Author: Maeve Hayden

Categories
Magazines Weddings

Listen up

From Bach to Bruno Mars, Ibis Music Group can play it all. Photo: Courtesy Patrick Reese

Charlottesville truly is the ultimate wedding destination. Not only are the views insane and the catering options delicious, but the city is home to many talented musicians who offer their services at weddings. Whether you’re looking for toned-down elegance, a stand-out soloist, or just  a rockin’ good time, these five local wedding performers make saying yes (to the band) easy.

Ibis Music Group

You name it, and Ibis Music Group can play it. The group was founded by Patrick Keese with the belief that exceptional music should be accessible, relatable, and extraordinary. With options for ceremonies, cocktails, and receptions, and a repertoire that includes everything from Bach to Bruno Mars, Ibis can make it work for all kinds of weddings. $700-1700. ibismusicgroup.com

Classical Hillbillies

Stressed at the thought of having to pick out different performers for the ceremony and reception? The Classical Hillbillies, a new offering from Plum Blossom String Quartet, is like three bands in one. The string quartet plays classical music for the ceremony and lively Appalachian music for the cocktail hour, before transitioning into a full-on bluegrass hoedown for the reception. Around $1,150. classicalhillbillies.com

Terra Voce

It’s hard to resist the dulcet tones of the cello, especially when it’s paired with smooth flute. Cellist Andrew Gabbert and flutist Elizabeth Brightbill of Terra Voce have more than a decade of experience performing for weddings and events. The Crozet-based husband-and-wife duo play everything from well-known wedding staples to classic rock and modern pop. $440 and up. terravoce.com

Stan Hamrick

Sometimes, less is more. Take your wedding up a notch with understated, acoustic guitar. Hamrick’s gentle strumming is the perfect accompaniment for walking down the aisle and mingling at cocktail hour. Build your own music package from Hamrick’s extensive repertoire, which includes Duke Ellington classics, Ed Sheeran, The Beatles, and much more. $350 and up. stanhamrick.com

Duo Bohème

If you’re looking for timeless elegance, give Duo Bohème a listen. The violin and guitar duo of Anna and Dave Hennessy throw it back to the ’20s and ’30s with a selection of classical wedding tunes, mellow pop, and compositions by Romani-Belgian jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. $400 and up. duobohememusic.com

Categories
Magazines Weddings

Stitch by stitch

Refemme owner Gabriela Romo keeps sustainability at the core of her business, hoping to cut down on the amount of scrap fabric in landfills. Photo: Lily Garay

Designer, entrepreneur, sewist, activist—it’s hard to use just one word when describing Gabriela Romo.

Through Refemme, her Charlottesville-based business, Romo offers a thoughtful and approachable take on garment repair, upcycling, and alteration.

Romo’s passion for design and sewing developed as a young girl, watching her mother embroider and her grandmother sew. By age 9, she was using her mother’s sewing machine. 

“I grew up surrounded by very creative and hardworking women,” says Romo. “I grew up watching my grandma make the same dress over and over, probably like 20 pieces of the same model using different fabrics, and I think that’s what really sparked my curiosity to make and play with fabric.”

That curiosity and desire to create something new led Romo to her first entrepreneurial venture, a swimwear line started with her twin sister.

In 2017, Romo left all of her equipment behind and moved to the U.S., where she settled in Aspen, Colorado. The chilly temps made swimwear a hard sell, so she pivoted to part-time alterations and worked full-time as a surgical assistant (talk about steady hands). Last fall, Romo landed in Charlottesville and launched Refemme as her full-time gig, her commitment to sustainability at the core of Refemme’s mission. 

Every year, thousands of pounds of scrap fabric are burned, and millions of tonnes of garments end up in landfills. Romo works to divert unnecessary textile waste by giving well-worn or damaged items a second chance using a variety of repair techniques, including invisible and visible mending. In addition, she fully reworks and restores old garments with sentimental value that wouldn’t get much wear today due to their dated style. 

Romo also hosts visible mending workshops at The Scrappy Elephant, and regularly pops up at Darling x Dashing and Bluebird & Co. to accept alterations and repairs. 

“Throughout all of these [popups] we’ve been able to divert close to 200 garments that otherwise would have just simply followed the process to a landfill,” says Romo. “I’m so happy that I actually get to impact the people that I work with and at the same time create a positive impact in the environment.”

