Stacey Pfeffer

Wallauer Paint and Design Centers Celebrates 100 Years of Beautifying Westchester Homes

November 12, 2021 by Stacey Pfeffer

For more than a hundred years, customers throughout Westchester have turned to Wallauer Paint and Design Centers to help revamp their homes. The fourth-generation family-owned business offers an extensive selection of paints from Benjamin Moore, specialty products and accessories from Ace Hardware, window treatments from Hunter Douglas, designer fabrics and wall coverings, area rugs, and has 15 stores across Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties.

Considering that 20 percent of most new businesses fail within the first year and that number increases to almost 66 percent after ten years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, what keeps both contractors and homeowners coming back to their local Wallauer store? The answer can best be summed up by the company’s Chief Operating Officer Edward Klein. “It really comes down to having a knowledgeable group of people who know their craft and provide excellent customer service. Then it is word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied customers that Wallauer is the go-to place for home improvement locally.”

Many of their employees are local and have worked for the company for a decade or more. When they hire employees, they are looking for people with a broad base of knowledge. Customers may ask about everything from painting projects, to lawn care to plumbing products, so the company looks for employees that can help homeowners with a multitude of products from start to finish.

Spurred by the COVID crisis, New Castle and North Castle and surrounding towns are hot housing markets with an influx of new residents, many of them first time homeowners. “We can help people with anything they want to do in their homes ranging from the walls, the windows to the floors with premium high-quality products and even in-home color consultations,” said Klein.

Wallauer offers home design services in six of their stores and offers Ace Hardware Departments in five. Every Wallauer Design department features window displays from Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, specializing in motorization and full house automation of blinds and shades. Designers featured in top shelter magazines including fabrics from Robert Allen, Kravet, Fabricut and Kasmir and top wallpaper brands such as Schumacher, Thibaut, Nina Campbell and Candice Olson are also available.

The company prides itself on offering products that you wouldn’t find in a big box store. Klein points out Benjamin Moore Paints as a prime example. Owned by billionaire Warren Buffet, the paint is only sold in independent home improvement stores. “Would Home Depot or Lowe’s like to sell Benjamin Moore? I assure you they would,” quips Klein. In fact, the company is the largest Benjamin Moore paint, hardware and decorating retailer in Westchester, Rockland & Putnam.

They also have a long-standing relationship with the paint company spanning a hundred years when company founder Clarence Rudolph Wallauer opened his first Wallauer store in White Plains in 1921. The company initially had a strong focus on paint and wallpaper coverings but over the years their product line expanded and diversified as did the company’s footprint with 15 stores in the county ranging from the largest store in White Plains to popular ones further north such as the Carmel and South New Rochelle locations.

The Challenges of COVID

Like every other business, Wallauer has been affected by the COVID crisis. Luckily, they have seen their business grow 20 percent in the past two years but recruiting employees and maintaining stock has been challenging. “There are supply chain issues all over the housing market with fulfillment but we do have product and warehouses to store our stock,” notes Klein.

Additionally, the customer base has changed dramatically throughout COVID. Prior to COVID, 75 percent of their customers were contractors and 25 percent were homeowners. One year into COVID, the customer base shifted to 75 percent DIY homeowners so the importance of having knowledgeable staff who could explain projects to first time homeowners was a key differentiator for the business. In addition, they had to enhance their online focus with curbside pickup and fulfillment of mobile orders. Currently, their customers are 60 percent contractors and 40 percent homeowners. “Many of our customers didn’t even know about us but once they come here, they’d rather go to us than a big box store. The pandemic has shown people the value of making investments in their homes,” notes Klein.

Giving Back to The Community & Customers

As a long-standing local business, Wallauer has also contributed to The Pink Fund, a non-profit breast cancer organization that provides 90-day non-medical cost-of-living expenses to breast cancer patients who are in active treatment. This year marks the fourth year in a row that Wallauer has supported the organization. The company cares greatly about the communities and customers they serve. They match every donation made at the point of sale by customers and to date have donated over $15,000.

