LeAnita Ragland-Brooks: Jewelry Designer, Winnetka

When fifth generation artist LeAnita Ragland-Brooks creates a work of art and sells it—even though she knows it will be worn and appreciated—she has trouble letting go.   “There’s a little separation anxiety,” she says with a laugh. “It’s like a child. It’s a piece of me going out into the world.” But when a […]

Susie McMonagle: Actor, Evanston

“Theater is a living, moving art,” says Susie McMonagle, the Evanston actress who is starring in the Chicago production of “Billy Elliot.”   “It’s a collaborative work of art; that’s what I love about it,” she says. And the theater loves McMonagle right back. She is “Mum” in “Billy Elliot,” which is a great tear-jerker […]

Julie Floyd of Winnetka Makes Our Kids Look Classic

Going from the big business, adult-only world of being an international tax attorney to crawling around on the floor with a camera making monkey sounds for children is one scenario Julie Floyd never imagined for herself fifteen years ago.   Floyd, the photographer who founded and owns Classic Kids Photography, followed her passion when she […]