Tag Archives: Megan Smith

Mr. Lentz: The Genuine Chivalrous Cowboy

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Interview by Laura Zolman Kirk and Megan Smith
Photograhy by Evan Lentz

Walk us through a typical work day.

Rolling out of bed when the sun’s just about rising is not typically my thing, but I’ll do it if the work requires me to. Every now and then I will heat up a pot of cowboy coffee: just some grinds, boiling water, and my cup to pour it into. Off to the workshop, I fire up the lights and start sorting out the day’s orders. My first step is usually custom branding people’s leather goods with their names. I then go through a full process of cutting, dyeing, oiling, waxing, assembling, and hammering everything into shape. I tend to work long days, as I am a bit of a perfectionist and love creating good looking products for my customers. During busy times I get a lending hand from an assistant or two who may become part of the workshop for some time. It’s great to have extra help when you need it. On some days the cowboy hat comes off early, and I might head down to the beach for some relaxing.

What does your craft mean to you?

Leatherwork, to me, means hard work. It means a good solid day, where you tire yourself out by the end but feel fulfilled by the entire process.

Your profession as leatherworker/woodworker takes a lot of precision—how do you keep things fresh, and what goals do you set for yourself to stay motivated on a daily basis?

Well, once you start making a style that people like…you find yourself making a whole lot of that design. In the process you tend to make things over and over again. I take a lot of pleasure in getting things right. Leatherwork is tricky business since the material you are working with was at one point alive. Each piece is different and reacts differently to cutting, dyeing, branding, and oiling. I have not yet had a day where I am not amused at how something very different and strange is happening with one of my processes―and I tend to constantly modify my approach because of it. Other than that―I have a lot of sticky notes in a lot of places! Goals galore!

Want to read more about Evan? Order Issue 8 here.

The Contented Life of JoJo Johnson

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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.

Lemon Rosemary Cakelets with Raspberry Glaze

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Recipe by Elizabeth Marek
Photography by Megan Smith
Test kitchen baker – Canaan Smith

(makes about 18)

For the Cake

Dry ingredients

  • 9 oz cake flour
  • 9 oz granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon plus one teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients

  • 8 oz whole milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 oz vegetable oil
  • splash of Grand Marnier Cognac
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 heaping Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 6 oz unsalted butter at room temp (should be soft to the touch but still hold its shape when you press your finger into it)

Raspberry Glaze

  • 1 cup fresh raspberries (blackberries or strawberries work also)
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • about 3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. I like to use cake goop (equal parts flour, oil and shortening mixed into a paste) to grease my pans. Combine your wet ingredients, including the lemon zest and rosemary and set aside. Combine the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on low speed and add in your softened butter in small chunks. Let mix until your dry ingredients resemble wet sand. Do not walk away or you could accidentally over mix. Whisk your wet ingredients together to break up the eggs. Pour in about 1/3 of the wet into the dry and turn your mixer onto medium speed. Set a timer or watch the clock and let your batter mix for 2 full minutes. Do not be tempted to stop the mixing sooner or just guess how long it has been mixing.

This is the most important step. If you do under-mix, they will be short and crumbly. I promise you won’t over-mix them. Once the batter has mixed for 2 minutes, scrape the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the rest of the liquid until it’s all in there. Scrape the bowl once more and turn back up to medium for 30 seconds. Your batter should be light and fluffy enough to scoop with a spoon.

Place roughly two heaping scoops of batter per bundlette cavity. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove and let cool 5 minutes before flipping the cakes out of the pan and onto a wire rack to fully cool.

To make the glaze, put your berries in a blender with the milk to make a puree. Strain out the seeds into another bowl. Add in your sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until you reach a glaze consistency that is like thick paint. If it’s too thick add a couple of drops of milk. Don’t add too much, a little liquid goes a long way.

Dip your cooled cakes into the glaze and place onto a serving plate. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, some fresh berries and a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Issue 8 – Editor Letter

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Three years ago I launched CAKE&WHISKEY from my mint-green 1940’s kitchen table. Two years before that I was covered in sticky, sugary fluff helping my son run his mail-order marshmallow company. Earlier still I was taking custom orders for handmade bags and aprons that I would sew from that same kitchen table into the wee hours of the morning while my babes slept. And before that, I was a star seller on eBay, making ends meet with the sale of vintage DVF dresses and Hanna Andersson jumpers. Interspersed in that decade, I was writing fresh content for my blog and navigating my way through the world of freelance writing.

Whew!

For those years, while my little ones napped or played with blocks, endless loads of laundry tumbled in the dryer and Sami and EJ’s latest drama on Days of Our Lives unfolded in the background (ahem), I worked from home. And what I found is that it is both amazingly glorious and enormously grinding…usually simultaneously. Self-discipline became my bedrock because distraction reared its head every hour of every day. Self-affirmation became my closest friend when there was no one to give me the high five I deserved. Self-motivation became the skill that I eventually mastered, because without it I would be out of business.