During wedding season, Romo’s schedule is packed with gown fittings. She recommends brides schedule an initial fitting at least four months in advance of their big day.

“At the initial consultation I get to learn about your dream day, your dream dress, and how we can tailor a custom alteration package for you based on that,” Romo says. “I really like to start with knowing what their relationship with their dress is. How long have they been searching for the dress? How did they feel when they said yes to the dress? What’s the expectation that they have fit-wise?”

Most fittings are completed in three to four visits, depending on how drastic the changes are and how much design work is needed. (One of Romo’s more involved alteration projects, for instance, involved hemming a poofy princess-style wedding dress with yards and yards of fabric.) 

“You have to remove all of the embellishments and appliqués from the tulle, process the alterations, execute all the changes, and then bring it back on to the dress as if nothing happened,” she says.

The best part is after the wedding, bridesmaids, and even brides (who says you can’t wear it twice?), can bring their dresses back to Refemme for a complete rework. Instead of a one-and-done bridesmaid dress collecting dust in the closet, or a landfill, now you’ve got a whole new look.

Smooth size-up

Here are a few of Gabriela’s tips for a flawless fitting.

< Bring your shoes! Or a heel with a similar height.

< Wear any undergarments you’ll be wearing under your gown—sticky cups, Spanx, tape, bra, etc.

< Accessories, accessories, accessories—bring them.

< Have an open mind and don’t overthink it.

< Bring a friend—or two—to the final fitting. Someone’s going to have to help you bustle on the big day, and this is a great practice run.

Categories
Culture

Sylvia Chong in the HotSeat

Sylvia Chong. Photo courtesy UVA.

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the second annual VeryAsian celebration is coming to 5th Street Station on May 13. The day-long event, co-organized by Jay Pun and Sylvia Chong, is jam-packed with music, art, food, and community. Chong, a professor and director of the minor in Asian Pacific American Studies at UVA, discusses the history of APAHM, the importance of VeryAsian, and her performance of Asian American folk rock as part of the celebration. veryasianva.com

What is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month? 

It’s a chance to celebrate and honor the histories and cultures of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. 

Is there any significance to it being held during the month of May? 

It honors two historical events: May 7, 1943, marks the arrival of the first Japanese American immigrant, a 14-year-old sailor named Manjiro, and May 10, 1896, saw the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad, on which over 12,000 Chinese had labored.  

Charlottesville, and UVA, certainly have a long, largely unacknowledged, history of racism toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. And more recently, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led to many people of Asian descent being targeted by hate crimes. How does our local history fit into broader experiences? 

Sadly, many people are unaware of how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders contributed to the building of this nation, from the Transcontinental Railroad and the sugar cane plantations of Hawai’i to military veterans from the civil war up to the war in Afghanistan. A lot of anti-Asian racism presumes that Asians are foreign, culturally deficient, and conduits of disease or immorality, that Pacific Islanders are primitive, and that all of them are interchangeable. When I researched the first Asian students at UVA in the early 1900s, I found stories by their white classmates ridiculing Chinese and Japanese as heathen, grotesque, and ignorant, despite the fact that many of these students were highly educated, fluent in English, and often Christian. There’s a direct line between this and the recent spate of anti-Asian violence, which presumed that Asian Americans were responsible for bringing COVID to the U.S., or the Atlanta spa shootings, in which the murderer blamed his sex addiction on Asian massage workers. 

Last year’s APAHM fest was the first of its kind in Charlottesville. What does it mean to bring this celebration to the city at this time?

Asian American students at UVA have a decades-long tradition of celebrating APAHM with dozens of events, but outside the university, there was almost nothing going on. During the isolation of the pandemic and the frightening rise in anti-Asian violence, I started talking with my friend and co-organizer Jay Pun, who grew up in Charlottesville, about what we could do to respond to this. We threw together the first Charlottesville APAHM celebration in just under a month, focusing on the diverse artistic expression and experiences of Asian Americans, from recent immigrants to those born here, from adoptees to mixed-race folks. Our event was a way of taking up space, of showing up and speaking up. 

Together, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make an incredibly broad group. How is VeryAsian celebrating AAPI voices and stories?

