A SHOE LOVER from childhood, 51-year-old Elena Mekhova opened her mobile boutique Shoe-La-La in August, 2014, to sell made-in-Europe, affordable, quality footwear to professional women. Mekhova parks her van on the 4800 block of Massachusetts Avenue in Spring Valley and is open for business Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. We spoke to her one Sunday afternoon in February after she closed shop for the day.
MLB: Shoes have a special meaning for you. Why?
EM: I grew up in Russia and I never had enough shoes. The planned economy never planned a shoe for me. When there are 100 pairs of shoes, and 500 people looking, well, if you’re not there at the right time, you don’t get shoes. I became self-conscious about not having a pair of shoes or ones that fit me, and that feeling has stuck with me.
MLB: So, do you have a mission?
EM: There are so many shoes around that are not good quality. My idea is to
sell quality shoes that are comfortable but don’t sacrifice style.
MLB: Are there shoes that inspire you?
EM: I had a pair of shoes that I put flowers on. While I was working on converting the van to a boutique, getting paperwork done for licenses, etc., this pair of shoes kept me going.
They are a pure joy to look at! Later, I found an image on Shutterstock that
was similar, and that image became my business logo. Happy feet make happy people.
MLB: You have decorated your van with curtains, shelves and stools. Do you mostly stay in
Spring Valley or do you move it?
EM: Spring Valley is a great market for me — women from 25 to 65, who are well-traveled and have extra money. And I live on 46th St. NW.
MLB: What brands do you carry?
EM: I carry Cordani shoes, which are designed in Italy but made in a factory in Los Angeles; Jon Josef from Spain, French Sole (FS/NY) and Swedish Hasbeens. Prices begin at $75 for flats and go to $250 for boots.
MLB: What styles and size range?
EM: At any one time, I carry about 15 different styles of flats, pumps and sandals with various heel heights in sizes 5-11, all mediums. I don’t focus as much on trends as on comfort. If a woman wears the right pair of shoes for her, her posture is different and so is her attitude. If I don’t have a customer’s size in my van, I’ll get it and deliver it to her doorstep for free.
MLB: Why do you operate only on weekends?
EM: I have a full-time job, but I wanted to give this business a try. I’m planning what to do when I retire, and if this works out … Through word of mouth and advertising, the business is growing. Most of my customers walk out with two pairs of shoes.
MLB: In addition to a lot of hard work, what do you think has helped make you successful?
EM: Passion for what I do. Marilyn Monroe supposedly said: “Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.” I would change that to give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the boardroom, the ballroom, any room at all.”
AS THE WASHINGTON POST recently pointed out, this is a slightly strange holiday: No one knows exactly which presidents are being celebrated, not every state agrees on what to call the day–and where to place the apostrophe in Presidents (before the “s,” after it or not at all) is up for grabs.
No matter which POTUS you feel like honoring (or none–we won’t tell!), MyLittleBird is taking a day off and wishing all our readers a very happy three-day weekend. See you back here on Tuesday.
Panel 5 of Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration of the Negro.
Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Series, Panel no. 17: Tenant farmers received harsh treatment at the hands of planters.
Panel 40 of Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series, showing the migrants arriving in great numbers.
The Migration of the Negro, Panel 45.
Panel 58 of Jacob Lawrence’s 1940-41 series about the Great Migration of black people to the North.
IT WAS 1993 and my neighbor Beth Turner, curator at the Phillips Collection near Dupont Circle, took on a big project reuniting all 60 works in Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series, which depicts the mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North between World War I and World War II.
Artist Jacob Lawrence and his wife, Gwendolyn Knight.
Half of the small rectangular panels produced in New York when the artist was first making a name for himself (1941) had been at MOMA and half at the Phillips. I had a background in art history and with both kids in school, a lot of time on my hands. Over the next few months the latent dream of working in an art museum came with an undreamed of benefit — becoming friends with a living legend and his loving partner-wife. While Beth toiled over how to borrow the fragile art, get permission to reproduce the images, find suitable authors for the catalogue texts, schedule interviews for the video — all very interesting — I was the one who was available to drive the artist and his wife Gwen around from taping appointment to drinks at the Fairfax, and even dinner at our house. A point of mild but amusing contention between us friends, this quality time and access.
Anyway, I will never forget one treasured exchange: Edging our mini station wagon up Massachusetts Avenue, the Lawrences sitting together in the back, I observed that the roses my husband Jim had sent me earlier in the week for my birthday — and that the Lawrences had seen at the beginning of the week’s exhibition festivities– had started to dry up and fade from bright yellow to a golden tan. Shamelessly bringing up the subject of color and fading nature to a pair of aesthetes, I allowed as how I planned to save the petals. “Beautiful. Things are beautiful in all phases of life,” said Gwen. “Sure are. Yes they are,” answered Jake.
And I remember another memorable exchange with the Lawrences, this time Jake taking the lead. Perhaps musing about the sometimes difficult narrative subject matter of much of his work — like a fading rose, adversity could be meaningful and worthy to tackle in any expressive art form (and life) Jake would claim, saying more than once during our friendship, “the Beauty is in the struggle.”
To see how Lawrence captured struggle beautifully, see the the artist’s Struggle series, illustrating scenes from American history, from the Revolutionary War through the great westward expansion of 1817. It’s at the Phillips Collection through Aug. 9, 2015.
–Deba Leach Deba Leach, a former Washington, D.C., art dealer, is a graduate student in American art at the University of Iowa.
Formerly artistic and executive director of Stanford Live at Stanford University, Jenny Bilfield took over the helm of the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPA) almost two years ago. MyLittleBird contributor Ellyn Wexler talked to her about how the job and move to D.C. are going.
MLB: Now that you are approaching two years as president and CEO of WPA, have your expectations upon taking the job been met? How have your goals for the organization adjusted?
