Italian Design Open House

Italian Design Open House

Italian Design Open House The Entryways of Milan By Lauri Lyons Throughout the centuries Milan has always been a city renowned as a crossroads for design and culture. Nestled between France, Austria, the sea and mountains, Milan has a distinct flavor that sets it apart from its European counterparts. However, Milan has kept much of its beauty behind an industrial facade that hides its artistic interiors and lush gardens. Now, an Italian design open house is available at the touch of our fingertips. With the publication of Entryways of Milan – Ingressi di Milano (Taschen) people are finally getting a glimpse into the sublime entrance halls of Milan’s public buildings and private residences. The book’s editor, Karl Koblitz grew up in Berlin and was inspired to explore built environments and how they shape our daily lives. While working on this book he migrated from door to door, to gain access to spaces overlooked by the general public and design world. The book features a stunning array of 144 of Milan’s most artistic entrance halls and architectural configurations that define Italian Modernism from the 1920’s – 1970’s. The photographs juxtapose elements of stone, geometry, and murals that contain a symphony of hues that shift from cool earth tones to vibrant bursts of technicolor. Entryways Milan is not only a visual homage to interior design, but it also serves as a detailed City Guide of Milanese architecture that includes the address of each featured location and essays by renowned Italian architects Gio Ponti and Piero Portaluppi. If you love all things Italian or have a fetish for design, step into la...
Travel Like A Rock Star

Travel Like A Rock Star

Travel Like A Rock Star Tina Farris Tour Manager Interview by Lauri Lyons Tina Farris travels like a rock star with some of today’s most popular entertainers. As the owner of Tina Farris Tours she is the tour manager of your favorite bands. We check in with Tina to learn her behind the scenes journey from being a fan to becoming the boss. Where are you from? Tina Farris: I’m a Cali girl.  I was born on a now defunct Army Base in Monterey, CA and raised in Sacramento. Did you have another career before becoming a tour manager? I was a French teacher at Compton High School in Compton, Ca. Linguistics are super interesting and of course it helps to get you out of trouble. I also taught Leadership and Spanish. What inspired you to get into the tour management business? I was a fan of The Roots. I used to follow them around the world when school wasn’t in session. Then one day they were like….”Just hang out.” What makes you say “Yes” or “No” to managing a tour? The Artist and length of the tour. What is your pre-preparation for a tour? I do routing, meaning the mileage to see if it’s a bus tour or flights. I do a budget.  I work in tandem with my Production Manager to get day of show times, so I can plan the transportation. I book hotels depending on the budget of group. I book ground, food, extracurricular activities…basically life on the road for myself plus 20 additional people at any given time. What does your “typical” day on the...
Jamming With Jamaican Rastas

Jamming With Jamaican Rastas

Jamming With Jamaican Rastas Adventures with the Legends of Reggae By David Tesinsky David Tesinsky is a Czech photojournalist who focuses on exploring global subcultures. His never ending search for the unique and authentic finally landed him in Jamaica, where he went searching for the people who follow the Rastafarian way, in the hills, in the streets and inna di yards. I went to Jamaica in search of real Rastafarians and the living legends of roots reggae and dub music. If you’re a foreigner it’s not easy to meet the real Rastas in the streets, because every other person with dreadlocks says, “I’m a Rasta!”. A “Roots Rasta” should not drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, eat meat or chase money. Rasta is not about having dreadlocks. A rasta could be hairless but truly follows the paths of Haile Selassie. Rastas believe all of us have a connection with the universe. One Rastaman told me, “We are all part of one dread”.  Although many people told me, “Kingston is dangerous for a white guy”. I had quite a good experience during my 45 days there. I rode my bike day and night around Kingston’s ghettos. I did get caught by the police with a higher amount of weed than tolerated, and a man ripped my wallet out of my hand, but I took it back very fast. In general, I had a good experience - in my own way. Music is very important to Jamaicans. There are sound systems in the streets, and very often they overlap each other, so you will find yourself listening to dancehall and dub at the...
Canada’s Largest Music Festival

