Lifestyle

Bettina Yiannakourou is a civil celebrant who loves telling a story—that of how each couple found each other, why they love each other and how they are going to make...

After a successful career in sales and a lifetime attraction to Southern architecture and beautiful interiors, it was inevitable that Clarice Cawood would find herself “putting it all together” as...

Lisa Saari Costas’ life has taken her all over the world as a military wife. She created a career for herself as an educator in the various states and countries...

Tradition and innovation come together in an exciting and unexpected way at Neighborhood Dining Group’s (NDG) latest restaurant, Marbled & Fin. NDG is known for the groundbreaking concept Husk, garnering...

Walla walla is one of the most exciting wine regions in the country. Established in 1984, the Walla Walla Valley is an American Viticultural Area that spans 3,000 acres of...

Compassion informs everything Stephanie McChesney does as an aesthetician, from her in-depth evaluations of a client’s skin to the thorough and personalized protocols she creates to ensure those in her...

There are few things more central to life than our abode. Where we live and how we’re sheltered is reflected in our day-to-day sense of well-being. And for many people,...

Orange wines are the talk of the wine world. If you’re ready to try on a new style—and color—Italy is at the forefront of an orange wave of wine with an...

Choosing and purchasing the right type and appropriate amount of insurance to cover your precious valuables and investments can be overwhelming. Living on the coast adds a new level of challenge,...

When you’re in the market for something precious—gold, diamonds or a Rolex, perhaps—the hunt for the perfect piece can be as exciting as the actual acquisition. And when making an...

Over the past 24 years, John Vance has built a solid reputation for himself in Charleston real estate, and in 2023, he used his standing and expertise to launch his own brokerage,...

Wondering what that snappy-looking vehicle was you just passed on the road and where to find one for yourself? Drive-bys are sending enthusiastic sunseekers to Carolina Rides—an eco-friendly outfitter riding the...

Alex Brener’s path to becoming a real estate broker is nothing if not interesting. Previous to starting Alex Brener Real Estate in 2018, he’d spent over a decade in real estate...

Few look forward to visiting the dentist, but with Smile Carolina Dental Group, chances are good one will walk out with a smile, and a beautiful one at that. Dr. Jeffrey...

As a native New Yorker and the owner of a luxury boutique business specializing in public relations and event planning for 20-plus years, Michelle Almeyda-Wiedemuth has developed a skill set...

We all want to look and feel our best, and sometimes we need a little help to do that. Plastic Surgery of the Carolinas, owned by board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Craig...

There’s nothing more soothing than watching Stanley Tucci making a Negroni. In the midst of our collective COVID anxiety, he shared a viral video on how to make his house...

Doyle recently opened the first major auction house in Charleston. Last fall, the grand opening of Doyle’s office on King Street put Charleston on the map of cities represented by...

Paige Rhodes has a backstory not unlike many realtors: She started selling real estate to stay busy and find fulfillment while her husband traveled for work. But hers is a...

Charleston’s exceptional qualities are numerous, making it a desirable place to live and work, and a coveted destination for homebuyers and business investors alike. Its beautiful and varied architecture, rich...

The most fulfilling careers begin with passion, and for Amy Rogers of IOP Residential Real Estate, the statement couldn’t hold truer. Rogers and her husband, Tommy, acquired a residence on...

Spain’s Rías Baixas wine region in Galicia has long been influenced by its Atlantic coastline. Forget what you know of flamenco, paella and the scorched plains of La Mancha. This...

New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Nashville — these are cities whose legendary venues for years were overflowing with talent, artistry and creative grist. While devotees continue the pilgrimage...

Wearing a fur jacket or carrying a fur-trimmed handbag is pure luxury. While fur is one of the warmest materials available, it’s also a stylish wardrobe addition. Fur clothing is...

Sarah Marion, of REID Properties Group, is nothing if not creative. As a Realtor, Charleston is her canvas, the homes her palette, her talents the brush. Of her work, Marion...

Jennifer and Kilby Bronstein, mother and daughter, are a formidable team who have recently brought their enthusiasm for retail fashion to Charleston and, more specifically, to the Finicky Filly, the...

