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HUMOR Jim Shea

Sunday, January 10, 2016 | The News-Times | D5

Fashion

BROWStake a bow

By the time you are born, theyhave been forming for nearly fourmonths — hairy arches that willdefine the way you look, deter-

mine the way you are perceived and revealyour inner feelings. We are talking eye-brows, and these days they are havingtheir moment.

“Brows have exploded,” says DanielleSantagata, 36, an award-winning shaperand owner of Stamford’s Brow Boutique.On a recent Saturday, she juggles tweezers,scissors and makeup brushes to creategraceful, curving lines on what would be,by day’s end, about 10 clients. Santagataeyes each opportunity as a new work of art— art that will need a touch-up in aboutthree weeks. “I am able to see someone’seyebrows and know exactly what shape Iwant them to be.”

These bands of facial hair are driving abooming grooming business. Aspiring“browsperts” are fueling a surge in browbars offering waxing, tweezing and thread-ing, as well as an increase in eyebrow styl-ing products on store shelves. For the pasttwo years, Santagata has made this herfull-time gig, acquiring a growing clientbase — she’s up to more than 100 —through word of mouth and a website.Prior to that, she worked full-time in an-other industry and shaped brows duringher free time.

“There has definitely been an increasedinterest in specialty brow shaping over thepast eight years,” she says. “Most peoplewould just tweeze themselves. Also, therewere limited places where you could getyour brows done or cleaned up. But browshaping goes much deeper than just clean-ing away unwanted hair. More and morepeople are starting to see that, becausehaving well-shaped brows leaves you look-ing put together at all times.”

There is a standard to brow beauty — aseries of angles and straight lines based onthe position of your nose and eye. However,in specialty shaping, the overall shape of aperson’s face and other features guideshow a brow rests and falls. Santagata getspeople talking, too. Are they expressive?Do they raise their brows? “You don’t wantto look like you are constantly surprised,”she says.

These days the reigning look comes fromBritish model Cara Delevingne and fellowcelebrities who favor bold, full brows, leav-

ing many women wishing they had leftthose tweezers alone. In the 2000s, Santag-ara, a lifelong Stamford resident, pluckedto get those thin, curved arches favored bysuch celebrities as Gwen Stefani and Cam-eron Diaz. She hopes parts of her browsgrow back, but the pair she has does whatgreat eyebrows do — pull off the neat trickof nicely setting off her other features,while simultaneously blending into thebackground.

“I’m not a fan of changing brow shapesdepending on what’s trending,” Santagatasays. “A classic brow shape will never goout of style. Even if your eyebrows are not

full, having a smooth transition from thestart of your brow to the end, with a softarch, is going to be complementary andlow-maintenance for anyone.”

Full, thick arched brows or full, wispy

less-manicured brows are classic shapes,she says. To achieve them, there are moreand more pencils, powders and gels com-ing to market. Hair extensions and micro-blading, a semi-permanent tattooing thatrecreates natural-looking brows, can helpthose with bald spots. As to what is firingup interest, it’s largely social media. Oneneed only look up #EyebrowsOnFleek tosee image after image of perfectly groomedand shaped brows from celebrities to com-mon folks. (Slang for on point, on fleek hasbeen used for everything from eyebrows tofood.)

Looking to do it yourself? An onlinesearch for “eyebrow tutorial” offers up3,850,000 results, largely videos posted inthe past several years.

Santagata’s second client that day,thanks to genetics and some subtle shap-ing, has the kind of eyebrows that standthe test of time. “See, she has the idealbrow shape; it’s thick with a sharp arch,but it’s not too sculpted.”

Santagata works quickly, plucking outsmall hairs right below the brow. She fin-ishes by brushing and sweeping the hairup and into a small pair of scissors thatevens off the top. “It’s fun for me. It’s like apuzzle. Some brows have stumped me, buteventually I figure them out. A good set ofbrows can be face changing.”

chennessy@hearstmediact.com; Twitter:@xtinahennessy

Contributed photos

One of the looks makeup artist and brow specialist Danielle Santagata has achieved as part of her business, Brow Boutique LLC.