Jay got inspired by the St. Louis news anchor Michelle Li, who got racist messages about being “very Asian” when she tried to talk about eating Korean food on New Year’s. That’s why our festival is named “Very Asian” this year—we’re focusing on the different ways we may claim our Asian Americanness, from food to music to art. Although some of this may seem traditionally Asian, a lot of the festival will draw on the ways we’ve created new identities in the U.S. that are unique and different even from one another. We’ve also tried to highlight the enormous diversity within Asian America. People assume Asian means Chinese or Japanese, but we also have participants with Thai, Filipino, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Korean heritage. 

In addition to co-organizing VeryAsian, you’re also performing Asian American folk rock. What is Asian American music to you? 

I ask myself and my students this question a lot. Again, many people think Asian American music is Asian music, and usually only traditional music. But what about Asian American jazz, rap, folk, or rock? In my set, I include two songs from the Asian American movement in the 1970s by singer-activists Chris Iijima and Nobuko Miyamoto. They are influenced by Woody Guthrie, Jefferson Airplane, and Nina Simone, but they sing about things like imperialism, the Vietnam War and the Japanese American incarceration. I also do a song by the Khmer American band Dengue Fever, which was part of a pandemic-era hashtag (#CRBChallenge, for the play “Cambodian Rock Band”), not only to support Asian American theaters, but also to address systemic racism and anti-Blackness. Of course, there’s a wide world of Asian American hip-hop that I can’t begin to cover with my limited abilities, so I urge folks to check out Ruby Ibarra, the Far East Movement, and M.I.A. if you’re interested. 

Categories
Arts Culture

Zach Miller in the HotSeat

Zach Miller. Photo by Rick Stillings.

This Saturday, Zach Miller will be one of many jockeys competing for a win at Foxfield Races, Charlottesville’s bi-annual steeplechase event. It’s a meaningful homecoming, years in the making, for the Charlottesville native, who’s raced, and won, at Foxfield numerous times—Miller even met his wife after a 2005 win. Foxfield has been hosting steeplechase races in Albemarle County since 1977, with the spring races often attracting up to 15,000 locals and visitors. The steeplechase is a distance horse racing event with ditch obstacles and fence jumps. The strange name stems from the race’s origins in Ireland, where riders raced from church steeple to church steeple. foxfieldraces.com

Name: Zach Miller.

Hometown: Charlottesville.

Job: Full-time dad, part-time jockey, farmer and owner of Timbercreek Farm, horse trainer.

How did you get into racing: I grew up riding ponies, my grandma always had a pony around. I really liked going fast, I got really into it and I competed a bit in some different disciplines, so when the opportunity presented itself I went to work in Fairhill, Maryland, for a trainer there. One thing about me is, I’m a normal-sized human being, so I was never gonna be small enough to ride on the flat—that’s the Derby. So I got into riding steeplechase races because the weights are a little higher, and they’re jumping too, so that was fun. 

Do you remember your first race: I do, my first jump race I rode in Fairfax County in the spring of 2003. I rode a horse called Sail My Vessel, he was the little horse that could, he was a smaller horse, but he was a lot of fun. I finished third on him that day.

When did you become a professional jockey: I took out my first license when I was 18, and I was a full-time, professional jockey until I was 23.

You’re headed to Foxfield next, have you raced there before: That’s my hometown track, that’s my favorite! Over the years I’ve probably ridden in a dozen or more races. But this will be my first ride at Foxfield in 17 years.

How does it feel to be back: Amazing! It’s my favorite track.

Favorite part of being a jockey: Winning races. 

Second favorite part: What you get to do on race day is you get to put together all the fun parts with the tactical parts. Steeplechasing requires some tactics, it’s not just going as fast as you can. It’s a test of skill of the rider, it’s challenging… if your tactics are wrong or your horse isn’t jumping well. You’re moving 35 miles an hour, surrounded by thousands of pounds of horse. It’s thrilling.

Do you have a race-day routine: Nothing really special. I always walk the course, look at how it’s set up, what’s the fastest way around—it’s not always the inside. You have to factor in terrain and turns, the fastest way around might be slightly on the outside. So some tactical preparation. Making sure I’m centered and my head is clear.

