T: The NYT Style Magazine: Montauk dining

High Season | Montauk’s Navy Beach

By Julie Earle-Levine

| May 14, 2010

Even with the raucous Surf Lodge (locals tend to sidestep it) and summer visitors Robert De Niro and Gwyneth Paltrow on the scene, the vibe in Montauk is still decidedly laid-back.

The easygoing restaurant Navy Beach, which opened on Thursday in the old Sunset Saloon, should help keep the “un-Hamptons” atmosphere intact, while quietly injecting some style. Boaters can come into Fort Pond Bay (once occupied by the U.S. Navy), drop anchor and dinghy in to dine, à la Sunset Beach. It also helps that Leyla Marchetto is on the scene.

Marchetto, 30, is the daughter of the ebullient Silvano Marchetto of Da Silvano and a co-owner of neighboring Scuderia. The Navy Beach partner knows the food and celebrity scene well. As a student at the Little Red School house in Greenwich Village, she would take her class next door to Da Silvano to eat spaghetti. “Once when I was four, I waited up to see Tom Cruise” at Da Silvano, she recalled. Then there was the time Gianni Versace drew a dress for her on a napkin.

Marchetto’s fiancé, Franklin Ferguson, and their friends Frank and Kristina Davis are the other partners. Chef Paul LaBue (most recently at The Laundry in East Hampton, and before that The Beacon and Nick & Toni’s) plans to serve local seafood cooked with flair: lobster pot pie is updated with wild mushrooms, snow peas and corn in lobster stock; steak with hand-cut frites rivals Raoul’s. And then there are juicy littleneck clams with white beans and chorizo, and plates of Mexican-style corn topped with chili powder, melted cheese and lime. Sticky bread-and-butter pudding is one of the less bikini-friendly desserts.

The restaurant’s decor blends vintage beach club and yacht club, with whitewashed walls, wood beams, nautical flags and shadowboxed retro swimsuits and bathing caps. Photos of bathing beauties Raquel Welch, Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren grace the walls. Out on the beach, there are picnic tables set in the sand with Adirondack chairs and “tree trunk” stools. The bar, with nautical flags that spell out “drink,” has Argentine and Venezuelan bartenders and attracted a crowd during previews. Peter Beard, Bruce Weber, Lauren Bush and Mickey Drexler are likely to be early patrons, said Marchetto, while restaurateur Serge Becker stopped by last Saturday night.

It’s not easy to find (even helpful locals aren’t sure). Getting to the tucked-away beach involves veering past the former Navy yards and down a winding lane. It may be hidden, but in Montauk word travels fast.

Navy Beach, 16 Navy Road, Montauk; (631) 668-6868. Open until the end of October

Travel: New York Magazine Spring Travel

New York Magazine
Spring Travel issue

By Julie Earle-Levine

Time, or the lack thereof, has squashed many a New Yorker’s getaway fantasy. The average harried city dweller can reasonably squeeze in a few long-weekend jaunts to Miami or L.A., or maybe even a week in Tuscany or Tulúm, if one is really lucky. But a paid multi-week relaxation marathon? Probably not. However, there is an argument to be made for NYC-style efficiency in trip-taking. Mark the calendar, clear your schedule, and you’re off.

The-Party-Around-The-Clocker

Brisbane, Australia
Brisbane’s booming bar, restaurant, and art scenes mean it’s no longer playing third fiddle to Sydney and Melbourne. Start at the Gallery of Modern Art (gaq.gld.gov.au), which has an exhibit of contemporary New Zealand art coming May 1 and a hot-ticket Valentino retrospective starting August 7.

The gallery-concert-venue hybrid the Fort (thefort.org.au) displays local artists and stages live bands. For dinner, you’ve got options: There’s Beccofino for spicy pizza bianche (beccofino.com.au); the Buffalo Club for a foodie-stalked fourteen-course degustation menu ($160; thebuffaloclub.com.au); and Bar Barossa (purplepalate.com) for the stellar local wine list and views of Brisbane’s Story Bridge.

Order flights of martinis at La Ruche Bar & Supperclub (laruche.com), followed by shots at mega–bar complex Cloudland (cloudland.tv). Last rounds are at the rooftop lounge of the Limes Hotel, where you can ask for a late-night check-in for $99, less than half the standard room rate (from $249; limeshotel.com.au).

The Pampered Escapist

Vieques, Puerto Rico

Vieques’s white-sand beaches, packs of wild horses, and surreal bioluminescent bay aren’t the only reasons to visit the Edenic islet six miles off the coast of Puerto Rico. There’s now an Alain Ducasse restaurant, a spa that treats seaweed wraps like a science, and a poolside cocktail scene, all courtesy of the brand-new W Retreat & Spa–Vieques Island (from $289; whotels.com), which represents the island’s first dalliance with a big-time resort.

The hotel can arrange trips to the surrounding cays to snorkel, scuba-dive, and kayak alongside leatherback turtles. Zip around the island on a moped ($50 for 24 hours; rent through the hotel), with a stop at the lush Navio beach. Last stop before sundown: Duffy’s (duffysesperanza.com), for spicy mahi mahi tacos and a Parcharita cocktail.

ends

Travel: Town & Country, Sydney's Rockpool

Town & Country, December/January 2010

Neil Perry opens Australia's finest steak house

Courtesy Earl Carter Photography

By Julie Earle-Levine

Twenty years ago, chef Neil Perry made a splash Down Under when he launched his first restaurant, Sydney's Rockpool, a haven of fresh and inventive seafood dishes. Two decades later, Perry has finally opened a second Rockpool in Australia's cultural hub, this time with a focus on steak. Located inside an Art Deco building in the Financial District, the grand Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney has thirty-foot columns and a soaring atrium.

On a typical weeknight, the ponytailed Perry hops between tables, offering advice to foodies, financial types and stylish travelers. His picks: the smoky, wood-fire-grilled Tasmanian steak, served with horseradish cream, and the aged-Wagyu burger. If you can't snag a seat in the austere dining room, pull up a stool at the bar, where you can witness Perry's team working its magic in the open kitchen while you sample one of the 3,700 wines on the list. 66 Hunter Street; 011-61-2-8078-1900; rockpool.com.

Travel: New York Times, Sydney's Potts Point

Surfacing, New York Times

A Sharper Point in Sydney

Sydney's Potts Point district is drawing a younger crowd with its handsome buildings and new shops and cafes.

By JULIE EARLE-LEVINE

December 20, 2009

FOR decades, Potts Point has enjoyed a reputation as Sydney’s bohemian center. Over the last few years, a new wave of openings has re-established the neighborhood as a destination for the young and beautiful, despite — or maybe because of — its proximity to Kings Cross, an area best known for its prostitutes, strip clubs and tattoo parlors. On Macleay Street, the main artery of Potts Point, gorgeous Art Deco apartment buildings and Victorian terrace houses sit amid new restaurants and cafes where hipsters and celebrities mingle.Sign in to Recommend

“When I first came to Potts Point 15 years ago, there wasn’t anywhere to even have lunch or breakfast,” said Christopher Becker, an owner of Becker Minty, a furnishings and clothing store with two outlets in Potts Point.

Toby’s (Shop 6, 81 Macleay Street; 61-2-8356-9264; www.tobysestate.com.au) is the cafe outpost of a brand that also includes a coffee bean retailer and a barista school. Mothers sip espresso while their toddlers enjoy “babyccinos” (steamed milk without the coffee).

Another brand that has a strong presence in the neighborhood is Fratelli, which offers a retail store, Fratelli Fresh (No. 81; 61-2-9368-6655; www.fratellifresh.com.au), and Café Sopra, a casual restaurant. Diners choose from a daily blackboard menu, with offerings like linguine with lemon, chili and pangrattato (16 Australian dollars, or $14.50 at 1.10 Australian dollars to the U. S. dollar). Later, you can shop for everything from fresh passion fruit to two dozen types of house-made pasta.

The latest addition to the local dining scene is No. 9 (Shop 2, 9 Ward Avenue; 61-2-9331-1399), a popular breakfast and lunch spot that Walter Herman, an interior designer, opened in July. The cafe has the feel of a classical French library, with an electric fireplace and original artwork lining the walls. The menu includes items like the Full Monty breakfast, with organic eggs, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans (16.50 Australian dollars).

For upscale shopping, try Becker Minty (No. 81; 61-2-8356-9999; www.beckerminty.com) and its new branch (corner of Macleay and Greenknowe Avenues; 61-2-8356-9908), with luxury women’s clothing and accessories. On a midsummer visit to the flagship store, some of the more unusual items included five stuffed peacocks (5,650 dollars a peacock) and throws made of Patagonian fox (6,950 dollars).

