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September is all about Style!
We are all getting back into the swing of things now that our kids have been back in school for a few weeks. Summer is coming to an end and our beautiful fall weather is on the way.
Our September issue is all about Style! Style means different things to different people, so we made sure to have a variety of articles to cover it all.
We spoke with Robert Biernacki of WaterQuest, Inc., about southwestern landscaping, Jacob Shije and how he jams out with his Rockabilly style, Avenger’s Vintage and their high-end vintage clothing, Patricia Michaels and her contemporary fashion, and John Thomas Jewelers and their trips to Antwerp to bring back the best diamonds to ABQ.
Albuquerque City Lifestyle is all about community, positivity, and the great people, places, organizations, and businesses that make ABQ a great place to live. Every city in the nation has crime and ABQ certainly has its fair share. We don’t choose to look the other way; we choose to focus on the positive aspects of our community. We hope you do as well.
Please let us know if you have an idea for an article that would be interesting and informative to fellow readers. Our editor, Richard Lakin, can be reached at Richard.lakin@citylifestyle.com. You can always reach me at rich.ringrose@ citylifestyle.com too.
Don’t forget the New Mexico State Fair is this month from the 5th-15th.
Thank you,
September 2024
PUBLISHER
Rich Ringrose | rich.ringrose@citylifestyle.com
EDITOR
Richard Lakin | richard.lakin@citylifestyle.com
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Alex Nicolette
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Cecily Sullivan
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Alex Nicolette, Andrea Jacquin, Richard Lakin
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Aloha Burn, Lauren Sonrisa, IMMORTAL, Larry Price, Alex Nicolette, Tira Howard Photography
Corporate Team
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Rachel Otto
LAYOUT DESIGNER Andi Foster
city scene
1: Brekki Brekki Twilight Lunch: Cassandra Rose Cooper, Alex Nicolette, Erin Muffoletto 2: Iron Ladies Golf League Networking Group at Pars & Rec Golf and Social Shop 3: Brekki Brekki Twilight Lunch: Veronica Gualeni 4: Brekki Brekki Twilight Lunch: Linda and Destiny 5: Iron Ladies Golf League at The Canyon Club Golf Club 6: Jump in 2 School Bash: Matthew Marquez and Jaime Rodriguez from Rodmor Automotive 7: Cage the Elephant Concert
8: Sandia Sports Bar: Dante and Samantha 9: New Mexico United Game: Lynn Marie Rusaw and Patrick Slater 10: New Kids on the Block Concert: Julie Hurtgen 11: New Kids on the Block Concert: Samantha, Salise, and Lauren 12: Rail Yards Market: Sandia Fashion Art
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALOHA BURN, LAUREN SONRISA, IMMORTAL, LARRY PRICE
“When I was about 16, I kind of just taught myself how to play guitar from this Beatles chord book that I found on sale at Borders.”
— JACOB SHIJE
Jacob Shije fell in love with the guitar when, as a four-year-old, his grandparents took him to the Roy Rogers Museum in California. It was this introduction to Country and Western music that eventually influenced his rockabilly style.
He cites his influences as Buddy Holly, Link Wray, Ritchie Valens, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and in general, the “British Invasion” bands. All notable for their guitar styles.
Jacob told us, “When I was about 16, I kind of just taught myself how to play guitar from this Beatles chord book that I found on sale at Borders. It had all Beatles songs I love so I figured if I’m going to teach myself how to play guitar, I wanted to learn from my favorites, so the first song I learned on guitar was A Day in the Life because that was the first song in the book.”
Jacob grew up in the Española area on the Santa Clara Pueblo around a family that either played in a band or listened to a lot of rock and roll on the radio. Jacob recalls, “On the weekend we listened to 98.5 on Saturdays and Sundays. We listened to Beatles brunch and then the Elvis hour, so those are probably my first memories of learning what a guitar was, and
hearing guitar sounds, and I think that’s kind of where I found the love of this 50s rock and roll and rockabilly.” When his grandfather passed away, Jacob inherited his Fender Stratocaster guitar.
Albuquerque City Lifestyle magazine recently checked out his show at the Rio Bravo Brewery with his band the Jacob Shije Trio featuring Royce Platero on drums and Tanya F. Nunez on upright bass. They had a high-energy rock and roll set that went over big with the audience, and Jacob exuded a cool rockabilly demeanor onstage.
