46 minute read
OUR TOWN
OUR TOWN FORMATION SYCHRONIZED SKATING
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—Jannika Lilja, Head Coach and choreographer
Triangle Formation Synchronized Skating has got it all together. The nonprofit based in Wake Forest is working to make synchronized skating one of the fastest growing team sports in the South. Synchronized skating, or synchro for short, is a team form of figure skating. The difference is instead of one or two skaters on the ice, there is a group of eight to 16 people skating in unison. “It combines all the different figure skating disciplines,” says the group's head coach and choreographer Jannika Lilja. The team skates in a hold formation, meaning arms linked, with sequences of no hold as well. Most of the skating is done in perfect unison, with skater's movements matching each other. The skating is quite technical, closer to ice dancing in style. “You have to be able to go really fast, have good edge quality, and step technique. It's fancy footwork,” says Lilja Lilja should know. Originally from Helsinki, Finland, which boasts world class synchro club programs, she grew up skating and was part of a team that won three consecutive Finnish National titles. She is a world champion as well, with plenty of gold, silver, and bronze in her trophy case. Lilja says that skating has always been her passion. “It's what I truly care about,” she says. And, in 2016, she made it her career. Lilja left a career in fashion to move south and help build Triangle Formation. In just two years, Triangle Formation has experienced incredible growth. Athletes from all over the Triangle, including Apex, Cary, Raleigh, and even Fuquay Varina travel to the Wake Forest facility to train. Experienced skaters practice ten hours a week combining conditioning, stretching, and ballet lessons with on-ice training. Triangle Formation's goal is to empower and inspire with an emphasis on building deeply connected teams—a formation family. The young skaters, who range in age from six to 19, are committed and ready to make a name for themselves. This season Triangle Formation teams, grouped by age and skill level, will participate in four competitions with the dream of one day having a team qualify for a national title.
Head Coach Jannika Lilja
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What started as intermission entertainment for the University of Michigan Wolverines hockey team in 1956 has evolved into a highly skilled sport with Olympic-sized ambition. Lilja says she hopes it will one day join figure skating and ice dancing at the highest level, but in the meantime, Triangle Formation will continue to stay in sync. –Katherine Poole Interested in getting in sync? formationsynchro.com
OUR TOWN CHARLOTTE’S
—Charlotte Harris, owner, Charlotte's Inc.
Even though the name is singular, Charlotte’s is a full-on family affair. Charlotte Harris began selling jewelry out of her home roughly 30 years ago. Combining priceless advice from trusted friends with cleverly timed marketing around a jewelry trend known as twist-a-beads, orders poured in. Due to high demand, it wasn’t long before clients asked for more products and she opened her first store near Five Points. Harris has a keen eye for fashionable goods and an attentive ear for her customers’ tastes. A move from her Five Points location to Cameron Village proved lucrative and established strong Triangle roots. She’s since expanded to North Hills, and her daughter Stephanie has joined as the store's manager. Just three years ago, she added a Charlotte, North Carolina, location, operated by her son and daughter-in-law. As the business grew, her husband joined in to help, as well. Today, her stores remain current and feature new, up-andcoming designers and artisans. One recent and well-received addition to their product line is ladies clothing. “We try to create an exciting place so people will come in and find just the perfect gift or a piece of jewelry, whether it’s fashion jewelry or our fine jewelry, and now stationery. Our biggest thing right now is ladies clothing. That has really succeeded,” says Harris. Adding clothing to their merchandise selection also brought a fresh approach to unveil new products. Harris recently hosted her first fashion show, and due to its success, stores will now host fashion shows twice a year. During the holidays, stores are adorned like a winter wonderland to highlight the festive season. Harris says her stores are a happy place to shop, and when decorated, the atmosphere transforms and brings about a special energy for clients and employees. She says that in early December, shoppers are eager to be the first in the stores to purchase a unique piece before it sells out. This December also includes a highly anticipated vintage handbag show. When you talk to Harris about her stores, you hear her passion for not only working with her own family, but building strong relationships with vendors, their families, and dedicated clientele. It’s not difficult to see why her stores are a beloved Triangle mainstay. —Paige Hachet Jacob
OUR TOWN SETON McGLENNON
—Seton McGlennon
Seton McGlennon says she's always found the fun in life. Her personalized ornaments and paintings are no exception. McGlennon has been storytelling through her delicate Christmas tree ornaments for almost 26 years, and the high-end holiday items are typically custom, artfully portraying your childhood home or nostalgic destination. “I began when I was a realtor in the Outer Banks. I painted ornaments for my clients as closing gifts,” she says. The demand for these handmade gifts grew, and she decided to take it on full time. “There's just something about an ornament,” she says. “They’re not just little tokens, they’re beautiful and delicate. You’re gonna have them forever.” Her keepsakes have caught the eye of the nation, too. Not only was she on Oprah Winfrey's Favorite Things list, McGlennon has also received commissions for ornaments from former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. McGlennon created an ornament depicting the White House as the personal Christmas gift from the Bush family, as well as an ornament on the Clinton family's Blue Room tree. “After the White House ornaments, Bush asked me to create more ornaments for his library opening in Dallas. He knew they were not mass produced and that they would make a one-of-a-kind keepsake.” When she's not working with TV stars and U.S. Presidents, McGlennon says she loves getting to know her day-to-day clients during the design process. Her ornament business has expanded into memory boards, on anything from a canvas to a piece of furniture. These paintings include life landmarks such as a home, alma maters, weddings, and children. McGlennon keeps it whimsical, creating caricature-like portrayals of her clients along with quirky drawings. McGlennon says the variety in her clients keeps her on her toes. “I enjoy doing all of the projects, they're all so different.” Customers complete questionnaires, and talk with McGlennon to ensure they receive a piece that they love. “I love getting to know everyone,” she says. “We are fast friends, and some keep coming back year after year, for weddings, their kids, or grandkids.”
