Tabla de contenidos para January/February 2021 en DesignSTL

IN A YEAR that’s brought challenge to local small businesses, I’m especially thankful that Design STL—itself a locally owned enterprise—continues to play a key role in the fabric of our city. The editors, writers, and photographers who lend their vision to the magazine are unrelenting in their quest to cover the most inspiring designers, shopkeepers, makers, and personalities that comprise our creative community. This first issue of the New Year follows that mode. We last published our “Where to Get Everything Fixed” guide in 2015. This year, the listings include home professionals working in more than 25 specialties, from painting to plumbing, HVAC to landscaping, and they’re all right here, in St. Louis. Our reporters—Amy Burger, Cara Downs, and Charlene Oldham—interviewed local designers, architects, and homeowners for recommendations. They pored…

what % of US adults say they read magazines in the last 6 months? 91% This includes 95% of those under 35 and 95% of those under 25. (MRI-Simmons, Fall 2019) when advertisers were asked which medium offers the highest ROAS, which was the highest overall? MAGAZINE. THE MAGAZINE ROAS OF $6.51 WAS DOUBLE THAT OF THE TV ROAS OF $3.23, AND MORE THAN DOUBLE OF THE DIGITAL ROAS OF $2.43. (NCSolutions 2005-Q12019) HOW MANY ADULTS AGES 18+ READ MAGAZINES? 228.7 MILLION THAT’S AN INCREASE OF 18 MILLION SINCE 2012. (MRI-Simmons, Fall 2012-2019) THE PRINT MAGAZINE INDUSTRY IS GROWING 139 new print magazine brands with a frequency of quarterly or greater were introduced in 2019 (Samir “Mr. Magazine” ™ Husani Monitor 2020) MAGAZINES REACH PREMIUM AUDIENCES IN HIGH-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS* At…

1 DAVID KENT RICHARDSON DECORATIONS + INTERIOR DESIGN Next time you’re strolling through the Central West End, visit Richardson’s new location, above The Silver Lady. The designer’s love affair with vintage furniture and accessories is on grand display there: He juxtaposes religious figurines with contemporary art and handmade textiles. A collection of decorative throw pillows, which Richardson calls V.I.P.s (Very Important Pillows), are made by hand with such materials as antique needlework and ethnic textiles that he sources himself. 4738 McPherson314-401-1333dkrinteriors.com 2 COOL STUFF PERIOD This store sells exactly what you’d imagine: a lot of cool stuff. The offerings are a mix of vintage, modern, and classic furniture and objects arranged in a way that inspires homeowners to combine styles, periods, and colors at home. Owner Ronnie Vinton opened his…

LAST SUMMER, PAINTER Lauren Knight decided that if she couldn’t find creative fulfillment indoors, she’d venture outside. Knight, who paints bright botanicals, portraits, and still lifes, needed a new project. Her three children were at home, and she didn’t have her usual long, uninterrupted chunks of time to lose herself in her art. The garden beckoned her, and with an edger and trowel she carved out a 16-by-19-foot expansion next to her already lush flower and vegetable patch. For Knight, the project was the perfect balm for the chaos of 2020. “It’s almost like a moving meditation,” she says. “I don’t like to sit still and do yoga and meditate, but when I’m out in the garden, my hands are in the dirt and I’m quiet and calm. There’s a…

REAL ESTATE AGENTS Dan Brassil M:314-452-8211 O:314-352-5200, INFO@DANBRASSIL.COM A former history teacher with an eye for architectural details, Brassil has built a list of loyal and grateful clients in both the City and County. Jenifer Garcia M:314-565-3583 O:314-353-0336, JENIFER@GARCIAPROPERTIES.COM In 1999, Garcia launched the now-bustling Garcia Properties with her husband, Ivan, in South City. Today, they help clients buy and sell all over town. Maya Kefalov M:314-660-4040, MAYA@REDKEYSTLOUIS.COM Kefalov gets high marks from her clients for her energy and thoroughness; she also happens to speak four languages besides English (Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish). Lisa Coulter and Linda Benoist of Janet McAfee O:314-983-2224 This power duo boasts a lifetime sales volume of $300 million. They focus on the Central Corridor. ATTORNEYS Robert Linhares O:314-725-111, BOB@RLBLAW.NET Linhares is a shareholder at…