The neighborhood’s gentrification has brought safer streets, so there’s no need to stay in at night. The Champagne bar Velluto (No. 50; 61-2-935-71100; www.velluto.com.au), where Jason Minty of Becker Minty is a partner, attracts the fashion set in the evening. Order a flute of vintage Krug (70 Australian dollars) alongside a plate of tasty French and Australian cheeses (17 dollars).

All of this has attracted a combination of empty nesters, students and young executives to the neighborhood. “Ten years ago there were no apartments in the 5-to-20-million-dollar range,” said Tony Dowling, a local real estate agent. “Now there are some fantastic new buildings, and still a handful being constructed.” Of course, the polished Potts Point doesn’t come cheap: some studio apartments now command a healthy price of 700,000 Australian dollars.

UK Vogue: Aby Rosen

UK Vogue, GQ, Tatler, November 2009 issues

Photographed by Trujillo-Paumier


Aby Rosen, the New York City real estate mogul and contemporary art collector has just jetted in from Europe where he has been on holidays.

Standing in his art packed office in the prestigious Lever House (he owns the building) Rosen, 49, takes in the Manhattan skyline. There are many spectacular terraces in New York, but somehow standing on his, with sweeping views of Park Avenue and his landmarked Seagram office building, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Roh feels like looking out at his kingdom. New York is clearly this superstar developer’s playground.

Dressed in all black: black polo shirt, black pants and brown suede loafers, his demeanor is both New York aristocrat and billionaire casual Friday. “I don’t like to wear suits unless I have meetings.”

Rosen’s signature silver hair frames a tan, mostly seriously face that only occasionally relaxes in to a smile, on the subjects of deals, his prolific art collection, and his gorgeous psychiatrist and socialite wife, Samantha Boardman.

Yes, there is a recession of course and property has been hit hard. Some developers in this city are falling by the wayside. At Lever House, which is favoured by hedge fund and financial firms, some tenants are crying for rent reductions, but overall Rosen is feeling optimistic.

“Basically I’m very opportunistic. Whenever the market is down we take control of something. I want to do something with office buildings, hotels, retail.” Shoppers do not know where they are right now,” he adds, noting that even he stopped shopping – briefly - but is back. “I get my shopping fix from art and furniture – 20th century stuff.”

He is also shopping for existing hotels. “"We are looking to buy 10 to 12 assets to rework and rebrand them."

Rosen’s offices, his swank Upper East Side townhouse (and another townhouse he is selling for $75million that would be the most expensive Manhattan property sale) and his Hamptons estate are all showcases for art. Lever House is adorned with Warhols and Basquiats. Rosen admires a recent addition, Marc Newson’s Voronoi Shelf made of white Carrerra marble. At last count, he had more than 450 works. “I’ve always loved art. I love photography and have a huge collection of American art from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. I believe you have to have great art in buildings.”

Rosen, who was born in Frankfurt Germany in 1960, moved to New York in 1987 where he apprenticed at a real estate brokerage firm. He co-founded RFR in 1991, which now has an impressive portfolio of hotels, 21 office buildings and nine residential buildings, mostly in New York. He also has projects in Miami and Tel Aviv.

Not bad for a kid who started working for his father’s small real estate business in Frankfurt when he was 16, while he went to law school.

Rosen has many collaborations with long time friend and hotelier turned developer Ian Schrager, including 40 Bond, a swank residential building, plus the chic Gramercy Park Hotel. Rosen met Schrager in 1991. Rosen was a silent partner in the Delano hotel in Miami. Then 15 years on, they decided to work together again. They are planning two hotels in the area of the High Line on the West Side of Manhattan, bordering the Meatpacking district and Chelsea. Rosen is also working on a Shangri-La hotel project on Lexington and 53rd St, but currently everything is on hold. “No one wants to pull the rigger. I think by spring next year, it will all be a lot better.”

In Miami, he has just finished the W South Beach, a stylish 408-unit condo hotel – every room has beach views –and W’s first property in Miami that he says are selling in spite of a soft market.

His next big project is an entertainment centre in Germany, that will be a residential hotel. “We are doing lots of prototype stuff where I can take something and make it into something new, try to replicate it. Something that can be branded.” He also just opened a business hotel in Frankfurt. “But it’s cool. The city didn’t have that.”

Did Rosen ever think he’d be so successful? “I am really ballsy and very determined, he says. “Greed is the challenge. You don’t want to be carried away by ambition. You know in hindsight the projects you ought to be in, and out of.”

So what does Rosen consider crucial for beautiful residential design? “High quality.” In New York this means uptown layouts, in downtown buildings. “Layouts the way Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue used to be – high ceilings and powder rooms, beautiful bathrooms. “If the apartment ages you still want to have classic. You find great architects and designers.”

The most important room? “Every residence must have very beautiful bathrooms, spacious, marble and well designed. I take a bubble bath every day.”

UK Vogue: IM Pei, The High Priest of Modernism

By Julie Earle-Levine

Photograph by Sacha Waldman

UK Vogue, GQ, Tatler
August 2009


Ieoh Ming Pei, commonly known by his initials, IM, is dressed in an immaculate grey suit, signature tortoise shell glasses magnifying bright eyes. The renowned Chinese-born American architect, who is 92, extends a firm handshake and beams energetically. He is just back from Paris. “They put on a little party for me because it was the 20th year of the Louvre pyramid,” he explains.

Pei’s Grand Louvre glass pyramid project is regarded as one of his greatest achievements. ““It was a very emotional trip for me. Twenty years! “

Pei’s entire life has been a remarkable journey. At 17, he left China for the US where he would study at Harvard and then work as an architect, designing more than 50 buildings, all over the world. As a young architect, he was selected by Jackie Kennedy to design the JFK National Library in Boston. He would later design the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington and earn the Pritzker Prize in 1983. The jury said he had given this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms.

When asked about his career, Pei cites the Louvre and the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, that opened last year as among his most important work. But he admits this is a difficult question to ponder in a 70-year-architecture career. “It is like a man with many, many daughters. Which is the prettiest? Which is the one I like best? I can’t say, but these projects are of interest to me and also of great interest to the world.”

The Islamic museum was tipped to be his final project. “Did I say that?’ he laughs. “Well, it is a project I had not expected to do. Now I know more because I really entered into it out of curiosity. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn bout Islam, which is a great religion.” The Suzhou Museum, in his hometown in China is also important, he says, since it is where his family comes from.

Any regrets? “I would have liked to have done more houses. I am not known as a house architect but I would have liked to have done more.” In New York, he designed several highly regarded housing projects, including Kips Bay Plaza, and Silver Towers in Greenwich Village, which was recently landmarked.



Im Pei’s latest project, with his son Sandi Pei, is The Centurion, a modern, glass condo building in mid-town Manhattan. Sandi and his brother Didi are also architects and launched their own company, Pei Partnership Architects in 1992, after working in-house with Pei.

Pei’s eyes twinkle when he talks about New York. “I was educated in Massachusetts. I used to say Cambridge and Boston. No longer, it is New York, New York, New York!”

Pei may be a New Yorker, but he is a citizen of the world. Is there anything the last master of high modernist architecture has not yet done, that he’d like to? Pei pauses for a moment and sighs. “I would like to have been a painter. That is my secret.”

www.ppa-ny.com
www.centurioncondominium.com

Grazia: Alexandra Richards

Weekend FT: Nicaragua's Carlos Pellas

By Julie Earle-Levine

Carlos Pellas owns Nicaragua’s Flor de Caña rum distilleries, Toyota and Suzuki motor dealerships, an energy company and banks. The head of one of the country’s wealthiest families, he is descended from Italians who immigrated from the US in the 19th century. A frequent traveller, he has six homes dotted around the world in locations mostly close to the sea, to accommodate his love of fishing. He counts a family weekender in Lake Nicaragua’s “isletas”, reached only by boat with views of lush mountains, as his favourite.

Have you always lived in Nicaragua?

Yes, I was born here. During my early childhood I lived with my parents at our coffee plantation in San Marcos, about a 45-minute drive from Managua. The house was built in 1952 and it resembled the traditional Spanish haciendas. I have the best recollections of those times as there were 16 of us – between my brothers, my sister and cousins – who lived together. There was no TV then, so we rode bicycles and horses, and played board and card games. The home still serves as a weekend retreat for my cousins.

Then you moved to the city?

Yes, we moved to Managua when I was 10. My father built a beautiful house with lacquered Japanese-style doors and gardens with lakes with fish and oriental plants. In 1972 an earthquake destroyed it. I was at a party with my girlfriend, who would later become my wife. The house we were at caught fire. I told her my house was earthquake-proof. She was very concerned for her parents’ home. But it was my house that was destroyed. My parents and sister survived, miraculously. My girlfriend’s parents’ home was intact.

