Creative Living_Summer 2015

®

PLUS:

KEEPING A BUSINESS IN THE FAMILYSTARTING A FITNESS JOURNEY

Finding meaning in change

Inspiration for the Northwestern Mutual Community

S U M M E R 2 0 1 5

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE

Creative Living’s editorial mission is to bring you thought-provoking articles and inspiring ideas to enrich your daily life. In each issue, we also provide helpful tips and tools to help you achieve fi nancial security.

This exclusive quarterly magazine is a refl ection of the Northwestern Mutual community, with advice and vision from the people we serve. We encourage you to join the conversation and share your story with us.

[email protected]

IS A GIFT TO YOU FROM

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Editor

COVER: THOMAS ALLEMAN

Game Changers

Much of my life is spent

with screens and key-

boards. But this spring, I

sat in on a botanical drawing class.

My assignment was to draw a single

narcissus bulb. Easy, right? Not so

much. After 20 minutes struggling to

capture the bulb’s curving surfaces in

pencil, I felt as if I had never looked

closely at anything before. The work

required only the most basic of

tools—my eyes, a piece of paper, a

sharp pencil—but it turned out to be a

game changer for me. I had new eyes.

In this issue, you will meet individu-

als who have changed their games in a

variety of ways. These members of the

Northwestern Mutual community

have unleashed the creativity to hand-

craft beautiful products in a manufac-

tured world. They’ve summoned the

bravery to shift careers, and the vision

to pass a family business on to the

next generation. They’ve reached

within for the compassion and convic-

tion to help underserved children.

And, as in the case of our Outlook

columnist Anthony Norelli, M.D.,

they’ve found the will to embark on

lifestyle change.

We hope you find these stories

inspiring. And if you have a story from

your own life that you’d like to share,

please contact the Northwestern

Mutual representative whose name

appears on this page. We want to hear

about your game-changing moments.

contentss u m m e r 2 0 1 5

LEFT: ERIC SCHMIDT/WISE RIVER PRODUCTIONS; RIGHT: KATE MELTON; BOTTOM: JESSICA PETERSON/GLOW IMAGES

12 short takesby Gabriella Ach, John Gardner, and Megan Hoefler

Making college dining much more than “mystery meat”; a new role for saccharin; marriage enhances exercise; decoding dietary supplements.

15 smart solutionsby Andrea Chavez, Caroline Mahoney, and Amanda Wright

When siblings are workmates; personality and the workplace; managing kids’ connections to technology.

18 creative businessby Michael J. McDermott

These business owners are finding innovative ways to stay vibrant as new media changes their professional landscape.

26 creative thinkingby Ruth Yasko

Kids’ bandleader Ashley Albertof The Jimmies has an upbeat message for girls: You’re all special!

28 good worksby Emily Fischer

The challenges and joys of getting a nonprofit off the ground.

departments

features12 Handiwork & the

Human Spiritby Julie Jacobs

Making things by hand is alive and well in the age of technology. Just ask these artisans.

18 Don’t Defer Your Dreamsby Amy Korpi

Yes, you can change your life. It’s not easy, and it takes planning. But the rewards are incalculable.

23 Living a Legacyby Caitlin Kelly

The art of gracefully passing a family business on to the next generation.

Cover: Dion Julian Lattimore, master tailor and image consultant, at a studio in downtown L.A.’s Fashio n District

30 american travelerby Molly Crego

Double your fun in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Twin Cities.

32 outlookby Anthony Norelli, M.D.

Six steps to starting a fitness routine.

creativeliving · summer 2015 1

2 creativeliving · summer 2015

dispatches from the world of ideas

short takes

TOP: STOCKBYTE/GETTY IMAGES; CENTER: MIXA/ALAMY

Every year, thousands of teenagers embark on a new journey: college. They immerse them-selves in the traditional undergraduate experi-ence, defined by friend-ships, connections, and learning, much of which hap-pens outside the classroom. And one key to mak-ing that happen, says David Porter, is the dining hall.

Porter, a Northwestern Mutual client and CEO of Porter Khouw Consulting, a food service plan-ning and design firm, calls himself a “social architect.” He believes the social interactions that hap-pen during meals are cru-cial for a new student.

Over the past 20 years, Porter and his team have traveled across the country to more than 400 colleges and universities to redefine their dining systems, creating a well-rounded experience that will benefit students. They have worked with George Mason Uni ver sity, the University of Georgia, the University of New Hampshire, Wellesley,

SEE YOU IN THE DINING HALLVanderbilt, Princeton, Notre Dame, Brigham Young University, The United States Naval Acad emy, and the Univer sity of Maryland, as well as the Microsoft corpo-rate campus.

“Studies show that [schools that create] an environment that people

will want to hang out in, as well as want to live and dine in on campus, have higher graduation rates and GPAs,” says Porter.

In his book, The Porter Principles (Porter Khouw Consulting, 2014), he out-lines what he calls the three Rs: recruitment, retention, and alumni relations. These relate back to the dining experience, because Porter sees dining as a foundation for attracting a student to a particular school, offering a

location where relation-ships are created that sup-port retention, which in turn keeps alumni con-nected after they graduate.

“In terms of retention, a student has 45 days to start at a new school and make friends and connections [that] will compel them to

stay,” says Porter. The way to increase retention is to create an environment that students want to spend time in. Porter says characteris-tics of these environments include 24-hour access to comfortable spaces and healthy food options.

For parents and students on the college search, Porter suggests a few things to keep in mind.

• “Ask about the student retention rate, the percent-

age of freshmen that return as sophomores, as well as the six-year graduation rate. It measures success objectively.”

• Look at dining facilities, hours, and meal plans. Ask what other facilities (stu-dent center, library, recre-

ation center) the university offers. “These [places] cre-ate the social skills to work on teams, and collaborate … these environments have a huge impact on the social intelli-gence of people,” Porter says. He believes these are skills that cannot be taught via tech-nology, yet are vital to future profes-sional success.

Porter believes schools have a responsibility to

create safe environments where students will want to study, socialize, and eat. This, in turn, eases the minds of parents who won-der where their kids spend their time at their new home away from home.

—Gabriella Ach

Gabriella Ach says she met

some of her best friends in a

dining hall her freshman year.


short takes

LEFT: BILL BOCH/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: OJO IMAGES LTD/ALAMY

FINDINGS FROM THE FIELD

THE MARRIAGE EFFECT—ON EXERCISE

esearchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloom-berg School of Public Health recently unveiled study findings that might bring a

little joy to married couples trying to get in shape together. They found that when it came to physical fitness, your exercise routine isn’t just good for you—it may play a role in getting your spouse to join the gym or tag along on a run.

In the study, more than 3,000 middle-age cou-ples had their physical activity levels measured during two doctor’s visits six years apart. When the wife met her recommended exercise at the first visit, her husband was 70% more likely to follow suit at the next visit. Similarly, wives were 40% more likely to meet their levels at follow-up visits when their husbands were in shape at the first visit.

“When it comes to physical fitness, the best peer pressure to get moving could be coming from the person who sits across from you at the breakfast table,” says Laura Cobb, a Johns Hopkins doctoral student and co-author of the research.

—John Gardner

A NEW USE FOR SACCHARIN?

one are the days when saccharin, the artifi-cial sweetener used in sugar substitutes like Sweet ‘N Low, was believed to play a role in

causing cancer. Now, 15 years after the substance was declared safe, a study from the University of Florida has shown that saccharin could potentially lead to the development of drugs capable of combat-ing aggressive forms of the disease. The findings were published in the February 2015 issue of Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry.

Researchers examined how saccharin bound to and deactivated a protein that is one of the many driving factors in the growth and spread of cancers in the breast, liver, lung, kidney, pancreas, and brain. They say this result opens up the potential to develop a drug that could have a lasting impact on treating several cancers.

“The public only remembers the negative atten-tion. Saccharin was seen as the bad guy, and it’s defi-nitely not the bad guy. It may actually be a good guy,” says Robert McKenna, a professor of bio-chemistry and molecular biology in the UF College of Medicine and one of the authors of the study.

—John Gardner

John Gardner is a senior PR consultant for Northwestern Mutual.

He enjoys exercising with his family.

R

G


short takes

P U B L I S H E R

Shawn Rolland

E D I T O R

Catherine O’Neill GraceM A N A G I N G E D I T O R

Amy Korpi A R T D I R E C T O R

Glenn PierceP H O T O E D I T O R

Sara ElderC O P Y E D I T O R

Tara KawarA C C O U N T M A N A G E R

Stephanie GallagherP R O J E C T M A N A G E R

Connie OttoP R O D U C T I O N A R T I S T

Brenda Waugh

D E S I G N , P R O D U C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T ,A N D C I R C U L AT I O N

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Creative Living, published by Northwestern Mutual, tries to present useful, thought-stimulating articles to enrich your daily life. It is not intended that articles express views held by Northwestern Mutual or its financial representatives, nor is it intended as legal or tax advice. Your attorney or accountant should always be contacted about such matters.

Copyright 2015 by Northwestern Mutual. All rights reserved.

V O LU M E 4 4 · N U M B E R 3 · S U M M E R 2 0 1 5

®

Decoding Dietary SupplementsAttaining and maintaining good health adds to the richness of life. From enjoying a walk with your young fam-ily to feeling well enough to escort your daughter down the aisle, the value of good health is immeasurable. With health recommendations changing daily, it’s easy to get lost in com-plex jargon and whimsical advice online or on television. Including supplements in your diet is no less confusing. How does an informed consumer sort through the clutter?

