Before Galen entered the picture, Hilary Frayne – daughter of an appliance salesman – had a vibrant middle-class upbringing in Dublin, Ireland. She was particularly drawn to the work of the Bloomsbury Group,  a famous circle of English authors, painters and intellectuals that included the great Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, the artist who created one of her very first pieces. “It was a voyage of discovery through reading that finally brought me to be interested in art,” she says. While working as a fashion model around that time, she caught the eye of Galen, who came to Ireland to set up a grocery chain. He was following suit in the entrepreneurial successes of his grandfather George and father Garfield, who thrived in the food industry. A few years later, the two married, simultaneously sparking a union of art that, among a list of things, would later transmit to their children, Alannah and Galen Jr. “We became very interested in drawings per se, so we started to collect French and Italian Renaissance earlier drawings … In those days it was what one could afford, and we felt very fortunate to have been able to buy them at the time because prices for paintings were crazy,” says Weston, whose last name currently sits second on the list of Canada’s wealthiest, with an estimated net-worth of $8 billion, according to Canadian Business magazine.

Alannah vividly remembers growing up in a house where the walls could talk, particularly in the green language of new realism artist Christo, whose work her parents avidly collected. “Ever since I was a little kid I was surrounded by conceptual art, so I remember writing my final exam at Havergal [College] all about Christo and trying to defend the fact that his art was ephemeral, it was temporary even though it cost millions of dollars to create, and then it was gone within a few days,” says Alannah. She has been lauded as a transformative force in her current creative director role at Selfridges, the high-end British department chain her father famously added to an empire that encompasses Loblaw Companies Limited and Holt Renfrew & Co. in 2003. Coincidentally, it was Alannah who would introduce her parents to the world of contemporary art, which she discovered during her studies at the University of Oxford and subsequent stretch as an arts-beat journalist for London’s The Daily Telegraph. “It’s all my fault,” she says, laughing in her sprightly tone while looking back on her mother’s amusement when she would come for a visit and find video installations in the bathroom. Alannah’s laugh elevates and reddens when she tells the story of the time she posed nude for her friend, artist and photographer Beth Derbyshire. “I posed for her undergraduate degree work and my dad was a little shocked so he ended up buying all of the work … so that was a great introduction!”

With the curatorial influence of her daughter, Weston’s newfound affection for contemporary art would inevitably become the pulse of a private residential community her and Galen Sr. established in Vero Beach, Florida more than two decades ago. As creative director, Weston was at the helm when ground broke on Windsor, a 416-acre “village by the sea.” Consisting of 350 uniquely designed luxury home sites, its complementary grounds reflect Weston’s affinity for architecture and horticulture. Windsor was built by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, architects of the new urbanism movement, on a verdant barrier island between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. “Everything there was designed by my parents, really carefully, to kind of reflect all the essential human needs. So, of course, it’s a very privileged place, but at the end of the day, no matter how we live we all want to live in communities, we want to live close by each other, we want places to go to eat, to meet our friends, we want to play; we want to be inspired, and I guess art is part of that,” says Alannah, which is why she made a monumental move in adding a not-for-profit art gallery to Windsor in 2002 while filling in for her mother, who was serving her final year as lieutenant-governor of Ontario at the time. Suffused with natural light, The Gallery at Windsor has featured the works of important contemporary artists such as Peter Doig, Ed Ruscha and Alex Katz. Even the Weston family’s eccentric leading man Christo and his wife, the now-late Jeanne-Claude, have been by for a discussion. Of all its achievements, it’s Weston’s newest project that has her on the edge of her seat.

It’s an idea that came to light under a veil of stars at Windsor when the Westons were hosting Iwona Blazwick, director of the Whitechapel Gallery, London’s century-old art space acclaimed for premiering modern icons like Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso. “It just flowed over dinner one night,” says Weston of the conversation that led to a curatorial collaboration in which Whitechapel Gallery will bring three annual exhibitions to The Gallery at Windsor. “In a way it’s kind of paradoxical,” says Blazwick. “We are absolute opposites: the Whitechapel Gallery is in the east-end of London, it is the most dense, urban, edgy location you could possibly imagine, you know, the sirens never stop … so this seemed like a really exciting idea to go to a place which was like paradise: it’s tropical, it’s on the ocean, it’s got the most incredible lush vegetation,” she remarks, of an east-meets-Weston partnership that begins December 2011 to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach.

