DesignSTL January/February 2022

A ROOM IS never truly complete until the art is up on the walls and the objects we love are sitting on shelves and adorning the mantelpiece, inviting us to reflect on where we were or who we were with when we first laid eyes on them. Art is perhaps the finishing touch in a house, because it says so much about who we are and what we value. The subjects of this month’s issue certainly know this to be true. The devoted collectors profiled on pages 34-37 fill their homes with objects inspired by a childhood passion or the memory of a beloved family member. Dr. John Merkle can trace his interest in ancient art to his grade school days, and he’s spent much of his adult life amassing…

CONNECT @revelandheartenrevelandhearten.com FLOWERS ARE MARCIE SHERMAN’S preferred medium for telling stories. This is true whether she’s designing an installation for a museum, photo-styling an interior space, or creating arrangements for a client’s dinner party at home. The artist says she “sculpts with flowers,” paying close attention to lighting and height, perspective and texture, composition and color theory. “Flowers have such a short life,” says Sherman, a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design. “I want them to be as impactful as possible.” An important aspect of the artist’s work is knowing where to get the healthiest, most beautiful blooms. Using local suppliers is a priority, but Sherman has also developed close working relationships with independent flower farmers and vendors from Maine to Oregon. “It’s taken years to build that…

INSPIRATION, SAYS ARCHITECT Brian Smith, “comes in little doses or big doses almost every day.” It’s in the sight of a beautiful house, a landscape, a photograph. “We get inspiration from everything.” But the greatest source, he says, is happiness itself. “I think it’s a matter of feeling happy, feeling alive,” says Smith, president and owner of Gunn & Smith Architects. For Smith, feeling happy and alive is often tied to feeling at ease in his surroundings. As a 35-year resident of the St. Louis area with an affinity for cities, Smith draws energy from feeling like he’s a part of the city he knows and loves. So when it was time to find a new office space, the Central West End’s big-city character and vibrant community was a natural…

CONNECT @artifact_stl BY HAND PRETTY MOTHS HANG suspended in frames. A piece of paper on a clipboard is adorned with a sketch of a fruit bat hanging from a tree branch. Each of these beautiful little tableaux has been painstakingly crafted, by hand, in embroidery thread by Maggie Jackman, who sells her art under the name Artifact. In her latest work, the Curiosities collection, Jackman immortalizes natural artifacts in paper, thread, and fabric. “I really just like little things in nature,” Jackman says. “I love being outside and noticing small things, and the collection is inspired by that. I have a shelf in my bedroom that has pinned butterflies and weird bugs in jars and things like that, so it’s kind of just going off that.” Curiosities is the latest in…

IT’S TOUGH TO find old-growth longleaf pine lumber for sale. The tree, Pinus palustris, once blanketed the American South. It was prized by builders for its tall, straight growth and its dense heartwood. Because of overcutting, it’s not commercially harvested much, and restoration efforts are underway. But you can still find some reclaimed long-leaf to buy in St. Louis. The first guy many people check with is Bruce Gerrie. Gerrie, who is 72, doesn’t employ a salesperson or receptionist other than himself. When I arrive at his lot at American Timber Salvage, in Near North Riverfront, I wander among high-roofed sheds and scattered wood stacks. One customer, a stairbuilder named Mike Hoelzer, is loading longleaf heart pine onto a trailer. “Good luck finding that specific wood anywhere else,” Hoelzer tells…

REAL ESTATE, CONTRACTORS, ARCHITECTS THE WORDS “LEAD,” “ACHIEVE,” “discover,” and “contribute” are emblazoned on the walls of the Lieberman Learning Center. That’s an alternative educational program for youth in the University City School District. The 60 or so high school students enrolled at LLC returned this fall to classrooms in a building that had been refurbished and is now adorned with three colorful murals, symbolizing the themes of values, graduation, and community. St. Louis artist Sara Zigman, who works in large-scale public installations, was hired to design the visuals. By introducing art into the school’s hallways, administrators are hoping to reenergize students now that they’ve resumed in-person studies after almost a full year of virtual learning. “The [students] are excited about the new space, especially coming off a year impacted…