All posts tagged: LUMINARIES

See Luxury in a New Light with: Wynton Marsalis

Published by Pamela Thomas-Graham

The Dandelion Chandelier Luminary Café is the place to find a series of personal interviews with fascinating people who are stellar achievers in their chosen field of endeavor. Our Luminaries are sharing their origin stories, life philosophies, secret songs, guilty pleasures and hidden talents. It’s guaranteed to be illuminating.  Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader, an educator and a leading advocate of American culture. A child prodigy, at age 14 he performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic. He attended Juilliard, afterward performing with several jazz legends, including Art Blakey, Sweets Edison, Elvin Jones, John Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn. Through his tireless performing and teaching, Wynton rekindled widespread interest in jazz throughout the world and inspired a renaissance that attracted a new generation of fine young talent to jazz. In the realm of classical music, Wynton has recorded 11 classical records, to critical acclaim. He has produced over 80 records, including three Gold Records. A prolific and inventive composer, he has created and performed an expansive range of music for groups of …

How to Get Your Child into Private School

Published by Lawrence Otis Graham

Getting children into private school is one of the most emotional and potentially stressful endeavors that parents can voluntarily undertake. In our ongoing series here at Dandelion Chandelier, our Luminary Lawrence Otis Graham shares his inside advice and tips on how to achieve your family’s goals while staying sane and keeping your kids that way, too. This is the second of his entries on how to manage the private school application process. In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the importance of applying to schools that seem appropriate for both your child and for your family. In the mad dash to keep up with friends, neighbors and others who talk about the most popular schools or the most rigorous schools, as parents we can lose sight of which school will provide the best curriculum and approach for our child as an individual. This next article will address how to best organize and how to best “present” your child and your family during the application process.  Future articles will tell you what to expect and …

See Luxury in a New Light with: Billy Peelle

Published by Pamela Thomas-Graham

The Dandelion Chandelier Luminary Café is the place to find a series of personal interviews with fascinating people who are stellar achievers in their chosen field of endeavor. Our Luminaries are sharing their origin stories, life philosophies, secret songs, guilty pleasures and hidden talents. It’s guaranteed to be illuminating.  Billy Peelle is the General Manager of Eleven Madison Park. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Billy attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in Art History and Political Science.  It had always been his intention to work in hotels and restaurants; after college, he went to work for the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. Subsequently, he moved to New York City and attended the French Culinary Institute, while also working as a cook, to deepen his understanding of restaurant operations. Upon graduation, he took a job as a kitchen server at Eleven Madison Park, where he ultimately rose to Captain.  In 2012, Billy became one of the opening managers at the NoMad, Eleven Madison Park’s sister restaurant. In the years since, he has been a manager at both restaurants, holding …

Diamonds and Their Artisan Sparkle in a London Townhouse

Published by Pamela Thomas-Graham

Let’s go shopping for diamonds! Here at Dandelion Chandelier, we’ve been exploring the dazzling world of haute joaillarie. In the rarefied sphere of high jewelry, the highest possible level is bespoke pieces, custom-made for individual clients. Like haute couture, haute joaillerie items are made to order and crafted by hand, with intense collaboration and interaction between the jewelry designer and the client. The items are heirloom quality and – like royal jewels – each one has a story behind it. If you’re operating at this price point, you have the option of working with one of the storied European jewelry houses: Asprey, Bulgari, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, Graff, Cartier, Chanel and Dior. An alternative that many sophisticated clients are turning to is working directly with an artist who is designing jewelry independently. The advantage of this approach is that as a client, you are intimately involved in every step of the process. You’ll receive highly personal attention from a skilled artisan. You’ll also be the owner of a piece that is truly one-of-a-kind, …

See Luxury in a new light with: Jessica McCormack

Published by Pamela Thomas-Graham

The Dandelion Chandelier Luminary Café is the place to find a series of personal interviews with fascinating people who are stellar achievers in their chosen field of endeavor. Our Luminaries are sharing their origin stories, life philosophies, secret songs, guilty pleasures and hidden talents. It’s guaranteed to be illuminating.  Jessica McCormack designs exceptional diamond jewelry, handcrafted in her dedicated London atelier. The daughter of an auctioneer, Jessica grew up in New Zealand and inherited her father’s passion for interesting and unusual antiques, which led her to London to work in the jewelry department at Sotheby’s. In 2008, she began her career as a jeweler in partnership with diamantaire Michael Rosenfeld. Her bespoke and collection jewelry is hand-crafted and inspired by a wide-ranging set of influences, including contemporary African art, the Bauhaus movement, mid-Century American architecture, feminist photography and ancient design work. Her studio is located in a 19th century townhouse in the heart of Mayfair.