Victoria January/February 2021

Dear Friends As snowflakes dance outside my window on this brisk winter morning, I am content to linger before the fire, jotting a few lines to a friend. “To send a letter,” former Victoria Writer-in-Residence Phyllis Theroux observed, “is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.” Letter-writing helps us put into words our deepest gratitude for the people who have graced our lives during different seasons. The focus required to carry out this ritual removes us from the whirl around us, centering our minds on thoughts of admiration, love, nostalgia, or prayers. Keeping monogrammed stationery and related accoutrements close at hand encourages us to make a regular practice of reaching out, expanding from composing the occasional thank-you note to penning frequent missives. “The Art of Correspondence” on…

Victoria is pleased to welcome to its pages Jan Karon and Annie Sloan, whose nostalgic recollections and beautifully painted projects promise a year brimming with inspiration. WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE New York Times #1 best-selling author Jan Karon captivates millions with her character-driven works. At age fifty, Jan left a successful career in advertising to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a writer. She awoke one night with a mental image of an Episcopal priest walking down a village street. Musings about the character she named Father Tim Kavanagh grew into the first of fourteen volumes in the beloved Mitford series. Printed one hundred thirteen times since its debut in 1994, At Home in Mitford was nominated three times for an American Booksellers Book of the Year Award. With twenty-five titles to her credit, Jan…

Visit our website to read this issue’s online stories and to find more of the content you love. Take a closer look at some of our favorite January/February features: Among Drifts of Snow Bring back the joy of childhood days whiled away in a world transformed overnight into a wonderland of frosty delights. A Parisian Dream Peruse the authentic brocante finds of Ajiri Aki, and gleaninspiration for enhancing daily living with objects of beauty. Treats for the Reader Mini Orange Marmalade Cakes evoke the signature dessert inJan Karon’s Mitford series. Join the Victoria Classics Book Club this quarter as we discuss themes in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good and At Home in Mitford. Paths to Success Meet the panel of entrepreneurs featured in our special section The Business of Bliss, and let these talented women inform your own aspirations. We…

Committing to our seven-year dream of opening a brewpub wasn’t possible for my husband and me without a move from our 4-acre hobby farm to a 700-square-foot apartment behind the future brewery. Relocating was necessary to make our new jobs as full-time renovators while raising four young children just a little more manageable. It wasn’t easy, however, to leave our small farm with its quaint red barn and coop, our large flock of golden hens, milking goats, and expanse of perennials. The only animals that came with us were four favorite hens and a beloved barn cat. I was determined to make our new place home and quickly set to work arranging a few favorite pieces of art and inherited furniture, including one new acquisition: my great-grandmother’s oak bed. My husband…

Mississippi-born and universally celebrated author Eudora Welty said this: “What I do in writing of any character is to try to enter the mind, heart and skin of a human being who is not myself. Whether this happens to be a man or a woman, old or young, with skin black or white, the primary challenge lies in making the jump.” Actors and writers alike share the same challenge—and pleasure—of entering the skin of their fictional characters. When people ask if I’m Cynthia, the lead female character in my series of fourteen Mitford novels, I can truthfully say that I’m all of my characters. Even Uncle Billy, that darling and affable saint. Even Miss Rose, who lost most of her mind ages ago and wears a conglomerate wardrobe—just as I do when…

Decorative artist and entrepreneur Annie Sloan is a perfect example of the old English proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” In 1990, as a working mother with three young lads, she needed paint that would not only achieve a variety of techniques but would dry quickly. Unable to find a suitable product, this enterprising craftsperson simply stirred up her own formula—which became an immediate and resounding success. “When I created Chalk Paint®,” she says, “the important thing was not having to do prep, so you can paint whenever the mood takes you.” The product’s palette of hues and infinite uses has inspired women the world over to try their hand at a range of diverse undertakings, both simple and quite complicated. Annie’s most recent passion project, a popular bookazine called…