A River Runs Through It

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Weather permitting, fall is prime time for fishing the Tetons. Although this week’s deluge has presented a doozy: showers usually inspire fish to rise, but the steady downpour of recent days has turned the Snake River a shade of latte – too murky even for fish’s intrepid appetites. According to our resident expert Reynolds Pomeroy, anglers would be best to wait a couple of days before venturing out with their rods. In the name of planning, we picked Reynolds’ brain for his tips and take on fishing in Jackson Hole.

What characteristics or features make fishing in Jackson Hole a unique experience? 

Hard to beat the scenery! Snake River Finespot Cutthroat (especially the bigger so-called “yellow bellies”) are not only native to the Snake River drainage (tributaries included), but also some of the feistiest cutts you’ll find. Plus, JH is at the literal hub of a 200-mile radius of outstanding fisheries. And, the dining options are fantastic.

What is your favorite place to take first timers? 

The Snake River. Its cutties are numerous and eager to take a dry fly, perhaps the best way to incorporate the visual feedback that helps new anglers “get it.” Fly fishing, that is.

What advice do you give people new to fishing Teton waters? 

Hire a guide for at least one day during your visit, preferably at the beginning of your stay. In addition to teaching and instruction, a pro will get you oriented, and in a day together (often 8+ hours) you’ll learn more about the region’s options (where to go, what to use), special places, flora, fauna, geography, tackle, knots, etc. than you ever would on your own.  Contribute to the success of your day by asking questions, engaging at both the sport and personal level. Some of the best and longest lasting relationships start and are maintained through the sport. And remember, it’s called fishing, not catching, so set your expectations accordingly. Always tip your guide!

Beyond the act of fishing, what elements do you incorporate into a day on the river (whether that be a gourmet picnic or a lucky piece of equipment)? 

As per the above, it can and should be a full-body experience, i.e. heart, mind, body and soul. Good food is always part of it, before, during or after the fishing as time and circumstances allow. Good equipment (usually provided by pro-guides) makes the fishing easier and more efficient. If you’re headed out on your own, do your research first, whether online or at one of the local shops. Remember, this is bear country and (at this time of year) rutting moose love water environments. Stay attuned to your surroundings for pleasure and safety. And bring a friend. No whining.

TCCG REAL ESTATE SALES ASSOCIATE: Reynolds Pomeroy

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Reynolds recently joined the TCCG Brokerage Team as Sales Associate to help serve and expand the growing demand and opportunities for full-service buyer/seller representation of TCCG clients. He and his wife, Bettie, are 33-year residents of Teton County, and are also kept busy raising two teenage children.


Reciprocal Relationships

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We, like you, value gracious hospitality as we assume the responsibilities of both host and caretaker.

“We believe in building trusting relationships with our homeowners and our guests, a process that begins with the very first interaction,” said TCCG Development Associate Carly Kelly. “We want our homeowners to communicate their expectations so we can provide a seamless experience. Rather than a cookie-cutter approach, we provide our homeowners and guests with a broad spectrum of services. We go the extra mile.”

The Clear Creek Group has been fortunate to serve a diverse and knowledgeable set of clientele. It is this diversity that has driven our team to continually evolve and refine our strategy per each client’s expectations. We aim to provide services and accommodations that are as dynamic as the individuals we serve.

At The Clear Creek Group, we recognize that for homeowners, the act of entrusting your home in someone else’s hands can feel like a risky proposition. We assuage such fears by bringing to bear our experience with a plethora of luxury properties. “Once we have built a relationship with a homeowner based on trust in our expertise, they are able to sit back and relax because they know their property is properly cared for,” Carly said.

Trust underlines all of our interactions: the trust instilled in us by homeowners, the trust guests place in our portfolio of properties, the trust we have in our talented team of employees and service providers. For guests, we make Jackson Hole feel like home. For homeowners, we make their homes feel cared for: “We will have your car at the airport, and your home will be open and ready for your arrival with lights on and keys on the counter,” Carly said. “We accommodate all of your requests to the best of our ability.”

We take photographs of each property prior to guests’ arrival so that upon their departure, we can restore the space to its original state. “We ensure that the home is set up the way the homeowners expect to find it and the way the guests expect to find a luxury villa rental,” Carly said.

Our rental/real estate business model encourages the evolution of our client relationships: After a memorable vacation in Jackson Hole, our rental guests often become homeowners or rent again from our portfolio. As such, we facilitate our clients’ full-circle experience of Jackson Hole. We are proud to help shepherd their ongoing investment in the valley.

TCCG DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE: Carly Kelly 

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Carly joined The Clear Creek Group team in March, 2014 starting her career as a Villa Rental Agent and Concierge. She enjoys building relationships with colleagues and clients and is passionate about acquiring new properties for our portfolio. As the Development Associate, Carly continues to expand upon her knowledge of the company and the properties in Jackson Hole. 