For a range of reasons that include the scope of her cultural influence and geographical context, the vibrant, rhythmic screen prints and wood block editions of renowned Brazilian contemporary artist Beatriz Milhazes were selected for the first solo exhibition. “One doesn’t necessarily plan for any of these things, they just take on a life of their own,” says Weston.

Such off-the-cuff undertakings may be a recurring thread in Weston’s life, but it’s never before measuring depth that she decides to dive into a blue pool. Whether it was her decade-long tenure as deputy chair of the board for family owned Holt Renfrew, or her notable term as lieutenant-governor where she fought to bring awareness to youth homelessness and women’s issues, every venture is carefully considered.

Her cautionary approach was perhaps most transparent in 2002, when she accepted the ambitious philanthropic post of Renaissance ROM Campaign Chair, pledging to help raise hundreds of millions of dollars in Canada’s largest cultural fundraising movement. “She took a lot of time and interviewed our board chairs herself before she finally committed herself to lead that campaign,” says the ROM’s former director and CEO William Thorsell, adding that once she came on-board she was very willing to work in the trenches. Thorsell recalls many instances where he and Weston would park their car outside a potential donor’s office tower and strategize over the approach they would employ to get that person to make a massive contribution. “We’d come out and high-five after, so you know, I got to know her well enough that we could do this, but it’s not the Hilary Weston most people see. She’s actually got a great wit, she’s relentless, she doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer in the sense that if somebody says no, she’ll say, ‘that means not yet.’” Her effective persistence even made headlines in The New York Times, which applauded her for famously persuading businessman Michael Lee-Chin to donate the $30 million that revolutionized the architectural face of Bloor Street with the Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. “So much of these things are about understanding and respect, because I think that you can’t expect people to give you money, you’ve got to hope it’s a good fit and that they believe that it’s real,” says Weston, who elevated the campaign with a gift of $20 million split evenly between her and her husband, and The W. Garfield Weston Foundation. “You have to learn how to give money away, that is a lesson in itself.” On another philanthropic page, The Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction recently praised its first winning author with a substantial prize of $60,000.

Like acclaimed contemporary artist David Hockney has said, “The longer you look, the more you see.” Watching Weston articulate her passion for the arts, philanthropy and her upcoming Windsor collaboration is a bit like dipping photographic paper in developer and seeing a portrait gradually emerge. Canada’s closest connection to the royal family is an astute businesswoman, exemplary wife and fun-loving mother, who, according to her daughter, is filled with Irish catchphrases and wise advice like, “Always leave a party when you want to stay a bit longer.” In contrast to her descriptive interpretation of the Toulouse-Lautrec piece, it takes Weston a few moments to harness her definition of a happy life. Not for a lack of words, but for an abundance. “A happy life is being curious in life, and learning through your experience and enjoying it as a result of what you’ve learned … I think it isn’t just one thing, because curiosity brings you into so many different areas and you discover so much about yourself by learning through other people, and one’s always seeking the spiritual in life and I think sometimes you find, and sometimes you don’t, that it comes and it goes, but to have them all is really, truly, the sweet life.”
www.windsorflorida.com
www.westonfoundation.org

1. Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum, Body Lotion and Shower Gel: Renowned designer Tomas Maier debuts a decadent, exclusive scent that’s perfect for that special person in your life. Available at select The Bay stores and Holt Renfrew locations across Canada.

2. Kodak EasyShare Camera: Capture those special moments with this easy-to-use point-and-click camera.

3. CHI Straightener: All frizzed out? Get straight, shiny locks with the power of ceramic technology.

4. Dimples Bracelet: An earth-friendly silver charm bracelet that captures the fingerprint impression of a loved one, newborn infant or pet.

5. Chanel Sublimage La Crème: The ultimate in skin regeneration, this silky cream nourishes your complexion with moisture and radiance while firming facial contours.

6. Keurig Special Edition Brewing System: Good morning, coffee connoisseurs! This special edition single cup brewer is a great holiday gift for those on the go or a friend that entertains.

7. Philip Stein Timepiece: Beneficial to life and health, the frequencies of a Philip Stein watch provide a lifestyle experience that is more resilient and adaptable to stress.