When you order one of McGlennon's pieces, you can purchase a stand or globe to display it. “People want to keep it out year round,” she says. “It's like a miniature portrait.” McGlennon has also created a historical series for the collector types, and mass produced a 12 days of Christmas collection to top your tree with. “This collection allowed me to keep the gifts coming. It's a nice holiday addition.” —Catherine Currin
To see more of Seton McGlennon's work, join us at WALTER's Celebrate the Season November 28 setonmcglennon.com.
OUR TOWN POETRY FOX
—Chris Vitiello, the Poetry Fox
By day, Chris Vittiello is a mild-mannered librarian at North Carolina State University. By night, he is the Poetry Fox, moonlighting as a bard for hire. “I bang out custom, on-demand poems on vintage typewriters. Also, I’m a giant fox” reads the bio of Vitiello’s write poems in public, but he recollects it happened for the first time at an art open house at Shadowbox Studio in Durham. Vitiello has been poetry foxing for about seven years and has written over 10,000 poems. (Vitiello confirms poetry foxing is a verb.) This year he has already had over 70 gigs and in vulpine alter ego. His habitat: parties, corporate events, festivals, art shows, the occasional dive bar. His niche: connecting a person to a poem. For the librarian-cum-fox poetry is a lifelong passion. Even before he could write, Vitiello dictated words and phrases to his parents. He was a voracious reader and a prolific writer, often checking out of a dull lecture in high school to dash off lines. He went on to earn a master of fine arts and continued to write, publishing three books of poetry. But, the life of a poet is a solitary one and, as Vitiello laments, “most poetry is read by poets, not regular people.” He wondered how relevant his work was if he was not participating in life. The solution arrived as a strange and wonderful gift from a relative—a discarded cartoonish fox costume. Vitiello doesn't recall when he decided to put on the fur suit and October went on an 11-night run, producing 610 poems. A Poetry Fox experience is one-of-a-kind. First, a guest approaches the fox’s table where he sits behind a typewriter. He asks the guest for a word. He takes the word and creates a poem on the spot. Vitiello likens writing in costume to being in a portable, soundproof private studio. There is only a small portal in the Fox's mouth, so all he can see is the typewriter's keyboard—he can't even see the paper as he types. Once the poem is complete, he removes the head, makes a tweak or two, marks it with his signature stamp, and reads it aloud. For Vitiello, this personal interaction is powerful. “There are weird, psychic moments that happen,” he says. He may guess the exact age of a child or intuit that a loved one has recently passed. “You pick up on things in a short period of time,” he says.
MY LAGOS MY WAY
CAVIAR COLLECTIONS
The Poetry Fox then gives the poem to the guest. It goes off into the world— to be pinned to a fridge, framed over a crib, or in one case, buried with a loved one. Vitiello says, “The idea that this poem is going away with a person and they have this object that is going to live with them … That is what it is about. It’s about the life of that piece of art.” –Katherine Poole
To engage the Poetry Fox, visit his den at poetryfox.com
OUR TOWN SHELBY VANHOY
—Shelby Vanhoy, Pretty in the Pines
Self-taught designer and blogger Shelby Vanhoy started Pretty in the Pines almost five years ago. “I've always loved style and home decor, and the blog has evolved since my husband and I decorated our first home together.” The Raleighite's inspired decor has led to numerous partnerships with trusted design partners, and in her latest venture, she joined forces with Balsam Hill. The California-based company, known for their high-end artificial Christmas trees, collaborated with the Biltmore on a holiday decor line. “Four bloggers, including me, were asked to decorate the trees in the Inn at the Biltmore,” says Vanhoy. “We used the Balsam Hill x Biltmore Collection ornaments and decorations to help them launch the product line.” Vanhoy says she loved working with the simple yet festive products, like the metallic leaf pins and glittery ornaments. “I loved the neutral colors and rich textures. I used all of the gold and white ornaments and added a pop of color to my tree.” This month, Vanhoy shared some of her decorating tips for the holidays with WALTER. —Catherine Currin 1Get creative with your traditional holiday decor and place it in non-traditional places throughout your house. I like filling some of my photo frames with my favorite plaid wrapping paper for a budget-friendly festive touch, or hanging wreaths on the interior walls. 2I love using ornaments as decor throughout the home, instead of only on the tree. Add a few to a coffee table tray around your candles or in a big bowl, fill glass jars in your kitchen with them, or even fill your lanterns with ornaments around your fireplace. 3Don’t get caught up in “rules” of how you think you should decorate and have fun with it. You can always change around the pieces if you want to. 4No matter what size space you have, you can never go wrong with nature elements…pines, lush garland, pine cones, berries, trees. I love adding a wreath to my gallery wall and garland above my headboard to bring a little bit of the outdoors in.