JB: I’d say that my expectations have been completely exceeded…and they were pretty high to begin. I’ve come to truly understand and appreciate the impact that WPA has had in the D.C. community, and on a national arts playing field. I’ve met people whose lives have been literally transformed — through the performances they’ve attended, the programs their children have participated in and the people they’ve met through this organization. I’ve heard from artists whose careers have been altered through the nurturing and platform we’ve provided. And also, I’ve seen that there’s significantly more room for growth, collaboration, adventuresome programming and creativity on a scale I didn’t expect to see or tap into so early on. I’m doing some of my best creative work here. And I feel well supported within my team, board and community of peers. People are driven here and I find that my job is a great fit for my workaholic personality. I love being back in a city, where people are working to make an impact…locally, nationally, street by street. Very powerful.
MLB: How did your experience as artistic and executive director of Stanford Live at Stanford University translate to WPA?
JB: Stanford students were a priority for us — engaging them as co-programmers, potential audience, intellectual partners…and as future leaders. D.C. is filled with smart, young, ambitious people…there’s an immediate opportunity to translate engagement efforts from Stanford to here, as we build an audience for the future. At Stanford, I thought a lot about programmatic differentiation — the ‘why’ of coming to a performance…and what we would be offering students and our adult audiences that would compel them to come to a live event. This vigilance translates easily to D.C. — with so many cultural options and so little time, people need to make decisions based upon affinity, interest, specialness. Our role is to underscore why the live experience is meaningful…and to work with our artists to ensure that programs feel, and are, special and specific. Finally, the sense of play, invention, curiosity is something I have always valued — and these qualities were very much a component of the Silicon Valley and Stanford communities. Energizing these qualities here, and tapping into communities that embrace and value them, is high on my to-do list both programmatically and in terms of audience development and reach.
MLB: Has your affinity for contemporary music and artists changed the organization?
JB: I’ve amped up our commission projects significantly and quickly secured funding to do so. There’s support here, and a growing audience appetite. I’ve done so in tandem with artists who are connected to D.C., connected with WPA and for whom these projects are important ‘signature’ activities. The organization has long invested in contemporary, up-and coming-artists — our Hayes Piano Series is just that. Transferring that sense of investment to commissioning seems natural. And having the artists as our partners in this effort makes the initiative powerful and well supported.
MLB: What WPA initiatives have you continued? And what new ones have you initiated?
JB: The great classical programming, educational programs, gospel choirs and other core programs absolutely continue — I’ve added important refinements in collaboration with my team here, and established key strategic initiatives to grow support and depth. I’ve developed special additional programs that focus on collaboration, deeper investment in and development of key genres, programs. An Innovation Fund for new work (commissions, projects); a Mars Urban Arts Initiative designed to connect urban amateur artists with main stage artists; special collaborations that accentuate American history and cultural assets — our Marian Anderson Of Thee We Sing program in 2014 that engaged choirs from around D.C., artists from all genres (including Jessye Norman and Dionne Warwick) in collaboration with BET/Centric; SHIFT, a partnership with The Kennedy Center to showcase American orchestras in three annual, one-week festivals beginning in 2017.
MLB: How has your life changed, by moving to in the D.C. area? Your family’s?
JB: This has been a great move for everyone in our family! For me — I love being back in a city — the diverse community, the sense of an evolving landscape, living in a more densely populated environment — has been great. I’ve become more actively involved in advocacy…nationally, and locally. I’m on the Steering Committee for ArtsActionDC, an advocacy group comprising arts organizations from around the city (circa 60 of us in the big group — focusing on increasing visibility and financial support for the growing arts and creative community here) and have met very ambitious, smart, strategic thinkers who are building a strong platform for the arts — both in local government and within agencies that fund the arts. Diving into the economic and urban planning aspects of arts support is fascinating and topical — and a crash course in civic engagement. I’m also a member of the Federal City Council, which is stewarded by former Mayor Anthony Williams. Members of my board of directors — chaired by the one-of-a-kind Reginald Van Lee, executive vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton — are leading lights in the D.C. business community and in government affairs, as well as philanthropy — so I’m drawn into work in these arenas and have learned a great deal in the process. Discovering interests that were heretofore untapped and unrecognized! I’ve also loved reconnecting with friends, many of whom are work colleagues as well. It felt like ‘home’ very quickly.
My husband, composer Joel Phillip Friedman, has found many like-minded artists — performers, composers, arts managers — who have warmly embraced his work and have commissioned/performed it as well. He loves teaching at Georgetown University, and he’s writing some of his most beautiful music here. Our daughter, Hallie, is 14 and loves attending Edmund Burke School — a nurturing and challenging school (a good balance!) and a great teacher/family cohort. She also participates avidly in the Levine School’s musical theater and vocal programs. Our parrots are neutral on the move, though we’ve become quite the attraction in our apartment building. And our dog, well, she’s a sun-worshipping little Chihuahua-terrier mix with very little fur, so she suffers visibly in the snow. But her winter ‘wardrobe’ is ‘snappy,’ as my late father would say.
MLB: Have you engaged in the community of women leading arts organizations in the region?
JB: This was one of the truly cool ‘aha’ moments moving to D.C.: meeting so many extraordinary women in leadership positions, both in the arts and in other businesses. Super smart, quick-witted, warm, collaborative, welcoming. Very, very impressive, and from a variety of diverse backgrounds. They are heroes, role models and wise guides. Too numerous to mention, which says a lot about the quality and quantity of women making a major impact here. From arts CEO’s to journalists to philanthropists to civic leaders. Pretty stunning.
— Ellyn Wexler Ellyn Wexler is a frequent MyLittleBird contributor.
WHEN IT COMES to theater, audiences fall into two camps — those who like musicals and those who don’t. I’m firmly in the former category, a certifiable song-and-dance lover. And so was the audience who leapt to their feet yelling “Bravo!” on opening night of the Kennedy Center’s production of “Gigi,” starring Vanessa Hudgens, directed by Signature Theater’s Eric Shaeffer.
