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skirt . | june 2019

CHAR 06.00.19 SKIRT NEWPROV2.indd 1

5/23/19 9:16 AM

16 AM

CEO/OWNER Paula Dezzutti paula@holycitypublishing.com PUBLISHER Thomas J. Giovanniello, Jr. thomas@holycitypublishing.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Shelley Hill Young editor@skirt.com ART DIRECTOR Laura Staiano laura@skirt.com INTEGRATED ACCOUNT MANAGERS Susan Norfleet susan@skirt.com Whitney Brenkus whitney@skirt.com PHOTOGRAPHERS/ILLUSTRATORS Zheng Chia, Mary Beth Creates, Erin Turner, Daniel Velasco CONTRIBUTORS LB Adams, Molly Hampton, Lorna Hollifield, Helen Mitternight, Angie Mizzell, Andrea Serrano, Allyson Sutton, Susan Hull Walker EDITORIAL INTERN Raegan Whiteside raegan@holycitypublishing.com BUSINESS MANAGER Cassaundra Tebben cass@skirt.com DISTRIBUTION C&R Marketing, Tina Tartaglia ADVERTISING sales: 843.958.0028 sales@skirt.com EDITORIAL AND SALES OFFICES P.O. Box 579, Charleston, South Carolina 29402 843.958.0028 sales@skirt.com, skirt.com

Ladies Apparel Home Décor

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PROUD MEMBER OF The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce

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Skirt is published monthly and distributed free throughout the greater Charleston area.

Subscriptions are available through www.skirt.com. Subscription rates are $19.95 for 12 issues. Back issues may be obtained by contacting the Skirt offices. Back issues are $5.99.

All contents of this magazine, including without limitation the design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content as well as the selection, coordination and arrangement thereof, is Copyright© Holy City Publishing, LLC. All rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Postage paid at Charleston, S.C., and additional mailing offices. Skirt is a registered trademark of Holy City Publishing, LLC. Skirt and skirt.com are licensed under the authority of Morris Media Network. Printed in the United States.

Vol. 25 Issue 6 ISSN 2637-3815 (Print) ISSN 2637-3831(Online)

Visit skirt.com to sign up to receive the latest Skirt news and information.

WE’RE ON SOCIAL MEDIA! Facebook.com/skirtCharleston Instagram.com/skirtCharleston Twitter.com/skirtCharleston

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JUNE | 2019

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contents F E AT U R E S

IN EVERY ISSUE

TheSkimm Co-founders Talk About Their Latest Venture

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Forward! Find Your Safe Space

By Molly Hampton

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Hey, Women, Stop Making Yourselves Small

By LB Adams

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How I Found My Voice

By Angie Mizzell

28

Fashion Then and Now

18

Skirt Community: Anita Zucker

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Pop Culture Then and Now

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Skirt Wellness: Wildcraft’s Holly Thorpe

32

Skirt Books

34

Skirt Calendar

38

Skirt Events

40

Don’t Skirt the Issue

42

Women Then and Now 25 26

Bootin’ Up

By Susan Hull Walker

on the cover PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARY BETH CREATES TYPE ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL VELASCO Styled by Nadine Camilla Catala of Love Marlow Hair and Makeup by Brett Parks

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That was then: With this issue, Skirt—which was first published by founder Nikki Hardin on June 1, 1994—marks 25 years of celebrating women. On the cover of the first issue, Nikki wrote, “Skirt is all about women...their work, play, families, creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls.”

This is now: Paula Dezzutti is the new CEO and owner of Skirt magazine.

3

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skirt . | june 2019 5

editor’s letter Dear readers, When I tell women I am the editor of Skirt magazine, they smile and their eyes light up, and they say, “I love Skirt!” Then, they tell me that they’re new in town; Skirt is the first magazine they picked up, and they came to an event we hosted to meet new friends.

Or they say they send a copy each month to their friend or sister or mother who moved away and misses reading Skirt. Or they proudly say they were once featured or had an essay published in the magazine, that they had it framed and it’s hanging on their wall.

There are also women with personal stories, like the mother who said she read my letter about having my first child at age 39 and sent it to her 40-something-year-old daughter who had recently decided to try to start a family. Or the woman who decided that she, too, needed to check into a rehabilitation center after reading an essay in Skirt written by a mom who had bravely shared her experience with addiction.

I like to think that making those kinds of connections is just what founder Nikki Hardin had in mind when she published the first issue of Skirt 25 years ago on June 1, 1994, declaring that “Skirt is all about women.” (See the reimagined cover of the first issue on page 42.)

Skirt’s mission to celebrate women—their voices, their experiences, their contributions— remains important in a society in which women’s stories have traditionally been overlooked and undervalued. Humans, and women in particular, need to feel connected to something larger. And we need to know deep down in our souls that we are strong and capable, even when others around us make us feel like we’re not good enough, even when we doubt our own worth.

I believe that the more we hear stories of women thriving in different aspects of their lives, the more we feel connected, the more we feel rooted in our community, the more confidence we’ll have to follow our own passions and to strive to create change. I believe it is our responsibility to lift up each other. That is what I believe Skirt does.

Reading stories about other strong women encourages us to trust our inner voices and follow our intuition. Speak up, take a stand, take action. Use our power. That spirit of independence and passion is what has driven me the past two and a half years.

It is in honoring that spirit and intuition that I have decided that this issue will be my last as executive editor of Skirt. It’s been one of the most fulfilling jobs I have had. It has renewed my love for writing and storytelling and given me a sense of purpose and passion for uplifting women and trying to make the world a little better.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have worked at Skirt and to have met so many amazing women. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement over the past two years. I learned from those of you I’ve met and the women I’ve interviewed about claiming your space, owning your power and using it to advocate for yourself and others. I’ll carry those lessons and the “women celebrating women” spirit of Skirt with me wherever I go.

Peace and love,

Shelley Hill Young

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“ Here’s to the next 25 miraculous years of Skirt!”

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introducing...

Hey there.

My name is Paula Dezzutti, playfully called, “Pixie Paula” and I couldn’t be more delighted to share my home, my heart and my magic with you all. When I left the sleepy woods of Litchfield, Connecticut almost 15 years ago, I never imagined that the rich education and culture I garnered in the North would prepare my spirit perfectly for its journey as an empowered media entrepreneur in the South.

I came to Charleston with over three decades of expertise in real estate, financial planning and investment advisory services positioning myself as major shareholder, brand manager, and director on the board of a cutting-edge technology company that I drove tirelessly for a decade to enhance the hospitality industry. As an ordained minister, I quickly became immersed in the spirit of southern charm and partnered with amazing people who were taking bold positions on raising awareness for social responsibility.

I became a mentor and sponsor for several local entrepreneur groups, was elected to the Charleston Interreligious Council board of directors, became a sponsoring partner of The Sophia Institute and wrote for Entrepreneur Mind World. My motto: Diversity, Divinity, and Disruption!

For a while now I’ve been playing in industries that have historically been a man’s playground, edging my nose forward delicately to assuage the fears of those who feel challenged by contemporary viewpoints and the growing awareness of an evolved universal consciousness. With great mourning, those who are immutable, rigid, and resistant to change are falling away from positions of patriarchal leadership. No more “pot calling the kettle black” projections from outdated bullying leadership, for the time is ripe for every woman to add greater dimension to intellectual standards, to the quality of reasoning, and to critical thinking. It’s impossible for feminine innovation to go unnoticed and I for one am tired of “being hushed”, so I invite everyone to bring on their “Pixie Power” as together we embrace fashion, fun, family and our formidable future.

After learning the lay of the Charleston land, I had the opportunity to “step outside the box” again, transcending the ordinary models in the music, entertainment and celebrity branding fields. According to Hip Hop Weekly and World Star Hip Hop, I’ve become one of the most sought-after brand builders in the US. Often, I am asked to be a guest speaker covering the release of my book, Open Your G.I.F.T.S., co-authored with Kim Coles, the legendary comedienne from “In Living Color”. What a privilege to share words of inspiration and dialogue on the concept of INTENTION and how it manifests each of our own personal worlds into a collective of community for the greater good.

What exciting times for all of us in the branding and media world. My empowered woman’s story has been featured in The Huffington Post, USA Magazine, Yahoo Finance, Dow Jones Market Watch and I’ve spoken at The American Distilling Conference, The American Beverage Consortium, The Los Angeles Brand Innovation Summit and The Confidence Factor for Women. But if you ask me about my greatest honor, it’s being coined “Hip-Hop Grandma” because alongside my career, I was privileged to give birth to 9 amazing personalities who also graced me with 5 grandchildren…so far! None of this would be worth anything without them and every day I give thanks for having them in my world. As a family we will continue to share our journey with the world and our hope is you all become part of our family.

With my kids at the helm and at my side, I became one of the very few female-owned, family-run distilleries in the world—right here in Charleston. As CEO of Local Choice Spirits and the Striped Pig Distillery, I launched a game-changing strategic vision as a premiere turn-key incubator for the billion-dollar beverage industry. Our proprietary brand development and distribution platform combines the strength of award winning super-premium boutique craft spirits with experienced industry professionals and top-notch celebrity artists, all the while collaborating with local businesses on community initiatives and fundraisers through a pioneering beverage loyalty initiative.

Striped Pig Distillery is Charleston’s first distillery since Prohibition, the only female owned distillery in the area, and was recently awarded ‘South Carolina Distillery of the Year’ yet again locally and at the New York International Spirits Awards boasting more than 50 awards at the most prestigious blind tasted world spirits competitions.

My recent program launch, Music, Media and Magic, featured on 92.5 Kickin’ Country, unites local radio, TV, news outlets and social media to promote local artists and host events that highlight the outstanding talent pool saturating the greater Charleston area.

With a group of women who have seamlessly passed the baton of notable accomplishments, nothing could be more fitting than becoming the owner of Skirt Magazine during its 25th anniversary commemoration. As CEO and Editor-In-Chief I am left filled to the brim with enthusiasm for an illuminated future that I hope is contagious! We are stronger than ever now and we must remember that miracles do not intensify our faith, but faith intensifies our miracles. So, here’s to the next 25 miraculous years of Skirt!

photography by Mary Beth Creates stying by Nadine Camilla Catala of Love Marlow hair and makeup by Brett Parks

Paula Dezzutti, CEO and owner , Skirt magazine

Want more? Visit us at skirt.com

skirt . | june 2019 9

Hey, Women, Stop Making Yourselves

SMALL You are Rock Stars! Own it!

By LB Adams

5 SOFT SKILLS TIPS TO MAKE YOU BETTER AT EVERYTHING

1. Own the space. Whenever, wherever you’re speaking, own the space like it was real estate you purchased. ‘Cause it is. Stop making yourself small. If you’re adding your idea at a meeting, sit up and speak up. If you’re standing and presenting, understand that the floor is literally and figuratively yours.