In addition, to celebrate their 100th anniversary and to thank long time customers as well as new, a $100 gift certificate will be awarded to one shopper in every Wallauer store every month through December 2021. To register for the drawings, visit www.wallauer.com/100-years/. In addition, Wallauer will offer a “buy one paint sample, get a second one at ‘100%’ off” throughout the year. Sprucing up your home in time for the holidays has never been easier.

Katy Winter Knows: A Beautiful Home is an Organized Home

November 12, 2021 by Stacey Pfeffer

Photo credit: Pretty Pictures Photography

As a self-proclaimed Queen of Clutter, I couldn’t wait to take a tour of home organizer Katy Winter’s organized home and learn the secrets to having an Instagram-worthy house. And sure enough, she does have a home that could be featured on The Home Edit. But as a fellow mom of three, her Chappaqua home never felt sterile or too formal. You could tell kids lived in her house, but everything was neat and minimalist.

One of the first features noticeable in her sun-lit open plan kitchen was a designated area for her youngest son. A bright colored art table (a COVID DIY project Winter proudly notes) was in the kitchen next to a Lucite art cart. Each type of art supply was sorted in a bucket clearly labeled. “When my son comes home from school, I give him art supplies and a snack here while the older kids do their homework.” All of this can happen while Katy cooks. She opens her kitchen drawers and everything is neatly displayed and organized from tea towels and oven mitts in one section (she is a fan of drawer inserts) to prep tools like potato peelers to pizza slicers in another. “I use everything in my drawers. Everything has a purpose. There is nothing I don’t use in my kitchen.” And she is not a fan of duplicates. Note to self: throw out or donate my extra garlic presses and put glue sticks strewn about my house in one labeled bucket.

Everything in her home has a specific zone – whether it is her mudroom or toy room. I enter her mudroom and marvel at how orderly it is. Each child has three pairs of shoes on a bench. “Shoes that aren’t worn often like dressy ones belong in their closets. When they get home from school they know that the shoes go on the tray and the jackets and backpacks go on hooks.” I meander into her toy-room with multiple shelves and baskets clearly labeled so that trains, mini-cars and trucks are all in one “vehicle” area and building toys like blocks or Magna tiles in another.

Winter has always had a love for organizing even as a young girl growing up in Florida. “I was the third kid with the tiniest room. It was basically a closet. I couldn’t have any messes in my room.” She continued to care about how things were organized in her small dorm at college. “I became obsessed with folding my clothing to fit in these tiny drawers.”

Upon graduation, Winter worked in the wholesale fashion industry for top designers. Part of her job was merchandising handbags for Cole Haan. “I got such a thrill out of making the shelves and walls look beautiful at the stores. I also loved the personal connection I had with my buyers,” she recalls. Winter has such an affable personality and that shines through when she’s working on organizing with her clients.

Fast forward a few years and Winter was a stay-at home suburban mom with her second child turning three years old. “I’d be on playdates, helping my friends reorganize their playrooms,” she recalls. At her friends urging, they suggested she become an organizer. Fast forward, and today she is one of the most sought-after organizers working on Westchester homes, Hamptons vacation abodes and Brooklyn brownstones.

With one of the hottest housing markets spurred by the COVID crisis, Winter notes, “I do a lot of relocation jobs now.” Winter will work with sellers to declutter homes and help stage them for sale. “Once you make things look minimal, it usually looks great.” When families move to the suburbs, she monitors the movers and then helps with the unpack, setting up each room thoughtfully. “Many of the houses here are large and can take three full days with up to five organizers but each project is different.” Additionally, she is often asked to help consult as clients do renovations on closets, kitchens and cabinetry.

“Your house should make you feel good. It should have that nice hotel effect,” sums up Winter. As I leave her home, I feel relaxed and, as a bonus, armed with plenty of organizing tips.

Visit katysorganizedhome.com to learn more.