This issue is an homage to women around the globe who are doing some really amazing things in the world of business, right from the home offices, kitchen tables, front steps, snuggly beds and cozy nooks of their homes.

Some are doing so by choice, others because there is no other option.

Some are corporate, others are entrepreneurial.

Some stay barefoot while others are breaking out their Frye boots to board a flight.

Some are wanting to make their mark. Others look for no fame at all.

What proves to be the thread that connects them all is calling the comforts of home a perk of the job.

Gone are (most of) my days at the mint-green vintage kitchen table. Today I sit at a real office desk with swivel chair. I have a business mailing address and hold meetings in a bona fide office space.

There are days I miss the routine of pouring a fourth cup of coffee from my own coffeepot and listening to Grover’s latest mishap on PBS from the other room while my kid drops more Cheerios into the couch crevices. I miss doing squats and jumping jacks between emails, prepping dinner at 2 pm instead of 6:30 and having a girlfriend drop by for an unexpected visit. I miss letting my mood dictate my work hours (Shutting off that too-early alarm with a promise, “I’ll just work late tonight.”). I miss my marathon wearing of yoga pants (You really CAN wear UGG boots with a sweater and 2-day-worn yoga pants to Starbucks and look PERFECTLY legit!). Most of all, I miss Sami and EJ.

Okay, okay…I tease.

Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Issue 7 – Editor Letter

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I grew up in a conservative Midwest home where opinions on taboo topics were generally regurgitated thoughts from whatever far-right guest was featured on that week’s Meet the Press. Conversation around our holiday dinner table usually (only) involved Big 10 college football standings, never heavy issues that had the potential of raising voices or flinging food (although the latter might have been a better use for the canned cranberry).

The summer I turned 16 I took a five-week trek to Papua New Guinea. From the moment the little Cessna touched down in the green mountains of Goroka, my world view changed. Forever.

Everything my Midwest upbringing had taught me about women’s rights, corporal punishment, spirituality and sexuality were challenged and solidified, narrowed and broadened, stretched and reshaped. My childhood ideals of ‘how things should be’ were turned on their heads.

I spent those weeks deeply immersed in tribal culture. I mourned for the sick who lay suffering on woven mats in their smoke-filled huts, with no chance of recovery. I beamed when given the honor of naming the newborn baby I held in my arms. I came to understand human interaction in a way I never had before, despite the language barrier, and I lived among a people group whose taboos were so vastly different from any I will ever have reason to discuss around my own dinner table.

The idea for this ‘Taboo Issue’ came about while I was driving back from an out of town meeting. Typically I drive in silence (when you have three boys, silence truly is golden), but over this particularly long stretch of bluegrass highway I was listening intently to a podcast about a Wisconsin cop turned Buddhist teacher. As the conversation progressed between host and guest, the female officer shared how she weaved her spiritual practice into her daily work habits, with its positive ramifications eventually transforming her precinct.

And it got me thinking….why don’t we talk about this stuff at work? Why do we avoid asking someone’s take on a piece of legislation in Congress? Why does it feel so awkward mentioning my latest spiritual readings during the initial chit-chat of a business meeting?

These taboos, these topics that we avoid like the plague in the name of “political correctness,” are the very topics that allow us to set superficiality on the shelf.

And the women behind these taboos? That’s what interests me the most. They are the wise and powerful movers and shakers, many of them choosing to remain behind the scenes, laying the groundwork in the industries that we so trepidatiously run from.

Within the pages of this issue, I’m inviting you to join me at the dinner table. Let me introduce you to some of my guests. We may not all agree on the topics at hand during the course of this meal, but I bet we’ll find some common ground. And maybe, just maybe, your view of ‘how things should be’ will be turned on its head. If nothing else, at least we’ll all enjoy the cake and whiskey.

Krista Tippett: The Wisdom Seeker

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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.

Issue 6 – Editor Letter

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The clock on the bedside table said 7 a.m. Much too early for this girl who had been up late the night before at an industry dinner.

I was three days into a conference in Washington DC and was slated to speak to a room of seasoned magazine executives after breakfast. But first things first. Wardrobe.

No-nonsense Banana Republic dress? Check. Conservative heels, not too high, not too flat? Check. A light coat of mascara and under eye concealer to play some “I feel so refreshed from a great night’s sleep” trickery from the stage? Check.

Hair…. Hair…..umm, nothing. An unfortunate wardrobe oversight, for sure, because I have quite the head of long, thick, unruly hair. Twenty minutes until the continental breakfast and I needed to think of something―pronto. My go to style in desperate times like these? The side braid. After a few failed attempts, I got it right. I reached into the depths of my makeup bag for a hair thingy. (What’s your name for it?)