For that time, you own it.

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2. Step out from behind. Whatever you’ve put in front of you—your desk, a chair, a table, step out from behind it when you really want to communicate with someone. Don’t put barriers, including your phone, between you and others. I was recently at an event where businesswoman and philantropist Anita Zucker was speaking. Rather than stand behind the podium, she moved the mic and stood to the side of the podium so that all of her was communicating with all of us. That act in itself is a powerful conversation.

3. Allow vulnerability. Being vulnerable is a strange and scary thing. It’s almost an oxymoron – being vulnerable, sharing yourself or doing something new and uncomfortable is actually an act of bravery. Courage is predicated on vulnerability.

Understand that failure will happen and allow yourself to move forward anyway. It doesn’t necessarily have to include diving with sharks. Also, see everything ever written by Brené Brown to better understand the life-altering truth of vulnerability.

4. Resist the “give and take back.” This occurs when someone voices something positive about themselves or their accomplishments and immediately follows it with something negative. For example: “I just got promoted to vice president! It’s not a huge pay raise though.” Here’s another: “I’ve won several sales awards.

They’re local, not regional.” This is a “skill” women have perfected in our quest to not seem “arrogant” or too full of ourselves. It’s another way to make yourself small, and it must be stopped. This brings us to the last, best advice.

5. Speak well about yourself. Why is this so damn difficult for some people (women)? You can learn this skill. Practice saying what you’re good at or what skills you posses. Do it out loud! Write them down. Write them again and add to the list. Have conversations with your friends about your rock star-ness. It is imperative that we have the ability to factually, adamantly and steadfastly speak well about ourselves.

I believe strongly in the power of words. We humans had to invent a multitude of languages to communicate because grunting and gestures weren’t doing the job. Words are integral to our forward motion. By being more aware of the words you use, how and when you use them, you can create positive change and have a tremendous impact on the world.

LB Adams is the founder of Practical Dramatics. Her company provides spectacular training events that utilize theatre strategies to help humans grow more profitable conversations with other humans.

“ I’ve found that women and men speak very differently. They especially speak very differently about themselves.”

ALICE KEENEY PHOTOGRAPHY

I

recently got to fulfill one of my big, giant life goals and give a TEDx talk. It was one of the most exciting, challenging and dangerous things I’ve ever done, and I’ve been scuba diving with sharks. Danger is my middle name.

Actually, it’s not, it’s Beth, but I still know from danger. Getting up on the TEDx Charleston stage and being authentic and vulnerable was brave.

What if no one cared about my talk? What if what I was saying didn’t resonate with anyone? What if I forgot my own name? Thankfully, they did and it did, and I didn’t.

My family and I came to Charleston in 2012 to kickstart a new phase in our lives. A couple of years later, I jumped into entrepreneurism with both feet. I run a soft skills training company, and we’ve had the privilege to work with a huge range of people, companies and industries. I can tell you, we’ve seen some stuff!

Through the years, throughout all of the classes and workshops and speaking events, I’ve found that women and men speak very differently.

They especially speak very differently about themselves. So while the following tips are applicable to everyone, they are very often more applicable to women. Yeah, girl, I’m lookin’ at you.

ALICE KEENEY PHOTOGRAPHY

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skirt . | june 2019  13

forward!

ing o d e r ’ u o y T A E GR ! !! y a d to

FIND YOUR SAFE SPACE Is there such a thing as a feminist utopia?

Check the graffiti in the women’s bathroom

By Molly Hampton

W

hen we first think of graffiti on the walls of a public restroom, images of “Call for a good time!” or “XXX is a @$*!” tend to come to mind.

But what if I told you there was something revolutionary in its solidarity stirring up in spaces as ordinary as bathroom stalls?

While scrolling through the extensive list of classes offered in the College of Charleston Spring 2019 course catalog, I couldn’t help but be drawn to a Women’s and Gender Studies 300-level class titled “Feminist Utopias.” I immediately wrote down the course number, knowing that while I was unsure about this unconventional course title, I needed to sign up for it. As a Women’s and Gender Studies minor, a third-year college student who has found inspiration in classes that offer atypical ways of thinking and with a name like that, how could I not?

The class tackled various issues of reproductive rights, violence and nonviolence, mother-daughter relationships, human faith and sexual expression through the lens of creating a utopian space – a radically better world where all individuals feel validated and protected, making it, inherently, a space where feminist ideals flourish. Like any upper-level college class, a final project lingered at the end of the term. As I tend to do with looming deadlines, I completely put off thinking about what I was going to submit—until, strangely enough, I went down the hall to the bathroom in the middle of a class period. Here, on the third floor of one of the college’s busiest student buildings, in the first bathroom stall on the left, the idea for my final project hit me.

The class discussion that day centered on the concept of “pocket utopias”—a physical space that works to craft a utopia within the confines of a larger dystopian world. This space is constructed through its resistance and refusal to submit itself to the harm projected by the “dystopian” state that is

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constantly trying to swallow it. Questions floated around the classroom about what a pocket utopia would look like in the setting of our current political climate, which appears by the day to feel like an ever-enclosing dystopia.

As I stood in the stall, I noticed all the graffiti around me. Written in light black pen on the door, right above a poster providing the location of a Sexual Assault Awareness Committee meeting, it read: “Be who you wanna be. Don’t let others con-

read paragraph-length graffiti seeking advice on how to cope with the trauma of sexual assault, short poll-like questions calling for opinions on different forms of birth control, and pink Post-it Notes on mirrors reminding fellow stall-users to take part in self-care that day.

As I began to tell my friends what I was doing and why I was stopping to photograph every single thing when we went into a bathroom, I was oftentimes met with excited and intense reactions: “Oh,

“ As I stood in the stall, I was noticing all the graffiti around me.

Written in light black pen on the door, right above a poster providing the location of a Sexual Assault Awareness Committee meeting, it read: ‘Be who you wanna be. Don’t let others control your life! Remember you are loved.’” trol your life! Remember you are loved.” As I stared at this message, I began to wonder: In a world that thrives off of human disconnection and isolation derived, in part, from constructed concepts of power, how is this rallying graffiti crafting a pocket utopia that refuses to submit to those ideals through its encouraging rhetoric?

I began snapping photos of more graffiti, notes and flyers I saw posted within women’s restrooms in several campus buildings. I found that most bathroom graffiti centered on the following: mental health, self-care, campus experiences, confidence reminders, sexual assault survivor support, reproductive hygiene and political discourse centering around Trumpera resistance. I

self

my god!” “I always read the graffiti in that building” or “Wait! I wrote that one.”

These reactions resulted in daily texts from friends with any bathroom writing they found to be a validation of their experiences and identities, and which ultimately became the foundation of my project.

Students use the bathroom walls as a safe space to seek advice, provide words of wisdom and share experiences by creating a utopian sense of solidarity and resistance. There is an ability to remain anonymous, then return to the same stall to read what other anonymous stall-users write in response. The anonymous graffiti rarely turns sour in its exchange, a testimony to what we desire in the creation of our utopian space.

Ultimately, I found that bathroom walls are being

care IMPO is RTA NT

used as a permanent platform for expression, experience and solidarity in the form of protection from what students might face around campus, the classroom, or greater community—making it a feminist pocket utopia in its simplest definition.

I suppose I should use the word “permanent” with some uneasiness. What I failed to mention was that only days after deciding this would be my final project, I was met with a major roadblock: the repainting of bathrooms around campus by a cover of thick white paint. I would only assume this was for optic reasons. How is a school supposed to be a professional institution if its walls are covered in scribbles?

However, the context of the bathroom graffiti I witnessed was and is so much more than “scribbles” ruining a polished presentation. Campus bathroom graffiti provides a creative sharing platform for any individual who enters the stall. They can anony-

Want more? Visit us at skirt.com

ft i g a e r a u o e n y o y r e v to e ! t e e m u yo

mously ask questions about their sexual health, write poetry, draw beautiful images, validate their fellow peers, advocate for sexual assault survivors and express strong concerns about the dystopian state that surrounds them. One does not need anything more than a pencil to contribute to the graffiti or more than a moment to appreciate that of others. Students, strangely enough, are able to achieve one of the main goals of higher education in engaging with bathroom stall graffiti—finding their own voice in an increasingly loud world. So why suppress this accessible platform of expression with white paint?

As I began this project, I frankly thought it would be like any other class assignment. I would spend endless nights in the library, turn it in on time, then honestly never think of it again. But as I worked through how the graffiti provided a pocket utopia; as I heard testimonies to that by fellow students; as

I saw people cheer on each other after writing about a tough semester; and as I saw people scribble arrows around sexual assault hotline numbers written on the wall; this project on examining bathroom graffiti with a feminist utopian lens went from being a very strange-sounding thought to a concrete passion. As I sit here writing, I wonder what do we do in life when faced with a cover of white paint?

I believe I found the answer written on a freshly painted stall: We meet the silencing of the thick coat of paint with a fighting stance: “Long Live Bathroom Graffiti.”

skirt . | june 2019 15

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Creates

‘90s Fashion Flashback

Supermodels, girl groups, grunge rockers, movie actors and television stars all influenced fashion in the ‘90s. The look was casual but rarely subtle—sexy and tough, soft and edgy. The styles were best worn with a sense of cool and a touch of rebellion. And as always in fashion, what goes around comes around. Check out 25 of today’s styles that were influenced by what we wore in the ‘90s.

THEN

1

NOW

Platform sneakers: Whether you were a club kid or a Spice Girls wannabe in the ‘90s this was the footwear of choice. Now at Shoes on King

High-cut swimsuit: Baywatch babe Pam Anderson made the one piece with the sky-high cut sexier than a bikini. Now at SXC by Stylexchange

Moto jacket: From Madonna to Kate Moss, this biker chic jacket was the must have in your closet. Now at Hampden Clothing

5

Mom jeans: Originated by moms, made famous by teens. Perfectly paired with crop tops and bodysuits. Now at Hampden Clothing

LEFT COLUMN (TOP TO BOTTOM): SHUTTERSTOCK

2 4

Fanny pack: The handsfree practical pouch made its debut in the ‘80s but stood the test of time in the ‘90s. Perfect for those rollerblading escapades. Now at Jahde Leather Atelier

3

fashion then and now

ary Beth otography by M Ph • o an rr Se a

By Andre

Boyfriend jean jacket: The more distressed and baggier, the better. Guess, Bongo and Levi’s were the sought-after denim brands.

Now at House of Sage

6

7 8 9

Crop top: What better way to show off that tone midriff than with a crop top? Britney and Jennifer Aniston showed us how it was done.