The crowd of the young and the old(er) cheered (indeed, had to refrain from singing along) with the well-known Lerner & Loewe tunes — “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” “The Night They Invented Champagne” and “I Remember It Well,” among many, many others — and clapped for the terrific dancing by the ensemble cast.
Hudgens adds the right amount of sauce to her role as the precocious and then grown-up Gigi. Corey Cott as confirmed bachelor Gaston Lachaille sings the title song with enough passion to make your heart break for him. Gigi’s grandmother Mamita (played by Victoria Clark) and Aunt Alicia (Dee Hoty) make a memorable pair as they battle over the importance of teaching Gigi to serve coffee correctly and drawing up a legal document to ensure Gigi’s future as Gaston’s mistress. The latter involves a hilarious scene with a posse of lawyers, whom Alicia instructs her help not to let even sit on the upholstery. Gaston’s uncle Honore Lachaille (Howard McGillin) is a charming scoundrel who himself gives into the sweet but strong Mamita when they sing the duet “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore.” Even though ex-girlfriend Liane d’Exelmans (Steffanie Leigh) is thoroughly unlikable, it’s hard not to fall for her voice.
Finally, there’s the play’s setting — the enchanting Belle Epoque Paris of small cafes, velvety interiors and glamorous fashion. A night at Maxim’s calls for white tie and couture long dresses. Bien sur.
If you miss the show in D.C., you can catch it on Broadway when it opens April 8.
“STOP BUYING TYLENOL, Aleve, Motrin or any other brand-name painkiller,” writes Sarah Kliff on Vox.com. Instead, choose acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen. Generic versions cost about one-third of brand-name drugs, or according to the FDA, are usually 80 to 85 percent cheaper.
Although more than half of all painkiller sales in the United States are for name brands, pharmacists choose brand-name products for only 9 percent of their purchases, and health professionals across the board are “significantly more likely to buy generic ibuprofen that the rest of us,” according to Dutch research – which found that the people most likely to purchase brand-name products are those who cannot name the active ingredient in the painkillers they buy.
At Walgreens.com, the price of Tylenol (Extra strength, 100 tablets) is $9.49 compared with Acetaminophen (Extra strength, 100 tablets) for $2.39, according to the comparison site diffen.com (although I couldn’t find these exact formulations or prices).
When Consumer Reports’s “secret shoppers” called more than 200 pharmacies throughout the U.S. to ask about the price of five “blockbuster” generic drugs — including the antidepressant Lexapro and the statin Lipitor – and then added up the prices for all five at each store, they found a “whopping difference of $749, or 447 percent between the highest- and lowest- priced stores.”
The least expensive was Costco; online retailers Healthwarehouse.com and FamilyMeds.com also had very low prices. CVS, Rite Aid and Target had the highest prices, which their representatives say covers the additional services offered, including 24-hour pharmacies (Costco pharmacies are only open 10 a.m. to 7 or 8:30 p.m.), automated prescription refill services, etc. A month’s supply of Lexapro, 20 mg., went for $7 at Costco versus $126 at CVS.
It turns out drug purchasers should be proactive about prices; the Consumer Reports shoppers were not always given the lowest price. “Be sure to explain – whether you have insurance or not – that you want the lowest price,” Consumer Reports advises. “Our shoppers found that student and senior discounts may also apply, but again, you have to ask.”
Rural pharmacies can also have lower prices: a 30-day supply of generic Actos, a diabetes medication, in the city of Raleigh, N.C. costs $203, compared to $37 at a rural North Carolina store. Because most pharmacies offer discounts on a three-month supply, try to get the 90-day refill instead of 30.
Although these numbers make it tempting to shop around, Consumer Reports’ medical consultants advise using a single pharmacy to help avoid dangerous drug interactions.
According to FDA regulations, a generic must be as safe and as effective as the brand-name drug, though trademark laws mean the two cannot look the same. That said, when a friend was prescribed Zoloft, her doctor specified getting the generic made by Greenstone, which was not available at her local CVS. Greenstone LLC is owned by Pfizer, the original developer of Zoloft. The Greenstone pill is considered a “branded generic” because it is produced by a generics manufacturer (Greenstone) that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company that makes the branded version (Pfizer).
“Branded generics” can also be those given a “brand” name by their generic manufacturer – very confusing! Also confusing: the one drug that health professionals are more likely than everyone else to buy in its brand-name formulation, not the generic, is Alka-Seltzer — though no one knows the reason why.
I GAVE UP CIGARETTES seven years ago. I don’t do recreational drugs. Oh sure, I used to smoke pot, but those days are long gone and now it just makes me dizzy and sort of depressed. I am not a compulsive eater or bulimic or anorexic. I hate shopping and still have just the one pair of jeans with paint stains and thin knees that I bought right when I moved to Maine, and that was years ago. I don’t drink, unless you count a glass of red wine with dinner. I do not gamble, I am not a sex addict, compulsive exerciser, workaholic or yoga freak. I am basically going it alone, except for one thing that is becoming a problem I can no longer ignore: I am a pursaholic.I realized the enormity of this problem last Saturday afternoon, when my husband and I drove downtown to see a movie. We had about an hour to kill, and I realized with a thrill that the theater was just a few blocks away from a leather goods store filled with handbags from floor to ceiling. Feeling anxious for no good reason besides life itself, I checked my watch and saw that I could run in, get a quick fix, and still make the movie but feel happier and more relaxed about everything.