H ME
FIR THE HOLIDAYS
Frasier Firs take over Raleigh City Farm
photography by JULI LEONARD words by CATHERINE CURRIN
Keith Chesnutt will be back this season selling Christmas trees at Raleigh City Farm. He’s been at it for six years, selling trees and handmade wreaths from Watauga county. “Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, I knew lots of folks that grew trees,” he says. “My 8th grade basketball coach, Rob Hunt, was a small tree farmer and father of one of my close childhood friends. They always talked about how much fun it was to sell trees, so I thought I would give it a try. I called up Rob, he agreed to front me the trees, gave lots of advice, and High Country Firs was born.” Chesnutt is
Keith Chesnutt, owner of High Country Firs, with his dog, Jedd, at Raleigh City Farm
a recent graduate of N.C. State Veterinary School, and says he loves celebrating this time of year. “A Christmas tree or wreath symbolizes the spirit of the holiday season. It is the perfect way for friends and family to celebrate the reason for the season.” Starting November 23, you can find Chesnutt, along with his family, friends, and dog Jedd, providing Person Street with holiday spirit.
High Country Firs will sell trees, wreaths, and other holiday arrangements at Raleigh City Farm from November 23 until inventory sells out, Monday-Thursday 3-8 p.m. and FridaySunday 9 a.m. — 8 p.m.
Clockwise from top left: Brooks Forsyth visited from Boone, N.C., to play Americana music; Betsy Eldridge sorts through ties at the High Country Firs’ tent; Dressed as Santa, Starke Hipp picks up a Christmas tree with friends
SLAM
DUNK
N.C. State’s Dereck Whittenburg continues to make a difference
by JOE GIGLIO photography by SMITH HARDY
The best ideas usually start with a simple question. Leon Cox has known college basketball legend Dereck Whittenburg long enough to anticipate what a normally innocent query—What do you want to do next?— could lead to. When Whittenburg told Cox he wanted to get involved in education and help college students, the groundwork was set Dereck Whittenburg in the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum for the Dereck Whittenburg Foundation. His foundation will be awarding scholarships to college students this on N.C. State’s main month at its annual banquet at CAM campus Raleigh December 4. “I was interested in helping kids finish college,” Whittenburg says. “We’ve awarded 59 scholarships since we started and we’re expanding. It’s pretty exciting to see it grow.” The foundation, run by Whittenburg and his wife, Jacqueline, helps college students in their junior or senior years, with a scholarship (up to $5,000 each). Students at N.C. State University, Shaw University, Wake Tech Community College, Meredith College, St. Augustine’s University, and William Peace University have been helped by the foundation, which will give out another $80,000 to $90,000 at the upcoming CAM event.
Dereck Whittenburg and Jim Valvano at the 1983 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. “That’s just what Dereck does,” says Cox, who met Whittenburg when the two were at N.C. State together in the early 1980s. “Helping people has always been in his wheelhouse. He is always in ‘give’ mode because of his success.” Basketball is an undeniable part of Whittenburg’s success but certainly not its entirety. Whittenburg, 58, has made his philanthropic mark in cancer research with the V Foundation, in honor of his former N.C. State coach Jim Valvano. “What people don’t understand, I’m overshadowed by the national championship,” Whittenburg said. The irony
of the moment is lost on Whittenburg as he sits in his office at Reynolds Coliseum on N.C. State’s campus, where he helped make the “Cardiac Pack” famous. There’s literally a poster from the documentary Survive and Advance about the ‘83 team, looming over his left shoulder as the words leave his mouth. Whittenburg was the executive producer for the emmy-award winning film, an ESPN documentary released in 2013. If it wasn’t for Whittenburg, his Wolfpack teammates, and their colorful coach, “March Madness” wouldn’t be a thing—or at least not the version that is as popular as it is today. The classic underdog story, N.C. State won the national title in 1983 with one improbable win after another. It was Whittenburg’s missed shot—“It was a pass,” he adds reflexively—that led to Lorenzo Charles’ buzzer-beating dunk to push the Wolfpack past heavy favorite Houston in the national championship game. It was Whittenburg who would hug Valvano, after each win, and it was Whittenburg who Valvano couldn’t find after Charles’ stunning dunk. The iconic, frantic scene on the floor of “The Pit” in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been immortalized by CBS and is replayed every March during the NCAA tournament. Valvano died from cancer 10 years after the amazing championship run, but his legacy has grown with the V Foundation’s work. The foundation has raised more than $250 million for cancer research. It has been a passion project for Whittenburg, who had more than a coach-player relationship with Valvano. “Jim loved Dereck,” says Mike MacDonald, who was a former assistant coach to Valvano at Iona and serves on the V Foundation board with Whittenburg. “He was always hugging Dereck. He would be really thrilled and very, very proud of Dereck’s accomplishments.” Whittenburg says the most important thing he learned from his former coach was about life “after the cheering stops.” He would spend time in Valvano’s office and talk about politics and the real world. “My lens is wider than just basketball,” Whittenburg says. “There are a whole lot of other things going.” That’s why Whittenburg felt strongly about helping college students in need. He had worked with Cox, the general manager of the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh, to open Jimmy V’s Osteria + Bar in 2013. The restaurant, which features a “Whitten-burger” on the menu, gives 2.5 percent of its profits to the V Foundation.