Jacob also occasionally plays bass in the Levi Platero Band, an Indigenous blues group. Jacob says, “I’m the oldest out of all my siblings and I don’t have any older siblings to look up to, so Levi is my Big Brother, and I think he kind of looks at me as his little brother too.”
Jacob’s mastery of the guitar has garnered him endorsements from several guitar and pickup manufacturers including Silvertone Guitars, Delaney Guitars, and Space Llama Pickups.
Jacob has a very active social media presence on multiple platforms that he credits for his growing audience. You can find his concert dates at https://www.jacobshije.com/
AVENGER’S VINTAGE
DELIVERING STYLE FOR THE FILM INDUSTRY
Avenger’s Vintage is a high-end vintage clothing store that fits right into the eclectic yet historic Nob Hill district in Albuquerque. The shop is run by Carlos and Selah who have made it their mission to bring the community the most unique collection of authentic vintage clothing from the 1920s to the 1970s. They take pride in having pieces that can help people explore their style and feel confident.
ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX NICOLETTE CONTINUED >
Carlos and Selah’s dedication to curating a high-quality vintage inventory hasn’t gone unnoticed by the New Mexico film industry. When they first opened the shop, Carlos and Selah thought about trying to integrate themselves into the film industry, but before they could put themselves out there, the film industry found them. Studios that like to source locally, have sought out pieces from the Avenger’s Vintage inventory. At the beginning of a production, a team will come in and buy items in bulk and often
return throughout the remainder of the production, to pick up a few more items for specific scenes.
Often times studios can’t disclose the projects they are working on. However, Carlos and Selah were made aware of a few of the television series and movies that chose to use Avenger’s Vintage, which includes the Dark Winds television series on AMC, the upcoming JJ Abram’s television series Duster, Ethan Coen’s upcoming comedy film Honey Don’t, and the film Love Lies Bleeding with Kristen Stewart.
CARLOS AND SELAH’S DEDICATION TO CURATING
A HIGH-QUALITY VINTAGE INVENTORY HASN’T GONE UNNOTICED BY THE NEW MEXICO FILM INDUSTRY.
After seeing their vintage pieces appear on screen, Selah said that they felt “so excited and were overcome with a lot of emotions.” Carlos further added that it brought them a “sense of pride” because their eye for vintage aesthetics is good enough to be in movies and television series. This success and the positive emotions have kept them motivated to keep their collection well stocked so that they could be ready to supply vintage clothing for upcoming television shows and movies when needed.
Identifying vintage clothing isn’t something that comes naturally to people today. Carlos and Selah have developed a keen eye for spotting authentic pieces. They look at the style, print, buttons, tags, types of stitching, type of fabric, etc. to know if it’s authentic or not. They want items that are of sellable quality, but that doesn’t mean that they must be in perfect condition. There will be flaws with vintage clothing, but they can either mend some of those flaws or they choose to leave the flaws as is because it gives the clothing character.
When it comes to restocking their vintage collection, they usually go about it in one of two ways. They like to travel to small towns across the country, stopping by local thrift stores where they can find some real hidden treasures. They also acquire vintage pieces from people within the Albuquerque community. People will bring them vintage pieces from their family, which often comes with a backstory, such as a dress that belonged to someone’s grandmother or a pair of shoes that belonged to their dad. They have built a rapport within the community as a place where someone can bring a cherished vintage item, knowing that Carlos and Selah will handle it with the utmost care, ensuring it goes to a loving new owner, including television and movie studios.
Selah described the partnership they’ve created with the film industry as “godsend.” Studio teams walk through their doors as repeat customers or simply through word-of-mouth recommendations. Carlos said that the success that Avenger’s Vintage has seen since opening their doors “wouldn’t be the same” without the film industry.
Avenger’s Vintage is located at 4011 Central Ave. NE in ABQ. Their phone number is 973.668.1360 and their website is https://www.avengersvintage.com
PATRICIA MICHAELS
ARTICLE BY ANDREA JACQUIN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIRA HOWARD PHOTOGRAPHY
Every Design Tells a Story
Designer Patricia Michaels uses hand-painted silk feathers or meshed leather to create textiles and transform them into contemporary fashion.