Canada’s Largest Music Festival

Canada’s Largest Music Festival Festival d’été de Québec 50th Anniversary By Lauri Lyons Festival d’ete de Quebec, Canada’s largest outdoor music festival rolled out the red carpet on July 6th and will continue with 11 more events packed days and nights of concerts. The festival showcases 300 performances at 10 indoor and outdoor venues in Québec City, Canada. The roster will include 1,000 artists covering the genres of hip-hop, rock, pop, country, world beat, and EDM. Tickets for the festival cost a mere $75USD for a transferable pass that gives you access to 11 days of concerts by some of the biggest headliners and the latest trendsetting talents. The reason why the tickets are so inexpensive is that the FEQ organization is a non-profit, so they cover their expenses but do not try to make a profit from the general public. As you know, most concerts can easily cost over $100USD to see only one artist. The idyllic setting of Old Quebec City,  a UNESCO world heritage site, has created a history of rocking hard with legendary bands and superstar artists including The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters , Keith Urban, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel, Bruno Mars, Bryan Adams, Stevie Wonder, Bon Jovi, Sting, Peter Gabriel,  Rammstein, Elton John, and Justin Bieber. This year’s grand 50th Anniversary is no exception with a stellar lineup that includes headliners Kendrick Lamar, Pink, Melissa Etheridge, Metallica, Lady Antebellum, Fetty Wap, The Backstreet Boys, The Who, and much more. Kendrick Lamar put on a gladiator worthy performance when he and his DJ slayed the sold out crowd with his lyrical finesse, which was echoed back...
Portugal’s Secret Boutique Hotel

Portugal’s Secret Boutique Hotel

Visit Portugal’s Secret Boutique Hotel Explore the Charm of Areias do Seixo By Mackenzie Lowry A stay at Areias do Seixo is to enter into a timeless world in Dos Cunhados, Portugal. Peace and good energy radiate from every direction and there is never a need to check your watch as each moment speaks for itself. Areias de Seixo started with a dream of creating a place that could house guests from all over the world while providing an experience that is new and magical. The fairytale resort is uniquely designed with surprising elements of nature arousing your sense of sight, smell and sound. Areias de Seixo is located by the water and a pine forest and they ensure that guests get the full experience of the location including trees growing inside some of the rooms. When time becomes a foreign concept, guests can enjoy the authentic food at the restaurant or the mixed company at the bar. The spa, pool, art room, and organic garden are all open for exploration. For those in love with the nightlife, Areias de Seixo’s atmosphere is an easy place to make friends, especially when the guests are all gathered around a bonfire for some free red wine. The attention to detail in the gorgeous design and setup proves that the hotel is passionate about what it’s trying to offer. This Iberian gem offers up a striking interior and concierge service that will make your experience seem specifically designed for you. Areias de Seixo reveals the magic is real. Photos © Areixas de...
The American Dream vs. Reality

The American Dream vs. Reality

The American Dream vs. Reality Global Opinions About the USA By Lauri Lyons In 1995 Lauri Lyons grabbed her camera and an American flag and began an odyssey to discover and reveal the faces and voices of the unknown: Americans who did not bask in the seats of power, who did not control the destinies of mega-corporations, and who rarely appear in news stories. Americans reveal themselves to us through their pride, openness and honesty, They proudly display the banner of America with their hope or stomp it beneath a heavy boot. Given the opportunity to speak their truth without restrictions, they present themselves with a directness and honesty that brings them to life. - Paul Fusco, Magnum Photos What is America? Beautiful, violent, principled, racist, hopeful, chaotic and always changing. America completely reinvents itself on a daily basis. “Thanks to our veterans America is #1” As a college student during the Gulf War, it became apparent to me how little my peers knew about the symbolic power of the American flag. This realization coupled with the political polls and sound-bytes defining the current American psyche made me question the validity of the people’s opinions that the media represented as facts. “I think that this country is way below standards. We a have to become as one before we all fall apart from each other.” I decided to find out what people really thought about America by traveling to unfamiliar cities, towns, and neighborhoods throughout the country and asking strangers, “What do you think about America? Please write your honest opinion in this notebook and sign your name.” Afterwards,...
The Gay Preacher’s Wife