MY FAVOURITE THINGS

Old cards and ancient pots

My boat is customised to make it the perfect fishing machine. It has underwater fishing cameras. I never get tired of looking at the sea. I can spend hours just sitting in the mezzanine waiting for the fish to show.

A coin from Aristotle’s era given to me by my good friend Mike Wood, my roommate at Stanford, as a token of our 35-year friendship.

My top drawer in my closet, where I keep all the cards and notes sent to me by my kids. Frequently I open one and read it again. It brightens the day.

My hammock. I love to lay on it while watching the sunset and enjoying a 12-year old Flor de Caña Centenario.

My Nicaraguan stamp collection. I bought my first stamp 47 years ago, for $1. I own 18 of the first 20 stamps printed in Nicaragua. My collection is probably the only one of its kind in the world.

My pre-Colombian Indian artefact collection. I have more than 100 pieces of ceramic, dating back 1,200-2,000 years.

My wife’s picture when I first met her. Vivian still looks like that first day. It’s an inspiration. We have had three beautiful children together.

What about school?

I went to prep school in Woodside, California. It was my first time away from Nicaragua in a whole new world where I didn’t even understand the language. It was a great experience. Later, I attended Stanford [University], where I obtained my bachelor degree in economics and later on my MBA. During all these years I would come home to Nicaragua at Christmas and in summer, when I would go to the sugar plantation and the Flor de Caña distillery to work. Ironically, summer vacation was harder work than college.

Why is the isletas home your favourite?

It’s beautiful and peaceful. My family owns an island called Abuela Nena’s Island [Grandmother Nena’s Island]. There are mango and coconut trees, a domesticated white heron and two native parrots. My parents built a home that blends with nature in a very special way. It is a ranch that is made from local wood. It’s nice to sit on locally made, wood rocking chairs and hammocks right by the pool. We have another house there, too, which is two storeys with a balcony that overlooks the lake. The island has belonged to us since the early 1930s but it was confiscated by the Sandinistas in the mid-1980s. It was not until the mid-1990s that we got it back and began our building plans. My mother’s idea was to build a place where she and my dad could spend time with their children and grandchildren and enjoy the serenity of the lake and the beautiful view of the colonial city of Granada. That’s what eventually got her to rename the island El Descanso, which means “the resting place”. The views are amazing. On one side of the island you can see the Mombacho volcano and the city. On the other side is Lake Nicaragua, with its two volcanoes that are islands in the middle of it. The lake is so big that in some parts you cannot see where it ends and land begins.

How do you buy one of these islands?

Often by word of mouth. There are more than 360 islands, so sometimes there will be one for sale.

How often do you go to your island?

I try to go whenever I can. It is my favourite place to entertain my most important guests and closest friends who visit from other countries. I also love to spend time there with my children, brothers and nephews.

What about your main residence?

My home in Managua is where I have lived since 1978. It was meant to be a ”transition” home while I built my permanent home. But the Sandinista revolution changed those plans. As our family gradually grew, my wife and I decided not to move. I would best characterise it as a home in the city that makes you feel you are in a private resort in the countryside. It’s full of open spaces and has a pool, a cabana and a tennis court. Many trees are now close to 30 years old, which provide an ambience difficult to duplicate. I also have a beach home in San Juan del Sur, where I love to go on weekends when I am not fishing from my home in Tulemar, Costa Rica. The seven-bedroom house is right on the beach and it has a Caribbean feeling.

And your other homes?

My home in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, is in the middle of a plush rainforest that serves as habitat to three different families of monkeys. The terrace is as high as the top of the trees, which makes you feel like you are flying on top of them. It is secluded and close to the best billfish action in the world. Deep sea fishing has been my passion since I was 13 years old. I have released over 1,500 sailfish and more than 300 marlin. I own a home on the San Juan river, close to an orange plantation where I am a partner. It’s more like a lodge, with great views of the river. My son Eduardo, 22, is the one who enjoys it the most as he is a keen tarpon fisherman. I also have an apartment at the Four Season Residences in Miami. It’s on the 55th floor and has a spectacular view of the port of Miami, the bay and Key Biscayne. My wife Vivian loves it for the privacy – no maids, no drivers, just us.

New York magazine: Murdoch selling North Shore home

Intelligencer: Rupert, Brangelina Beached Here

Julie Earle-Levine
June 5, 2009

(Photo: Courtesy of Prudential)

Rupert and Wendi Murdoch have put Rosehearty, their North Shore summer getaway, on the market for $12.8 million; they just weren’t using it enough, given all their other homes. In the meantime, they’ve been renting it to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, for more than $100,000 a month. It’s set on around five acres, with eleven bedrooms, seven fireplaces, guest house, and tennis court, on its own stretch of beach, with a dock. A Murdoch rep declined to comment. The broker, Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Dolly Lenz, wouldn’t identify the rental tenants, but noted it’s available for walk-throughs only when they’re out of town—like, say, at Cannes.

New York Times: Travel Nicaragua

Check In, Check Out

By JULIE EARLE-LEVINE

Published: May 10, 2009

THE BASICS Once a home belonging to Hope Somoza, the widow of the former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, this Pacific beachfront Victorian has been carefully restored into a comfortable, 21-room hotel, which opened a year ago. A suite has been named after Mark Twain, who arrived in San Juan del Sur by sea in 1886, and wrote that “bright green hills never looked so welcome, so enchanting, so altogether lovely.”

THE LOCATION San Juan del Sur, a perfect horseshoe-shaped beach and surfers’ haven nestled into the side of a lush mountain, has long been a refuge for wealthy Nicaraguans. The hotel’s sweeping verandas provide glimpses of these palatial beach retreats, including an eye-catching pink house owned by Eduardo Montealegre, a politician who ran for the presidency of Nicaragua in 2006. The hotel overlooks the beach, where couples in rainbow-hued T-shirts, arms linked at the hips, cuddle at night in the shadows of swaying palm trees. Also a port, the town is about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Managua airport. (A shuttle costs about $45 each way.)

THE ROOMS In spite of the Pottery Barn-like palette — cream-colored drapes with silk tassels, white walls and dark wood furniture — the Victoriano still feels Nicaraguan. The bedspread is a vibrant, orange and green hibiscus print, and the double bed is hand-carved teak, as is a large freestanding mirror and desk. Six rooms have French doors that open out onto balconies overlooking a small pool, with deck chairs and umbrellas, and the beach. Other rooms face a pretty courtyard.

THE BATHROOMS Tiny — the door will hit the sink if you don’t open it carefully — but have large shower stalls (no bathtub) with medium water pressure. The hotel provides a refreshing oatmeal-peppermint body bar, plenty of towels and a robe.

THE LOBBY Airy and spacious, guests can sink into a chocolate leather sofa or check e-mail (free Wi-Fi), with views of the beach and men on scooters selling milk, rice and beans. Paintings by Nicaraguan artists adorn the walls, and the polished wooden floors are covered with antique rugs.

ROOM SERVICE Available from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. It is best to speak some Spanish when in Nicaragua. One order over the phone, for coffee, was interpreted as tea, then finally a man arrived at the door to ask in person. Once it was understood what I was ordering, service was prompt, just 10 minutes ($1.50). And it was delicious Nicaraguan coffee. The food is excellent and fresh, a simple sandwich of ham and cheese ($4) was delivered in 20 minutes, but breakfast, which is included in the rate, is best en plein air on the veranda.

AMENITIES There is no gym, but San Juan del Sur is perfect for exploring on foot. Its streets are lined with cafes, bars, surf shops and a bookstore.

THE BOTTOM LINE With rates for double rooms starting at $100, this hotel is on the high end of the local spectrum (surfer-style accommodations can be found for as little as $20 a night), but no one could call it overpriced, given its idyllic location. While service is sometimes a bit slow — my checkout took 15 minutes, and involved much official stamping of a wad of receipts — the staff was friendly and helpful.

Victoriano Hotel; Paseo de la Mar, Costado Norte Enitel, San Juan del Sur; (505-2) 568-2006; www.hotelvictoriano.com.ni.

Weekend FT: Elemental Architecture

March 21, 2009

By Julie Earle-Levine

Architectural designer Todd Shultz searched for more than a year to find the perfect wood for his client’s basement wine room. The heart pine he found in a cotton mill in Eatonville, Georgia had a golden colour, tight growth rings and blue veins – signs of its authenticity and age.

But when the client saw the beams, he was horrified. “He was like: ‘What are these dark black marks? Can you get rid of that?’,” Shultz recalls.

It was only after the man heard about the wood’s history – the marks were caused by a rare mould that had formed in the tree more than 200 years before – that he became enamoured with it.