Wild Awareness

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Take a walk on the wild side… by attending one of the many public events planned during the Jackson Hole Wild Festival. Starting today at the Center for the Arts, the ambitious festival invites the community to experience the wide world of wildlife films. Tonight’s opening event portends the adventures to come throughout the week: the film on deck, “Unbranded,” follows four men as they travel from Mexico to Canada astride 16 wild mustangs.

New this year, the Wild Festival makes accessible the important discussions taking place at the more industry-centric the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, a well-established, well-respected contributor to the conservation circuit staged concurrently at Jackson Lake Lodge.A vibrant offshoot, the Wild Festival is “focused on issues that matter, stories that need telling and wildlife worth saving.”

With a jam-packed, star-studded roster of films and speakers, audiences will enjoy ample opportunities to educate themselves on conservation efforts around the global and close to home. Through staggered screenings (noon, 2, 4 and 7pm), each day of the eight-day festival explores a different theme from Elephants (Saturday, Sept. 26) to Big Cats (Wednesday, Sept. 30). Oftentimes, the people integral to the films’ production or plot will be present at the screenings. Wild highlights include the 3D screening of “Humpback Whales” followed by a conversation with famed underwater filmmakers Michelle and Howard Hall (on Sunday, Sept. 27) and the interview of Pulitzer Prize-winning sociobiologist E.O. Wilson by Kirk Johnson, head of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum (on Monday, Sept. 28).

The Wild Festival closes with a celebration of the National Park Service’s centennial on Friday, Oct. 3. The Party for our National Parks will screen all of the films that won awards at the Wildlife Film Festival, and conclude with the premiere of “Wild Yellowstone: Frozen Frontier,” a film produced by Jackson-based Brain Farm Digital Cinema for National Geographic. “Wild Yellowstone” grants rare access to the heroic adaptions of our wild neighbors.

At its core, the Wild Festival strives to inspire action in viewers by empowering them to make mindful changes in their daily lives. Or as film festival executive director Lisa Samford said in a Jackson Hole News&Guide article: “It challenges people to be more than who they are.”

Matched Giving, Matches/Moves Mountains

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The joie de vivre of Jackson never feels more palpable than on the day of Old Bill’s Fun Run For Charities. And best of all: All of the smiles are in support of community. Since the founding of Old Bill’s in 1997, the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole has raised more than $111 million. Last year alone, 3,230 donors contributed a whopping $10.4 million through Old Bill’s.

The staggering success of Old Bill’s started with a simple yet visionary idea. Eighteen years ago, an anonymous, magnanimous couple – belovedly dubbed Mr. and Mrs. Old Bill – set out to encourage the entire community to participate in philanthropy in one fell swoop. Their concept: Plan a community-wide celebration and in the days leading up to the event, collect a pool of donations to match the funds people give during the festivities. This event-based equation not only makes philanthropy a fun, social happening, but also makes every dollar donated go farther. Take 2014 for example: $7.7 million came from designated gifts, while the matching fund contributed $2.72 million, resulting in a match percentage of 54%. Thanks to Old Bill’s, the charitable heart of Jackson Hole has become greatly magnified. Visit the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole’s website to learn more about how Old Bill’s works.

The first charitable event of its kind in the country, Old Bill’s makes giving both fun and easy: one form allows donors to give to all of their favorite causes, and the run itself offers a friendly reminder to give. Always staged in early September – after the craze of summer subsides and the start of school – Old Bill’s has become a seasonal ritual whereby everyone turns out to celebrate the community spirit coursing through the Tetons. Nearly every Jacksonite participates in Old Bill’s in some form, whether running like the wind to win a competitive class, donning a costume and skipping along the downtown route as a team, or manning one of the nonprofit booths encircling Town Square. Immediately following the Fun Run and Walk, Town Square erupts in a community celebration with music, food and info booths about the plethora of charities participating in Old Bill’s.

There’s still time to join in the fun of Old Bill’s 2015 on Saturday, September 12: register (for free) to walk or run in advance online, or day-of (for $20). The athletic portion begins at 10am with festivities immediately following. Old Bill’s donations must be submitted by Friday, September 18. Peruse the missions of participating nonprofits on the Community Foundation’s website. And be sure to show up on Saturday to experience a truly only-in-the-Tetons community event.


A Professional Friendship Built on Quality and Integrity

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John Jennings of Peak Builders has built not one but two homes for Phil Stevenson. The first Phil and his wife Betsy bought in Indian Trails and had John, the original builder, renovate. When a fire claimed their beloved house, they turned to John and once again, he impressed them as a person and a craftsman. Now friends, they share top clients and life milestones: Phil hired John’s fiancé as his first employee and then attended their wedding, even offering the Stevenson home as a venue for their big day. Needless to say, the two maintain a close working relationship built on a strong foundation of trust and integrity.