8. Hydra Thermal with Light Therapy Facial Gift Card at King Country Day Spa: This lifting facial with a gentle micro current and light therapy session stimulates the collagen in your skin at the cellular level.

Congratulations to our winners, Eileen & Jim Wright!

Thank you to the following sponsors: Cupido, L’Oro Jewellery, Coty Canada, Chanel, Keurig, King Country Day Spa

“This is a very exciting event,” says Tim Elgar, director of charge cards for American Express Canada, explaining how the private shopping affair, reserved exclusively for Centurion members, awards after-hours access at four of the city’s most coveted boutiques: Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Hermès and Gucci. Valet is at the ready, champagne cascades, exquisite hors d’oeuvres are served, and handsomely attired personnel wait on cardholders hand-and-foot. Every guest is also given a special gift before leaving each shop. Gucci, for example, presented Guccissima leather card cases personalized with gold initials.

With no pre-set limit, the Centurion Card is a mark of affluence and social standing, simultaneously removing barriers and opening doors, granting cardholders perks such as hotel upgrades, bonus reward programs and access to airport lounges. There’s something enigmatic about it. As Elgar notes, “We like to think about it as similar to carrying a private club membership in your wallet.”

A rare beast of personal finance, the ‘black card’ is available by invitation only, requires a $5,000 initiation fee and $2,500 annual fee. And while AmEx won’t disclose further qualifications, you can confidently assume it requires an exorbitant amount of income to even be considered. A fact made clear by the unabashed luxury on display at Blackout on Bloor.

“We reserve it exclusively for the top tier of our card member base here in Canada,” says Elgar, describing the jet-black, hand-forged, engraved and embossed piece of titanium. “There’s really nothing else like it on the planet.”

The perks don’t cease at the boutique. Centurion members have a personal concierge service at the ready for around-the-clock requests that range from the simple day-to-day, like ordering business cards, to the extraordinary. Elgar explains how one cardholder, for example, wished for a cast member of the Gone With the Wind musical to hand his wife flowers during a performance – the request was fulfilled. “We work very hard to understand each Centurion Card member at a very personal and meaningful level so that we can cater all our recommendations and the access we provide for them at an individual level.”

As the shopping winds down, the Gatsbyesque evening fittingly flows to La Société for drinks in cosmopolitan style. Bottles of bubbly pop, freshly uncorked vintages breathe, and no one bats an eye. But why would they? Their black cards have it covered.

www.americanexpress.com

My husband and I started a family foundation in 1991 because it seemed like a good thing to do. The next year I joined  the NY Women’s Foundation Board. On this board, you don’t just read proposals, you go to Coney Island and talk to ex-heroin addicts about HIV and prostitutes. I learned a ton.

I didn’t travel far when our four kids were little, but I travelled to all sides of my city. In New York, it’s all here. My leash made me go micro before macro. I saw the local political landscape. I got onto a zillion non-profit boards and volunteered in little organizations. I got to see what people were stressed out by, whether lack of serviceable office equipment, or rats and guns.

When I finally travelled overseas to Liberia and Egypt, I was stunned — both by the severity of the problems, and by how people had the same struggles all over the world. The issues at job-training programs in Morocco were the same ones I heard in New York. I’m glad I first took the time to learn deeply about the problems at home.

With our family fund, called the Daphne Foundation, we did something smart. We took the time to list the grantees that really moved us. During the reflection process, it was torture to say ‘no’ to requests, but we needed time to get clear. We discovered that we liked to focus on ‘adolescent’ organizations: groups that are no longer “the flavour of the month” for funders although they haven’t yet reached institutional stability. Equipped with this focus, we went seeking our life partners. We have been funding some of the same groups now for 10 years. The Daphne Foundation, now endowed and giving $850,000 a year, has been a third of my total giving.

I recently self-financed an incredible film by and about women peacemakers in Liberia called Pray the Devil Back to Hell. I am happily using my last name to get it publicity, glad that I can put both my money and privilege to such powerful use.

The position I am in life is sometimes challenging. I don’t enjoy that many people are terrified of me, if not because I’m wealthy then because I have a famous family name. The more people are afraid of or intimidated by me, the less they tell me the truth and the harder it is to truly connect. Every room I walk into I am seen as holding the checkbook to solve everyone’s problems. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to die from all the people who want money from me. But if that’s the price for engagement and self-respect, I’m willing to pay it.

