October 2020 Issue

Artist Spotlight | An Artist In Any Medium: From Fashion To Water Color

In 2006, a determined Barbara Beach walked into a Charleston boutique with children’s dresses that she had designed and sewn together. The owner quickly added them to the inventory, and eventually shops from West Ashley to King Street were carrying Barbara Beach Designs for the poshest tots. Women would stare at the carefully crafted dresses and secretly wish the apparel were in adult sizes (this writer is guilty as charged). The demand for these classic with a modern twist creations was gaining traction across Charleston when Beach was named a Charleston Fashion Week (CFW) Emerging Designer in 2010. This accolade included a fashion show where her small models took the

Creative Ways to Celebrate Halloween

5 Ways to have to Spooky Good Time Fall is one of my favorite times of the year — you get to wear sweatshirts and leggings and drink pumpkin-spice-flavored everything. There is also another reason that I love fall and that’s Halloween. October is the beginning of the Halloween season, or “Spooky Season,” as I like to call it. Usually around this time my friends and I would be figuring out our Halloween costumes. This year I was looking forward to college Halloween parties and I would be planning out the best trick-or-treat routes through our neighborhood. Now every one of those activities is not possible because of COVID-19. So

Lux Libations

Whether you are 21 or 90, a Cosmo drinker or an IPA drinker, odds are that you’ve at least tried an Old Fashioned. It’s one of the few drinks you can order at just about any bar, nightclub, or restaurant and end up with something involving whiskey, sugar, and bitters. Now, will it be a sugar cube or simple syrup? Muddled orange or cherry? Bourbon or rye? I prefer mine with rye whiskey, simple syrup, and without the muddled fruit, but to each his own. So why can we find some variation of an Old Fashioned just about anywhere? Well, for starters, it’s usually pretty good, so people feel confident

Something Spectacular Comes This Way

Fuse Set to Open in Downtown Aiken Pre-Halloween If there is a worse time to consider remodeling an old building, taking on the expense of upscaling a commercial kitchen, and opening a prime space restaurant in the downtown Aiken area, I can’t imagine when it would be. But Fuse has persevered through the COVID-19 era storm and will soon be coming out the other end, with an opening date yet to be determined but estimated before Halloween 2020. Chef “Naj,” as Chris Najmola is affectionately known, is excited to bring his innovative culinary taste to the Aiken community. Aiken is Exactly the Community Chef Chris was Searching for Chris chose

Who is Bella 14 Reasons We Should All Strive to #BeBella

When I was growing up outside of the South, Southern girls fascinated me. The way that they sauntered around, the sweet tones that came from their mouths, and the effortless way that they made even the most cutting phrases sound charming — all this was mystifying to me. Now that I live in the South, I see that there is much more underneath “Bella.” Bella isn’t about being from a certain area or having an accent — it is the way that a woman carries herself with grace and confidence and uses her femininity in such a way that she commands respect. Bella is a woman who stands up for

Be Bella

Publisher’s Letter From Your Fearless Leader “If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.” A. A. Milne It is Fall Y’all! The air is crisp and the leaves are beginning to change. The colorful pallet across the earth sparks vibes of creativity and stirs my soul. Inspiration appears in the pumpkins adorning doorways and leaves gently falling from the trees. This month’s issue is all about creativity. We have been joyfully