Start with your physician, suggests Jacobus Hollewijn, a North western Mutual client and owner of Gesundheit! Nutrition Center, a health food store in Bozeman, Montana. “Not feeling well is usually caused by either a deficiency, not getting enough of what we need, or a toxicity, getting too much of what we don’t need,” he says. “Vitamins, proteins, fats, minerals, and hormones could help with deficiencies; herbs and fibers help to get rid of toxins and to help restore balance.”

Supplements can be controversial and are exempt from the strict regulatory oversight that covers prescription drugs. Respond ing to recent accusations by the New York State attorney general’s office that four major retailers were selling deceptive and potentially harmful herbal supple-ments, Hollewijn advises consumers to be cautious of the temptation to try a glitzy fad supplement.

“Dietary supplements are supposed to supplement a healthy diet and lifestyle; they are not a replacement. Work with your physician or specialist of your choice to find a remedy that’s right for you,” says Hollewijn.

—Megan Hoefler

Megan Hoefler likes to stay

healthy by running.

Information in “Short Takes” is intended for general reference purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment. Medical information changes rapidly, and while Creative Living and its content providers make efforts to update the content, some information may be out of date.

AVALON_STUDIO/ISTOCK


financial ideas for today and tomorrow

smart solutions

TOP RIGHT: RADIUS/GLOW IMAGES; ABOVE: MARTIN BARRAUD/GETTY IMAGES

FAMILYFrom arguments over possessions to secrets shared after lights out, the childhood interactions we had withour siblings can all contribute to our conflict resolution, mentorship, and negotiation skills later in life.

Amanda Wright, a Milwaukee-based communications

professional and Northwestern Mutual client, doesn’t work

with any family members.

violated,” says Lorenz. “When things get really heated up, you have to walk away and take a breath—we learned this from our parents. Some things cannot be resolved on the spot.

“We’re good friends, but we have significant differ-ences. However, we know how to overcome those dif-ferences to see the bigger picture for the company and its future.”

Lorenz advises family members who are in busi-ness together to follow the Reibling example and bring on a partner who is not part of the family, which pro-vides an emotional discon-nect. The third partner at Taurus, CEO Peter Merrigan, allowed both Lorenz and Guenther to set aside business affairs while they simultaneously dealt with personal health issues several years ago.

Lorenz also recommends establishing a company legal structure that dictates that major decisions cannot be made without all three partners being in align-ment. This helps avoid pit-ting the siblings against one another, even if it means walking away from an opportunity. Ultimately, Lorenz says, the brothers are mutually committed to Taurus’ culture and values, which helps keep them ground ed.

—Amanda Wright

“When things get really heated up, you have to walk away and take a breath—we learned this from our parents.”

According to science writer Jeffrey Kugler’s book, The Sibling Effect (Riverhead, 2011), the rela-tionships we have with our siblings not only trump almost every other connec-tion in our lives, but also play a significant role in how we relate to others, whether it be our spouses, friends, or colleagues.

For siblings and North-western Mutual clients Lorenz and Guenther Reibling, all of this rings true. The brothers are part-ners and founders of the

global real estate investment firm Taurus (tiholdings.com), which got its start in Munich, Germany, in 1976, and over the past four decades has established a presence in numerous coun-tries around the world. The company is headquartered in Boston.

Lorenz shares some wis-dom about how to main-tain a pleasant personal relationship with a sibling while also running a busi-ness together.

“The dignity of family relationships is not to be

ALL IN THE


smart solutions

JESSICA PETERSON/GLOW IMAGES

To discuss the content of Smart Solutions—like starting a family

business, or any other financial security need—please contact

your Northwestern Mutual financial repre sentative, whose

contact information appears on the inside front cover of this

magazine.

You don’t check your personality at the door com-ing into work; it carries over into how you act, feel, and present ideas in the workplace. The Myers-Briggs person-ality exam is a popular tool many companies use to classify personality. But effectively understanding and maximizing your personality in the workplace requires additional self-reflection beyond what your Myers-Briggs results might reveal.

Here are some tips that might help you fit in, whether you’re new to the workplace and unsure of how your per-sonality fits into your overall team, or a seasoned executive who still could learn a new trick or two.

Do You Play Well With Others?

1Leverage your comfort zone

Employees are hired because they have a specific skill set an organization needs and have demon-strated, through the inter-view process, how they could have a positive impact on a team. It’s up to you to know what you bring—and what you don’t bring—to the table. One way to gauge your strengths and weaknesses is to reflect on situations and times when you were out of your comfort zone. Ask yourself what about the cir-cumstances made you feel uncomfortable. What about how you handled yourself made you feel proud? Pinpoint what you would do the same or dif-ferently the next time.

2Agree to disagreePersonalities are com-

plex, and created through personal and cultural expe-riences over the course of our lives. Everyone takes in information differently, so it’s up to you to understand that and to embrace diver-sity, because others’ per-sonal perspectives may reveal something that you don’t see. Sometimes inter-personal conflict and con-structive criticism can lead to a bigger—and better—idea.

3Practice gratitudeLegendary insurance

salesman Elmer G. Letterman once said, “Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.” We can be bet-ter human beings if we start practicing gratitude within. Every day, be a little more thankful for everyone in your life and you may see a big difference in the way peers interact with you.

4 Breathe!Are you an introvert,

more comfortable on your own than working with others? These tips may help you work more successfully in a group setting:

Break through your comfort zone

Recharge and regain your center

Engage in eye contact

Allow time for small talk

Take a breather

Have alone time

Endeavor to try some-thing at least once

—Andrea Chavez

Andrea Chavez says she

enjoys always trying

something once—even

when it’s frightening.


smart solutions

JAMIE GRILL/GLOW IMAGES (2)

The information in Smart Solutions is not intended as legal or tax advice. Please consult your attorney or tax professional about such matters.

It used to be as easy as taking the phone off the hook. But nowa-days, unplugging from a constantly accessible lifestyle is a lot tougher. Consider: According to October 2014 statistics from the Pew Research Center, 84% of mobile phone users claim they could not go a single day without their device; 67% of users check their phone regularly, even when they don’t notice it ringing or vibrating; and almost half have slept with their phone next to their bed to make sure they didn’t miss any calls.

There are few excuses that keep us from responding to an email or text message in today’s mobile, fast-paced world. But taking a break from your phone can be healthy for your relationships and mental well-being. Knowing when to power down can free up time to unwind—and ultimately lead to a more balanced life. Here are a few tips to help you strike a balance in your technology-enhanced life.

• Draw a boundary: Reiterate to your co-workers that home is home and work is work. While smart-phones and other technology enable you to be very involved in your pro-fessional life, there should be a dis-tinct line between the end of the workday and the beginning of your personal time at home.

• Leave the phone: Whether you’re going out to dinner or enjoying a movie night in, keep your phone and tablet out of sight. This will enable you to be more present in the moment, less distracted, and a better listener and companion to those around you. While this might feel strange at first, you’ll soon develop a habit and ease about having one less worry.

UNPLUG AND UNWIND

CONNECTED KIDSToday’s kids have never known an

unplugged world. While there are

many educational and social benefits

to introducing technology to kids

early, parents and other family mem-

bers should still feel in control of chil-

dren’s interactions with tech. Many

new resources can help regulate

screen time and keep children safe

online.

• YouTube Kids: This family-friendly version of the popular video-streaming app is programmed for only prescreened, kid-approved videos. Parents can turn off the “search” feature to prevent access to questionable content, and the app comes with a built-in timer.

• TV Timer BOB: This device helps parents manage and monitor the time children spend using TV, video game consoles, and computers. A power cord connected from the BOB to the machine monitors the amount of time a child spends using the device.

• iPhone & iPad apps: Mobicip Safe Browser and iRover Surf Safe allow children to play previously downloaded games, but restrict Internet access to allow them to have safe, monitored, and timed screen time.

—Caroline Mahoney

As a millennial, Caroline Mahoney finds it

difficult to power down, but tries to unplug

every Sunday.

• Sleep means sleep: Often, “going to bed” can mean lying with your phone in your hand, checking email or social media before drifting off to sleep. But research has shown that taking even an hour away from the screen before bed can give you a better night’s sleep. A good way to reinforce this is to keep your charger outside your bedroom for the night. This will also keep you from check-ing your phone first thing in the morning.

—Caroline Mahoney


BY MICHAEL J. McDERMOTT

TOP: GEORGE DIEBOLD/GETTY IMAGES; ABOVE: ERIC SCHMIDT/WISE RIVER PRODUCTIONS

MAKING CONNECTIONS THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

The photography bug bit Marsha Phillips—co-owner with her husband, Doug Bundren, of F-11 Photographic Supplies (f11photo.com) in Bozeman, Montana—when she was just a kid. Her brother was in the service and sent home a Yashica Electro range-fi nder camera he’d purchased at the PX. “I thought it was very cool and so much fun,” she remembers, and it probably played a role in her decision to study photojournalism, along with a bit of marketing, in college. She’s seen a lot of change in the photogra-phy business since then, but at least one thing has remained constant for her: “There is still nothing like a truly impactful photograph.”