 

Recently Phil sat down with John to talk about his long and storied career in Jackson Hole Realestate development:

Phil: Being a broker is all about adding value for your clients. When a client is considering purchasing a piece of land, they want to know who we would recommend to design and construct a house for them. Of if it’s a renovation, they come to us for recommendations. John is at the very top of our recommended contractor’s list. We have recommended John and Peak Builders to multiple clients and they have been very happy. My job, as a broker, is to add value, not just shuffle paper. Some brokers are reluctant to make recommendations because of liabilities. We feel like that is part of our job. We have worked together on three or four homes. Here’s a good story about one of those homes: We were representing a client looking for a property several years ago. We found a gorgeous piece of property but the house was tired. The client said, “I love the property, but I need to be assured that I can build my dream house when the time comes.” We consulted an architect and checked with the county and determined that could be done, and introduced the client to John and his team. They purchased the house. John and his team renovated the kitchen and bath.

John: We dressed it up inside: we redid the carpets, painting, the bathrooms. We made it liveable to their standards for a little while.

Phil: Then, last year, they had an architect move on with drawings for the house.

John: We tore down a little barn that was there and put the foundation in for a man cave with a gym, and renovated the guest house on the property. And then last year, we started the main house. It has been a great project, great clients. We would have never have met them if Phil had not brought us in on the original idea of facilitating this niche that a lot of people are missing in the real estate world: Bring an architect and contractor in while clients are looking to give them ideas and estimates. It helps them with their due diligence work.

Phil: This is part and parcel of what I do because for 30 years, I was a commercial developer. It’s in my DNA to involve an architect and contractor. It’s a good client service.

John: It works out well. It’s been great for us. We’ve met some great people through Phil, and I, in turn, introduce you to some of my clients.

Phil: John built a very nice house in HHR. He introduced us to the homeowner who was thinking about developing a rental program. We subsequently signed them up, and they remain a client. Just yesterday: we were working with a client who was looking to buy a house with particular requirements. One house was very, very close, but didn’t quite meet all of her requirements. So I called up John and said, “Could you or one of your guys meet me up at the house and help me through this?” This was on two hours’ notice. So John sent his right-hand man up there. I got an architect to come too. We figured out a way to make the house accommodate the client. In the meantime – John, you don’t know this – we showed the client a gorgeous piece of property with huge Teton views. She got really excited about that. Today, we put that piece of property under contract.

John: You did? That’s spectacular.

Phil: It’s a symbiotic relationship. John had one of his guys drop whatever he was doing and help me out with this house.

John: Which we do all the time. We do whatever we can to go over and help Phil. We have a great friendship and relationship in that respect.

Phil: In that instance, the structure didn’t end up being the one the client purchased, but John’s crew was very helpful. I’ve got a good memory so when that client asks for my recommendation of a contractor, it’ll be John. It’s helping each other to better help our clients. John, you’ve got an interesting background, if “interesting” is the right word. Tell about your surfer boy days.

John: I grew up on Maui and California. I was a surfer and started at a young age with carpentry, summer work and such. I wanted to live in a ski town and leave the world I was in at the time which was a little too much excess. I was 17 years old; it was 1985. I was going to hitchhike and was thinking about Squaw Valley but then I heard about Jackson Hole – this place nobody was skiing, so I hitchhiked out here. I lived in a teepee and did what I could for work. I built a lifestyle here, fell in love with it. I went back out to California for a little while and came back with the mother of my kids in 1989. My son was born in 1990. I always had ambition, so I started my business in 1992 doing remodels, decks, fences, laying wood floors – whatever I could. By the mid-90s, we were starting to build a portfolio of reasonable homes. By the end of the decade, we were well-established in Jackson Hole as a custom home building company.

Phil: In Jackson, unlike in Atlanta where I come from, there are not mass producers of homes. We don’t have any neighborhoods where people put up spec homes. Virtually all of the nice homes are built by pretty small shops like John’s where the owner will typically be finishing up a project while another one is starting and one or two more are in the estimating phase.

John: That’s exactly it. My job is to stay at large and be out at the sites. I finish off the projects – that’s an important part of the Peak Builder name.

Phil: John’s not above putting on a tool belt and swinging a hammer.

John: I do it all the time. Of course, the essence of our business is quality – everybody says that, but ours truly is. We try and represent quality the best we can.

How do The Clear Creek Group and Peak Builders complement one another both in the types of businesses you run and the types of clients you serve and ultimately the types of projects you work on together?