I think you can see where this story might be headed. No hair thingy to be found. After a futile five-minute one-handed search through bags, pockets, zipper compartments and suitcases, a concierge request for a rubber band delivery would be next. When I opened the coat closet and voilà! A satin hanger. And not just ANY satin hanger; this satin hanger had a white satin ribbon bow wrapped around the hook.

With my one free hand (the other holding the end of my braid for dear life) I unraveled the ribbon and, with some pretty spectacular replicating ability, I might say, I tied it around the base of my braid into a perfectly dainty bow.

I looked in the mirror―and felt a tinge (understatement) mortified. Business dress, conservative shoes, ladylike makeup…and white schoolgirl, Pollyanna bow.

Awesome, Megan. Way to be legit among your new peers.

Feeling deflated, I weighed the ramifications of scrapping the entire idea. But time was not on my side and Lord knows I needed that coffee and dry muffin to keep me from a nerve-ridden dizzy spell on stage.

In that moment, instead of panicking, I paused.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

And in those few moments of pause two words came to mind: sweet and spirited.

And I smiled.

With my power suit ironed and my game face on, I had been verging on puking for two days as I prepped to speak to the decades of experience in the ballroom four floors down. But in that moment of culminated anxiety, my little white bow actually became a gift. A reminder of the sweet. The fun. The more lighthearted and less hard-on-myself ways I know I need, especially in moments of “work mode” like these.

The clock was ticking. I turned the Spotify channel to Katy Perry while adding the last swipes of makeup and final touches to my presentation and then jetted to my caffeine and bran.

An hour later, nerves subsided, I spoke to the publication pros, with my white satin bow borrowed from the hotel hanger and bright courage in my step. I was, in essence, silently preaching from the podium what this magazine…this mission…is all about: “blending the serious with the serendipity,” as one reader put it.

It’s so EASY to get wrapped up in the seriousness of business. There’s a reason the term is coined “serious business,” right? The goals, the juggling and balance, the presentations, the proper hashtag usage, a meeting’s productivity or lack thereof and the disappointments over excel spreadsheets. Even our victories can swallow up any bit of joy in a day when we use them only as strategies for reaching the next rung on the ladder.

But when satin bow moments happen, we need to grab ahold of those little gifts of whimsy and wonder. They do come along! Often! You must open your eyes and look for them. Because they have huge potential to impact the course of your day.

Had I worn a frumpy rubber band whose first life was wrapped around the morning newspaper in the lobby, I likely would have been disgruntled with my ‘bad start’ to the day and it would have showed. And I can promise you my smile wouldn’t have been nearly as big from stage, which ultimately gave others a reason to smile after that same late night party we all were dragging from.

Jameson’s Carrot Cake

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Recipe by Megan Smith
Photography by Sarah Jane Sanders

Jameson, our trusty mascot, has a weakness for carrots. Go figure.
Our weakness lies more in this tropical cake than the carrots. Go figure.
This cake is a showstopper. For years it has made appearances at wedding showers, birthday parties and backyard gatherings up and down the Eastern seaboard…often with Jameson the bunny in tow.

Ingredients

Cake

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
3 teaspoons ground ginger
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated peeled carrots
2 8-ounce cans crushed pineapple in its own juice, well drained

Frosting

3 8-ounce packages softened cream cheese
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
¾ cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides.
Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Combine 1/3 cup flour and coconut a bowl.
Whisk remaining 2 cups flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend.
Using electric mixer, beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Add eggs 1 at a time,
beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour-spice mixture. Stir in coconut-flour mixture, then carrots and crushed pineapple.
Divide batter among pans. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 1 hour. Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.
For frosting: eat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, then cream of coconut and vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.
Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top of cake. Top with second cake layer, flat side up. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Top with third cake layer, rounded side up, pressing slightly to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill cake and remaining frosting 30 minutes. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill 1 hour.

Want a new sweet recipe each season? Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue here.

Tea Time

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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.

Issue 5 – Editor Letter

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“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails.” Elizabeth Edwards

When this magazine was birthed I was living a comfortably predictable life in Kentucky with three small boys and a hardworking husband. By all accounts, I was the traditional stay-at-home mom. Over the course of a decade I created a haven for friends and family. We hosted dozens of parties each year under the big maple tree in the back yard. I started a blog to chronicle all those milestones in a mother’s journey. I kept myself challenged by upping my domestic know-how and eventually became a businesswoman by profiting on those skills.

When the idea for CAKE&WHISKEY came to me like an Oprah “ah-ha” moment nearly two years ago, it was unforeseeable how much the skill of adaptability would need to be cultivated (sometimes internally kicking and screaming) if I were to see this idea through.

