The Queens of Lumban Embroidery

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Glenn Martinez
Photograhy by Jamie Barredo

Morning sunshine generously streams through a narrow door inside the home of 61-year-old
Lolita Lakbay-Rosales providing natural lighting while she moves in silent concentration over her labor. Her deft hands diligently shift the needle along the beginnings of a meticulously-embroidered piña fabric. In her living room, she is joined by other women from the neighborhood doing the same fine handiwork. They are all related by blood and by profession. They are the women embroiderers of Lumban.

Embroidery has thrived as a lively cottage industry in Lumban. Ask any of the women embroiderers how this needle craft was introduced to this lakeshore town of fishermen and farmers and nobody can give a definite history. Their answers would echo Lolita’s. “I’ve learned embroidery from my mother when I was 13. My mother learned it from my grandmother. I taught my daughters and my husband to do embroidery.”

Lolita’s husband, Apolinario Rosales, shares the daily labor by stretching gossamer cloth over a rectangular bamboo frame locally called a bastidor. The delicate fabric is cleaned with soap and water and whitened with starch before it is placed under the sun to dry.

Like most family men in Lumban, Apolinario casts his net in the nearby lake for that first catch at dawn. In the afternoon, his coarsened fisherman hands balance a tambor, the round wooden stretcher where the piña fabric is stretched out as tight as a drum, while he intricately embroiders rosettes and floral patterns. Apolinario claims he learned embroidery by simply watching his wife Lolita. However, embroidery remains the turf of Lolita in the Rosales household. She is the only one who gives approval to Apolinario’s embroidery and provides directions on how to improve his style. As Lolita explains in jest “every man of the house in Lumban accepts this kind of set-up because in our town embroidery is king and we women are the queens.”

Want to know more about these queens? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Helen Nurse’s Parlour of Style – TracyChambers Vintage

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Molly Hays
Photography by Jacklyn Greenberg

Many a woman working from home soon finds her professional life elbowing in on her dining room. Rare, though, is the entrepreneur that converts her dining room into a retail space, sets regular business hours, and opens up her home to the public. Meet Helen Nurse, founder and proprietress of New York’s TracyChambers Vintage: determined, creative, and—yes—rare.

In early 2012, Nurse spied a market gap in affordable vintage clothing and so set out to rent a storefront, only to learn that rents in her Brooklyn neighborhood were sky-high. Beyond-reach sky-high. Most aspiring entrepreneurs would have shelved their idea as unfeasible and moved on. But not Helen. She redoubled her efforts, revisited her options, and arrived at an elegant, if unconventional, solution.

In March of that year, she opened a vintage clothing boutique very close to home. In her home, actually.

Impeccable

Helen credits her grandmother with her lifelong love of vintage. “My grandmother didn’t have very much money; she had just a few things. But the quality of her clothing was amazing. Every time she went out, she looked impeccable.”

Fast forward a few decades, and here is Helen Nurse, mom to three young kids, former Event Planner, fashion-aficionado, and enterprising eye which sees both the value in that storied craftsmanship, and the demand for vintage that fits Everywoman. “I choose vintage based on real women’s bodies,” she explains, an exercise in editorial purchasing that yields styles women can actually wear.

She started small, testing the waters, selling her collection at street fairs on weekends. The response was good, but with young children in tow, ages 3, 2 and 1, the hours and impact weren’t worth it. The seed, however, had been sown. And the concept, proven.

And so, caught between prohibitive rents and family demands, Nurse paved herself a third way. Noting how many brownstones in her neighborhood already sported ground floor businesses, she pitched the idea of transforming their little-used, street-level dining room into retail space. Her executive board—a.k.a., her family—assented. TracyChambers Vintage, named after Diana Ross’s enterprising, ambitious, impeccably dressed character in Mahogany, was off and running.

To read more about TracyChambers Vintage, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

The Contented Life of JoJo Johnson

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Megan Smith
Photography by Sarah Beaty

318. That’s the number of curves I experienced on an 11-mile stretch of the mountain pass known as Deals Gap, North Carolina. This is the trek that one must take (at least on a maiden voyage) to the DeGroot/Johnson property tucked far into a holler of the Great Smokey Mountains. The drive is not for the faint of heart, and the final climb—a one-mile narrow pebbled road to the house—is cause for a deep sigh of relief upon ascension.

Unexpectedly, and thankfully, every bit of road anxiety quickly dissipates as Neil DeGroot greets me with a broad smile, twinkling baby blues and a glass of champagne. “You’ve made it!” he exclaims, embracing me in a bear hug and leading me down the walk, through the colossal wooden front door and into the zen-like retreat he and his wife built to both calm and amaze. It doesn’t disappoint.

The house itself is an Architectural Digest article waiting to happen. But my weekend visit is not for a house tour. It’s to find the heart of the home. And for that I look no further than steps inside. Joanne (Jojo) Johnson, tall, gregarious and confident, rushes over to greet me with a radiant smile, a nurturing hug and infectious enthusiasm that fails to wane over our next 36 hours together. I found what I came looking for.

I had heard about Joanne a few months prior during a chance meeting with her husband of nearly 30 years, Neil. A widely respected and world renowned TV producer, director, theater and film actor, Neil isn’t really enamored by anyone in the industry. I’ve prodded to no avail. Beautifully he seems most awe-struck by his own bride. Over coffee on one of the hottest spring days in the south, Neil told me the story of Joanne. Abbreviated yet poignant. I needed to know more.

Curious about JoJo? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

The Cirque de Soleil of Her Imagination

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Bethany Miller
Photography by Natalie Morris

There is no “they.” This is but one of the many truths spoken by Vanessa German. To call her an artist would be such a dull illustration of her talents. Performance artist, virtuoso, storyteller, sculptor―her medium is her voice, the neighborhood, repurposed relics, paint and pure love. She is a community savior and dazzling truth teller. She is self-taught by life’s experiences, careful attention to history, and the example of her mother. She gives life to the stories of history forgotten and believes her ancestors are alive within her. She spreads love and creativity and possibility despite the tragedies and anger that exist in downtrodden places. “Why don’t ‘they’ fix it?” she wonders. And the truth is there is no “they.” But there is WE.

Vanessa stands alone on the stage. She doesn’t need props. Her voice booms. Her attire is colorful. Her hands constantly move. Clearly, she is artistic. Forceful. Rhythmic. Every word she speaks is rich, and her verbose vocabulary drips with savory spiritual hope in the midst of a troubled reality. On stage in front of the TEDx camera, in front of audiences, for small media outlets, and now a global business audience, Vanessa German shares stories of unfortunate reality: a reality many live in the midst of, and often a reality many choose to ignore.

To read more about Vanessa, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

The World’s First Freelance Programmer

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Robbie Clark
Photography by Clare West

When Dame Stephanie Shirley founded the British software company F.I. Group in 1962, the young upstart was tackling not only a fledgling new programming industry, but also pioneering the workplace innovation of conducting business from home. And while the company did grow to become a multimillion-dollar organization due to Shirley’s profound grasp of mathematics, initial success came from a healthy dose of marketing and showmanship, if not outright deception.

Vera Buchthal

The success of Dame Shirley’s company F.I. Group (now called Xansa) is astonishing when seen through the prism of the time period―a female entrepreneur forming a math- and science-based startup in the 1960s from home, not a corporate office setting―but it is staggering against the backdrop of her youth.

Shirley, born Vera Buchthal, is from Germany, and in the savage months leading up to World War II was fortunate enough to escape the Nazi regime in her home country under an international relief program that placed children with foster parents in the United Kingdom.

In England, Shirley attended a little primary school in a convent. A nun recognized the bright student’s gift in math (or “maths,” as she put it) and recommended to Shirley’s foster parents that she transfer to a proper school for a more formal education. She was able to attend on a scholarship, but Shirley’s mathematical prowess quickly outpaced the female instructors, who did not put an emphasis on arithmetic. “For women in those days,” Shirley said, “biology was probably the only thing that was considered respectable for nice, young girls.”

Another option was available to Shirley, though a bit unorthodox. In pursuit of a better education, she transferred to an all boys’ schools which offered more intellectual stimulation in the way of mathematics. Attending a boys’ school, Shirley recognized, “was a lovely forerunner for the sexism of the workplace that I met later on.”