Danielle Santagata works on one of her clients, above. An after look, below.

THICK OR PLUCKED,ARCHED OR WILD, KEEPINGBROWS WELL GROOMED ISTHE TRENDING STYLE

By Christina Hennessy

Cara Delevingne Gwen Stefani

Kendall and Kylie Jenner

Brow quiz answers:1. Cara Delevingne, model

2. Frida Khalo, painter

3. Kendall and Kylie Jenner, entertainers

4. Groucho Marx, comedian

5. Gwen Stefani, singer

6. President Barack Obama

D4 | The Advocate | Sunday, January 17, 2016

Design

Public library readingrooms hold a specialplace in a town or

city’s cultural life. Strug-

gling writers rely on thequiet, well-lit spaces topractice their craft. Poets,

novelists and playwrights

honor them with dedica-

tions. And they are themost democratic of institu-

tions, open to anyone who

enters.The Rose Main Reading

Room of the New YorkPublic library is the most

storied such room in theU.S., an architectural mar-

vel with 50-foot ceilingsthat spans almost two city

blocks. Its low, bronze read-

ing lamps cast a warm glow

on long oak tables, making

each person feel as if theroom is theirs alone, though

they are one of hundreds

occupying the grand space.

The Rose Room is closed

for renovations until some-

time in 2017. But Greenwich

has its own public library

reading rooms, and though

they do not have the world

renown of the Rose Room,

they both offer uniquecharms, a sense of placeand quiet, well-lit spaces.

The manor-like stone-

and-brick building thathouses the Perrot Library

commands the northernend of Binney Park in Old

Greenwich. Two curvingmarble stairways frame the

entrance to the lobby and

lead to the second floor,where one finds the Waid

Room, a reading room de-

signed in traditional style.

Dark-stained wood pan-eling and bookshelves line

the walls, a large chandelier

hangs from the high, gently

curved ceiling and threelong wood tables withbrass-shaded reading lamps

provide ample workspace.The Waid Room does not

rely on architectural mas-

tery to achieve its aesthetic

force; there is no one partic-

ular detail that marks the

room as a great space. But

like all good reading rooms,

it creates a sense of quiet

that calms the spirit, focus-

es the mind and allows for

the possibility of work well

done. And the fireplace is

not too shabby, either.Designed in the 1920s,

the library cornerstone was

laid in 1930, the start of the

Great Depression. Whilethe exterior shell was com-

pleted as designed, financial

pressures forced the library

board to finish just onefloor, and it chose the sec-

ond one. I suspect theboard wanted to take ad-

vantage of the large win-

dows that provide strong

natural light all day long. In

any event, the second floor

was divided into a chil-dren’s library and an adults’

library. Years later when the

interior was finished, the

children’s library became

the reading room it is today.

Across town at the main

branch of the GreenwichLibrary, there is a jewel of a

reading room that could not

be more different in design

from its Old Greenwichcounterpart. And the li-brary knows it’s a jewelbecause that is its name.

A silver plaque just out-

side the room reads in part,

“The Jewel. Here one canaccess 21st-century tech-nology while cloisteredwithin an architecturalgem.” The room misses the

mark a bit on 21st-century

technology (Who in 1999could have equipped a room

for the world of smart-phones, tablets, USB ports

and other now common-

place technology?), but it

scores a direct hit on thearchitectural gem scale.And in the fading daylight

of dusk, the seven sym-metrical rows of squarewindows that punctuate all

three walls of the roomreveal the warm glow oflight from within, literally

creating a bright jewel.Though it is the most

distinctive part of the li-brary building and sits at

the entrance to the maindriveway, the Jewel gives no

hint of its presence as you

walk around the library’s

32,000 square foot Pet-terson Wing, designed by

famed Argentinian architect

Cesar Pelli. There is no sign

directing you to it, and most

library users walk right by

without noticing. But that is

part of its charm. It is as if

you have discovered thisgem that no one else seems

to know about. And it’sonly when you walk down

a small hallway that you see

the sign describing theroom’s intended use anddirecting you back to theinformation desk to sign in.

