After traveling to the world’s culinary hotspots post-college, including studying in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu and apprenticing with Ferran Adria at El Bulli, Katrina Markoff came to Chicago and opened Vosges Haut-Chocolat. Her luxury chocolates use indigenous spices, flowers, roots and herbs to create her unique flavor combinations. Keeping with her philosophy of […]
Starting with an iron foundry in Sheboygan, Wis., John Michael Kohler founded Kohler Co. in 1873. He began a legacy of community enrichment, which was followed by his son, Walter Kohler, who not only served as President of the company, but also as Governor of Wisconsin. His motto was the words of John Ruskin, “Life […]
This 175-year-old company started as a stationery and fancy goods company. Charles Lewis Tiffany changed the store’s direction when he purchased a cache of diamonds in the 1840s from French aristocrats who needed cash more than jewels as they fled turmoil in their home country. He was dubbed “the king of diamonds,” and the company’s […]
In 1985, the Staglin family bought a Rutherford Bench estate and established their winery. The entire family—Garen and Shari, with children Shannon and Brandon—own and operate the company. They farm the land organically, and use 100 percent solar power at the vineyard. “Our family vineyard motto is ‘Great Wine for Great Causes,’ and we absolutely […]
Harry Winston opened his doors in 1932 and began transforming diamonds in a modern way. Mr. Winston’s most famous act of philanthropy is his donation of the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Winston purchased the legendary stone from the estate of Evalyn Walsh McLean in 1949—previous owners included Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV—and […]