Jen McConnell knows how to uncover the beauty and value in a home. That’s the secret behind her success helping buyers, sellers and investors achieve their real estate goals through...

“If you go to a wedding or a special event, you shouldn’t be focused on how badly your shoes hurt. You should be having fun,” says Melissa Desautels, owner of...

Brothers Georges and Daniel Daou, co-owners of DAOU Family Estates, have personally redefined the terms of where great American wines can come from. “Imagine the impossible, and that’s where you’ll...

Shine Medical Spa by Plastic Surgery of the Carolinas is just about a year old, but this state-of-the-art, fully equipped medical spa—staffed by experienced aesthetic providers who employ the most...

Sarah Ellen Lacke of the Exchange Co. offers her lifelong experience in real estate to clients in their quest for a home. Her good nature, down-to-earth personality and high energy...

Charleston Realtor Suzie Smith’s motto is, “Whatever makes you happy, we’ll make it happen!” Positivity and optimism are the cornerstones of Smith’s approach to real estate sales. Her company, Suzie...

Rhodes Boutique and Rhodes Home & Gift are the realization of years of experience in retail by entrepreneur and business owner Caroline Rhodes. A long-time resident of the Charleston area,...

Health care providers share a dedication to promoting health and wellness in their clientele and part of that is how they look and feel. From the get-go, Thomas Cordeiro and...

Veronica Miele Beard and Veronica Swanson Beard have more in common that just their names—they are cofounders and codesigners of Veronica Beard, a New York City-based clothing brand for women...

It’s a good time to be in the prosecco business. Over the past 15 years, Prosecco sales have shot sky-high to reach 700 million bottles each year. Easy drinking and a...

Real estate agent Lauren Zurilla isn’t the person who sets a for sale sign in the ground and walks away, satisfied in securing a listing agreement with a homeowner. Although 65%...

Magical things can happen over a glass of good wine. Romances are kindled. New friendships are forged. And for Michael Tonello, a casual conversation led to connections that catapulted his...

Susan sully sold her first book at age 8. Her neighboring sidewalk vendor, a lemonade stand, did better. “She made a lot more money than I did, and I should have...

In the roughly 10 years since opening up as a high-end Downtown Charleston bar that specializes in craft cocktails like The Hemingway for washing down caviar and oysters, the Victor...

Love makes the world go round. But help with planning a wedding it does not. That’s when pairing up with a team that’s garnered The Knot Best of Award multiple...

Sunny and welcoming, the southwestern region of Languedoc in France is home to more than 90,000 acres of vines and some 22,000 winemakers and négociants. Here, white, red, rosé and...

In a fast-paced world, even our beauty routines are on a timer. But with the newly opened FACE FOUNDRIÉ on King Street, that’s no problem. A one-stop shop for facials,...

Entrepreneurs Cindy and Jason Bullock started a new adventure in February 2020, just two months before the state government urged residents to stay at home to avoid the spread of...

When Tracey Wonnacott was young, her parents took her to Paris. She fondly remembers shopping with her mom on the Champs-Élysées and opening the tall doors in her bedroom to...

Rivers meander through many great wine regions, often overlooked for their starring role in leaving an indelible mark on the soils, the climate and, more significantly, the personality of the...

If you were born in Charleston or have lived here most of your life, chances stand at close to 100% that you know about clothier M. Dumas & Sons. The...

Mother-daughter duo Barbara Griesedieck and Corinn Brunson, owners of Julep women’s boutique, appreciate individuality. When they bought their store, then Warren on King, from the former owner in 2016, they...

Choosing a surgeon can be a daunting task for a patient who is already facing daily medical challenges and chronic pain. Those whose challenges involve joint issues, such as hip...

Zinfandel is one of the most historic and beloved red wine grapes of California. First planted by Italian immigrants to the wine country in the early 1800s, Zinfandel is originally...

You don’t have to walk the red carpet runway to receive star treatment at an event decorated by Charleston Charm Paper Flowers. With ingenuity and artistry, entrepreneur Simone Simmons, who...

It’s no secret that the Charleston real estate market is hot, particularly for families outside of the state who are looking for a post-pandemic move to a city with a...