Once you tell the helpful

person behind the desk that

you’d like to enter the Jewel,

you complete a sign-insheet and are handed the

entry pass, which is awooden building block,painted orange, much like

the ones my first-gradeteacher used to hand out

allowing students to roam

the halls of RiversideSchool in search of the rest

rooms.But once you open the

door to the Jewel, you feel

like you have joined anexclusive club, and you are

in a very special space in-

deed. Pelli describes it as

“sculptural form that com-

bines the geometries of atriangle and a circle.” It is

the shape of a watermelon

seed, and you feel com-pelled to just stand at the

entrance for a few minutes

soaking in all the details.

Veterans of the orangeblocks recognize this behav-

ior in all first-time visitors,

but no matter. The precise

window placement and the

light, natural wood panels

that cover the walls direct

your eyes up to the ceiling

about 30 feet overhead,where narrow woodenbeams curl together fromeach side of the triangle,complementing the curve of

the entire design. It is mas-

ter design and craftsman-

ship.The Waid Room and the

Jewel come from different

eras, but both create anatmosphere that fostersquiet work or contempla-

tion, and that makes them

both beautiful rooms.

Bob Horton is a columnist for

the Greenwich Time and aregular contributor to thismagazine.

Chris Setter / For Hearst Connecticut Media

At the main branch of the Greenwich Library is a gem of a reading room designed by Argentinian architect

Cesar Pelli called The Jewel.

Quietplease

Catching up on work at the Perrot Library’s reading room are Maja Kjukic, of Greenwich; Peter Garlich, of

Portland, Maine; Christian Iannucci, of Stamford, and Michael Colavecchio, of Greenwich.

Libraries’ reading rooms arearchitectural gems

By Bob Horton

A table glows by lamp light in The Jewel.

ONCE YOU OPEN THE

DOOR TO THE JEWEL,

YOU FEEL LIKE YOU

HAVE JOINED AN

EXCLUSIVE CLUB, AND

YOU ARE IN A VERY

SPECIAL SPACE INDEED

Sunday, January 31, 2016 | Greenwich Time | D5

Agallery should be more than just apiece of real estate — it can be asmuch a work of art as anything hang-

ing on the walls.That’s the way artists Evan and Carmen

Abramson view their decision last fall to turna pop-up gallery space in New Milford into apermanent venue that they hope will be ashowcase for art and a center of spiritedexamination of new ideas.

The Harts Gallery on Bank Street —named for the historicbuilding in which it ishoused — opened as abit of a lark for the cou-ple, who were livinghappily in Bridgewateras multimedia artistswhen a new opportunitycame along.

“It was all luck,”Carmen says. “Thelandlord had an emptyspace and he talked to usabout it. And we quicklymoved into it withoutany planning. It was acrazy, energetic deci-sion. Having a 2-year-old and a 4-year-oldadded to the intensity of it.”

The Abramsons know that they face specialchallenges from the gallery not being in atrendy urban area, but hope the freshness andrelevance of the work they show will strikenew sparks in the community.

“We don’t have the built-in audience youwould find in Brooklyn,” Evan says. “We facethe dual challenge of being in a rural area andhaving a significant population of retiredpeople who might not want to come out to ashow, and then there are other people upfrom the city for a weekend who might notwant to spend their time at another gallery.”

The couple haven’t made any money inthis new venture so far — and they’ve beenexploring the option of setting up the galleryas a nonprofit — but they believe they are onthe right track.

