In 1919, 11 years after creating the first commercial mixer, Hobart Manufacturing Co. built a home version featuring a unique mixing action that prompted one enthusiastic tester to exclaim, “It was the best kitchen aid I’ve ever had!” Such were the beginnings of Hobart’s KitchenAid trademark, which has become an archetype for kitchen equipment worldwide. […]
What Michael Jansen has learned most from the last decade of touring and working in Africa, Thailand, India, Egypt, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines is that “we are all a little overdone in our ‘urban-ity.’ Quite frankly,” says the American-born, India-based architect, hotel interior designer, and globe-trotter, “our technology and automobiles and Italian furniture design […]
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Sonus Faber, the Italian company universally acknowledged for revolutionizing the shape of dynamic loudspeakers, celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with not one, but two significant events. The first was the construction of a 12,000-square-foot factory in Vicenza. The building opened in September, in time to commence manufacture of the other anniversary marker, the Stradivari […]
Mr. G, a New Jersey businessman who prefers to retain his anonymity, did not get the home theater that he wanted, and he could not be more pleased. He initially envisioned and requested something simple, not a project that the nation’s leading electronics installers would recognize as one of the best home theaters built in […]
When Haze Richardson bought a 77-foot yacht with a friend in 1964, he had no intention of acquiring an island as well. But a leisurely, aimless journey aboard the Jacinta, a three-decades-old mahogany-and-oak schooner, brought Richardson to Petit St. Vincent, a 113-acre spot of land in the Grenadines that he purchased and ultimately transformed into […]
Like the maharajas of yore seated atop the weathered gray hides of their stately elephant transports, guests at Aman-i-Khás in Rajasthan, India, depart in custom open-top jeeps in search of the elusive tiger. The morning sun rises over the scrub forest as the expectant explorers, sipping hot chocolate in the backseat, prepare for their encounter […]
Although just a short drive and one-mile catamaran ride from Cairns International Airport, Double Island is best accessed by helicopter. The five-minute flight soars over the steep headlands of Australia’s northeast coast before hurtling across the tropical blue waters of Trinity Bay and setting down on this pristine private isle. Named for the two distinct […]
The 12th-century hermit St. Gerlach would approve of his namesake hotel’s remove from the bustle of modern life. But the knight-turned-holy-man, who lived his last decade in a hollow tree, would surely be scandalized by its comforts. Set on 12.4 acres in the Netherlands’ Geul Valley, Hotel Château St. Gerlach is a 97-room rustic retreat […]
Cocktail hour is a time-honored tradition at the Lodge on Little St. Simons Island. Picnic tables sit below ghostly tendrils of Spanish moss on the front lawn. Guests shuck oysters and snack on fried green tomatoes, sipping spirits in the shadow of 100-year-old oaks. A fire crackles in the hearth of the adjacent lodge, which, […]
Mexico’s sixth highest peak—a dormant, often white-tipped volcano befittingly named El Nevado de Colima (snowy one of Colima)—provides a stunning backdrop to the lush forest and meticulously manicured grounds surrounding Mahakua-Hacienda de San Antonio. Still more spectacular is El Nevado’s active brother, Volcán del Fuego (volcano of fire), which offers up perpetual wisps of white […]
“How did you hear about us?” this is the question put to all who phone the Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs, Calif. The answer often given is from a friend—or, even more often, from one of the ranch’s 85 Colonists, or residents, for whose guests the 20-acre central compound, which lies at the heart […]
There are no roads, cars, or airports on Qamea. The island—the 12th largest in the heavily trafficked Fiji archipelago—comprises just a handful of rustic villages. Anchored along the northern perimeter of the 330-island nation—and accessible only by boat—it is void of solicitors, day-trippers, and, with one exception, resorts. The Qamea Resort and Spa, the only […]
When the decadence and decay that are the charms of Venice have worn thin, adjacent towns of the Veneto Plain offer a quiet respite. Bassano del Grappa, a walled medieval city of 40,000 inhabitants—and birthplace of Italy’s preferred after-dinner drink—lies just 45 miles west of the Venice airport. Yet the town affords the finest of […]
Our November 1994 feature “Caribbean Hideaways” may have inadvertently left some readers with the mistaken impression that lavishly appointed tropical vacation homes were the exclusive domain of celebrities, or that celebrities were the only people who sought the benefits of such retreats. The article allowed readers a peek inside the Mustique villas of Mick Jagger […]
Bill Harlan is a patient man. He has had to be, having pursued dual careers in real estate development and winemaking, neither of which dispenses immediate returns. After cofounding Pacific Union Co. in 1975, he and his partner, Peter Stocker, built the firm into one of the 20 largest commercial and residential property developers in […]