Phil: We are both relatively small.

John: Boutique.

Phil: We are both relationship-oriented. It is far more important to have a successful relationship than to make a nickel on a given day. We both take a long-view of things. We both get a lot of clients referred by existing, satisfied clients. The emphasis that John mentioned and is particularly proud of (rightly so) is on quality. We have quality homes in our portfolio that are well taken care of.

John: We are dealing with a certain type of client: clients with a high-standard who know what they want. Because it is relationship-based, we usually stay friends with all of our clients afterwards. I think that is really important in this day and age. Quality in performance whether it’s in our construction or The Clear Creek Group’s direction and execution of how they handle a home. Personally, I think TCCG is as high-end as you can get for a property management and property rental firm. I know this not just through Peak Builders but also my personal relationship with Phil and Betsy and my wife working for the firm. I was going around with her a lot to see how the homes were being handled. I saw how the operations went and I was very impressed.

Phil: Another differentiator for John – there is a threshold for contractors: you’ve got to be a good builder. John has a particular emphasis on quality, but there’s something else he does that not many contractors do. John has what my wife Betsy would say is a “good eye.” He will come up with creative solutions and suggestions on how a structure can be built with a better outcome for less money. Sometimes that’s aesthetic and sometimes that’s structural. John is very good at working in a team environment with the client and the architect. The objective is not to have the prettiest building or cheapest building, but to have the best building however the client might value best.

John: It’s true. I’ll lose money before I turn a house over not done to our standards.

Phil: And you studied architecture, right?

John: I did – in San Luis Obispo. We are a very in-house company. We do our own excavation, cabinetry, painting, all of our own carpenters. We have a well-facilitated company.

Phil: A lot of contractors sub that out.

John: We are one-of-a-kind company in Jackson Hole in terms of the things we truly do in-house. This is a fact: we have more collective tenure of any company in Jackson. Nobody can add up to our amount of years collectively. I have some of the people that have been with me since the early 90s and most have been with me since the late 90s.

Phil: His crew was so good in doing our house that my wife Betsy – who is also a partner in the firm and sort of a dear heart – would take it upon herself to get the guys pizza.

John: She was awesome. We love Betsy. She’s one of the best homeowners ever.

Phil: To the detriment of job efficiency.

John: I know! It upset me sometimes, but my crew sure loved it. I’d say, “You guys are on break again?!” And they’d respond, “Well, she started it!” Speaking of job efficiency, I’ve built pretty much everywhere in the valley. We are currently building three projects, all over $5 million homes, one over $10 million. We try and do it in a progression. We never start two jobs at once. We do have to do things with an overlap. We have the right crews on each one to facilitate the work. We have been turning down jobs this year. We will not over-stack our load. Only if we can staff it properly and have the proper management. One thing you learn in almost a quarter century of having your own business is how not to do business. You learn tricks along the way. Paperwork is a big one. Our presentations are well accepted by everybody. We strive to get better each time we set out.

Can you describe your ideal client?

Phil: We like clients who are intelligent, decisive. Clients who will listen. We both think we bring value to the table. That’s not to say a client will always do what we recommend, but we like a client who listens. We like a client who is responsive: Tell me yes, tell me no, tell me something.

John: Indecisiveness is one of the biggest killers. I love it when they are to the point, one way or another.

Phil: The very best clients are appreciative. That’s not a prerequisite. It’s gratifying when someone is appreciative.

John: That’s a big one, a big fuel – getting a pat on the back. A client letting you know you are doing a good job, for me and for anyone who cares about what they do, that means a lot. It carries the weight and allows you to be happy with the artistic and creative things you do. There’s nothing worse than a client being disappointed.

Phil: A client who trusts you. You have to earn their trust, but once you do, the client implicitly knows that what you are telling them is from the heart and as true as it can get.

Would you define your proximity to one another as a collective competitive advantage?

Phil: From my standpoint, absolutely. From the client’s perspective – the property buyer – they have a need that is impacted by the construction process either new construction or renovation or some combination. To be able to, as I did two days ago, pick up the phone and at two hours’ notice to have a heavy-hitter show up at the job site, that’s impressive to the client. It’s not just me, there are people I believe in and work with who I can bring to the table to their benefit.

John: Our offices are in town as well. We can drop whatever we are doing when Phil calls. One of us is always able to jump out and help Phil.

Phil: Partially born of friendship and partially born of professional common sense. You help somebody out and they help you out.

John: We are really happy. It’s a great relationship for us. It’s always been more than business with Phil.

Phil: In a small town like this, that’s really important because your company people are everywhere.

Phoenix Rising: The Town Hill

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Four years ago, The New York Times chronicled the uncertain future of Snow King Resort under the ominous headline, “In the Shadow of Grand Resorts, a Town Hill Struggles.”