Whittenburg suggested the foundation to Cox and the education aspect of it in 2015. Most scholarships are for high school students to get to college. Whittenburg wanted to help those who were already in school and needed a push to get to the finish line. “I cherish being a first-generation graduate,” Whittenburg says. “In my family, that was a big deal.” And that’s why he’s so intent on others reaching the same goal. It’s also why he relishes the opportunity to work at his alma mater. His “9 to 5” job at N.C. State is officially the Associate Athletic Director for Community Relations and Student Support. That’s really just a long way of saying “storyteller.” Whittenburg comes about the title honestly. He has an oversized personality and a distinctive, contagious laugh. “N.C. State did a smart thing, there’s no better rep for the university than him,” MacDonald says. “Dereck knows everybody and he has that personality. You can’t not like him.” The way Whittenburg looks at it, his job is to tell the story of N.C. State. He enjoys interacting with fans. He goes to each home football game three hours before kickoff. “He loves being back in Raleigh,” Cox says. “He loves being connected to the university.” Whittenburg needs a golf cart to get around to all of the different fans and alumni groups that want to see him and hear his stories before the football games. And not just basketball stories. Whittenburg loves to talk about N.C. State’s history. The school recently renamed an on-campus building for Irwin Holmes, the first African-American to earn an undergraduate degree from N.C. State. “He was a pioneer and that led to me being in my position at N.C. State,” he says. Whittenburg, “Whit” to most people, has stories about meeting Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. He can easily spin from a story about Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to one about Martin Luther King, Jr. “I enjoy people,” he says. “It’s natural for me. I have fun with it. They have fun.” After more than 25 years as a coach in college basketball, Whittenburg does miss the game. “It’s the camaraderie. I miss being with the guys.” But his new roles have just widened his circle. He’s still “Whit,” it’s just more people get to be involved in his life than just his players. “Everything I do, I’m very passionate and excited about,” he says. “The work here at N.C. State, the V Foundation, the [Dereck Whittenburg] foundation, I’m looking forward to seeing it all grow.”
N.C. State Men’s Basketball won the 1983 NCAA title vs. the University of Houston.
SEASONAL SPARKLE
Designer Linda Boylan decorates for a coastal Christmas
by CATHERINE CURRIN
photography by CATHERINE NGUYEN
Linda and Ed Boylan have always been inspired by travel. The couple have lived everywhere from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, but Linda Boylan says they love being close to the Carolina coast. Her home is full of coastal influences, and Boylan’s holiday decor is no exception. “My design inspiration is the coast and capturing the calm, relaxed, and serene lifestyle that comes with living near the ocean,” she says.
Boylan decked out her home in festive decor for WALTER, with the help of floral designer Jan Blackwell of Floral Decor Studio located in Southlake, Texas.” Boylan says, “On one of my earlier visits to Texas this year, I met with her to discuss the floral style and designs for my home this holiday season. I especially love the ornaments that she found for the beautiful mantel swag!” The blue, silver, and white theme play off of Boylan’s love for all things coastal. “Coastal items were my design inspiration for this month’s holiday decor. I love Christmas and the coast, so I wanted to incorporate the colors, ornaments, and style of that feel into the holiday decor.” Boylan shared some of her favorite shops and designers with us, as well as her top decorating tips for the season.
SEASIDE SPARKLE
The entryway art by Dallas artist Melissa McKean was the inspiration for a pop of color and vibrancy.
Design Tip: Plan Early
“This year I feel like the holidays came upon us so fast! Take some notes of your Holiday decorating items as early as the summer and plan around a few of your favorite items. You do not have to use every holiday item in your attic or garage storage to decorate with. The old saying ‘less is more’ is a wise saying.”
