Nathaniel Reid is a world-renowned chef. He was named the U.S. Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2010 Paris Gourmet Competition. Then in 2012, Dessert Professional Magazine ranked him in the top 10 of American pastry chefs. Reid has been all over the world honing his craft, and now he has returned to his roots and opened Nathaniel Reid Bakery in Kirkwood.

“I color for a living,” says Lisa Ober, with a twinkle and a smile. Given her vast portfolio of portraits and still life compositions, it’s a charming understatement. “There’s a joy we all felt as children when we colored, and I can’t believe I get to feel it every day,” Ober effuses.

Ted Collier is a man of many hats. He is the co-owner of Katie's Pizza, the future owner of a hip, new meal kit service called Viro Pasto, a fisherman and, most prominently, a highly talented artist blooming in the St. Louis area.

When he was six years old, Nate Bonner ate every meal using a replica Imperial Swiss Army Knife that was a gift from his grandfather, Phil. Twenty eight years later, the beautiful hand-made kitchen knives that Bonner designs, machines and sells in his Maplewood store, KnifeWorks, reflect his passion for a household item that many of us mistakenly take for granted. “If you want to learn about people, study their tools,” Bonner says. “The most basic tool is the knife. It’s the one tool that binds all of humanity.”

Collections by Joya is more than just another jewelry company. It's an internationally owned, for women, by women, artisan brand; a channel for jewelers all over the world to share their unique, handmade treasures; and a support system for women everywhere. How did a local St. Louis jeweler become all of this? According to co-founder Betsy Blancett-Nacrelli it's a simple matter of having a lifelong passion for women and a quick 14 years of experience in international retail and design. 

The luminous blue-gray squares on the rectangle canvas radiate light. They look like swaths of paint, but are, in fact, pieces of cut-up Hell Bank Notes, fake Chinese money that is ritually burned to give ancestors wealth in the afterlife. “I wanted the piece to be a reflection of ourselves, so I gave it this mirror quality,” Albert Kuo, 31, explains. “At the moment, I’m not certain what I feel about it. I’ll put it away for a while and reflect on the experience [of creating the work.]”