Now at House of Sage

BOTTOM LEFT: ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

LEFT COLUMN (TOP TO BOTTOM): SHUTTERSTOCK

THEN

NOW Nameplate necklace: Logos made a big splash back in the day. Why not have your jewelry personalized with your own brand name? Now at Croghan’s Jewel Box

Scrunchie: Ponytails went next level with this new hair-band trend.

Scrunchies were made to coordinate with your whole outfit. Now at Beckett Boutique

10 11 12

Vans: The footwear of choice for skateboarders, these classic kicks never went out of style.

The checkerboard pattern was iconic.

Now at Continuum

Wire-rimmed small circular shades: The ‘60s shades made a major comeback in the ‘90s. What was old was new again.

Now at See Eyewear

Big hoop earrings: You didn’t have to be an “Around the Way Girl” to rock these hoops. The bigger, the better. Now at House of Sage

fashion then and now

THEN

13

NOW

Slip dress: From bustiers to slip dresses, inner wear turned to outerwear. Hollywood starlets graced the red carpet with evening ready looks. Now at Beckett Boutique

14

Choker: Part bondage, part raver chic, this accessory was the must-have in jewelry. Now at Jahde Leather Atelier

16

17 18

Tube dress: Posh Spice was the queen of the body-con tube dress. This look was trending from high fashion to streetwear.

Now at House of Sage

Platform sandals: Steve Madden capitalized on these sky-high sandals that could be seen on the beach to the street. Now at Hampden Clothing

Track pants: Hip hoppers and clubbers loved this sporty, loose look for more freedom on the dance floor. Rap icons such as Missy Elliott always rocked the look from top to toe with matching track jacket and sneakers.

Now at SXC by Stylexchange

SHUTTERSTOCK

15

Snakeskin backpack: Sporty, utilitarian fashion was the trend, and the backpack combined form and function. Now at Taxidermy

NOW

Combat boots: Grunge made Doc Martens and combat boots the footwear of choice. Worn with floral baby doll dresses or jean shorts, this look gave your outfit instant edge. Now at Hampden Clothing

20

SHUTTERSTOCK

19 21

THEN

Bodysuit: Downtown Julie Brown lived in bodysuits on Club MTV. They were perfectly paired with jean shorts, mom jeans or overalls.

Now at House of Sage Logo Calvin Klein sports bra: It was all about status symbols, and it was en vogue to wear logos splashed all over your clothes and accessories. Now at SXC

by Stylexchange

ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Band T-shirt: Even if you didn’t make it to your favorite band’s concert, you had to honor their music by wearing it. Now at Undead Threads

Cat-eye sunglasses: These feline favorites were worn tiny and came in all different colors. Now at See Eyewear

22 23

24

Tie-dye jacket: Before it was called boho it was called hippie.

The ‘60s look was remixed on denim and cropped jackets. Now at Hampden Clothing

25

Plaid dress: Nobody wanted to be clueless when it came to trends, and the ‘90s was all about replicating headto-toe looks that people saw in the movies and magazines. Now at Cynthia Rowley

Remember when?

We didn’t realize it then, but 25 years ago, we were experiencing changes that would dramatically influence our lives for years to come. In Charleston, Skirt magazine hit the stands, promising to engage our passions, tell our stories and celebrate our differences—helping to empower the women of Charleston to be our best selves and to work to make the world a better place. Take a look back at the year 1994—before iPhones, Google, Amazon and reality TV shows took over.

27TH

Nelson Mandela is elected the first black president of South Africa in 1994. We can still learn a lot from his words today.

Yahoo is founded. Once one of the biggest companies in online search, Yahoo! couldn’t keep up with rival Google.

Yahoo! was bought by Verizon in 2016.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion.

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

6TH

Tonya Harding wins the U.S. figure skating championship and is later stripped of her title after she was found to have hampered the prosecution of her ex-husband, who was found to have orchestrated an attack on Tonya’s rival, Nancy Kerrigan, at the national competition. Since then, there have been documentaries, interviews and examinations about the role of class, gender, feminism and sexism played in the negative perception of Tonya.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

APRIL

A seminal moment in pop culture: Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain is found dead in his Seattle home. Authorities rule it a suicide. His influence still ripples out widely in music, art, fashion and more.

18TH

skirt . | june 2019

MARCH

8TH

Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female admitted to The Citadel. A court ruled she must be allowed to attend day classes in January, but it wasn’t until July 1995 that a judge ordered she be fully admitted. Twenty-five years later, Sarah Zorn, the first female regimental commander of cadets, graduated from The Citadel.

“Reality Bites” hits movie theaters. Helen Childress, the woman who wrote the script based on her own life, often often gets overlooked. In fact, according to a recent story in The Atlantic, she wasn’t invited to the reunion at the Tribeca Film Festival. The notion of “selling out” or remaining true to yourself still resonates with Generation X.

22

Selena releases “Amor Prohibido,” which became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the United States.

CLOCKWISE TOP (L-R): ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; SHUTTERSTOCK

1994

pop culture then and now

Hill Young Compiled by Shelley

6TH

17TH

It’s one of those “do you remember where you were” moments: O.J. Simpson is charged with two counts of murder and later that afternoon flees from police in a white Bronco.

The resulting murder trial influenced our lives in countless ways, leading to discussions about race and the legal system, DNA evidence and domestic violence as well as the popularity of reality TV and later the Kardashians.

M AY

JUNE

We are all introduced to Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks. The movie goes on to win the Oscar later that year. Critics say it can be seen as a celebration of American innocence or a critique of American innocence. We’re left with a box of chocolates and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. that’s on Market Street.

25TH

“My So-Called Life” debuts. Claire Danes as Angela Chase was all of us. Writer Winnie Holzman told the story of a 15-year-old girl struggling to find her identity. And though the teen drama ran only one season, without it there might not have been “Felicity,” “Gilmore Girls” or “One Tree Hill.” Today, we still crave that authenticity.

J U LY

AUGUST

5TH

1ST Founder Nikki Hardin publishes the first issue of Skirt! magazine.

CLOCKWISE TOP (L-R): ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; SHUTTERSTOCK

CLOCKWISE TOP (L-R): ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; SHUTTERSTOCK

19TH

Former first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis dies of cancer. Her sense of grace and style are legendary, but she was also a feminist – wanting to be known for more than what she wore and criticizing the interest in her appearance.

11TH

Amazon is founded by Jeff Bezos. The company started out as a bookstore, but would go on to become an online retail goliath, disrupting business models for just about everything.

The first online purchase is of Sting’s album “Ten Summoner’s Tales.” But Pizza Hut likes to take the credit.

The restaurant launched online ordering later that month. Today, Amazon can deliver almost anything in 48 hours or less, but we at Skirt still prefer shopping local and supporting female business owners.

5TH

“Cracked Rear Mirror” by Hootie & The Blowfish (led by Charleston native Darius Rucker) is released. We know you know all the words: “With a little peace and some harmony, / We’ll take the world together. / We’ll take them by the hand.”

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skirt . | june 2019 23

pop culture then and now

13TH

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 is signed into federal law by President Bill Clinton.

The act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women and imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted. In 2019, the House passed the reauthorization of the bill. The Senate has yet to debate the bill.

22ND

“Friends” debuts, introducing us to Thursday night mustwatch TV and Jennifer Aniston’s hair.

17TH

Celine Dion marries her manager Rene Angelil in Montreal. She launched her Courage World Tour in April of this year.

31ST

1994

Tennis star Venus Williams makes her professional debut at the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California.

She is 14. She later led the campaign to fight for equal pay in sports and in 2007 was the first woman to win the same amount as male Wimbledon winner, Roger Federer.

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

N OV E M B E R

DECEMBER

19TH

23ND

“Pulp Fiction” hits theaters. The film’s widespread influence on moviemaking can be felt in all kinds of ways, including how dialogue is written and how violence is portrayed. Almost 25 years later in the midst of the #MeToo movement, star Uma Thurman shared allegations in The New York Times that director Quentin Tarantino endangered her life while filming “Kill Bill” after Harvey Weinstein made advances on her, adding to the conversation about violence against women in the workplace.

15TH

Supergirl group TLC releases their second album, “CrazySexyCool.” The group exuded cool and sang about empowerment and sisterhood.

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CLOCKWISE TOP (L-R): SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; ASSOCIATED PRESS; ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

“ER” debuts, making George Clooney a household name. Twenty-five years later we think he’s even sexier now that he’s married to Amal.

1.

Jennet Robinson Alterman was named one of the 10 women of the year in Skirt’s 10th anniversary edition in 2004. Fifteen years later, she is still a strong advocate for women’s rights and sits on numerous boards, including the Women Rights Empowerment Network, or WREN.

10.

Hart Hagerty appeared in a Skirt feature called GirlPower when she was just 16. She launched her jewelry line in 2011, and her trademark tassel earrings have been featured in multiple national magazines.

JENNET ROBINSON ALTERMAN

11.

Linda Ketner, who was featured in Skirt in 2004, co-founded the Alliance for Full Acceptance in 1998. She later ran for Congress and founded and chaired the Mayor’s Council on Homelessness and Affordable Housing.

2.

Constance Anastopoulo, a litigator and law professor, ran for state attorney general in 2018.

3.

Archie Burkel was named one of the 10 women of the year in Skirt’s 10th anniversary edition, and she was recently profiled again in August 2018. She’s still the top Hat Lady, a philanthropic organization she founded in 2001.

ARCHIE BURKEL

12. chefs – and in 2015 was named to the James Beard Who’s Who in America.

8.

Mary Edna Fraser’s art was highlighted in the first issue of Skirt. This month, she’s launching her latest book, “The Batik Art of Mary Edna Fraser,” which is part history and part guide to the artform. Skirt is co-hosting a launch party with Buxton Books on June 18 at Cannon Street Arts Center. Tickets are available at buxtonbooks.com.

9.

Tara Guerard opened the doors of her event planning business in 1997 when there weren’t many other party planners in town, and she set the standard for stylish weddings. She’s the one behind Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ wedding at Boone Plantation in 2012 that led to the growth of the wedding industry in Charleston.

4.

Belinda Cole is the original “Skirt Girl,” and her photograph was featured on the back of each issue in 1994 to promote the idea of the spirited, independent, outspoken, serious, playful and irreverent woman.

5.

Beki Crowell appeared in the fifth issue of Skirt in one of the first Women’s Work profiles. She’s the owner of Utopia boutique on Broad Street as well as an artist and spiritual healer.

6.

Susan Dunn was recognized as one of the 10 women of the year in Skirt’s 10th anniversary issue. She’s the legal director of the ACLU of South Carolina.

7.

Nathalie Dupree has appeared in Skirt several times over the years. She is the author of 14 cookbooks, the Grande Dame of Les Dames d’Escoffier—a prestigious organization of female

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women then and now

All About Women

From the very first issue to the most recent, Skirt magazine has celebrated women and their accomplishments. Here are 25 women who have been featured in some way in Skirt magazine over the past 25 years and who are still kicking down doors and changing the world.

