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Saratoga Sampler
Campbell puts her best foot forward at Crimson Mim
By Mary Ann Cook
NEW SHOES: Saratogan Christine Campbell left the high-tech and modeling world to found a shoe boutique called Crimson Mim at 322 Main St. in Los Altos a year ago. Campbell stocks more than 60 brands in an 800-square-foot shop. She also carries accessories that enhance the shoes.
The shop holds designer trunk shows on a regular basis and has had four already this year. Case in point: New York designer Bettye Muller will hold a trunk show at Crimson Mim on April 6. Muller chose CM to preview her fall collection, despite the fact that larger stores such as Nieman Marcus sell her shoes.
Muller, too, has a varied background--soap opera actress, professional ice skater, graphic designer and model, now shoe designer. She and Campbell have collaborated on a shoe to be sold only at Crimson Mim. About that name: Crimson is Campbell's favorite color, and Mim is a beloved grandmother.
"I wanted a name that was meaningful to me, that had a personal connection," she says. Campbell is from Canada. Husband Christopher Lochhead heads a computer technology business called Mercury.
SPEECH WINNER: Sivakami Sabasivam won first place and $100 in the Rotary speech contest on the theme "Service Above Self, Because We Care," which is a Rotary motto. Second place in the contest was awarded to Monte Malhorta. Both winners are Saratoga High students.
PEKING ACROBATS: The astonishing Peking Acrobats will appear at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts on April 15 in performances at 3 and 8 p.m., thanks to the efforts of sponsoring group Dimension Performing Arts. Maria Chen of Saratoga is president and founder of Dimensions.
Dimension's vice president is Stella Ying, also a Saratogan. The group's mission is to introduce performing arts and artists from Asia to the West in order to preserve cultural heritage, inspire creativity and foster intercultural understanding.
Two special performances for schoolchildren will be given April 13. Dimensions has reached 50,000 students in Santa Clara County in the past 10 years. Tickets for the April 15 shows start at $28. The number is 408.257.6555.
ABINHAYA DANCERS: The Abinhaya Dancers will hold a music and dance program for disaster relief on April 8, 2-5:30 p.m., at Mission City Center, 3250 Monroe St. in Santa Clara. Soloists will be Mythili Kumar, artistic director of the company, who lives in Saratoga, and Rasika Kumar.
Other dancers in the benefit performance are Malavika Kumar, Vaibhavi Emesh, Anjana Dasu and Prerna Patel. Rajeswari Satish of London is featured vocalist.
HOUSING DISPLACED ARTISTS: Several artists displaced by Hurricane Katrina will be housed at Montalvo this spring. Painter Claude Black of Bay St. Louis, Miss., will be in residence at the Lucas Artists Programs in April. Black works in acrylics and mixed media.
Dancer/choreographer Marc Arentsen of Jackson, Miss., will live at Montalvo in May with his wife and two children. Arentsen is the founding director of Polarity Dance. Filmmaker Rachel Perkoff will call Montalvo home from May 17 to June 17. The native of New Orleans acted in the Ridge Theater, directed plays at Ensemble Theater Workshop and has appeared in film and television. Violist Scott Slapin and his wife, violist Tanya Solomon, will be in residence in June. Slapin is also a composer, and the two have played together throughout the U.S. and South America.
Playwright/actor/director/choreographer Yvette Sirker will live at Montalvo in July. Sirker has taught acting at several colleges and in New Orleans public schools. She has been awarded numerous arts grants.
Artists will be provided live-and-work studios, materials and a small stipend. They may be involved in Montalvo outreach programs in schools, as well.
ON ART WALL: The artwork of Michele Bolton and Stacia Stojanoff is featured at the Saratoga Library this month. Bolton lives in the Santa Cruz mountains, and her work is bold and colorful, often depicting families.
Stojanoff is an illustrator/graphic designer whose company is Espial Design. She is writing and illustrating her first children's book for early readers. "I find inspiration through textures and words." Her technique includes paper and digital collage.
ELEVATE.COM: A show of Patrick Sullivan's snowboard/skateboard clothing was held at the Mountain Winery recently and attracted 300 action-oriented consumers. Sullivan and his girlfriend Alia Milano started Elevateclothing four years ago--T- shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, including a woman's line.
Sullivan was a professional skateboarder from age 18 to 21 and is now the manager of the Mountain Winery. Milano is a nanny, as well as a designer. Elevateclothing.com is the website. Sullivan chose the title to inspire people to elevate their potential, both in games and in life.
He's a '99 grad of Los Gatos High and the band Habanero and deejay Matthew Horton, who held forth at the party, are all also LGHS grads.
Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.