Korth & Shannahan Paints Picture Perfect Homes for 40 Years

August 24, 2021 by Stacey Pfeffer

In the process of buying a home, it’s widely agreed that a home’s curb appeal is a key purchasing factor. A well-maintained home’s exterior appearance sends a signal to buyers that the owners cared for their property. And one of the most important features of the exterior is a good, neat paint job. That’s where Korth & Shannahan, a 40-year old residential painting and carpentry business with New Castle roots comes in.

A Company with Local Roots

Will Korth, the owner of the business started painting at 14 years old as a summer job while attending Horace Greeley High School. He can still recall the first house he ever painted, a yellow Victorian on Roaring Brook Road in the 1980s. At the time, the company was called Shannahan & Shannahan and run by two local brothers Greg and Kevin who also attended Greeley. They did most of their work within Chappaqua, Mount Kisco and Millwood during the summer. People came to rely on the company because they were honest, hard working teens who made every effort to make the customers satisfied.

Upon graduating college and entering the workforce, Korth held a number of successful sales positions but when Greg offered him the opportunity to buy the company, Korth decided to pursue it and he’s never looked back.

Korth’s company counts notable customers including the Clintons, Clive Davis and the Zabar family. “Painting the Horace Greeley House was certainly a feather in our cap,” notes Korth, who has done it several times over the past four decades. His company’s commitment to high quality workmanship and service results in many repeat customers and long-standing relationships with his customers. He also offers customers a four-year warranty which is double the industry standard.

Currently the company consists of 32 painters and four carpenters who do everything from crown molding to replacing decks and they’ve expanded their customer base to include Southern Westchester towns. But Chappaqua and Armonk homes still account for one-third of his business. “The customer will always get a team I know and trained which ultimately results in consistently happy customers,” says Korth.

Cutting corners isn’t part of Korth’s mentality. When his team preps for a paint job, they sand rather than scrape the old paint which is more labor intensive but results in a smoother finish. He will also at times consult with a color consultant if a customer can’t decide on which color to choose. “The worst thing is to make a client feel pressured to choose a color,” explains Korth.

Painting Through the Pandemic

Like many other home improvement companies, Korth has seen an increase in demand for his services during the pandemic. “People are home more now than ever and really seeing the value in investing in their home,” notes Korth. When the pandemic started, Korth ensured that all his employees took COVID safety protocol courses.

Korth is proud of his company’s “squeaky clean reputation.” Whether it is learning the latest COVID protocols or becoming certified EPA lead renovators, Korth cares deeply about the safety of his customers and his employees. “Lead paint can be particularly dangerous to young children and is actually way more toxic than asbestos,” explains Korth. “If you are getting rid of lead paint, you don’t want to be sanding it off and get it on the children’s swing set. It needs to be removed properly to ensure everyone’s safety but it isn’t as costly as many customers initially think.”

Painting Tips

Most paint jobs tend to last eight to ten years. If you are thinking of painting your home in the near future, Korth suggests painting a few rooms each year and asking to see the company’s liability insurance. Fall is actually a great time to paint as Korth’s crew continues to do exterior work through early November so that your home will be picture perfect just in time for the holiday season and beyond. For more info or to contact, visit: korthpainting.com

“Today I am Grateful” – Podcast Launched by Local Student

August 17, 2021 by Stacey Pfeffer

If you are one of the 100 million people who listened to a podcast while stuck at home during COVID, you are not alone. The medium’s popularity has grown exponentially and industry experts anticipate the number of listeners to exceed 125 million by next year.

While you don’t need to be a sound engineer to launch your own podcast, it does take commitment and dedication to expand your listener base and produce interesting content. And that’s exactly what rising Armonk-based 8th grader Anika Bobra did during the pandemic. Launched in December 2020, Bobra’s weekly podcast titled “Today I Am Grateful” focuses on leaders in various fields from education to medicine to non-profits. She interviews one per episode and has had notable guests such as County Executive George Latimer, Senator Shelley Mayer as well as President and CEO of White Plains Hospital Susan Fox.