TOP TO BOTTOM: LIBBY WILLIAMS; CALLIE CRANFORD; JACK ALTERMAN

CLOCKWISE TOP (L-R): SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; ASSOCIATED PRESS; ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

skirt is

ley Hill Young Compiled by Shel

BELINDA COLE

Dr. Reshma Khan opened the Shifa Clinic in 2012 to provide gynecological care to low-income and uninsured women, and it has expanded to become a full-time multispeciality clinic that offers community outreach such as a food pantry.

13.

Sallie Krawcheck appeared in Skirt in 2002 when she was named CEO of Citigroup’s Smith Barney, making her one of the most senior women on Wall Street. In 2016, she co-founded Ellevest, a digital financial adviser for women. She’s also the owner and chair of the Ellevate Network.

14.

Trista Kutcher was featured on Skirt’s GirlPower page when she was 12, after winning two gold medals in gymnastics in the Special Olympics World Summer Games. More than 15 years later, she appeared in Skirt after she was the first person hired by Bitty & Beau’s coffee shop.

15.

Nancy Mace, the first female to graduate from The Citadel, was featured in Skirt in 2011. She now represents District 99 in the State House and recently shared on the House floor her experience of being raped at age 16 in an effort to argue for exceptions to a “fetal heartbeat” abortion ban bill for cases of rape and incest. The bill goes to the Senate in 2020.

16.

Mary Alice Monroe was featured in Skirt in 2002, when she wrote the debut novel in “The Beach House” series. This month, Skirt is hosting a book launch party for her latest book, “The Summer Guests.”

17.

Jane Perdue was featured in Skirt in 2011 when she was on the board of The Center for Women. Today, she is the executive director of The Jane Group, a professional development firm focused on inclusion, using power and influence effectively, and eliminating institutional bias.

skirt . | june 2019 25

women then and now

ANNE RHETT

20.

Polly Sheppard is one of two adult survivors of the Emanuel AME shooting in which nine church members were killed. She shared her story with Skirt last year. This month, the anniversary of the shootings, Polly is featured in the “Emanuel” documentary, which is being screened in Charleston on June 17 and 19.

21.

Pauline Sokol Nakios was featured in Skirt in 2002, about four years after she launched her fashion brand Lilla P. Today, she has a store in New York’s meatpacking district.

18.

22.

19.

23.

Anne Rhett was featured in Skirt when she was 16. Today, she is a well-known photographer and one of the co-creators of The Vault on King artist space.

Carolyn Rivers was featured in Skirt in 2002, a year after she started The Sophia Institute, which offers programs that foster the rise of the feminine to cultivate wisdom for a more just and sustainable world.

Thomasena Stokes-Marshall was recognized in Skirt’s 10th anniversary edition in 2004. She was the first African American to serve on the Mount Pleasant Town Council and founded the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association.

Susan Hull Walker was one of the original writers for Skirt. She founded IBU Movement, a store that sells clothing and accessories made by global artists.

POLLY SHEPPARD

24.

Marjory Wentworth had one of her poems featured in the very first issue of Skirt magazine. She was named the South Carolina Poet Laureate in 2003.

25.

Anita Zucker, the CEO of InterTech Group, is a philanthropist who has donated millions of dollars to education, arts and conservation organizations, including the South Carolina Aquarium, the Lowcountry Food Bank, The Citadel, the Trident Technical College Foundation and MUSC’s Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. (Read more about Anita on page 30 of this issue.)

Bootin’ Up

Susan Hull Walker, one of Skirt’s original contributors, is still empowering women to kick open doors and change the world

I

spot a sweet Southern woman with nothing on but racy red cowboy boots. The boots leap right into my hands as I grab my first ever copy of Skirt!, read it with relish, and call to ask the publisher to lunch. I smell something devilishly sublime and want to know what this Skirt! thing is all about. It’s about women, I learn, and pushing open doors with those red boots, embracing things saucy and spirited and maybe even subversive, right here in the Southern heartland where ladies, at least 25 years ago, wore pumps.

By the end of my lunch with Nikki [Hardin, the founder of Skirt!], I had a new friend and an

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assignment to write a column for this explosive red-boot brigade. Each month for the next five years, Skirt! gave me a place to muse—turning over my life, shaking it down...wanting to see myself and my world newly, with the naked eye of a woman.

Ten years later, in a tiny mountain village in Timor, Indonesia, I’m greeted with women dancing barefoot in the street - also kicking open doors, making a living, for the first time ever, from their remarkable weaving skills, and from that living, making a life. Sending their daughters to school. Building houses with running water. Disrupting poverty with the tools already in their hands.

And that is when it happened. Right there on the mountain, all of those years of musing and searching coalesced for me in a single moment, and I turned to the leader of this group who is called—as all women of respect are called in Indonesia—Ibu. And I told her that I wanted to bring this exquisite weaving back to women in the U.S. who

would buy it for the art that it is —and I would call this work Ibu, in honor of women everywhere rising into self-respect and sovereignty through the art of their hands and imaginations. And so I did.

Five years later, the Ibu movement is collaborating with over 100 women’s artisan groups in 40 countries—women who are spirited and saucy and irreverent and strong, women kicking open doors and changing the world, one village at a time.

Somewhere along the way, I went out and bought a pair of red cowboy boots. Subliminal, I guess. But now that I look back on it, I wonder if that Skirt! cover had lodged in my imagination and created a place for freedom and ambition and adventure to take hold.

CLOCKWISE TOP (L-R): CATHERINE ANN PHOTOGRAPHY; LIBBY WILLIAMS; PETER FRANK EDWARDS

By Susan Hull Walker

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skirt . | june 2019  27

CLOCKWISE TOP (L-R): CATHERINE ANN PHOTOGRAPHY; LIBBY WILLIAMS; PETER FRANK EDWARDS

essay

How I Found

MY VOICE And Learned the Power of Stories To Connect Us remember exactly where I was when I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I was sitting at a long table in the university library my sophomore year of college, alongside a dozen other undergrads. Each of us stared at computer screens, typing away.

I was revising a personal essay for a creative nonfiction writing class. The professor had instructed us to write a story about something that had happened in our lives. Then, she read our stories and returned them.

She didn’t give us a grade; instead, she colored the margins with feedback: “What did you mean here? Write less about this. Tell me more about that.”

At the bottom of my essay she wrote, “How brave of you to tell this story from someone else’s point of view. Now, I’d like to hear it from your perspective.” It’s funny that it hadn’t occurred to me—to write the story through my eyes—even though I was there and lived it, too.

That night, I went back to the library and rewrote the story, incorporating the professor’s notes and edits. That’s when I felt something inside of me

“The process of revising, crafting and deepening the story challenged me in a way that felt good. I felt like myself— completely connected, fully present and comfortable in my own skin.” come alive. The process of revising, crafting and deepening the story challenged me in a way that felt good. I felt like myself—completely connected, fully present and comfortable in my own skin. I eagerly awaited the next round of edits.

I wrote a total of four essays. At the end of the course, the professor returned our stories in a manila folder with the first and only grade we received all semester. It was the most satisfying “A” I’d ever earned. The professor wrote me one final note. “You could have a career as a writer,” she said.

My stomach did a flip-flop. Her words felt so right that it made me nervous.

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I justified to myself that I was a broadcast journalism major. Sure, producing TV news scripts would require a different style of writing, but I would, indeed, have a career as a writer. Besides, as much as I enjoyed writing those essays, I didn’t know where, or how, to write like that beyond my time in the classroom.

I wouldn’t know until I was almost 30 years old, when I was going through a life and career transition and was seeking inspiration at every turn. I picked up a copy of Skirt. As I flipped through the pages of the magazine, I found several stories written by women in a style quite similar to the stories I’d written in college. My stomach once again did that familiar flip-flop. I was struck by how interesting these essays were; how effortlessly they pulled me in. I wondered how stories so different from my own could also feel familiar and make me nod my head in recognition. I emailed Skirt’s managing editor and asked her to send me the submission guidelines.

In June 2005, my first essay in Skirt was published. When I got the acceptance email, I literally danced around the room. The following month, I danced again as I celebrated another yes. Then, when I submitted my third essay, I learned the sting of rejection. My essay wouldn’t work this time. My heart sank. I knew it wasn’t personal, even though it felt personal. Because writing is so very personal.

I also knew that I still had a lot to learn about writing for publication.

Over time, I found other outlets for my work, but starting and maintaining a blog proved to be the most valuable and one of the best teachers. Blogging forced me to face my inner critic and that vulnerable feeling that comes the secHappy Anniversary, ond after I hit “publish.” I learned—am still learning—to trust myself and the words I Skirt. Thank you for feel compelled to share, as well as the ones I giving my words a choose to hold back. home. Thank you for A few years ago, I found my way back to Skirt and my essays have been published here giving women a voice on a regular basis. Sometimes I look at my by- and connecting us line and think about my college professor and through our unique the impact she made on my life. To be writing this essay for you now, as Skirt celebrates its and universal stories.

25th year, is humbling, really.

CALLIE CRANFORD

I

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skirt . | june 2019 29

Working to

L

et’s just get the money thing out of the way: Anita Zucker has scads of money; she has more than you or I will ever see, and her family name is on countless buildings around the Lowcountry.

She estimates that she and her family have given away about $70 million to charities in the past 10 years.

But if all you see when you look at Anita are the dollar signs, you’re missing the passion and vision that drive this Charleston billionaire.

Anita unassumingly greets a visitor in the lobby at InterTech Group, the Zucker family-owned holding company a few blocks from trendy Park Circle, and walks the visitor back to her office. The company has real estate holdings, solar farms and manufacturing operations, but a quick tour of Anita’s office shows where her heart is: Her desk faces a wall of family photos.

A table and the floor are chock-a-block with Florida Gator memorabilia from her alma mater, mementos and honorary degrees from several universities.

“We tend to hold on to things in the South,” she says with a laugh, leading the visitor to a small sitting area with a sofa and club chair.

She shakes her head impatiently when asked what she would tell people who think she just throws money at pet projects.

“My hands get dirty. I roll up my sleeves,” she says. “I’ve been in the thick of these meetings, fight my way through, talk to people. If I need to go to Columbia and talk to the governor or a senator, I do it. I’m not just throwing money at things. I know a little about a lot of things. I’m never bored. I feel like I’m doing something all the time. I want to understand and know what I can do to make a difference.”

That may mean observing brain surgeries to get a better understanding of the neuroscience department at the Medical University of South Carolina. For Anita, the investments are personal and echo events in her life.