The article told of the Town Hill’s history as the first ski area in Wyoming and one of the oldest in the nation. “The ski slope that rises up the mountain just off downtown, called Snow King, dates from the 1930s, when this corner of the West all but folded up in winter, isolated and dark, and local people needed something to do,” wrote Times reporter Kirk Johnson. Snow King has long been loved by locals for the runs its close proximity to downtown allows them to sneak in before work, during lunch, and after hours.

“‘It was never meant to make money,’ said Bill Ashley, 89, [in the Times article] who owned and ran the Snow King ski school for many years and met his wife, Mary, at the top of the mountain in the early 1950s. “‘It was meant to be for the town.’”

“For the town” remains the motto of the resort, even now under new ownership. When the Timesarticle was published, the long-time owners of Snow King had quietly put the resort up for sale because the math just didn’t add up: With less than 400 acres of steep, skiable terrain (miniscule by modern resort standards), Snow King operated at a $800,000 winter deficit, a loss partially recovered by steady year-round convention and hotel business and popular summer activities like the alpine slide. After several years on the market and much civic discussion, Jackson resident Max Chapman took over as Snow King President last November. His goal: To create a ski hill that serves locals but also holds its own against other first-class resorts in the region and beyond.

Snow King’s phoenix rising can be felt on any given summer day as the base buzzes with activity. From the weekly Wednesday People’s Market to the periodic free concert series JacksonHoleLive!, from the intrepid hikers crisscrossing its steep slopes to the revolving door of athletic competitions, Snow King plays host to a panoply of activities open to locals and visitors alike.

In addition to cultivating the resort as a community hub, the new Snow King leaders are busy redeveloping. Phase one improvements include the brand new Rafferty lift, the under-construction ropes course, and – coming very soon – the Mountain Coaster. Boasting Teton views and corkscrew loops, the rollercoaster will race through the forest along 3,000 feet of fixed track. Having raised nearly $20 million from investors, Snow King has currently focused on beefing up profitable summer operations so as to grow winter activities in the future. To underscore Snow King’s summer potential, approximately 70,000 people ride the alpine slide each summer compared with 40,000 skier days. That said, Snow King remains committed to winter having installed new lighting and snowmaking machines last winter to allow for early-season race training. Beyond servicing the alpine slide, the new Rafferty lift will provide access to two new intermediate ski runs. And a new base lodge will boast a restaurant and bar.

The recently-revealed yet years-off phase two includes a gondola, a summit restaurant, lift-accessed mountain bike trails, a summit-to-base zip line and a boundary expansion that would make the resort two-thirds larger (from 370 acres to 614). “The vision is to make Snow King a world-class mountain resort right here in Jackson Hole,” Chapman said in a June 17 feature in the Jackson Hole News&Guide. “We’re really trying to build a whole new Snow King.”

Back in 2011, Kirk Johnson questioned the future of tiny resorts like Snow King: “What place do ski hills like Snow King have in the modern world?” he wrote. “What are they worth to a community or an economy? Has the chemistry between town and town hill been changed by tough times?”

Johnson’s rhetorical questions can now be answered in the affirmative. The chemistry between Jackson Hole and Snow King has indeed changed with tough times, but not in the way Johnson may have imagined. Instead of diminishing in importance, the bond between the Town of Jackson and its Town Hill has only grown stronger.

Snow King, Ski, Jackson, Hole, Summer, Wyoming, Outdoors


 

Grand Teton Music Festival: An Open Celebration of Classical Music

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The moment before the music begins, a still hush settles on Walk Festival Hall as all eyes turn to the conductor. Rapt with anticipation, the audience waits for the baton to fall and the sparks to rise.

In its 54th season, the Grand Teton Music Festival creates memorable classical music experiences for all involved in its seven-week run from the acclaimed musicians who migrate summer after summer to play in its illustrious fold to the devoted patrons who attend every performance. Under the musical direction of Maestro Donald Runnicles – who spends the rest of the year leading the famed Deutsche Oper in Berlin – GTMF continues to explore new heights of presentation and performance. “The level of orchestra playing under Donald Runnicles’ leadership is… some of the highest in the world,” writes GTMF Executive Director Andrew Palmer Todd. “Each time our Festival Orchestra steps on stage, I am truly thankful for their commitment to our organization. Their presence here each summer is a gift to our community that is to be cherished, celebrated and shared!”

On the subject of sharing, GTMF has added new programs with the next generation of music lovers in mind including free family-friendly concerts with its Artists in Residences and Music in Town, a pair of chic concerts staged in downtown galleries. “These events allow the audiences of tomorrow to be up close and personal with great artists and share in the joy of music,” Todd writes.

