Works of Art

A pair of museums opened their doors for glam galas, beginning with the Blaffer Art Museum at UH. Its vibrant Colorsplash gala — chaired by Elin Jackson, Caroline Starry LeBlanc, Tamar Mendelssohn and Marit Babin Stout — featured rainbow-hued flowers and decor courtesy of Todd Events, and an auction filled with works by UH grads and other artists featured at the gallery. Colorfully clad guests donned funky sunglasses and danced the night away to beats by DJ Sun. ... And the CAMH’s annual gala and auction, featuring pieces by Floyd Newsum, Mark Flood and other prominent Houston artists, raised nearly half a million dollars for the museum.


Meredith Hedemann and Travis Blaffer Johnson at Blaffer

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Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

John Kuykendall, Showroom Manager, Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove

How did you get to where you are today? Growing up I had envisioned myself as a news anchor, living in NY and enthusiastically saying into the camera “Good Morning America!”. To this day, I am still a news/political junkie. My mother owned fur salons so specialty retail, luxury retail was in my blood through the family business. Eventually, mom shuttered the stores and I was recruited to a large specialty retailer. Over the next 30 years, I was in commissioned sales on the sales floor, became a department manager, worked my way up to buyer and store manager. Although I never became a newscaster, I did live in NYC for a few years. But Texas is home and with aging grandparents, I felt the pull to come back to my roots. A headhunter approached me. I never envisioned myself in the high-end appliance market, but there are so many similarities. Clients want a memorable experience; whether shopping for diamonds and fur or remodeling their kitchen.

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THE CORINTHIAN WAS the scene for a haunted happening benefiting Children’s Museum Houston. The decidedly adult bash was filled with dark allure, gothic glamour, and generosity to the tune of $1.14 million, the second-highest total in the event’s history.

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Parties

Morris Smith, Tilman Fertitta and Toni Smith

THE HOUSTON CHILDREN'S Charity gala is always anticipated, thanks to the big-deal musical acts brought in to entertain; this year it was Chicago. But the headliners this year were the generous donors, who seemed to surprise even event organizer with their largesse, with a total till of $6.2 million, a record.

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Party People