It’s not a huge leap to understand her interest in brain surgery and brain cancer: Her husband, Jerry Zucker, died of a brain tumor in 2008. She contributes to MUSC’s research and development in that area and, with her funding, researchers have come up with devices such as a 3D-printed brain tumor that enables doctors to perfect their technique. She also chairs a summit that attracts doctors working on brain cancer to share their data across an alliance of medical professionals from many hospitals and universities. “How are you ever going to cure this disease if you don’t share?’ Anita says.

Health is just one area that Anita is interested in. Her family and the family business also

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REPAIR THE WORLD What Drives Businesswoman and philanthropist Anita Zucker contribute to causes that further education, the environment and the arts.

Jerry Zucker was one of the founding members of the South Carolina Aquarium, and son Jonathan, who also works at InterTech, is chair of the board. Anita says the environmental work the aquarium does is amazing and she feels a special bond with the aquarium’s sea turtle rescue center, which bears the family name.

Anita also helped found a nonprofit, Cradle to Career, that focuses on improving education outcomes across the tri-county area and gets high school kids ready for college. One arm of Cradle to Career, Family Connects, will enable nurses to visit newborns and their families in the first three months of life. The nurses connect families with health care providers who can access a database via telemedicine to save parents from wading through the bewildering assortment of disparate services.

“We are dreamers,” she says. “As a family, we’ve always been entrepreneurial, innovative and creative. My husband (had) a list of keys of success, and innovation and creativity very much play a role, as does having a sense of urgency, a bias for action, and a work ethic. With the world we live in today, I wish we had more of a sense of urgency and bias for action.”

Anita’s family also owns the Carolina Ice Palace and about 10% of the minor league South Carolina Stingrays hockey team.

“About 26 years ago, someone came to my husband and offered a piece of the South Carolina Stingrays. Our youngest son was extra involved in hockey and said, ‘Daddy, you need to do this!’

So we did, and our son still plays pickup hockey in Denver. The Ice Palace also has figure skating, which I love.”

The graceful swoops of figure skating echo a surprising passion of Anita’s: ballroom dancing.

“Oh, I love to ballroom dance! I can’t do it right now because of my back, but look around,” she says, gesturing around her office at photos of her in full dancing regalia. “I retired the quick step because it kills the knees, but I did perform it in one show. I’ve won a mirrorball trophy, there on the table! I’m really proud of myself! I really love it; I miss it because it’s joyful.”

She intends to have surgery eventually — when the 3D-printed spinal disc she’s helping to fund is perfected—but, until then, she plans to walk, have her house renovated, and read. An admitted “news junkie,” she says she reads everything from autobiographies to how-tos, and, when she needs to relax, Lowcountry author Dorothea Benton Frank’s books fill the bill.

One author she’s read, James Patterson, shares her passion for education and, she said, is investing in literacy in her home state of Florida. For Anita,

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that passion carries through to her concerns about her adopted state of South Carolina.

“We’re going through a lot in our state (South Carolina),” she says. “I really am hoping our Legislature can understand that education equals opportunity and economic development. I have a really hard time with the fact that we have children who are failing, who are ‘minimally adequate.’

You shouldn’t accept that for any child. We should have the best and the brightest. There are answers.

Start young, that’s when they are sponges and that’s when they learn how to learn.”

Anita says she helps promote SC Codes, a free online program that helps adults and children learn to code and to think logically.

“We are dreamers,” Anita says. “As a family, we’ve always been entrepreneurial, innovative and creative. My husband (had) a list of keys of success, and innovation and creativity very much play a role, as does having a sense of urgency, a bias for action, and a work ethic.”

By Helen Mitternight Photography by Erin Turner

meatloafs. We lived in a mobile home and we did that every day. Restaurants and food have always been in our lives, maybe because of the lack of food in our parents’ lives at one time. We like dealing with food and feeding people.”

Anita still owns a restaurant – Ms. Rose’s Fine Food in West Ashley.

And Anita’s mother, who is 95 ½, is still alive.

“She’s still filled with strength and courage. I see myself at times and I say, ‘Oh, God, I’m just like my mother,’ but that’s a good thing. She taught me how to be tough in life.”

Anita says her parents taught her that she would have to create a stir to make change.

“Do we have to disrupt? You bet we have to disrupt!”

Anita says she’s driven by her family and by faith, especially the Hebrew phrase, “Tikkun Olam,” which means to repair the world.

“That does drive me, because it’s about changing lives,” she says. “But in Judaism, there is another saying, that if you save one life, it’s as though you saved the world. I want to save that one life that needs saving. I think it’s a special way of thinking.”

She gives money and helps establish educational programs now, but the passion came long before she had money. Anita started as an elementary school teacher and says she knows the joy of igniting a love of learning early in life.

“I don’t take anything for granted. We didn’t have money growing up,” she says, adding that both she and Jerry were children of immigrant Holocaust survivors. “I started working at the age of 12. I taught arts and crafts at a day camp and every summer, I got paid a little more. I also worked as a cashier in a pharmacy. I always had to work.

“I married at 18. We were going to school full time and then we owned a restaurant, a record store—don’t ask me why we had a record store— and a laundromat. Our deli only served lunch, but we were never available to work it ourselves. We’d meet between classes in the afternoon and cook for the next day, making corned beefs, pastramis,

skirt . | june 2019 31

Wild WOMAN

By Allyson Sutton Photography by Zheng Chia

What happened when Holly Thorpe followed her intuition

H

olly Thorpe describes Wildcraft as a “self-care boutique for skin and soul.”

At first glance, the West Ashley shop looks like an eclectic space to peruse natural skin care, beauty and wellness products.

But as Holly explains, “Wildcraft is so much more than four walls of a store. It’s a place of learning. My customers come in and learn from me; I learn from them. It’s a constant circle.”

A former magazine art director and self-described skin care junkie, Holly opened Wildcraft in February 2016. The concept wasn’t hatched as part of some grand business plan; true to her tagline, it happened rather organically, with trust, intuition and soul.

Holly recalls writing in her journal on New Year’s Day 2015: “Something is about to go down this year. I don’t know what it is, but there’s going to be a big change.”

That fall, she and her husband went on va-

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“The universe was asking me, ‘What do you want? You get to choose,’” Holly says.

“It was that powerful of a moment. I was terrified, but I knew I had to make the jump.”

cation in California, driving the rocky coastline along the Pacific Coast Highway. Not thinking about a shop at all, she spent the entire trip dragging her husband “to all the weird apothecaries and beauty stores,” smelling and trying products that weren’t available in South Carolina.

“A few days later, I had this gasp moment,” she says. “I thought, ‘Why don’t you bring this stuff to Charleston that you’ve traveled to find and that you’ve loved and researched and been the go-to person for your friends for as long as you can remember?’”

She never could have predicted just how quickly her new idea would come to fruition.

During a regular weekend shopping trip at South Windermere Center, Holly casually asked a shop owner how often retail leases opened up in the area. She set a Craigslist alert for spaces, thinking she’d explore further if the right thing popped up. She wondered if the idea was crazy, keeping it in the back of her mind as she returned

to her design gig at the College of Charleston.

The following week, on the same day she was offered a promotion at the college, Holly got an email alert. The exact space she’d walked in was available for lease.

“The universe was asking me, ‘What do you want? You get to choose,’” she says. “It was that powerful of a moment. I was terrified, but I knew I had to make the jump.”

Since opening, Holly has offered a highly curated selection of natural, plant-based and sustainably sourced skin care, makeup, hair care and wellness products from indie makers across the country.

But the business extends beyond what’s on the shelves. Holly and her small team regularly offer green beauty lessons and wellness workshops in the space.

“Our skin is a reflection of what’s going on inside on a deeper level,” she says. “I want people to have a place to come that feels peaceful, where they can exhale and have conversations in a loving, light way. I want to help people find products that work for them and help them feel better.”

Holly’s soulful approach is working. Wildcraft is expanding to accommodate larger workshops and pop-ups, as well as offer an eco-conscious

product refill station and a semi-private space for personalized, education-focused facials.

“I want to offer things for our community that I haven’t had the room to do,” explains Holly. “We’ll be able to take the education part to a deeper place for people and help our customers in a new, richer way.”

Just as she wrote in her journal over four years ago, Holly knows new changes are ahead —chang-

es she’ll tackle again with trust, intuition and soul.

“Opening Wildcraft has been a lesson in what can happen if I put my intent out there and then get out of the way,” she says. “The store is a constant evolution, and I’m always learning how to trust myself, my intuition and God. As long as I do that, I can continue to create a place where I can help people and share really good things that feel loving.”

HOLLY’S ADVICE FOR STARTING A NATURAL SKIN CARE REGIMEN: Start simple. Cover the largest part of your body—your skin—by switching to a natural body wash, body oil and deodorant. Make the shift one step at a time so you can ease your skin into being on really active ingredients.

Her favorite self-care rituals: Pilates, biking and camping with my husband are all great self-care, but it’s a rare day if I’m not doing my morning and night skin care regimen. It’s my moment to pause.

I dry brush my face every day and do jade rolling or gua sha a few times a week for lymphatic drainage.

Product she recommends most often: Facial serum. These pack the biggest impact.

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skirt . | june 2019 33

books

In The Marsh with Delia Owens, author of “Where the Crawdads Sing” Lorna Hollifield sits down with the author of the New York Times best-selling book

BY LORNA HOLLIFIELD

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inson who once said, “One need not be a chamber to be haunted, one need not be a house; the brain has corridors surpassing material place.” I’m glad that unlike Dickinson, Owens found her moment to share her message with others and open up those companionless hallways we all find ourselves walking from time to time.

Owens lived a large portion of her life in rural Africa, being charged by packs of lions and elephants and muffling the squeals of baby baboons being weaned from their mothers. It’s a life of adventure that we might even find ourselves envious of at times. But it was also a time when she found herself longing for her pack of females while she watched the lionesses play with one another’s cubs, hunting together and comprising the pride. “We have a genetic propensity to live in groups,” Owens says. Upon this discovery, she realized she missed her people and had learned

LEFT: SAMANTHA FUENTES

P

eople say that crawdads do not sing. There’s science to back it up. But author Delia Owens tells us that if we venture out into the quiet far enough that, indeed, they do.

Even creatures deemed voiceless are found to have one after all, if we just venture out into the loneliest parts of the marsh to hear them. This is according to Delia as told to her by her mother in southern Georgia. I, for one, happen to believe them both.

I’ve had two recent pleasures: reading “Where the Crawdads Sing” and sitting down near the Kiawah marsh for a oneon-one with the author. I read the book first, which immediately transformed me into a shameless fangirl of the woman who wrote it. This book is a masterpiece of modern literature and will go down as one of the greatest of all time.