The Gay Preacher’s Wife

The Gay Preacher’s Wife LGBT, God, and Marriage in Atlanta By Lauri Lyons Growing up in the church in the 1950s and 1960s, homosexuality wasn’t discussed, especially not in the black community. Lydia Meredith’s memoir The Gay Preacher’s Wife is a personal account of how life can become a testimony of tolerance, love and acceptance even within the confines of the church. “I was one of those preachers’ wives who sat in the pew many a Sunday morning while my “real” life was a fraud. I discovered several years into my marriage that my husband was cheating on me—with men—numerous men. (And women too, I later found out). I watched my husband stand in that pulpit on Sunday morning, preaching one message and living out yet another.”   An estimated 4.2 percent of metro Atlanta’s population identify themselves as LGBTQ, placing the region in the top half of a list of 50 U.S. metropolitan areas, according to a Gallup analysis. The data is based on surveys of 473,243 adults across the 50 largest metropolitan areas, conducted between June 2012 and December 2014. These results are based on responses to the question, “Do you, personally, identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender?” which was included in 206,186 Gallup Daily tracking interviews. This is the largest single study of the distribution of the LGBT population in the U.S. on record. It is the first time a study has had a large enough sample sizes to provide estimates of the LGBT population by state. After being married to Reverend Dennis A. Meredith for almost thirty years and having three sons, Lydia Meredith and the...
Emilie Baltz’s Food Utopia

Emilie Baltz’s Food Utopia

Emilie Baltz’s Food Utopia Let Them Eat Travel Cake! Interview by Mackenzie Lowry Emilie Baltz is everything. She is a well seasoned traveling Food Designer, with a multitude of former professional lives that includes being the Creative Director for The Museum of Sex, Founder of the Food Design Studio at the Pratt Institute, a dancer, and photographer. Whether it’s a meal celebrated together or spent with a book, that is the focus of Emilie Baltz. Her passion for food is the center of our early morning meeting as we sit and sip on green, foamy Matcha Lattes. This unusual drink is made of a very finely ground powder of a particular strain of green tea, and is often the center of Japanese tea ceremonies. It is the perfect elixir for listening to her tales about an eclectic life. The first thing I saw when I went on your website is that you believe in unicorns, so I’m wondering where that came from? Emilie Baltz: Well, the truth of it is, it comes from a couple places. One, I’ve always felt like I didn’t fit anywhere and there always is a belief and disbelief. Can you have a life that you make of your own that’s of your own magic? And that’s basically what the question is. For most of existence, it’s like, do dreams come true and are fantasies real? So, believing in unicorns is kind of what that’s about. I would rather choose to believe than not – so I would rather choose to believe that dreams can come true and that myths are real. I also had...
Siesta In La Rioja Spain

Siesta In La Rioja Spain

Siesta In La Rioja Spain The Battle of Wine Festival By Michaela Barnes La Rioja is home to world-renowned wineries, local gastronomy, architecture, culture, museums, outdoor adventures, and beyond. Set in north central Spain it is considered to be one of the greatest wine regions in the world. The region spans more than 57,000 hectares, the most acreage under vines of any wine region – yielding 250 million liters of wine annually. Dating back to the 13 th century, one of Rioja’s most famed heritage events, Batalla Del Vino (Battle of Wine), is held annually the last week of June on St. Peter’s Day, in the town of Haro. Wine cellars and restaurants donate gallons upon gallons of wine to thousands of residents and visitors who engage in a friendly battle of wine while enjoying live music along the town’s cobbled streets and picturesque Spanish squares. Led by the town’s mayor, on horseback, a procession of people all carrying jugs, bottles and buckets filled with red wine, winds through the town to the Cliffs of Bilibio. The madness of the annual wine battle starts with everyone tossing wine on each other until all are soaked from head to toe. During this battle anything that can be used to hurl, spray or launch thousands of liters of wine all over the crowd is used. After the battle, people return to the town to “parade” to the Plaza de la Paz, for the Haro Wine Festival Bullfights held in the town’s bull ring. 8 Things To Do Before You Get Wasted Batalla Del Vino provides visitors with an opportunity immerse in...

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