Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams introduce themselves and their new Frontenac store to St. Louis.

SLHL: Why did you choose St. Louis as your newest location?

Mitchell and Bob: Why not St. Louis? We want to be in all the fabulous cities in America. This is a really gorgeous city with beautiful homes and obviously has customers that would appreciate our style sense. Plus, we loved the location in Frontenac. It’s very intimate.

As a professional musician, Don Bailey has played music in 18 countries across the world. As a chef, he found inspiration just down the Mississippi River in New Orleans. “You have gumbo for the first time, you have andouille sausage, it’s a whole other world,” says Bailey, owner of Evangeline’s Bistro & Music House and guitarist for The Bob Band.

Loft living offers urban dwellers high ceilings, wide-open spaces and industrial charm with the amenities of the city at their doorstep, so it is no wonder that a St. Louis family of four was fond of the loft life. What they weren’t so fond of…having their home spread out over three separate levels. When an opportunity came available to purchase four adjacent apartment units on one level as well as the rooftop, the homeowners jumped at the chance to shrink their main-floor living space from three levels to one.

Hidden among the trees on a magnificently wooded hillside in Creve Coeur is an architectural gem. Built in 1957, the stunning mid-century modern home was designed by renowned architect Harris Armstrong, universally recognized as the dean of the modern movement in St. Louis.

Although most of Armstrong’s education was acquired while working for various architectural firms, he received some formal training at Washington University, and the majority of his professional career was spent in the St. Louis region.

When she began designing her own garden, Betsy was well up to the task. Describing herself as someone who had previously “putzed around” with gardening when her children, now 22 and 24, were small, Betsy got serious 10 years ago. She took the Master Gardener course at the Missouri Botanical Garden, offered through the University of Missouri Extension Service. Following the completion of the course, she began working at Garden Heights Nursery in Richmond Heights, and immediately “hit it off” with a coworker, Caroline Hogg.

Often one of the first bloomers of the season, pansies are the perfect annual to plant for bright spring color. SLHL asked local landscapers to share their favorite variety of pansy.