Every week from now until mid-August, the festival presents a varied menu of programs, from the star-studded Festival Orchestra concerts on Fridays and Saturdays to the exploratory GTMF Presents series featuring musicians stretching the bounds of classical music. On Tuesdays, Festival Musicians give free, informal concerts for all ages and on Thursdays, the Chamber Music series curates small ensembles. This summer, GTMF is hosting two Artists in Residence, who will perform a week’s worth of concerts: Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, considered Yo-Yo Ma’s heiress apparent, from July 13 to 18, followed by magnetic guitarist Pablo Villegas from August 3 to 8. Both artists will give free community concerts during their residences.

Throughout the summer, guest soloists and conductors make exhilarating appearances at Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village, including Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor’s performance in this weekend’s orchestral program, The Greats: Bernstein & Mahler, and violinist Mark O’Connor – dubbed “one of the most talented and imaginative artists working in music – any music – today” by the Los Angeles Times – who will perform in GTMF Presents: American Classics on July 22. On August 14 and 15, Season 54 wraps on a particularly high note with soprano Jane Archibald leading Jubilation: Mozart & Respighi, a formidable program sure to enthrall the packed hall.

Beyond the summer flurry of performances, GTMF raises the valley bar for musical education by augmenting local schools’ music curriculum with individualized instruction, private lessons, small rehearsals and even the opportunity to perform in the professional setting of Walk Festival Hall. At its core, the festival aims “to ensure that everyone in Jackson Hole can access the world-class music making the Festival has presented for the past 53 summers,” Todd writes – a mission worth supporting by attending a summer concert. For the full schedule of festival festivities, visit GTMF.org.

Premier Teton Pairing

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A worldly celebration of food, wine and philanthropy descended upon the Tetons this weekend. Over the course of three days beginning Thursday, the Jackson Hole Wine Auction hosted patrons mixing and mingling with some of the world’s most renowned chefs and winemakers, while simultaneously sampling their acclaimed creations – all to benefit the valley’s beloved Grand Teton Music Festival. One of the premier events of its kind, the Wine Auction frames rare access to food and wine luminaries within the friendly context of Jackson Hole.

To lead the gourmand experience, several special guests had been recruited as guides. Drew Nieporent, the event’s Culinary Directory, leads the Myriad Restaurant Group, an empire of more than 35 restaurants around the world including Bâtard, Tribeca Grill, Nobu New York City, Nobu Fifty Seven, Nobu London and Nobu Next Door. Jackson’s own Neil Loomis of Fine Dining Restaurant Group served as Wine Director.

Matt Kramer, whose career as an independent wine writer spans four decades and includes a column in Wine Spectator, served as moderator of the opening event – the Grand Wine Tasting – Thursday afternoon. The Tasting sampled selections from the wineries featured throughout the Wine Auction including Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Flowers Vineyard and Winery, Masi Agricola, Pahlmeyer and Tenuta San Guido. Principals from all of the wineries partook in the lively discussion. 

Palates peaked by the tasting continued their ascension by boarding the Bridger Gondola for Taste of Jackson Hole, a showcase of local culinary color. The lively evening, staged at Couloir Restaurant, plated bites prepared by chefs from Jackson’s top restaurants with handpicked pours of wine, beer and spirits. Live music from local’s favorite One Ton Pig amplified the festive ambiance. 

On Friday night, patrons were invited to experience a truly singular pairing: a celebrated chef works in collaboration with one of the featured vintners entertaining a dinner party inside a spectacular private home. The Signature Private Dinners starred the chefs flown in for the Wine Auction: from New York, April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig, Ryo Hasegawa and Ricky Estrellado of Nobu, Markus Glocker of Bâtard; from Chicago, Giuseppe Tentori of GT Fish & Oyster; and from New Orleans, John Besh of Restaurant August. A once-in-a-lifetime dinner, never to be replicated again.

After the festivity of Thursday and the intimacy of Friday came Saturday’s centerpiece: the Auction & Gala Dinner. Staged at Snake River Ranch, the event, designed by WRJ Design, channeled the aesthetic of a vineyard chateau with a palette of lavender, blue and slate. The evening began with sparkling wine, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction, followed by a six-course dinner curated by the chefs and vitners celebrated throughout the week. Between courses, spirited bidding ensued for the live auction lots – an alluring array of rare wines and luxury experiences.  Fritz Hatton, an expert wine auctioneer, expertly stoked bids for the rare lots, with all proceeds benefiting the Grand Teton Music Festival. After dessert, the party waltzed into the evening hours with live music and dancing.

Those sad to have missed this year’s Wine Auction should mark their calendars for next year’s fête, slated for June 23 through 25.



