216 Central Ave., White Plains; 914-761-3900, musicconservatory.org. Michel Marc Bouchard, one of the most important voices in Quebec theater, brings his latest play to the Quick Center with “Tom na Fazenda” (“Tom at the Farm”). 8 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, 1073 N. Benson Road: 203-2544010, quickcenter.fairfield.edu.

Friends of Music Concerts Inc. present Publiquartet March 28.

March 21

March 26

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in collaboration with the Princeton Alumni Association of Fairfield County will feature an a cappella concert by the Princeton University Footnotes who have performed to great acclaim both here and abroad. 4 p.m., 295 West Ave., Norwalk; 203-838-9799, lockwoodmathewsmansion.com.

Former “Good Morning America” host Joan Lunden, author of “Why Did I Come Into This Room? A Candid Conversation About Aging,” discusses the subject with wit and humor. 7:30 p.m., Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

Meet local vendors to help with planning your next party, including DJs florists, videographers, bakeries, jewelers and more, at The Events Showcase. Sign up at the show for a chance to win a grand prize five-night stay in Hawaii. Other prizes include tuxedo rentals, dance lessons, wedding bands and a photograph/video package. Noon to 4 p.m., Holiday Inn Mount Kisco, 1 Holiday Inn Drive; 914-241-2600, MountKiscoEventCenter.com/showcase-2020.

March 22 The Rowayton Historical Society presents historian Ed Hynes speaking on “Whaleboat Battles on Long Island Sound During the Revolution.” The whaleboat was the attack vessel of choice in the many feuds between British-occupied Long Island and Patriot-led Connecticut, and Hynes reveals the action, intrigue and terror of the people living around the Long Island Sound at this time. 2 p.m., Rowayton Community Center, 33 Highland Ave.; 203-831-0136, rowaytonhistoricalsociety.org. One of the most remarkable pianists of his generation in Russia, Pavel Nersessian holds professorships at the Moscow Conservatory and Boston University. In Stamford, he plays the music of Bach, Clementi and Schubert. 3 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, 1101 Bedford St; 203-324-9522, fishchurch.org.

March 27 Yonkers Partners in Education hosts New York Times best-selling author Paul Tough to share his latest research and discuss all that matters in keeping more young people engaged, enrolled and on the path to success. 9 a.m., Yonkers Riverfront Library, 1 Larkin Center; 914-377-4882, pie.org/educationsummit.

March 28 Friends of Music Concerts Inc. presents a chamber concert by Publiquartet. The program will include compositions by contemporary composers such as Jessie Montgomery, Caroline Shaw, Shelley Washington and Jessica Meyer, along with interpretations of more familiar works. 8 p.m., Pleasantville High School, 60 Romer Ave.; 914-271-2465, friendsofmusicconcerts.org.

March 29 New Rochelle Opera presents “Love Fest,” an afternoon of music and dance to celebrate romantic arias from opera, operetta and musical theater. 3 p.m., Ursuline Performing Arts Center, 1354 North Ave.; 914-576-0365, nropera.org. Presented by ArtsWestchester (artswestchester.org) and The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County(culturalalliancefc.org/FCBuzz-events).

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WATCH

STILL ‘TREND’ING Chuck Steelman, Neiman Marcus’ senior manager of VIP Private Client Experiences, was on hand at Neiman Marcus Westchester in White Plains. Feb. 5 to deliver the “Neiman Marcus Trend Report,” a benefit for St. Vincent’s Hospital Westchester, a division of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center. Steelman discussed four hot spring trends — Black and White; the Reinvented Pantsuit (cropped, fitted pants; roomier jackets); Nature’s Influence (florals, wood, raffia and wicker accessories); and Safari Style (think cheetah, leopard and zebra prints in particular). Photographs by Bob Rozycki.

1. Lauren Kenny, Stacey Lahey, Helene Burnes and Elizabeth Brown 2-8. Models show off the latest trends.

GUYS, NO DOLLS New York Mets announcer Steve Gelbs served as guest speaker at UJA-Federation of New York’s second annual “Guys’ Night Out,’ held at Westchester Table Tennis Center in Pleasantville. More than 100 Westchester men came out for a night of connecting, playing Ping-Pong, chatting baseball and meeting club owner and The New York Times’ crosswords editor Will Shortz. The event raised funds for UJA, which supports a network of hundreds of nonprofit organizations that help vulnerable populations.