What’s going through your mind when the gates open: First I make sure the horse is settled and jumping well, and don’t get in a hurry. The race is two miles, and it’s a very testing track. Riders can get impatient and rush it. Then you have to pay attention to what’s going on around you strategically—how are the horses around you doing, how much horse are you sitting on, where do you need to start thinking about making a move.

Who are you riding on Saturday: I get to do this for a guy named Richard Valentine, he’s a trainer who’s given me some tremendous opportunities. He put me on a winner in Saratoga, he’s the trainer of Remonstrative, he’s [a] top 10 trainer. There are two horses I can ride, Sea Mast or Tease and Seize. Sea Mast is an American Kentucky-bred, I won a prep race on him two weeks ago. He has a high turning speed, his specialty is grinding competition to a pulp. Tease and Seize is a French horse, he’s a tremendous athlete, you could leave a little for later with him.

What’s something about being a jockey that people would be surprised to learn: How challenging it is to ride a horse. My heart rate riding a horse peaks higher and quicker than when I run four miles on foot. There’s a lot of balance and strength, but you’re also pretty active on the horse, you think the horse is doing all the running and work, but that’s not totally true.

Proudest accomplishment: Making it to 39 years old and being able to stay riding and competing.

Favorite horse movie: I like them all. National Velvet is a classic, I’d be remiss to not mention it, it’s an old one with Elizabeth Taylor. I love Seabiscuit, it’s an underdog story. And Secretariat is cool because he’s Virginia bred, he’s the hometown hero.

Categories
Culture Living

Getting a grip

The Charlottesville climbing community is, like so many parts of this city, unexpectedly awesome. Photo by Tristan Williams.

Exercise, for the mind and body, is easy to find in Charlottesville. With fast access to trails, pools, sports for all ages, lectures, book talks, and trivia nights, the options are endless, and welcoming communities like De La Roll skating and the Prolyfyck Run Creww make stepping outside your comfort zone a breeze.

Perhaps less visible than the runners, bikers, and rollers—but equally avid—is our area’s climbing community. An inclusive and enthusiastic bunch, many of Charlottesville’s climbers can be found practicing their craft at Rocky Top Climbing.

The tiny gym tucked inside McIntire Plaza has remained at the heart of the local climbing scene since 1993. Rocky Top originally opened as a top roping facility, and over the years transitioned into only offering bouldering. Top roping is when the climber is securely attached to a rope anchored at the top of the climbing route and held by a belayer at the bottom. Bouldering is rope-free, but much closer to the ground, and always with cushy pads below.

“This is a really nice town to have something like [Rocky Top],” says Dan Shoupe, the gym’s manager. “There’s definitely gyms I’ve been to in big cities where there’s much less of that community vibe.”

The gym’s longevity and growth is owed in large part to Rocky Top’s small team of passionate staff members who’ve kept climbers engaged.

Shoupe, who’s been at Rocky Top for 10 years, says his journey with climbing began as a child. “It’s kind of corny,” he says. “I was a Boy Scout growing up, and they say tons of Boy Scouts find their life passion through Scouting, and I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever dude.’ But we went to a climbing gym in Richmond in sixth grade, and we had an absolute blast.” 

It’s the participation in problem solving that’s made Shoupe a long-standing member of the climbing culture. “We get a lot of folks here who are big chess nerds, me being one of them,” he says. “It’s about laying out your plan of attack. It’s very interesting trying to suss out how exactly to interface with the rocks on the wall. It’s not just being strong, it’s about technique—it’s a physical puzzle to solve. From there you get involved with the community, and you make friends doing it too, and it just becomes a whole part of this lifestyle.”

Climbing is unique because it requires equal amounts of strength and brainpower. Peek inside Rocky Top any day of the week and you’ll find the 13-foot walls crowded with strategists, clinging for purchase, mapping out the next best place to move a hand or foot. Children just learning to walk scoot along the traverse wall, while seasoned climbers well into their 80s make their way up the aptly named Steep Room. Experts stand alongside novices as they wait their turn.

Chloë Ester Cook. Photo by Tristan Williams.

“There’s so much technique and skill that goes into climbing,” says Rocky Top member Chloë Ester Cook. “It’s very equalizing. The work you put into it pays off in both the skill and the strength that you gain. My favorite thing about it is how it makes you feel—sexy, powerful, strong, capable, smart—and the community.”