Last fall, archaeologists unearthed a 75,000-square-foot winery estimated to be 1,500 years old in the city of Yavne in central Israel. It was an incredible find. The ancient wine capital...

Aesthetician Stephanie McChesney has been a respected expert on skin care for more than three decades, which is why, when she drops loving truth bombs about the skin care industry, people...

When Natalia Akst texted to let me know she’d just put together a sampler for me, I was excited. I had already spent time aplenty on her website, browsing page after...

JAMES MACPHAIL, THE CALLING

If you think red blends are the latest trend in wine, think again. Wines have been blended for thousands of years. What is new is our tendency to identify wine...

Is Paris ever not inspiring? For artist Helli Luck, it’s been a place where her creativity soars, surrounded by masterpieces housed in places like the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre....

A little girl stands on her tippy-toes, peering into the jewelry box as her mother sorts through her baubles and gems. Rings, bracelets, necklaces and brooches—some are heirlooms, others were purchased...

Jules Taylor is the namesake winemaker of a boutique, woman-owned winery in Marlborough, New Zealand. Known as the “Queen of Sauvignon Blanc,” Taylor wears the title with pride. Born in the...

Previously, I discussed American minerals and some of my recent travels here in the States to uncover remarkable specimens. Not only is the United States filled with extraordinary minerals, but there...

At first glance, Sohn & McClure Jewelers, primely situated on East Bay Street in downtown Charleston, may look like any mainstream jewelry store with its glass cases showcasing sparkling diamonds...

While Ricky Schneider may have been in a field that took a lot of vision for many years, the former creative director of advertising knew that he wanted to use that...

According to south american legend, when God finished creating the earth, the angels came to him with a problem: “We’ve got a lot of mountains, valleys and rivers left over.”...

It may surprise you to learn that judy casey is anything but the fancy filly you might imagine the owner of a luxury women’s boutique to be. Asked to name a...

Zags founder jennifer horton knows all too well the old adage “Necessity is the mother of invention.” The mother of three had been searching for a specific product in vain for...

It was breaking news in the summer of 2015: The New York Post warned that the Hamptons was running “dangerously low” on rosé wines. Thankfully, we no longer face this existential crisis. The country...

IF ACTORS ARE ALL ABOUT ENTRANCES AND PLAYWRIGHTS ABOUT EXITS, designers in the theater are about complementary frameworks, physical and emotional. From elaborate to humble, with sets and props it’s...

I HAVE ALWAYS FANTASIZED ABOUT STARTING FRESH and moving into a house where I bring no décor baggage with me. I would visit all of my favorite stores and pick...

MY CURIOSITY ABOUT ITALIAN RENAISSANCE GARDENS began with the pandemic and a slew of Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens). After the quarantine profoundly reduced tourist activity on Charleston’s narrow sidewalks, I...

MARY ALICE MONROE penned her first story, Willy the Wishful Whale, when she was 8 years old. Not surprisingly, it was about an animal, and it was a foretaste of...

WHEN YOU TIE YOUR BUSINESS FATE to Mother Nature, you sign up for the uncertainty of frost, hail and seasonal swings, not to mention the volatility of climate change. The...

IF YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE PIECES OF JEWELRY, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s your mother’s wedding ring or your own, or the earrings you bought on vacation. Jewelry...

I LIVE SMACK-DAB IN THE MIDDLE of one of the world’s finest arboretums—peninsular Charleston. This plantsman’s paradise has no official name, no admission fees and, under normal circumstances, is always...

IF YOU’VE GOTTEN MARRIED or bought a wedding gift in Charleston in the last 15 years, it’s likely you already know Jeffrey Bannon and his namesake store, Jeffrey Bannon Ltd....

GIOVANNA DE LUCA has achieved something art house cinemas have struggled to do in recent years: complement loyal older patrons with young filmgoers. As founding director of the annual Nuovo...

A FEW WEEKS AGO, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal written by Jason Gay, in which he declared beach body amnesty for the summer of 2020. We...

WHEN I WAS A KID, MY FAMILY TOOK ambitious vacations. Not the kind that utilized plane tickets or Eurail Passes. More like tents and porta-potties. A full week of dry...