CONNECT therustyboltz.com instagram.com/therustybolt JONDLE’S CLOTHING LABEL is named after her father, Rusty, a welder. He and Jondle’s mother, who worked in stained glass, were artists in their own right, and as a young girl Jondle was fascinated with their ability to take 2-D materials and create 3-D objects. She started sewing in high school, taking fabrics that she’d collected from thrift stores and stitching them together into costumes just for fun. She later purchased an IKEA sewing machine and dabbled in creating small garments such as underwear. But Jondle followed another passion to California, enrolling at the San Francisco Art Institute with a focus on painting. HOW DID YOU GO FROM PAINTING TO SEWING? During my first semester of school, I stepped away from figure painting. I started exploring other…

CHRIS MOWER IS a kokedama evangelist. Kokedama means “moss ball” in Japanese. It describes a method of wrapping plant roots in a ball of sphagnum moss instead of potting them. Nearly any houseplant—bromeliads, succulents, orchids, even small trees—can be turned into a kokedama. And Chris will tell you all about it. That’s why he founded White Stable Farms in July 2019: to introduce the concept to the St. Louis area. “It’s a different presentation style and a different look, whether it’s on a tabletop or whether it’s hanging,” says Chris, who learned about the style while visiting Milan, Italy. At the time, he was planning to retire from a career in the insurance industry and looking for a new challenge. He studied horticulture in college and loves to garden, so…

VISIT @campmillpond campmillpond.com Meghan and James Reed live in St. Charles in an Italianate house dating to 1865. Over time, many of its original features have been removed and replaced with elements of Greek Revival architecture, like the tall windows with simple surrounds and a front porch with round columns. A log cabin on the property is 30 years older than the house. Built by Fidelis and Euphrosine Schwendeman on their farm in St. Peters, like the main house, it’s undergone its own aesthetic transformations. In the late 19th century, frame additions were built onto the cabin as the Schwendeman clan grew, eventually enclosing it. It wasn’t until the St. Peters house was torn down, in 1997, that the little log cabin was discovered inside. The previous property owner labeled…

TUCKPOINTING & MASONRY Massey Tuckpointing and Masonry 3616 UNION, 314-200-9488, MASSEYTUCKPOINTING.COM Family-owned and a certified women’s business enterprise, with an A+ rating from the BBB, Massey specializes in tuckpointing, brick and chimney repairs, and chimney sweeping. Petra Masonry 314-808-6056, PETRAMASONRY.NET Owner Ryan Leeker is dedicated to serving customers with quality stone, brick, and block work. Petra counts outdoor fireplaces, patios, kitchens, and pizza ovens among its areas of expertise, garnering positive reviews for projects large and small. Denton Tuckpointing & Caulking Co. 314-842-5855 Although this small firm doesn’t have a website, it earns strong reviews from both residential customers and professional remodeling companies. Mirelli Tuckpointing 2619 S. BIG BEND, 314-645-1387, MIRELLITUCKPOINTING.COM Services include tuckpointing, spotpointing, chimney repair, bricklaying, sealants, and caulking. Since 2005, the company has consistently earned the Angie’s…

HOUSE PAINTERS Dwyer Custom Painting 3928 GRAVOIS, 314-486-7499, STLPAINTERS.COM In addition to interior and exterior painting, Dwyer’s skilled painters paint cabinets and specialize in faux finishes, replicating the look of wood grain or European marble using paint. Named Best of Houzz in Service for 2019. Rich Crimmins Painting 5515 TENNESSEE, 314-853-4087 This father and son-in-law team specializes in painting as well as plaster repair, making them a one-stop-shop for those old crumbly walls. Abdulah Vrtic 314-324-8613 With more than 20 years of experience, this one-man shop typically takes on smaller projects, working strictly from referrals and recommendations. Homeowners we spoke to are impressed by Vrtic’s commitment to getting the job done well and on time, often working early mornings and on weekends to complete a project. Rice Painting 19 MOODY,…

The Dilemma: The owners of this kitchen, in a Skinker-DeBaliviere home, love to entertain, but at 200 square feet, the area’s original U-shape was just too cramped to accommodate hosts, guests, and to cook at the same time. Blue laminate countertops and golden oak cabinets dated the room to its last renovation, in the ’80s, yielding an inconsistent design story in an otherwise historically intact residence. The homeowners hired interior designer Chelsea Smith, of Chelsea Design Company, to chart a new kitchen design that would open up the space, modernize it, and maintain the authenticity of the home’s early-20th-century roots. The Details: Smith removed one of the room’s two closets and a partial wall near the basement door so she could expand the kitchen’s drink station, add a new pantry,…