The story is a familiar one to Richard McFarland, who co-founded California-based TerraMai, a reclaimed woods company, in the 1990s. Homeowners appreciate the aesthetics and eco-friendly credentials of his products, he says, but mainly “it is the story behind it that they fall in love with”.

Finding the wood, processing it, then building from it can take years. Once a source is located, the beams are photographed and their history researched. Every piece is sorted, cleaned, graded and then de-metalled and possibly re-milled. “The first reaction of someone is: ‘There is a lot of damage to this stuff’. But once it is re-milled and the spike holes are plugged, the overall effect is stunning,” McFarland says.

He says about half of TerraMai’s projects are residential, including houses in Florida, New York’s Hudson Valley, Nevada’s Lake Tahoe and Aspen, Colorado. The wood is not cheap; flooring made from 100-year-old exotics sourced from as far afield as India, South America and south-east Asia cost about $15-$25 per sq ft, about 30 per cent more than floors made from new or “virgin” wood.

But McFarland insists that “people will pay for quality”. “Because it is reclaimed, old-growth tropical hardwood – among the hardest wood on the planet – will last much longer,” he says. “With proper care, these floors can last generations”, compared with about 20 years for just-cut alternatives.

Plus, the reduced environmental impact cannot be ignored. “With every foot of reclaimed wood, you are offsetting destruction of a forest.” Yes, there is a carbon footprint in securing the beams, he acknowledges, but specialists say it is insignificant compared with cutting down new trees.

Shultz grew up on a farm, where he was taught to recycle everything. “You didn’t tear down a barn because it was 100 years old, you painted it and fixed it,” he says. “Nothing makes me sicker than seeing a dumpster full of wood. I’m the one pulling up my truck and grabbing the stuff.”

Any surplus wood goes back to his studio to be repurposed for other projects, he adds. “It is not really for cost. It’s for karma.”

Jim Ruig is another reclaimed wood specialist whose business, Australian Salvage, harvests wood from old wharves, French oak wine barrels, old buildings and industrial factories. His first purchase was 10,000 tonnes of wharf timbers, which took 400 semi-trailers to deliver to industrial land he had bought on Brisbane’s outskirts.

But since then demand has been strong. He recently sold A$3.5m (£1.6m) of reclaimed wood to actor Hugh Jackman for his health resort on Queensland’s Gold Coast and outfitted singer Jack Johnson’s seaside home in Byron Bay. He also works with developers eager to add complexity to their building interiors, as well as exporting to the US. Clients choose from a “menu” of recycled timbers, including native blackbutt, spotted gum and ironbark, then decide the finish – raw, lime washed, oil, smoked or antique.

Given the popularity of reclaimed wood – more than 40m board feet is sold a year in the US, five times the amount sold a decade ago – some are concerned about supply. But McFarland is not one of them. “Yes, it is a limited resource but the timber will be recycled again,” he says. “There will be new stories to tell – so many lives from one tree.”

ends

Sunday Times of London: Bernie Madoff

Sunday, March 15 2009

By Julie Earle-Levine

By the time Bernard Madoff arrived at court last Thursday, two hours before his 10am hearing, an angry mob had gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse. The $64.8 billion fraudster wore a charcoal-grey suit but no wedding ring or one of his usual vintage watches. A first sign, perhaps, that he knew this was the end.

Three months after this fallen pillar of Wall Street’s scams were exposed, Madoff is now in jail awaiting sentencing. His crimes made headlines around the world and battered the fortunes of the rich and famous, including Steven Spielberg and Nobel Peace Prize winner and holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, as well as wiping out smaller savers and charities.

After last week’s dramatic court appearance, though, many questions remain unanswered. Could Madoff, as he claims, have orchestrated this giant scam alone? How much did his family know? And where is the money?

Prosecutors are no clearer about what role, if any, Madoff’s wife, Ruth, brother Peter, sons Mark and Andrew and his employees played in perhaps the largest Ponzi scheme in history. His family members have denied any involvement. In court Madoff gave no clues. Because he pleaded guilty without making a deal, he is under no obligation to co-operate. There is no guarantee he ever will.

Jim Cox, law professor at Duke University, said Madoff had refused to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy, which would have implicated others. “He has clammed up. It looks like he’s going to take the real story to his grave,” said Cox.

One lawyer there to observe the historic moment, Robert Mintz, white-collar crime expert at McCarter & English, said: “There was a palpable sense of frustration among defrauded investors.”

Inside the packed court, Madoff, flanked by his attorney, Ira Sorkin, and four FBI agents stood stony-faced as the judge reviewed all 11 counts, including security fraud, investment fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, international money laundering, perjury, making false statements, and theft from employer benefits.

The judge asked Madoff if he understood the possible sentence he faced — 150 years’ imprisonment. “I do,” said Madoff. “Do you understand you may lose the right to vote, the right to hold public office,” asked the judge to sniggers from the courtroom.

Once the formalities were over with, Madoff was given his chance to explain what had happened. It was the moment his victims and investigators had been waiting for. He held out his notes and read a 12-minute address.

“I am actually grateful for this first opportunity to publicly speak about my crimes, for which I am deeply sorry and ashamed. As I engaged in fraud, I knew what I was doing was wrong, indeed criminal,” he said. “When I began the Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme.

“However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and as the years went by, I realised that my arrest and this day would inevitably come.”

Madoff said he was in court to “accept responsibility” and explain what happened. But he gave little new information and may never publicly answer for his crime again.

The scam began in the early 1990s when Madoff was finding it hard to make the returns his clients wanted. He felt “compelled to satisfy my clients’ expectations, at any cost”.

Clients were told Madoff had a secret “split strike conversion strategy”. They were told he would invest their money — instead those funds were deposited in a bank account at Chase Manhattan Bank.

When clients asked for their cash, Madoff took the money out of Chase, using cash that belonged to them, or to other clients, he confessed.

Madoff was at pains to claim that his investment advisory business, “the vehicle of my wrongdoing”, was the only part of Madoff Securities engaged in criminal activity. His brother and two sons ran the other branches of his business, proprietary trading and market making, and these were “legitimate, profitable and successful in all respects”, said Madoff.

Even concealing his fraud sounded simple. Madoff confessed he lied to the authorities on numerous occasions and cooked his own books. In recent years, Madoff said, he wired money between New York and his London office “to make it appear as though there were actual securities transactions executed on my behalf”.

He said the London office knew nothing of his crimes and was “a legitimately, honestly run and operated business”.

Mintz said prosecutors would be frustrated by Madoff’s testimony. He said it was a “road map” for the defence as investigations continue. “His strategy is to shield as many assets for his family as he can. He has fallen on his sword.”

While Madoff claims he co-ordinated this vast conspiracy alone, prosecutors seem less convinced. More prosecutions are likely, though they may be months away. “A lot of resources and effort are being expended, both to find assets and to find anyone else who may be responsible for this fraud,” prosecutor Marc Litt said in court.

“It seems to me that it would be difficult for one individual to pull this off. Especially on such a grand scale,” said Mintz.

Cox added: “You have got to think others were at least suspicious. It’s not just who was involved but where all this money went. Is there cash hidden in some Swiss bank account? My guess is we are not going to find much in the way of assets, but so far nothing has really been resolved.”

At the courthouse investors were seething. There was no sense of relief among the victims, many of whom call themselves survivors, a weighty word for this elderly, largely Jewish crowd.

One, Barbara Dweck, 58, had red paint on her hands and carried a billboard with newspaper headlines about the scam. “I wanted to express my feelings about this guy,” she said. “He has blood on his hands. He is equivalent to a murderer. He has destroyed lives. People are sick from this, people are committing suicide.”

The Madoff effect was even felt in the more serene surroundings of leafy north London. One couple, who asked to remain anonymous, tried to take their mind off Madoff by doing some gardening. When asked whether justice had been served at the previous day’s hearing, they just laughed. At best they hope to retrieve a fraction of their investment. Their retirement has been destroyed.

Ilene Kent, a paralegal who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said: “Justice has been served, but I can’t retire.” She said her family had lost their life savings. She is also a spokeswoman for the online Bernard Madoff Survivors Group, which has 350 members. She wants the government to investigate if others were involved. She said: “It was too complicated and the money too large for just one man.”

ends

Best of New York magazine: Reading Dogs

New York Magazine: Best of New York
March 3 , 2009

Best Reading Program

R.E.A.D. With Mudge

Story time’s fun and all, but it’s not nearly as mind-blowing as New York Public Library’s R.E.A.D. With Mudge program, which pairs kids ages 5 and up with trained dogs at six library branches in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. That’s right: They get to read with a dog. The program (named after a popular book series about a boy and his dog, Mudge) helps kids focus on reading by taking a little pressure off them. At the Mulberry Street library branch, a calm Border Collie-Greyhound mix named Theo curls up on kids’ laps for one-on-one reading sessions that last twenty minutes. When a kid forgets to read out loud, the dog nudges him gently. When the child struggles with a word, Theo puts his paw on the page. It’s almost uncanny, says owner Kimberly Wang: “Sometimes I think Theo really can read.

nypl.org or 212-275-6975

Julie Earle-Levine

Vogue UK: Ivanka Trump

Blonde Ambition
Vogue UK, GQ, Tatler, House & Garden Living
January 2009

By Julie Earle-Levine


IVANKA Trump, daughter of America’s real estate mogul, ‘The Donald’ takes long, stork-like strides towards me, her sky-high legs in six-inch heels gliding gracefully, her mouth slightly pouty, leaving a trail of remarkably shorter assistants in her wake. After all, Trump was a model before she realized her real estate ambitions.