After college, Phillips got a job in a family-owned camera store and studio, which fur-ther validated her career choice. There she discovered how much fun it is to work with people, and she came to the conclusion that helping people document and enjoy the moments of their lives and the world they live in is a really important job. “The feelings shared with a printed photograph are unlike any other,” she says. “They provide connec-tion and grounding in the most personal way.”

Her next stop, in 1985, was a job at F-11 Photo, and it brought the happy discovery of two more things Phillips would come to love: her future husband, who’d been working

GET THE PICTURE

insights into founding and growing innovative companies

creative business


creative business

there for three years, and the Bozeman area, which she describes as an outdoor photog-rapher’s paradise. Nearby Yellowstone National Park provides opportunities to help thousands of people take great pictures every year, and the beautiful environment offers a spectacular canvas for the many classes and workshops her business offers.

“Yellowstone visitors provide healthy traf-fic counts downtown that just wouldn’t be there otherwise,” she says. “The Bozeman community is also very supportive of locally owned business, and it is the loyalty of the locals we work hardest to build.” That loy-alty helps F-11 Photo keep the lights on long after the last tour bus has left for the season.

Of course, even creatives have to pay the bills, and Phillips regularly consults with trusted professionals when she does her busi-ness planning. She conducts an annual evalu-ation of where the business is going and makes needed adjustments to maximize its potential. “I do the same thing personally,” she adds.

When Phillips and Bundren bought F-11 Photographic Sup-plies from its founder in 1998, there was just a single com-puter in the building, nary a digital camera to be seen, and a pro-cessing lab that was 100% analog. Much has changed since then, as photography has become over-taken by digital tech-nology, and F-11 Photo has kept pace

Digital Dos

1Clean your lens. Keep a lens cloth handy, and use it before taking

pictures.

2Look for good light, and pay attention to shadows—especially

in harsh, midday light.

3Back up and print. Take time to protect and save the pictures you

care most about—which are probably on your phone.

to remain relevant and solvent. Digital cam-eras now dominate the product mix, the company is an authorized Apple reseller, and its lab has been retooled several times to facilitate digital printing and the addition of cutting-edge imaging products such as prints on metal. “Very little remains unchanged for long in the photo business today,” says Phillips.

The business is still very much equipment-driven, but its lab operations and the classes and tech support F-11 Photo offers provide additional revenue streams. The company focuses a great deal of attention on its lab, Phillips says, because “it provides the tangi-ble proof of existence for photographs, and it is of prime importance for our business health.” She talks about being trusted with the “tears and smiles, the beginnings and endings” of projects near and dear to cus-tomers’ hearts, and how important that is to F-11 Photo. “That’s where the rubber meets the road for us.”

Phillips believes it is not possible to succeed in business today without creativity, which she credits for much of F-11 Photo’s continued success. The company frames its strategy by what its customers need, which is how the couple ended up in the Apple business. “That has turned into a growing segment, because we thought creatively about solving customer problems and were open to newfangled gad-gets like the iPad,” says Phillips. “In our lab, creating new products with new technology is the difference between success and failure. We have had so much fun doing things like design-ing one-of-a-kind metal collage pieces with cool backgrounds that are available only here. Creativity goes hand-in-hand with one-of-a-kind products, and that is the kind of personal experience that customers want today.”

“ In our lab, creating new products with new technology is the difference between success and failure.”

Marsha Phillips and Doug Bundren show off their wares on Main Street in Bozeman, Montana.


creative business

CALEB FOX/GUERRERO HOWE

If creativity and entrepreneurialism are in any way genetic, it’s a pretty good bet that Pedro Guerrero, CEO and founder of Guerrero Howe Custom Media (guerrerohowe.com), inherited them from his grandfather.

Guerrero’s Chicago-based company, launched in 2009, is an independent, minority-owned media firm that specializes in producing magazines with cutting-edge design and influential editorial for strategic North American markets. His grandfather, Pedro E. Guerrero, who died just a few years ago at the age of 95, was a renowned photog-rapher for some of America’s creative royalty, including architect Frank Lloyd Wright and sculptors Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson. While the younger Guerrero has taken a different creative and entrepreneurial path, he acknowledges that his grandfather’s life had a tremendous impact on his own.

“My grandfather had no direct influence on my career, but he certainly was an entrepre-neur,” Guerrero says. Among the important lessons is that being a successful creative per-son requires you to take risks and be indepen-dent. “His life was an inspiring one, and, if anything, it encouraged me to trail-blaze a life that would give me the depth of experience that my grandfather’s life afforded him.” (The fascinating story of the senior Guerrero’s life has been celebrated in a documentary, A Photographer’s Journey, scheduled for broad-cast on Latino Public Television this fall.)

Guerrero certainly inherited some of his grandfather’s artistic discernment, and that sensibility was somewhat offended at the business-to-business publishing company where he worked just before launching Guerrero Howe Custom Media. “The com-pany had a very effective approach for adver-tising, but their end products, their magazines,

A PUBLISHER’S JOURNEY

were simply terrible—poor design, terrible writing, awful photos,” he recalls. An entre-preneurial-minded colleague sparked Guerrero’s interest in starting a new company to do it better, even though becoming an entre-preneur had never been one of his goals. “But as a creative person, I loved to daydream and think big, so conversations with him planted the seed that developed into the company I run today.”

Guerrero Howe Custom Media has grown from three employees to 80. The firm now publishes half a dozen business-to-business magazines and provides custom publishing services to an array of clients. Titles include Advantage, American Builders Quarterly, Modern Counsel, Profile, and Sync. Guerrero is pas-sionate about the growing field of independent Latino media, a pas-sion reflected in his company’s Hispanic Executive magazine, which is dedicated to eliminating differences in quality and availabil-ity between Hispanic media and mainstream business media. The company plans to debut its newest title, American Healthcare Leader, early next year.

Guerrero Howe Custom Media has faced some challenges over the course of its trajectory. What growth company hasn’t? “Identi-fying the exact type of person who would be successful in an entrepre-

Lessons from the Field

1 If you have big dreams

and goals, start going after them now.

2 Life will only

become more complicated.

3 You are the only thing

standing in your way.

RECLAIMING PRINT’S POWER


creative business

neurial, fast-changing environment was our biggest challenge in growing the company. Hiring the wrong person can have a disastrous impact on your company’s culture and bottom line,” Guerrero says. He and his team started by acknowledging that they had a problem, then trying to figure out how to fix it. “A few books that focus on the hiring process and cul-ture-building issues came in handy,” he says. “Ultimately, we brought in a few consultants who helped us standardize our operational and HR processes.”

Like all media company owners, Guerrero also grapples with the incursions digital chan-nels are making into print’s traditional mar-kets. One of his goals is to bring the company’s expertise into the digital space, which he admits has not been easy: “This is both our biggest current challenge and our biggest opportunity.” However, Guerrero feels his company has an advantage in its core business because of the speed and flexibility afforded by its small size relative to some of the media giants competing in the same space. “Those companies were built on a model that required massive and paid subscriber lists,” he explains. “We don’t operate on that model, never have and never will. It’s a losing proposition.”

Guerrero cites a March 15, 2015, New York Times article about the power of print, which noted that 70% of the newspaper’s rev-enue still comes from print, despite its contin-ued forays into the digital realm. “If anything, this has been our differentiator: While others run from print, we have embraced it,” Guerrero says, adding that his company’s cre-ative team, which he describes as “one of the best in the industry,” deserves much of the credit for its success. “The primary drivers for our growth are our people and our products. It’s really that simple,” he says. “We started the company with the premise of executing on a better product. That has always been, and still remains, at the core of what we do.”

“ Identifying the exact type of person who would be successful in an entrepreneurial, fast-changing environment was our biggest challenge in growing the company.”

Michael J. McDermott

is a business journalist

based in Carmel, New

York. The business

people profiled in this

column are clients of

Northwestern Mutual.

If you know someone

you think would make

a good subject for

Creative Business,

please contact

your Northwestern

Mutual financial

representative, whose

contact information

appears on the inside

front cover.

Pedro Guerrero takes a moment to relax in his office in Chicago.


the HumanHandiwork&

Spirit Artisanal pursuits are alive & well in the age of technology

HANNAH MESSINGER

Rebekka Seale displays a variegated skein of wool.

creativeliving · summer 2015 13SHAWN HENRY

he artisanal movement is thriving, with handmade goods gaining widespread appeal. According to a 2012 report from The Craft & Hobby Association, an international nonprofit trade organization, “at least 62.5 mil-lion people participated in one or more crafting activities” during the previous year. That’s a number that is right in line with the boom of such sites as Etsy and Pinterest, and one that the association’s CEO and president, Andrej Suskavcevic, says is likely to grow.

Facts and figures aside, why is handiwork important to the human spirit? “There’s a sense of accom-plishment … when you’re able to create something,” says Suskavcevic. “If you ask any kindergartner, ‘Are you an artist?’ every hand will go up. We tend to lose that as we get older, for whatever reason. But the need to express yourself and the ability to do that, I think, are critical.”

Meet six Northwestern Mutual clients who have found great satis-faction and success using the human touch. Some have transformed their work into thriving businesses; others rely on word of mouth and keep pro-duction on an intimate scale. But they all share the joy of something made by hand.

His designs are “based on the children of the house where I’m going to build it,” says O’Connell, whose first playsets for his grand-children garnered word-of-mouth acclaim that led him to launch his business in 1999. “I want them to be part of the conversation…. The ideas come from them.”