I ransacked the shelves, inspecting and then rejecting bags for any infraction: Bad color, too big, not big enough, too many pockets, sticky zipper, shoulder strap too long, shoulder strap too short, ugly lining, a passing fad, an ostentatious logo, too much hardware or just “not me.” (Price is never a concern, it’s just got to feel right.) I was beginning to panic, the clock was ticking, and then I saw it: Classic black, great leather, good label with no visible logo, not too small but big enough, and tasteful. I began to breathe easier and noticed the buzzing in my ears beginning to subside. “This one is perfect!” I cried, showing it to Mitch. He grabbed it, paid, and we were back in the car in 15 minutes.
I was exhilarated. I changed from my old purse into my new purse in time to see the coming attractions and ate a lot less popcorn than I might have otherwise. When I got home I avoided the closet where all the other purses, each formerly perfect at one time, lay in a pile.
–Andrea Rouda Andrea Rouda, who blogs at Call Me Madcap!, is a frequent contributor to MyLittleBird.
A FOND FAREWELL to 2014, hello 2015. The MyLittleBird team wishes you a joyous New Year. We’ll be celebrating with our friends and family and perhaps regretting that one last glass of Champagne. In any event, we’ll see you back here tomorrow with another chapter from Marcia Muir Mitchell’s memoir.
ABOUT THE ONLY thing this film gets right, besides the stunning cinematography that almost makes seeing it worthwhile–I said almost— is the title. Never has the word “crawler” been used more appropriately, bringing to mind all sorts of creepy, unsavory, slimy things of the night. Sadly, Jake Gyllenhaal does a bang-up job as Louis Bloom, a repulsive insect. I may never like him again, which is sad because I always counted him among my favorite actors. But in this film he’s a sociopathic, half-demented weirdo with no redeeming qualities, and that’s being kind.
As a petty thief looking for a career, our hero stumbles onto a late-night car crash and is fascinated by the news photographers who show up to film the grisly scene. Watching them, he gets the idea that he could to the same thing himself. And so, being a self-described “quick learner,” next thing you know he’s got himself a cheap camcorder and is scurrying around L.A. looking for tragedy to record and sell to the local news.
There are so many loopholes in the script it’s a wonder I didn’t fall through one and end up in John Malkovich’s brain. For example, how does Lou pay the rent for his crummy apartment? How come he doesn’t know a soul? And just what rock did he crawl out from under? (We are given no background information on him, other than his name.) But the question you will ask yourself continually is what the heck is wrong with his eyeballs? They bulge out in a monstrous way, and you’re stuck watching the whites of his eyes, complete with little red veins, in every close-up. Are they fake? Is it Halloween again? What’s going on? And why are the L. A. police so slow to show up for everything? Lou beats them to the crime scene every time, despite the fact that he’s listening to their police radio and hearing alerts the same time they do. Are they all out getting donuts?
Bloom thinks nothing of killing people, be they friend or foe, to get ahead, or using extortion as a path to sexual gratification. The object of his affection is Nina, played by Rene Russo looking haggard and quite unattractive, in part due to about a pound of blue eye shadow apparently applied with a palette knife. (Again with the eyes!) Nina, another creepy crawler, is an unsavory TV news director who wants videos of the goriest, most heinous things out there to increase her station’s ratings. Bloom is her man. Together they work their black magic; Bloom’s wallet grows fatter as Nina’s ratings rise.
Halfway through, my husband, a major rubbernecker who likes to see gore as much as the next guy, whispered to me that “this is so dumb” and that he could “leave at any time.” I promised him that things would improve, having heard that Gyllenhaal was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. Sadly, things went from bad to worse. Now, besides all the negative images in my head, my husband was once again proven right. I hate that.
–Andrea Rouda Andrea Rouda, a frequent MyLittleBird contributor, blogs at “Call Me Madcap!”
It’s a Wonderful Time of Year for Christmas Movies
Always heartwarming, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
Natalie Wood believes in Santa (Edmund Gwenn) in “Miracle on 34th Street.”
Glamorous Barbara Stanwyck is wooed by Dennis Morgan in the 1947 classic, “Christmas in Connecticut.”
Watch “A Christmas Story” with little kids who will relate.
Tim Allen stars in the 1994 movie, “The Santa Clause.”
GROWING UP JEWISH I never experienced Christmas firsthand, a blow softened by our Italian Catholic neighbors right next door who did it up big. Thanks to them my sister and I always got our share of candy canes, tinsel, eggnog, cookies and all that cool Santa stuff. Still, we were dismayed that there was no twinkling tree in our living room and mortified that neither lights nor reindeer adorned our drab rooftop. To compensate we indulged in as many Christmas movies as were available. Several of them left an indelible mark, and likely not just on us.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is surely the leader of the pack. A lovely fable shot in timeless black and white starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, most people have probably seen it the same number of times as their age since it is has aired on TV every Christmas since TV began. Directed by Frank Capra and released in 1947, it’s one that never grows old, filled not only with holiday cheer but important life lessons. Who among us has not imagined how bad everyone else would feel if we were dead?
When his tiny bank fails because of a scam by the town’s greediest rival banker (a Scrooge-like Lionel Barrymore) bent on destroying him, George (Stewart) contemplates suicide rather than tell the townsfolk he’s lost all their money. But then the Angel Clarence—it’s Christmas, after all– intervenes and shows him how rotten everyone’s lives would have been without him. All ends happily and even mean old Mr. Potter warms up, just in time for Christmas. Donna Reed looks stunning throughout with never a hair out of place, and Jimmy Stewart is at his reediest, most attractive moment. This is a must-see-every-year film, usually with a mug of steaming cocoa in hand and a wad of Kleenex at the ready.
My personal favorite had more to do with glamour and romance than Christmas. The glorious Barbara Stanwyck starred in “Christmas in Connecticut,” another 1947 gem that had me wishing I hadn’t been born in Brooklyn but on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A comedy of errors typical of the times, Stanwyck is a single food writer who, in print, pretends to be a married mother living on a country estate in Connecticut. To appease her fans and keep her job, she agrees to act out the charade when her publisher, unaware of the ruse, dreams up a “holiday on the farm” feature for the magazine and plans to attend.