BLUE CHRISTMAS
The white millwork in the dining room, while beautiful and visually weighty, needed something equally weighted for the top portion of the walls. The Sherwin-Williams color Composed seemed like the likely choice to tie in with the other rooms.
Design Tip: Color Scheme
“Start with a color theme. Select your holiday color theme based on your existing home furnishings.”
DESIGNED DINING
“As an interior designer, I notice the small details like the small round sphere located underneath the table top which ties in with the orbital elements in the dining room and entryway.”
Design Tip: Mantels & Table Decor
“Use groupings of items that vary in height and size. Books stacked are a great way to add height to any item.”
Design Tip: Style
“If you are more casual in your decor, then you may want to go for more of a natural, woodsy feel to your holiday decor. But if you are more glitzy, then incorporate things with sparkle and pizzaz.”
Design Tip: Scented Spaces
“Be sure to select a scent in a candle, sticks with oils, or potpourri that reflects the holiday smell that you love. Some of the most wonderful memories are from our senses.”
At left: Ed and Linda Boylan outside their home in Wake Forest. “I embrace the adventure of travel, new surroundings, and learning the culture of each area,” says Boylan. “Interior Design suits me well because it is always evolving and changing.”
Merry BRIGHT
Raleigh’s Angus Barn continues to be a Christmas tradition
by ALEX DIXON photography by JULI LEONARD
TThey’re known as the Real Housewives of the Angus Barn. For the past four years, this group of seven women have arrived at the Angus Barn each November. Donning their tool belts, the ladies get to work, setting up elaborate holiday decorations at the nearly 60-year-old Raleigh steakhouse. This is no easy task, from a 30-foot tree in the lobby to lights around the entirety of the building’s exterior. These extensive holiday decorations have become as much of a draw for guests as the renowned food and drinks. As patrons leave the restaurant, they often make reservations for the next year. The restaurant’s 6th annual Christmas Dinner with Biltmore wine pairings, held in its lakeside Pavilion special events space on December 23rd, is already booked. “We just go all out decorating; every single corner is decorated…even the bathrooms,” second-generation Angus Barn owner Van Eure says. Inspired by the holiday decorations at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, Eure has spared no expense. The holiday spirit can be seen from outside the restaurant, from
the lights on the rooftops to the tree that faces Glenwood Avenue from the window of the loft dining room. In the lobby, a small locomotive train navigates around the towering tree that contains differently themed decorations each year. The Wild Turkey Lounge, named for its extensive display of over 600 Wild Turkey bourbon decanters, is decked out in bronze and gold. A snow-filled white Christmas theme inspires the loft dining room décor and giant peppermint candies adorn the red and white main dining room. The kitchen even has its own tree, decorated pink in memory of a manager who was with the restaurant for 44 years. On the first day of December, the kitchen begins making gingerbread cookies, which are delivered by elves (children of the Angus Barn decorators) to each guest as they leave. The Angus Barn is open all but three days per year: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. And while much attention is given to the holidays, the celebratory atmosphere and attention to detail doesn’t subside whether it’s March or November. Celebrations range from the usual: birthdays—one recent guest turned 103—anniversaries, proposals, and rehearsal dinners to more solemn events. Eure recalls a story in which a family came out to celebrate a last meal with a moribund person because they’d made so many lasting memories at the restaurant. Eure’s ideal celebratory meal is a 42-ounce, bone-in tomahawk rib eye, which she says should be split, although the menu reads “recommended for two, or a challenge for one.” The restaurant’s wine cellar has become as celebrated as its steaks, earning the restaurant 20 Wine Spectator Grand Awards—reserved for restaurants that offer the highest level of wine service and typically offer more than 1,000 selections. Little has changed in the way the Angus Barn operates since it opened in June of 1960, but a lot has changed around it. Eure’s father, Thad Eure, Jr. opened the restaurant with business partner Charles Winston on 50-acres halfway between Raleigh and Durham. Eure says Raleigh-Durham International Airport was not much more than a “landing strip” at the time, and a lot of people had doubts about the restaurant’s location. “When we first opened,
everybody said we were never going to work,” Eure says. “You had to drive for miles and miles to get out here. It was the cheapest land they could find; that’s why they bought it.” Fire destroyed the restaurant in 1964, but it was quickly rebuilt, with the same lending institutions that labeled the restaurant as a poor risk just years earlier now lined up to offer capital. In 1978, Winston sold his share of the business to Thad Eure, Jr.; 10 years later Thad Eure, Jr. died. Eure, who had been working at the restaurant since she was 14, ran the restaurant with her mother, Alice Eure, who died in 1997. She has owned and operated the restaurant since, retaining the same focus to hospitality as her mother and father. “We’ve tried to maintain the same constant level of service to both the customers and the employees that both my dad and Charles Winston started,” Eure says. “That was what he believed in so much.” The restaurant has nearly 950 seats and employs 400 people. But serving hundreds of