IF ANXIETY IS THE ESSENTIAL CONDITION of intellectual and artistic creation, we’ve had plenty of motivation. Nothing focuses awareness and artistic discipline like a crisis. And isolation, for all its...

THE MAGIC ACT OF ART IS ITS capacity to achieve stillness in the midst of chaos. An appreciation of poetry likewise can calm the frenzy, or at least quiet it...

NO TREE EVOKES LOWCOUNTRY AMBIENCE like a sabal palmetto. We cherish this native palm because its logs kept our ancestors safe from flying cannonballs, and we appreciate the way it...

DOUG FROST IS ONE OF ONLY four individuals to attain both the Master of Wine and Master Sommelier titles. He has pinnacled the wine world’s equivalent of Everest (twice) to...

IT’S EARLY THURSDAY MORNING, and Jordan Lash and I have planned to have a conversation about his namesake menswear store on King Street. We were going to talk about the different...

IN THE MID-1800S, Queen Victoria, one of the most fashionable figures in history, began wearing small charms on a bracelet. Each charm was a token of affection or an icon...

IF YOU HAVE EVER FOUND YOURSELF in the unenviable position of telling the determined, relentless 5-year-old girl standing before you with feet planted in fighting stance, arms defiantly crossed on...

IF BOOKS ARE HUMANITY IN PRINT, museums are humanity on display. Here reside beauty, curiosity, ingenuity, education, inspiration, hard realities, comforting truths, entertainment, a sense of wonder and community. Museums,...

NIGEL REDDEN’S FIRST acquaintance with the Spoleto Festival was as a 19-year-old student volunteer in Italy in 1969, seven years before Charleston’s Spoleto Festival USA would realize founder Gian Carlo...

NOT ONLY IS THE REAL ESTATE market in the Charleston area changing rapidly, but the way people buy and sell homes is also changing just as fast. Today, almost half...

MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH the genus Dahlia (D. spp.) began when I was getting ready for Brownie camp. Because I had to receive medical approval before being sent to the...

SALTWATER RUNS THROUGH Shamil Velazquez’s veins. The Delaney Oyster House executive chef hails from the island of Puerto Rico and says “it was music to my ears” when he was...

WHEN DECIDING WHERE TO RETIRE in the Lowcountry, is it even a contest? Cresswind Charleston was named one of the 50 best master-planned communities in the United States by Where...

BORDEAUX IS ONE OF THE MOST celebrated wine regions in the world. It’s a collector’s delight, known for storied names like Lafite, Margaux, Pétrus, and Haut-Brion that command record-breaking auction...

MARCH IS SYNONYMOUS with the Charleston Wine + Food Festival. For five days, from March 4 to 8, 2020, Charleston will serve as the backdrop for a gathering of top...

THOUGH HE IS CERTAINLY not a French lyric poet, Carroll Brown embodies all the qualities of a classic troubadour, and then some. He is a traveling musician of rare gifts,...

I WASN’T RAISED IN A sporty family. Our Marches didn’t contain madness. We were never ready for Monday Night Football. The only conference I cared about was when my parents...

ART, LIKE LIFE, THRIVES WHERE there is a sense of adventure, of extending one’s gaze beyond immediate perceptions. In the 25 years since Mark Sloan took the helm as director...

WHILE RECENTLY SIFTING THROUGH a pile of old gardening files, I came across my bog garden plant list. I had to laugh. Decades ago, I had tried to turn a...

SPERRY CHARLESTON RACE WEEK, or Race Week, as the locals like to call it, will celebrate its 25th edition April 23–26, 2020. Competitors—including America’s Cup winners, Olympians, world champions, professionals,...

CHARLESTON’S ANNUAL Spring Festival of Houses & Gardens returns March 11 and runs through April 18. More than 100 historical houses and gardens will be on display, with afternoon and...

IF YOU ARE AMONG THE IN-THE-KNOW CROWD, you’re probably privy to the sizzling scene at one of Charleston’s top upscale eateries. Burwell’s Stonefire Grill takes the concept of the classic...