Want to know more about Dame Shirley? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Heart and Soule

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Molly Hays
Photography by Steve Soule

Writers, accountants, lawyers, artists: there are as many work-from-home arrangements as there are home-based workers. Still, few have masterfully integrated work and home as organically as author, mother, magazine founder, and master blogger Amanda Soule.

As followers of Amanda’s widely-read and deeply-admired blog SouleMama know, she has built a career around home: its pleasures, graces, challenges, rewards, and, above all, its enduring importance. When she launched her blog over a decade ago Amanda was a young mother, at home all day with two young boys, seeking a creative outlet. It was “just a way…to have something tangible at the end of the day.” Fast-forward eleven years, and Amanda’s daily life looks significantly different, with five kids, ages 3-14; three books; one quarterly magazine; an international following; and farm animals beyond count.

Still, the heartbeat of her work hasn’t wavered. In print and online, Amanda explores everything from hand-plucking hornworms, to honoring kids’ art, to making muffins from leftover oatmeal. All the while eloquently re-defining home, not as edifice or landing pad but as vital, essential source of comfort, creativity and potential.

All from within the four walls she calls “home.”

To read more about Amanda, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Fire Within: The Making of Fire-resistant Clothing for Women

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Esther Marr
Photography by Natalie Morris

Unfulfilled in her profession as a registered nurse, Amelia Papapetropoulos, who lives close to where billions of barrels of oil and gas are churned out yearly, began taking note of the booming oil and gas industry in her small hometown of Waynesburg, Pa. She got her foot in the door through an unconventional route: launching an on-site catering company at the oil and gas rigs.

“I did both nursing and catering for about a year and it allowed me to keep the security of having a salary, while meeting people and exploring oil and gas,” Amelia said. Eventually she was offered a full time sales position. “Women are filling more and more roles in this industry (currently around 19%),” Amelia said. “Although traditionally it’s an old boys’ club, that stereotype is definitely changing as more women work on-site.”

The closer one is working to the site, the stricter the requirements. And after too many years of donning men’s baggy jumpsuits in order to meet protective wear requirements, Amelia’s entrepreneurial nature finally kicked in. The petite, energetic brunette turned dream into reality a year and a half ago, founding her third home-based business, Fire Within: a fire-resistant clothing company for women working in oil and gas.

“We are required to wear certain clothing on location because it’s dangerous; there could be combustion with the live drilling in the wells. The fire-resistant clothes the industry provides today by big-name brands indicate they’re for women, but they’re not,” she said. “They’re just a smaller version of the men’s patterns.”

Amelia took an idea for a more fitted pink fire-resistant coverall to the local art institute. They connected her with a few students, including Christina Knieriem. “We put our ideas on paper and turned them into an actual company.”

Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here to learn about Fire Within.

The Heart of Mishti Verma: Inner Katha Interventions

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kari

Words by Lanie Anderson
photography by Akash Mehta

For five years, Mishti Verma began every workday the same: a nutritional milkshake, sprouts, and boiled eggs for breakfast; Buddhist chanting followed by meditation; and five minutes for writing down on paper her goals for the day. In that order.

When Mishti started Inner Katha Interventions in 2008, the tiny window of her bedroom—a makeshift office with books that lined the walls—only allowed small beams of light into the room and gave tiny glimpses of the hills, trees, and colony landscape of Mumbai, India, where she lived.

Mishti had no view of its center—a city of over 20 million people—with its busy streets, blaring car horns, and aromatic traces of cumin and coriander.

But she needed no view of the city’s heart to catch the spirit of its people—one of determination to succeed.

Curious about Inner Katha Interventions? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Jane West: Queen of Cannabis

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Taboo Issue Topic: Drugs
Words by Robbie Clark
Photography by Rebecca Stumpf

For a long time cannabis has been considered a societal scourge, a gateway drug that leads to harder substance abuse―or, at the very least, a detriment that leads to cotton mouth, an empty bag of Doritos, and a wasted afternoon on the couch in front of the television. But slowly the plant and its use have been gaining some credibility, especially in the medical and creative fields, and as states are easing their laws regarding cannabis, businesses are starting to envision the possibility of an entirely new, multi-faceted industry opening up in the country.

Jane West thinks it’s more than a possibility; she thinks it will become a reality in the near future. She’s so sure, she made a complete professional about-face.

To read more about Jane West and her mission, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Dawn Weleski: Conflict Kitchen

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Taboo Issue Topic: Politics
Words by Melaina Balbo Phipps
Photography by Conflict Kitchen

Pulling into a parking spot, I wasn’t surprised when my stomach started to growl. It was, after all, the first time I’d driven seven hours for Venezuelan food…okay, for any food, really. But I’d made the day-long trek to Pittsburgh from NYC to find Conflict Kitchen, and Venezuelan cuisine was what they’d be serving me.

At the takeout window Quinton, a native of Arkansas with a background in food and editing, pointed me to the Chivo al Coco con Mofongo (slow cooked goat with fried green banana mash), Jugo Naturale (a papaya), and, for dessert, some Besitos de Coco (“Coconut Kisses” or sweet coconut cookies—a bit like mini macaroons). While I waited, we talked about the food, the project, and the biggest surprise he’s encountered while being a Conflict Kitchen employee: “It’s amazing how many people just don’t read the news.”

My order ready, I collected a menagerie of colorful pamphlets offered to educate me—the diner—about hot-button issues in Venezuela: crime, oil, internal polarization, race/class, and the perception of the U.S. government and U.S. citizens.

And just like that I became part of the project.

To read more about Conflict Kitchen, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Camelle Daley: The Clergy Couturiere

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Taboo Issue Topic: Religion
Words by Linnea Zielinski
Photography by Clare West

After finishing her degree at the London College of Fashion, Camelle threw herself entirely into the label she started with a family friend. For more than two years, she knew she was draining herself, taking on not only design but marketing and finances for the infant company. Gone were the university days when she had time to flex her creative muscles, to cut a pocket differently and just see where the design led her. It was only after the pending arrival of a second child that she found the impetus she needed to let go of the company that had swallowed her.

Despite the opportunity to rest her strained creativity, letting go of that first business wasn’t easy. She wasn’t just freeing up her time; she was losing her business mentor.

The transition was eased with a humble request. She was asked to design a clerical dress for a recently ordained youth pastor who was excited by her new job but underwhelmed by the boxy clerical shirt. She hadn’t been wearing her collar. Desperate to reconcile style with career, she turned to her friend for help. It couldn’t be too fussy, so Camelle focused on making small design changes. People raved about the result, an elegant A-line dress. The positive reaction illustrated just how long women of the church had been ready for a change. Not everyone was happy, though, and many were quick to voice their disproval.

In spite of the controversy, Camelle’s clothing line for female members of the clergy, House of ilona, was launched.

Want more on ilona? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Kendra Montejos: The Immigrant Educator

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Taboo Issue Topic: Immigration
Words by Renee Boss
Photography by Sarah Jane Sanders

Clutching a small blue purse with a single coin inside, a gift from her Peruvian grandmother, six-year-old Kendra Montejos and her family boarded a plane bound for the USA. They touched down in a new country to a brand new life in a new language, their belongings fitting modestly into two large suitcases.

Kendra spoke no English when she started public school in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, but she was an eager student, and she was soon asked to help translate conversations between other families and administrators in her elementary school. The rural school system was unprepared for a growing population of Spanish speakers, due to the influx of migrant workers in the area. Kendra took notice, and it eventually became pivotal to her future career.

Curious about Kendra’s career path? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Krista Tippett: The Wisdom Seeker

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Words by Megan Smith
Photography by Pamela Sutton

It’s unusually muggy for a September day in Minneapolis and hair around the city is paying the price. Krista Tippett’s red locks (so I’m told by her assistant) are no exception. Which is why when she darts in the back door of the large Minneapolis studio, behind schedule, she’s apologizing profusely for her tardiness.

Maybe it was just the light from the floor to ceiling windows facing Hennipen Street behind her, but I swear that this mother of two and recent White House Humanitarian Award winner standing in front of me in her smart black sheath dress, wedge heels and September hair, was also donning a halo.

She excuses herself for a moment, and while I finish slicing coffee cake for our afternoon chat, her footsteps echo across reclaimed flooring as she makes her way through the upstairs loft. Minutes later, she’s back on the couch beside me, shoes in hand. “I always have my shoes off here in the office” she confides.