A lot of people give away the froth on their cappuccino. Why stop there? Over the past 10 years, I give all the income I don’t spend. I’ve given away about a third of my net worth, although it has come back to me as quickly as I’ve given it away. I’ve started making million-dollar grants payable over four to five years.

But bolder giving isn’t just about grant size; it’s about being out in the world and working with other people. I’m far richer a person because of it.

Excerpted from an interview with Abigail Disney on www.BolderGiving.org, where over a hundred profiles of bold givers can be read.

2. If you’re looking for motivation, look to your wrist for inspiration. With the diamond-encrusted words “Keep Calm and Carry on” strewn across the ebony cuff of this sparkling bangle, you’ll find the strength to get through anything.

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4. Turn your bottles of vino into sparkling gems with these unique bottle stoppers that dazzle with natural amethyst and crystal spikes.

5. Straight from the reels of classic Hollywood sci-fi, Kim Kardashian’s latest line of Beach Bunny Swimwear is out of this world. www.beachbunnyswimwear.com

6. Originally released in 1963, Rolex’s Cosmograph Daytona was designed with the professional racer in mind. Its purposed mechanisms allow drivers to measure circuit time and average speed. www.rolex.com

7. With a 14-karat gold-plated buckle holding a princess-cut amethyst as its crowning jewel, this regal belt is reminiscent of a royal family’s prized heirloom.

8. This unique Infiniti G37 was hand-painted by Montreal artist Heidi Tailler, and auctioned during Masquerave, a culinary event in Whistler, British Columbia that raised funds for the non-governmental organization One Drop. www.infiniti.ca

9. A minimalist, modern masterpiece, the Qlocktwo Touch uses a stylish matrix of letters, as opposed to numbers, to register time. Perfect for that eccentric techie.

10. A unique twist on vintage furniture, this hot pink chair comes upholstered with patterned fabric that demands to be seen.

11. Delivering best wishes, I-love-yous and congratulatory praise in the form of majestic floral arrangements, Dizennio Floral is your first pick. After all, you never know what can blossom from the right bouquet. www.dizenniofloral.com

12. If your thumb is every colour but green, this simple hand-blown glass terrarium is easy to tend to – a pleasant and distinctive centrepiece.

13. A look Audrey Hepburn would adore, this Jimmy Choo clutch is an elegant accessory for those moonlit galas. www.net-a-porter.com

14. For the conscious consumer, Superior Seating Hospitality donates $50 to the Princess Margaret Hospital from the sale of each of these ribbon-shaped chairs. www.superiorsh.com

15. Clive Christian’s No. 1 Perfume is heralded as the world’s most expensive perfume. Using exquisite and rare ingredients, this scent will have you smelling like gold. www.holtrenfrew.com

16. Her eyes will sparkle when she beholds the wondrous beauty of the spectacular pieces and custom creations of Valente Jewellers. www.valentejewellers.com

Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12 available at www.vivre.com

2. The AvenDale Located in Toronto’s Forest Hill neighbourhood, the luxurious lifestyle of The AvenDale  gleams with hotel-style amenities and interiors by Gluckstein Design. www.minto.com

3. Shangri-La Like the manifestation of a fabled paradise, the Shangri-La appears in a stunning display, bringing the luxuries of a prosperous kingdom with it. www.livingshangri-latoronto.com

4. 277 Davenport The clean, modern design of 277 Davenport gives a sharp, metropolitan esthetic that melds perfectly with the city’s fashion-forward mentality. www.277dav.com

5. One Bloor A monument to the spirit of the city’s bustling core, One Bloor reaches for the heavens, towering over Toronto with wonder and affluence. www.onebloor.com

6. 1717 Avenue Road Without pretence or ostentation, 1717 Avenue Road manages to capture the prominence of this celebrated area through a soft look and artistic landscape. www.tributecommunities.com

7. Schoolhouse Loretto College’s traditional brick façade has been enhanced with contemporary condo living at Schoolhouse – Empire Communities’ latest venture into The Annex. www.schoolhouseannex.com