Dennis Morgan is the handsome Navy war hero invited for the weekend who falls in love with our girl, wooing her with a few romantic songs. On hand for the hijinks are Sydney Greenstreet who was in just about everything in those days, along with another rotund, white-haired character actor, S. Z. Sakall, who had a Hungarian accent and spit on everyone when he talked. (I always liked him.) Against a backdrop of horse-drawn sleighs and snowy white hillsides, never more beautiful than when shot in black and white, Stanwyck wears fabulous dresses throughout, all with tiny waists and big shoulders.
“Miracle on 34th Street” is a great yarn about Santa being real that continues to confuse youngsters to this day. The Santa in question is Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) who applies for a job at Macy’s when the one they already had gets drunk on the day of the big parade. Naturally nobody believes his claim that he is the real deal except a young girl who turns out to be 8-year-old Natalie Wood in her first big role. Her mother (Maureen O’Hara) works at Macy’s and you can just guess all the rest. John Payne, a leading man of the day in yet another 1947 film, supplying the necessary love interest, lives across the hall from O’Hara and provides afternoon day care for her daughter. (Really, it’s not as odd as it sounds.)
Terrible things befall poor Santa, including a short stay at a mental institution and a trial in front of the New York State Supreme Court, all because he insists he is really Santa. I totally believed him, until I saw Tim Allen in “The Santa Clause,” who leaves no doubt that he is the real Santa. A modern (1994) take on a similar theme, Allen literally falls into the job when he slides off his roof and lands on top of Santa Claus, killing him. Turns out whoever kills Santa has the job whether he wants it or not, and Allen is on tap for next year, with 365 days to get ready.
Among the many joys of this movie is perhaps the most dramatic transformation of any actor on screen except for Jeff Goldblum turning into a fly in “The Fly.” Allen gets fatter, older and more bearded with every passing month, and by the time Christmas Eve rolls around he has been fully Santa-ized. He then spends the night going up and down chimneys and flying around in his sled with Dancer and Prancer and all the rest of them. It’s Tim Allen at his best, and if you haven’t seen it yet, this is the year to fix that.
This whole walk down memory lane started when I confessed to a friend that I had never seen “A Christmas Story,” which is apparently considered a true holiday classic released in 1983. So to get me up to speed she had Amazon deliver a DVD to my door pronto. I watched it today and now I know everything.
I know about the Leg Lamp, which is a lamp shaped like the naked leg of a mannequin with a fringed shade on top that the father (Darren McGavin) really loves and the mother (Melinda Dillon) does not. I know about the scene where a kid gets his tongue stuck to a frozen pole, which I could hardly watch. And I know that to fully appreciate the film it’s best to see it with little children who will relate to the plight of a 9-year-old boy in Indiana who desperately wants a certain toy rifle for Christmas. Alas, my own son is now 27 and was not around. On the plus side, it was the first Christmas movie I have ever seen that made me happy I’m a Jew.
Most holiday classics are available at Amazon and often packaged together as special Christmas gift DVD sets. Alternatively, check your local TV listings for broadcasts. Cable movie channels, such as Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and AMC, are a good bet during Christmas week.
–Andrea Rouda Andrea Rouda blogs at “Call Me Madcap!”
THE SKINCARE COMPANY KIEHL’S is not new. In fact, it was founded as an apothecary in New York City’s East Village neighborhood (at the corner of Third Avenue and Thirteenth Street) 160 years ago. Hence, its full name — Kiehl’s Since 1851. The store, which began business offering customers natural remedies for their medical ailments, morphed into one that focused on skincare using botanical ingredients, such as lavender, calendula and blue algae, in simple, no-frills packaging.
New Yorkers of a certain age remember the store as a best-kept secret among skincare aficionados. Saying someone went to Kiehl’s for their products gave them instant status. Company lore has it that Andy Warhol used to buy the Blue Astringent toner in the 32-ounce size and was a regular patron to the store that was only blocks away from his famous studio, The Factory.
The newest standalone outpost in Westfield Montgomery, the company’s 63rd store, joins other locations in Tysons Corner and Georgetown, all appointed with historical photos, apothecary artifacts and motorcycles from second-generation owner Aaron Morse’s collection.
Die-hards swear by the Creme de Corps body moisturizer. Profits from sales of this season’s limited edition featuring a Norman Rockwell sledding illustration benefit Feeding America.
“Thirteen Studies for Paintings,” at Hemphill Gallery through Dec. 20, is a show that changes assumptions.
Although Alma Thomas (1891-1978) has been considered an intuitive artist, these preparatory pieces for her large-scale abstract works offer evidence to the contrary. They indicate instead the thoughtful and deliberate process of this mid-20th-century African American painter.
“The work in our show reveals aspects of her thinking and strategy that have not been clearly exemplified in the past,” said George Hemphill, owner and founder of the contemporary art gallery that bears his name. “This is the important and distinguishing aspect of the exhibition.”
“Thomas made both watercolor and acrylic studies, sometimes as many as 20, before painting a canvas,” said Dr. David C. Hart, the Cleveland Institute of Art associate professor who inherited the Thomas studies from his uncle, the painter’s friend and student, and collaborated with Hemphill on the exhibit.
The show, Hart said, “invites us to better know those larger works by seeing their lineage. These visually striking studies offer insight into the range of her formal experiments and provide an occasion to appreciate the fineness and clarity of her process.”
Notations, made on papers that are taped or pinned together on many of the studies, prove that the artist planned her paintings in terms of color, rhythm and pattern, Hemphill noted.
Prior to being recognized as a professional artist, Thomas, who had a bachelor of science from Howard University, its first fine-art program graduate, and a master’s in art education from Columbia University, taught art at D.C.’s Shaw Junior High School for 35 years. After retiring in 1960, she studied painting at American University. According to Hemphill, Thomas’ “primary effort came after the heyday of abstract expressionism and sat alongside the Washington Color School. But there is a distinct difference in her work from that of the Color Field painters, particularly in how she saw color and how she used abstraction as a metaphor.”