O’Connell typically uses pressure-treated southern yellow pine lumber for his struc-tures, but offers them in cedar or redwood, as well (wood ages better than plastic, he notes). With safety always top of mind, he sands around exposed edges to reduce splinters, uses only bolts and screws rather than nails, which

B Y J U L I E J A C O B S

A W AY W I T H P L AYRonald “Roc” O’Connell, a retired Federal Reserve banker living in Reading, Massachusetts, has “always enjoyed building stuff.” When he and his wife first married, he built a waterbed, he says. Later, “I put up a shed in our backyard, and then as the kids got older and bigger, I put a second story on our house with three bedrooms and two baths.”

So it’s only natural that he’s still building, albeit for the pint-sized crowd. O’Connell custom-designs and personally constructs backyard playsets, complete with slides, swings, benches, and tables, as well as special extras like telescopes, climbing walls, steering wheels, and hand-carved signs bearing the “owner’s” name. A Roc ‘n’ Playsets (rocnplaysets.com) construction can take the shape of a pirate ship, fort, monster truck, steam engine and caboose, or other themes, depending on what his customers want.

T “I have a bunch of little kids running around saying, ‘I love it, I love it’ … Well, that reward system trumps anything you can get in the business world.”—RONALD O’CONNELL

“Roc” O’Connell with oneof his backyard creations


can pull out over time, and incorporates slides and swings that meet the guidelines of the American Society for Testing and Materials. And if a backyard is pitched or contains a wall of some kind, he designs the playset to fit in the environment.

“I tell people it really isn’t as hard as it looks,” says the self-taught builder, who operates pretty much solo and takes up to three or four weeks to complete a playset, working “at grandfather speed.”

O’Connell caters mostly to families, but did construct a playset that accommodates 25 children at a time for a local preschool. He also sells his building plans to other DIYers.

“I get to design something, to create it, to see it when it’s done, to stand back and say, ‘You know, that’s pretty good,’” he says. “I have a bunch of little kids running around saying, ‘I love it, I love it’ … Well, that reward system trumps anything you can get in the business world.”

A J E W E L O F A B U S I N E S SWhen Tamika Gordon takes a break from her industrial engineering studies at Binghamton University, where she’s in her fourth year of a combined M.S./Ph.D. program, she typically picks up her knitting needles and jewelry-making tools. Gordon creates hats, scarves, socks, baby blankets, earrings, rings, and more, and sells them by word of mouth and at craft fairs and jewelry parties. It’s a side business that has not only ben-efited her financially, but also allowed her to express her creative self.

“I’m a very arts-and-crafty focused kind of person,” says Gordon, a frequent craft store visitor who, as a teenager, learned the basics of knitting from her mother and then advanced her skills while in college by “picking up books and looking at videos online.”

As for her jewelry, it was a bead shop in her native Brooklyn, New York, that sparked her interest in baubles. She later studied glass bead making through a scholarship program called the Bead Project (spon-sored by open-access glass-arts studio UrbanGlass) and completed

another course at the Corning Museum of Glass. Today, she both buys and makes her own beads, sometimes employing a special technique to blend them with yarn for her knitted goods.

Gordon had been hand-making items for family and friends for a while before a friend who crochets suggested they market their wares together. They have since sold their merchandise to customers of all ages. Gordon also has knitted for charity, creating baby hats for Save the Children and Warm Up America’s Caps for Good program.

Her artisanal work helps clear her mind for academics, but it also gives her satisfaction to know how much her customers appreciate what she has made for them. When she sees people wearing her goods, it “brings a smile to my face,” says Gordon. “I’m like, ‘Aw, you’re wearing my jewelry.’ It’s really nice!”

A S U I TA B LE G E N T LE M A NDion Julian Lattimore has an extraordinary knack for styling the perfect look. As a custom clothing designer and the owner of an epony-mous image consulting firm, Lattimore outfits his patrons from head to toe with the ward-robe and the wisdom they need to succeed, personally and professionally. His extensive

“I’m like, ‘Aw, you’re wearing my jewelry.’ It’s really nice!” —TAMIKA GORDON

TOP: KATE MELTON; BOTTOM: THOMAS ALLEMAN

Tamika Gordon takes a creativity break in her dorm

room to craft some jewelry.

Dion Julian Lattimore makes subtle adjustments in a client’s suit for a perfect fit.


slate of services includes clothing consulta-tion, hair and eyewear evaluation, color analysis, and tips for grooming, health, and fitness. And his flair for design shines through in every unique garment he creates.

He starts the process by sketching a suit, embellishing it with buttons, lapels, and pock-ets, and then crafting a pattern tailored to the customer. Fabrics and fittings follow to ensure a flawless final product. “There’s a lot of cre-ativity that goes into it, not just the fit, but also the design, [and] putting all the colors together with the right tie or the right shirt or the right accessory,” Lattimore notes.

Years before establishing Dion Julian Image Consulting (dionjulian.com) in Beverly Hills in 1994, Lattimore cut his teeth in fashion as a runway and print model, frequently for mens-wear designer Jonathan Behr. By the time he was in his early 20s, he already had worked with “some of the most magnificent clothes I’d ever seen, and most of them I couldn’t afford,” he laughs.

When Lattimore decided to pursue a career in suit sales, he apprenticed with Behr, also learning sewing and patternmaking. He later honed his skills at David Rickey and Company, a high-end bespoke shop, where he

helped design and coordinate the clothing for a GQ cover and photo spread featuring Magic Johnson. The assignment went so well that he gained an ardent supporter in Johnson, who urged him toward entre-preneurship and became his first big client with a six-figure order. Since then, mostly through word of mouth about his design and styling prowess, Lattimore has built an enviable customer base that includes Tavis Smiley and Will Smith.

He also helps to dress the less fortunate by donating clothing to vari-ous Los Angeles–based missions. “I know what a suit can do to some-one’s confidence, or even a nice shirt,” he says. “They’ll make you maybe want to go out and get a job or get your life back together, so I’ve seen the effects of what clothing can do for people.”

A T O U C H O F T U LLE About six years ago, Jill DeNardo decided to hand-make rather than buy a tutu for her older daughter to wear to dance class. “It was me being frugal,” she says with a chuckle. Little did she know that her pennywise approach would quickly fuel a successful business that allows her to be creative while employing the skills she sharpened as a marketing and com-munications specialist.

Now a pro with tulle, DeNardo heads Tutu Twirls (etsy.com/shop/TutuTwirls), designing and creating frilly tutus for birthdays, wed-dings, recitals, baby’s first photo, holidays (Halloween is especially big), and just plain dress-up. She also offers flower-themed headbands, beanie hats, purses, fairy wands, and baby shoes, as well as leg warmers and personalized cupcake-imprinted birthday onesies to complement her tutus.

“I know what a suit can do to someone’s confidence, or even a nice shirt.”—DION JULIAN LATTIMORE

“I just like people looking at my designs and hearing the feedback that ‘oh, that looks so cute!’”—JILL DENARDO

RIGHT: CALLIE LIPKIN

In her home studio, Jill DeNardo adds a touch of tulle to a tutu.


DeNardo sells her goods—nearly 2,500 tutus to date, made with “the softest tulle and the highest-quality double-faced satin ribbon”—on Etsy and at craft fairs. While most of her customers are moms who find her online, DeNardo has completed orders for the park district in her town of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, as well as the dance school that her daugh-ter attended, where she was first inspired back in 2008. And she has donated tutus to her daughter’s school auctions.

“A lot of my customers will send me pictures of their kids wearing what I’ve made. That’s the part I love the most—seeing how happy the mom is and how happy the kids are wearing it. And so that gives me satisfaction, knowing that I helped to do that,” she says.

An avid crafter who likes scrapbooking and creating themed gift baskets, DeNardo enjoys hand-making tutus because she enjoys work-ing with materials and a variety of colors. With increasing competition on Etsy, however, she says that she just may have to pull herself away from the design a bit, hire staff, and ramp up marketing when she’s really ready to grow her business.

For now, as a stay-at-home mom, DeNardo is content with her part-time schedule for Tutu Twirls. She looks to both her daughters, ages 8 and 10, for funky design ideas for the tween set, and continues to delight in the artisanal process: “I just like people looking at my designs and hearing the feedback that ‘oh, that looks so cute!’”

A Y E N F O R Y A R NAlthough Rebekka Seale officially launched her fine yarn business, Camellia Fiber Company (camelliafibercompany.com), just two years

ago, the Tennessee-based artisan has been tin-kering with fiber, dyeing, and spinning since high school.

“I’m super into knitting, and so I guess it just kind of evolved out of the desire to create the yarn I wanted for my projects, and then just the fun of experimenting and making the different colors. And I was doing it so much, I could not really afford not to sell it,” she says.

Seale sources from mills, but also hand-spins yarn made from natural fibers, “with a bias toward local Tennessee alpaca fleece,” on her traditional spinning wheel. While mill-spun yarn tends to be uniform and even, hand-spun yarn has a lot of variation and texture, she says.

Some of Seale’s yarns are not dyed. For those that are, she uses natural plant-, wood-, and mineral-based pigments, made from flow-ers like marigolds, wood chips, and copper. The process to catch color can take up to a few days to create just the right hue. When it’s warm outside, Seale takes advantage of the sun for solar dyeing, which allows the yarn to absorb the dye faster.

