For many years, I’ve enjoyed reading Monocle magazine. Their global view of politics, design, community, hospitality, and the arts are shared through a unique, positive voice. Their emphasis on curating and celebrating creativity and high quality threads through their publications, retail experiences, podcasts, and events. I had the privilege to attend their first North American conference for CEO’s, CFO’s, journalists, representatives of governments, and authors in America’s fastest growing metropolis.
Prior to registry, I had a few hours to kill in downtown Dallas, so I made a quick trip to the Dallas Contemporary museum. where I experienced a moving installation by Gabrielle Goliath and a massive new exhibition by Shepard Fairey (pictured).
Next, I wandered the Dallas Museum of Art where highlights included an Octavio Medellin retrospective and of course, their sculpture garden.
Not surprisingly, Monocle found a stellar, design-oriented location in the Thompson Dallas hotel. That evening I had the opportunity to network a bit on the hotel’s beautiful ninth floor terrace where I met a number of people engaged in some truly exciting and distinctive ventures, from the revival of an old-fashioned butcher shop, to self-driving cars, to cutting-edge camouflage.
The next morning, after fetching a latte at Weekend Coffee in the nearby Joule Hotel, I grabbed a front row seat for a day of non-stop speakers, presentations, and conversation. Every speaker was engaging and everyone from the Monocle team truly embodies the warmth, humor, style, and gracious hospitality that I cherish about the magazine. After introductions, the day began with an inspired talk by Shawn Todd, the hotel developer who discussed the makings of a successful business climate and downtown. As someone who owned a business in downtown Portland, Oregon for nearly a decade, these themes were especially compelling.
Some of the day’s additional highlights included Jacques Pitteloud, the Swiss ambassador to the U.S. who spoke on the importance of apprenticeship and teaching trades. Rebecca Wesson Darwin (pictured below with Sophie Grove and Tyler Brule), the founder of Garden & Gun Magazine, touched on the nuance of people enjoying both the “high and low” in their lifestyle, for example, by frequenting dive bars and fancy hotels on a particular trip.
Ryan Anderson of Miller/Knoll discussed the future of the office and two outstanding figures from Mexican hospitality, Elena Reygadas and Rafael Michael (pictured below) touched on relevant topics of community, personnel retention, and mentorship in their fields.
Bruce Pask of Bergdorf Goodman and the legendary Sid Mashburn rounded out discussion of fashion and retail environments, with Sid offering some especially thoughtful words on best hiring practices. Tanner Krause, the CEO of Kum & Go stores talked about how they are re-envisioning gas station convenience in a constructive way and Elliot Ackerman spoke about global security and signed my copy of his new book “2034.” There is not room to rave about each of the speakers in this particular blog post, but they were all worthy of paragraphs of their own, to be sure. The Monocle team (pictured below) wrapped up a day that went by very quickly in a manner that espoused their typical humor, grace, and positivity.
That evening, over a lovely outdoor dinner on the ninth floor terrace under stars and gentle breezes, I got to visit with even more exceptional leaders from around the world. One who stood out is Justin Smith who is attempting to create a transparent and objective news platform (for these often polarized times) through Semafor News. I also got to converse with designers from Dallas, developers and consultants from Arizona, coaches from Colorado, London journalists, and California foodies and urbanists. It was truly inspiring to be among so many talented and creative leaders from around the world and I am fortunate to have been afforded the opportunity. I’ll close with an image of my view of the Dallas skyline - until next time
