CITYBOOK AT LARGE

Editor’s Letter

’ve been an editor of some stripe for one printed periodical or another for most of the last 30 years, which blows my mind. I mean, at my tender age — 50 is the new tender, right? — I can’t believe I’ve done anything for 30 years.

But here I am, still working in what’s become a boutique industry, producing articles and images and affixing them to pieces of paper, with ink, and gluing them together into a booklet. These days, explaining how magazines are made feels a bit like a tour guide at some historical site describing how people preserved food for the winter in olden days. Like salting meat in Williamsburg or burying cabbages in Appalachia.

Of course, Houston CityBook also has a website. It’s actually grown in leaps and bounds this year, and my staff and I — all print magazine people, used to having monthly or bimonthly schedules — have evolved into daily journalists, posting dispatches from the city’s culture several times a day. In all those decades of my career, it’s only lately that I’ve had daily deadlines. It was daunting at first, but I’ve discovered that I like it!

And yet the heart and soul of CityBook, and of me as a professional, is our magazine. And I’m delighted to note that, with this issue you hold in your hands, we mark five years in print. Houston has embraced

Iour publication, which I can still say, a half-decade on, is still a locally owned and independently published magazine that’s fully committed to producing smart, beautiful content for and about Houston, and Houston exclusively. We don’t run any content produced in other cities, as some do. No influencers from L.A., no fashion shoots from New York. No thank you. We have more than enough great stories right here in Houston, and more than enough talented people to tell them. This was our plan back in the fall of 2016, when I wrote in this space: “My remarkably committed colleagues and I envisioned a magazine with the feel of a fashionable lifestyle publication that also made room for more serious journalism. We wanted it to be upscale and focused without being elitist or narrow. We imagined a periodical with the look of a beautiful national magazine but that would be, from cover to cover, all local. We aspired to hold up a mirror to a great city, teeming with ideas, rife with ambition, and diverse.” I’m proud we’ve stuck to our guns and built a current, relevant and — per our milestone anniversary — lasting brand in this venerable medium, which I still love. And I’m even prouder we did it in Houston. JEFF GREMILLION Editor-in-Chief

CityBook At Large

Updates from HoustonCityBook.com & beyond

STYLE Reagan Bregman Launches Athleisure Brand

Reagan Bregman, at right, bride of Astros slugger Alex, launched a line of athleisure clothing called Exiza, intended to promote “exercise to feel good, sustain mental health and live a happy, fun life,” per the mission statement. The initial launch included pretty, sherbet-colored biker shorts, leggings, strappy bras, ribbed tanks and hoodies designed to comfortably fit a variety of body types.

MUSIC

Beyoncé Covers Cowgirls

To commemorate her 40th birthday, Houston’s favorite daughter Beyoncé graced the September covers of ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ — three versions in total, shot by Campbell Addy. Much of the wardrobe was pulled from the new black-cowgirl-inspired collection of Beyoncé’s own Ivy Park.

LEGACY

ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill Passes Away at 72

Dusty Hill, cofounder of iconic band ZZ Top, died in his sleep at his home in Houston in July. Gutsy and bluesy ZZ Top, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020 and is planning a tour this year. ICYMI

Insta-Worthy Moments

Here are a handful of hits from our social-media feed. Follow @houstoncitybook for more!

July 15 Dolly Parton-loving, behind-baring Brad Bransom was the first social media star to answer our ‘Influencer Summer’ questionnaire.

August 21 CityBook’s ‘Pet Project’ series featured adoptable three-legged Cleo — who has since found her fur-ever home!

September 7 Indian mainstay Pondicheri says it’s going meatless on Mondays, highlighting veggie curries and ‘dosas’ with chutneys.

AWARD-WINNING DESIGN FIRM AND SHOWROOM 1300 Shepherd Drive, Houston, TX 77007 832.804.6300 EKLEKTIKINTERIORS.COM