WRJ Design: Aesthetic Immersion

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After cultivating careers in London and New York, Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer chose to root their lives and their firm, WRJ Design, in this rare landscape. Now profoundly inspired by place, they channel their experience with the sublime into every home they design.

From their roost in Wyoming, Rush and Klaus remain connected to international currents through exhibition design for Sotheby’s, private commissions and international sourcing trips. Boundlessly curious, they immerse themselves simultaneously in nature and the traditions of art, architecture, antiques and design. Whether hiking or traveling, the acclaimed designers translate their interactions with beauty into interiors as inspired as they are individual.

Befitting their global orientation, Rush took time from touring Italy to sketch his unique trajectory from Sotheby’s to the Tetons.

What is the history of WRJ’s relationship with Sotheby’s?

I studied fine art with Sotheby’s in London. While in London, I worked in Sotheby’s European furniture department and they introduced me to Sotheby’s in New York, where I worked in business development of European furniture for a year before becoming the Director of Design – a role that came about because my boss in New York was in charge of pitching new sales and placing artwork throughout the building. While doing a significant amount of the internal installation work, I recognized a need for someone to fill that role full-time. As Director of Design, I essentially designed all of the exhibits for Sotheby’s single-owner sales. After a year and a half, I opened my own firm and Sotheby’s became my client. All told, I’ve designed more than 40 exhibits for Sotheby’s. My relationship with Sotheby’s also led to work outside the auction house, most notably the exhibition I did for First Lady Nancy Reagan at the Reagan Library featuring Mrs. Reagan and her fashion aesthetic. Highlights of my tenure with Sotheby’s include: Kennedy Family Homes, Brooke Astor, Bill Blass, Mrs. Paul Mellon, Mrs. Jane Wrightsman, Laurance Rockefeller, Katharine Hepburn and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” which sold for a record-breaking price.

What inspires your exhibition designs? How do you get inspired? 

For us, every collection is different and what we design reflects the unique character of that collection and the family or individual who cultivated it. We try and pull out the core elements of each collection. For instance, for Mrs. Mellon, the core of her collection was her gardens; her passion for horticulture could be seen in everything she collected from jewelry to paintings. In designing the exhibition for her collection, we identified two key sites on her beloved Virginia estate: an espalier connecting the house to a gardening pavilion and the potting shed itself with its astounding trompe l’oeil wall paintings. By recreating both places within the exhibition, we created an experience of beauty that unfolded piece by piece. The importance of design is to create something that is compelling and intriguing. An exhibition should unfold like a story, with a sense of discovery present at every turn.

How does experience with exhibition design inform your interior design projects? 

Through my work with Sotheby’s, I have developed an innate understanding of art, antiques, objects, sculpture and porcelain. I know how objects relate in space and the placement of pieces in interiors. The essence of an exhibition is the architecture; you must get the architecture of the space right and only then can you suitably showcase pieces. The architecture of Brooke Astor’s home was very different than the Mellon estate. We try and create a sequence of rooms that reflects back to the original collection. We do the same in our interiors: We understand the architecture and how rooms flow into each other. We understand the proportion of the room and the proportion of objects and furniture in relation to the space. We understand balance, volume, space and harmony, and how it all comes together. And then we layer in other elements: color, texture, historical significance, artwork. The latter is crucial to our expertise: through Sotheby’s, we have probably placed or directed the placement of more than 40,000 works of art. We understand how everything works together to achieve harmony.

Whether approaching an exhibition or a residence, we embrace the challenge of articulating the aesthetic particular to that person, place or family. No two exhibitions are the same, just as no two clients are the same. Everyone has a different sense of harmony and balance and beauty. We know we have done a good job when we hear people saying, “This feels like the home of Bunny Mellon or Bill Blass.” That’s when we know we have succeeded with an exhibition. A home presents a different paradigm for success: We strive to express our client’s layered lives through their environments, and we know we have achieved that when they see their personal history and lifestyle reflected all around them. It’s one thing to recreate the spirit of someone’s collection in a fresh way, but quite another to capture the dynamism of a life as its being lived. We rise to the honor of both design challenges.

 

Made in the U.S.A: A Pair of Creative Entrepreneurs

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Christian Burch and John Frechette are the JH archetype of creative entrepreneurship. Both changed the course of their careers by launching retail venture at once inspired and integral to the community. MADE and Mountain Dandy attest to their pairing of vision and dedication.

John moved from the East Coast to Jackson in 2007 to be the sales manager for a real estate development south of Town. Always artistic, he took a fused glass class at the Art Association – a lark that he loved (little did he know glass art would become his mainstay). After transitioning away from the luxury development in 2009, John embraced the opportunity to try something new. “I had to reinvent my life in order to stay here,” he said. Inspired by his art class experience, he launched Strapped Glass, a line of fused glass belt buckles and jewelry. He honed his retail pitch over the course of a summer selling his wares at art fairs; by September, when a hallway space opened up in the Broadway Shops in September 2009, he could quickly pull together a one-month pop-up shop. A banner success, the pop-up inspired John to search for a permanent roost.