I feel like I’m settling in for an afternoon with my sister.

Trying to tell the story of Krista Tippett within the confines of allotted magazine space is like trying to eat an elephant during lunch hour. Impossible. Her journey is vast and deep and complex, and her interests range from science and politics to history and Netflix show marathons. Her career path has taken enough twists and turns over the past three decades to send a resume writer running for the hills.

Yet, Krista remains grounded, real, funny, sweet. She’s wickedly smart and keenly observant. And her laugh is as contagious as her humility.

Interested in reading more about Krista Tippett? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Candan Yazar: The Sobriety Savior

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Taboo Issue Topic: Alcohol
Words by Esther Zunker
Photography by Merve Hasman

First published in 1939, Alcoholics Anonymous documents the organization’s 12 key concepts toward recovery from alcoholism and tells the stories of those who have overcome the disease. The book is considered the most widely used resource for millions of individuals in recovery.

Recovering alcoholic, Candan Yazar spent a year translating it into her native tongue.

At 72, Candan’s smile is infectious and warm, and her voice is full of hope. Rightfully so. She will celebrate 30 years of sobriety this year.

As she goes through such daily rituals as drinking coffee, reading the newspaper, visiting her grandchildren and taking a walk by the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Candan thinks of those that are still on the road to recovery, for it wasn’t long ago when she was one of them.

She turned to alcohol while living in Brussels with her husband, ashamed of the way she depended on it, yet unable to give it up. Most disturbingly, she didn’t realize it was a disease that could kill her.

“I thought my liver was a sponge, and it wanted alcohol,” said Candan. “I was becoming crazy. I was very ashamed of myself, but I didn’t know what was happening.”

A knock at her door would change her life. Two women, who would later become her AA sponsors, had heard about Candan’s struggles through a mutual acquaintance and shared their own recovery stories with her over a cup of tea. “I sat with them and listened to their stories, and it was as if they were telling my own story,” Candan reminisced. “I was crying… I was very hopeless, but I begged them to take me to their AA meeting, where my sobriety started.”

Read the rest of Candan’s story by subscribing to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Maria Mejia

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Taboo Issue Topic: HIV
Words by Bethany Miller
Photography by Sonya Revell

Maria Mejia is a powerhouse, even when she’s fragile. The deepest valleys that she has trekked are what make the mountains she is climbing so important. She’s a Sherpa, climbing them not just for herself, but for every person who’s ever heard the words “You’re HIV positive.”

Colombia born Maria is a 25-year survivor of HIV/AIDS. She is healthy because she takes care of herself: she has her daily dose of medication; she routinely sees her doctors; she practices positive thinking and nurtures her body with sleep, nutrition, and yoga. There are moments of fatigue and enervation, so she has learned when to say no and give her body rest.

Her definition of living a full life has much more weight than just physical health. Her strength stems from the love in her life, her travels, and a productive mission: advocating for HIV awareness.

Those are her words, “productive mission.” I soon found that “productive” is an understatement.

Interested in Maria’s story? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

LeNora Fulton: The Native Leader

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Kari

Taboo Issue Topic: Politics
Words by Laura Zolman Kirk
Photography by Keith Pitts

We found her by chance: a search for small-town female politicians. The more we researched, the more complex and diverse she became. “Surely this cannot be the same woman,” we thought. A run for president of the Navajo Nation, a mother of six , a grandmother to four, a member of the Navajo Nation Council, a unifying leader in her community and the current Apache County Recorder. Does a mother of six really run for president?

The answer we soon discovered was “yes.”

LeNora could easily be described as the Navajo Leslie Knope. You name it, she’s done it, with poise and a “that’d be fine” attitude. She is not the type of grandmother to sit around and let others take over the firewood delivery for her; she’s the one rolling up her sleeves to deliver it herself. She is a woman in the service of people: her family and her nation. What we need to do with our lives, LeNora told me through a tender smile, “is to help others, to love and have love in our hearts for other people.”

To read more about LeNora Fulton, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Island Love

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Kari

Words by Lanie Anderson
Photography by Jessica Hill

Imagine a wedding with a center aisle carpeted in leaves and colorful rose petals, gift bags woven by local indigenous women and stuffed with organic body products, ocean waves that welcome the processional, and an outdoor patio made ready for dancing with Chinese parasols hanging just overhead. More like a fairy tale than a reality, this is Larissa Banting’s standard for weddings in Costa Rica and those standards have made her wedding planning business an international success.

Launching a wedding planning company for the first time would have made most sense in her own backyard of Toronto, Canada. Unless you know Larissa. During the summer of 2001, she trekked with an Alberta-based film production company to Costa Rica and fell in love with Roberto Leiva, a Costa Rican actor. A year later she moved to be with him and in 2003 they married.

What her friends and family in Canada deemed crazy—Larissa didn’t know anyone in Costa Rica besides Roberto, had no job, and couldn’t speak the language—she considered adventurous. “I loved the weather, the people, and the country,” Larissa explained. “I wasn’t flighty. Something resonated with me that this was the right place to be.”

To read the rest of the article, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

La Cuisine Paris

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Kari

Words by Linnea Zielinski
Photography by Rebecca Plotnick

“We need to be sitting together over a bottle of wine,” Jane Bertch says as she launches into what can only be described as a dizzying leap from a 10-year banking career to owning and running her own cooking school. Her friendly jocularity is a serendipitous illustration of the driving ethos of her school―for all the glitz a French cooking school implies, classes at La Cuisine Paris are less like a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant and more like a split bottle of wine at a corner café. You can be sure that’s intentional.

Tasting the Difference

French cuisine has the reputation of being elegant, refined, intimidating, and, if honest, probably a little elitist―something best left to graduates of culinary school and celebrated domestic mavens. For the gutsy home chef with enough gall to tackle classic French dishes, the food industry can seem rife with untouchable professionals feeding them wisdom from on high (or from the pages of embossed cookbooks that are doomed to gather dust).

To Jane, culture―even beyond food―is a composition of community members sharing how their families did things. French cuisine, like any other, is something composed in family kitchens, making it an art without pretense. Upon this belief, La Cuisine Paris has flourished. Where other chefs would lecture, Jane has hired teachers who engage their students, imparting accounts of their childhood kitchens, spoons licked from family recipes.

It is on this level playing field (why, yes! Food should be fun!) that classes are conducted. Chef-instructors at La Cuisine Paris engage students in two, three, even five hours of cultural exchange from which everyone emerges with a sense of camaraderie, and smelling strongly of butter. It’s this sense of the food being their food, not the instructors’ food, that Jane believes makes all the difference in students’ experience and taste.

If you doubt whether the taste of a buttery croissant can change just because of environment, think about eating it at your cubicle before starting work in comparison to the company it might keep beside a cappuccino at a café on the Champs-Élysées.

To read the rest of the article, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

An Ode to Farm Life: Erin Brennaman

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Kari

Words by Kelli Loos & Linnea Zielinski
Photography by Jen Madigan

City girl. Country boy.
The age-old tale of young love between two people from different sides of the fence.
But this version has a twist.

This little girl loved horses. She dreamed of helping them. Vet school and then a practice of her own.

So after high school, Erin the city girl, left her home in the bustling Chicago suburbs for the expansive fields of Iowa to study Animal Science. The semester stretched. Lectures stalled. Erin’s mind wandered.

A mysterious country boy shone through the tedium, disappearing every weekend from campus, gone to his family’s farm 150 miles away.

Love blossomed. Eventually the city girl followed the country boy into his terrain.

The stereotypes were all true. Small town. One stoplight. Rumors swapped between friends. She thought she would hate it. But she was charmed. Washington County, Iowa.

To read the rest of the article, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Gold Medal Work Ethic

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Kari

Words by Kaelan Hollon
Artwork by Roberta Pinna

As a rule, divers are a little bit crazy. Surely it must be lunacy to careen headfirst off a thin slip of steel lodged thirty feet above an unforgiving expanse of water while the world watches. Among Olympians, they are the snipers of summer sportsmen; sliding into big water 35-40mph with surgical accuracy in the midst of calmly-focused triple backflips.