9. Brian Rosenblatt, Ben Joelson, Steve Gelbs, Ashley Bendell, Richard Leroy, Steve Kaufman, Ken Fuirst and David Perlmutter

WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL IS NAMED WESTcHESTEr’S

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EVENING OF LOVE Friends of Greenwich Hospital gathered for a festive pre-Valentine’s Day shopping evening at The Westchester’s David Yurman boutique. More than 50 hospital supporters, benefit committee members, trustees and hospital leaders were on hand to enjoy cocktails and shopping in support of the hospital’s upcoming annual benefit. The highlight of the evening was a jewelry raffle from David Yurman’s latest collection. The boutique donated 10 percent of the evening’s proceeds to the Greenwich Hospital Benefit, which will take place on May 15. Photographs by Chris Herder Photography. 1. Lindsay Gurciullo, Lindsey Wilner Rudder and Amanda Godfrey 2. Guests enjoy shopping at The Westchester David Yurman boutique 3. Kathleen Fillion, William Brown and Karen Brown 4. Melissa Luiso and Arpiné Stein 5. Diane Kelly and Anna Cerra 6. Noël Appel, Sharon Gallagher-Klass and Susan Salice

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A LONG WAY TO GO The Greenwich Historical Society hosted a reception for “An Unfinished Revolution: The Woman’s Suffrage Centennial” (through Sept. 6), which showcases the role Greenwich women played on the national stage in achieving the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Attendees viewed striking protest banners, vintage photographs and historic clothing, sashes and heirlooms worn by prominent suffragists. Photographs by Bob Capazzo

7. Maggie Dimock and Pam Dougherty 8. Haley Elmlinger, Peter Malkin and Coline Jenkins 9. Lauren Rabin, Fred Camillo and Debra Mecky

AMONg THE TOP 10% Of HOSPITALS NATIONWIDE fOr PATIENT ExPErIENcE wphospital.org/awards MARCH 2020

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LIONS WHO LUNCH The Larchmont Mamaroneck Lions held its first lunch meeting at Mamaroneck’s Orienta Beach Club on Jan. 9. The inaugural lunch meeting was attended by local community and business leaders, including Westchester County Executive George Latimer. The group hosts dinner events, but the impetus for the addition of lunch meetings was to provide more opportunities to attend meetings for current and prospective Lions and to support the local business community more effectively.

1. Jim Killoran, Diane Oldham, George Latimer and Phil Oldham

AN ALUMNUS’ GIFT Iona College in New Rochelle recently cut the ribbon on its new $38 million LaPenta School of Business. The state-of-the-art facility was made possible through a $17.5 million gift from Iona alumnus, Robert V. LaPenta. The new 68,000-square-foot building features 21 high-tech classrooms, a trading floor and a 110-seat lecture hall to encourage student interaction and collaboration. The school will facilitate Iona’s ongoing engagement with alumni and area business leaders to drive collaboration, mentorships and experiential learning. Photographs by Ben Hider.

2. Seamus Carey and Robert V. LaPenta 3. Laurie Winters, Robert V. LaPenta and Robert V. LaPenta Jr. 4. Seamus Carey and Shelley B. Mayer 5. Marsha Gordon and Meg Curtin 6. Darrell P. Wheeler, Hannah McGowan Seamus Carey, Robert V. LaPenta and Andrew Dolce 7. Richard A. Highfield and Bret Sanner

THE WILD ONE On Jan.16, the Stamford Museum & Nature Center welcomed more than 250 guests of all ages to meet American nature photographer and conservationist Thomas D. Mangelsen at the opening reception for “Thomas D. Mangelsen — A Life in the Wild.” The exhibition, on view through March 15, features 40 arresting photographs from a body of work amassed over his four decades traveling to the wildest corners of North America, Africa and beyond. 8. Wildlife enthusiasts 9. Thomas D. Mangelsen

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BCW FETES

The Business Council of Westchester (BCW) — held its “2020 Not-For-Profit Thank You Party” at Trattoria 632 in Purchase Jan. 22. The event recognized longtime and supportive nonprofit members for their dedication and work to improve Westchester. 1. Wiley Harrison, Linda Tyler, Leslie Gordon, Susan Fox and Anthony Mangone

YOU GOTTA HAVE ART

The Barbara Walters Campus Center at Sarah Lawrence College was the setting for ArtsWestchester’s 2019 Arts Gala. The event celebrated the arts and honored Martin Ginsburg — developer, architect and founding principal of Ginsburg Development Cos., — for his belief in the power of art to enhance the environment.. Photographs by Leslye Smith. 2. Andrew, Rachel and Irene Ginsburg 3. Janet T. Langsam, Louis P. Gallo and Martin Ginsburg 4. Debra Ginsburg Borwick and David Borwick 5. Robert and Rich Martinelli 6. LaRuth Gray, Joe Morgan, Amanda Browder, Barry Shenkman John R. Peckham and Joe Schneider

GREEK TO THEM The A.G. Williams Painting Co., a family-owned business based in Pelham, has a proud tradition of giving back to the community. In recognition of this charitable work, CEO George Williams recently received the James Plevritis-Joseph C. Keane Chapter Legends and Honorees Award from the New Rochelle chapter of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. The award is given to those that promote Hellenism, education, philanthropy, civic responsibility and individual excellence.

