Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2022 i DesignSTL

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 @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…

The McMiller brothers want to introduce themselves—and their dad—to television audiences. REAL ESTATE WAS never their thing. In fact, Willie and Jon McMiller loathed their childhood roles as unpaid assistants—cleaning, painting, and hauling tools around dusty old houses in St. Louis. The brothers, who grew up in Florissant, wanted to earn a few dollars for helping their dad renovate houses. “Instead,” says Willie with a laugh, “we worked for gummy bears.” Little did they know how much that early experience would pay off later on in life. The McMillers have wrapped filming on their own HGTV pilot, My Flipping Family, which gives viewers a look into their lives as they buy, rehab, and sell homes around St. Louis. Last year, Deadline.com reported that HGTV, a Discovery-owned network, OK’d My Flipping…

ANTIQUITIES As you open the door of Dr. John Merkle’s 1890s Compton Heights home, it’s hard to settle your eyes on a single object. Your gaze darts from an enormous framed mirror, unearthed from a basement at Saint Louis University, to the stained glass window in the stairwell, or around a corner to dozens of Chinese funerary sculptures and, finally, down into the living room—mind the step—where they’re drawn to a collection of ancient Roman jewelry. The semi-retired physician’s interest in collecting began early, spurred by classes in ancient history in grade school in the 1960s. “My buddies were collecting baseball cards, and I was collecting Roman coins,” says Merkle, 66, whose bedroom now features a display table filled with ancient coins from various cultures. “The sixth grade was Old…

Philip Slein has been a mainstay in the St. Louis art scene since he first opened his namesake Philip Slein Gallery downtown, in 2003. In 2012, he moved the gallery to its current location, in the Central West End, where it features a rotating roster of painters working in a variety of styles who have achieved regional and international reputations. Although his gallery is minimalist in its aesthetic, at home Slein is a self-described maximalist. He recently moved from a downtown loft to an Olivette ranch house, which he’s filled with beloved pieces, from paintings to photos, sculptures, and clocks. “I have work hanging that is actually touching each other. It’s full because I’m not really decorating with the art; I’m living with it and I’m collecting it and I…

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…

Bryan Laughlin, executive director at Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers, says that developing a passion is key to starting a collection. “What’s shocking to me is that people don’t understand what they love,” he says. “You have to educate yourself and find out what inspires, what moves, and what draws you as an individual.” From there, Laughlin recommends taking charge of your chosen collectible, whether it’s antique glass or classic convertibles, understanding where and how to source it, asking questions, and doing research. St. Louis can be a good place to buy, because market values don’t match those of larger, international cities. “There’s going to be some things you can find here that are Asian arts, for example, that you will not be able to ever purchase in Shanghai or Beijing…

ON THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS SHE LEARNED FROM BUILDING HER OWN HOUSE: 1. BE PATIENT. “The process is worth it, but it can be long and slow. It’s important to be present during the building process and to check in on all of the trades as the home is coming together. Plan to spend a lot of time at the house once it’s framed and construction starts moving along.” 2. KEEP TALKING. “Maintaining a dialogue among all parties involved is key to a successful outcome. I always remind my clients that there is a solution to everything. Hiccups will happen, and it was an important reminder going through my own custom build.” 3. HIRE THE RIGHT TEAM. “You will be working closely with your builder/architect/designer, and all of the…

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…

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…