Club Cielo Soars!

Today Ken and I toured the new Escala Midtown condominiums and Club Cielo at the invitation of the developers, John & Bonny Midby and their son, ZINO Society member and PONCHO Board of Trustees member, Eric Midby.  Eric greeted us curbside and personally took care of valet parking our car below in the 8 level underground garage.  See photo above.

What an exquisite building!  The details are truly painstakingly amazing.  As we entered the main lobby, the finish on the koa wood wall behind the reception desk which soars up the entire grand staircase looked as smooth and shiny as butter.  Individual side chairs and side tables were works of art.  One of the side tables had a pearlized lacquer finish that was sensuous to the touch.  The many different chairs from Italy are all richly designed and upholstered with sumptuous fabrics.  The custom carpet is playful, yet sophisticated with its bright colors and oversize designs.

There are two ways to get to the health club and spa area that are up one floor; either via the curved and elegant grand staircase (see photo above of John, Bonny and Eric Midby at the base of the stairway) or in a small jewel of an elevator with an incredible floor of curving inlaid metal within polished semi-precious stone.  The spa is restful yet boasts a psychedelic design on the walls that appears to undulate.  The workout room contains all first-class exercise equipment and two resistance pools and is bright and inviting as it overlooks Fourth Avenue.

Other amenities include a rustic, yet elegant wine cellar that seats 18 for dinner and beautiful wood lockers, a theatre equipped with the most comfortable chairs I have ever sat in and surround sound, a bar and dining room  adjacent to an immense exterior terrace complete with an oversize fireplace and a non-shadow producing awning to keep rain out but let light in.  The Midby’s have an incredible eye for detail and I have not seen anything in Seattle where each tiny detail has been so carefully executed.

We saw several other friends today who were looking at some of the available condominiums including PONCHO Board member Carmen Gayton and ZINO Society member, Randy Squires.

Club Cielo is the only private lifestyle and social full-service health club to open in Seattle in the past two decades.  Membership enquiries are being handled by Cynthia Johnson, the membership director.  I am especially looking forward to our ZINO Society holiday party on December 2^nd which is entitled “Stairway to Heaven” and is one of the very first public events in the new space.  We are planning lots of surprises including food, music, seven winemakers, and beautiful people.

The Show Must Go On!

On Thursday evening, I attended the Pacific Northwest Ballet “Director’s Choice” performance at McCaw Hall.  The dancing was superb as always.  It was fun to see two new productions that I had not ever seen which were Petite Mort with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and choregraphy by Jiri Kylian and The Seasons with music by Alexander Glazunov and choregraphy by Val Caniparoli.  Both new works were fascinating and Petite Mort had the added quirkiness of the dancing occurring with fencing foils and black ball gowns on wheels.  In addition, PNB danced another favorite, West Side Story Suite with music by Leonard Bernstein and choreography by Jerome Robbins and one that I have seen several times and still don’t care for which was Mopey with music by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach and The Cramps and choreography by Marco Goecke. 

From my abbreviated description above, everything sounds as if it was a normal night at McCaw Hall.  However, it was anything but normal that day.  I received a call in the afternoon from the PNB Executive Director, D. David Brown, letting me know that McCaw Hall and most of the Seattle Center had been without power almost all day and that there was a chance that the performance would not happen.  It was nip and tuck until the very end when the power finally came on only 17 minutes before the show was to begin.  Peter Boal, the Artistic Director of PNB, says it best to the attendees of Thursday night’s performance in his brief email note which is below.

Dear Friends –

Theatre artists always say “the show must go on,” and this last Thursday night, it did, thanks to the generous patience, good-will and understanding of so many people, not the least of which were our wonderful audience members who attended the show. 

As you can imagine, it was a trying day for the staffs of PNB and McCaw Hall (as well as the rest of Seattle Center), with City Light assuring us that the power was going to be restored at 6:00…then 6:30…then 7:00….  What a relief when the lights came on at 7:13! 