“That day was devastating,” says president Frank Luchetta, sitting at a table surrounded by his sister Ida Pusateri, her children Rosanna and Sammy Pusateri and general manager John Mastroianni. The day he’s referring to is Oct. 20, 2011, when Pusateri’s flagship was ordered to close due to a pest issue. “It’s been non-stop, no sleep … it affected everybody. We were all shocked because it’s just something that’s never, ever happened,” says Rosanna, who grew up in the aisles of a company founded by her late father, Cosimo Pusateri. This news was particularly unexpected of a gourmet grocery brand that’s considered Toronto’s crème de la crème. “It was devastating because we let our customers down and we recognize that we have to regain their trust,” Luchetta adds, who was overwhelmed by the support his family received from local chefs, suppliers and loyal customers who called and made public appearances to display their fidelity. Jennifer Montemarano is one of those customers. “I was back the day after they reopened. I think my initial reaction was shock,” says Montemarano, whose been shopping at Pusateri’s for the past 10 years. “I just think everybody deserves a second chance. I know how devastating this was to them, and I know that they will do everything in their power to never let anything like this happen again.”

It’s in these circumstances that a business has to choose a fight-or-flight response that will measure recovery and dictate the future. Standing in solidarity with its burgeoning staff, Pusateri’s reopened three days later with an entirely new outlook on what they would do to not only win back loyalty, but surpass industry expectations. Its road to recovery is paved by a Gold Standard campaign that’s founded on principles of transparency and is committed to quality assurance and customer service. “In our stores and on our products, you’ll now see a gold seal that represents our family’s promise to our customers and friends,” says Luchetta. Their pledge is a commitment to excellence in all categories, something their selective clientele have come to expect.

Another fundamental facet of the campaign is bringing in former York Region health protection manager Dominic Fortuna as Pusateri’s full-time vice president of quality assurance. “I have an opportunity at this point to develop a program that you’ll never find anywhere else,” says Fortuna, who has more than 15 years of government and private sector experience standing on the other side as an inspector and manager responsible for ensuring food safety and public health. His multi-tiered approach includes self-enforcing monthly inspections, refining existing procedures and implementing additional standards to ensure Pusateri’s is surpassing the industry’s current quarterly protocol.

“Out of every challenge comes opportunity, for us that opportunity came while reflecting on our founding principles,” says Luchetta. Cosimo Pusateri began his brand in 1986 with the vision of establishing a fine food retail concept that was non-existent at the time. Toronto foodies no longer had to fly to Italy and France to fill their fridges with foreign delicacies, as they were now exclusively available at Pusateri’s. His idea caught on like flambéed crêpe suzette as many of the city’s top chefs and discerning consumers called on his idiosyncratic selections for rare ingredients, event catering and homemade gastronomy. Suppliers from around the world wanted their specialty products to find their place on Pusateri’s shelves; for many, belonging to the local luxe-mart was a mark of accomplishment. “Cosimo had insight, and that’s what it takes to make successful businesses. I call it the sixth sense, always knowing what’s next. It’s not always easy to find that,” says Vincent Liberatore, whose been supplying his Continental Noodles Ltd. products to Pusateri’s for 16 years.

Today, the community fixture has added a couple more links to its intimate independent chain, with locations in Yorkville and its most recent in Bayview Village Mall, bringing the staff total to more than 600. Famous faces that take advantage of Pusateri’s chefs and cuisine include U2’s Bono, The Rolling Stones and Kim Cattrall, who Ida says was seen shopping at the Yorkville location almost daily during her recent stay in Toronto.

With steaming housemade coffees in hand, everyone sitting at the table is confident that the implementation of gold standards and superior customer service will allow them to continue providing shoppers the same exceptional experience that Cosimo envisioned. Heading back downstairs and seeing the eccentric Manoucher Etminan serving his internationally sold specialty breads, as food-preneurs often come in to do, and finding out that 79-year-old Nonna Dina had stopped by earlier to make Hello Dollies for her clients, it’s clear that many of Pusateri’s tender traditions are still in tact. “We look at it as the three F’s: family, friends and food. It doesn’t matter what you do, if it’s a baby shower or a wedding or a bat mitzvah, whatever it is, at the end of the day, the thing that pulls it all together is family and breaking bread together,” says Mastroianni. www.pusateris.com

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Classic Custom Kitchens
La Cornue’s handmade kitchen ranges are not only crafted with care, but fitted with first-rate fixtures brimming with esthetic charm. www.lacornue.com

Clearly Bright
Kartell follows up its iconic Ghost Chair with the Bourgie lamp: a classically shaped source of light that exudes modern innovation with its polycarbonate make. www.kartell.it

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Dress with Love
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This recent Toronto exhibition showcased the evolution of Fellini’s style, shifting from neorealism to the surreal, subconscious explorations of dreams and fantasy. “Federico Fellini is one of the great masters of cinema,” says Noah Cowan, artistic director at TIFF Bell Lightbox and curator for the Fellini exhibit. “Fellini really fills in the news these days … and I think he can tell us about our celebrity obsessed culture.”