Provenance Vineyards 2001 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon For winemaker Tom Rinaldi, a wine’s beauty and integrity lie at its source. And the sources of Provenance Vineyards’ wines are impeccable: the Oakville, Carneros, and Rutherford regions of Napa Valley. The Cabernet vines have well-established roots and are mature, ensuring consistent and robust flavors. In the 2001 Rutherford, […]
Helmut Bührle espouses some radical ideas. Contrary to almost every tobacconist and connoisseur in the United States, this German businessman believes that storing cigars in an airtight humidor is as ill-advised as leaving them on a bureau. “If the humidor or the cigar case is as airtight as a diving bell, the cigar lacks oxygen to […]
Tempo is a word that comes to mind when savoring a meal in the building where the Los Angeles Philharmonic resides. Timing is as crucial to fine dining as it is to music, and the beige-suited servers at Patina, the city’s new temple of gastronomy, seem to know instinctively when to appear and when to […]
The morning air is crisp as I ride toward the field with a mallet balanced on my shoulder, the smell of grass and the tranquil, rustic setting putting me at ease. I have come to La Eloisa estancia, an Argentine farm and polo estate in the village of Las Heras, located 50 miles from Buenos […]
Sex is something not usually associated with fastidious watchmakers. Nevertheless, sex—in lurid, sometimes shockingly graphic detail—has a place in traditional Swiss watchmaking right alongside time-honored complications such as the chronograph. Erotic watches possess a similarly long history and level of mechanical sophistication, and their makers belong on a roster of prestigious manufacturers. The most typical […]
If your notion of an ideal spa involves a calming massage, a relaxing sauna, or a soothing facial, think twice before entering New York’s Exhale Mind Body Spa. “We’re not about beauty and pampering,” insists Annbeth Eschbach, its founder and CEO. “Our treatments are transformational in nature—for both the mind and body.” At its […]
Gallery is a term usually used in association with the fine arts of painting, photography, and sculpture. But at the Aaron Faber Gallery in New York City, precious metals and gemstones are the artistic media. “When we established the gallery in the ’70s, we put gold and gems in the hands of traditional artists […]
When Richard Kessler, chief executive of the Kessler Enterprises hotel group, placed the winning $3,000 bid on an Auke Hempenius wool suit at a recent March of Dimes auction in Orlando, he did not realize the outfit he secured for a third of its retail value might one day become a collector’s item. After all, […]
The right accessories distinguish a man’s personal style and provide an opportunity for a little self-expression. Despite this important role, accessories can too easily be regarded as afterthoughts—supporting characters to the star power of fine tailored clothing or designer sportswear. Likewise, many of the most innovative accessories makers toil in relative obscurity, far from the […]
More than a craft, watchmaking is, for some, a compulsion. I learned this during a recent session with Jaeger-LeCoultre’s master watchmaker Sylvain Golay (pictured below). I also learned that in the realm of fine watchmaking, one ill-timed sneeze can blow apart an entire afternoon’s work. Golay is one of the few people who can produce […]
For many, the indelible image of the Vespa involves a shapely ingenue, her tresses flowing in the spring air, zipping through the roundabouts of a European capital aboard the charming two-wheeler. This perception contradicts the reality of the latest Vespa: the $4,900 Granturismo, the first new Vespa since 1996 and the largest, fastest, and most […]
Push can quickly come to shove in the Porsche 911 GT3. With its minimalist bent—no traction control, no Porsche Stability Management system—an aggressive stomp on the accelerator, especially during a turn in first gear, could encourage the rear-wheel-drive GT3 to swing sideways and sweep the street with its 18-inch rear tires. Indeed, the 911 Turbo, […]
In 1954, Mercedes-Benz rolled out a vehicle so unique and so revolutionary that it gained universal praise. Not only did the 300SL Gullwing capture the eyes and imagination of the general public, but the car also drew cheers from hard-core racers, auto enthusiasts, and engineers. Half a century of achievement and judgment has done nothing […]
To the inexperienced traveler, chartering a yacht to cruise the coast of Chile sounds like a straightforward proposition. After all, purveyors of the finest vacations afloat pride themselves on offering one-of-a-kind experiences around the globe. In reality, booking charters for destinations other than the standard locales of New England, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean can […]
As she sidestepped shards of steel and gnarled clumps of wiring, Karen Bamford applauded herself for choosing blue jeans over a business suit on that day three years ago, in Victoria, British Columbia. The interior designer was tiptoeing through the hull of the CCGS Narwhal, a retired Canadian Coast Guard cutter that Florida businessman Arnie […]
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