JOHN MATYIKO AND his wife, Mary Matyiko, move houses. Whole houses. They pick them up and transport them, all in one piece. Sometimes they’ll move a house just yards away: This year, for example, they took a 7,000-square-foot house on East Monroe in Kirkwood and shifted it to the edge of the property, freeing up two empty lots that the homeowner can now sell. At other times, the Matyikos’ company, Expert House Movers, will move a house miles down the road. Often they’ll do no more than lift a house upward so workers can lay down a brand-new basement below—a crucial option in St. Louis, where century-old homes may be perched atop shaky foundations and where it’s sometimes cheaper to make an addition by building down instead of out.
“We usually get clients who think outside the box,” says Mary. “Every day is different. That’s part of what’s fun.”
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Cut from the Same Cloth
“Turkey Tracks” is a 19th-century quiltmaking pattern that has the appearance of little wandering feet. Patterns like the tracks, and their traditions and myths, have been passed down through the generations, from their frontier beginnings to today, where a generation of makers has embraced the material as a means of creating something new. Olivia Jondle is one such designer. Here, she’s taken an early turkey track-pattern quilt, cut it into various shapes, and stitched the pieces together, adding calico and other fabric remnants as needed. The result is a trench coat she calls the Pale Calico Coat. Her designs are for sale at The Rusty Bolt, Jondle’s small-batch fashion company based in St. Louis. —SAMANTHA STEVENSON
Color Block
A background in sculpture trained artist Aly Ytterberg to see objects more fully.
A Modern Story
How a little log cabin went from being a home to a guest house
IN GOOD TIME
With the help of interior designer Robert Idol, a Kirkwood couple creates a home that pays homage to the past, yet feels just right for their modern young family.
Let's Dish
"Food Raconteur” Ashok Nageshwaran wants to tell you a story.
The Right Move
New shops and showrooms bring exciting opportunities for local designers, makers, and arts organizations to sell their wares to home enthusiasts here and everywhere.
Green Dreams
Painter and gardener Lauren Knight branches out.
Cultivating Kokedama
Chris Mower of White Stable Farms discovered the Japanese style of gardening in Italy. Now, he’s bringing it to St. Louis.
Graphic Mood
Letters, icons, and illustrations that speak in a hand-drawn language
AUDRA's New Digs
Audra Noyes, of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund Incubator’s first class, opens an atelier in Ladue.