“For me, going the handmade route is just really fulfilling, because fiber is just a very comforting, soothing thing to work with. It’s very soft, beautiful, tactile,” says Seale, whose customers are knitters, crocheters, and weav-ers. “You just can be confident that a lot of care has gone into the product.”

In addition to yarn, Seale sells kits to make

“For me, going the handmade route is just really fulfilling, because fiber is just a very comforting, soothing thing to work with. It’s very soft, beautiful, tactile.” —REBEKKA SEALE

TALITHA BULLOCK

Rebekka Seale at work at her studio in Nashville, Tennessee

creativeliving · summer 2015 17KHUE BUI

knitted hats and cowls, and this year began including one-of-a-kind handmade wall hang-ings in her inventory. She also has started to conduct workshops in her Nashville studio. And she has intertwined her venture with vol-unteerism, recently establishing a local chap-ter of Hats for Hope, which collects hand-knit hats for homeless individuals and people dis-placed by natural disasters.

As an artisan, Seale says her biggest satis-faction comes from working with other art-ists. “I get to see the product that I make become part of a bigger piece of art or a work,” she says.

V I S I O N S I N G L A S SYou might say that serendipity, along with innate skill, played a role in Theresa Schreiber’s journey to artisanship. The Williamsburg, Virginia, resident, who creates stained-glass windows, panels, and lamps, remembers being enamored as a child by the Catholic churches and Victorian homes in her Dubuque, Iowa, neighborhood.

“Just going past, driving past, walking past

[them] … I was always just very impressed with the stained-glass windows,” she says. “I would basically tell myself, someday I want to do that.”

Schreiber studied nursing in college (today serving as a private-duty nurse for an individual with special needs), but continued to be inspired by stained glass, and her desire to learn the art persisted. About three years ago, while chatting about a career switch with her partner, Bill, she told him about her aspiration. He led her to their garage, where, unbeknownst to her, he had been storing equipment used by his late wife for creating slumped-glass bowls and dishes. He taught her how to score glass and use a soldering iron, and she was a natural at both. With his help, including transforming their screen porch into a studio, she began ordering glass from mail-order catalogs and launched Expressive Glass (expressiveglassstudio.com) in July 2012.

“I like to do very intricate, difficult types of pieces, because I like to be challenged,” says Schreiber, who devotes upward of 25 hours a week to her work, which ranges from Victorian/Tiffany-inspired to Art Nouveau, and sells at local art shows and by commission. “There are some people who want a custom-made piece, which is obviously one of a kind.”

She advises customers on colors, elements, and glass texture. Glass can be flat, transparent, or opaque, depending on how much light a customer wants to come through the piece, she says. Schreiber also vis-its the homes of her patrons to get a sense of their interior-design style and incorporates it into the stained glass.

“I like the more handmade route because it’s specific to each individ-ual, what their likes are, and what they’re looking for,” she says. “That’s really what it comes down to: People who want custom work don’t want to walk someplace else and see the exact same thing.”

For Schreiber, Expressive Glass is a dream realized that “comes down to just simply the enjoyment of being challenged … and then the outcome in the end.”

Julie Jacobs, an award-winning writer based in New Jersey, is also handy with a needle.

Her knitting, cross-stitch, and needlepoint handiwork is displayed throughout her home.

“I like the more handmade route because it’s specific to each individual, what their likes are, and what they’re looking for.” —THERESA SCHREIBER

Theresa Schreiber creates her custom stained glass in Williamsburg, Virginia.


If you could change anything about your life, what would it be? Would you embark on a new career? Trans form from couch potato to marathon run-ner? See if you have what it takes to become the artist you once thought you could be?

Or is it something less earth-shattering , but still meaningful to you, like taking up a hobby that’s always appealed, finding a way to travel more, or making yoga a daily practice?

Here’s some advice: Don’t wait.

B Y A M Y K O R P I

DON’T DEFER YOUR DREA


MSROBBIE MCCLARAN

Amy Schoener and Bill Pearcy on their farm near Wren, Oregon

20 creativeliving · summer 2015 ROBBIE MCCLARAN

As Tim Carey writes in Psychology Today, “Contentment occurs when there is very little difference between the way things are and the way we want things to be.” The professor and director of the Centre for Remote Health, part of Flinders and Charles Darwin universities in Australia, adds, “This fundamental idea applies to simple, short-term things such as getting the cup of coffee we want or driving our car at the speed we prefer, and it also applies to more compli-cated, longer-term things such as building the family life we want or creating the sense of meaning and purpose we want.”

The trick is seeing past the simple, short-term activities, lest we risk wak-ing up one day to find we didn’t pay attention to the complex, longer-term dreams. That takes not only focus, but courage.

Both are worth it, say America’s elders. One of the biggest mistakes younger people make is “passing up opportunities,” according to Karl Pillemer, a professor of human devel-opment in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University and professor of gerontology in medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College. Pillemer’s research team has been col-lecting “tried and true advice from the wisest Americans”—the subtitle of his book, 30 Lessons for Living (Hudson Street Press, 2011).

In his blog at The Legacy Project (legacyproject.human.cornell.edu), Pillemer writes, “The elders much more strongly regret things they didn’t do than what they did. As a 73-year-old told me: ‘The lesson I learned is that it really pays to say yes, unless you’ve got a really solid reason to say no. Life is an adventure, but to take advantage of it you have to say yes to things.’ ”

SAYING YESNorthwestern Mutual client Amy Schoener said yes to her dream 40 years ago and has never looked back. Growing up in a New York City apartment, she recalls having wanted a farm since she was a child—but she took what many would consider a more recognizable path to success, including earning a doc-torate at Harvard and working as a scientist in the academic world. Eventually taking a post at the University of Washington, she was living on a farm property, but she wasn’t farming—yet.

Schoener determined she wanted to be a hands-on farmer, and she wanted to live more sustainably. “I was teaching people something that I wasn’t practicing,” she recalls. “I was an ecologist, but I wasn’t ecologically minded.” So she left academia and became a consultant, earning just enough to support her farm and

paring back expenses significantly. “My neighbors were amazed I was willing to live on a farm without really knowing anything about it. But I learned as I went, making con-scious choices that were right for me, and I was having a wonderful time,” she says.

When she met her husband, Bill Pearcy, also a scientist, it turned out he wanted to live on a farm as well. Together, they moved to a 63-acre property in western Oregon, com-posed of pasture, forest, fruit trees and bushes, and native prairie, where they raise sheep.

These avid gardeners grow or har-vest from the wild much of what they need. They have an apple and a grape press, and Schoener took a food pres-ervation class to learn how to can their produce. Their self-sufficiency even extends to heat and electricity generated by solar panels (which sometimes produce enough power for their electric car as well).

“It’s a lifestyle that involves a lot of effort, and affords fewer luxuries than many people want, but we see it as an opportunity that most people don’t have,” Schoener says. “I walk across my valley to a stream, or look out my living room window to a dis-tant pasture that sustains the endan-gered Fender’s blue butterfly, and it’s better than any vacation spot I can imagine. I realized my dream.”

“IT’S A LIFESTYLE THAT INVOLVES A LOT OF EFFORT, AND AFFORDS FEWER LUXURIES THAN MANY PEOPLE WANT, BUT WE SEE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T HAVE.”—AMY SCHOENER

Amy Schoener and Bill Pearcy caring for their sheep

creativeliving · summer 2015 21COURTESY OF DR. GREGORY PRIMUS

ENJOYING EVERY STEP Gregory Primus, M.D., recognized his dream—actually, two dreams—early as well.

“My path was so clear that I can’t imagine having taken another course,” he says. “From my earli-est memory, I was in love with sci-ence—in particular, biology and how living things work. This led to my fascination with medicine.”

While that primary dream ulti-mately led this Northwestern Mutual client to become an ortho-pedic surgeon, he was waylaid by another aspiration that had its roots in early youth as well. “I was interested in all sports as a young-ster,” Primus says. “And I consid-ered myself fortunate to continue to play football at increasingly higher levels, which allowed me to study microbiology on a full football scholarship to Colorado State University, and later realize the dream of playing in the NFL.”

Primus was a receiver for one sea-son with the Denver Broncos and two with the Chicago Bears. When cut by Chicago, he wasn’t sure he was ready to give up on pro football, so he con-tinued training. He also applied to medical schools, though, and his acceptance to the University of Chicago provided the impetus he needed to change gears. Following medical school, residency, and a fel-lowship, he started his own orthope-dic sports medicine practice—Primus Orthopedics—for which his wife, Tonya, serves as general counsel. At his primary office location, The Chicago Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery (chicagosportsortho.com), he treats athletes and injured workers.

As a former professional athlete, Primus has a unique understanding of the needs of sports medicine patients, but his football experience contrib-uted much more than that to his cur-rent work. “All the theoretical bene-fits of athletic involvement ideally enhance character development,” he says. “With the proper guidance of parents and coaches, I was fortunate to learn valuable lessons through

sports. For example, much of life requires teamwork and collabora-tion, and learning to be a ‘team player,’ and all that that implies, has been one of the most important fac-tors in my successes beyond the foot-ball field.”