“We definitely fit into the trend interna-tionally of artists running spaces,” Evansays. “It’s happening because artists arefrustrated by the commodification of the artmarket. We want to turn our gallery into awork of art.”

The first show at the venue, “Love & Sacri-

fice,” included work by Evan and severalother artists in the area, some of whom hadnever exhibited in their own community. Theresponse was strong, and the Abramsonsbegan to think that running a gallery withtheir friend Pilar DeMann wouldn’t meanputting their own art work on hold, it wouldsimply be an expansion of what they werealready doing.

“For me, it was a question of: Why not?,”Evan says.

“We are losing a sense of community ev-erywhere,” the artist adds of the growing

dominance of onlineliving and virtual reality.“We’re not having theconversations we need tobe having.”

For Carmen, the gal-lery is simply anotherexample of what she hasbeen trying to do in herart. “I want to allow peo-ple to have the opportuni-ty to feel something and tothink. I wanted to create acenter (for other people),rather than just keepexploring myself.”

The show that is kick-ing off 2016 at the gallery,“Unsettled Nostalgia,” is a

solo exhibition by New Haven artist andarchitect Mohamad Hafez that is meant togive viewers a feel for his native Syria at amoment of grave crisis for the Middle East-ern country.

“I think people will find it mesmerizing,poetic, powerful,” Evan says of the “immer-sive” show in which three-dimensional city-scapes and recordings of mosque prayerswill augment the impact of Hafez’ installa-tions and murals.

Evan hopes the show will shed new lighton “one of the worst humanitarian crises ofmodern-day history.”

Being able to put Hafez on their schedulequickly, right after seeing his work, is a re-flection of the artist couple’s belief that agallery should have the flexibility to allow forthe addition of a very timely show.

“We’re really happy to be able to put ashow together quickly; we don’t want to haveto rearrange a fixed schedule to accommo-date a new idea for a show,” Evan says.

jmeyers@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @joemeyers

Chris Setter / For Hearst Connecticut Media

Evan and Carmen Abramson, both multimedia artists, opened the Harts Gallery on Bank Street in New Milford last fall.

From pop-up gallery to permanent space

Artists runningthe show

“IT’S HAPPENINGBECAUSE ARTISTSARE FRUSTRATED

BY THECOMMODIFICATION

OF THE ARTMARKET.”

Contributed photos

ArtistMohamadHafez willexhibit at theHarts Galleryin NewMilford. Hispieces, rightand below,give viewers afeel for hisnative Syria.

By Joe Meyers

Arts

Sunday, February 21, 2016 | Connecticut Post | D3

If you had told me six months ago that I would consid-er living car-less in Connecticut, I would have saidyou were crazy.

But that was before Uber entered my life. The combination of an urban and suburban life-

style always seemed to demand wheels of one’s own in Con-necticut. Yes, a benefit of living in the Black Rock section ofBridgeport is being able to shop and dine and see movieswithin walking distance of where I live, but what aboutgetting in and out of downtown for work, and those jauntsto places like Danbury and Stamford and New Haven?

My thinking began to change last summer when my carwas totaled — in an injury-free collision — and Ineeded to get around while looking for a re-placement. I had heard about Uber from friendsin New York City — where it has been providingstiff competition for traditional Yellow Cabs foryears — but I didn’t know how widely availableit was in my own backyard.

I downloaded the app onto my smart phoneand quickly learned that Uber cars were avail-able within five or six minutes anywhere I need-ed them. The app puts up a map that shows youexactly where your driver is and you can followthe car’s progress to your pick-up point. Theprice is considerably cheaper than that of astandard cab, and when combined with publictransportation — in my case Metro-North —car-less transport becomes even more econom-ical.

What I didn’t know until I started doingsome research is that my new experience ofriding with Uber several times a week is a re-flection of a tremendous surge in ConnecticutUber use over the past year.