Diving is a loner’s hobby and the sport doesn’t afford missteps. Mistakes in diving means broken arms, broken feet, concussions and sprains. Competition starts early to separate the average from the great; while most other children are playing ‘everyone-wins’ tee ball, the elementary school Olympic set are already enduring hours of workouts and a steadfast diet. It is a merciless sport; anything short of perfection demands a gentle secession into the loam of mediocrity, an early retirement of Olympic daydreams. There are hundreds of thousands of average divers, and several hundred very good ones. There are a few that make you gasp with their perfection―only a slim handful are considered that good. But Vera Ilyina is that good.

Watching footage of her gold medal performance in the 2000 Olympics, Ilyina emerges from the water with the serene wisdom that comes from perfect athletic confidence, baptized in the glory of roaring, televised millions and rippling in her strength. She wastes no movement; there isn’t so much as a twitch that is out of her control.

To read more of this article, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Beauty in Brokenness

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Kari

Words and Photography by Annie Kruyer

Kintsukuroi, ‘to repair with gold,’ is the Japanese art of repairing shattered pottery and ceramic vessels with gold and silver, understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. I had loved this practice long before it would resonate fully in my own life. But instead
of gold, I would use the gift of light, both physically and spiritually, to mend and bring beauty to all my broken places.

I am an artist. An artist that takes photos. Although formerly trained in Fine Art and Illustration, photography is my first love as my medium of expression, for it so eloquently speaks the language of my soul and frames the complex working of intuitive feelings into something I can reflect on. The word photography comes from the Greek word phos meaning light and graphos meaning writing, which loosely translates to ‘writing with light.’ How beautiful. Writing with light.

Looking back to the months before life as I knew it would change forever, I now believe that on some subconscious, perhaps spiritual, level, we know or are prepared for a death or a parting of a loved one if we knew to pay attention to the signs.

To read more of this article, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Tea Time

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Kari

Words by Virginia Myers & Megan Smith
Photography by Jesse Fox

In 2010, Heather Howell was wooed away from her job in talent acquisition for a Fortune 100 company and charged with the task of taking a small farmer’s market product to a nationally recognized and distributed brand. She had no beverage, bottling, distribution, or start-up experience. A deterrent for some, perhaps, but Rooibee Red Tea’s investors believed this former Division I athlete, no stranger to competition, was the secret ingredient to the tea’s success.

The million dollar question for any brand stepping into the marketplace is ”how do I get recognized?” Heather, now Chief Tea Officer of Rooibee Red Tea, knew the company’s only chance of a little known tea leaf product becoming a household name was to focus time and energy on three objectives: strategic store presence, stellar people, and spot-on public relations. “My first goal was to find the best team I could in the food and beverage space,” Heather said. “I knew we needed hearty team members to take Rooibee Red Tea to the next level. The beverage space is dog-eat-dog and there are some big dogs there reluctant to give up market share. To survive in this industry, you have to be scrappy.”

To read more of this article, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Youth Uprising

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Kari

Words by Lanie Anderson
Photography by Rebecca Drobis

Hiking in the mountains of Rwanda, snowboarding along the Eastern seaboard, and paragliding in Ecuador, Sarah Green doesn’t necessarily consider herself a risky person. But her track record begs to differ.

Recognized by President Obama for her work as a young entrepreneurial leader in 2012 and 2013, this humble North Carolina native has a running list of accolades in entrepreneurship that she rarely touts. Instead, it’s her wide eyes and sense of conviction that reveal her true purpose in what she does. The deepest desire to see others’ dreams realized and value reclaimed.

A 2009 graduate of Appalachian State University, Sarah turned down a cozy job with an accounting firm in Washington to teach entrepreneurship classes in Uganda, a country to which she says she owes her “life’s career trajectory.” After returning to the United States, Sarah cofounded Empact, a powerful organization that exposes young people to entrepreneurship and helps cultivate mindsets that alleviate poverty around the globe. Recently Sarah said goodbye to her role with Empact to focus on her first love: social entrepreneurship and international economic empowerment and development.

To read more of this article and the full interview, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Soar: The Misty Copeland Story

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Posted on April 15, 2014 by Kari

Words by Molly Hays
Photography by Jacklyn Greenberg

“I’ll bet you didn’t know that I could fly,” Misty Copeland writes in Life in Motion, her recently released memoir. “I can bounce into the air, then float there a little while before lighting, softly, on the stage.”

Simple, no?

But, of course, we all know that ballet is the art of rendering the excruciating, effortless; the utterly grueling, exquisitely graceful. And this for the ordinary ballerina. Misty Copeland, described by many accounts as the first African American female soloist for the American Ballet Theatre, is anything but ordinary, even in the extraordinary world of classical ballet.

Packing, Scrambling, Leaving
In the rarefied world of classical ballet, there’s no one path to the top. Still, Copeland’s road stands among the least traveled.

The fourth of six children, Misty Copeland was born into a family as tight-knit as it was itinerant. From age two, Copeland writes, when “my mom squeezed our lives onto a bus headed west, our family began a pattern that would define my siblings’ and my childhood: packing, scrambling, leaving—often barely surviving.” Dramatic? Yes. Though the next sixteen years would only prove more so.

To read more about Misty Copeland, subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Salt of the Earth: Sarah Sproule and her Rooftop Salt Garden

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Words by Megan Smith
Photography by Jacklyn Greenberg

For a seemingly unending rainy streak in NYC, even the gloomy skies can’t keep Sarah Sproule from smiling ear to ear as she climbs into the booth of the crowded midtown Starbucks to meet me for an afternoon coffee and chat. She’s due to bartend around the corner in a couple of hours (job #1) and she’s just come from checking on her salt (job #2).

That’s right. Salt.

This wide-eyed beauty with her pixie haircut and girl-next-door charm makes salt. From Atlantic seawater. On a music school rooftop in Chelsea. Go figure.

This is not the umbrella girl on blue cylinder kind of salt your mom bought for a few cents in the spice aisle. Urban Sproule salt is the good stuff. The chunky, fancy salt that Food Network chef wanna-bes swoon over in Williams-Sonoma catalogs and try to justify purchase of in their Thanksgiving spending budget.

In an unregulated segment of the US food industry, Salt Monger Sarah is making the rules up as she goes. A chef by trade, she worked in the kitchen of famed Colicchio & Sons, later moving out West to manage an elite country club kitchen before settling back in NYC to teach cooking classes at Union Square Greenmarket and moonlight as a bartender.

The notion of salt-making came about rather experimentally, actually. With an idea, a plastic bucket and an outing to the nearby shoreline, Sarah wondered if a recent story she’d heard about Dead Sea salt was possible in her own backyard Atlantic. With childlike curiosity, she waded into the water, filled her bucket with the murky saline liquid and headed home. Days turned into weeks where the bucket of ocean water, left outside her tiny NYC apartment, sat.

And sat.

Slowly evaporating until the water was gone. And when peering into the bottom of the bucket, Sarah found what she was hoping for: salt. “It really was just a bunch of commonsense,” she said matter-of-factly. This, coming from a 20-something-year-old who has created, quite possibly, the first rooftop salt garden in the world. Her excitement is contagious as she recounts the details of her discovery.

For Sarah, the journey hasn’t been so much about a sodium curiosity but rather a passion for locavorism. She preached and promoted local farmers and growers in the New York area during her cooking demonstrations and, as most chefs do, finished each dish with a sprinkling of salt. Salt from somewhere else.

Once the solo bucket salt experiment proved successful, Sarah’s gears started turning; wanting to make more. For herself and (was it possible?) enough to sell at her Greenmarket class each weekend. “I knew I needed sun and wind for evaporation and, more than anything, space.” Space in midtown Manhattan? A contradiction if there ever was one. As chance would have it (in one of those Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon sort of ways), Sarah found space to make her salt on the rooftop of a music school in Chelsea, and in the summer of 2012 began construction of an 8×12 greenhouse, hauling several hundred evaporation bins, water barrels, shelving and supplies up to her own Big Apple Shangri-La.

But beyond sun and wind and space, the most crucial element is seawater. Local fishermen Charlie and Glen have that covered. Each Saturday they bring 125 gallons from the purest waters 30 miles east of Montauk, NY to the Brooklyn Borough Hall farmers market where Sarah and her husband lug it back to Chelsea and up 13 floors to the greenhouse.