And then there’s the ineffable. “You must have dreams—even to the

“DREAMS ARE THE FUEL THAT POWERS OUR PASSIONS IN LIFE. THEY KEEP US STRIVING TO DO BETTER, AND ENJOYING EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.”—GREGORY PRIMUS, M.D.

point of what other people may con-sider to be outrageous dreams. As the adage goes, you have to reach for the stars, and if you land on the moon, what an amazing feat you will have accomplished. Dreams are the fuel that powers our passions in life. They keep us striving to do better, and enjoying every step of the way.”

NEVER TOO OLD TO START OVERIf you think it’s too late to return to a long-held dream, consider this. According to

biography.com, baseball pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige broke through to the

majors as a 42-year-old rookie—and he was in the neighborhood of 60 years old

when he took the mound for the last time, throwing three scoreless innings and

allowing just one hit for the Kansas City Athletics. (The years are an estimate

because he rarely answered questions about his age.) If that doesn’t convince

you, here are some more examples.

• Harland Sanders wasn’t “The Colonel” until his 60s.

• Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t start publishing her Little House on the Prairie

books until her 60s.

• Folk artist Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses didn’t put paint to canvas

until her eighth decade.

• Ronald Reagan wasn’t elected to his first public office until he was 55.

• Wally “Famous” Amos was nearing retirement when he became a millionaire

doing something he loved: baking.

Gregory Primus, M.D., with symbols of both his trades—football and medicine

22 creativeliving · summer 2015 CHERYL CLARK/LA BELLA VITA PHOTOGRAPHY

BUILDING A LEGACYAs Gregory Primus’ experience shows, it isn’t enough just to have a dream; it usually takes planning, preparation, and hard work to be ready for opportunities as they arise.

Northwestern Mutual clients Edward and Abigail Olaya are a case in point. “We always knew we wanted to have our own business,” Edward says, “but we weren’t sure what it would be. Finally, we wrote out a list of different businesses that we believed matched our strengths. ‘Wedding venue’ was one of the ideas on our list, so when we drove by a property that fit that purpose with a ‘for sale’ sign one day, we stopped to look around.”

That property has become Venue at the Grove (venueatthegrove.com), two acres just outside downtown Phoenix offering a serene setting for weddings, rehearsal dinners, social events, and corporate gatherings. “We firmly believe we would have missed the opportunity if we hadn’t written out that list,” Edward says.

Once they confirmed what they wanted to do and where, the Olayas knew their next steps were to identify and develop the people who would carry out their service model. While their educations in science and engi-neering differ from those of most peo-ple in the wedding industry (Edward even holds a patent), many aspects of the Olayas’ work experience had pre-pared them for their new venture.

“Our careers included jobs with responsibility for leading teams, creat-ing and implementing processes, researching and testing ideas, attend-

ing to detail, negotiating, and under-standing people—all of which are needed in our business,” Abigail explains. “And although we knew we needed to learn the ins and outs of the industry, we were confident we could do so along the way. This always felt right, from our first walk on the prop-erty. If we had waited for the ‘perfect’ time, it could have meant waiting forever.”

Based on their experience, the Olayas, who realized another dream by becoming parents of triplets a few years into establishing their business, advise other dreamers to “believe, set goals, and go for it,” and:

• Know your passion. Identify what you love doing and why, especially because there will be naysayers ready to volunteer their thoughts on why something will fail.

• Know your vision. Be crystal clear on what you want and why. This will enhance your awareness of opportunities and support your drive and commitment.

• Look for a team to fill your weak-nesses. It’s amazing how many resources are available.

• Evaluate needs versus wants, and be cost-conscious in the beginning.

Trust yourself, Abigail adds. “Building the business from the ground up has taken a lot of work, but we have been so passionate about what we are doing that the long hours and obstacles encountered have been only stepping stones to achieving suc-cess and building a legacy.”

Amy Korpi, managing editor of Creative Living,

is fulfilling her dream as a writer to support

another dream: travel.

NO REGRETS It’s a fact of life. Selecting one path means reject-

ing at least one other course of action. How, in the process of living your dreams, can

you make optimal decisions? Bestselling author Daniel Pink offers sound advice in

this regard, suggesting two tests designed to help a person avoid regret.

He calls one the “90-year-old Me Test,” imagining he is 90, looking back at the

decision. “What will I want to have done in this situation?” he asks.

The other is the “Viktor Frankl Test,” from the author of the 1946 classic Man’s

Search for Meaning. Frankl writes, “Live as if you were living for the second time

and had acted as wrongly the first time as you are about to act now.”

“IF WE HAD WAITED FOR THE ‘PERFECT’ TIME, IT COULD HAVE MEANT WAITING FOREVER.”—ABIGAIL OLAYA

The Olayas—and their triplets—at Venue at the Grove in Phoenix

creativeliving · summer 2015 23MARIA WACHALA/GETTY IMAGES

B Y C A I T L I N K E L L Y

LEGACY

THE INS AND OUTS OF INHERITING A FAMILY BUSINESS

n 1954, Richard Maurice Carrigan founded a metal manufacturing company in Chicago making “anything and everything” from a three-bay garage. United Displaycraft (uniteddisplaycraft.com) continues to thrive, now focused on retail displays for major customers such as PepsiCo and American Greetings. You’ve probably seen its products if you’ve ever chosen a greeting card at CVS or Walgreens.

LIVINGA

24 creativeliving · summer 2015 VINCENZO LOMBARDO/GETTY IMAGES

The company’s slow and gradual transition from grandfather to son to two of four grandsons—today, Rich is president and CEO, and Brian is director of print production—was carefully planned.

“It’s always been a true family business,” says Brian Carrigan, a North western Mutual client. With 204 em ployees and every chal-lenge involved with manufacturing—from wages to machine breakdowns—the Carrigan brothers were well prepared from childhood for their eventual inheritance and all its responsibilities.

“Dad’s succession plan was very interesting. It lasted decades,” says Brian.

Today, Brian is the second-largest shareholder in the company, and together he and Rich own 96% of it. “However, my day-to-day responsibilities are limited to being one of the many plant supervisors,” he says. “I hope to one day earn my way onto the management team, but I am not there yet.”

Richard Maurice Carrigan Jr., known as Sandy, included his four sons in the business early on with father-son getaways. “But it was always a business trip,” Brian recalls. “He would always take one of us with him and included all of us in the decisions he made and in how to make them to make sure we all understood this.”

Crucial to their preparation for taking over the business one day, Sandy also insisted that all four sons work at hard, tiring, physi-cally demanding jobs on the factory floor, from cleaning toilets to oiling and greasing machinery. “Dad’s point was very specific. He wasn’t just going to hand us this company—we earned it,” Brian says.

The actual handover was gradual. “Between 2003 and 2013,

“Dad’s point was very specific. He wasn’t just going to hand us this

company—we earned it.”—Brian Carrigan

Rich and I used every penny we had to buy back Dad’s remaining shares. Every time UD turned a profit and issued a disbursement to its shareholders, we turned around and bought more stock with it. Rich and I really ended up purchasing 80% of the company, and were gifted less than 10% each. So the gifting was only one tool used to transfer the company. It was mostly just purchasing 10 shares at a time over 15 to 20 years for Rich and 10 to 15 years for me.”

His father’s openness about every aspect of running the company was also crucial to the smooth, and ongoing, transition, says Brian, now 34. “After 60 years, it’s amazing to me that we don’t have more issues. There’s such an open, honest, and fair understanding of it all since we were kids. Even at 19, when I began to be involved with it, I recognized that opportunity.”

“The sentimental aspects of living up to the high standards of the previous generation only makes it harder and all the more worth doing,” he adds.

The sudden and devastating loss of her husband and business partner, Kurt, left Melinda Winegardner, a wine distributor and Northwestern

Mutual client in Bozeman, Montana, scram-bling. The couple, who started Winegardner’s Wines (winegardnerswines.com) 17 years ago, had looked forward to retirement and travel when Kurt was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died in February 2015, only two years after his diagnosis.

Now, at 63, Melinda Winegardner is plan-ning to transfer the company to her 38-year-old daughter-in-law, Briana Lucas. Lucas, who has an MBA, was working as an execu-tive in an apparel manufacturing company and living in Florida with her husband when Melinda asked if they’d be willing to move from Orlando to Bozeman (population 40,000) to take over the 10-person business. They made the move in June 2012, and the two women have been working closely together ever since.

“It’s a new venture, but one I was excited about,” says Lucas. “The thought of having my own business wasn’t something I thought I’d ever do, but it’s definitely an exciting opportunity.” Even with her business educa-tion and experience, she knows she has a lot to learn and has been working with a business coach as well as gaining experience at Winegardner’s side.

There’s an emotional component to inherit-

creativeliving · summer 2015 25LEFT: MARKSWALLOW/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: KYOSHINO/ISTOCK

PLANNING FOR A SUCCESSFUL SUCCESSION

g

Clarify your goals and

objectives.

Estate planning is much more than

creating a will or planning for estate

taxes. By clarifying your goals and

objectives through planning, you can

leave a legacy to your spouse, your

family, and your community.

g

Don’t let sentiment

cloud your judgment.

A family member inheriting a thriving

business needs to have deep, broad

knowledge of how to run it

successfully.

g

Create a plan that meets your

desired goals and objectives.

Are there impediments such as taxes

or likely family conflict?

g

Build in flexibility.

Circumstances change, often in

unexpected ways.

g

Review your plan.