No longer was my morning coffee the first thing that got me out of bed, for a rigorous schedule that started well before the boys tumbled down the stairs for breakfast became the new norm. And no longer was this slightly-introverted girl able to slip quietly into preschool to pick up my son, for national speaking engagements pushed me far outside my scope of ease. And no longer was I able to devote the same energy to keeping up with friends as nights and weekends became my ‘no phone’ time, allowing me to wholly focus on my family. Ultimately those adjustments, ever so slight, became the crucial catalyst that allowed the potential for CAKE&WHISKEY’s growth possible. Without them, you would not be reading this letter.

This morning I write this from a small hotel room. It’s before dawn and I’m barely tapping the keys as to not wake my sleeping boys and husband beside me. For the next three weeks this hotel room will be our home as we head into the biggest transition as a family, to date.

That maple tree we hosted dozens of parties under is now someone else’s maple tree. The neighbors we shared garden bounties and baked goodies with for many years are no longer our neighbors. The life and business we built in a sleepy Southern town now needs to be cultivated in a northern city we had never set foot in before. Things change in life and business. Malleability becomes a necessity.

By nature, we tend to buck change, even though what we want more than anything in life is to not remain the same forever. We’re funny creatures that way.

As each feature story in this issue came across my desk, the theme of adaptability and ultimately, resiliency, became my take away. Maybe because as I was reading these stories, I was looking deep for my own source of resiliency and strength. We do tend to glean nuggets of wisdom where we need it most, don’t we?

This magazine gives voice to the stories of businesswomen who are on a journey. And that would be each of us. It’s what we relate to, because no one lives a simple life. We all face tragedy and heartache and chaos at some point and although it may pale in comparison to those you’ll read of Misty Copeland or Annie Kruyer, when read through the lens of your own story, whether now or in ten years time, the messages resonate deeply.

I am certain that we can learn from and champion each other when we understand that every woman we meet in the boardroom, the locker room, the school parking lot and the negotiating table is likely also adjusting her sails to weather a storm.

Instagramming France: The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards

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Journaled and Photographed by Megan Smith

October in Paris sounded like a dream.
Snuggled under the covers of my chic hotel room’s bed, the balcony doors flung open wide, I could hear the tables and chairs of the bistro below being set out on the sidewalk. I breathed deeply the crisp autumn air and gently pinched my arm, smiling as I realized Paris in October actually wasn’t a dream at all.
Even an Audrey Hepburn film marathon couldn’t have prepared me—a well-seasoned traveler—for my first trip to France. It was perfect. Those quaint Parisian cafes do exist. Lunchtime really does last for two hours. Coffee tastes better. So does the wine. And croissants really can be eaten every morning without the fear of weight gain. The Eiffel Tower is bigger and more spectacular in person. The Champs-Élysées truly is the most beautiful avenue in the world. And everyone is nice. Really nice. Even if you don’t speak French.

But I had come to France for more than baguettes and café au lait. I had come to witness something much more magical: to watch 18 remarkable women from 14 countries participate in an entrepreneurial competition like no other. I had come to witness the sharing of ideas and watch the common threads of entrepreneurialism and altruism weave together in an interlinking chain. The impact will be felt worldwide for a lifetime.
I had come to the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards.

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

Issue 4 – Editor Letter

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I boarded the plane leaving Charles de Gaulle Airport, bound for the rolling pasture hills of Kentucky and home to my husband and three boys. I was tired from endless days of walking the streets of Paris (pitiful, right?) and looked forward to the next eight hours of mindless movie watching and snoozing.

I sorted my must-haves for the flight ahead and plopped down in my seat. Next to me sat a man who hadn’t looked up since my arrival.

I’m all for quiet travel. In fact, I welcome it. Yet I couldn’t not break the ice with a smile, hello and witty quip about the long trip before us to the man in the window seat. So ahead I forged with my quip to the quiet one beside me.

An American expat living in France, Don was a businessman traveling back to the states for work. We were, by all accounts, a very un-likely pair to connect. Yet we did. Instantly. Occasionally I would see fellow passengers glance our way as our initial hesitant hello grew over the hours to some of the best conversation I’ve had in a really long time.

Maybe you’ve had this same experience before. One of those rare moments when you know the right person has crossed your path at just the right time in life. They, without knowing, speak deeply to what your mind and soul need to hear. That was the gift Don gave me over the Atlantic.

Business concepts, strategies, hesitancy and self-doubt were secretly becoming all-consuming (maybe you know the feeling?) and I was struggling for clarity. Don, in the final years of a long-term career and one who has both succeeded and failed, learned and grew from it all, listened as this blonde-haired stranger poured out her entrepreneurial insecurities to him. He mostly listened and sagely shared wisdom with me. We talked about expectations and pressure and the enormity of responsibility when diving into the unknown. He nodded his head in agreement often and generously shared kind smiles and reassuring words.