As one of his earlier works, Nights of Cabiria (1957) stems from Fellini’s neorealist roots, where his films were littered with tales of wacky dreamers, circus performers, prostitutes, seducers and swindlers. They revolve around “the provinces,” or about crazy provincials always dreaming and going to Rome, which, of course, Fellini did himself. “He was really actually involved in this whole post-war renaissance of Italian cinema,” says Peter Bondanella, a retired distinguished professor emeritus of comparative literature and film studies in Italian at Indiana University, and author of The Cinema of Federico Fellini (Princeton University Press, 1992).

“What people didn’t understand about Fellini,” adds Bondanella, “was he was actually one of the best scriptwriters in the neorealist period.” In fact, Fellini was nominated for an Academy Award in 1947 for Best Writing, Screenplay for his work on Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City.

His cerebral method was rich in imagination, bringing challenge and criticism, humour and melancholy. In La Dolce Vita (1960), for example – a film which marked a stylistic turning point in his career – not only does Fellini introduce the world to the term “paparazzi,” he magnifies society’s growing obsession with celebrity culture, presenting beauty while exposing the darker, superficial flipside of the ‘the sweet life.’ “In many ways, Fellini sort of anticipated a PR society, a kind of Murdoch sort of world of fake journalism,” says Bondanella. Although often critical, Fellini’s work has inspired fashion designers, hotels, restaurants and publishers to embrace the sweet life, as Cowan explains, “Because of La Dolce Vita he really became a kind of symbol of European style and elegance.”

Throughout his prestigious career, Fellini was nominated for and won a mountain of international film awards. Six of his films captured Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language film for La Strada in 1957, Nights of Cabiria in 1958, 8 1/2 in 1964 (which also made GQ’s “The 25 Most Stylish Films of All Time” list) and Amarcord in 1975, Best Costume Design, Black and White for La Dolce Vita in 1962, and Best Costume Design for Fellini’s Casanova in 1977. In 1993, he was also presented with an honorary award from the Academy in recognition of his cinematic accomplishments, only months before he died of complications from a stroke.

Today, Fellini’s influence still runs deep. Great filmmakers, such as Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Terry Gilliam, Spike Jonze and Woody Allen have all pointed to Fellini as an influence. His powerful, dreamlike imagery and compelling storytelling not only demonstrated his vision and complete understanding of art, but most importantly, showed the world what the power of imagination could do.

With movie screenings, gallery exhibitions, wine tastings, debate society dinners, fundraisers, launches and author sessions held every month, the three-tiered club with its exposed brick and raw hardwood acts as an organic platform for networking. “We often see members doing business together as a result of meeting here … it just happens naturally,” says president Pierre Jutras, glancing at the panoramic views of Toronto from the rooftop patio. As a work-and-playground, The Spoke Club functions quite efficiently; a screening room for films and boardroom meetings, several dining areas for private parties and dinners, a gallery for showcasing and admiring art, a library for quiet time and of course, cocktail bars.

Conceived in 2004 by the next generation of Canada’s esteemed Weston family, Alannah and Galen, The Spoke Club is evolving the concept of exclusive establishments, echoing a similar sentiment to Soho London’s The Groucho Club and New York City’s Norwood. “[Galen] has always cared about the arts, and that is the primary reason he opened the club,” says Jutras. Combine that with Alannah’s history as an art critic for The Daily Telegraph, and you have a picture-perfect partnership.

So how does this club keep its heart beating in an industry that’s infamous for short lifespans? “You stick to your guns and you separate yourself from everybody else by filling a need that is not offered,” says Jutras, emphasizing that its niche environment is intended to co-exist with its neighbours, rather than compete.

While you certainly shouldn’t judge this club by it’s covertness, you should judge its books, as every member is asked to reveal their favourite literary piece upon signing up so it can be added to the library; one of many silent subtleties at The Spoke Club.
www.thespokeclub.com