steaks per night and creating an unforgettable occasion for guests leaves opportunities for mistakes and disappointments. Eure says plenty of these have happened, despite the restaurant’s rave online reviews. “It happens a lot, where we mess up, and we do everything in our power to make it right, no matter what it takes,” she says. “We realize people have saved and waited to come out here and if we mess up, then it’s just not acceptable.” In being a “want to do” not a “have to do” destination, as Eure describes the Angus Barn, the restaurant’s success is subject to things like a dip in the economy. “When times get tight, we’re not something that people automatically do,” she says. And Eure and the restaurant don’t rest on past laurels. The restaurant is frequently cited on industry lists as one of the highest grossing restaurants in America, and they’re constantly upgrading and updating to make sure the Angus Barn stays relevant and successful for generations to come. While guests have come to love the nostalgic feeling of the restaurant, the Angus Barn is constantly adding items to the menu and hosting themed dinners in its wine cellar to provide these new experiences. “We’re always trying to stay one step ahead,” Eure says. One area of recent growth has been the Angus Barn’s focus on special events. About a decade ago, the restaurant opened the lakeside Pavilion, an open-air facility that stays booked with private corporate events, Christmas parties and weddings. At the Bay 7 special events space in Durham’s American Tobacco District, Angus Barn is the sole caterer. In any decision Eure makes for the restaurant, she says she always thinks of what her father would do. “If he saw the restaurant now, he’d be blown away.” “We’ve added so much, the wine cellar, the Pavilion…he would love it. Every time I do any project, I think of how he would do it because he always did things so right.”
But no matter how big the restaurant gets or how many new features it adds to the menu, Eure aims to preserve the past that has brought so many guests lasting memories. “A lot of people get really emotional about it,” she says. “[We’ve heard], “Thank you so much for still having the Angus Barn here because all of our family celebrations have been here, and it just brings back such great memories for generations.”
Angus Barn’s Famous Chocolate Chess Pie
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla Dash of salt 1 unbaked pie shell Whipped cream for topping, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate in the top half of a double boiler. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Add melted chocolate mixture and mix until well-combined. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake until set, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool and top with whipped cream, if desired.
Serves eight
Ann Howell Bullard
makes timeless pieces that improve with age
PAINTED PURSES
by HAMPTON WILLIAMS HOFER photography by S.P. MURRAY
Three years ago, Ann Howell Bullard used a simple sewing kit to transform a slip of painted canvas into a clutch handbag to take to a friend’s wedding. “Everyone was stopping me to say, ‘whoa, that’s so cool!’ and I was like ‘really?’ So I just kept doing more.” Since then, Bullard has made thousands of bags. Each of her unique creations, which she meticulously hand-paints and sews, is a functional piece of art. Her namesake line of bags, including everything from clutches to totes, has exploded in popularity with online customers, retailers, and buyers at trade shows from New York to Paris.
Opposite page: Ann Howell Bullard in her at-home studio; Bullard hand paints all of her handbags; Using a mix of ink and acrylics, Bullard blends different colors and patterns to develop unique creations.
With no formal training in art or leather-working, Bullard has mastered her craft organically through trial and error. She still has that first canvas clutch, which fell apart after one use and taught her that there’s a reason people use leather. Early on in her bag-making, when her husband bet her $100 that she couldn’t finish a huge plate of pancakes and eggs by herself, Bullard proved him wrong and took her winnings down to the leather store to buy her first piece of white leather hide. She soon realized that due to the layers of paint on colored leather, her own painting would show up better on the undyed kind, which she has used ever since. Now, her bags are all made from natural, naked veg-tan cowhide. (It’s the highest quality leather: buttery smooth, and smells like a new car). Bullard paints the bags using a cross between acrylic paint and ink, which seeps down into the hide. “I first discovered Ann Howell’s bags on Instagram, and they immediately caught my eye,” says Mary Swanson, owner of Tulipano Boutique in Atlanta and Birmingham, who has now carried Bullard’s bags for a year in her ultra-hip stores. “Ann Howell’s pieces are all a work of art. There is nothing like them on the market.” Bullard, who majored in English and art history at UNC-Chapel Hill, believes in “sponge education”—seeing like an artist, garnering inspiration through brain stamps of all the things that move her. She’s drawn to the contrast of black and white, to pops of neon, glitter, and rustic cutouts. Her bags feature designs like banana leaves, lips, and stars. Take the Cherry Red Clutch, for example, which Bullard says was inspired by some mixture of Henri Matisse, Mick Jagger, and dusty old bookstores. Every bag has
In the front room of her home near a background, a trail in Bullard’s curious and artistic mind, where she draws upon