Bobra asks these community leaders how they have faced the challenges of the pandemic and what they have learned by living through it. She has also profiled many hyperlocal leaders such as Leisa Palmer, a former teacher of Bobra at Wampus Elementary School, District Superintendent Jen Lamia and Peter Simonsen, Police Chief in Armonk. Lamia’s podcast was one of Bobra’s most popular episodes as was the one featuring Christina Brisson, affectionately dubbed the Vax Fairy.

As a student at Random Farms Theater Group, Bobra honed her public speaking skills. “I love to use my voice and I thought a podcast would be a great way to highlight and honor members of our community and share their extraordinary stories,” says Bobra. Bobra credits New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin’s “Happier” podcast as a key influence on her as she conceptualized her own podcast.

A lot of frontline workers were interviewed on Bobra’s podcast and she was keenly aware of having diverse voices represented. While doctors and nurses were interviewed, she also sought out other perspectives such as that of Mr. John DeCicco owner of DeCicco and Sons grocery stores which went above and beyond at keeping both their customers and employees safe during the pandemic.

Bobra estimates that she spends about two to three hours researching a potential guest, an hour editing the interview and then uploading it into a short podcast that averages eight to 10 minutes. With help from her parents, Bobra researched different platforms on Spotify and ultimately decided on Anchor. Her podcast streams on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. In terms of equipment, Bobra’s set up is pretty basic–a school laptop, microphone and Zoom to conduct the interviews.

The concept of gratitude was instilled in Bobra at an early age. Her parents who are both doctors have always emphasized that the secret for happiness is gratitude and appreciating everything you have instead of what you don’t. “You are never too young to be grateful,” notes Bobra.

Bobra believes that her sense of gratitude for these community leaders comes across in her initial communications with a potential guest and has helped her secure influential guests.

Asked if she is an aspiring journalist, Bobra is undecided but she has found it very rewarding to interview people from different career paths. To date, she found the interviews with Senator Mayer and Sheila Patel, CEO of vegan skincare line Graffiti Collective to be her favorites and she has plans on the horizon to interview sources from outside the US as “gratitude is a universal feeling.”

When she’s not out playing on the tennis courts, scheduling interviews or editing her podcast, Bobra has plans on starting an Instagram page for her podcast this summer and possibly a book. With her youthful energy and passion for promoting positivity, Bobra is set to turn all her dreams into reality.

Bobra’s podcast is available on:

Apple Podcast

Spotify Podcast

Flourishing, Despite COVID: Musician & Consummate Artist Drew Bordeaux

April 2, 2021 by Stacey Pfeffer

Drew Bordeaux recalls a time when the music scene in Northern Westchester and its environs was bustling. The Mount Kisco born and bred singer/songwriter who plays both guitar and violin would play upwards of 150 gigs a year at local venues including the now defunct Winston’s in Mount Kisco, Village Social in Mount Kisco and Lucy’s in Pleasantville. At these smaller venues, he enjoyed getting to know his fan base. But he also played larger venues in the tri-state area with some well-known musicians including Lauryn Hill, Boz Skaggs, KT Tunstall and the Gin Blossoms.

All this, in addition to holding down a job in his boutique digital marketing firm, Silver Rush Media, and doing fashion photo shoots and portraits of celebrities like actor Kiefer Sutherland, and musicians including Grace Potter, Ani DiFranco and Steve Earle. To say that he’s a Renaissance man is an understatement. And COVID hasn’t stopped him from creating and coming up with innovative solutions to continue his many creative pursuits albeit in new formats.

A Musician at Heart

The eloquent Harvard educated Bordeaux first fell in love with playing violin in first grade. He recalls many afternoons spent at the Westchester Conservatory of Music and Hoff-Barthelson Music School. Growing up blues music was a fixture in his household. “BB King was my first concert,” he recalls.