“Climbing is one of the most welcoming communities to newcomers,” Cook continues. “There are so many people at Rocky Top who will cheer you on and encourage you. That feeling of working on something and achieving it is so infectious.”

Successfully solving a bouldering problem can sometimes take weeks, and once a climber has it mapped out, only a minute or two to execute. To keep things fresh and exciting, Shoupe works with head route setter Calvin Biesecker to reset one wall a week. 

Calvin Biesecker. Photos by Tristan Williams.

Mapping out climbing routes is an art in itself. Some holds might be impossible due to the angle of the wall, so it takes a lot of planning to ensure the setup is fun, functional, and fair.

“A lot of gyms in the industry don’t pay people to take the time to figure out how to make interesting paths,” says Shoupe. “A big part of keeping people engaged here is knowing they need something interesting to do week after week. We keep it novel.”

Biesecker’s biggest project of the year is The Rumble, Rocky Top’s annual spring bouldering competition. 

The fifth annual Rumble takes place on April 22, and the day-long event includes new bouldering challenges for all skill levels, plus a big cash prize. The Rumble, like Rocky Top, is open to beginners.

“There’s a pretty low barrier of entry,” says Shoupe. “All that it takes is for it to be fun and fascinating to you.”

Categories
Culture Living

DJ Rush in the HotSeat

DJ Rush. Supplied photo.

DJ Rush is one of the newest baristas at Kindness Cafe + Play, where he serves up perfectly brewed beverages and delicious eats. The mission-driven coffee shop provides meaningful employment for adults with cognitive disabilities, and features items from many local businesses, including Found.Market, Allens Scottish Shortbread, Grit Coffee, and Innisfree Village (hello, granola bars). Kindness offers indoor and outdoor seating and a drive-thru—just order ahead and the baristas will place your items outside for you to grab. The coffee shop counts many UVA student-athletes and coaches among its regular visitors, and its baristas have served drinks to Howie Long and Dave Matthews. Visit Kindness, located inside Brooks Family YMCA, Monday through Friday from 3 to 7pm, and you might catch DJ behind the bar. kindnesscafecville.com

Name: DJ Rush.

Age: 43.

Pronouns: He/him.

Hometown: Nelson County.

Where do you live now: In a group home near Lovingston.

Job: Barista at Kindness Cafe.

How long have you been working at your current job: About three months.

Favorite part of your job: Serving drinks to customers.

Rachael Ray. File photo.

What’s your favorite drink to make at work: Protein shake.

Who is your hero: Myself.

Proudest accomplishment: I survived colon cancer. I had chemo and surgery, and now I’m cancer-free.

Describe a perfect day: Spring day with sun. I’d hang out with friends. I’d go to work at Kindness. I’d relax and listen to music before bed.

What is your favorite thing about yourself: I’m a hardworking person and am ready to learn every day.

What’s something about yourself that people would be surprised to learn: I’m the oldest of six boys. 

If you had three wishes, what would you wish for: One day I’d get a certificate diploma. One day I’d get a driver’s license. I’d get better and better at art.

What’s your favorite drink: Chocolate protein shake from Kindness Cafe!

Favorite food: Lasagna.

Favorite restaurant: Bistro 151 in Nelson County.

Favorite movie and TV show: Ghostbusters and “The Wonder Years.”

What music have you been listening to lately: I like R&B, country, and instrumental music.

Favorite word: Thank you! I say, “Thank you,” to people a lot!

Who’s your favorite actor: Robin Williams from Mrs. Doubtfire.

Robin Williams. File photo.

Celebrity crush: Rachael Ray.

Most used app on your phone: I mostly use my phone to talk. 

Last text you sent: I don’t usually text because I prefer to talk. I usually call my brother in Atlanta.

Most used emoji: Just the smile. 

Best journey you ever went on: When I was a kid my family went with a church group to see a gospel concert in South Carolina. 

Next journey: I’m going to Norfolk with my friends from the group home.

Categories
Abode Magazines

Forever fun

It was a family affair when Matt and Julie Thomas decided to build their kids, Maeve, Ree, and Jude, a playhouse. Photo: Sarah Cramer Shields

In the early months of the pandemic, Matt and Julie Thomas began working on perhaps the most important job of their careers for their most important clients yet—a playhouse for their three kids. 