7. George Horiates, Joseph Keane, James Zafiros, Theresa Williams, George Williams and Thomas Dushas

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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 116

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DREAMS DO COME TRUE

The Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation, the charitable arm of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, recently presented a check for $10,000 to MakeA-Wish Hudson Valley, located in Tarrytown. Make-A-Wish makes dreams come true for children with critical illnesses. Since 1986, it has granted the wishes of more than 2,800 children in the Hudson Valley region. The chapterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to ensure that every eligible child residing in the Hudson Valley who qualifies is granted his or her fondest wish. 1. Mary Prenon, Jeanne Shields, Sander Koudijs, Kerri Stretch, Harding Mason, Maryanne Tercasio, Tom Conklin, Bonnie Koff, Teresa Belmore, Stephanie Liggio and Kathy Kane

MADAM PRESIDENT The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR) welcomes Gail Fattizzi, executive director of Westchester Real Estate Inc. in Somers as its 2020 president. Fattizzi, along with the HGAR executive officers and directors, was officially installed at Le Chateau in South Salem on Jan. 16. More than 300 attended. Photographs by John Vecchiolla.

2. Cynthia and Joe Lippolis 3. Gail Fattizzi and Marcene Hedayati 4. Roseanne Paggiotta, Sarah Hughes and Nancy Hertz 5. Jennifer Stevenson and Richard Haggerty 6. Phylis Lerner and Bonnie Koff

HOME WHERE THE HEART IS The Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation, presented a check for $2,000 to Hearts to Homes in Yonkers to help newly independent young adults who have just aged out of foster care. The nonprofit group provides the essentials for furnishing a new home during the transition process.

7. Sander Koudijs, Robert Shandley, Rose Asprea, and Terri Crozier, Maryann Tercasio, Gail Fattizzi, Mary McCombe, Amanda Martinez, Stephanie Liggio, Antoinette Calderon, Veronica Suarez and Matt McAllister

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WAGVERTISERS MARCH 2020

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Sothebys International Realty – 6, 7, 39 sothebyshomes.com/greenwich

New York Presbyterian - 19 nyp.org/medical groups

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White Plains Hospital – 112, 113 wphospital.org/awards

Eager Beaver Tree Service -107 eagerbeavertreeservice.com

Performing Arts Center at Purchase College - 89 artscenter.org

Wittus – Inside Back Cover wittus.com

Euphoria Kitchen & Bath - 49 euphoriakitchens.com Georgette Gouveia - 99 thegamesmenplay.com Greenwich Medical Spa – 23 coolsculptingct.com

R & M Woodrow Jewelers – 1 woodrowjewelers.com

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BARBARA HANLON

MARCIA PFLUG

International Wines, Spirits and Beers Free Wine Tastings on Friday and Saturday Daily Sales and Specials Corporate and Client Gifting Programs Event Planning Services

Classes, Seminars and Tutorials Private In-Home Tastings and Classes Free Delivery Service (inquire) Wine Cellar and Collecting Consultation We Buy Your Older Wines and Spirits

VAL’S TIP OF THE MONTH — March is an ideal month to consider transitioning to an “old world” red or white. Stop by and ask us which wines would fit your palate! 203-869-2299

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FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1957

WE WONDER:

WHAT’ S YOU R FAVORITE ROOM IN YOU R HOME? *

Santana Irene Alers

Sydney Bellinger

Kathleen De Blasio

Arnold D. Escandon business analyst at Tompkins Financial Corp. Ossining resident

cashier Mount Kisco Resident

“I love my bedroom because everything I could ever want and have is in my room. I feel completely Zen and I love my own company. Listening to music with my headphones on and dancing in my room is probably where I feel the freest. No one is there to judge or criticize. If only the world would be as free as your bedroom feels.”

“My living room, because it’s so bright and light.”

“My library, because it’s quiet and small and I like it.”

“The kitchen. Food is love.”

“My bedroom, because it’s my quiet sanctuary and my bed makes me feel like a queen.”

Michele L. Kim

Marie Silverman Marich

Diana Plunkett real estate agent Rye resident

Deja Spruill

daycare teacher Bedford Hills resident

Maggie Trimble

“My living room. It’s always neat. I just lie there and read.”

“My bedroom. It’s a retreat at night after a long day of working and having fun.”

“I like my living room, because it’s a place where my family and I can sit and enjoy each other’s company – whether it’s watching our favorite TV show or movies, or simply sitting on the couch talking about how our day was. I really enjoy being around family and relaxing.”

“My family room, because of the fireplace, wood and stone. It’s cozy.”

daycare teacher Mount Kisco resident

confectioner/owner, La Petite Occasion Confections Mahopac resident

“Definitely the kitchen. It’s where I work and eat.”

Rye resident

community volunteer and cable access TV host White Plains resident

Rye resident

Patty Gadson

homemaker Rye resident

*Asked at the “Neiman Marcus Trend Report,” a benefit for St. Vincent’s Hospital Westchester, a division of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, on Feb. 5

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Wag Magazine March 2020

Articles inside

Upcoming events

Exercise for brain health

Wellness with a flourish

Fore’ward design

Wright and not so wright

Looking for a home

Colonial charm in Cos Cob

Boston uncommon

Yesterday meets tomorrow