free
january/february january
Augusta, Aiken & Columbia Columbia/Augusta/Aiken
E sca p e
t he
o rdi na r y.
Make a wish on the moon. Scatter your dreams across the universe. Go for broke. Expect a happy ending or a new beginning. Send a prayer for strength when things go wrong—because they will. Take a chance on love because what’s left to lose but your head? Write 2013 on a notebook and keep a list of
Yourheart’s desires. Reveal your hidden scars—they’re proof you survived. Don’t hesitate to rewrite your life story—every rough draft gets you closer to the truth. Write down
Your Secret Fears and burn them. Write down some impossible goals and earn them. Toss your resolutions into the night, and wake up tomorrow and change your world. Cover copy by Nikki Hardin, art by Aimee Sicuro
“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” C.S. Lewis
about skirt!
2013
Publisher Nikki Hardin publisher@skirt.com
january/february
National Art Director Caitilin McPhillips caitilin.mcphillips@skirt.com National Editor Margaret Pilarski margaret.pilarski@skirt.com Market Manager (Augusta/Aiken/Columbia) Kate Cooper Metts kate.metts@skirt.com Contributing Editor Columbia Jenny Maxwell jennymaxwell@mindspring.com Editor Augusta/Aiken Gracie Shepherd gracie.shepherd@skirt.com
skirt! is all about women... their work, play, families, creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls. skirt! is an attitude...spirited, independent, outspoken,
Sales Executive Columbia/Aiken Libby Salvador libby.salvador@skirt.com Sales Executive Augusta/North Augusta Doressa Hawes doressa.hawes@ augustamagazine.com Graphic Designer Cher Wheeler Meaghan Pafford
serious, playful and irreverent, sometimes controversial, always passionate. sheMAIL skirt! 127-A 7th Street Augusta, GA 30901 Sales: 706.823.3373 Sales Toll-Free: 800.622.6358 FAX: 706.823.6083
The Tomorrow Issue
www.skirt.com
Photography Molly Harrell Sara Caldwell
Essays
Hopefully
Jen Wittes.......................................................................................... 9 skirt.com skirt! is published monthly and distributed free throughout the greater Augusta/Aiken/ Columbia area. skirt! reserves the right to refuse to sell space for any advertisement the staff deems inappropriate for the publication. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Letters to the editor are welcome, but may be edited due to space limitations. Press releases must be received by the 1st of the month for the following month’s issue. All content 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 © 2010, Morris Publishing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this magazine may be copied or reprinted without the express written permission of the publisher. SKIRT!® is a registered trademark of Morris Publishing Group, LLC.
Women make more than 80% of all purchasing decisions.
Women spend almost 2 of every 3 healthcare dollars.
Women control 2/3 of the nation’s disposable income.
Up A Creek
Stephanie Hunt .......................................................................... 22
Features
Letter from the Publisher.......................................................... 6
Letter from the Editor................................................................ 6 Women influence 80% of all car sales.
Feel Good....................................................................................... 14
He’s So Original........................................................................... 24
Meet.................................................................................................... 31
Skirt of the Month..................................................................... 29
XOXOnikki.................................................................................... 38
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Illustration by he Pretty Paperie. theprettypaperie.com
2013
january
The UniTed SkirTS of AmericA
The United Skirts of America was founded on the blood, sweat
from The PUbliSher
and estrogen of our
The Tomorrow Issue
foremothers, who
This month’s cover by Aimee Sicuro is one of my favorites because I’m a moon
won us the freedom
worshipper, a green cheese groupie. I’ve been known to chase it down in my car trying
to choose...to break
to get a good photo or just going gaga on those spectacular evenings when it hangs in
The Rules, to wear
the sky ripe for picking. NASA did its best to ruin the moon for me by leaving space
combat boots or high
trash and footprints on it, but I prefer to block that unfortunate chapter in history out
Aimee Sicuro
heels, to run for office
of my mind. Did I cry when we landed on the moon? Only from having my childhood
Aimee Sicuro’s whimsical
or run a marathon, to
innocence wrecked. It took all the will I could muster to re-convince myself that the Man
vignettes invite us to see
form our own rock
in the Moon wasn’t some landscape feature that we’d deluded ourselves into believing
the world through her
groups instead of being
was magical. When it comes to the moon, I’m all about yesterday, not tomorrow. One
rose-colored glasses.
groupies, to shatter
of my favorite movies is Le voyage dans la lune, a 1902 silent film about a group of
Drawing inspiration from
Glass Ceilings and
men who travel to the moon by being shot out of a giant cannon, get captured by
her own experiences and
Glass Slippers, to shoot
moon men and then escape back to earth. It’s totally nuts in a swoony, surreal kind
environment around her,
hoops instead of settling
of way, and that’s how I like my moon lore. Maybe in TomorrowLand there will be a
Aimee illustrates daily
for hoop skirts. The
chain of Marriotts and Starbucks and space filling-stations on the moon, and people
from her brownstone
ones who came before
will buy time shares and build Moon McMansions jostling for the best view of space.
studio in Brooklyn, New
us made it possible
But I’ll continue to ignore the march of science and take my moon with a big helping
York. She has clients in
for our daughters to
of mystery. I’ll stick to the romantic mayhem it caused in Moonstruck, the inspired
publishing and retail, and
dream bigger, to have
lunacy of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, and the secret thrill of never growing
has exhibited work in
the chance to grow up
too old to whisper, “Goodnight, moon” as it watches over my sleep.
San Francisco, Manhat-
to be President and
tan and New Hampshire.
turn the Oval Office
Currently, she is working
into the Ovary Office.
on a new series about
In the United Skirts of
relationships and the
America, every day is
sometimes stumbling
Independence Day!
journey of women in their 30s. You can view
ViSit uS on Skirt.com
more of her work at aimeesicuro.com.