School was out for the summer and indoor playdates were still a no-no, so the Thomas kids spent most of their time playing outside with neighbors. A playhouse was the perfect way to take the kids’ outdoor time to new levels of fun.

Photo: Julie Thomas

The husband-and-wife duo are used to tackling much larger projects—kitchen flips, garage conversions, additions—through Hinge Remodeling and Construction, their residential remodeling company in Charlottesville. Matt and Julie frequently work for clients with growing families or young children, so thoughtfully designed spaces that can adapt and grow alongside a changing family has become somewhat of a specialty for them. 

“I was really resistant to building them a playhouse that was gonna just collect dust and rot somewhere in the yard,” says Matt. “The big aha moment was brainstorming with Julie and saying, ‘Oh, we can build them a shed.’ It’s full height, and once they grow up we can repurpose it.”

The kids also helped with the design, advising their parents on what fun elements they needed to incorporate. High on the wish list was a working elevator, a loft, trap doors, and tunnels. 

Despite Mom and Dad’s best efforts, not all of the kids’ ideas made it in, but the finished playhouse is modern, practical, and promises endless amounts of fun.

“Our house was a 1950s Cape Cod. It was more traditional, so we thought it’d be fun to go a bit more modern with the playhouse, but still keep it feeling integrated,” says Julie.

A black, penetrating stain on the exterior pine board cladding gives the playhouse a contemporary look, and makes it cohesive with the house and other backyard structures. The 8’x8′ dimension ensures the inside isn’t cramped, and a high ceiling fits a ladder and loft. The pine board and galvanized metal roof were purchased new, but most of the other materials were bought secondhand or repurposed from other projects. The skylight came from Habitat for Humanity, and the countertops are repurposed IKEA bookshelves. 

And when the kids eventually outgrow the playhouse, the loft can easily be torn down and the structure can be converted into a sauna, garden or potting shed, man cave, or she shed.

Categories
Abode Magazines

Go with the flow

From the round windows to the beachy backsplash, surf meets family turf at this loft renovation. Photo: Tom Daly

While there’s something to be said for in-your-face, beachy décor—you know, seashell artwork, knotted rope, anchors galore—sometimes less is more. In Crozet, a garage loft renovation showcases how subtle, water-oriented design details can make waves.

The homeowners and their two sons are lovers of all things active and outdoorsy. With a growing collection of gear, including about a dozen surfboards, and growing boys, things were getting a little tight in the house. 

A detached three-car garage with an unfinished interior solved the storage problem, and recently, the homeowners, who’d been in their house for 14 years, decided to go ahead and finish part of the garage. The finished loft would serve as overflow lodging for guests, and it would give the boys a pretty epic hangout spot.

“You know, out-of-town guests only come a few times a year,” says the homeowner. “We wanted to make sure that we had a functional space for the other 90 percent of the time when it was just our family, and very specifically the boys and their buddies.”

“Even though we live in the country, we’re very beachy people,” she says. “So that was the kind of vibe that we were going for. We wanted to make it open and airy and natural and light and refreshing.”

Peter Johnson Builders was brought in as general contractor, and Tommy Tigert as project manager. In addition to finishing the upstairs, PJB also enclosed and finished the third bay of the garage, and connected the homeowners with local businesses and makers to source material and work on the reno. 

Walk into the finished loft, and the beachy vibes are immediately present without being overwhelming. Shades of white and pops of color contrast with natural wood, and the angular roof lines are at play with round, porthole-like windows and arched doorways. 

The functional living area includes a kitchenette and a small dining room table. Rich blue cabinets, in the color New York State of Mind, with polished chrome hardware complement a locally sourced marble countertop slab called Manhattan Calcutta. The names are a happy nod to the homeowner’s aunt who lives in New York and collaborated with her almost daily on design details like fixtures, color, cabinets, and tile.

“The blue is a nice beachy vibe, and then the countertops are a really light and flowy marble with a lot of earthy colors in there,” says the homeowner. “It kind of reminded me of an ocean flow.”

A cloud-like, wrap-around white couch with a custom-built console table completes the space, and reclaimed beams from The HeartPine Company draw the eye upward, where large windows let in plenty of natural light. The round windows presented an interesting carpentry challenge for the crew, which had to do some precise radius work to fit the wood panels flush against the window.