The 26-year-old blonde has the impressive title of Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at the Trump Organization, in New York. She regularly appears in magazines offering tips on topics including ‘How to Be Rich, Sexy and Famous,’ but this Wharton graduate takes her career very seriously.

Trump is involved in 70 plus projects in the US and offshore, that require her to jet around the world, and to oversee meetings in the boardroom and on construction sites. How is she received? “Somebody may dismiss me because I’m young, blonde or female, but that can be used to one’s advantage,” she says, gazing coolly over her very large latte. Those close to her say she is also a fierce negotiator. “Ivanka holds her own in any meeting and what you see - a beautiful young blonde - is not what you get,” says Dolly Lenz, the top broker in America.

As a child, Trump spent some weekends on construction sites with her father or grandfather, often on a dump truck and she says she loved it. Some believe she may grab the top spot if her father ever hands over the reigns of the family’s real estate empire. Ivanka has two brothers, Donald Jnr, 30, and Eric, 23, who also work for Trump. She joined Trump in 2005, after working for developer Bruce Ratner on a large, mixed use shopping centre. “I wanted to get a sense of my self-worth and what I could accomplish, with or without my last name.”

It was not until she started working for her father, her “greatest mentor” that she really dug her heels in. “He has always pushed me to think, and dream bigger and bolder.”
In an interview in her 25th floor office with soaring views of Manhattan’s skyline and surrounded by photos of her family, layouts of a new development, and a thick manila folder marked with a long ‘to do’ list, Ivanka explained how her father convinced her to come on board. “He would send me renderings of the Trump Chicago project with a note – you could be working on this. Chicago was the siren call.”

She insists she is not just the pretty face in advertisements, but is involved in evaluating deals to pre-development planning, construction, marketing, operations sales and leasing.

What is she working on these days? Other than Chicago, Ivanka is spearheading a push by Trump to manage more of their new hotels. There are more than a dozen in the pipeline that are based on a template of Trump’s Central Park West property, including Las Vegas, a 1300-room hotel opening in March and a Fort Lauderdale, Florida that will open in January 2009. Offshore, there is Toronto, Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, the just-open Istanbul Trump Towers complex in the city’s Sisli district and Dubai, a 61-story building and units. Trump also has its first project in Europe under way, in Scotland that will include a 450 room, five-star hotel, plus 500 single family homes, holiday homes, golf villas plus a golf course. Trump says she spends time on all of these but recently has been particularly focused on opportunities in China. “I have been going to China and meeting there with the ‘Donald Trump’s’ of those areas. It is a very important market and we want to do it right.”

Which brings us to a controversial project, Trump Soho, a 46-story building that has had a construction worker death, and upset locals who don’t like skyscrapers. It is five times the height of any building around it. Trump is naturally defensive. “There is a certain tone in the city due to a number of real catastrophies that are happening on a monumental level. We are being very cautious, and expect an elevated level of commitment to safety. We are certainly not exempt.”

She believes that Trump Soho is in fact “a great example of doing it right.” It is commanding $3,000 a square foot – top dollar – in a recession hit market. Some say the Trump brand has added $1,500 a square foot value. Trump said it is because there are 360 degree views from every floor with a hotel unit, and an amazing top floor penthouse. “It is very, very cool, Rockwell design.”

At a press conference with her siblings Trump emphasized that the company has an extremely solid track record, unlike many developers with no experience who were “just doing stuff” “We are building great hotels and now we are ramping up our hotel management position in the past two years. It has to be great. We can’t have failure.”

In August, Trump said that the building was about 57 per cent sold, mainly to European and South American buyers. The remainder are Americans, who want a chic pad in the city when they visit.

The ads for Trump Soho, plus others recently including Trump Ocean Club in Panama where she spills out of a strapless black evening dress wearing her jewelry (yes she has her own brand) are Trumpish, showcasing the biggest and best of everything you can get.

“I was part of marketing effort to appeal to a younger, more hip crowd.,
says Ivanka, who does live in a Trump building, but will not live in Soho. “I’ll be spending a lot of time at the Soho property because there is a great spa and restaurant.” The building is trendy, but elegant. “Really there is nothing five star downtown. You can stay at the Mercer – it is a great hotel but you are sacrificing amenities and space. It you are staying at Trump uptown, the difference is phenomenal. The views we are offering are not typical of the area.”

Sales are strong, she said. And what of the recession that is finally affecting even luxury real estate in resilient New York? Is the luxury property boom really over? In true Trump form, Ivanka says, “The world is changing. This brings both opportunities and challenges.”

ends

Travel & Leisure Australia: On the Road/Designing Woman

Stylish Traveler - Louise Olsen, Dinosaur Designs
January/February 2009

Jewelry and home wares designer Louise Olsen is an avid traveler, splitting her time in Sydney, Tokyo and in New York, where she has an apartment. Here she reveals some of her most treasured finds for global shopping. By Julie Earle-Levine


SINCE Dinosaur Designs’ launch more than 20years ago at Sydney’s Paddington Markets, stunning, hand-sculpted resin jewelry has been turning up on chic women (and men) all over the world. DD co-founder and Sydney-based designer Louise Olsen finds inspiration for the gorgeous, often vividly colored chunky bracelets, necklaces and lust-worthy home wares, in nature and art. When she shops for herself, she resists the ordinary. “I really try to stick to the rule of only buying a few very special pieces and leaving the rest for memory. I get a lot of pleasure from objects, so those I do buy, I must absolutely love.” Here, Olsen shares her top travel discoveries.

(extra if can include: Louise travels with her husband and business partner, Stephen Ormandy, who is also a painter, and their nine-year-old daughter, Camille.

The daughter of John Olsen, the renowned Australian landscape artist, Louise comes from a family that traveled a lot, living in London, Portugal and in Sydney. DD has stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Nolita in New York and sells at 20 stores worldwide, including Tokyo Design District, Bergdorf Goodman in New York)


HOTELS
My favourite hotels are in Bali. At Bali Amandari (Kedewatan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia; (62) 361 975 333; www.amanresorts.com/amandari) you stay in these little huts right in the rainforest. It is very dense. There are these heady, incredible flowers, lush shaped leaves and Proteas, which are so wonderful to draw, so sculptural. I’m not a big beach person. Not a sun baker. More of a quick dip, then head off the beach and get into the sketching kind of person. The hotel is on the edge of a cliff, so you look down these valleys. It is so tranquil. It is lovely to go just for a lychee cocktail, or they do a beautiful range of Balinese teas. Oberoi Seminyak Beach ( Denpaser, Bali, Indonesia, (62) 361 73 0361; www.oberoibali.com) is another hotel that is very sensitive to its environment, to the Balinese culture, tradition and beliefs. My drawing book always comes back full after these hotels. I love spending time drawing the plants, insects and the most incredible butterflies. Both hotels are designed by the Australian architect Peter Muller, who worked with Jorn Utzon on the Opera House. He’s a wonderful architect who has lived in Bali a long time. The way he uses materials, like bamboo and grasses. It is just really beautiful.

FOOD
New York. I love to go to Bar Pitti (268 Sixth Avenue; 212-982-3300) I love the buzz and the energy of it. You get a great sense of New York there. The waiters are cheeky, but fun and nice. You have to go early to get a place. The food is wonderful, simple food. The truffled pastas, using very simple olive oil with white sauce and pasta with truffle on top is so good. It’s very rich. I usually get it and share it. I love Bar Pitti for lunch or dinner. It just has great street life. One of my favourites is Cafe Gitane (242 Mott Street, Nolita, 212-334-9552) I love the Moroccan and New York feel it has. It is just down the road from the store, and the apartment, so it has become a lovely local place. Makes me feel really great as well, we love the owner, Luke, we are always talking about the street and all the things we can do. I love their orange blossom waffles. If Yoshi is on the coffee machine, you are set. In Brooklyn, we go to Lucali, (575 Henry Street, Caroll Gardens; (718) 858-4086) The man who makes the wonderful pizza is Mark, and it’s his restaurant. The store that is the restaurant used to be his favourite lolly story when he was a kid living in Brooklyn. It is just amazing. They don’t have any refrigerators there. They bring it in fresh that day. They make tomato purees by hand. There are boccocinis in big white bowls, tomato puree on the bench, the pizza man is working on a wooden table making the dough, by hand. You can see the whole process. If you come in with kids, he’ll give them some dough to play with. The menu often doesn’t stay the same. It is a matter of what produce you can get that day. The mushroom is very good. So is pepperoni. I go a lot since my friend has an apartment near there. When her son goes to sleep, he goes to his window and the ‘pizza man’ waves good night to him.