We are so grateful that you stuck with us, and hope you felt that the performance was worth the wait.  We look forward to seeing you again soon – We’ll try to keep the lights on for you.

Sincerely,

Peter Boal

Artistic Director

Pacific Northwest Ballet

My message to Peter and David and the entire artistic and administrative staff and dancers of PNB is:  The show was worth the wait!  Thank you for maintaining such high standards of excellence even under the most trying circumstances.  Pacific Northwest Ballet truly is a cultural jewel in the international dance world and especially in our community!

 

The Four Amigos

Today I attended the  26^th annual YMCA of Greater Seattle A.K. Guy Award Luncheon.  The A.K. Guy Award Luncheon was established in memory of A.K. Guy (1892-1983), president of G.O. Guy Drugs, a community leader and dedicated volunteer who served on the YMCA Board of Directors for many years and is presented annually to an individual or couple that exemplifies the ideals of the late A.K. Guy.

As a member of both the YMCA of Greater Seattle Association Board of Directors and the A.K. Guy Award Committee, I have been involved in the selection of the award winner for several years.   2009 is the first year that the award has been presented to four unrelated individuals and the awardees are:  Larry Gossett, Roberto Maestas, Bob Santos and the late Bernie Whitebear.  Their activism for social justice and civil rights has changed the face of leadership in the Puget Sound region.  Their vision for fully integrating minorities into the area’s social, economic and political life has inspired generations as well as helped create Seattle’s reputation as a place where every individual can make a difference.

The tribute was inspiring as presented by super heroes above, “Hornet” and “Captain America” who had named each of the award winners as new Super Heroes.  YMCA of Greater Seattle Board Chairman, Jane Lewis, presented each man  with a crystal award with Bernie Whitebear’s brother accepting on behalf of Bernie (see photo above).  And as Larry Gossett ruefully admitted, Bob Santos stole the show by singing (in key) the Louie Armstrong favorite, “It’s a Wonderful World”.

"A View to Kill"

Last evening, around 85 ZINO Society members and guests gathered at the beautiful new Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue Condominiums for a James Bond-esque cocktail party including martinis (stirred not shaken), an amazing magician, Bobby Medina’s small combo including a saxophone, and wines courtesy of ZINO Society Wine Professional member, Stella Fino Winery. There were several debonair, tuxedo-wearing Bond, James Bond look-alikes in attendance including Bob Crimmins of Poker 2.0 and Adam Stein of IMOS, and Bond girls galore!

William Justen, principal of The Justen Company, which envisioned the new condominium development with OPUS NW, greeted the guests and welcomed them to the event. We referred to him as “M”, James Bond’s boss, and he had several special double 00 agents available to take guests on tours of the building. ZINO Society members Dean & Stacy Jones, of Realogics and also involved in promoting the new condominium development were enjoying the evening also. Included among the celebrants were Bond Girls Sheila Otter, Kate McKinney, Susan Weaver, Danna Johnston and Cathi Hatch pictured above and Kathleen and Mike Mitrovich with ZINO Society Director of Sales and Marketing, Robin Moore, also above. By the way, who was that Bond girl with the long blonde flip?

Networking at the Fairmont Lobby Bar . . .

There are always a number of business people wheeling and dealing in the Fairmont Olympic Lobby Bar almost every weekday from around 4:00 -7:00 pm.  Mike Kunath is the identified leader of the “Kunath Corner“, also known as the “Church of Kunath” by his friend, Ken Hatch.  Occasionally, following a business meeting in the lobby, I will stop by for some conversation and a glass of wine.  When I was in there earlier this week, not only did I run into Impresario Kunath himself, I also saw my husband Ken Hatch and Anna Schafer, winemaker for aMaurice Cellars and ZINO Society Wine Professional Member (top photo) and Chris Nakea and Megan Rabin of Nakea, Inc., both members of ZINO Society, and Matt Walters of Grape Leaf Hospitality (bottom photo).