The growth in Danbury has been especiallyimpressive, with a spokeswoman for Uber, Ari-ella Steinhorn, reporting that the number oftrips in that city has quadrupled since last July15. “It has grown two times faster than the com-bined state has.”

Because more and more drivers are signingup in the Danbury area, customers’ wait timehas plummeted. Steinhorn notes that the ETAhas declined from 8.8 minutes to 5.7 since lastsummer. And drivers like the longer rides thatcustomers tend to take in the suburban areasaround the city.

Matt Power, who started out with Uber in2012 — as driving operations manager for NewYork, New Jersey and Connecticut — is thefull-time general manager just for Connecticut,because of the way the service has caught on inthis state.

Power believes the big expansion in Danburyis due to the fact that the area is so spread outgeographically and has always been under-served by traditional taxis. “As more drivershave come on board, more riders are learningabout Uber, finding out that they can use thisservice. The same thing has started to happenin Waterbury and New London.

“Over the last 30 days, approximately 7,000partners have given a ride,” Power says of thedrivers who have signed up with the service.

When I mention to Power that my drivershave included people of a wide range of agesand backgrounds, he says, “That’s the beauty ofthe system. They start working when they want,with a whole variety of different hours. Somework full-time. Some are college students before

classes. We have parents who do it while their kids are inschool.

“We have veterans coming back from overseas who havehad a difficult time finding jobs. Uber has been an optionfor them to get back on their feet,” Power says.

All a potential driver needs is a smart phone and a carthat is less than 10 years old.

Uber has been hosting “onboarding” sessions all over thestate, designed to make it easy for drivers to sign up, and tokeep expanding the ride service’s penetration in every partof Connecticut.

The focus on customer service and satisfaction is intense.At the end of each Uber ride, the customer gets an emailnoting the fee that has been charged, and asking to rate thedriver on a five-star system. If a driver’s rating drifts belowfour stars he can be subject to suspension.

Many of the drivers I’ve talked with say they are happyabout being kept especially busy on weekend nights ferry-ing college students, who use them as a designated driver.

Power says statistics back up those driver anecdotes. “Wedo see a significant spike in rides Thursday, Friday andSaturday evenings. Students are leaving their keys at homebecause Uber is reliable and affordable.

“There’s no reason to be drinking and driving,” he adds ofthe company’s partnership with Mothers Against DrunkDriving in awareness-raising campaigns.

The state has not yet taken any action on possible Uberregulation, I learned from state Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stam-ford, who is vice chairman of the legislative TransportationCommittee.

Leone hopes to focus on the matter this year. “We’re in ashort session (right now), so it might not make the cut. Andit’s a complicated matter with a lot of ins and outs. But Uberis a game-changer and definitely here to stay.”

jmeyers@ctpost.com; Twitter:@joesview

Re-inventingthe wheel

UBER MAKES GOINGCAR-LESSNESS OK IN CONNECTICUT

84THE GROWTH IN DANBURY HAS BEEN

ESPECIALLYIMPRESSIVE,

WITH ASPOKESWOMAN

FOR UBER,ARIELLA

STEINHORN,REPORTINGTHAT THE

NUMBER OFTRIPS IN THAT

CITY HASQUADRUPLED

SINCE LAST JULY15. “IT HAS

GROWN TWOTIMES FASTER

THAN THECOMBINED

STATE HAS.”

By Joe Meyers

Christopher Brown / For Hearst Connecticut Media

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Sunday, January 31, 2016 | Greenwich Time | D5

Agallery should be more than just apiece of real estate — it can be asmuch a work of art as anything hang-

ing on the walls.That’s the way artists Evan and Carmen

Abramson view their decision last fall to turna pop-up gallery space in New Milford into apermanent venue that they hope will be ashowcase for art and a center of spiritedexamination of new ideas.

The Harts Gallery on Bank Street —named for the historicbuilding in which it ishoused — opened as abit of a lark for the cou-ple, who were livinghappily in Bridgewateras multimedia artistswhen a new opportunitycame along.