In Tokyo, I go to Tokyo Department Store, Shibuya (right on top of the train station) for the best tuna sushi bar. They just do it so well, incredible tuna. It is very, very fresh straight from fish markets. We wholesale in Tokyo so we have a long association there. We are part of store there called Idaye for lots of years, and have been in Tokyo designers block for three years. We have a real love for Tokyo and often do JAL, nine hours to Tokyo, and then stop to see friends en-route to New York. We go for at least for a week a year. I really feel at home now. It is a very exciting exhilarating city. It is very hard to give addresses. They don’t have map system like we do. Trickier, so you do need a bit of a map or you can ask the policeman in each area


SHOPPING

Tokyo. It would have to be one of the best places in the world for gifts. It has such an incredible culture of gift giving to show gratitude towards each other. It is always important to take lots of gifts with you as well! I go to Cibone (Aoyama Bell Commons B1 2-14-6 Kitaaoyama Minato-Ku, Tokyo, 107-0061; (03) 3475 8017; www.cibone.com ) a beautiful homewares/design store. It has objects from all over the world, but with a beautiful Japanese sensibility. I have bought a lot of CDs from there. They have a really great selection of jazz, plus Brazilian, Cuban music in a collection of their own. They also do beautiful collection of own, beautiful colored towels, in incredible colors, wonderful cut out circles in them, really bright turquoise, bright coral red, deep luscious colors. At Tokyo Hands (Shibuya, 12-18 Udagawa-cho, (03) 5489 5111; www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/shibuya) a Japanese hardware store, where you can find everything you need to make anything, if you need wood, rope or string, light bulbs, kitchenware, cards, stamps, glue sticks, if you are looking for anything. Really handy things, a kitchen area, wonderful tea pots and great array of tea strainers, tea stirrers, I do like tea. Sushi roll section, buy bamboo mats to buy sushi, and other tools to make sushi and a wonderful array of knick knacks. There is an exercise section where you can buy exercise tights, back massagers and special foot socks that your toes can poke out of!



At Idee Store/ Cafe (Minami-Aoyama 6-1-16-3F, (03)-3409-6744) This design store has a lot of Italian pieces and Japanese. It is now owned by Muji, and has a little café attached. I love Sfera (D-0303 9-7-4 Akasaka Minato-ku, Tokyo; (03) 5413 3083; www.ricordi-sfera.com) beautiful hand-crafted Japanese objects that are purely Japanese design. The craftsmanship is wonderful, beautiful woven baskets that are finely, delicately done and beautiful hand blown glass pieces, wooden chopping boards.


ART

I always go to Lammfromm (Yamaguchi Bldg.1F 1-1-21 Uehara Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0064 ; (03) 5454-0450; www.lammfromm.jp) It is a beautiful contemporary art concept store with small works by Japanese artists. My daughter Camille really loves this store. The objects are very imaginative creations. Yayoi Kusama is just one of the artists we love. We always end up coming back with one of her dot sculptures or Daisy Face’s. There is an idea that the art world is not accessible, that it is hard to have a piece, but with this store, you can buy a beautiful, inexpensive piece and really treasure it. It is really wonderful art work by Japanese artists.




Louise on Shopping

Her other favourite stores:

New York, Moss (146 Green Street, www.mossonline.com) for design; for clothes, Butter (389 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn);

Tokyo, Comme des Garcon – one of my favuorite stores designed by Future Systems. There is a wonderful sense of translucent space moving in and outside itself. Being its flagship store, the collection seems to be the most extensive. They have one of a kind accessories ranges you don’t see in the other stores


Loveless – eclectic collection of fashion with a funny and playful twist with a very Japanese aesthetic. I also love Tsumori Chisato, the Japanese designer, who does the most wonderful prints, also has a very unique store in Aoyama.


Ends

Lifestyle: FT Manhattan Swap Shops

Weekend FT

By Julie Earle-Levine

December 6, 2008

As winter beckons, temperatures plunge and the sky turns inky black at 5pm, New Yorkers shuffle their closets to accommodate their bulky puffa jackets. But while the clear-out used to be space related, this year it has been driven by the economy too.

“Women, and we are talking wealthy women, who would normally buy what they want, are instead swapping their few-seasons-old Missoni and Prada for more recent pieces,” says Irene Albright, a former fashion stylist and owner of a new store, Mina’s on Cooper Square, that opened in November to sell secondhand designer clothing.

Indeed, more people than ever before are offloading items from their closets and opting to shop in luxury consignment stores, or secondhand designer clothes shops, to fill the gaps, according to several store owners. An ad-hoc survey of Manhattan’s vintage shops produced a chorus reporting an increase in “prized possessions” being handed over.

“I have a $10,000 dress that Jennifer Lopez wore once that will be for sale,” says Albright, who is enhancing the stock at Mina’s with overflow from another of her ventures, the Albright Fashion Library, where stylists, costume designers and celebrities hire clothing. Mina’s also plans to sell last season’s unsold designer clothing, as well as redesigned items. “I am taking designer pieces and reworking the design to make it fresher,” says Albright.

Lucyann Barry, whose namesake showroom on the Upper West Side has been stocking secondhand clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery from Chanel, Chloé, Gucci and Hermès at 50 to 90 per cent below retail since it opened in January, reports that one Texas man tried to sell his wife’s Louis Vuitton shoe collection. Barry says she has seen a 10 per cent increase in consignment clients in the past two months, among them a new demographic made up of wealthy women motivated by philanthropy.

“They can continue giving, without actually writing a cheque,” explains Barry. By selling “a Birkin”, they can turn their hardly used handbag into “a handsome donation for their favourite charity”.

Other women have been obliged to explore a new strain of retail: “People are telling me their husbands are freaking out because of big financial losses,” says Barry. Many of her clients are attracted by the quality of the items, although they are shopping carefully. “Even though they are getting great deals, they are more reserved.”

Kristjansen Villanueva, manager of Roundabout ReSale Couture, which opened on Manhattan’s Upper East Side four months ago and is targeted at buyers from the fashion industry, Wall Street and the local residents (Roundabout also has three stores in Connecticut), says one woman brought in an $8,000 bag last week that will sell for $2,900. “If she can make money by selling it, she can use money to buy another piece here,” says Villanueva, noting the barter-like dimension to the consignment trend.

One of his customers, a lawyer, was warned by her husband who lost his job at Lehman Bros: “No more Barneys. No more Bergdorf. You have to watch your wallet.”

“It was kind of sad,” says Villanueva. “But she sold her things and then ended up buying a never-worn Giorgio Armani suit, so she was happy. Instead of going to Saks or Barneys or a big retail store and paying $2,500, she got it for $499.”

Indeed, Villanueva says many clients are surprised by the choice and condition of most garments. Some are never worn and still have the tags on. “Most sellers don’t even think about the pieces they bought last season; they might even forget about them and don’t want to wear them now,” he says.

It is the more established fashion brands that are proving popular in the current climate. “We can’t stop selling Chanel and Hermès, because women feel good wearing it,” says Villaneuva.

Lucyann Barry, by contrast, says the vintage Chanel market seems to have slowed a little but those buying are diehard fans while new buyers will occasionally spend thousands on special pieces.

Meanwhile, Vintage Collections, an online store that sells high-end costume jewellery and accessories in Manhattan, is also seeing more sellers than usual. “It feels much busier,” says owner Vicki Haberman, whose items start at $1,000. “I’m getting a lot of enquiries. I definitely think more people are reaching in to the closet and selling their heirlooms.”

And not just women. Men, who traditionally hold on to their clothes a lot longer than seasonally driven women, are also trading them in. Gary Scheiner, owner of Gentlemen’s Resale, which has been in business on the Upper East Side for 14 years and sells men’s Burberry trenchcoats for less than $250, Tod’s loafers for $110 and Brioni suits for $495, also says business is brisk. “We are starting to see consignments of two or three items a week, instead of one,” he says.

“A lot of people are bringing in beautiful suits,” says Milo Bernstein, owner of Ina, another designer resale consignment store with five locations, the first of which opened in SoHo 16 years ago.