After picking up guitar and playing in some indie bands in college, he credits musicians such as John Mayer and Dave Matthews for influencing his music. He played at several Manhattan venues in the eponymous Bordeaux Group post college such as The Bitter End and the National Underground. The managers from those venues recommended him for several gigs which led to a jam-packed gig schedule “much to the chagrin of my friends and family,” notes Bordeaux.

A Pandemic Pivot

But of course all of that came to a screeching halt in March of 2020 and with that Bordeaux’s gigs. In the beginning of the pandemic, he was literally itching to perform. “Every day felt like a year.” But after talking with his fellow creatives, he decided to experiment and try new platforms to perform. By April, he was performing from his Tarrytown home via Livestream. “This gave me the opportunity to be in pajamas one minute and performing the next.”

Bordeaux used several of his Livestream performances to raise funds for causes near and dear to his heart such as MusiCares COVID-19 Relief, a Grammy created program to help music industry professionals during the pandemic and also a local beloved landmark, Tarrytown Music Hall. “It was great to have family and friends donate too to these causes who normally might not be able to see me perform.”

A silver lining of the pandemic is that Bordeaux has had time to finally start working on an album which will be released this spring titled Impulse/Instinct. Bordeaux fans will be happy to hear him playing loop-based acoustic guitar a la Ed Sheeran. “If you’ve seen me perform, it won’t deviate too much from that.” He’s been busy researching platforms for him to release the album himself like Spotify.

He’s also found that the pandemic can actually be liberating for creatives like himself. “Now is the time that we can literally do anything–all preconceived notions about what would or wouldn’t work have gone out the window.” For instance, he has been doing virtual Zoom photo shoots. One photo shoot featuring local Chappaqua fashion model Danielle Zinaich wound up in Vogue.

Elevate20 Photography Project

Bordeaux also used his photography skills this past summer for a photo series project he titled Elevate20. Bordeaux’s wife Tammy started working at the Tribeca Film Festival about three weeks before the pandemic hit. They watched a Tribeca-produced documentary in partnership with MCM about the music and fashion scene in NYC together called “The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion” and Bordeaux was instantly inspired by this amazing community of musicians and fashion designers.

“The Elevate20 series was the nexus of my photography with the Black Lives Matters movement,” he explained. Bordeaux posted to his Instagram this summer that he was looking to do pro bono photo shoots for 20 Black creatives. So for instance if a model needed to update his/her “look book” or a musician needed a new album cover, Bordeaux would photograph it. “I wanted to uplift people and do my best work for people of color. I met amazing musicians and designers through the project.” Photos from the series can be viewed on drewbordeaux.com.

Raising Awareness About Racial Inequality

The subject of race also propelled him to write several essays on the topic after the George Floyd killing this past spring. “When the video came out, I didn’t want to watch it. I was cynical enough to know how it ends. But when I did see it, it was a turning point.

I had friends calling me and asking me what they could do to help. My Facebook became a diary and chronicle of my thoughts and feelings about the social unrest that was happening and a way to have a dialogue with people [about race] at a time when I didn’t necessarily feel it was that safe to go out and protest.”

His social media feed and essays caught the attention of editors at Bedford & New Canaan Magazine and they approached him about becoming the arts/culture editor there as well as photographing for various stories. “Any chance I have to be creative this year, I’m like, let’s go,” he explained.

Obviously, Bordeaux has a lot on his plate but when he has downtime, he enjoys spending time at the Tarrytown Sleepy Hollow (TASH) farmers market of which his wife is co-president. With both in creative fields, they’ve had to pivot and rethink how to approach their jobs. “The Tribeca Film Festival this year is going to be this immersive and reimagined experience. I can’t wait,” he said.

Like all of us, Bordeaux is waiting for some sense of normalcy to resume. Once Covid is behind us, he wants to go to his favorite restaurant Mint in Tarrytown for brunch with his wife. “I just want to sit in our window seat and feel transported like you are in Europe.” He also wants to go to a rock concert. “That was one of the last things I did before the pandemic started and I remember standing there thinking this is the last time I am doing this for a while. I just want to feel the music wash over me again.”