Inspiring Living with Mark Candelaria

Our guest on this podcast is award-winning Chef Cory Oppold of Altas Bistro, former winner of Food Network’s Chopped, and owner of Course, an in-home dining and catering company. Cory joined Atlas Bistro as Executive Chef in 2014, a fine dining restaurant known for seasonal dishes and adventurous diners. “I believe a menu is everything a chef wants to say at that time and moment and it’s hard for us to tell our story with one dish. That is why every guest gets multiple courses while experiencing my cuisine,” says Chef Cory. 

Cory’s prior positions include teaching at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, working in the kitchen at Binkley’s Restaurant and as executive chef at Tarbell’s restaurant in Phoenix. His childhood was spent on an dairy farm in a small town in Illinois. It wasn’t until he came to Arizona to study architecture that Cory first encountered fine dining and the experience led him to enroll at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute where he graduated with honors in 2002.

Today, Cory remains at Atlas Bistro but also loves to bring the dining experience to people’s homes with his catering and event dining company Course. Course provides customized, 4-8 course menus serving anywhere from 4 to 20 people, as well as Tapas or small plate options for small events or large-scale catering. Cory is also launching a new takeout concept called Simmer Down where Cory prepares a wonderful dish that simply needs to be cooked/heated at home. Cory’s innovative spirit makes his dishes not only creative delights, but also accessible in many different dining experiences.  

Follow Cory here:

http://www.atlasbistrobyob.com/ 

https://coursedining.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-oppold-a56704113 

https://www.instagram.com/chefcoryoppold/

To see more info and photos for all our podcast episodes, visit Candelaria Design’s Podcast page: www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast  

Today’s podcast features our long-time friend in the architecture and home design, President of Berghoff Design Group, Jeff Berghoff. Jeff is regarded as one of the most influential landscape designers in the southwest. He founded Berghoff Design Group in 1997 and it has grown into over 200 employees. Throughout the past 20 years, he has continued to develop classic designs transforming residential properties into beautiful garden showpieces, featured in magazines throughout the country.

Berghoff has a degree in Landscape Architecture from ASU, is a member of ASLA and a part of the Arizona chapter YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization). He has received the Grand Award Golden Nugget from the PCBC for superior and outstanding contributions to the southwest in both design and construction.

He shares with us how his love of landscape design began, how he started his business, who and what inspires him, some of his favorite projects, and tips for all of us to maintain our gardens and yards at home!

For photos and info on this episode and our other podcast episodes, visit Candelaria Design Associate’s Podcast page: https://www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast

Today’s episode is about goodness, kindness, charity, and compassion, as my guest today is a person who genuinely epitomizes all of these traits and does so in an energetic yet graceful manner. This person is Charles Keller, Founder of the Colten Cowell Foundation and the Monument to Compassion. The Colten Cowell Foundation is a non-profit that gives children with a disability or a terminal condition, and their families, one-of-a-kind experiences that are both a lot of fun and deeply meaningful.

The Candelaria Design Team is proud to be a part of this work and we have been donating our services of this brand new 25,000 sf legacy project, which is in design but will soon be under construction, featuring the Bat Cave and all the memorabilia from the old TV series that goes along with it! Their current facility is truly an experience on its own, but when you add the children and families the experience is magical and will only get better with the new Bat Cave.

Enjoy this uplifting podcast episode and then join us in making the Monument to Compassion a lasting place of happiness, hope, and healing.

For photos and more info on this episode and our other podcast episodes, visit Candelaria Design Associate’s Podcast page: https://www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast

Today’s podcast features a collage of friends and contacts all with ties and connections to Italy or are actually in Italy and will share their insights and experiences on how Covid-19 has been affecting them.

From my friend Elizabeth Wholey in Umbria who runs the farmhouse compound, AltaBella, we enjoy every year and just returned from the US and now is in quarantine in her home in Umbria to my friend here in Scottsdale, Marco Felicioli, of Artitalia Group, who supplies many of us with fabulous products and materials from Italy. He will share his experiences of not only what is happening in Italy through his contacts but what he experienced the night of rioting as he sat and defended his showroom in Old Town Scottsdale.