It shows human nature at its animalistic core in the throes of all the great conflicts; woman versus woman, woman versus herself, and woman versus nature. The reader goes on a lonesome sojourn with protagonist Kya to explore the innate desire to connect with something else warm-blooded as she comes of age in near isolation.

Alongside her, we, too, will face our fears of being alone, longing for acceptance and desiring to take our rightful places in our own ecosystems.

We will yearn to dig down and find the strength for self-reliance, and even scarier, the vulnerability to love. This work of fiction isn’t just a plot that lures us into the intrigues of romance, abandonment and murder, though it has all of those things – it’s more. It has a message that leads all who read it to bits of self-discovery. And that is a gift we’ll carry forever.

Once I met the author, Delia Owens, I understood where this message came from. I learned that she’d lived it.

The woman, with the Southern drawl that 23 years living in Africa and a residency in Idaho couldn’t hide, has known loneliness. She has not lived in a motherless marsh, but at times she’s been tossed into her own remote existence.

However, she reminded me that “we don’t have to be in a marsh to be lonely.” This is reminiscent of Emily Dick-

“We don’t have to be in a marsh to be lonely,” author Delia Owens says.

more than ever about herself. She then followed the urge to share the message through the Southern lens she knows best. “I feel at home when I’m under an oak tree,” she says.

So Delia returned home. She took up residence in the hills of Idaho, but channeled her roots through the power of her pen. In her novel, she somehow manages to show the inner strength that a woman has, that we are all encouraged to tap into in 2019 more than ever, while still giving us permission to crave companionship. She reveals that loneliness isn’t a sin, but a science, and that it is an affliction that cannot be solved on one’s own—maybe the sole affliction.

She takes to the page and shows us, as the animals show Kya on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, that we all need both: the self and the herd. In the process, she also shows us the importance of being kind to one another and reaching out to that girl standing in dirt to knees who lives “way out yonder where the crawdads sing.”

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skirt . | june 2019 35

table

If You Give a Child An Apple Slow Food Charleston helps develop taste for local ingredients

BY HELEN MITTERNIGHT

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preserve and promote the grain, you were stuck with Uncle Ben’s. Now heritage crops are becoming the pride of local merchants – try to buy High Wire Distillings’s Jimmy Red whiskey at holiday time and you’ll not only pay a premium, but you may find it is sold out.

Some crops may speak for themselves, like the group’s current project, the lemon cling peach.

“We’re having 150 trees grown at nurseries in Albemarle, Virginia, using scion wood from Albemarle CiderWorks to graft this peach,” Carrie says.

“One of the only places it has been grown is Monticello. We’re bringing the trees down the winter of 2020 and we’re identifying partners. The goal is to repatriate this peach that used to be called the Carolina Kennedy. Thomas Jefferson said it was one of the most flavorful, juicy peaches.”

The final step is persuading the consumer to try the products and to taste the difference.

“Seeing the reaction of a child when they’re trying something for the first time, or touching on a subject they’re already curious about and being able to engage them in a meaningful way, it’s really fulfilling,” she says.

Carrie has plenty of practice at home, where she has a 6-year-old son with chef Jacques Larson (owner of The Obstinate Daughter and Wild Olive).

Slow Food will host an Ark of Taste event June 23 at the MUSC Urban Farm. The event will include educational activities, a seed swap and a ticketed evening dinner.

“I hope that we are encouraging our farmers to

“ I’m very relationship-driven,” says Carrie Larson. “I like knowing where my food comes from, knowing I’m buying something that supports an individual I respect and admire. It’s a driving force in my decision-making.”

“Once he realized the financial viability of the rye, it changed the conversation altogether,” she says. “Now it’s being milled by bakers, brewers are using it. It’s serving him much better than just protecting his corn and preventing sand from Edisto blowing all over.”

The second step is persuading chefs to use the crops. Although you can pick up Carolina Gold rice at your local Harris Teeter, before the movement to

think outside of the box in terms of the plans and aspirations of their production; I hope consumers are more aware of the historic and cultural ingredients of our Lowcountry food shed,” Carrie says.

“I think more and more restaurants are willing and able to use these lesser-known ingredients when they know there’s organizational support and a really rowdy group of cheerleaders standing behind the diverse ingredients of Charleston.”

FERRIS KAPLAN

I

t starts with teaching a child that an apple isn’t just an apple – there are lots of kinds of apples, some tart, some sweet, some red and some green.

“Teaching kids that playing with food is OK, or teaching a child what a shrimp looks like before it becomes shrimp cocktail, piquing a child’s interest and engaging in healthy ways, is a foot in the door for building a healthy, well-rounded set of consumers for the next generation,” says Carrie Larson, Slow Food Charleston’s board chair.

You may have seen Carrie and others from Slow Food at the Marion Square Farmers Market, offering samples of food to children and adults. It’s part of Slow Food’s mission: to preserve the taste and biodiversity of our foods and to make sure that our food system is good, clean and fair for all.

That means nominating foods for the international Ark of Taste, Slow Food’s roster of foods that qualify as tasty, culturally significant, able to be raised sustainably, and at risk. Local foods such as Jimmy Red corn, the Ossabaw Island Hog, Bradford watermelons and Carolina Gold Rice, among others, have been added to the list.

Carrie’s love of the food business started with a relationship with her mentor, Celeste Alber, beloved by local foodies for her raw milk.

“I did chicken chores; I fed baby piglets,” Carrie recalls.

“I also helped her cultivate vegetables, learned to bottle her milk, and helped with the dairy operation, which I absolutely loved.”

It was a first step that would lead her to head Slow Food and to work with Lowcountry Local First, an advocacy group supporting locally owned businesses. Carrie’s time with Celeste gave her an appreciation of locally produced food and helped her form relationships.

“I like knowing where my food comes from, knowing I’m buying something that supports an individual I respect CARRIE and admire,” Carrie says. “It’s LARSON a driving force in my decision-making.”

Relationships help with the first step in Slow Food’s mission: convincing farmers to grow these crops. Carrie talks about her experience with Seashore Black Rye. “Greg Johnsman (of Geechie Boy Mill) was growing Seashore Black Rye on his farm as a windbreak to protect his cash crops.”

Slow Food lobbied to get the crop elevated to an Ark of Taste crop.

table

NEWS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

The Neighborhood Dining Group (including Husk, McCrady’s, McCrady’s Tavern and Minero) is opening its first Charleston venture post-Sean Brock. The group has announced its newest restaurant venture in Charleston: Delaney Oyster House, a raw bar and seafood-fo-

Mpishi, Swahili for “chef,” is now open on Daniel Island. The café serves almond-zucchini pancakes, Nutella French toast and grilled macand-cheese sandwiches and will be adding dinner service. It’s at 162 Seven Farms Drive, Suite 340.

KinFolk has plans to open on Memorial Day on Johns Island, serving quirky beach food, sweet treats and fried chicken. KinFolk will be at 4430 Betsy Kerrison Parkway, near Freshfields Village on Kiawah. The brothers who own the place hope to cater to both year-round beachgoers as well as visitors.

Brown Dog Deli abruptly closed its Calhoun Street location last month. The location at 40 Broad Street is still open.

COURTESY OF CHARLESTON GRILL

CHEF AND STAFF MOVES

cused restaurant opening this summer at 115 Calhoun Street. Although it is opening in what used to be the meeting space affiliated with Hotel Bella Grace, the restaurant will not be affiliated with the hotel and will be free-standing in this historic Charleston single home from the 1830s. The restaurant will be led by chef Shamil Velazquez, formerly of Husk Greenville, and will feature an extensive raw bar as well as other seafood. The beverage team will be led by general manger Kevin King.

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Chef Sean Brock, who left Charleston for Nashville, has cut his last remaining ties with the Holy City and is no longer the culinary adviser at the four Husk restaurant locations around the Southeast. Instead, he’s focusing on his big Nashville project dedicated to Appalachian food, and Charleston is trying not to be bitter about the “abandonment.”

Some new chefs at Indigo Road: Dung “Junior” Vo from O-Ku Atlanta moves over to the Charleston King Street location of that restaurant, and chef Jeremiah Bacon can get away

from The Macintosh kitchen again as Stuart Rogers from Oak Atlanta arrives to take over chef duties at The Macintosh.

Charleston Grill has some new talent: Michael Zentner is now chef de cuisine and Julie Hennigan is dining MICHAEL room manager. Zentner was ZENTNER most recently executive chef at Butcher & Bee and culinary director at that site plus The Daily, The Daily at The Gibbes, and Workshop.

Julie was general manager at The Macintosh for the past three years.

EVENTS

Bay Street Biergarten on East Bay Street is hosting its first Gartenfest on June 22 with live music and more.

MENU AND VENUE CHANGES

Circa 1886 brings a new menu that promises to take you through “the belly of South Carolina Foodways.”

Parcel 32 is offering a new cocktail menu.

Highlights include: Holy Benediction with bubbles, Benedictine, orange bitters and orange peel for garnish; The Southern Gin-tle-

man with Beefeater Gin, lychee puree, lemon simple syrup, egg white, hellfire bitters and St. George Raspberry Liqueur; and Deja Bloom with Tito’s Vodka, Lillet Rouge, Cocchi Americano and Liqueur de Violettes.

“Jen’s Hideaway” bar, upstairs in the West Ashley Tatooed Moose is now open. Drinks and food will be offered next to the site’s game room.

The Ocean Room at the Sanctuary has launched a summer menu with lots of fresh produce and seafood.

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit has a new flavor.

Owner Carrie Morey has partnered with Pappy & Company to create Bourbon Maple Biscuits. You can get them in the freezer of your grocery store or online.

Chef Jamie Lynch of 5Church is going to be sourcing menu ingredients from his new farm near Charlotte. He says this is all part of the restaurant’s farm-to-restaurant lifestyle.

KUDOS

Steve Palmer of Indigo Road Restaurant Group was featured in Forbes Magazine as running one of the best small companies of 2019.

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calendar

events JUNE

06.06, 06.13, 06.20

05.24-06.09

Cheers on the Pier

Spoleto Festival

Enjoy live music on the Mount Pleasant Pier near Riverwatch Cafe on Thursdays in June. Dallas Baker performs June 6, Chris Boone on June 13 and Jamie Coan and David Own on June 20. Admission is free.

6 to 8 p.m., Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park, 99 Harry M. Hallman Jr. Blvd.

Visit ccpr.com.

This year’s festival includes an eclectic lineup of theatre productions, including “What Girls are Made of” based on a diary of Cora Bissett’s journey from rock-star to the woman she wanted to be; and the Shakespeare’s Globe company performing several of the bard’s plays. Ticket prices, times and venues vary. Visit spoletousa.org.

06.10 - 08.05 The Summer of Potter

FASHION WEEK

06.07 Jazz on the Harbor

Enjoy a view of the Charleston Harbor while listening to live jazz music and walking through South Carolina Aquarium’s galleries. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, small plates will be provided by Good Catch and a beer and wine bar will also be available with an all-inclusive ticket.