Clearly, Sarah Sproule is no slouch. This girl has got some gumption and drive. After building that greenhouse, she went on to source handmade glass jars with cork lids and design labels for her company, aptly named “Urban Sproule.” And in spite of her trailblazing ways, she desperately wanted the A-OK from someone….anyone before presenting her product to the public. “Because salt-making isn’t really regulated, no one really seemed to care what I was doing.” Weeks of phone calls and attempts to get a food related government agency’s seal of approval, failed. No one came. Undeterred, she went a little unorthodox (pardon the pun). “I figured, what could be better than being declared kosher? I called the Orthodox Union and asked if they would come. I think they thought I was crazy; they had never heard of, let alone approved, rooftop salt before. I was so nervous about that inspection. The OU is a world renowned and respected agency!”

Sarah passed inspection that day and received Kosher Certification from the Orthodox Union in April 2013.

Today, Urban Sproule boasts of eight salt flavors in its flight. With infusions like celery, Thai chili, grilled ramps and black squid ink, Sarah is bringing her impressive Atlantic amalgamates (of a Michelin starred restaurant quality) to the everyday cook.

There have been many lessons learned along the way, none more valuable than that of patience. Sarah’s business relies most heavily on something there is no control over: the weather. For this girl that never sits still, “making salt is definitely a test of my patience. Salt is telling me to chill the hell out.”

India Hicks: Island Dreamer

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Kari

Words by Megan Smith
Photography by Brittan Goetz & Suzanne Kantak

Each morning she sinks her toes into the cool pink sands of the tropical sanctuary she calls home. The warmth of the island sun kisses her strong cheekbones and daily its rays brighten the blonde strands framing her face.

If all starts out quiet, it won’t be for long. Soon enough, the stately, pristine white house she shares with her partner, David, on Harbour Island, will come to life with the sounds of children. Five of them. Ranging in age from 5 to 16. They are jewels in her crown.

Actually, the topic of crowns isn’t one that India Hicks finds unfamiliar. She is, in fact, a British aristocrat (spend 20 minutes researching her lineage and you’ll get some fascinating global schooling), often summoned by the media to talk about royal weddings, proper English etiquette, and most recently, the newborn prince, George Alexander Louis.

But during an early Monday morning conversation in her upstairs office, these topics of aristocracy and nobility don’t surface; for there is much more than meets the eye with India Hicks.

She’s a marathoner (three currently under her belt) and a former hotelier. She was once a model for Emelio Pucci and Ralph Lauren and host of Britain’s Top Design. She holds a degree in photography, once taking the Christmas portrait of Prince Charles, Princess Diana and their boys. She’s a regular blogger (Indiahicks.com) and an avid blog reader, counting Dooce and Habitually Chic as two of her favorites right now.

Without a doubt, she leads a charmed life by most standards. David first crossed her path when she was just 17 in what she describes as a “fleeting, innocent flirtation in the Bahamas.” Fast forward 12 years, that fleeting moment sank roots and flourished. Fast forward another 17 years and this modern day Swiss Family Robinson of seven are leading the idyllic life of adventure and tranquility they’ve dreamed of. And one they work hard for.

A woman from an affluent family working hard for what she wants from life? You bet. India runs circles around most and yet has perspective that only comes from someone who’s tried to do it all, all at once, at some point in life. “I used to always look ahead, thinking, ‘What’s next?’ But now I just take a deep breath and ask myself if what I am doing now am I doing well. Because that’s what matters.”

And the work that matters most to her right now is her designs featured on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) and her new line of island-inspired jewelry–all pieces she’s created and developed with her team. India’s lasting collection of all-natural body-and-home fragrances, Island Living, created for Crabtree & Evelyn validates her bent for product development and marketing. “I design for myself first and then for the consumer. That way I can always stand behind my work.” India speaks to such lessons with a mentoring spirit. “It’s important to never do something just for the purpose of selling it. Because when you get the negative feedback (and you will), it can really throw you off your game and cause you to lose confidence.”

And with all the success India has encountered in business, she’s realistic about its growth. “Things in life take a – looong – time. It’s incredibly impressive when someone can build a brand quickly, but it’s not normal.” Nor has it been the case for India. And that seems to sit perfectly fine with her. In fact, there’s energy in her voice when she speaks to the practice of hard work, grit and grime, disappointment, failure and re-discovery. “It’s important as women to be careful about striving for things and yet not overdoing. We have so much to prove and we take on so much in a day, but the balance of time must always be correct.”

That nugget of wisdom is spoken from someone who truly has found that compromise. After an hour-long conversation from her sunny studio, the first of the children begin clattering up the steps, in search of their mum for a morning hello. The words she has just spoken are immediately fulfilled as she openly welcomes their chipper conversation and smiles.

And with that, the interview is concluded.

A representative moment from a woman who has truly found the art of harmonizing family and work.

The Model Activist: Summer Rayne Oakes

Posted on June 6, 2013 by mike@thesmithcompany.org

Words by Pamela Sutton
Photography by Jacklyn Greenberg

“I’m the person who likes to take the machete to clear the path so other people can walk it.”
Summer Rayne Oakes

Our altruistic passions can become our career. And while we may not understand the path to create this, it is possible to use ingenious ideas and passionate activism to impact the world. Because where integrity and inspiration meet is the key to successful social entrepreneurship, and a business, without a doubt, can be built around a passion when one puts a value on principles and knowledge. Summer Rayne Oakes has proved just that, finding her niche in the sphere of environmental sustainability and creating a profession without losing the soul of convictions.

As a child, Summer Rayne’s backyard in Northeastern Pennsylvania sparked her curiosity for the natural world. No one could have known that this budding brown-haired scientist, with her nose perpetually in a brightly-bound yellow National Geographic, would eventually become a modern-day ethical bohemian, honored as the World’s First Eco Model, and create an environmental social platform through a most unlikely avenue: the fashion industry. And yet, she did.

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The Road to Splendid: Jeni Britton Bauer and her Splendid Ice Creams

Posted on June 6, 2013 by mike@thesmithcompany.org

Words by Molly Hays
Photography by Rachel Joy Baransi and Sarah Beaty

When the history of ice cream in America is written, chances are it will fall into two eras: Before Jeni’s, and After Jeni’s.

The Jeni in question is Jeni Britton Bauer, who in 2002 opened her first Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, Ohio. Today, just over ten years later, Jeni’s Splendid has ten retail locations, wholesale distribution coast to coast, $1 million in online sales, and countless raging fans. And? They’re just getting started.

Not Your Average Ice Cream

There’s no better beginning to the Jeni’s story than a fast-forward, right to the end. As I chatted with Britton Bauer this past March in her light-filled, subway-tiled Short North location, we were interrupted shortly after we began. “You’re super busy,” a gentleman said, apologetically, “[but] I want to thank you for your product, and your business model.” His gratitude was palpable, his enthusiasm so keen he could have been an actor paid to deliver lines. He wasn’t. He was, he went on to explain, an accounting instructor from three hours upstate who case-studies Jeni’s in his classes, and who packs a cooler whenever traveling to Columbus to hand-carry his kids’ favorite flavors back home.

This is devotion. This is success.

This is not your average ice cream.

Read the full article by subscribing or purchasing the 2013 Summer issue here~

Soda Pop PR: Dyan Dolfi-Offutt

Posted on June 6, 2013 by mike@thesmithcompany.org

Words by Danielle Adkins
Photography by Chelsea Brewer

“My first job out of college was very ‘Office Space-esque’ and not fulfilling on any level. I was 22, living in Columbus, Ohio and watching all my friends start their careers, living what seemed to be relatively happy lifestyles.” As an only child and growing up in Pennsylvania, Dyan Dolfi-Offutt dreamt of becoming an actress. That dream followed her from her first play at age 13, through her teen years, into college, and beyond graduation before she finally took the leap, at 22, and made a cross-country trek to Hollywood. “I remember my dad and me loading up the car with my belongings and my cat, and we hit the road.” She never caught the big break, but what she did find was far greater: confidence. For her, confidence meant the ability to start fresh with a new dream that would set the trajectory for a fulfilling career.

Read the full article by subscribing or purchasing the 2013 Summer issue here~

Helen Turner: Pitmaster of Her Domain

Posted on June 2, 2013 by mike@thesmithcompany.org

Words by Theresa Stanley
Photography by Sarah Jane Sanders

Helen Turner is living a classic love story of fairytale proportions. Boy sees girl, girl marries boy, they raise a family, she creates a highly praised business with gender-bending professional accolades and they live happily ever after. One must not judge this book by its cover. Because through the thick soot of the smokehouse, the tall stacks of freshly chopped firewood out back, the basic kitchen set-up and the humble dining area, Helen Turner truly has it all.