Then we go to London, England and check in with my friend Flavio Casagrande, who is an Italian window rep and is in lockdown in London while he waits to return to Italy and/or the US. He shares his insights on what he sees both in London and hears from Italy.

Finally, we will touch base with another great friend from over 20 years, Gabriele Belli, from Porte de Passato in Central Italy. We have worked with Gabriele for many years including recently on a fabulous home in Desert Mountain built by Manship Builders.

You will enjoy hearing their perspective on what they have been experiencing in Italy, which was particularly hard hit. Elizabeth will share the details of her flight from San Francisco to Rome from just a few days ago and Marco will tell you about his wild night defending his showroom the night of the riots in Old Town Scottsdale.

For photos and more info on this episode and our other podcast episodes, visit Candelaria Design Associate’s Podcast page: https://www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast

Elizabeth Wholey – Instagram @elizabethwholey
                               Facebook https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.wholey 
                               Farmhouses in Umbria www.altabella.com

Marco Felicioli – Artitalia Group https://www.artilaiagroup.com
                          Instagram @artitaliagroup
                          Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ArtitaliaGroup/

Flavio Casagrande – Ital Windows https://www.italwindows.com
                                  Instagram @casaflavio

Gabriele Belli – Porte del Passato  https://www.portedelpassato.com
                         Instagram @portedelpassato  
                         Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gabriele.belli.37

Today’s podcast episode we talk with Abstract Artist out of Austin, Texas, Cody Hooper. He describes his process for helping clients find that special piece or pieces and how he approaches outfitting a home with his work, matching the feelings that a client wants in their home. His work is exhibited in prestigious galleries and featured in private and public collections worldwide, including here in Scottsdale. 

We also dive deep, discussing how after loosing his father and grandmother to a murder-suicide he conquered depression, anxiety and broke the confines of medications to function through painting. This is apparent in his work and the play of light and dark in his art, as he says “needing one to illuminate the other. Art is therapy.” Being true to himself and allowing his audience to see through his paintings and creations is very important to him and we discuss all these sensitive topics and how he’s living his best life today. 

www.codyhooperart.com 

For photos and more info about Cody and our other podcast episodes, visit Candelaria Design Associate’s Podcast page: https://www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast

This week we have a two part series with artist Anna Sadler of Scottsdale-based business Surface Refinements. In Part 1, Anna delves into her work, her craft and the various projects she’s worked on. In Part 2,  we learn about her personal life and the amazing places she’s lived and visited and all the stories, people and projects that came with those places. Anna’s life and craft have so many incredible details, we couldn’t limit her to just one hour! 

Surface Refinements is a decorative painting company that Anna owns along with her husband Scott, specializing in artistic finishes for walls, ceilings and furniture. They also create custom large scale art on canvas, and do highly realistic antiquing of mirrors, far more authentic in nature than commercially “antiqued” mirrors. “We have an endless array of products that we employ in creating a finish, everything from actual mica flakes, glass beads, glitters, patterned foils, metallic and various other unique plasters, Italian Venetian plasters, Swarovski crystals, gold and silver leaf, pigmented mica powders, etc.”

Follow Anna & Surface Refinements:

Email: info@surfacerefinements.com

Facebook:.facebook.com/SurfaceRefinements/ 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anna-and-scott-sadler-4a406a19 

For more info and photos for this and all our podcast episodes, visit Candelaria Design’s Podcast page: www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast  

This week we share Part 2 of “It’s All in the Details with Anna & Scott Sadler of Surface Refinements”. Part 1 Anna spoke about her and her husband’s business, their craft and the various projects they’ve worked on together. but Part 2 features both Anna and husband Scott Sadler and their journey from Canada to right here in Scottsdale, Arizona and the twists and turns along the way including time with Ringo Starr and Prince Albert in Monaco!

Encouraged from a young age to enjoy and explore her artistic side, Anna has “passionately spent most of my life in one creative endeavor or another.” In the early ’90s, she owned and operated two art galleries in Monte Carlo, France where she was able to spend time with their mostly-international clientele and met many world-renowned artists. “I will never forget these experiences as they were life changing!” she recounts.