“It was all luck,”Carmen says. “Thelandlord had an emptyspace and he talked to usabout it. And we quicklymoved into it withoutany planning. It was acrazy, energetic deci-sion. Having a 2-year-old and a 4-year-oldadded to the intensity of it.”

The Abramsons know that they face specialchallenges from the gallery not being in atrendy urban area, but hope the freshness andrelevance of the work they show will strikenew sparks in the community.

“We don’t have the built-in audience youwould find in Brooklyn,” Evan says. “We facethe dual challenge of being in a rural area andhaving a significant population of retiredpeople who might not want to come out to ashow, and then there are other people upfrom the city for a weekend who might notwant to spend their time at another gallery.”

The couple haven’t made any money inthis new venture so far — and they’ve beenexploring the option of setting up the galleryas a nonprofit — but they believe they are onthe right track.

“We definitely fit into the trend interna-tionally of artists running spaces,” Evansays. “It’s happening because artists arefrustrated by the commodification of the artmarket. We want to turn our gallery into awork of art.”

The first show at the venue, “Love & Sacri-

fice,” included work by Evan and severalother artists in the area, some of whom hadnever exhibited in their own community. Theresponse was strong, and the Abramsonsbegan to think that running a gallery withtheir friend Pilar DeMann wouldn’t meanputting their own art work on hold, it wouldsimply be an expansion of what they werealready doing.

“For me, it was a question of: Why not?,”Evan says.

“We are losing a sense of community ev-erywhere,” the artist adds of the growing

dominance of onlineliving and virtual reality.“We’re not having theconversations we need tobe having.”

For Carmen, the gal-lery is simply anotherexample of what she hasbeen trying to do in herart. “I want to allow peo-ple to have the opportuni-ty to feel something and tothink. I wanted to create acenter (for other people),rather than just keepexploring myself.”

The show that is kick-ing off 2016 at the gallery,“Unsettled Nostalgia,” is a

solo exhibition by New Haven artist andarchitect Mohamad Hafez that is meant togive viewers a feel for his native Syria at amoment of grave crisis for the Middle East-ern country.

“I think people will find it mesmerizing,poetic, powerful,” Evan says of the “immer-sive” show in which three-dimensional city-scapes and recordings of mosque prayerswill augment the impact of Hafez’ installa-tions and murals.

Evan hopes the show will shed new lighton “one of the worst humanitarian crises ofmodern-day history.”

Being able to put Hafez on their schedulequickly, right after seeing his work, is a re-flection of the artist couple’s belief that agallery should have the flexibility to allow forthe addition of a very timely show.

“We’re really happy to be able to put ashow together quickly; we don’t want to haveto rearrange a fixed schedule to accommo-date a new idea for a show,” Evan says.

jmeyers@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @joemeyers

Chris Setter / For Hearst Connecticut Media

Evan and Carmen Abramson, both multimedia artists, opened the Harts Gallery on Bank Street in New Milford last fall.

From pop-up gallery to permanent space

Artists runningthe show

“IT’S HAPPENINGBECAUSE ARTISTSARE FRUSTRATED

BY THECOMMODIFICATION

OF THE ARTMARKET.”

Contributed photos

ArtistMohamadHafez willexhibit at theHarts Galleryin NewMilford. Hispieces, rightand below,give viewers afeel for hisnative Syria.

By Joe Meyers

Arts

Rev. 4/12/2016Scarborough 2015, Rel. 1 (HCMG) Hearst Connecticut Media Group

For more information call 203-330-6238 or email advertise@hearstmediact.com

4/12/2016

Sunday, January 10, 2016 | The News-Times | D5

Fashion

BROWStake a bow

By the time you are born, theyhave been forming for nearly fourmonths — hairy arches that willdefine the way you look, deter-

mine the way you are perceived and revealyour inner feelings. We are talking eye-brows, and these days they are havingtheir moment.