The ocean wave theme also breezes into the full bathroom, where blue-veined slabs line the walls of the walk-in shower and a nautical-inspired light fixture illuminates the luxurious space and the cozy bedroom, which has just enough space for a queen-sized bed.

The renovation wasn’t complete until the floating stairs were added, a big upgrade that sets the tone for the entire loft. More wood from HeartPine was used for the treads and support, and local metalworker Lauren Danley of Metal Inc. created and fit the handrail. “It’s pretty awesome,” says the owner.

From the round windows to the beachy backsplash, surf meets family turf at this loft renovation.

Categories
Arts Culture

Katen Reynolds in the HotSeat

Katen Reynolds. Supplied photo.

Katen Reynolds has served as director of advancement at The Front Porch for nearly five years, and this summer she’ll step into a new leadership role when founder Emily Morrison completes her tenure as executive director. Before joining The Front Porch, Reynolds worked as a gardener, dance teacher, and most recently, an elementary school teacher. Now, she’ll lead the nonprofit as it continues to connect the community through music with classes, weekly jams, intimate concerts, and Roots & Wings, an outreach program that brings music to underserved communities. frontporchcville.org

Age: 39. 

Pronouns: She/her.

Weirdest job: When I was in AmeriCorps, part of my job involved working at an aviary, feeding dead lab rats to birds of prey. 

Why here: It’s beautiful, not too big, and only an hour drive to see my family. 

Best thing about living here: The Rivanna River and the many walking/hiking trails close to town.

Worst thing: Housing costs.

Favorite hangout spot: My friends’ houses.    

Favorite restaurant: Monsoon Siam.  

Bodo’s order: Poppy seed bagel with olive cream cheese.

Where do you start and end a night out: Start on my porch. End at C&O downstairs.

Who is your hero: My best friend Lilly. 

Biggest lie you’ve ever told: Not the “biggest” per se, but self abandonment through silence.

Proudest accomplishment: Learning to play guitar. 

Describe a perfect day: A lazy coffee morning, time outside on the river with my dog, good food with friends, and playing music or seeing a live show. 

If you could be reincarnated as a person or thing, what would you be: A mermaid.

Most embarrassing moment: Scoring an own goal playing soccer as a kid.

Do you have any pets: Yes, a blue heeler named Jack. I fostered him through Dogs Deserve Better and couldn’t let him go :). 

Ted Lasso. Image courtesy of Apple TV+

Favorite movie or show: Right now, “Ted Lasso.”

Favorite album: Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator).

Favorite song: I can’t ever answer this question. Depends on the day and my mood.

Favorite book: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

First concert: First big one was Dave Matthews Band in middle school.

Best concert: I can’t choose just one. Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings pop-up show at The Floyd Country Store and Taj Mahal at Basement East in Nashville.

What are you listening to right now: The Bros. Landreth and Bella White. 

What’s a song you pretend you don’t like because it’s embarrassing that you love it: “The Shape of You.”

Favorite curse word: Shit. 

Who’d play you in a movie: No idea.  

Celebrity crush: Ryan Gosling.  

Most used app on your phone: Slack. 

Last text you sent: “haha no way”

Most used emoji: 🙂

Subject that causes you to rant: When people don’t want to buy tickets to see their friends’ bands. Buying a ticket is one of THE BEST ways to support your friends, people!!

Hottest take: I had to google “hot take.” I don’t really like the idea of them. (Is that one? hehe.)

Best journey you ever went on: Traveling through New Zealand.  

Next journey: Being executive director of The Front Porch.  

What have you forgotten today: My water bottle. 

Categories
Culture

Ten minutes with Sam Morril

Sam Morril. Supplied photo.

Sam Morril is one of the fastest-rising stand-up comics out there. He’s performed sets on Comedy Central’s “This Week at the Comedy Cellar” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” cameoed in Joker, and amassed over 820,000 followers on TikTok, where he regularly goes viral for sticking it to hecklers. He recently released a new Netflix special, “Same Time Tomorrow,” and is currently performing his Class Act Tour to sold-out theaters across the country. We talked to Morril on the phone ahead of his March 29 performance at The Paramount Theater, and asked him about comedy during the pandemic, toeing the line, sports, and a lot more.