Tickets are $45 for non-members of aquarium. 7 to 10 p.m. South Carolina Aquarium, 100 Aquarium Wharf. Visit scaquarium.org.

05.24-06.09 Piccolo Spoleto

The festival features local and regional art, dance, theater, poetry and music. Popular events include an outdoor arts exhibition and craft exhibition. This year’s festival features theatrical performances at the new Cannon Street Arts Center. The festival closes with a tribute to Aretha Franklin at Hampton Park. Tickets, times and locations vary. Visit piccolospoleto.com.

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Step into the Wizarding World at Charleston Music Hall with this summer-long event. All eight films will be screened on various dates throughout the summer in the Harry Potter theme decorated music hall. A Harry Potter themed art exhibit will also be on display and the bar will be serving Harry Potter themed treats. Feel free to dress up in your Hogwarts House robes or as your favorite character and be on the lookout for prizes, surprises and trivia. Tickets are $8 per film or $50 for a 8 Film Pass.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and each film starts at 7 p.m. Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. Visit charlestonmusichall.com.

06.12 Flourish Networking for Women

Looking to network and grow personally and professionally? Looking to flourish in the business world and your personal life?

Then this event is for you! The goal of this event is to offer a noncompetitive, nonaggressive business networking experience that allows for lasting relationships and for women to be inspired in their business and community. Tickets are $15. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Bin 526, 20 Fairchild St., Daniel Island. Visit comeflourishwithus.com.

06.13 Hops & Vines

Enjoy a night at the McLeod Plantation Historic Site with live music from Lane

WYNONNA AND THE BIG NOISE

Doss and food trucks, Jonny Poppers and Fam’s Brewing. With the purchase of a ticket you can enjoy two free drinks and a complimentary guided tour of the historic grounds as well. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the gate. 5:30-7:30 p.m. McLeod Plantation Historic Site, 325 Country Club Drive. Visit ccprc.com.

mance by poet laureate Marcus Amaker and a gospel presentation. Food trucks will be present and a drink is included with the purchase of a ticket. Tickets are $35.

6-11 p.m. The Schoolhouse, 720 Magnolia Road. Visit theschoolhousechs.com/events.

06.14

This event, which started in 2016, provides a discussion on issues involving race in the community. This year’s keynote speakers are Rev. Eric Manning of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Synagogue with Craig Melvin of “The Today Show” moderating the discussion. Other speakers will be present as well, which will allow for a conversation about solution-based ideas on ways the community can grow, learn and move forward. Tickets are $5. 4-6 p.m.

Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. Visit charlestonmusichall.com.

Fashion Week

As Charleston Fashion Week presents its second event of the year, a “fashion fete” with runway shows and performances as well as the opportunity to sip on drinks, snack on treats, and shop the newest up-and-coming fashion designers. Ticket prices vary. 7-10 p.m. Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain St. Visit charlestonfashionweek.com.

Carolina Concert of Love at The Schoolhouse

The Schoolhouse and Lowcountry Event Organization is putting on this concert to help educate and raise awareness of the hate we all experience in one way or another. The concert will feature Charleston artists with a musical performance by Black Diamond and The Black Diamond Band, a perfor-

06.16 The Charleston Forum

06.17 & 06.19 “Emanuel” Documentary

The documentary examines how faith, hope and forgiveness healed the community after the June 17 shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. that killed nine people. It was pro-

06.09 Skirt Summer Book Series Buxton Books and Skirt magazine host a Summer Series event to celebrate the launch of Mary Alice Monroe’s latest novel, “The Summer Guests.” With a complimentary cocktail, small plates and the chance to win prizes, you do not want to miss this event. Tickets are $47 and include a signed book. 3 to 5 p.m., Dockery’s, 880 Island Park Drive, Daniel Island.

Visit buxtonbooks.com.

TOP TO BOTTOM: COURTESY OF CHARLESTON MUSIC HALL ; ABBY MURPHY

Sun’s out, fun’s out: Enjoy cool cocktails near the water or listen to live music with a salty breeze. Head indoors to watch cult movie classics with popcorn and air conditioning or discover the latest fashions so you can look cool when the temperatures heat up. Just because it’s summer, don’t skip out networking opportunities. Plus, Skirt and Buxton Books present a summer book series featuring book launches with author signings.

duced by Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media, Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions. The film features interviews with survivors of the shooting and will be shown in select theatres on June 17 and 19. Tickets prices and times may vary. Select theatres. Visit emanuelmovie.com.

this event, hosted by the Friends of the Library, is for you. Over 20,000 books, DVDs and CDs will be on sale for the low price range of $0.50 to $3. 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. on June 21 and 22, and 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on June 23. Main Library, 68 Calhoun St. Visit charlestonlibraryfriends.org.

06.18

06.22

Launch Party for “The Batik Art of Mary Edna Fraser”

Charleston Carifest

Buxton Books and Skirt magazine Summer Series celebrate the release of “The Batik Art of Mary Edna Fraser” with author Cecelia Dailey and artist Mary Edna Fraser. Tickets are $10. 5:30- 8:30 p.m. 154 Cannon St. Visit buxtonbooks.com.

06.18 - 06.20 Hatch Tribe Inspire + Ignite Conference

TOP TO BOTTOM: COURTESY OF CHARLESTON MUSIC HALL ; ABBY MURPHY

Hatch Tribe is hosting an Inspire + Ignite Conference, which includes workshops, panels, speakers and more for women entrepreneurs and leaders in the hopes of providing an outlet that will refresh their minds, bodies and spirit and renew their passions. The first day of the conference will be a time to mingle and network; the second day will include workshops, panels and more; and the third day will be for one-on-one coaching sessions. Ticket prices vary. Happy Hour 6-8 p.m. on June 18, conference 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. June 19 and coaching 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on June 20.

Visit hatchtribe.com.

Carifest celebrates Caribbean American Heritage Month. The event includes food, music, costumes, education, culture and fun for all ages. While the festival lasts four days, Saturday is reserved for the street parade and celebration in the carnival village. The parade will be 4 - 5 p.m. down John and King streets. The carnival village celebration will be 5 - 11 p.m. in Brittlebank Park, 181 Lockwood Drive. Visit charlestoncarifest.com.

Charleston Rumfest

Food from local chefs, fun activities, costume contests, a DJ, and rum, rum and more rum. This pirate-themed festival is just what you need to kick off your summer fun. You don’t want to miss it or the pirates just might have you walk the plank. General admission tickets are $45 and VIP tickets are $65. 7 - 11 p.m.

Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain St. Visit charlestonrumfest.com.

ART IN THE CITY

06.25 Louie’s Kids Little Chef Big Chef Dinner

Five children are paired with five chefs as they prepare a four course dinner for guests. The kids meet with the chefs in the weeks leading up to this event and learn techniques, gain confidence in the kitchen, and learn how to prepare healthy and delicious dishes. All proceeds will go to Louie’s Kids’ programs that fight childhood obesity and work to create healthy habits and confidence in the kids. Tickets are $240 with alcohol pairings and $175 without alcohol.

7-10 p.m. Halls Signature Events, 5 Faber St. Visit louieskids.org.

06.25 theSkimm Night Out

Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, the co-founders of popular theSkimm daily newsletter, are hosting a Skimm Night Out to launch their new book, “How to Skimm Your Life.” They’ll talk about their new book, share their experiences of building theSkimm, and help to empower their audience with tips for how to navigate life’s decisions.. Tickets start at $48. 7:30 p.m.

Charleston Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun St.

06.20 “Hairspray” Sing-Along

“You can’t stop the beat” when it comes to Charleston Musical Hall’s Summer Sing-Along Series presenting “Hairspray” this month. Join Tracy Turnblad and sing and dance along with her and her friends for one night only. Tickets are $8. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Show begins at 7 p.m.

Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. Visit charlestonmusichall.com.

06.27 - 06.29 Voices of Fashion

TOP TO BOTTOM: OBVIOUSLEE MARKETING; KATE TIMBERS PHOTOGRAPHY

Salute the Solstice Yoga Fest

What could be better than finding your balance and thriving in life’s joys? Doing that while listening to live reggae music, practicing meditation and getting handson help from yoga teachers. This all will be offered while celebrating the summer solstice, a sacred celebration throughout history. TIckets are $25 for pre-sale and $30 on-site. 6-9 p.m. James Island County Park, 871 Riverland Drive. Visit ccprc.com.

06.21 - 06.23 Friends of the Library Summer Book Sale

If you like books and you’re on a budget,

Want more? Visit us at skirt.com

YOGA FEST

Amy Winehouse Tribute at Charleston Pourhouse

Remember the legendary Amy Winehouse than with a 12-piece orchestra and Paste Magazine’s Top Ten Soul/R&B artist of 2017, Remember Jones, recreating the entire Back To Black Album for one night and one night only. All 17 songs of the album will be performed and Remember Jones will also be playing some of his own material. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and show begins at 9:30 p.m. Charleston Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway.

Visit charlestonpourhouse.com.

This event is not just a fashion show but an educational and cultural experience showing how different cultures have influenced the fashion industry. The goal is to show where fashion and diversity in Charleston meet. This three-day event consists of a meet and greet, street show, after party, brunch and fashion show. Ticket prices, times and locations vary. Visit voicesoffashionshow.com.

06.27 Wynonna and the Big Noise

Country music singer Wynonna Judd comes to the Charleston Music Hall for her 8th studio album tour, Wynonna and the Big Noise.

Ticket prices vary. Doors open at 7 p.m. and

show starts at 8 p.m. Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. Visit charlestonmusichall.com.

06.28 Art in the City

Mitchell Hill Gallery and the Roper St. Francis Ryan White Wellness Center co-host Art in the City, a summer art party raising HIV awareness and funding to support HIV prevention services. During this family-friendly event, attendees are encouraged to wear all white and bid on one-of-a-kind artwork and raffle items donated by local professional and amateur artists while enjoying music, live entertainment, tasty hor d’oeuvres and local libations. Tickets are $20.

6 to 8 p.m. Redux Gallery, 1056 King St. Visit eventbrite.com.

06.29 Our Prince of Scribes Writers Conference

“Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy” is a collection of essays honoring the best-selling writer Pat Conroy. With four writing workshops and a panel discussion from contributing writers to “Our Prince of Scribes,” all levels of aspiring writers should put this event on their calendars. A catered lunch is provided and books will be available for purchase and signing by the workshop faculty. Tickets are $50 for South Carolina Writers Association members and $70 for nonmembers. 9:45 a.m. - 6 p.m. Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St. Visit patconroyliteraturecenter.org.