Six days a week, 52 weeks a year, before daylight breaks, Reginald Turner, Helen’s husband of three decades, pulls into the parking lot of an unassuming baby blue vinyl-sided building on the outskirts of downtown Brownsville, Tennessee and builds a fire in the smokehouse of his wife’s restaurant, Helen’s BBQ, as he has done each morning for 17 years. “Helen is the gift in my life.” Reginald beams when talking about Helen, his broad frame tempered with a gentle voice and warm smile. The pride, love and adoration he has for her is something Hallmark cards are written about. He might have been won over by Helen’s beauty, but, for Helen, it was Reginald’s gospel and jazz melodies that made her melt. To this day, he serenades her often and continues to ‘light her fire’ both literally and figuratively, they playfully say. On this particular day his soulful, resonate voice fills Helen’s tiny kitchen with “Amazing Grace” as she works quietly, preparing pounds of coleslaw, potato salad, barbeque sauce and meat for the flurry of business ahead.

“Can’t no woman cook a BBQ” is Helen’s favorite myth to bust. In fact, she has accomplished that several times over and is seen as the finest pitmaster in the South, not just by her adoring husband but by a nation of barbeque fans. Those lucky enough to pass through Brownsville and grab a meal at Miss Helen’s quickly learn that the secret to this award-winning Memphis style BBQ is actually Helen Turner herself, who was initially hired by Dewitt Foster in the mid ‘90s to make sauce for his barbeque stand and serve the customers. By 1996, Mr. Foster was ready to retire and handed the keys of the restaurant to Helen, without either of them knowing that he was giving her the key to open more doors of opportunity than anyone could have imagined was possible in this pastoral Tennessee town.

At first, encouragement and support in the community came from unlikely patrons. Folks who should have been supporters were naysayers. The unlikeliest customers became fans and supporters. As business prevailed, the naysayers returned and Miss Helen welcomed them with open arms to her table. Every sandwich and BBQ plate that passes through the ordering window is made by Helen. Customers will have it no other way. Each is particular to the way she pulls, chops, and wraps their sandwich, many of whom come daily.

Helen credits much of her success to simply following her instincts. She has confidence in her skills and knows what she wants to take on in terms of growth. There have been offers over the years. Many offers. Offers to partner, to expand, to franchise and to grow. But Helen turned down each one. She’s a self-described independent business owner and her system is perfect for her life, for her family, for her town and now for the country. In 2012, Helen’s BBQ made Southern Living’s “Smokin’ Hot List” as well as a coronation at the prestigious Charleston Food & Wine Festival. Last year also brought with it a documentary about Ms. Helen by Joe York for the Southern Foodways Alliance titled “Pride & Joy.” And this year she will be awarded “King of Pig” award, although the title, this year, will be deemed “Queen of Pig.” Very apropos for a pitmaster who is now myth-busting on the grandest scale.

Secret to her sauce? Never. Secrets to success? That’s easier to come by from this wise and honest, hardworking woman. “I came from raising a family into a business I did not think I would be doing. You don’t have to have a college degree. You can do anything you want to do. You just have to have the mind, the heart and patience. There’s nothing you can’t do when you put your mind to it.” These moments of candidness, along with the mouthwatering comfort food, are what bring patrons through her door and keep them waiting in long lines year after year.

The town motto, “It’s a good place to live,” resonates with Helen, who has, over the years, inadvertently established her restaurant as a community treasure. “I treat this place just like home. I look forward to coming in every morning and I treat my customers like family.”

Just recently, Reginald and Helen hosted a large dinner for their most loyal customers. No detail or southern delicacy was spared. That night, for the Turners, was a chance to walk down memory lane with those that have walked it with them. “We love this town and we love our lives here. If I had to do it all over again, I would rather it be just as it is right now.”

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Following the Paper Trail: Rifle Paper Co.

Posted on June 2, 2013 by mike@thesmithcompany.org

Words by Freedom Martinez

Artwork from the brushstrokes of Anna Bond is hard to miss these days. Her name might not ring a bell, but the bold, colorful, whimsical designs that have become her trademark are unforgettable.

You might think you are walking into a mini Anthropologie when entering the little shop of Rifle Paper Co. And you’d almost be right. Timeless creations from this Winter Park, Florida design studio stock the shelves of Anthropologie stores around the country. Their cards and calendars, notepads and invitations can be found in over 2,000 locations worldwide–from boho boutiques to Land Of Nod catalogues.

Rifle Paper Co. officially started just three short years ago. With a portfolio bulging with concert posters for her husband’s band, Anna designed a winsome wedding invitation for a good friend and, as they say, the rest is history. One wedding invite led to another, which led to another, and just like that, Anna’s art became a business. Her love of stationery combined with her background in design and illustration was just the outlet she had been looking for.

In a brand new, made-to-look-old loft style building in historic Winter Park, Florida, there are no signs of “starving artist.” But, indeed, Anna says there were those days in the beginning. “I definitely see purpose in those early times though,” she shares. Those rice and bean days were, for her, an opportunity to build a solid foundation of what would eventually become Rifle Paper Co., to discover who she truly was as an artist and to develop Rifle’s signature style.

Inspired by music poster artists, she looked to the business savvy of such heavy hitters in the art/design world as Kate and Andy Spade, Andy Warhol, and Martha Stewart in taking her art beyond the traditional. “They’re people who were artists and entrepreneurs and visionaries. That is what I was aspiring to.”

Although the ride has been like a roller coaster paired with a good dose of elbow grease, Anna says, without a doubt, launching Rifle Paper Co. has been the best years of her young life. She credits the huge success to a healthy collaboration with her business partner, husband Nathan. “So much of this process has been figuring it out as I go and working with Nathan to solve problems and brainstorm ideas. He started working with me when we launched Rifle and he’s been the one who has made sure we’re making the right business decisions, making sure we are running things within our means, and so on. We’ve made a great team throughout this process.”

Navigating the waters of the hugely competitive market for art/stationery sales was not easy, and at times they were flying blind. While some artists hire agents to get their work noticed, Anna relied heavily upon the people in her life that influenced her. “Whether it was a press feature or someone saying something kind on a blog, that’s what gave me motivation to keep going.” And that perseverance has certainly been awarded, with her stationery being featured in such noted magazines as Martha Stewart Living, Southern Living, InStyle, People, Lucky and Real Simple Weddings.

Rifle’s popularity isn’t mystifying. In fact, it’s easy to love the bright ‘50’s kickback styles that this design house pumps out. Anna’s goal is that her creations will resonate with people. “I try to create designs and products that I would personally love and use. But I also have to think about what other people want, and try to make sure I am creating designs that will connect and sell. It is a business, but it all starts from something very personal to me.”

Of inspiration, she says it is an organic process, unplanned and free-flowing. “The best ideas often come when I least expect them.” And since Anna and Nathan love to travel, inspiration is plentiful and has contributed to many of Rifle’s current products, including their popular 2013 CITIES wall calendar depicting cityscapes from Sydney to Paris.

Since Nathan handles most aspects of the business, Anna is free to focus on the creative direction of the company, which often spills over into the workplace. Nurturing a fun work environment is a top priority for Anna, who knows that happy employees make for better production and better products. Their recent Holiday Party looked like something out of a Pinterest folder labeled “dream party.” Decorated in beautiful Rifle style, the outdoor courtyard of a local museum became the perfect venue. The festivities included an arm-wrestling competition, while a mariachi band added a touch of spice to an already fun, quirky evening.

When asked what advice she would give someone trying to make it in this business, she says, “Being original…is key. I also think it takes a lot of work and determination. There were many times I thought about giving up….Making that decision to push through difficulties is not always easy, but definitely vital to becoming successful.”
Favorite cake: simple chocolate, with vanilla buttercream icing.
Favorite way to drink whiskey: in simple but lovely cocktail~ Domain de Canton (ginger liqueur), and lemon juice. A little sweet and tangy with a powerful punch.