Weeks have passed since that flight and still his words and actions play in my mind. Without him ever knowing, they’ve helped re-instill confidence in my goals and dreams and given me clarity for the journey ahead.

Man: Friend or Foe? I smile each time I read the cover because depending who I ask, the answer will most definitely (and likely with lots of back story, bias, sentiment and reasoning) be different.

This magazine was birthed out of a passion to share the stories of businesswomen worldwide, encompassing all points in the journey and not respective to any particular walk of life. And as much as this is a magazine about women, we will never discount the role that men play in our journeys. Because their role is vital, if we allow it. We must allow it.

Women. We sorta rock, don’t we? I’ll save some precious retail space called ‘word count’ by letting you fill in the blanks on why, although my daily to-do list is proof enough that I could run a small country effectively and still provide a home cooked meal at the day’s end. And when I start to forget what I’m capable of, there are plenty of reminders everywhere I turn–from NY Times bestsellers to motivational TED talks that tell me, ad nauseam, it’s true. I rock.

As a businesswoman, I love businessmen. In fact, I am a better businesswoman because of them. They help sharpen our skills by countering our objectives. They challenge our thought pattern (remember, they are from Mars) and help us see things from a new vantage point. They can teach us how to command attention in a room, if need be, and they can walk us through the art of closing a deal when our strength is merely making a new friend across the table (ok…I’m speaking for myself on those last two).

Almost weekly I am asked about this whole concept of cake and whiskey. The sweet and the spirited. The culturally feminine and the culturally masculine. Our events nationwide, where we indeed eat cake and drink whiskey, are for women, because as women we DO derive energy and strength from one another. Yet, to see man as an adversary (which unfortunately is the underlying current in some women-based circles) negates the benefits men can offer us and our careers.

A friend and colleague explained his point of view: “Often we as men are criticized for our oppressive policies and actions intended only to put the woman down.  In that way, I feel some women take this sentiment to the natural conclusion that they don’t need man, any man, to be successful. While it is in an ambitious woman’s best interest to stand out on her own, she’d be doing a tremendous disservice to cast aside men who have the ability to help. Like any civil rights movement, you need support from leaders within the majority to move forward as a minority.”

This letter is not an attempt to dialog about glass ceilings, gender equality issues or suppression. Terrible circumstances exist for women around the globe that need our compassion and our action. But my hope is that for us who have the freedom to explore our careers and take on challenges in life, we’ll seize the opportunities around us to learn from and work alongside the maddening yet amazing species called “men.”

And I hope someday soon you’ll get the rare opportunity to sit by a quiet fellow with loads of insight and encouragement. Go ahead. Take that leap and break the ice with a smile and a witty quip.

Q&A with Diane Cu

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Words by Megan Smith
Photography by Diane Cu

Biggest fear as a businesswoman?

Speaking up for myself without hurting anyone’s feelings when I say “no.”
I often have to make important decisions every hour (sometimes it feels like every minute) of the day and I can’t always say “yes.” Ultimately, I’ll have to turn down an opportunity or turn down something I’d love to work on because I know that it’s not necessarily going to be in my best interest or because I just don’t have the time.
I don’t have issues with saying no, but sometimes the hardest part for me is explaining why, so that there’s no misunderstanding. I always want those folks to know that just because I respond with “no,” it doesn’t mean that I’m a bad person or that we can’t be friends.

Biggest sense of accomplishment as a businesswoman?

My biggest sense of accomplishment in business is making time to live a normal life.
It has always been very important to me to be able to put all my work aside at the end of the day and spend quality time with Todd, my family and dear friends. For many years in my early career, I was so driven and focused on growing my business, expanding my client base and leveraging more opportunities that I forgot how lovely it was to just have a sane home life.

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

Do Gooding: A Look Through the Healing Glass

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Words by Megan Smith

“glassybaby are useful in many ways. But their real use is lifting bad moods and loneliness. Their warm and colored light flickers like we do in everyday life. glassybaby serve as a metaphor to symbolize hope and are humble in spirit, but not in beauty. Whatever your mood, a glassybaby can keep your home inviting and full of spirit.”
MERICOS HECTOR RHODES

(Lee Rhodes’ 12 year old son)

Forgoing the power suit for a pair of dark jeans, white T-shirt and black blazer, Lee Rhodes walks up to the podium of the convention center ballroom and stands in front of a sea of executive women to speak. She sets her notes down in front of her, looks up, brimming a huge smile and bright red lips, and begins with a simple yet cheery “Hello” to the crowd below. She has not come to share her story of surviving cancer three times, although she has. And she hasn’t come to tell the story of her growing multimillion dollar company, although she has that, too. Lee Rhodes has come to cast vision to a captivated audience. When she speaks, it’s with the swiftness and passion of a woman confident in the decisions she has made and the message she is delivering. She is, without a doubt, a woman on a mission.