Wade Avenue, snapshots of things like wood textures Bullard’s workshop and sun sparkles. The popular Jeweled Clutch was inspired in part by a jeweler’s brims with sewing storefront sign in Calcutta and in part by gothic Southern literature. machines, scrap In the front room of her home near cutters, strips of Wade Avenue, Bullard’s workshop brims with sewing machines, scrap cutters, leather, and acrylic strips of leather, and acrylic paints. In just over three years, she has produced paints. six collections of signature handbags. She used to work in the laundry room, but took over the formal living room, because it’s the biggest room in the house. There, she can produce 30-50 bags a week depending on the design complexity. She first cuts the leather (using patterns she created herself based on bags she likes), then paints it with whatever her current inspiration may be. She stitches the pieces together using a sewing machine strong enough to sew through plywood. To finish, the completely colored bags are sealed with a protective glaze that locks in the paint, and the bags with natural leather showing are left glaze-free so that the leather develops a patina. When Bullard started working with natural leather, it reminded her of the bits of raw canvas left exposed in traditional impressionist paintings. She’s inspired by old record sleeves and antique heirlooms—reflections of stories from real life. Bullard is all about keeping things real: “I like to see the brushwork on the leather, the little imperfections, the hand of the artist. A lot of handbags are designed not to show you the very things that make them visually interesting.” On Bullard’s bags, the hand of the artist is clear in the variations, the layers, and idiosyncrasies. Over time, the rawhide softens
and deepens in color, meaning the one-ofa-kind bag is ever-evolving. Bullard never balked at the idea of painting on costly, quality leather: “I’ve always just painted on stuff, even as a kid: my dresser, my car, anything.” The oldest of six children, she was homeschooled during her childhood in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and so found ample time for creativity. Luckily, her parents were into it: “My mom kept it all. Everything I’ve painted,” Bullard says. She took a few summer art classes as a child, which she credits for channeling her creativity toward painting: “I had this teacher with an incredible garage studio and garden. It was like a dream,” Bullard says. Two decades later, that teacher’s daughter bought an Ann Howell Bullard bag, unaware of the connection. Bullard herself was drawn to teaching, and spent three years teaching elementary special education in rural Warren County, North Carolina, where she drew energy from the rustic, green landscape. She’s content to be in Raleigh now, where inspiration seeps from a vibrant community of creators and entrepreneurs. Bullard sells most of her bags from her own website, but she’s caught the eye of wholesale retailers, too. Raleigh’s Furbish Studio was one of the first to give her clutches a trial run as when she was starting. Before long, a buyer from Anthropologie emailed her out of the blue wanting to carry her line. Bullard’s growth in just three years is as remarkable as the pace at which she continues to move forward. She just returned from a trip to Paris for a trade show, where she
On Bullard’s bags, the hand of the explored art in all forms, notably the Impressionist paintings at the Musée artist is clear in the d’Orsay, getting up close enough to see variations, the layers, the brush strokes on Édouard Manet’s famous Luncheon on the Grass, after and idiosyncrasies. which Bullard named her latest collection.
Over time, the Naturally, she uses her own bags rawhide softens and daily, and she’s still stopped by strangers for compliments like she was on deepens in color, that first night at her friend’s wedding. Bullard can’t help but have favorites, meaning the like the best-selling striped Black Keys one-of-a-kind bag Circle bag, and the Milagros Clutch, inspired by prayer charms and broken is ever-evolving. heart tattoos she’s seen. Her brand new collection features the Boom-Red Tote: “It’s like this crazy explosion,” Bullard says, “It’s super bright with jagged lines, inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s technique of exploding things so that everything is equal.” The hand-painted bag features a glitter interior, adjustable shoulder strap, and magnetic closure. Building is underway for a new, larger workshop in Bullard’s backyard. Thus far, she’s done everything on her own— except for the few times that her husband, Kevin, and her little brother, an N.C. State undergrad, have helped her set the rivets on her sewing machine—but Bullard plans to expand and one day hire employees. She is always scanning the world around her for stimulation, saving snapshots on her website to create a mosaic that’s like a dip into her innovative brain. For this Raleigh artisan, the expanse of her creativity is endless. And it’s only up from here.
The Scott family surprises customers with fruitcake
by CATHERINE CURRIN photography by BERT VANDERVEEN
SUPREME SWEETS
BBerta Lou Scott is the founder and CEO of Southern Supreme in Bear Creek, North Carolina, but she says she couldn’t do it on her own. It’s a family affair, with her four children and husband on her staff or helping out during the holidays. Scott says she loves working surrounded by her entire family. “They’re all here,” she says. “My husband, four children, and one grandson.
We recently named my son president of the company.” Just an hour from downtown Raleigh,
Southern Supreme is most widely known for its fruitcake, and to many customers’ surprise, it’s delicious. “I think we’re special because we have a good product,” says Scott. The 30,000-square-foot facility is chock full with fruitcake, of course, and satisfying items like nuts, turtles, pralines, tea biscuits, and cheese florets.