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Shama Hyder: Buzz Maven

Posted on June 2, 2013 by mike@thesmithcompany.org

Words by Danielle Adkins
Photographer by Gilberto Vasquez

Just after finishing up Friday morning errands, Shama Hyder (Kabani) sat down to speak about the success of her company, her continual influx of speaking gigs, her recent book, Shama TV, and a few of the other endeavors this busy gal is pursuing. As the CEO of The Marketing Zen Group, an online marketing service, it was only fitting that the interview was done via Skype. She didn’t know it yet, but she had agreed to open up about her childhood, her beginnings as an online marketing guru and her best travel tips, all while Snoopy, her fluffy white Maltipoo, sits on her lap.

Growing Up

As a “transplant to the U.S.” at the age of nine, Shama has a deep appreciation for her life in the United States. “To me, America was like the land of milk and honey and really exciting.” Her voice still gleaming with excitement, she speaks of the first time her fourth grade teacher took the class to the library. In her native India the libraries were reserved for university students and academics. She joyously remembers her confusion and excitement when that same fourth grade teacher allowed her to check out a book to take home. “There were certain things other kids took for granted, I just didn’t.”

Whether it was her Indian roots or the first time she checked out a book at the school library, her appreciation for learning never stopped. The strict schooling system in India based around memorization and principle gave way to a much different American way of learning. “Different principles were highlighted, like teamwork and creativity. I can still remember the first time we watched a movie in class and had fun; it was like school heaven.” She couldn’t have known at such a young age that her shift in learning and appreciation for creative thinking would help shape her into the now CEO of The Marketing Zen Group and one of Business Week’s Top 25 entrepreneurs under the age of 25. The Marketing Zen Group was also listed on the Empact100 list of the top 100 companies in the US to be run by entrepreneurs under the age of 30.

Shama has plenty to brag about, but her delightfully down-to-earth tone and friendly demeanor are not compromised by her accomplishments, which is something that makes chatting with her all the more enjoyable. She is the type of woman who knows what she wants and will work hard to get it, while still being the endearingly pleasant person you can meet with for drinks on Friday afternoon with no shortage of laughs.

Success

Shama attributes most of her company’s success to “right time, right place” in the social media market. Businesses were ready to reach customers through different avenues, but did not know how. Social media marketing is definitely a more thrifty way to market a business, but it must be done carefully and requires constant attention. Purchasing ad space and TV commercials is going the way of the dodo and social media marketing is taking over. And why wouldn’t it? A Super Bowl commercial can cost millions, but a clever ad in the social media world can cost next to nothing and has a much wider reach. Shama was able to understand social media and its importance early on when businesses were looking for new ways to reach customers.

“We did really well just after we got right out of the door because people were hungry for the information and even though companies at the corporate level didn’t quite get it yet, small businesses did. Small businesses were the first customers because they got it. They wanted to find different ways to attract business.”

As social media was taking over as an important form of marketing, the company grew quickly. With excitement in her voice, she talks about the huge outpouring of support The Marketing Zen Group received from the community. “For the longest time I felt my age was a weakness, and I was surprised to find that it was actually perceived as a strength.”

She formed The Marketing Zen Group in 2009 and since then the company has grown to include 30 employees who work with clients from the small business sector to Fortune 500 companies. Today, Shama and her “robust team” work with clients in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Central and South Americas. Shama is also the author of the bestselling book “The Zen of Social Marketing,” which is in its third edition. Currently, she is working on Shama TV, an online television show with topics ranging from Google+ to an interview with the rapper 50 Cent. When she’s not working on one of those endeavors, she is jet-setting around the world to speak on various issues from social media to business. Yes, she is, indeed, a modern day superwoman.

Shama is a wealth of information on a wide range of subjects. Listening to her speak about new marketing, even as someone who knows a bit on the subject, is overwhelmingly exciting. As the conversation wraps up and morning turns to afternoon, Shama leaves with a few tips for gals on the go. Pack light, “bring only a carry-on if you are going for less than a week.” Choose one airline and stick to it, “you really can build up good points.” Last, but not least, “always pack fuzzy pink socks,” because you never know when your feet will be cold.

Favorites

Spare Time Activity: reading
Cake: German chocolate
Travel Destination: Dubai, great food and great shopping

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Sigrid Olsen: Paradise Found

Posted on June 2, 2013 by mike@thesmithcompany.org

Words by Janet Holloway
Photography by Andrea Hillebrand

How is it that nearly every woman I meet who’s over 50, or even 40, is worrying about what’s next? It’s as if women are hitting a halfway mark on the time continuum or perhaps they’re discovering that the boomer bottom is staring them in the face. All those dreams. All those aspirations. Given today’s economy, it’s no surprise that some may be facing the loss of a job, a career, a home or worse. Women also report that they’re simply worn out from the daily grind, from more of the same, with no hope for change in the near future. Asking “what’s next?” may be their first step in making a crucial life change. Maybe it’s time to revisit those dreams and aspirations and redesign or repurpose your life around them.

Massachusetts fashion designer Sigrid Olsen had no choice about the change in her life. For more than twenty years, Olsen had filled a market niche for baby-boomer women who wanted to look bold and funky at the same time. “People came out of the dressing room with a smile on their face, saying my clothes made them happy,” she says. Her clothing designs were bright and colorful, well-made and comfortable. A woman of any size would look good in them. Under her trade name, Segrets, the business grew to $30 million in sales—a far cry from where she started in the 1980s imprinting colorful pot holders with her unique designs from nature. The company’s growth caught the eye of fashion giant Liz Claiborne.

“I was so happy that someone like Liz Claiborne, Inc. recognized what I was doing and offered to buy the business,” Olsen says. “My love has always been design, not running a multimillion dollar business.” Liz Claiborne’s offer of 10% ownership to Olsen, along with the title of creative director, sounded good at the time. Life was fast and fascinating at Liz Claiborne. Olsen had apartments in New York City and Boston, travelled to Los Angeles and Paris for trade shows and arranged photo shoots around the world.

“By that time, my kids had graduated, my husband was working in the fashion business, and I could devote myself full-time to expanding the clothing line,” she says. She took only one month off after breast cancer surgery in 2005 and then moved back into the fast lane. In 2007, with fears of an economic downturn on the horizon, Liz Claiborne began to cut back and streamline their brands. Segrets had been one of the conglomerate’s top 40 brands, but corporate directors felt they had overextended themselves. In 2008 the economy imploded, and, almost overnight, Liz Claiborne closed all fifty-four Segrets boutiques. Olsen lost her business, her brand and even the rights to her name.

“I had two choices then,” she tells me. “Either sit down on the couch, stuff myself with Haagen-Dazs and wallow in my disappointment—which I did for a while–or get up and start over again.” Wisely, she chose not to be a victim but moved ahead by asking “what’s next?”

“I realized that even though my fashion line had been wiped out, no one owned my talent. I began to consider what I could do to make the next two decades have meaning and purpose.” Now in her 50s, Olsen began to develop a vision of bringing together all the projects and experiences she loved: her art, running a small business, working with women, health and wellness. She returned to her art studio in Gloucester, Massachusetts, sold the big house she shared with her husband, and moved into the small room in back of the studio. It was a space where she could recharge her batteries.

More than five years later, Olsen has opened a second art studio in Sarasota, Florida, where she lives and works in winter. She’s written a book of recipes that includes her art work and anecdotes about how she bounced back from the loss of her company. With her step-sister and daughter, she has created inspirational yoga retreats for women in such places as Mexico, the Caribbean and Provence. Inspiration Retreats, Olsen says, “help women become attuned to their ‘inner artist’.” She acknowledges that the retreats are part of her own transformation, her need to refocus and be inspired. “We’re all in the process of reinventing ourselves.”

There’s a lilt, even a bit of laughter, in her voice that wasn’t there when I first interviewed Olsen five years ago. Today, she describes herself as an artist entrepreneur. “Both create something out of nothing; they figure things out along the way, seeing themselves as somewhat outside the mainstream. Both display enormous confidence in themselves, a commitment to hard work and perseverance in order to make their dream a reality.”

“You go on,” she tells me. “No matter what obstacles you have, you keep at it. You create a vision for your life and you keep working and trying new things. You just keep going on.”

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Whitney Rockley: Living the Dream as a Canadian Venture Capitalist

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Words by Cheryl Arkison
Photography by Lora Vertue

When most people say that they are living the dream, they usually mean a big house by the ocean and time to do all their dream hobbies like surfing, gardening, or lunching in fine restaurants. For Whitney Rockley it means owning her own business.

