Business Concept Magazine January 2024

GZ: What was your childhood dream? PM: Honestly, looking back, I can’t recall having a childhood dream of being anything extraordinary or having a fairy tale life. However, I vividly remember organizing crayons by color, rearranging my bedroom, and over-enthusiastically rearranging living room furniture with my cousins. My creative drive, noticed by teachers, prompted my mom, a non-artist, to take me to art festivals and galleries. Despite her unconventional support, I pursued art school in San Francisco shortly after my high school graduation in 1998. I always knew a “regular” path wasn’t for me. GZ: Where do you get your source of inspiration? PM: Inspiration for me is joy. It is abundant, it flows naturally and easily, and is sourced from within. I find beauty in the mundane, in moments,…

When Mason was nine years old, he received a typewriter for Christmas which ignited his dream of becoming a writer. “The typewriter was quite symbolic for me since this became my portal to other worlds. I wrote and illustrated stories about far-off places and times. Although my childhood dream was to be a writer, I soon started composing music for piano and then for my school choir. A conductor commissioned me to write a symphony in tenth grade, and that became my first orchestral composition,” he shares. Mason spent his formative years in his family homestead in Newton, Virginia, and studied at St. Christopher’s School, shaping his interest in creative writing and music. “Growing up in a supportive but non-musical family showed me the value of creating art that communicates…

Jad recalls a carefree and easy childhood with many positive, joyful moments: “Living in two different places at a young age made me who I am today.” When he was 13 (1996), the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. The parents believed this would be best for the brothers education. Jad later moved to San Francisco to study fashion design, where he received a degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Both during and after his studies, he worked for several luxury fashion houses in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Within this period, he was not only sent on collaborative global assignments but also able to approach the heart of his profession and master the artistry of bridal and evening wear. Today, Jad Racha is a…

“Art is the highest form of hope.” This was stated by German abstract visual artist Gerhard Richter in 1982, adding that people who engage in art derive much comfort from it. In the same year, an American lady named Caroline Ragsdale Reutter created her son’s christening cake—a caramel cake with seven layers—which would later appear on the list of “Oprah’s Favorite Things” and become a sensation. Art and cake each have their history of evolution, and their delightful pairing is exemplified in the artistry and craftsmanship of a cake designer. Jamie Poon Li radiates positive energy this morning. She has just dropped her children off at school and now has time to sneak an interview ahead of a busy day. Dressed in a floral print, her hair is pulled back…

Who would have thought that an initial foray into Philippine folk dance some thirty years ago by Danny Rayos del Sol, a former business executive at the University of Toronto, would eventually lead to a lifelong passion in the arts? That’s exactly what happened amidst the cold winters and warm summers in Canada. Today, he is renowned as the only known ostrich egg sculptor in the Philippines, a seasoned artist, and the curator of the Philippines’ National Art Fair, ManilART, a gathering of the country’s best storytellers. Moreover, he is also a gallery owner and a former Head of the National Committee on Art Galleries, a committee of the Sub-Commission on Cultural Heritage of the National Commission of Culture and the Arts of the country. From movement to form was…

The beginning of the Holiday Season started with a magical black-tie benefit presented by the San Francisco Opera Guild, celebrating its tenth anniversary. 250 guests dined on the historic War Memorial Opera House stage, where, since 1932, operatic legends like Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, and Renée Fleming have performed. The evening’s décor was by none other than the master of magic and over-the-top gorgeous décor, J. Riccardo Benavides, included the set from Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, the delightful new production of the romantic comedy set on the Italian Rivera, which began a six-performance run in November. McCalls Catering and Events created a sumptuous dinner complete with an astonishing dessert creation of a pure chocolate piano filled with silky chocolate mousse and berries. It was too beautiful to eat, but…