Beauty shop to bakery
The fruitcake empire has come a long way. Scott says she started baking cakes when she was tired of her job as a hairdresser. “Sometimes you get kind of burnt out,” she says. “I looked around to see what else I could do.” Scott says she served the fruitcake to her beauty shop clients, and they loved it with coffee. “They just went wild over the fruitcake.” Scott’s garage was full, occupying her beauty shop, Hairport 42, aptly named for the adjacent highway, NC-42. Scott took over another garage—her daughter’s. “They all put up with us in her garage for 5 years,” Scott says. “My neighbors and clients from my beauty shop helped me get going.” It paid off, and Southern Supreme quickly grew. “Our first show was at the convention center in Raleigh, and we immediately got a huge order for almost 2,000 pounds of fruitcake. We were blown away with the response to it.” As the orders flowed in, the fruitcake was pressed by hand as Scott went to trade shows around the country. “In 1990, we needed a building,” she says. “We expanded into the cow pasture behind our houses.”
Nuts about fruitcake
The Scott-family fruitcake recipe has not changed in over three decades, and the family business has changed the negative notion of a traditional fruitcake. “You think of fruitcake that’s something dry and hard with a lot of fruit. Ours isn’t like that.”
Scott says the nut-to-fruit ratio is what sets Southern Supreme apart. “We Southerners like more nuts, but up north they want to know where the fruit is. Fruit doesn’t overpower our cake. You taste nuts and cake. That’s what I like about it.” The cakes are now sold in The Fresh Market, Whole Foods, and Southern Seasons. “It has a 4-5 month shelf life. It never dries out,” says Scott.
The 30,000-square- Growing far and wide foot facility is chock Today, the company sells over 250,000 cakes full with fruitcake, of each holiday season, and course, and satisfying the facility produces roughly 2,000 pounds items like nuts, turtles, of fruitcake daily. But pralines, tea biscuits, and cheese florets. Southern Supreme’s inventory is much more than just its nutty fruitcake. When Scott decided she wanted to add her fruitcake to gift baskets, she developed over 90 products to accompany the cakes. “I came up with all new recipes because I wanted to make baskets using only our products,” she says. Most items are sweet treats, like creamy pecan pralines or chocolate fudge. The gifts’ names are indicative of what’s inside: Tub of Temptation, Southern Tradition, and Gathering of Goodies. The Carolina Country Gift Box, for example, includes a fruitcake, maple crispy peanuts, and pecan pralines. While each item is unique in flavor, the care and love that’s put into each bite is evident across the board. Throughout the varied boxes, there
are also jellies, jams, and relishes, and Scott has recruited her daughter to make homemade pickles when she’s not busy working as a nurse—usually up to 9,000 jars. In addition to purchasing gift baskets, you can visit Bear Creek and shop the showroom (the majority of sales happen there), or take a tour of the facility. There’s home décor, ornaments, and plenty of sweets to fill the stockings.
A sweet destination
Scott says that the factory has become somewhat of a destination. “A lot of people tell us that they come here for part of their Christmas celebration, and that makes us so proud,” she says. Southern Supreme also hosts an open house each fall that brings in over 4,000 guests from around the country. The open house includes tours, cooking demonstrations, and Southern Supreme’s famous hot cider. Scott says the team begins holiday decorating in July, and the dedication shows. “We don’t just put up a tree, we decorate.” The décor is classic and festive, while celebrating all of North Carolina, from the mountains to the coast. Greenery adorns almost every inch of the space, and packages are wrapped and ready to set under the tree for Christmas morning. In 2008, Scott compiled over 500 recipes in her book, Reflections and Recipes. “I wanted to write a story about how I got into the fruitcake business. When I started, I didn’t have an example to go off of in this industry.” This month, WALTER visited the Scott family in Bear Creek, and Berta Scott shared her famous fruitcake cookie recipe. The Scotts hope that you’ll bring their family recipes into your home this holiday season.
Southern Supreme’s extended holiday hours Order before December 10 to receive your goodies by Christmas Monday–Friday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Fruitcake Cookies
1 pound butter 1 pound light brown sugar 4 1/2 cups self-rising flour 1 pound candied cherries (1/2 red, 1/2 green) 2 pounds chopped dates (sugar coated) 18 to 24 ounces pineapple/apricot preserves 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 eggs 3 tablespoons milk 4 cups pecans
Cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs. Beat slightly. Mix dry ingredients and hold 1 cup of flour to mix with chopped cherries and pecans. Fold dry mix and preserves into batter with milk. Batter will be too thick for a regular mixer. Use a big heavy spoon to mix. Spoon batter onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Garnish with candied cherries. Put wax paper between layers and pack into an airtight container. If you use a teaspoon to spoon out the dough, you will get approximately 12-15 dozen cookies. If you use a tablespoon, you will have approximately 10 dozen cookies. Cookies will store for 1 month in an airtight container and freeze well.