As a kid, she only ever wanted to create and own her own business. Her career after school started in environmental policy work, hardly the stuff of entrepreneurship. A swing through San Francisco brought her into the starched shirts of the venture capital world. A world she embraced. Stints in Calgary, London, Zurich, and now in Toronto sealed her place in this world. Despite years of backing businesses and seeing entrepreneurs both thrive and wither, she never lost sight of that childhood dream. “Venture capitalists don’t know what it is like to be an entrepreneur. Most don’t know what it is like to sit in the trenches and go right to the edge to put everything on the line.” Whitney describes her traditional, professional world full of calculated risk. But that is hardly the world for someone who wants to own their own business, is it?

Anticipating a major shake-up in her industry 18 months ago, Whitney and a colleague spent some time analyzing and dreaming. They asked themselves what they were seeing that is so big it isn’t going to go off trend and where they expected a phenomenal acceleration of technology. The answer, to them, lay in making existing infrastructure of big industry ‘smarter’, particularly as it works for the water, power, oil and gas, transportation, and building efficiency sectors. These sectors are where she and her business partner had success in the past. So they locked arms, took a deep breath, and started McRock Capital in March 2012. Now they are entrepreneurs as well as venture capitalists. And nothing could make Whitney happier.
“Personally, it is the most amazing – full-stop – thing I’ve ever done. I expected to be exhausted, but it is the opposite. Your energy comes from this place that is so real.”

This is despite the risk it takes to live her dream. Whitney and her business partner are financing themselves as they seek to back success. The vast majority of venture capital funds are established firms with backing from financial institutions, corporations, or high net worth family offices. It is rare to see start-up venture capitalists, even more rare for a woman to be leading it and for that firm to be started in Canada. “It takes a lot of courage to start a fund. It’s binary – you either raise a fund or you don’t. We did it because we are passionate about what we are doing and want to build the most successful venture fund in the world. We think it is contagious when you love what you do and are good at it. Investors will back us because we have a successful track record, a compelling investment strategy and are respected in the industry.”

Thankfully, both Whitney and her business partner have strong family support for such a risky adventure. Whitney has been married for 15 years. She and her husband have two children, ages 10 and 11. The family has moved with her for her career and they back her now as she takes on this challenge.“There is a lot of holding breath, but also unwavering support,” says Whitney. She adds that her kids are old enough to understand what she is doing and the sacrifices it takes. She believes in showing them it is okay to take risks. “As long as the family unit is strong we can go through anything.”

It might be the Tae Kwon Do she practices with her daughter, or it might be her sense of humor, but Whitney manages to keep a level head about this new venture.

With Whitney and her business partner financing their firm, as well as investing themselves and gathering outside investors, they are essentially paying twice for every investment. It is a harsh way to run things, but important to them as they run the firm their way. Whitney describes it as “personal funding by two passionate people.” The entrepreneurs get it, but they have to walk the investors through the model. Entrepreneurs also get the injection of personality McRock Capital put into their business. They are the firm, they are the brand. It made perfect sense to Whitney and her business partner to make their brand an honest reflection of themselves as individuals. On their website they’ve got videos tracking their journey – finding an office, the perils of business travel, fundraising efforts, and even homage to one of their biggest supporters. It is this humor, this personal side that sets them apart from the other venture capital firms. And it appeals to the entrepreneurs. They get the risks and the shot of personality. Entrepreneurs are used to selling themselves; McRock Capital is no different. Like all entrepreneurs, she has commitment and the right attitude. “My mantra is Positivity. Try to be eternally positive. Dispel negativity. Tell yourself you are doing it and it will happen. And be grateful for what you have.”

Gratitude and the positivity are what make living the dream possible. Sure, there is hard work and boundless energy, but knowing what it takes to get where you are and having the right attitude to stay there make the dream a reality. “Make no mistake, we are still in the trenches. But 2013 is our year. We will get it off the ground. It’s been mental, but we are so excited.” When I asked venture capitalist and entrepreneur Whitney what her superpower would be if she had one, she asked for boundless energy, relentlessness. “Where nothing can take you down.”This, coming from a woman taking on a new business model in the venture capital world. From a woman with two kids and a burgeoning Tae Kwon Do habit. From a woman already living her dream.

Whitney’s Word Play

Sunshine – Beautiful
Cliff – Jump
Balance – Hard
Rejection – Tough
Purse – Don’t Care
Twitter – Effective
Perfection – Ugly
Fun – Yay!
Growth – Life
Speed – Inevitable
Cake – Yummy
Money – Outcome
Mentor – Grateful
Whiskey – Armchair
Darts – Bull’s-eye
Risk – Living
Friends – Precious
Peace – The Ultimate End Goal
Advice – Welcome
Sleep – Not Enough
Dream – Big

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Ms. Small Town USA: Minnesota Photographer

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Words by Pamela Sutton
Photography by Kelly Reed

“Because how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

– Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

Minnesota morning, my fingers wrap around my coffee mug as the low light dawns. The lakes freeze over and the land disappears beneath a slow, bright quilt of snow. My kids cheer. Frost patterns the panes that hold out this display of cold. I still feel trapped. The seasons shift slowly to thaw. The days turn to the longest of the year; verdant, flowing, the water moves again. I live confined where others vacation. But a summer sun rises and I rise with it.

I cannot change my circumstances but I can change my perspective.

Since childhood my camera has been cathartic. So I did what I knew. I began to use my camera to literally photograph the hell out of my life. Within the lens I rediscover that I can create beauty from the mundane. The ordinary becomes sacred art. And so, my photography business is born on the ashes left by my journey.

At the heart of Main Street, I meet with my clients in the warm coffee shop. Here, I am reminded of the tightly woven networks that naturally exist in small towns. There is a powerful common history here. Everyone knows each other or they are related. My friends have roots here. My competition has roots here. I am the outsider embarking on territory where I may or may not be received. However presumptuous, attempting to compete with other photographers has never been my ambition. I am reminded of Ayn Rand when she said that “a creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve not by the desire to beat another.” What I need is to create, to connect and to be part of something greater than myself.

Here is a story I can grow within: where business, community and friends meld. How can I learn to see the beauty here in the frozen nights? What can business teach me about catching the days amid dirty dishes and little faces? Madeleine L’Engle whispers in my ear that “we do live, all of us, on many different levels.” I hear her. I believe her. But confined in my Circle of Quiet, it is hard to believe that “the world of imagination is more real than the world of the kitchen sink.” Still, some day’s success is simply enough money to help with groceries and clothing, to put my daughter through dance or to buy books or fishing lures for my boys. This is equally real.

Hands down the biggest challenge I have faced is not related to small town life. It is treating my business like a job instead of an obsession. It is finding balance between work and being mom to my kids. It is choosing between client deadlines and laundry, between social media promotion and “what’s for dinner, mom?”, between working late and rising early. Some days I spin while my kids run in circles and tug on my legs. But what will be important when I look back at this season? If I am so tired I cannot read “Little House on the Prairie,” what does it matter if my house fits in a magazine? If I do not slow down to smile as my children momentarily huddle together under a warm blanket, what does a business mean? For me, having a successful business is equally about spending time with my children and providing a home where they can know they are loved.

Working from the corner office in my home, it is difficult to separate business from family life. I am in the process of bringing to fruition the dream of a studio space by restoring a floor in a rare, historic building with wide open space, with wood floors and large windows for natural light, with a downtown Art District feel. There are days I have had to pinch myself at this opportunity! I believe art is a valuable tool that can help a community grow as it brings people together, further enriching it for everyone. I am eager to use this space not only for my business but to share with others who gravitate toward the arts. I would especially love to see young people use this space as a haven where they can come to freely foster their creativity.

I still miss the energy of the city and the transitions of travelling; Winnipeg, New Zealand and Mexico are memories. Winters feel punishingly long, dark and cold, but coffee tastes best on a cold morning. Good business in a small community is greater than myself. It is to know and love my neighbor, and build my community. It is the reason I get up every morning and the measure by which I determine success. Because Annie Dillard is right that “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” I never intended to start a small photography business in a paper mill town on the border of Canada. I am slowly waking up to discover the art of contentment, no matter what my circumstances.