The mission?  To offer healing to cancer patients one glassybaby at a time.

In 1998, with three small children underfoot, Lee was battling a rare form of lung cancer for the third time. Hoping to distract her husband’s worries, she signed him up for a glassblowing class near their home in Seattle, Washington. Blowing glass bubbles and opening them to create a vessel is considered glassblowing 101. Week after week these odd shaped, colorfully hued glass cups began arriving home and accumulating on the kitchen counter. One night at dinner Lee dropped a tea light into the opening and struck a match to the candle’s wick. The room went quiet. Pin drop kind of quiet.

The lighting of the candle had instantly transformed the ambience of the room. The kitchen’s walls and table underneath instantly filled with the warmth of the soft hue encircling the candle’s flame. In that moment, Lee’s healing began. In that moment, the hope of a family began to rise; beauty had won the battle over the ugliness of terminal illness. In that moment, Lee’s life was set on a trajectory she never could have dreamed possible. In that moment, glassybaby was born.

Throughout the next five years, glassybaby grew into a full-fledged business and beyond the production capacity of her husband’s weekly glassblowing class. Lee, who was declared cancer-free in 2001, devoted her days to delivering raw materials to glassblowing shops around the area where 12 artisans were commissioned to handcraft glassybaby’s signature design. She would retrace her steps, pick up the finished designs, drive them home and unload them into her garage where she’d sell them to neighbors, friends and burgeoning glassybaby devotees. For Lee, this business endeavor, her first, wasn’t full of fear or self-doubt because for her it just made sense. “These magical beacons speak to the emotion in everyone, especially those in the chemo room. I wanted to create a business that builds community and gives hope, and glassybaby does that.” The business’ early financial success gave Lee the means to not only gift glassybabys to those braving cancer but the opportunity to begin donating to organizations that provide often forgotten cancer support. “We are always looking to give to new charities helping cancer patients around the country. We like charities that help with the costs that are not covered by health insurance but as essential for the healing process, like groceries, bus fare, childcare and electric bills.”

As with creating any delicately handcrafted item, glassybaby’s vessels, which have been made in over 400 colors, are labor intensive, requiring the work of four glassblowers and 24 hours to create. Each glassybaby is comprised of three layers of glass, with the rich hue, a condensed colored glass imported from Europe, being sandwiched between two clear casings. The thick bottom is also clear, allowing light to radiate through to the surface below. They are designed with sturdiness and timelessness to be passed down through generations. “You can feel the beautiful color and the weight of truly handmade American craft in each one. I had a visceral reaction to lighting that first one and I still get that same feeling to this day,” Lee shares. The company stands behind its sizable $44 price point. “I couldn’t sell a candle votive at our price without the vision and charity behind it,” says Lee. “But our customers feel great knowing over $4 of that purchase goes straight to a cancer patient in need.” Because glassybaby donates 10% from sales, not profit (even when the company lost money in its early days), the devotion to the benevolent mission never wavered.  “Our customers love not only the beauty of a glassybaby, but each purchase is often attached to a person, a memory, a milestone or a cause. Purchasing a glassybaby is a very personal experience.”

Without a doubt, they have a powerful impact and in 2005 its beauty, meaning, mission and functionality turned the head of its first titan of industry, a media mogul that would put glassybaby on the map worldwide. After receiving one as a birthday gift, Martha Stewart was smitten and came calling. On the first episode of The Martha Stewart Show, Lee Rhodes was invited as one of Martha’s guests. “Martha’s favorite color, bedford brown, is named after the foundation we give back to that helps seniors. She liked the color so much that she was planning to paint her living room the same hue.”

After the exposure that segment drew, glassybaby was full steam ahead in terms of both growth and charitable giving. The company’s growth allowed expansion into a new, larger location. Despite the unanticipated surge in sales and growth, Lee was (and is) determined to employ locally and handcraft in America. The following year, glassybaby’s second media mogul reached out and Amazon’s founder Jeffrey Bezos became glassybaby’s first investor. “Jeff had visited our shop and asked his personal investment advisor to reach out to us about buying part of the company. Originally, I didn’t return the calls, but eventually we met. He drove to the studio and we had an hour and a half meeting. He asked to buy 20% and I agreed. Jeff is very hands-off and allows me to continue giving a lot of money to charities. He believes that glassybaby will eventually be a hundred million dollar a year company that competes with the flower industry.”