Growing up in New Mexico, nature and the southwest landscape have influenced her work. Her inspiration comes from her Native American culture and time-honored traditions. Preparing blue corn Piki bread and watching a spider spin a web are just a few ways she learned to work with her hands, hone her technique, and find inspiration.
In her newest collection, she collects desert flowers for her clothing. She says, “I will leave my studio and just explore and collect and be a part of and appreciate the beauty of the desert mountain.”
The Native designer works from her Taos Pueblo studio and has created fashion week Haute Couture, ready-to-wear garments, and jewelry.
“As a little child, I participated in ceremonies and other cultures and powwows. So, having that big diversity of knowledge and experience allowed me to express myself as a contemporary designer, giving clients something new and exciting to wear,” says Michaels.
Michaels got her start in fashion right out of high school. She worked in the costume department at the Santa Fe Opera. She attended the Institute of American Indian Arts for three years and the Chicago Art Institute.
“It was at Chicago Art Institute when Nick Cave was my instructor that really pushed me into being my individual voice by way of creating textiles that were not available with Native American imagery. That started my hand painted textile career. I experimented with embellishments, distressing, different techniques, and textures.” Her textiles are inspired by nature and experiencing other cultures.
In 2012, she participated in “Project Runway” and won the first runner-up title. Michaels’ debut was a first for a Native American designer. She was also the first Native American designer to have a collection for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. Her 2013 Fall/Winter Collection received rave reviews.
In 2023, Michaels dressed actress Tantoo Cardinal for the Cannes Film Festival premiere of the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Michaels received the Living Treasure Award from MIAC (Museum of Indian Arts and Culture) for 2024. The award honors Native American artists who contribute to the arts and Indigenous culture. The exhibit “Painted by Hand: The Textiles of Patricia Michaels” will be on display in Santa Fe at MIAC until April 2025.
Michaels will also participate in the Indian Market Show in Santa Fe on August 17th and 18th.
This year, her show consists of hand-painted textiles, silks, and woven textiles. She incorporates playful elements like flower dresses, paper doll dresses, paper bread dresses, and pants and shirts for men. Each of her designs tells a story.
She says the paper doll dresses represent the playfulness and nature of Native American Culture. “I like to build upon its strength and its whimsical relationships that we have in our journeys to being in our cultures.”
Baskets are often used in Native American ceremonies. Michaels says, “The basket weaves that I have in this collection are important to me because, without the basket, we don’t receive our blessings. The baskets are where we hold a lot of our strength in our truth, and that is through sharing and inviting people into our prayers. Prayer is never just about oneself but about all living matter.”
Since she started in fashion 40 years ago, progress has been made. She says, “I can produce digital work so that they don’t have to produce by the hundreds or thousands. You can have ready-to-wear collections where it’s just one or ten of and it can be re-ordered. There’s such a huge amount of opportunity now from 40 years ago.”
Michaels is looking forward to her legacy the most. She works with her son and daughter, who are also artists. Michaels proudly collaborates with her daughter on digital design. Her son helps with the music for the fashion shows and handles her social media.
“He’s a talented musician, writer, and also does film, color grading, and all kinds of wonderful things.” Michaels says, “All of this is a huge blessing because bringing your children into your world of artistry and having that connection isn’t something that everybody gets to have in their lives so that’s a huge blessing.”
Now, Michaels is busy working on new collections for upcoming shows. She says,” There will be fun, new, exciting projects for dance and film projects too.”
Michaels says, “The best advice I can give to native designers is to allow their true strength of who they are and what they feel deep down inside as a Native American today. Pay attention to the materials that they use- allow the silhouette to become part of that language. Explore different fabrications and materials, and never give the same repetitive look. Make it new and exciting every single time so the opportunity to show on the stage allows their true voice and their vision to become a reality. Have fun with it.”
Visit www.patricia-michaels.com for more information.