You should review your plan anytime

your circumstances change—for

example, if you get married or

divorced, have children or

grandchildren, or your wealth

changes significantly.

Source: “Estate Planning in Brief,” Northwestern Mutual, 2014

ing a family business as well, says Lucas. “It’s a business that two people have built with their bare hands from the ground up. They have a lot of emotion and history and love tied up in it, so that’s hard to just hand over without transition time. But we’ve done a really good job of being able to communicate clearly.”

Knowing that Lucas has a solid understanding of business was “probably at least 50% of the decision, if not more,” Winegardner says of her choice to keep the wine business in the family. “Briana had the same vision and work ethic to keep the successful business going in the future, bringing a fresh perspective, skill set, and willingness to keep Kurt’s legacy alive.”

Lucas, now the mother of two children under age 4, wanted a job that wouldn’t demand 60 hours of work a week, so Winegardner will continue to work day-to-day at the business. “I don’t want to retire by myself,” she says. “I love my job, and she and I work really well together.”

Brian Carrigan loves his job, too—and he enjoys the many challenges he’s inherited, which include long-standing com-mitments to United Displaycraft’s employees. “We need to live up to that legacy. We have a scholarship fund for employ-

ees’ children, worth up to $6,000 a year, and we’ve been doing it for 20 years. We’ve got machine operators and drivers whose children have become doctors and lawyers,” he says with pride.

New York–based freelance journalist Caitlin Kelly has written for The New York Times

and More magazine.

“I don’t want to retire by myself. I love my job, and [Briana] and I work really

well together.”—Melinda Winegardner

26 creativeliving · summer 2015 LESLIE ZASLOWER

You’ve probably heard Ashley Albert on commercials for Lucky Charms,

Coca-Cola, and McDonalds. As a voiceover artist, she’s also brought characters

to life on animated television series like Daria (MTV), Courage the Cowardly

Dog (Cartoon Network), and Bubble Guppies (Nick Jr.). She’s also front -

woman for the award-winning children’s rock ‘n’ roll band The Jimmies and

the founder of a line of custom Twitter ID jewelry. And did we mention she

recently became the co-owner of what may be New York City’s fi rst shuffl e-

board club—a business she started after falling in love with the sport while on

her way to judging a barbecue contest in Florida?

Artist, entrepreneur, and Northwestern Mutual client Ashley Albert has

several professions, multiple interests, and more ideas than she can use. She

talked to us about what inspires her, how she inspires others, and the big idea

that connects it all.

A Conversation

Ashley AlbertBY RUTH YASKO

with

CL: You’re involved in so many things. How do summarize what you do? AA: My business card says that I’m an “idea-man.” It refers to the fact that my superpower is coming up with ideas and seeing how they could work.

CL: How do you decide which ideas to pursue?AA: For a long time, I didn’t. There were so many ideas that it was hard to decide

crea t ive thinking


crea t ive thinking

which ones to follow through on. Over time, I’ve realized that what really interests me is making meaningful connections with people. Knowing what truly makes me happy enables me to instantly filter out ideas that don’t align with my purpose. For exam-ple, any idea that would require me to sit alone in my apartment isn’t going to be right for me, because it won’t lead to more connec-tions with smart, funny, interesting people.

CL: What do you do with the ideas you don’t use?AA: I’ve started what I call a “follow-through farm.” I give the ideas to really

Ruth Yasko is an award-

winning writer and

Northwestern Mutual client

who has professionally

mentored artists and

entrepreneurs. Her 4-year-old

daughter loves The Jimmies’

song “The Peanut Butter

Polka.”

smart, capable people. I advise them from behind the scenes and help them use my connections with the understanding that they need to drive the project and make it their own.

CL: Tell us about your band, The Jimmies. Now there’s an idea that has connected you to thou-sands of people. AA: I’ve gotten a lot of fan mail from parents who say that their daughters walk around the house singing Jimmie songs. It makes them so happy that their kids are singing the message to themselves even if they’re too young to fully under-stand it. It makes me really happy, too, because there’s no higher goal for me with The Jimmies than to let lit-tle girls know that they can be funny, smart, and interesting.

CL: Do you have a favorite Jimmies song?AA: I know that I’m fully and authentically expressed in all of The Jimmies’ songs, because I laugh out loud when I write the lyrics! However, there’s one song called “Bonfire” that feels like a personal anthem to me. It’s about strife, strug-gle, and being strong. I choked up during recording

because it felt like a victory just being there in the stu-dio singing the song.

CL: How do you balance everything?AA: I get great joy from almost everything I’m doing; so little of it feels like “work.” So much of what I do is intertwined: My work life, my social life, my cre-ative life all come together like the swirls on a giant sticky bun!

CL: What have you learned along the way?AA: I am a recovering per-fectionist … an aspiring “good enough-er!” Finding a way to accept that things can be done “not my way” and still be done well was a hard lesson for me to learn. If you want your idea to grow, you need to learn how to trust the people around you and encourage them to find their own ver-sion of excellence.

CL: Bringing an idea to life seems like it contains an element of risk. Are you a risk-taker? AA: I wouldn’t call myself a risk-taker—I recognize that there’s a difference between emotional risk and finan-cial risk. Something I’ve realized about myself is that I can’t do anything halfway.

So by the time I’ve decided to pursue an idea, I’m con-fident that it’s a really good idea so the emotional risk in my mind isn’t really there.

CL: What are you working on now?AA: I took a break from performing with The Jimmies while I opened the shuffleboard club, and I’m looking forward to getting back on stage when the band performs at Lolla-palooza this summer. I’ve also been asked to write a children’s book based on The Jimmies.

CL: Any advice for others who are on their own road less traveled? AA: I often tell people that the only difference between them and me is that I had ideas and I followed through on them. A large part of inspiring others is helping them understand that the only thing they really have to be afraid of isn’t failure as much as it is not following through on the ideas that are important to them. Look at it this way: If you’re not pursuing some-thing that’s going to enrich your life and bring you ulti-mate joy … then isn’t stay-ing where you are a failure?

“There’s no higher goal for me with The Jimmies than to let little girls know that they can be funny, smart, and interesting.” —Ashley Albert

Ashley Albert and members of The Jimmies—(from left) Dan Weiner, Kiki Barrera, and Darren Graff—AKA the “guys in ties.”


good worksvolunteer efforts that change our world

BY EMILY FISCHER

TOP: PETER CADE/GETTY IMAGES; ABOVE: COURTESY OF ADAM GOULD

Nurturing Nonprofits

When Adam Gould was living in Kenya in 2006, he saw a need for education for the poorest children. Mathare, the Nairobi neighborhood Gould visited, offered free primary educa-

tion, but didn’t have enough schools. There were 120 students for every teacher and, in certain cases, kids had to bring their own desks to school.

“I started by observing,” says Gould, a Northwestern Mutual client. “The first step was realizing the need. Second, I spent time observing a few organizations that seemed to be doing things well and a lot of organizations that didn’t.”

He noticed that some nonprofits were creat-ing dependency on their organizations. To meet the need he saw to foster self-sufficiency, he spent time talking to local religious leaders and meeting with families and parents. “I asked questions like, ‘What is it you desire for your children?’ ‘What is it you desire for your-selves?’” Gould says. “I spent time under-standing who they were and what they needed.”

Along with a Kenyan friend, he launched a small project to help meet Mathare’s educa-tional needs. This evolved into eduKenya, a nonprofit that aims to empower children and their families to break the chronic cycle of poverty and transform their lives and communities.

Gould says eduKenya operates in a way that sets it apart from other international non-profits. “Everything we do is based on rela-tionships, and relationships lead to trust. When the parents saw we were committed to their kids, it completely changed the commu-nity attitude.”

eduKenya focuses on investing for sustain-ability and empowering the community. Donations are invested in apartments to help

meet the need for housing, and rents go back into the schools. Says Gould, “We want to be a part of a real and normal economy. The goal is for the programs to be running off of the investments in the apartments.”

eduKenya seeks to offer as many kids as possible a high-quality, robust education. They provide field trips, drama competitions, scouting, athletics, clubs, and mentoring pro-grams. “We try to give the kids every opportu-nity to break the cycle of poverty and posi-tively contribute to society and change society,” says Gould.

Gould’s process of gaining the trust of the community, focusing on investing in a sustain-able way, and reaching out to those in need led


good works

Emily Fischer attends Marquette University, whose

core values of excellence, faith, leadership, and service

challenge students to be men and women for others.

GETTING STARTEDLooking to launch your

own nonprofit organi-

zation? These tips

from Adam Gould and

Patrick Lawler might

help.

1. Identify a need and

facilitate relation-

ships. Spend time with

the community, build

trust, and understand

what involvement is

needed to make a

difference.

2. Build your leader-

ship team. Surround

yourself with others

who will dedicate their

time and skills to your

cause.

3. Plan the goals of

your organization and

define your mission.

Determine the core

values of your organi-

zation in order to work

toward these goals.

4. Stay involved.

Continue to address

the needs of the com-

munity in a sustain-

able way. eduKenya

and Youth Villages

have become impor-

tant parts of the com-

munities they serve.

going to have an impact. That led into our largest program, improving intensive in-home services.”

The result: Youth Villages, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotion-ally and behaviorally troubled children and their families live successfully. The program helps more than 23,000 children and families each year through four primary programs: residential treatment, in-home services,

foster care, and transitional living for young people aging out of the system.