C-VILLE: How are you feeling ahead of your Charlottesville performance? 

Sam Morril: I’m looking forward to it. I’ve played there before at a smaller venue called the Southern a couple times, so it’s good to be back. 

During COVID you were performing on rooftops, now you’re back
in packed theaters. What’s that journey been like? 

The rooftops thing was a pretty unpleasant journey. That was awful, that was more of a survival thing than a way to get booked. But, you know, I was grateful to be working at all. As an entertainer you want to stay relevant. I’ll do this under any circumstances. Coming up in stand up, you’re playing paper rooms, which basically means they’re giving out free tickets to people. So you’re trying to hone an hour for a room full of people who—you think free is good, it’s not. They don’t respect the show.

So you don’t miss the rooftops? 

No, no, thank God that things are better now. I’m grateful.  

How surreal was it to sit down with David Letterman?

He’s a legend, and he’s not just a legend, he’s a really nice guy. So that was pretty cool. And to do it when he was no longer on the air four or five nights a week was pretty special because he gave us even more attention than he would have normally, so that was a great experience.

Do you think comedians should play by “the rules”?

No, but also I think it gets overblown. I think when people give too much attention to what they can and can’t say, it’s kind of boring. Just say what’s authentic to you. Sometimes people say what’s offensive just to be offensive, and I think that’s pretty damn boring. Both sides need to just be who you are, and enough of this, “We can’t say this, we can’t say that.” You know, you can get away with saying a lot. When it comes from a real and good place, the right people don’t get bothered by what you’re saying. 

Do you have a favorite taboo topic you like to poke fun at? 

Nothing’s off limits. I love talking about things that are divisive because if I can find a way to unify a room with a topic that is maybe a little more off-putting, you kind of feel like you’ve done your job. I definitely look at this like, I want to be an entertainer, not some guy who just upsets people in a room. Abortion, mass murder, you name it. Let’s have some fun with it.  

You deal with hecklers and work the crowd so deftly, do you enjoy that interactive aspect of comedy?

It keeps me sharp. I do so many shows, and people are like “how often does this happen?” and it’s not that often, honestly. My crowd is very attentive and they listen and they’re really good. If I want to work on material they let me work on material. 

You’re now the host of two podcasts, can you tell us about your newest, Games with Names?

That’s the one with Julian Edelman from the Patriots. Three-time Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, Jew—the only Jewish Super Bowl MVP ever. It’s a great time, he’s a lot of fun. I feel like we’re the Inglourious Basterds, and he’s Brad Pitt and I’m one of the weaker Jews, just hanging around him. He’s fun to talk sports with. 

Do you have a favorite sports controversy? 

The NBA being fixed is definitely a great controversy. Not in general, but the referees, and the Tim Donaghy scandal is a pretty crazy story. I think the NBA’s a little more mocked up than they want you to think. 

What’s it like being the guy who the Joker couldn’t follow up?

Fun! I always say the second Joker should just be Joaquin, he walks into a comedy club and watches me do another set. That’s a great movie right there. Just 50 to an hour, and then the credits roll: Joker 2, A Sam Morril Comedy Special, directed by Todd Phillips. 

No, it was pretty crazy to get that part. It’s such a big movie, I get messages from people like “Wow, you’re in the DC universe now,” and I’m like “Yeah, alright, that’s kind of cool.” 

[In the film] Todd Phillips had the host come back up and say “that’s Sam Morril everybody.” There was no reason for the host to do that, but that’s Todd just giving me a little nod. He’s just a very nice guy.

Who’s been making you laugh lately? 

We watch so much non-stand up on the road. Sketch stuff really gets us. We’ll watch a lot of Tim Robinson, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” The British “Peep Show” always makes me laugh. We watched Chris Rock on the road, that was pretty great. Rock doesn’t just make you laugh, he makes you go “ah damn, I wish I’d thought of that.” I do still get excited for good stand up, especially when it’s a premise that feels hackneyed, and you’re surprised by the punchline. Those are probably my favorites. 

Has anything funny happened to you today? 

Oh no, nothing yet. There’s construction in my building, so I’m cursing the people above me. Maybe that’s kind of funny. That’s truly the worst part of living in New York, you’ve got all this great stuff going on but there’s always noise.