Nikki
publisher@skirt.com
from The ediTor George Bernard Shaw said youth is wasted on the young, but the women highlighted in this month’s skirt! prove him wrong. With youth comes energy, enthusiasm and fresh perspective—all of the above helped Stacey, Mallory and Heather to accomplish what they have in such a short time.These three women astound me with their passion and lack of cynicism as they set out do something in their communities, and not just talk about doing it someday. There will always be excuses and reasons for us to put important things off—being too young or too busy are hollow ones. Whether it’s leading a nonprofit, starting a charity or just daring to be more of a force to reckon with, I know there’s something on your heart you’ve been wanting to do. Whatever your excuses are, let the women of our Tomorrow Issue inspire you to ignore those reasons and get started.
Gracie
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gracie.shepherd@skirt.com
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2013
january
Pure Barre Collector’s Edition 6 2123A Greene St. Columbia 803.254.0078
No Excuses!
LOGO CommuniGraphics
Jack and Jane Sports 2900 Devine St. Columbia 803.250.1014
1400 Georgia Ave. North Augusta 803.278.7217
Mizuno Wave Rider Fleet Feet Sports 229 Furys Ferry Rd. Augusta 706.922.9860
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2013 feelgood
january
Feel good about bubbles. Our art director loves mixing sparkling water with cranberry juice and a slice of lime or going half wine/half fizzy water to cut the calories. But it’s a chore to drag it home from the grocery and find a place to store it all. The solution? The SodaStream Source is a streamlined little appliance that fits on a countertop and transforms plain water into sparkling water. Not only is it compact, but it also comes in colorful metallic finishes. sodastreamusa.com
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le eop king p in ny Ma at dr onateday th rb w findittle ca good set a l er is a an up wat settlemach. to sto
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Illustration by Monkey Mind Design, Unique Paper Expressions. monkeymindesign.etsy.com
Skirt of the Month
BCBG metallic pleated skirt from M Boutique, Cross Hill Market, 702 Cross Hill Rd., Columbia, 803.765.2243
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Changing Today For A Sweeter, Sunnier, More Spectacular Tomorrow.
I will not interrupt. I W I L L T RY THE OCTOPUS ON TH E M E N U.
I WILL TREAT M Y CAR TO A DETAILIN G. I WILL TREAT M YSELF TO A PAIR OF CASH M ERE SOCK S.
Call in sick instead of spreading the germ love. I WIL L S T O P FA L L ING AS L E E P W IT H MY C OMP U T E R.
f
mm
f
i
"
That toilet seat? Down, boy!
I W ILL TR E AT M Y S E L F TO A M O V IE M AT I N E E ON A W E E K DAY.
I WIL L ONLY HAVE ONE GLASS OF WIN E... MA B YE TWO... SHOULD WE JUST BUY A B O T TLE?
p!
tvot
o ij
Leave them with a
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Bring someone a surprise latte.
I WILL GO TO YOGA EVERY DAY AND I WILL BE EARLY.
Unless you’re in labor, there’s time to let another car in ahead of you.
YE S , I W I LL ORDE R TH E WH O LE FRUI T, N O- S UGAR- ADDE D SORB E T I N S TE AD OF TH E SA LTE D CARAM E L TRUFFLE I CE CRE AM .
instead of a shrug when your voice message picks up.
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2013 37
2013
january
xoxonikki
In winter, I turn the heat off at night and sleep naked under a heavy, downy duvet. In the morning, my nose is cold and I have to steel myself to race to the thermostat and turn it up and then jump back in bed till the house starts warms up. It reminds me of my childhood in a house with no central heat but heaps of quilts and the dying embers in the fireplace creating a cozy, dozy island in winter.
Looking forward to:
W h a t ’s k e e p i n g m e a w a k e a t n i g h t :
The perfect red lipstick, a new tattoo, PJs and UGGs when I come home, tomato soup and grilled cheese, a cashmere hoodie on sale, reading in the dark on my Kindle Paperwhite.
Will Hillary run in 2016? WordWarp on my iPhone Learning hashtags. #ineedcoolschool Is my scale accurate? Posting on Fridaville.com Michael Fassbender fantasies Is tomorrow recycling day? Streaming WFUV radio from NYC Was yesterday recycling day?
eart My H n Is a Idiot
My AMEX bill Did I take a sleeping pill or not?
W h a t ’s o n m y m i n d : I am jealous of:
ever Whoed this inspior me love awes song.
W h a t ’s o n m y i pa d : One of my favorite websites is KateSpade.com because of all the extras that make it fun to explore. I found this image on “The Style Spy” section, and I love the look of shiny gold wedges paired with nubby tights or socks for daytime. In the 80s, I wore ankle socks with a pair of purple Norma Kamali platforms to apply for a loan from a buttoned-up bank. Surprise...I got turned down!
I find myself wondering more and more about why so many women are reluctant to call themselves feminists. What is it about the term that can explode like a Molotov cocktail in the middle of otherwise reasonable conversations? Given the recent raids on women’s rights, I hope more feminists will be out and proud. And proving we know how to rock a high heel and a good time at the “Yes! I’m a feminist!” party at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art on February 26. Save the date.
Note to self: THE bEST USE oF
$4.95
The FreeKey Amazon.com
Must haves this month:
Root liqueur—very “sassy”frassy
Red Hot Lips ring by Solange Azagurypartridge
Leather hightops by Ash
A new goddess for my collection
Nikki Hardin is the founder and publisher of skirt! magazine. She blogs at fridaville.com. 38 january/february
2013 www.skirt.com
Track down the perp who stole my recycling bin on wheels!