Lawler’s advice to those looking to start a nonprofit is to determine your organiza-tion’s mission and then “start looking for a strong leadership team and strong board members. That will have the greatest impact on your future. Sit down and build a plan of how you want to achieve the goals of your organization.”

to the creation of a successful, new interna-tional nonprofit organization. Meanwhile, more than 8,000 miles away from Mathare, in Memphis, Tennessee, Patrick Lawler saw a need within an existing program.

The program Lawler, also a Northwestern Mutual client, was interested in provided resi-dential treatment designed to keep kids out of large state institutions, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s it had shifted focus. He moni-tored what happened to the young people after leaving residential programs. “We saw that when the kids left and came home to their families, they were still in need of assistance,” Lawler says. “We discovered that we need to work on helping the entire family if we’re

“We discovered that we need to work on helping the entire family if we’re going to have an impact. That led into our largest program, improving intensive in-home services.”—Patrick Lawler

Adam Gould and his students enjoy a midmorning break at their school in Nairobi, Kenya.


an insider’s look at our great cities and towns

american traveler

TOP: RIDDISH CHAKRABORTY/GETTY IMAGES; CENTER: JOE MAMER/GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM: JOE MICHL/GETTY IMAGES

GOOD THINGS COME IN PAIRS

Double the pleasure, double the fun, right? In Minnesota, that means two cities, an urban vibe, and boundless natural beauty. Welcome to Minneapolis-St. Paul, now a metro area of 3.2 mil-

lion people, which grew up around the northernmost water-falls on the nation’s largest waterway, the Mississippi River.

The state capital, St. Paul, blossomed into a hub for government and trade, mostly on the east bank of the river, while Minneapolis became the flour milling capital of the world on the west side. Yes, times have changed, but the Twin Cities’ vibrancy remains. These days, both cities boast renowned chefs and world-class entertainment in a landscape filled with some of the most inviting lakes, parks, and trails in the United States.

There’s no shortage of the picturesque here, whether it’s the noble dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral that dominates the St. Paul skyline, or a sunset over 401-acre Lake Calhoun, the largest body of water within the Minneapolis city limits.

Jean Beuning, owner of Top Dog Country Club (topdogcountryclub.com), a high-end overnight facility for dogs, enjoys the Cities’ outdoors as much as she can. “I love the lakes, walking the dogs, and enjoying the sunshine on warm summer days, always stopping to visit with other four-legged friends along the way,” says Beuning, a Northwestern Mutual client.

In 2013, the Minneapolis parks system was voted “best in the country” by the Trust for Public Land (tpl.org), a nonprofit dedicated to

Visitors can sleep on the Mississippi at the Covington Inn Bed and Breakfast in St. Paul.

Paddle-boarding on the Mississippi with the Minneapolis skyline in the background

BY MOLLY CREGO


american traveler

upscale in Minneapolis, there are plenty of options. “The Bucatini Bolognese at Bar La Grassa is out of this world, as are most dishes on the menu,” says Dixit, “and after a great meal at Bar La Grassa, pop into Marvel Bar for an Old Fashioned; perfect way to end the night.”

For an upscale night out in St. Paul, ask for a window table at the St. Paul Grill in the capital city’s venerable—and beautifully renovated—St. Paul Hotel, built in 1910. You’ll overlook Rice Park, where in sum-mer you’ll watch the play of water in a beautiful fountain, and in a colder season contemplate Winter Carnival, a 10-day festival of ice

carving, parades, and merriment that lights up the dark and snowy Minnesota January (winter

carnival.com). No matter the time of year, a visit to the

Twin Cities is a two-for-one special you won’t want to miss.

creating and protecting parks. For Dick and Beverly Essen, the parks, lakes, and trails are a “must-do” with out-of-town guests. “Walking the scenic trails to Minnehaha Falls and St. Anthony Falls is breathtaking, and St. Anthony Falls really highlights the milling history of the Cities, as it was the main source of power in the late 1800s,” says Dick Essen.

The Essens have been Minneapolis residents for more than 70 years and Northwestern Mutual clients just as long. “Each season gives us something new to look forward to,” says Dick. “Towards the end of July, we celebrate the Aqua tennial festival (aquatennial.com). It’s a week of activities happening all over the Cities. Water shows, concerts, sporting events—there is something for everyone.”

When it comes to preservation, residents of the Twin Cities don’t mess around. In addition to preserving their tremendous parks, they’ve converted the ruins of what was once the larg-est flour mill in the world. Today, visitors to the Mill City Museum (millcitymuseum.org) can tour exhibits, dine, shop, and explore the Mississippi Riverfront district. “During the summer and early fall, we love to attend Opera Under the Stars. What an experience to watch a show in a more than 100-year-old mill,” says Beverly Essen.

Hungry after all this exploring? You’re in luck. Minneapolis-St. Paul is bursting with culinary offerings, from farm-to-table restaurants to food trucks. Amol Dixit, North western Mutual client and owner of the popular Hot Indian Foods truck (hotindianfoods.com), has a few ideas for visitors.

“The food truck scene in the Cities is vibrant and growing, with almost every cuisine repre-sented. When you’re out and about, you can find food trucks close by all special events taking place throughout the summer,” says Dixit, who adds a brick-and-mortar favorite. “Our Friday night family tra-dition is Punch Pizza [near Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis]. Punch makes authentic Neapolitan pizza using wood-burning ovens, and I’ve yet to have a bad slice.”

If you’re looking for something a bit more

Molly Crego is a

Northwestern Mutual

client who enjoys

getting to know

American cities.

Lunchtime? Line up at the Hot Indian food truck for a chicken tikkaindurrito.

The Mill City Museum rose from the ruins of the one-time world’s largest flour mill.

TOP: COURTESY OF MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY; BOTTOM: COURTESY OF HOT INDIAN FOODS (2)

32 creativeliving · summer 2015 TOP: TAKASUU/ISTOCK

perspectives on the world of medicine

outlook

“Outlook” information is intended for general reference purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment. Medical information changes rapidly, and while Creative Living and its content providers make efforts to update the content, some information may be out of date.

BY ANTHONY NORELLI, M.D.

6 Health Habits I’m Working On: Join Me!

topics are not appropriate for this, but rather than sitting to discuss the next step in a project, discuss it while you exercise.

3Add a five-to-10-plus-minute walk at lunch. Brown bag it,

which is better for portion control anyway, and use the transit time as walking time. If you lunch with oth-ers, ask them to join you. Involving others will help you hold one another accountable on the inevitable days when someone “just doesn’t feel up to exercising.” Not likely, you say? Even elite athletes I know admit to losing motivation from time to time.

4Use technology, both high and low. Adding a Fitbit can help you

track daily exercise and hold you

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” Walt Kelley, creator of the immortal Pogo comics, was not referring to the office workplace when he wrote that for his strip, but it works so well on so many levels, I couldn’t help but co-opt it.

In my circumstances, an aging metabolism has met a paradigm that has increased my efficiency by increas-ing the amount of time I spend seated at my desk. The end result has been a slow but inexorable weight gain.

So I have a choice to make: upsize my wardrobe or lose weight. The lat-ter is easier said than done, especially when my new best friend is my chair (and when it’s easier to make excuses than to make changes), but is the superior long-term solution.

So I have started researching what I can do while at work to increase my metabolism. I already caffeinate heav-ily, and allowing co-workers to irritate me increases my heart rate, but doesn’t seem to help otherwise. Time for the tried and true, then: more activity.

In the workplace, it could look like this:

1Take the stairs. I hate taking the stairs. All my co-workers are faster

and less short of breath than I. But just two flights of stairs per day—and no other changes—could help me lose six pounds over the course of a year. Take your time, though, at least at first.

2Have walking meetings.Granted, sensitive or confidential

Tony Norelli is medical director at Northwestern

Mutual, and a client. Previously, he practiced

family medicine at Pro Health Care Inc., in

Mukwonago, Wisconsin. He received his medical

degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

His hobbies include music, reading, food and

wine, and distance cycling.

accountable on other fronts. Using an exercise ball or exercise-ball chair at your desk will more consistently engage your core muscles over time, which could burn more calories than sitting in a standard chair. Another option is to use a mini-stepper and exercise your lower body while sitting or standing at your desk.

5Do yoga. It can help you relax, and can also strengthen targeted

muscle groups. You may wish to take a class or discuss beginning a practice with a yoga instructor. But please, start low and go slow.

6 Consult with an expert on quick workouts you could do

with the facilities your employer has. I have a core/lower body workout that includes hip sled, gastroc/soleus, leg extensions, leg curls, squats, Roman chair, sit-ups and reverse sit-ups that takes me 25 minutes or less—when I do it.

I have successfully avoided imple-menting this program thus far, but for me, the above changes started April 2, 2015. Stay tuned. In the next issue of Creative Living, I will either trium-phantly or sheepishly report my progress.

Dr. Norelli’s taking steps

toward health.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI, and its subsidiaries.

Northwestern Mutual knows what it takes to succeed both on your balance sheet and

in your life. It takes the right financial partner who cares as much about your future as

you do, encouraging you to do the little things that add up over time, protect what

you’ve earned and truly achieve financial security.

You and Northwestern Mutual—stronger together.

MOST FINANCIAL COMPANIES FOCUS ON YOUR INCOME.

WE FOCUS ON YOUR OUTCOME.

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