HOW DID THIS duo come about? We’re a husband-and-wife team in a family business. We met in 5th grade at Kolter Elementary School and became lifelong friends. For the record, we didn’t start dating until a few years later — and we just celebrated our 40th anniversary!
What’s unique about your team and how does the relationship benefit the business? Our team is part of our family; many of us have worked together since we were in our twenties, so we’ve literally grown up together.
Throughout the year we have many events where our brand representatives come to the store. Without exception, they tell us that our team is the best they’ve seen. This sentiment is validated often by customers who send notes of appreciation (and occasional bottles of tequila) for an experience that exceeded their expectations.
We are very proud of these accolades and credit our staff for their expertise, professionalism, and commitment to excellence. They love to share their interests beyond the fashion world, too; so, if you want to know anything about biking or scuba diving, great vacation spots, or dining recommendations, just ask. On top of that, they’re just a lot of fun to be around.
Tell us about your business. What’s special about what you do and how you do it? In a nutshell, we help men live their best lives in style.
We are unique in Houston by offering a curated collection of both established and artisan luxury brands, along with best of class casual offerings, all together, under one roof. We have been experts in the custom business for over 40 years and offer made-to-measure services from the most sought-after brands in the world, including Zegna, Kiton, Isaia, Brunello Cucinelli, Santarelli, Sartorio, and more. We have what many consider to be the best tailor shop in town, and we offer complimentary alterations, closet consultation, private appointments, style advising, and local delivery.
The M Penner Team: Judy Penner, Jeremy Penner, Cody Sever, Karen Penner, Belinda Hillhouse, Jesus Alfaro, Joel Choney, Andrea Irizzary, Whitney Wiggins, Murry Penner (not pictured – Javier Aceves)
What would you be willing to share with others about the secret of success as a duo? We are often asked how we can be married, work together, and not kill each other — how that works. The easy answer is we trust each other. We share great satisfaction in seeing the business and our employees grow and prosper. On occasions where there is conflict, the answer is simple. The buck stops with Murry … at the store. At home, it’s a … well, another interview!
And what makes for an effective team in retail? Everyone on the team works together, so a culture of mutual respect and trust is fundamental. We’re fortunate to have great synergy here that enhances the experiences of both our team and our customers.
Our team works hard, and they are really talented. To keep things fun, we like to have contests that involve games like winning poker hands and “stealing the $20.” We also set team goals, and it’s wonderful to see how the team always pulls together and encourages each other so everyone wins.
What’s up next? What can you share about your plans for 2023? After 17 years at this location, it’s time for a refresh and we’re embarking on a renovation early next year. We’re also planning something special next year to celebrate 50 years in business. Stay tuned!
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This Weekend: Axiom Quartet Plays Contemporary-Classical Concert in the Heights — and Doesn't Play It Safe
Oct. 3, 2024
ONE CANNOT ACCUSE Houston’s Axiom Quartet of playing it safe. When it comes to exploring the outer limits of string quartet repertoire, engaging audiences who don’t normally attend classical music concerts, and putting in the collective time necessary to nail the gnarly idiosyncrasies of 20th- and 21st-century composers, Axiom continues to walk the walk as they talk the talk.
They’re a dapper bunch; relatively conservative in appearance. You’ll never see founding member cellist Patrick Moore, violist Katie Carrington, or violinists Timothy Peters and Matt Lammers rocking a rainbow mohawk or dressed in studded leather jackets onstage.
Instead, the quartet, who have weathered some recent changes in personnel, embraces an unpretentious, hip-to-be-square attitude, engaging their audiences in down-to-earth language while bringing great classical music to unexpected places, be it a pizza parlor, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, or literally underground at Cave Without a Name in the Texas Hill Country.
On Sunday, Oct. 6, Axiom opens its '24-'25 season above ground at Lambert Hall in the Heights with Risky(er) Business, an intense, historically informed concert that explores the sounds of dissent. The program includes Dimitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 2 and the American premiere of Ukrainian-born composer Nikolai Roslavets’ recently discovered and unrecorded String Quartet No. 5.
Roslavets, a cantankerous modernist who nevertheless wholly embraced the experimental innovations of his time, composed this his final string quartet in the early 1940s, toward the end of his life, and in a decade when his music was officially repressed. Thanks to the efforts of dedicated musicologists and ensembles like Axiom, the extent of Roslavets’ repertoire and contributions to contemporary music are finally coming to light. (On Sunday, Axiom will unpack Roslavets’ biography and life under totalitarianism for the Lambert audience.)
Axiom describes Shostakovich’s second string quartet as “a now-celebrated masterpiece written with feverish frustration … giving voice to the Russian people through a transformed folks song.” Musicologists believe Shostakovich used the string quartet as a platform to communicate, albeit in cryptic, even contradictory language, his true feelings regarding Soviet censorship, oppression, and violence.
The second movement of his String Quartet No. 2 is quintessential Shostakovich, with its impassioned recitatives and romantic folk melodies ascending over inverted dominant seventh chords that sit undisturbed like pools of black water.
By the time the movement’s haunting and dissonant chorale appears, you can almost imagine what it must have been like to compose music under Stalin, a time when art was politicized to the point of absurdity, and Shostakovich found himself living a life of relative safety under totalitarian scrutiny.
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TO INFINITY AND beyond! Whimsical family fun awaits at Discovery Green where, beginning Oct. 13, a cinematic putt-putt course inspired by all things Pixar pops up on the Sarofim Picnic Lawn.
The Pixar Putt interactive mini-golf course includes 18 holes depicting the stories and characters from movies like Cars, Toy Story, Wall-E, Monsters Inc. and more. The experience is a collaboration between Junto Entertainment and TEG Life Like Touring, and comes to Houston on the heels of a sold-out run in Washington D.C. It was last in Houston in 2021; since then, new features have been added, including ones inspired by recent hit flicks Inside Out 2, Elemental and Turning Red. Kids and adults alike will enjoy posing for pics with the house from Up, navigating the holes of Swiss cheese from Ratatouille, and scoring a hole-in-one on Buzz Lightyear.
It's open seven days a week through Jan. 20 (but will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day), and offers adults-only putt-putt on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings after 7pm. It is recommended to reserve a tee time by purchasing tickets online prior to arrival.
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