When asked if she thinks she was born with an entrepreneurial spirit, Lee admits that she actually doesn’t consider herself much of a businesswoman at all. “I was content being a stay-at-home mom. I really wasn’t looking for fulfillment in any other way. But when I lit that first glass votive, I immediately became driven with a vision.” And Lee undoubtedly is a visionary. When she speaks, it is with a level of depth, passion and devotion that eludes most CEOs. “Glassybaby isn’t about me. If it was, I would have a ton of self-doubt and fear. But since it’s not, I can operate the business with joy.” Her tightly bonded glassybaby team shares this same passion and attitude. “At first I tried to do much of it on my own, but it was traumatic. Once I did start hiring people, I brought on people that were opposite of my personality because I thought that’s what would be best to fill the needs we had. But what I found over time is actually that hiring people similar to me works best. It really makes all the difference having a great team.” And glassybaby’s team nowadays is extensive. With over 70 glassblowers now creating 500 hand blown “vessels of hope” a day, essential components like strategy, production and development are being met and allowing glassybaby to forge ahead into new markets at a rapid pace. “glassybaby has grown as much as 50 percent a year since 2009. Last year the company grew about 30 percent.  Every single business expert told me that this company and business model would not work, yet we continue to grow and give back to charities.”

Because Lee has the gift of both perspective and gratification, even talking about the growing pains of business has a level of whimsy and ease, “We’re still in grade school and, believe me, we forget our lunch box all the time.”

Diagnosed cancer-free in 2001, Lee, who recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, lives life to the fullest. She operates her company from her soul, not from textbook knowledge or a business degree. “I don’t have my MBA and I’m not gifted at business and I can’t change that. But I get to live behind a brand of an experience I had once.” That experience is what she gives to thousands each day, because at the end of the day, glassybaby unites.  It connects the homemaking media tycoon to a woman in Nebraska with breast cancer who is clinging to her last days. It connects the founder of the world’s largest online retailer to a young child playing video games from his room at Children’s Hospital. It connects sisters, mothers, fathers, co-workers and friends at the truest essence of who we are as a human race. It speaks to each one of us and reminds us to live each moment in the moment, with beauty, light, warmth and hope for the future.

Lee, who found hope in the midst of tragedy in the most unlikely of objects, never could have imagined her moment of clarity and purpose in life would provide over one million dollars to cancer patients worldwide. But it has. “I don’t think about the Lamborghini or the vacation home in the islands. That’s not what drives me. We still have a lot more to do and a lot more to give. This is why glassybaby exists.”

Learn more:

www.glassybaby.com

Subscribe or purchase an issue here~

Marcus Samuelsson: Behind Every Good Man

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Interview by Megan Smith
Photography by Michael Guenther

How do we do justice to describing a man whose fashion tastes are impeccable, whose swagger is more than noteworthy, who loves bringing his 5’11” model wife Maya along on casual interviews as well as swanky soirées, and who more than  knows his way around a kitchen? All we know is, Marcus Samuelsson is certainly swoon-worthy in our book. To boot, this Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised, James Beard Foundation honoree, Food Network chef truly believes that women are tougher than men. (His words, not ours [swoon]). Keep reading and you’ll see why Maya is such a lucky gal…

You wrote an incredible piece for the Huffington Post about your life as an adopted child and it’s evident how important the role of family is in your life. What attributes have the women in your life’s journey possessed that helped shape and mold who you are today?

All the important women in my life have showed me what love means–in their own way. My Ethiopian mother sacrificed her own life so that my sister and I could live our own; my Swedish mother loved me fiercely as if she had given birth to me herself; my Swedish grandmother showed her love by teaching me how to cook; and my wife teaches me to be patient and kind through her utmost grace and inner beauty.

Your career journey has been anything but easy over the years, including dozens of restaurant rejections early on. Where is your inner strength and tenacity to push forward and dream big drawn from?

I think it’s my commitment to doing what I love. At an early age I was intensely committed to becoming a soccer player, but was rejected from going pro. After soccer, my next great love was cooking and chasing flavors and it has served me well ever since. But I don’t take any of it for granted. I’ve had high highs and low lows, but staying committed to food has always made me the happiest, and this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

You obviously have huge vision for your life and career and have found great success in recent years. Are you one to map out your goals and dreams and make things happen or do you allow things to evolve in their own time and step through doors as they open?

It’s a mix of both. Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time, but, for me, I usually envision something I want to do and take my time to curate that idea. “Yes, Chef” was five years in the making and you could say the opening of Red Rooster was something I wanted to do for ten years.

What was the tipping point in your career? Was there a specific moment that catapulted you from chef status to celebrity chef status? Were you ready?

I don’t like to say what was the tipping point…who knows what else the future holds? But it was being awarded three stars from the New York Times that put my name on the culinary map. I’ve been trying to do better ever since…but don’t we all aspire to do better day by day?

