A St. Louis couple saw endless possibilites inside this former telephone exchange building.
SUE PRUCHNICKI AND TOM PETERSON, both architects, wanted a home that would support their many hobbies: a place large enough to comfortably host their dinner parties, and plenty of room to paint, draw, garden and weld. When the couple’s search for the perfect space led Peterson to a former telephone exchange building in the Carondelet neighborhood, he saw his dream come to life. Pruchnicki, meanwhile, needed convincing.
“She didn’t want to come see it,” he says.
“I kept seeing bankruptcy,” adds Pruchnicki.
Soon thereafter, Pruchnicki caught a segment on the radio about the regrets people had at the end of their lives, and its message moved her to rethink her ideas about the building: “We’ve always said we wanted to do something creative, so let’s try it.” she told Peterson.
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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
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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.
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"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.
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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
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Audra Noyes, of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund Incubator’s first class, opens an atelier in Ladue.