The story of Anna’s life and the intricacies of her craft have so many incredible details, we couldn’t limit her to just one hour episode. So sit back and enjoy!

For photos, links and more info about Anna Sadler and Surface Refinements, visit Candelaria Design Associate’s Podcast page: https://www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast

Welcome to our next three part series featuring the three Co-Principals of Candelaria Design. We will start with the principal/partner who has been with us the shortest period of time and work our way up to the principal who has been with us the longest and is currently celebrating her 20th anniversary with Candelaria Design! 

Meredith grew up in Phoenix, then attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor Degree in Architecture. Her Senior year she traveled throughout Italy and Europe, fueling her passion for traditional design. She was also fortunate to spend a summer in Chicago interning with Liederbach and Graham Architects, where she discovered her calling to be a residential architect. 

After graduation, she went to work with Fairfax and Sammons Architects in New York City, where she spent three years working on projects in and outside of the city; including a townhouse in the West Village and a summer home in Long Island. Missing family on the West Coast, Meredith decided to make her way back and landed a position at Peter Pennoyer Architects; a New York based firm that has a sister office in San Francisco. From there she transitioned into the interior design world, working for Tucker and Marks Interior Design as an interior architect. 

Meredith Thomson, AIA, Architect and Co-Principal joined Candelaria Design when she moved back to Arizona in 2013 and has made such an impact upon the firm with her design, spirit and warm personality. Meredith works alongside Principal Vivian Ayala in overseeing the design and production arm of Candelaria Design. She has leant a tremendous amount of talent and truly embodies the Inspiring Living spirit with her designs, cooking and lifestyle!

To view photos, links and more info on Meredith and our other podcast guests, visit: www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast 

Our second featured partner and principal of Candelaria Design is Evelyn Jung. Evelyn has been with our firm for 15 years and became a partner because of her unique role with our company – Evelyn is basically our Chief Executive Officer and is the person who runs the business. 

Yes, architecture is a business and many architects loose sight of that fact and do not dedicate the resources or skilled personnel to this critical function of their business. Evelyn Jung is dedicated to making our firm its best by instilling systems not only on the financial side of our business, but on the operations, personnel, HR and marketing components of our business, and does so with passion and commitment. 

Evelyn started as a temporary receptionist at Candelaria Design in 2005, but soon became a full-time employee and Mark’s Executive Assistant. Three years later, as we all endured the great recession, she became the Director of Finance and HR, and in 2018, we were proud to make Evelyn a partner. 

When Evelyn is not managing the business, she loves to spend time with her family and keep active. She and her husband Scott Jung just celebrated their 10th Wedding Anniversary in June (2020) and have two wonderful boys, Nathan and Evan.

For more on Evelyn and our other podcast episodes, visit Candelaria Design Associate’s Podcast page: https://www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast

We conclude the first season and 50th episode of our podcast Inspiring Living with a person who truly inspires living – my good friend and business partner, Vivian Ayala. This podcast is the third of our three part series featuring my three partners of Candelaria Design. Our first was with architect, Meredith Thomson, then our Candelaria Design CFO, Evelyn Jung, and now my third and final partner, Vivian Ayala who just celebrated her 20th year of employment with Candelaria Design! 

Vivian is amazing and is one of the hardest working, most dedicated people I have ever known! We have collaborated on hundreds of projects and looking at what we have on the boards, the best is yet to come. In addition to being an amazing designer, business partner and friend, Vivian is a wonderful mother, sharing her time and love with her beautiful daughter Gabby who is a chip off the block and quite the achiever herself. 

Our Candelaria Design family would not be the same without our Vivian. Her energy, passion and trademark laugh is cherished by all of us. Her work is phenomenal, from classic French estates to ultra contemporary homes on the sides of cliffs. The word “no” or “can’t” does not exist in her vocabulary – Vivian never gives up and always finds a way. 

For photos and more information on Vivian and our other podcast episodes, visit: www.candelariadesign.com/inspiring-living-podcast