This is a question from one of our readers: “You work with many chefs, restaurant staff and colleagues~ many of whom are women. What is the best approach you have found to not only working with women but giving critical feedback when needed?”

It’s ironic that there are many more men presiding over the most famous kitchens, but cooking has traditionally been a feminine role. I have such high regard to the great female chefs I’ve encountered–April Bloomfield, Gabrielle Hamilton, of course Julia Child–and women are actually tougher than men. Men will want to make a bigger fire and show you their sharpest knives, but women are more resilient and fierce in the kitchen. I’ve found that I can actually be more blunt and direct with women because they know what you need, and I admire that in my female staff.

What synergy do you find most rewarding between men and women collaborating in the workplace?

Our corporate team at the Marcus Samuelsson Group is pretty much split down the middle between men and women. I love to see them working hard on a project or sharing a beer after work. We have a good team who are there for the same cause and that is the most rewarding thing. You can say we have quite a mixed bag of talent, age and diversity, but we all have a great time. In the kitchen, the numbers between men and women are split, too–some of my toughest staff includes my pastry chef, Deborah Racicot–and seeing the staff come together night after night is a sight of beauty for me.

Have there been any female mentors or colleagues who provided important insight or support during your career? If so, what wisdom did they provide that was especially significant?

How can I not mention my mentors in all fields who have opened up such worlds to me? The great Leah Chase who just celebrated her 90th birthday is my culinary mentor, and the incomparable Thelma Golden, director of The Studio Museum in Harlem, are just some of my fairy godmothers. Then, of course, there are my two mothers and grandmother who showed me how to be a man in the family and in the kitchen. They have all taught me to be humble and always stay curious.

You’re definitely one of the most stylish chefs out there. Who or what inspires your look?

David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Lana Turner, and all the Harlem Dandies who come into our restaurant. I am inspired by not just people in the fashion world but anyone who can hold their own style. And I’m not talking about flashy logos and shiny shoes. I just came back from Barcelona and I love how everybody there had their own sense of fashion. It didn’t matter if they were on their way to a fancy dinner or on their way to the market–they were well-groomed, yet nonchalant about how they carried themselves.

Let’s end with a couple of foodie questions, shall we? Guilty pleasure food?

I love a great hamburger.

What meal do you most enjoy making for your stunningly beautiful wife, Gate Maya Haile?

I love making doro wat with her, a traditional Ethiopian chicken stew that takes hours to make, but it’s very methodical and, in a way, spiritual. Nothing beats sitting down with her at our kitchen table and cracking open an ice cold Meta (Ethiopian beer) to wash it all down.

*Follow CAKE&WHISKEY’s Pinterest board “What We Think the Men Should Be Wearing” and let us know what you think every guy should be wearing this spring season.

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Issue 1 – Editor Letter

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“Everything you want is on the other side of fear,” George Addair

Don’t you just love a good quote? Of my many favorites, that quote plays often in my mind.

Less than a year ago I set sail on a journey called CAKE&WHISKEY. The course? Unknown.

I had an idea, a roughly sketched map on paper, guidance from those who had gone before me, and, more importantly, tenacity that wouldn’t let me quit. But along with my sense of adventure and confidence in my ability to navigate the rough seas ahead, there was fear. Loads of it.

Speaking on a CEO panel as founder of a new business publication alongside executives from Microsoft and Goldman Sachs? Fear.

Reaching out to advertisers and sponsors, asking them to believe in the dream and vision of CAKE&WHISKEY long before it reached the public? Fear.

Maneuvering the streets of NYC for the first time, heading into meetings that could potentially launch CAKE&WHISKEY into the stratosphere? Fear.

Watching this first issue come together just as I had dreamed and presenting this “baby” to the world for the first time? Big time fear.

But that quote….that quote was my anchor when fear raised its ugly head. It held my perspective when my focus became too tunnel-visioned that I lost sight of the big picture. It was my voice of reason when I was drowning in doubt.

The truth is, CAKE&WHISKEY is an idea whose time has come and pressing through the doubt, the obstacles and the fear really is everything that I could have dreamed was possible and more.

The cover for our inaugural first issue isn’t just for kicks. As businesswomen, we are overcomers. Whether a venture capitalist in Toronto, a marketing guru in Texas, a pitmaster in Tennessee, a bow tie maker in North Carolina or a military doctor serving in Iraq, we must drown out the voices of self doubt and listen to that quiet inner voice reminding us we really can dream and achieve much more than the world says we can. Trust yourself. Believe in your dreams. Cast vision. Set sail.

And, go ahead, have that slice of cake and glass of whiskey~ there’s definitely fun to be had on the journey.