Over the years, the landmark Unsell-Cabell House, in Kirkwood’s historic district, had fallen into disrepair, its deep yard a tangled web of overgrown trees and shrubs and portions of its wood siding, vulnerable to insects and weather, in a state of decay. Yet its telltale Victorian charms—triple-sash Jefferson windows, fancy brackets and scrollwork, louvered shutters throughout—caught the attention of Emily Hoffman, an architecture buff, in early 2015. Nearly every week on her run past the house, she imagined all the possibilities if only someone would make the home a passion project. That someone turned out to be Emily and her husband, Matt Hoffman. “Emily wanted a historic house in Kirkwood, and she was in love with this one,” says Matt, a developer of rental properties. “We knew we had to…

WITH ITS STREET-FACING windows, crisp white walls, and mannequins dressed in cozy monochrome separates, Audra Noyes’ showroom cuts a stylish presence among the other brick-and-mortar businesses in Ladue. “My brand aesthetic is poetic, ageless, and expressive, so I drew from that,” she says. Noyes is originally from Delaware. She moved to the area in 2017 as one of six members of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund’s inaugural class of designers. After her apprenticeship at the Fund ended, she decided to stay in St. Louis to build the next phase of her label. The atelier is a step in that direction. “The space has great bones with lots of natural light,” says Noyes, “and staying in St. Louis allowed us to continue to build roots. St. Louis has embraced us. We…

UPHOLSTERY & FURNITURE REPAIR Custom Furniture Works 6727 MANCHESTER, 314-644-0460, CUSTOMFURNITUREWORKSSTL.COM BBB-accredited, with an A+ rating, this family-owned business offers upholstery, antiques restoration, hand caning, foam replacement, and in-home touch-up services. Fares Interior Furnishings 3276 IVANHOE, 314-645-3854, FARESINTERIORFURNISHINGS.COM Fares has been in business for more than 50 years and owned by Jonathan Wilson for the past 20. While studying to be a museum curator, Wilson recalls, he worked at the shop until realizing “that I really loved restoring antiques more than curating them, so I bought the business.” Fares offers furniture upholstery, refinishing, and repair, specializing in restoration of antique upholstered furniture. Gomez Upholstery 6487 CHIPPEWA, 314-832-8331, GOMEZUPHOLSTERY.COM Owner José Gómez learned the art of upholstering from his father as a young boy in Honduras. Since 2001, he’s built a…

LANDSCAPE DESIGN & MAINTENANCE Big Bend Landscaping 7208 A WEIL, 636-349-2946, BIGBENDLANDSCAPING.COM This Kirkwood-based company installs retaining walls, patios, walkways, drainage solutions, and bulk materials. Clipper Tree & Landscape 314-814-0809, CLIPPERTREESERVICE.COM BBB-accredited, with an A + rating, and an International Society of Arboriculture and Tree Care Industry Association member, Clipper works on both residential and commercial properties. Services include tree trimming and removal, landscape design, forest and vegetation management, and emergency storm cleanup. Frisella Nursery 550 HIGHWAY F, DEFIANCE, 636-798-2555, FRISELLANURSERY.COM Winner of the National Association of Landscape Professionals Award of Excellence two years in a row, this business got its start in Ferguson in 1953, when Frank Frisella began growing and selling trees. The company provides tree delivery, full-service landscape, maintenance, and irrigation to St. Louis-area clients. Garden Heights…

In 2016, Aly Ytterberg quit her job in admissions at Washington University to pursue art full time. The change has taken some time to get used to, but Ytterberg says she’s never been happier: “Being an artist is a hard job, but it’s always a very rewarding and joyful job and I can’t imagine doing anything else.” The artist and mother divides her day between painting and caring for Olan, her 2-year-old son. “I work during naptime, after bedtime, and before he wakes up. I’ve never been more productive,” says Ytterberg, who paints at all hours of the day, even if it’s just for a 20-minute spurt. HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START? I was the kid who took every art class. By my senior year of high school, I…