Tribute to Prince

As we have recently reached the third anniversary of Prince’s passing,The Prince Project is coming to Charleston for a tribute to the musical icon. The Prince & The Revolution tribute band is unlike any other thanks to the band’s frontman, DaVaughn Weber, who is known for his impressive impersonations of Prince. Ticket prices vary.

Door open at 7 p.m. and show starts at 8 p.m. Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. Visit charlestonmusichall.com.

skirt . | june 2019 39

social Clockwise: Whitney Brenkus and Shelley Hill Young; Shelley Hill Young and Patti Callahan Henry; Patti Callahan Henry and Lorna Hollifield

04. 24.19

MICHELLE BOLTON

New York Times best-selling author Patti Callahan Henry and Skirt executive editor Shelley Hill Young discussed “The Lost Girls of Paris” by Pam Jenoff at the second Skirt Book Club, presented by Buxton Books. Wine was provided by Whole Foods, light bites by Dish & Design Catering and Events, and dessert by Swank Desserts. Skirt and Buxton Books are hosting a summer book series. Visit buxtonbooks.com for more information.

05.09.19 GET DOWN WITH MOMMA FASHION SHOW SOIREE AT WOODHOUSE DAY SPA Skirt magazine and The Woodhouse Day Spa hosted a night of fashion and dancing to benefit Florence Crittenton, which provides a safe home, prenatal care, parenting education and counseling to at-risk pregnant women. Guests checked out the latest styles and shopped for Mother’s Day gifts from JTStyle, Morph clothing and Little Fish BOATEAK and danced to tunes from DJ Halo Halo.

Left to Right: Whitney Brenkus, Susan Norfleet, Erin Kienzle; Kim Powell, Holly VanDyck, Cassidy Hyatt, Geralyn Koch, Jasmyn Bowden, Nadine Camilla, Cristy Pratt, Rebekah Collinsworth, Aris Hanchard, Christina Bunke, Julianne Taylor; Kim Powell, Kathryn Kendell

40

skirt . | june 2019

TERRANCE ANTONIO PHOTOGRAPHY

SKIRT BOOK CLUB AT BUXTON BOOKS

social

05.18.19

TERRANCE ANTONIO PHOTOGRAPHY

MICHELLE BOLTON

Top to bottom: Delisa Brown, April Williamson, Anita Zucker and Shakeima Chatman; Kenya Dunn

POWER-FILLED CONFERENCE AND GALA AT TRIDENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE Businesswoman Kenya Dunn hosted the Power-Filled Conference. InterTech Group CEO and philanthropist Anita Zucker, MUSC researcher Dr. Delisa Brown, businesswoman April Williamson and real estate broker Shakeima Chatman shared how they found their power.

Clockwise: Rebekah Collinsworth, Aris Hanchard; Susan Norfleet, Rebecca Thurston Scott, Stephany diManno Ceccato, Michelle Bastian Richards; Lissy Rawl; Nadine Camilla, Jasmyn Bowden, Cristy Pratt; Kim Powell and DJ Halo Halo

Want more? Visit us at skirt.com

skirt . | june 2019  41

don’t

the issue SKIRT IS ALL ABOUT WOMEN... their work, play, families, creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls.

Skirt will engage your passions, ask questions, take a stand, tell stories, satisfy your curiosity, provide information, explore the world, celebrate our differences and make connections.

Skirt is an attitude. ... spirited, independent, outspoken, serious, playful and irreverent, sometimes controversial, always passionate.

@D.VELASCO

—Nikki Hardin, June 1994

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skirt . | june 2019

PAID ADVERTISING

locals Skirt believes in women supporting women. That's why we created this special advertising section to highlight small, local, women-run businesses. Join us in buying their products and using their services when you have the opportunity.

GOLDBUG ON SULLIVAN’S ISLAND

COREPOWER YOGA CHARLESTON

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At CorePower Yoga, studio manager Jackie Skinner leads a team of passionate and encouraging certified instructors teaching the incredible, life-changing things that happen when an intense workout is rooted in the mindfulness of yoga. Through a variety of classes in spa-like studios, our students experience CPY’s unique form of fitness.

FER CAGGIANO ART

FLUFF & CO

Fer Caggiano is a Brazilian born painter, who specializes in landscapes, still lifes and portraits.

Ranging from a traditional to modern style, Fer creates colorful, textured, impasto oil paintings that capture visions of the world she sees. Using her canvas as her window, she provides a bright, new perspective to showcase our beautiful world.

Consult. Design. Fabricate. Fluff & Co is a creative instrument of change designing in the collaborative fields of Products, Furniture & Interiors. Applying user-centered thinking, Fluff & Co is creating Designs for Daydreamers. We dream of beautiful products in beautiful places in a beautiful world. What do you dream of?

fercaggiano.com fercaggianoart ceo@fercaggiano.com

fluffandcompany.com fluffandco fluffy@fluffandcompany.com

goldbugcollection.com goldbugcollection shopgoldbug@gmail.com

BEADS & BRUSHSTROKES

J. MELISSA DESIGNS

CHARLESTON DOG WALKING CO.

Can you believe 33 years?!! Serving third generation creatives who got started here (formerly Country Bumpkin.) Gazillion Beads (think: semi-precious, pearls, sterling, tribal, seeds,wire,etc.)

Only LOCALLY OWNED art supply source (think: oil paint, acrylic, canvas, watercolor, sketch, brushes,etc) Come start your creative venture! (Think: joy, relaxation,) Beginners assisted, Designers thrilled. countrybumpkinarts.com beadsandbrushstrokes beadsbrushstrokesbumpkin krife10480@aol.com

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Local jewelry designer, Missy Newsom, created J. Melissa Designs with the "Made on Purpose" mission of providing a global connection to empower underprivileged children.

Each sale of her hand-wired designs and statement gemstone rings is helping to build a school in Mengo, Uganda, inspiring hope here and across the globe.

Charleston Dog Walking Co. is the premier provider of professional dog walking, sitting and transportation in Charleston County. Founded in 2010, CDWC leads the industry by providing credible and compassionate care of both dogs and cats while delivering a highly personalized experience for our clients. Follow our daily adventures!

bit.ly/cpycharlestoninfo corepoweryoga_charleston cpycharleston jackie.skinner@level4yoga.com

DR. STEPHANIE ZGRAGGEN,

DC, MS, CNS, CCN

I am a chiropractor, certified clinical nutritionist and female hormone expert. My mission is to help women reclaim their hormonal health and feminine vitality naturally so you feel sexy, energetic, and balanced. I teach you that your hormones don’t have to ruin your life and I'll show you how to take back control of your health, hormones and body. .

jmelissadesigns.com jmelissadesigns jmelissadesigns@gmail.com

charlestondogwalkingco.com charlestondogwalkingco lauren@charlestondogwalkingco.com

DrZgraggen.com drzgraggen hello@ drzgraggen.com

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PAID ADVERTISING

locals

CROSSFIT CHARLESTON

THE EXCHANGE

HERMOSA JEWELRY

CHARLESTON FINE

Do you struggle to find a nutrition program that works? Are you overwhelmed by all the choices?

Our nutrition coach breaks down the process with simple, actionable steps that put you on the path to better health. Become fit and healthy with our customized nutrition plan, ongoing support and resources.

Empowered Birth.

Empowered Women. Empowered Families. We are The Exchange. We are your resource for holistic care to better your mind, body, and spirit - before, during, and after pregnancy. We offer acupuncture, chiropractic care, energy work, herbal medicine, massage, pelvic floor physical therapy, emotional support and so much more.

Haley Keisler Holzworth, owner of Hermosa Jewelry and a native to Charleston, SC, is influenced by her Southern lifestyle and the coastal landscapes of the Lowcountry. Located in the heart of Mt. Pleasant, Hermosa sells handcrafted jewelry and local Charleston gifts. Guaranteed to turn heads, Hermosa Jewelry is the ultimate accessory for any occasion. Haley also specializes in jewelry for the whole bridal party.

CABINETRY & INTERIORS

crossfitcharleston.fitness crossfitcharleston crossfitcharlestonsc holly@crossfitcharleston.fitness

charlestonexchange.com theexchangecharleston theexchangechs info@charlestonexchange.com

hermosajewelry.com hermosajewelry jewelry.by.haley haley@hermosajewelry.com

charlestonfinecabinetry.com charleston_fine_cabinetry charlestonfinecabinetry@gmail.com

WHITE LEAF

AFM DESIGNS

THE POWER-FILLED

ERIKA LYNN STUDIO & BOUTIQUE

White Leaf Provisions believes that healthy food starts with healthy soil.

They have created the first Biodynamic baby food in the USA. All of their products are 100% Demeter Biodynamic®, Organic, NON GMO and Regeneratively Farmed™. They are helping to heal the Earth that our kids will inherit.

Amy Moore is a South Carolina based interior designer and textile designer.

Her work is eclectic and lovely, while staying true to comfort, function, and beauty. Well defined and understated, she works with old and new memories when designing your interior space. Her extensive collection of original textile designs are fresh, sophisticated, and unpretentious.

WOMAN Kenya Dunn is a coach, motivational speaker and writer. She believes every person has undiscovered power within. Kenya created the Power-Filled Woman to offer you a pathway to success on your own terms. She offers masterclasses, personal coaching, and meeting facilitation.

Step into Erika Lynn Studio and Boutique in Belle Hall Shopping Center; immediately feel like you are walking the streets of Southern Italy. Watch Award winning designer, Erika Lynn, make her exotic leather handbags and accessories while shopping her collection of linen clothing and jewelry she has sourced from Italy.

whiteleafprovisions.com whiteleafprovisions mrowe@whiteleafprovisions.com

design-afm.com afmdesign amy.moore@designafm.com

kenyadunn.com kenyadunn12 info@kenyadunn.com

PROVISIONS

Want more?. |Visit at skirt.com 44 skirt june us 2019

Cristina Swinney is a Charlestonbased kitchen and interior designer who takes pride in her ability to transform spaces by marrying conceptual and uniquely designed ideas that is exclusive to each of her clients. Her concept is to create "chef inspired" kitchens with budget, functionality, and time frame in mind.

erikalynn.com erikalynnhandmade erika@ erikalynn.com

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Pediatric Care Internal & Family Medicine Pediatric Care, Internal & Family Medicine

Seabrook Island

The best choice for primary care – close to home.

Edisto Beach Choosing MUSC Health Primary Care means the best care is right around the corner. Find a location that’s best for you and

your family and schedule an appointment online any time, day or night. When you choose an MUSC Health Primary Care provider, you gain access to more than 700 specialists at our nationally recognized academic medical center. So, whether you are looking for preventive care or support in managing your chronic condition, or simply need a referral to a specialist, an MUSC Health Primary Care provider is your best choice. 843-792-7000 | MUSChealth.org/primary-care