“One guy lost his job and had a lot of really good, not too conservative Thom Browne suits.” According to Bernstein, they were quickly snapped up by a savvy buyer who needed “new” suits for interviews.

Perhaps as a result, Bernstein says Ina’s five Manhattan stores are doing extremely well, in spite of the economy. More than half of Ina’s customers are from outside New York. “It just seems like a really good way to go,” he says. “You walk out the door with three things that would have cost $1,500 but you paid $400.” Of course, it may take a little work to find those items. “It’s not a store for people who do not like shopping.”

.......................

www.albrightnyc.com
www.inanyc.com
www.lucyannbarry.com
info@vintagecollectionsnyc.com
Gentlemen’s Resale, tel: +1: 212-734 2739
Roundabout Resale Couture, tel: +1 646-755 8009

Forbes: Bank of America's Chief Risk Officer

ForbesLife

Amy Woods Brinkley
Julie Earle-Levine
Forbes Magazine dated September 29, 2008

As chief risk officer at Bank of America, the largest retail bank in the U.S., Amy Woods Brinkley spearheaded its recent takeover of the stricken mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial, just as the U.S. economy was heading downward. She will have a key role in defining the types of loans the new subsidiary will make and the growth model it will pursue as it is absorbed into the company.

Brinkley joined the bank 30 years ago in the commercial credit department after graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina. She held a variety of positions in international banking, domestic corporate banking, and marketing, leading the consumer products group before assuming her current sector in December 2001. In 2005, she was awarded the top spot on US Banker magazine's list of "The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking."

Why did you take on Countrywide?

Our company did very extensive due diligence. I've been involved in a lot of our acquisitions and I don't recall one that was more thorough. During that process I became increasingly comfortable; the problems at Countrywide were real, but they were also manageable. I always thought it would be a terrific strategic acquisition but the main question was whether we could handle the short-term challenges, and I think we can. I am excited about the longer-term opportunities.

And the impact on Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people )?

We understood there was significant reputation risk. That's why we promptly [made] certain changes that would mitigate that risk, such as the elimination of subprime mortgages and other nontraditional mortgages, pledging to work out loans wherever possible and working with community group partners. In the end, people need to judge us by what we do now and what we will do going forward.

But the estimates on write-downs for Countrywide's mortgages range from $8 billion to $30 billion. (Bank of America puts the figure at $12 to $13 billion.)

As we said a number of times, we did very extensive due diligence on the transaction, not only before signing but going back in before closing the transaction, and we believe the economics made sense and the market-share opportunity is worth the risk. We told investors in June that the purchase accounting adjustments will be in the neighborhood of $12 to $13 billion. Based on what we have contemplated, the acquisition would be accretive in the second half of this year. If we are wrong we will face some other losses in the future, but that would only delay the payback from the acquisition. Certainly I don't know that we bought at the bottom, but we clearly did not buy at the top of the market. So again, just before closing the transaction we revisited the economics and we are comfortable with what they tell us.

Where do you see the upside?

This transaction represents a rare opportunity to significantly gain market share, in this case in the mortgage business. We will have market share in the 20 percent range, in a business that is vital to consumers and to the economy.

Is it still hard convincing analysts about the deal?

I think some have understood [the purchase] better than others. Others will understand it more fully as time passes.

When will the mortgage crisis abate?

The single biggest question is when housing prices [will] stabilize, which is dependent on quite a few factors. I think we'll see some stabilization in 2009. I wouldn't try to call it into a quarter. We are battling a series of issues that stem from the impact of falling home prices, and that has created unprecedented illiquidity and extreme volatility in certain parts of the capital markets. Some areas are getting better: for example, liquidity in the leveraged loan market has improved. The bigger picture beyond housing and mortgages is the collective impact of higher energy and food costs [and whether that] results in a recession. We are not presently calling for that, but it is a close call.

As a chief risk officer, how do you calculate risk?

I certainly use many quantitative techniques based on probabilistic analysis. But it is also really important to use common sense and to not over-rely on models and historical evaluations of risk. I would describe it as balance of science and art. It's 70-30. I think there was a time when the quantitative approach worked better than it does today, and that is due in part to the increasing complexity of the global marketplace.

The industry is always good at lagging and coincidence indicators, but the best [people] are really good at reading the leading indicators and making informed judgments on that basis. Excesses in markets do come home to roost at some point, in some way, so learning from the past is also important.

And the pros and cons?

First of all, it's accepting that the most important decisions we make do involve tradeoffs--what appear on the surface to be equally imperfect, equally important choices, or partially right choices.

For instance, last year before the credit crisis hit, we didn't like where the leveraged finance market was going and we didn't like the deal terms being granted. Earlier than most, we became more selective. We faced losing potential revenue because the market was continuing to grow, but we had to weigh that against what we were beginning to see. We thought it was the right time to reevaluate our risk appetite, and it proved to be right.

When do you decide to decide?

One approach has helped me a lot through the years. I call it "trying each decision on and wearing it for a while." It might be just a few days, or longer. Usually I'll find that deciding one way leaves me feeling more comfortable than the other. When we exited the subprime mortgage business in 2001, it was a tough decision because it was giving up a not insignificant amount of revenue, and we are a growth-oriented company. We had to convince investors. On the other side, we had reputation risk (related to predatory lending) and concern where volatility could go over the longer term. It really was art and science and trying both decisions on.

What keeps you up at night?

Actually, I sleep okay. But what does concern me most is what we haven't thought of that we need to be thinking of. Are we pushing ourselves enough? What might be next? Worry in and of itself is unproductive. In today's world you have stuff coming at you every which way. Structuring time to just sit and think is important.

In speeches, you encourage trying on the unfamiliar to advance careerwise. When have you done so?

Early in my career, I was in the international group at Bank of America and worked in Asia. I spent brief periods in Hong Kong. At that time it was very unusual to have a single woman--a woman, period--in those markets.

Another time [in the 1980s], I was asked to start a risk-management function for the consumer businesses. All of my experience up to that point had been on the commercial and business side--I didn't know anything about the consumer business. I was getting in on the ground floor. I knew it was an opportunity to learn a whole new business, and to acquire a totally different skill set. That said, day one, I didn't know what I was doing. But I figured it out. You find good people that you trust.

Can you have a work/life balance?

All great leaders have balance. That's what allows you to keep perspective. It is your own formula. For me, reading, plus some nonprofit work, helps with balance. And exercise--walking and being outdoors.

Describe your day.

I get up very early in the morning, 4:30 or 5 a.m., and have that time for quiet thinking to plan my day. If I don't have an evening event, I leave work at 6:30 or 7 p.m. I can't recall a weekend when I haven't done some work. It might be a few hours, or the whole weekend. I try to work from home then. It stimulates my thinking, just to be in a different space.

What have been your tradeoffs?

[Giving up] more baseball games for my son than I'd like to, and annual cousin reunions that I cherish. It is a myth that you can have it all.

How do you see your strengths and weaknesses?

I think I'm very straightforward. Sometimes I might be too impatient--I tend to operate with a fair amount of urgency, and at times that might be overplayed.

Brinkley's Tips for Surviving and Thriving

1. Don't be preoccupied with proving yourself. I think a lot of energy gets lost in this. It did for me.

2. Make sure you know what you think you know.

3. Maintain balance. You will be better for it.

4. Don't wear your gender on your sleeve. This is not my line--another woman banker said it, but it's good.

5. Explore unconventional career paths. Take lateral moves and learn.

6. Always find great people who are better than you are and learn from them.

7. Trust your gut instinct. If it's speaking loudly, listen.

Travel: Departures 'Way Down Under'

Departures, September 2008

South Australia's Kangaroo Island - home to some of the continent's most intriguing wildlife - has long been popular with day-tripping and camping crowds. It never had any luxury accommodation until this spring, however, when James and Haylie Baillie, owners of the chic Capella Lodge on Oz's Lord Howe Island, opened their new property, Southern Ocean Lodge.

Set between two national parks on the island's isolated southwest coast and just a a 25-minute flight from Adelaide, the property is nestled in the bush and has expansive views of the turquoise sea below. Of the lodge's 21 minimalist rooms, the best is the Osprey pavilion, with its hand-sculpted, egg-shaped Japanese bathtub and private-terrace. From its alfresco daybeds and plnge spa, guests have a prime view of passing kangaroos and whales out at sea.

But those who come to K.I almost always want to get much closer to wildlife. And so the Baillies partnerned with local outfitter Exceptional Kangaroo Island to take visitors out into the area's singular landscape. The animal spotting is so good and so easy hear that it's really a shame the lodge doesn't allow children younger than six. Our stellar and slightly whacky guide, Anthony, aka Ants, who has lived on the island for 18 years, led our small group on a half-day journey, pointing out plump koalas perched on impossibly thin branches, kangaroo mothers hopping about with their in-pouch babes and even the elusive glossy black cockatoo - or at least evidence thereof, in the form of some nibbled seeds. On a separate hike, a trip to see Australian fur seals preceded a light lunch served rather glamorously under a white shade tent and accompanied by a local Chardonnay.