BRINGING
ALBUQUERQUE Antwerp to
A VISIT TO THE WORLD’S BIGGEST DIAMOND MARKET
ARTICLE BY RICHARD LAKIN
Antwerp, Belgium has been known as the diamond capital of the world for over 500 years. Even before it became famous for its diamond trade, Antwerp was a center of commerce because of its access to maritime trade routes. Today it is home to over 1700 diamond merchants, billions of dollars of world diamond sales, and 85% of global diamond transactions. It is the place to find the highest quality and largest selection of diamonds.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF JOHN THOMAS JEWELRY
John Thomas and his wife Janelle own John Thomas Jewelers in Uptown Albuquerque. They go on buying trips to Antwerp twice a year. John tells us, “U.S. diamond dealers have access to a national database of available diamonds. If a customer has a particular preference as far as size, style, color, clarity, or budget there may only be a selection of a dozen or less of the diamonds that they’re looking for on the database. In Antwerp, they may show us hundreds of diamonds particular to the customers’ specifications. Moreover, the prices and variety in Antwerp allow the customer to get a higher quality diamond for the same budget.”
John Thomas Jewelers is the only diamond store in New Mexico that makes the trip to Belgium, giving them a significant competitive advantage in bringing the best diamonds and best prices to their customers. They just recently returned from a buying trip.
The shop’s in-house technology is another reason for its success in the New Mexico jewelry market. They have a computer-aided 3D drawing system that can show the design to the customer on a big screen in real-time. Once the customer is happy with the computer model, it is fed to a 3D printer that creates a wax replica of the jewelry piece that they can try on and get an accurate sense of the finished custom piece.
Their store is in an appealing location in an office building in the Uptown shopping area. It’s quiet and intimate, making it a great place to make decisions on a piece of jewelry that will be treasured for a lifetime.
“Moreover, the prices and variety in Antwerp allow the customer to get a higher quality diamond for the same budget.”
The Antwerp connection and the advanced technology make John Thomas Jewelers a unique place to find your perfect piece of quality jewelry.
John Thomas Jewelry is at 2440 Louisiana Blvd NE, Suite #310. Their phone number is 505.448.8400. Website: https://johnthomasjewelers.com/
John and Janelle inspecting diamonds in Antwerp
Antwerp, Belgium
Gut
Headaches Prolapse
Incontinence
SOUTHWEST Landscape Style
GROWING FLOWERS IN THE DESERT
ARTICLE BY RICHARD LAKIN | PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF WATERQUEST, INC
CONTINUED >
“Your outdoor space should be a place where you can unwind after a hard day at work.”
If you have moved to New Mexico from other parts of the country, you may find the arid climate here challenging to landscape. Unless you are looking to create a xeriscape… that is only using plants that can grow without regular watering…you’ll need to install an irrigation system to keep your plants alive.
Robert Biernacki, president of WaterQuest, Inc., has been designing, building, and maintaining residential and commercial landscaping for over 30 years. He and his associates have the solutions to creating a desert oasis in your backyard.
So, what is the style of a southwest landscaping design? Robert says, “There’s a lot of earth tones because of the gravel and rock features, but we incorporate reds and blues in the plant selections to give it some color. There’s also a choice of a very formal garden or a more rustic natural design. We joke about creating a completely natural environment by just letting your yard grow out and have it resemble the Bosque.”
What about growing a grass lawn? Robert laughs and says, “I spent the first ten years of my business putting in grass, and the rest taking it out. All it needs is water and fertilizer if that’s
- Robert Biernacki
what you’re looking for, although about 90 percent of our work doesn’t involve grass.”
Water Quest Inc. is very experienced in creating water features, fire pits, walkways, walls, decorative rocks, outdoor kitchens, landscape lighting, sprinkler design & maintenance, and xeriscaping. They have two in-house landscape designers with 20 years of experience.
Robert recommends water features to create a pleasant ambient sound that is relaxing, as well as canceling some of the street noise. He tells us,” Your outdoor space should be a place where you can unwind after a hard day at work.”
Robert attributes the longevity and success of WaterQuest Inc. to a simple business approach. “We listen to the client. Communication at the onset is very important, and we do what we say we’re going to do. You’d be surprised at how many customers tell us that was not the case with other landscapers. Guided by the principles of honesty and integrity, we pride ourselves on maintaining high-performance standards throughout all stages of a project.”
WaterQuest Inc. can be reached at 505.792.3600
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