Who have you seen in the “Kunath Corner” recently? 

 

A Feat of Meeting and Eating

Yesterday afternoon, Ken and I met with Norm Porter, developer of a new first-class golf and wine resort in Peachland, British Columbia called Ponderosa and Allen Shoup, Founder and CEO of Long Shadows Vintners at the Bellevue Harbor Club. The 425 acre Ponderosa in Peachland development, located just South of Kelowna, B.C. overlooking beautiful Lake Okanagan will include a Greg Norman designed golf course, a  luxury hotel, condominiums, single family and trophy homes, a tennis center and world-class wineries.  The golf course is under construction now and is expected to be complete in 2011.

Allen shared his vision and information on what he has accomplished at Long Shadows since he began in 2003.  Impressively, he has developed partnerships with some of the leading winemakers in the world to produce seven different wines which showcase the viticultural excellence of Washington State’s Columbia Valley, which have consistently scored higher than 90 points by wine aficionados and tasting experts in leading wine magazines in the world.  Four of the wines he has produced with famous winemakers include Feather in partnership with Randy Dunn, Pedestal with Michel Rolland, Poet’s Leap with Armin Diel, and Sequel with John Duval.

Mary Holmes, ZINO Society Vice President of Business Development, joined us mid-meeting to meet Norm and greet Allen with photo albums of some of the signature ZINO Society social events and the ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum where we showcase 28 entrepreneurs and select two best investment opportunity winners of the ZINO Zillionaire Investment Fund that we raise and award each year. 

Following our meeting, we adjourned to John Howie Steak, in the new Shops at the Bravern development in Bellevue, to enjoy an incredible dinner and fine wine. We were joined by Robert & Sue Holmes and Allen’s wife, Kathleen Shoup.  Chef Owner and ZINOpreneur, John Howie, greeted us and welcomed us to his newest restaurant sending us a velvety cream of porcini mushroom soup with truffle oil and crème fraiche as an Amuse Bouche.  Along with the basket of his fresh-baked breads and rolls, all produced at the restaurant, including an excellent warm and cheesy Gougere, the entire evening was a culinary success.  We raved about the Caesar Salad prepared tableside with just the right proportions of extra-virgin olive oil, egg yolk, anchovies and croutons tossed with crisp romaine and Ken and I were especially impressed with the excellent French Onion Soup for which John said that he uses a three day veal stock preparation as the base.  Several of our guests enjoyed the combination of steaks from American and Japanese Wagyu beef.  Lisa, the Wine Director, took great care of our table; opening and pouring the many Long Shadows wines that Allen had brought along to share with us.  My favorites were the 2005 Pirouette, a Bordeaux-style blend, and the Sequel Syrah.  We ended the evening with exquisite white chocolate and butter cream truffles, a parting gift from restauranteur extraordinaire, John Howie.

Tribute to RJ. Welcome to Ben.

It has now been two weeks since RJ Humphries, who served as the ZINO Society Director of Entrepreneur Development has been gone and I have been intending to write a blog post ever since.  It has been great to have RJ as part of the ZINO team for over the past year and I appreciate all of her efforts on ZINO Society’s behalf.  I know the entire ZINO Society management team joins me in wishing  RJ the very best of luck going forward as she spends some time deciding what her next life adventure will be, whether it be additional schooling or another job opportunity!  RJ has many friends and admirers among the ZINO Society staff, members, sponsors and entrepreneurs and we all miss her already, but I am happy that she has decided to join ZINO Society as a member so we will all be able to continue to see her at upcoming events.   

RJ’s departure has allowed us to do some internal restructuring At ZINO Society and implement additional careful stewardship of our resources.  Rob Brown, ZINO Society COO, has taken over the responsibilities of managing the dealflow and entrepreneur relationships along with some help from part-time interns.  We are happy to welcome Ben Reiber, University of Washington MBA student, as our newest part-time intern.