Later a stylish New Yorker who has just arrived at the lodge from Sydney was wondering aloud when she might see a kangaroo. She didn't have to wait long, though. During a twilight tour with lodge staff, glass of Champagne in hand, she was suddenly surrounded by dozens of curious 'roos and wallabies. "I didn't really expect to see wildlife like this," she said, laughing. But at Southern Ocean Lodge that's just the kind of Champagne wishes and kangaroo dreams experience guests are in for.

southernoceanlodge.com.au

Lifestyle: UK Vogue, GQ, Tatler - Ian Schrager

Studio 54 made him famous but Ian Schrager's latest project may be his crowning achievement

By Julie Earle-Levine
September, 2008

HE has been called the ‘King of Cool’, an arbiter of great vision and taste, ‘master of the ultra-hip hotel’ and a swashbuckling developer, but ask Ian Schrager, dapper in an Hermes pinstripe suit, where this style comes from and he shifts uncomfortably.

“I am not sure where this style comes from. I am not even certain I have good taste,” says Schrager, in a raspy Brooklyn accent.

Few would agree. Many would assert that Schrager not only has impeccable taste but that he creates it. Schrager, whose tanned skin and broad smile defy his 61-years, has spent nearly half his life creating spaces for the rich and famous to flock to, including boutique hotels in London, New York, Miami and LA. He has a colorful past. Of course Schrager was most famous for opening Studio 54 in Manhattan, once the world’s hippest nightclub where Bianca Jagger celebrated her birthday by riding half naked through the club on a white horse. He has also served 12 months in jail for tax fraud, where he and his friend Steve Rubell came up with the idea of a boutique hotel business. Four years later, Morgans, the world’s first boutique hotel opened in New York and the duo went on to open a string of hotels including the Royalton, Philippe Starck’s first-ever hotel project. Schrager’s new talent is combining hotels with high-end residential properties for the very, very wealthy.

When it comes to stunning buildings, New York has many, but Schrager’s second residential project, 40 Bond in downtown Noho, resonates with style. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the architects best known for Tate Modern, the 11-storey building is a modern take on the neighborhood’s cast-iron architecture. The exterior is cast entirely in greenish Coke bottle glass that glistens when the sun strikes it. Inside, there are wide-plank Austrian smoked oak wood floors, 11-foot high ceilings, fireplaces and envy-inducing outdoor terraces. Ricky Martin has bought here, as has Mario Testino. Schrager will live in the three-storey, 8,500-square-foot penthouse.

Schrager has been doing business in his mobile office – a black Mercedes - then walks in to greet me. He shakes my hand but is looking at the wall where he has spied a light fixture is not as it should be and demands to know why. I ask him if he is a perfectionist and he says. “Ha. Perfectionist is an understatement.” He might try 30 or 40 shades of white before he picks the right one. He can recognize if a bouquet, which he has decided must be a precise size and colour, is missing stems. “I don’t have to count them.” A potential buyer at the building recognizes Schrager and seizes the moment, asking, if the gleaming, wavy white walls in the foyer are plastic. Schrager’s face tightens, but the man who some say will simply walk away if he doesn’t like what he is hearing, just replies: “It is Corian marble.”

Schrager says he is actually very shy and does not like to be photographed. But once he warms up, he is charming, his conversation a steady stream of topics. Boutique hotels, Lifestyle apartments, concierges who will cater to how we live. His ideas stem from his roots in the nightclub business where he developed the production skills for acting on creative ideas. “Out of necessity I had to do these big productions and parties and the success or failure of what I did was really predicated on how exciting and magical you could make the space.” This thought process translates to hotels and to residences. “You get an idea, you try and realize it, you build it. It is exactly the same.” He is an avid reader of magazines and hunts the streets of New York for creative, individual ideas.

After leaving the Morgans Hotel Group in 2005, he developed his namesake, Ian Schrager company. His new focus is on “managing one’s life’ or rather, having someone else manage it for you. Schrager was at his weekend house in the Hamptons where estate managers do everything for you from writing party invitations to hiring a nanny. “I thought this should be applied to city living. City managers can really make your home somewhere you can enjoy.”

Schrager predicts there will be demand across the board for this kind of living, not just by the super wealthy and that it makes 40 Bond a standout. At the time of writing there were just three of the building’s 27 apartments still for sale. They cost $3 to $10 million. He insists the building’s appeal is not just the design, rather the services that come with it.

Schrager has plenty of other projects on his plate. Recently, he signed a deal with Marriott where he will develop 100 boutique hotels for a new brand that will be launched in major cities across the US, South America, Europe and Asia. He is working on a hotel in Miami, plus another high end hotel in that city as well as a sizeable project (a hotel and residences) on Manhattan’s 10^th avenue with developer and friend Aby Rosen He is also looking to close a transaction in Las Vegas and would like to do some more hotels in LA, New York and in London. “Over the next five to seven years I’d like to get to ten or twelve private label hotels and sell it or go public with it. That is the strategy.”

Clearly, Schrager shows no signs of slowing, but his approach is different these days. He works hard to strike a balance with work and family. And he’s spending time on his own immediate environment, 40 Bond. For now his new home is an empty shell, and he doesn’t want to share the specifics other than to say it will be very simple, with most materials from Europe, the woods, marbles and raw finishings. He’d like to keep the rest a secret. “Once something goes mainstream, for me it is over.”

Lifestyle: Weekend FT, Gel Botox coming soon

Weekend FT

July 19, 2008

By Julie Earle-Levine

Ever since the 1990s, the anti-wrinkle drug Botox has reigned supreme in the fight against unwanted lines. Many have deemed it and one of its competitors, Myobloc (another drug that uses botulinum toxin to block nerve impulses and "freeze" lines), heaven-sent.

But now the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating the product and has warned of possible side effects and even deaths related to Botox use.

According to the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, there have been at least 16 deaths among 658 reported cases of people in the US "suffering adverse affects from Botox" between November 1997 and December 2006. The FDA is currently reviewing data from clinical studies by the drugs' manufacturers and expects to issue a report in several months.

Public Citizen's initial findings suggest that the use of Botox for cosmetic purposes does not lead to as great a risk of adverse effects as for other "off-label" uses, which would include using treating limb spasticity in a child with cerebral palsy. But the FDA has warned that people using Botox cosmetically should be aware of potential adverse effects, which include breathing problems.

The issue is enough to make consumer groups such as Public Citizen ask that doctors be required to give patients a written warning each time they receive a Botox injection. Last year, drug regulators in the UK and Germany required sterner warnings to be sent to doctors in those countries regarding its use. In France, the government requires doctors to have surgical qualifications to use Botox. Amidst all this, Allergan, the maker of Botox, has said that adverse reactions are rare. "In its entire history, there has never been a single reported death where a causal link to cosmetic Botox was established," said Dr Sef Kurstjens, Allergan's chief medical officer.

Talk of side effects does not appear to be deterring current clients, at least according to Dr David Goldberg, a Manhattan dermatologist and director of the Skin Laser clinic in New York. Goldberg has been offering Botox for more than 10 years and estimates that it makes up 20 per cent of his business. "About 75 per cent of people keep having Botox once they have tried it," says Goldberg of his mainly female client base.

But for those fighting shy of the needle or who would prefer to wait for the results of the FDA investigation, there are plenty of Botox-inspired products on the market - even if the results are not as long-lasting.

For instance, "Glamotox", which contains hyaluronic acid, promises to plump up the skin while you sleep. One recent convert already swears by it. "I'm addicted. It makes me look younger, without having to get Botox or laser," she enthuses.

"Freeze 24/7" is another highly popular moisturiser that professes to freeze wrinkles for up to eight hours, giving the effect of an eye lift - albeit briefly.

Meanwhile, the sale of topical Botox in a gel form - which can be applied to the skin rather than injected - is also a looming reality.

"The intention is to get rid of wrinkles but to preserve facial expression," says Dan Browne, chief executive of Revance, the US-based biopharmaceutical company behind the development. It is currently conducting clinical trials to see whether the gel will have fewer possible side effects than injected Botox.

According to Browne, Botox gel could become a huge chunk of the rapidly growing $14bn facial aesthetic markets. The cool gel will warm up on the skin and, as with Botox, result in visible changes after 24 to 72 hours, with "peak activity" after one week. But the gel would be prescribed and applied by a doctor, meaning you could not just apply it casually at home.

ends