Juliet Rome got a little life and it made me uncomfortable. So I sat with my friends, The Three Questions: Who are you? Who are you not? Why do you do what you do?
In recent issues of the medical drama we watch, a prominent diagnostician was brought in to unravel the mystery of a failing patient. Daringly, she removed the layers of life-sustaining, pain-masking medications to wait and watch for the signs she knew would emerge to reveal the origin of the illness.
Remember the Blue Light Special post? Reluctant to say au revoir to our Christmas tree, I made it a blue tree for a month. Needing to turn to the possibility of spring we took it down and the vacated space asked first for the spirit man, our steel and bronze sculpture we found at the La Quinta art fair decades ago. In a conversation that day with Kurt Runstadler, the late contemporary American glass sculptor who created the nearly 6-foot sculptures to reflect the human spirit, he said he’d lost his way. A professor friend encouraged him to look back at when his talent budded and study his youthful work. That, and a trip to Africa, birthed his unique and compelling collection.
Vinho Verde, which I’ve just discovered and really like, is a Portuguese wine that’s young, light-bodied and slightly effervescent. It’s produced and released from the winery between three to six months after the grapes are harvested.
Green wine, Grey’s Anatomy and the spirit man Runstadler titled “What can you do?” connect the dots for me. In work, J. and I partner to create and elevate beautiful brands. On behalf of our clients, we are influencers. In life, I’d very much like to be known as an illuminator.
In that spirit, Juliet Rome will continue to celebrate and point. Watch for the Table Talk Shopkeeper Series, the first in a collection of long-form conversations, coming soon. Meet everyday people who are the origin and effervescent spirit behind beauty. In the first Shopkeeper post, meet Robin Burns, the perennially youthful retail force behind the Webster House in Kansas City in the Midwest.
