7.19.21



In the Explosive Houston Market, These Six Districts Are the Hottest 'Hoods Now

Evan W. Black

PRICES ARE UP all over town, and new listing continue to fly off the market in record time. The city's top realtors tell us these six neighborhoods are the hottest of the hot right now.

Interior Dialogue: Star Designer Benjamin Johnson, aka 'Biscuits Australia,' Took Our Crazy Quiz

Jeff Gremillion

BENJAMIN JOHNSON IS a top-tier interior designer and creative director of his own eponymous design studio. And, with more that 112,000 Instagram followers, he's one of Houston's most effective and beloved designers on social media. One of his highest profile new projects meets the public this week, when his two-year collab with Thompson Custom Homes and Robert Dame Designs is toasted at a showhouse event on Wednesday. But before he pulled out the Champagne, he answered our 20 questions.

Part Artist and Part Forensic Scientist, Lartigue Is an Avant-Garde ‘Angel’ of Death and Decay

Daniel Renfrow

"QUEER AND TRANS archaeology lives within the deteriorations of history," reads part of a poem included in a recent performance by Houston-reared trans artist-activist Angel Lartigue. Her work, which she calls "bacteriomancy," often involves using bacteria and fungi — including some gleaned from the occasional human cadaver — to explore ideas rooted in forensic anthropology, biotechnology, race and gender identity.

Exclusive Furniture’s Sam Zavary Credits Luck, Hard Work and ‘Mom’s Prayers’ for His Success

How did you get to where you are today? I am a firm believer that hard work and having dreams that you strive to achieve will motivate and inspire people to achieve their potential. Working hard, dreaming, and making sure to take advantage of every opportunity is something I learned at a young age. I credit God and God’s grace firstly, but I know that success is a direct result of hard work. I tell my podcast subscribers and followers to continue setting goals, evolving, improving, and planning, and I practice what I preach. I am proud to have started my business in the fastest growing major city in the United States, and I attribute a lot of the success of Exclusive Furniture to the family culture we create in the best city — Houston’s diversity, philanthropy, and innovation have helped me achieve a lot of the milestones in the furniture business (and the “low prices”) you see today!

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Rachel Gardner with her flower necklaces and, at left, Calla Lilly necklace

ON SATURDAY JULY 27, Foltz Gallery presents Endless Summer, a lively, playful exhibit of works by a multi-generational group of 28 emerging and established Texas-based artists. Taking its name from the 1974 Beach Boys double-album, which compiled the group’s early 1960s hit singles, the show is a visual “mixtape” of colorful paintings, prints, photographs, wall-based installations, ceramics and sculptures, installed lovingly throughout Foltz’s spacious and sunlit galleries. Among the works in Endless Summer are several examples of handmade “sculptural jewelry” by artist Rachel Gardner — a series of wearable wildflowers and fruits, including olives and strawberries.

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Art + Entertainment

Aesha Scott, Jack Vielhauer, Courtney Scott

AFTERNOON SHOWERS DIDN'T stop a gorgeous gaggle of yo-pros and creatives from filling downtown’s Z on 23 rooftop lounge to meet Aesha Scott, the standout star of Bravo’s Below Deck reality show.

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Parties