“She thrived in an art world that commonly excluded both African-Americans and women,” Hart observed. Thomas was the first African-American female artist to have a solo exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as an exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1972.
Since her death, Hemphill said, Thomas’ “significant contribution” has been increasingly recognized. “Many institutions failed to acquire her work as well as that of other mid-20th-century African-American artists when it was being created. … Now [I] suppose they are playing catch-up.”
Not so for Hemphill, who said, being able to mount the show required “attaining a certain position in the art world and most importantly, the good fortune to be presented with the opportunity. Accumulating enough available Alma Thomas work for an exhibition is very difficult.”
He said his gallery has included Thomas’ work “in previous shows that were thematic in nature. And we have had the good fortune to work with more than a few Thomas paintings throughout the history of the gallery.”
The works in the show, says Hemphill, range in price from $12,000 to $68,000. “We provide prices upon request so that the experience of the show is not distracted by money values,” he said, noting that Thomas paintings cost between $75,000 and $400,000.
RIGHT AROUND THE corner from Thomas Sweet’s ice cream store in Georgetown — at 1427 Wisconsin Avenue NW — you can find a consignment shop chock-full of gifting goodies that will thrill everyone on your holiday list this year.
The Christ Child Opportunity Shop, which had begun in people’s homes in the 1890s, was given its current address by the society’s founder, Mary Virginia Merrick, in the 1930s. What started as a thrift store has turned into a higher-end consignment shop. All proceeds go toward funding the society’s programs for underprivileged children, from infancy through 12th grade, with special focus on Anacostia.
Jay York has been the store’s manager for more than 10 years. He was joined by assistant manager, Gabrielle Van Massenhove, in 2010. It has been their goal to “ramp up” the store’s image by focusing their attention on research; that in turn has led to knowledgeable item-pricing based on the age, condition and “designer marketing” of high-end brands such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton, J. Mendel, Baccarat, Herend and Meissen.
York and Van Massenhove view the store more as an “antiques adoption agency” than as a consignment store. The brisk sale of brand names has increased revenues substantially: Annual profits have gone up 50 percent in the past four years—from more than $1 million to more than $1.5 million.
York specializes in furniture and art; Van Massenhove’s niche is silver, jewelry, ceramics and designer accessories. At age 15, she had a silver-polishing business, where she learned to distinguish among silversmiths’ marks. She enjoys sharing rare finds with appreciative customers. Pointing out a 1727 pitcher, she says, “British silver has fantastic markings!”
This past summer, the store went through a renovation in order to show off the merchandise to its best advantage. On the first floor, there is now a “Room of Glasses,” as well as neat shelving all around the room. The cash register — surrounded by a glass case containing costume jewelry costing up to $100 — has been moved to the middle of the room. Art covers most of the wall space. Every nook and cranny holds some treasure.
Upstairs, five locked cases hold handbags (including a sizable collection of Louis Vuitton that sometimes spills over into two cases) and ones from Gucci, Longchamp and Kate Spade. There are also two large cases of semiprecious and precious jewelry. During my last visit, I spotted a delicate, lovely gold Tiffany wristwatch for $1,200. This is the place to find Hermes scarves, which generally sell from about $200 to $500.
York and Van Massenhove are assisted by very devoted, friendly, knowledgeable and passionate volunteers, who usually work four to eight hours per week.
The Christ Child Opportunity Shop accepts both outright donations and consignments (by appointment). The sale of consignments results in a 60 percent split for the consigner (items priced over $300); a 50-50 split for items less than $300. For furniture, it’s also a 50-50 split. The shop doesn’t accept clothing, appliances, toys or books. Items remain at full price for 60 days; are reduced by 10 percent after 60 days; and go down another 15 percent after another 60 days (see more details at Christ Child Society of D.C. ).
“Where good deals become good deeds” is the store’s motto. Take it to heart in this season of giving.
–Georgina Marrero Georgina Marrero is a freelance writer living in Washington, D.C.
IT’S NOT THAT Kathryn Wat has anything against all the statues of generals on horseback in downtown D.C. The National Museum of Women in the Arts’ chief curator thinks they deserve due respect. But a few years ago, after realizing that sculptures by women were conspicuously absent from the capital city’s public spaces, Wat and her colleagues set out to change that. The New York Avenue Sculpture Project, which displays rotating installations by contemporary female artists, is the realization of their effort “to create balance.”
The DowntownDC Business Improvement District became a full partner in the endeavor, seeking, much like the museum officials, to make New York Avenue “a pedestrian-friendly corridor and strengthen its sense of place as an arts and cultural district.”
Magdalena Abakanowicz is the third sculptor to show her work in the median outside the museum. Her “Walking Figures” (bronze, 2009), 10 nearly nine-foot tall armless, headless figures; “The Second Never Seen Figure on Beam with Wheels” (bronze, 2001) and “Stainless Bird on Pole I, II and III,” dynamic birds in flight (stainless steel, 2009), were installed in September and are on view through Sept. 27, 2015.
Born and bred in rural Poland, where instability has reigned, Abakanowicz, now 84, imbues her work with her experiences of the brutality and deprivation of war and revolution, and 45 years of Soviet domination.
A “pioneer among women creating outdoor sculpture, her reach has been global,” Wat says. Abakanowicz’s pieces are on view in Italy, Japan, South Korea, Israel and Lithuania as well as in Chicago’s Grant Park.
The sculpture project opened in 2010 with Niki de Saint Phalle’s mosaic works, which Wat describes as “vibrant and fun, celebrating women and nature.” She believes “their intensity did help put the project on the map.” Chakaia Booker’s abstract black rubber sculptures, which followed in 2012, “are dynamic, too, but edgier.”