That spring, while road tripping with Christian, John got a call saying his ideal space in Gaslight Alley could be his if he said yes on the spot. So he did. Since the call found the pair in Las Vegas, they rented a U-Haul and converted their drive home into a buying trip for store fixtures. Christian, a published author, high school literature teacher and valley bastion of style, shaped the new store’s aesthetic. On the drive, John called artists he’d met at as peers at fairs and gift shows, and asked for any product they had on hand. “’What can you send me in three weeks?’” John remembers pitching. He signed the lease on April 1st, got the space May 1st and opened six days later. “It was a whirlwind,” Christian said.

MADE’s tornado start was grounded by John’s conviction in the concept of showcasing handmade, repurposed and found objects. “MADE came out of ideas we cared about and things we loved,” he said. Immersed in the Maker Movement, John recognized an open niche for artist-made gifts tailored to Wyoming, appealing to both locals and tourists.

MADE’s early days were a training ground, a learning experience supported by other small business owners in Jackson. “We were piecing it together,” he says. “I borrowed a cash drawer from Lily & Co.” Lee Gardner of Lee’s Tees served as a “part-cheerleader, part-mentor.” Much of Lee’s early advice has become standard operating procedures at MADE and Mountain Dandy, like abiding by stated retail hours and staying open in the off-season. “It’s important for locals to be able to buy a birthday card every day of the year,” John said.

Invaluable advice also came from John’s dad:

“You can’t sell it if you don’t have it,” – as in always be well-stocked and spend money to make money.

John’s willingness to jump at opportunities is a hallmark not only of his start but also his success. “All of our stores have been shotgun starts,” he said. Two winters ago, Hotel Terra approached him with the prospect of filling the Teton Village void of a vibrant gift shop. A small margin of risk, John agreed to create a MADE outpost in the eco-resort. “It acts like a big billboard for the town shops,” John said.

When Shayne decided to shutter her skin care shop across the alleyway in Fall 2013, John and Christian saw their chance to launch a more refined men’s store. Locking down the lease within five days of Shayne’s announcement, they staged a Stocking Bar in December and then renovated the space in the spring to make way for Mountain Dandy. Small retail spaces are hard to come by downtown, John said. “We didn’t have the leeway to deliberate.”

The concept for Mountain Dandy grew out of the John and Christian’s domestic aesthetic: when people step inside their home, they often coo, “This is cool!” Related to MADE but not identical, Mountain Dandy continues the American-made theme with a focus on goods for gentlemen. Items deemed too luxe for MADE now define Mountain Dandy. Eclectic vintage pieces are central to the concept.

To minimize risk, John and Christian do not borrow money to begin their ventures, instead sourcing within their means. John describes early MADE as “bootstrap,” a cost-consciousness that synced with the capacity of his American artists; he’d buy tiny amounts, which is often all the artists had available. “American makers understand what we are trying to do,” he said.

Beyond the wares they sell, John and Christian have become concierges. “People often say, ‘We love your shop, what else will we love?’” Christian said. By greeting everyone who walks in the door, they create a friendly ambiance conducive to conversation. When John and Christian reflect on their four years in business, they see the enduring imprint of the JH brand.

“When people fall in love with Jackson Hole, they want to take a piece of it home with them,” says John.

MADE and Mountain Dandy stock souvenirs that remind visitors of their unforgettable experiences in the valley, and their booming web business speaks to the breadth and depth of Jackson Hole’s reputation: orders come from all over the world.

Each business builds upon the accumulated knowledge base. Mountain Dandy’s strong sales of vintage furniture was made possible by the expertise they gained shipping all sorts of things at MADE. “If people fall in love with something, they figure out a way to get it home,” John said. “We didn’t know how to ship leather armchairs to LA, but now we do.”

Having grown so quickly, John is keen to focus the near future on bolstering their internal infrastructure. That said, they are always scheming new concepts, whether replicating MADE and Mountain Dandy in other mountain communities or small cities, or nurturing new projects as design consultants (they helped outfit Persephone Boulangerie and Café). To have achieved so much in less than five years speaks to the valley’s embrace of budding entrepreneurs. “This town is incredibly supportive of small, local businesses,” John said.

John Frechette [Left] and Christian Burch [Right] are the entrepreneurs behind MADE and Mountain Dandy.

John Frechette [Left] and Christian Burch [Right] are the entrepreneurs behind MADE and Mountain Dandy.