Wat characterizes Abakanowicz’s sculptures as “more serious.” The artist takes on universal issues, including the power of nature, destruction and hope.
“By abstracting figures pretty dramatically (headless and or/armless, plus very simplified forms overall), each figure can represent any gender, any human identity — a universal humanity,” Wat observes.
“They have this push-pull quality that I find very provocative: in one respect, they’re timeless and formal looking with symmetry and strong shapes. But they embody and evoke a lot of emotion, too,” she adds.
Visitors often remark on the power of these pieces, she says. “They see the seriousness, and come into the museum to ask thoughtful questions about what the work means. Despite its location, this is not drive-by art.”
Wat went to Marlborough Gallery’s warehouse in New York City to select Abakanowicz’s pieces for the site.
“First and foremost, I sought works that would represent different aspects of the artist’s work. Because we have to place sculptures within a pre-determined amount of space with height and weight restrictions, I also always look for objects that will fit and can be installed properly,” she says.
“In the case of ‘Walking Figures,’ because our existing sculpture pad would not accommodate all 10 figures, we ended up constructing a larger pad. That was an effort worth making for such an iconic piece,” she explains.
The installation was carefully designed, considering both scale and content. And Wat is pleased with the effect.
“I like having the single figure (“The Second Never Seen Figure…”) lead things off at 13th Street, as it faces out into that intersection, and the birds sailing off toward 12th Street and points east; I think there’s a nice balance there. Because the palette of the sculptures is quiet — grays and browns — there’s a subtlety to this installation that’s different from the previous two.”
And perhaps most noteworthy, she points out, “The works blend in more with the urban surroundings, but I like the feeling that they’re so integrated into the space.”
The process for selecting an artist starts with the museum, which provides review materials about candidates to members of an advisory group consisting of Wat and museum director Susan Fisher Sterling, both non-voting members, and 10 representatives from civic organizations. In January, limited in her suggestions to work that can be available for at least one year, Wat will initiate the search for next sculptor in the series.
Meanwhile, time is ample to examine and appreciate Abakanowicz’s work. Like all great art, these sculptures make you think and feel — even surrounded by the cacophony of the urban streets. Stop by rather than drive by because close up, and especially at night, the larger-than-life scale of the army of armless and headless bronze figures is striking. That the figures, cast from textile models the sculptor built by hand, are hollow from the rear yet somehow individualized by varying textures on the fronts, accentuates their intensity. The missed potential for movement implied by the motionless walking men, the single headless figure joined to a beam supported by two immobile wheels as well as the three birds immobile in flight is good reason to pause amid your own journey on New York Avenue.
–Ellyn Wexler Ellyn Wexler is a freelance writer living in Gaithersburg.
YOGA CLASSES ARE each so different that it’s possible to attend many before finding the perfect fit: a schedule that works, a location that’s convenient, and, most important, a teacher you trust. In lieu of that discovery, or when traveling, or simply for days between classes, I’ve always wanted a set of poses that could both be done relatively quickly and worked on my weaknesses: tight hamstrings and spine mildly stiffened by arthritis.
Hence: “yoga therapy”–offered at yoga studios and at more than 90 percent of “integrative medical centers,” known for providing a mix of Western and alternative healthcare, around the country.
When I arrived at Flow Yoga on P Street, a little early on an exceptionally hot July day– not a bad place to spend 15 minutes among Lululemon, Starbucks and the design stores on 14th street–each of three or four staff people greeted me, asked if I had been taken care of and avoided mentioning the sweat dripping from my face, hair, T-shirt, pants. Someone brought me a cup of lemony water.
My “yoga therapist,” Brittanie DeChino, assessed my body and gave me a series of 11 poses, including one “corpse” and three “child’s poses, which I liked at first: easy and so relaxing. In between were lunges and bridges, and a few other more strenuous poses. This regimen was confirmed when I got several of the same poses/exercises from a physical therapist dealing with my arthritic back. At the series end came the tennis ball, a new one to me: lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, roll the ball under each buttock, “30 seconds minimum on each side”–ouch!
Yoga therapy is generally used for modifying traditional yoga poses to suit your own body and for treating injuries. “There is a growing body of evidence that yoga may be beneficial for low-back pain,” according to NIH News and Events. On the GaiamLife website, New York rehab physician Loren Fishman prescribes downward-facing dog for osteoporosis, twisted triangle pose for piriformis syndrome (pain, tingling or numbness in the buttocks), and side plank pose for scoliosis–although these benefits may come mostly from yoga’s relaxing effects. Fishman says. “Just being calm is a tremendous asset when you are in pain.”
Believing that I should have more than one yoga-therapy experience to write about as well as being ready for something different and a little more demanding, I tried a different Flow Yoga therapist. From Gopi Kinnicutt, who had also been recommended by friends, the poses were very challenging–including triangle, revolving/twisted triangle and warrior, all modified to push and twist my spine. In contrast to the first therapy regimen, most of Gopi’s poses required standing up, which made me feel more like I was accomplishing something. And her entire series goes more quickly because it omits the long periods of relaxation that weren’t feeling very useful. Gopi also ends with a ball–though she prefers something harder like a baseball or soccer ball–to be rolled up and down one side of the spine and then the other–ouch! ouch!
Other good features of my Flow Yoga experience: being able to make all the arrangements by email–no phone calls with on-holds and voice messages; and, at the end, only scant reference to scheduling another session.
–Mary Carpenter
Editor’s Note:This is the first in an ongoing series that will sample local healthy-body experiences, including flotation tanks, far-infrared ray saunas and hot yoga. Suggestions are welcome.
MY FAVORITE SHEETS are a 400-thread-count set I bought several years ago at Costco. They’re deliciously soft and have held up pretty well (even though I’m known in my family for ruining everyone’s laundry). I had no idea what made my Costco find great, so I was at a complete loss when I ventured out to replace my guest-room sheets. Did I want all-cotton, flannel, linen? Is a 1,000-count set worth the steep price tag? And what on earth does Supima mean? After asking around, I nailed down three factors (and a number of buzzwords) to consider:
1.FABRIC CONTENT
Cotton/polyester blends are cheapest, and also the most durable, because polyester is resistant to fading, shrinking and wrinkling. But you may end up clammy if you run warm or experience hot flashes. Unlike cotton, polyester doesn’t wick away moisture. Pure cotton sheets are also softer and less splotch-prone. Cotton is super absorbent in the wash, allowing it to better release stains.
If you go the all-cotton route, there are three main types to choose from. Egyptian cotton, so named because it grows near the Nile, is the most luxurious, followed by Pima cotton (trade name: Supima). Both are made from superior, extra-long fibers, making them extremely soft, absorbent and strong. (Check labels for purity. Unless a product boasts 100 percent Egyptian or Pima cotton, there may be sub-par yarns mixed in.) If a product has a generic label that says simply “100 percent cotton,” it’s most likely made of American Upland cotton, which is a scratchier, less exclusive product.
Linen is another option, particularly in sticky climates. It dries quickly (wicking away sweat), is cool to the touch and allows for superior air circulation. But linen sheets can feel scratchy if they’re not super-high-quality (read: pricy) and, of course, they wrinkle like crazy. Flannel (which can be made of wool, cotton or synthetic fibers) keeps you warm on cold nights by trapping body heat, acting as an insulator.
Whatever the material, keep in mind that most sheets are treated with chemicals to minimize wrinkling and shrinkage. If you have sensitive skin, check labels for “pure finish” sheets. Organic products are similarly chemical-free and are made from cotton grown without pesticides.
2.THREAD COUNT
This figure reflects the number of threads per square inch of fabric. Theoretically, the higher the number, the more luxurious the linens. Some companies inflate thread count, though, by forcing thinner, low-quality threads onto the loom. It’s tough to know who’s cheating, but it’s probably safe to assume that a bargain-priced set that boasts a thread count of 1,000 isn’t legit. Most people claim that you can’t feel much of a difference once you get over 400 anyway. Better to look for high-quality fabric rather than an impressive thread count.
3. WEAVE
Choosing a weave depends upon personal preference. Percale is a strong fabric that has an equal number of vertical and horizontal yarns. It creates a crisp sheet with a matte finish (think your favorite Oxford shirt). If you like your sheets silky, opt for sateen. It’s woven with more vertical than horizontal yarns, making it shiny and soft to the touch. The downside is that sateen is a bit less durable than percale. Jacquard, which requires a special loom that weaves a pattern into the sheets, tends to be expensive.
Whatever you choose, proper care extends the life of your sheets. Stay away from fabric softeners, which eat away at fibers, causing them to wear out faster. Washing in hot water and drying in high heat are also tough on your sheets by causing the the fabric to repeatedly expand, then shrink.
–Mary Garner Ganske
Mary Garner Ganske is a freelance writer based in Cleveland, Ohio.
A SHINY, RED BICYCLE greets you at the entrance to Shinola’s new holiday shop purveying watches, leather goods, paper products, bikes, some apparel and shoe polish (the name of the company is a nod to the shoe-polish brand manufactured in the early-to-mid 20th century).
Located on 1534 14th St. NW, in the heart of the U Street Corridor, D.C.’s destination for established cool, Shinola’s claim to fame is that its products are (mostly) made, not just in the U.S.A., but in hard-hit Detroit. With the abiding sentiment to “buy American,” company executives went one better and based operations in Motor City, counting on consumers to be moved by the city’s story and respond to the need to help an underdog.
Also notable is that Shinola founder Tom Kartsotis was the former head of Fossil, a mega-successful, inexpensive watch brand. Not surprisingly, 98 percent of Shinola’s business is watches. The company produced 55,000 watches last year and expects to do three times that amount this year, according to CEO Steve Bock. Unlike Fossil’s, though, these timepieces ain’t cheap, starting at $475 for the women’s double-wrap, leather strap “Birdy” and going up to $1,500 for the men’s “Black Blizzard.”
Bock stresses the quality factor when he talks about Shinola products. Take the back of the watch: it is a stamped metal plate, engraved with a serial number. The watches with cushy leather straps are made by companies that have both been around for 100 years. And then there’s the presentation. Watches come packaged in a wooden box lined in black cardboard, which includes a small tin of leather balm, a leather carrying pouch and a small plaque with the name of the watchmaker.
No watches on your holiday shopping list? How about a handsome, hand-stitched leather piggy bank with a nickel lock and key ($190), a linen-covered journal handcrafted in Ann Arbor, Michigan ($17.95) or toasty deerskin gloves ($62)? Also quite fetching, at least as worn by a young Shinola staffer, an updated, slim-fitting classic varsity jacket in wool with leather sleeves ($410).
If budget is no concern, that 11-speed men’s Runwell bicycle in the window will set you back $2,950; the three-speed Bixby women’s bike, which comes in pink or teal, is a mere $1,950.
Holiday hours (starting tomorrow, Nov. 21): Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. The permanent store location will open at 1361 14th St. NW in early 2015.
AS THE WASHINGTON POST recently pointed out, this is a slightly strange
A FOND FAREWELL to 2014, hello 2015. The MyLittleBird team wishes you a joyous New Year. We’ll be celebrating with our friends and family and perhaps regretting that one last glass of Champagne. In any event, we’ll see you back here tomorrow with another chapter from Marcia Muir Mitchell’s memoir.
RIGHT AROUND THE corner from Thomas Sweet’s ice cream store in Georgetown — at 1427 Wisconsin Avenue NW — you can find a consignment shop chock-full of gifting goodies that will thrill everyone on your holiday list this year.