“Brows have exploded,” says DanielleSantagata, 36, an award-winning shaperand owner of Stamford’s Brow Boutique.On a recent Saturday, she juggles tweezers,scissors and makeup brushes to creategraceful, curving lines on what would be,by day’s end, about 10 clients. Santagataeyes each opportunity as a new work of art— art that will need a touch-up in aboutthree weeks. “I am able to see someone’seyebrows and know exactly what shape Iwant them to be.”

These bands of facial hair are driving abooming grooming business. Aspiring“browsperts” are fueling a surge in browbars offering waxing, tweezing and thread-ing, as well as an increase in eyebrow styl-ing products on store shelves. For the pasttwo years, Santagata has made this herfull-time gig, acquiring a growing clientbase — she’s up to more than 100 —through word of mouth and a website.Prior to that, she worked full-time in an-other industry and shaped brows duringher free time.

“There has definitely been an increasedinterest in specialty brow shaping over thepast eight years,” she says. “Most peoplewould just tweeze themselves. Also, therewere limited places where you could getyour brows done or cleaned up. But browshaping goes much deeper than just clean-ing away unwanted hair. More and morepeople are starting to see that, becausehaving well-shaped brows leaves you look-ing put together at all times.”

There is a standard to brow beauty — aseries of angles and straight lines based onthe position of your nose and eye. However,in specialty shaping, the overall shape of aperson’s face and other features guideshow a brow rests and falls. Santagata getspeople talking, too. Are they expressive?Do they raise their brows? “You don’t wantto look like you are constantly surprised,”she says.

These days the reigning look comes fromBritish model Cara Delevingne and fellowcelebrities who favor bold, full brows, leav-

ing many women wishing they had leftthose tweezers alone. In the 2000s, Santag-ara, a lifelong Stamford resident, pluckedto get those thin, curved arches favored bysuch celebrities as Gwen Stefani and Cam-eron Diaz. She hopes parts of her browsgrow back, but the pair she has does whatgreat eyebrows do — pull off the neat trickof nicely setting off her other features,while simultaneously blending into thebackground.

“I’m not a fan of changing brow shapesdepending on what’s trending,” Santagatasays. “A classic brow shape will never goout of style. Even if your eyebrows are not

full, having a smooth transition from thestart of your brow to the end, with a softarch, is going to be complementary andlow-maintenance for anyone.”

Full, thick arched brows or full, wispy

less-manicured brows are classic shapes,she says. To achieve them, there are moreand more pencils, powders and gels com-ing to market. Hair extensions and micro-blading, a semi-permanent tattooing thatrecreates natural-looking brows, can helpthose with bald spots. As to what is firingup interest, it’s largely social media. Oneneed only look up #EyebrowsOnFleek tosee image after image of perfectly groomedand shaped brows from celebrities to com-mon folks. (Slang for on point, on fleek hasbeen used for everything from eyebrows tofood.)

Looking to do it yourself? An onlinesearch for “eyebrow tutorial” offers up3,850,000 results, largely videos posted inthe past several years.

Santagata’s second client that day,thanks to genetics and some subtle shap-ing, has the kind of eyebrows that standthe test of time. “See, she has the idealbrow shape; it’s thick with a sharp arch,but it’s not too sculpted.”

Santagata works quickly, plucking outsmall hairs right below the brow. She fin-ishes by brushing and sweeping the hairup and into a small pair of scissors thatevens off the top. “It’s fun for me. It’s like apuzzle. Some brows have stumped me, buteventually I figure them out. A good set ofbrows can be face changing.”

chennessy@hearstmediact.com; Twitter:@xtinahennessy

Contributed photos

One of the looks makeup artist and brow specialist Danielle Santagata has achieved as part of her business, Brow Boutique LLC.

Danielle Santagata works on one of her clients, above. An after look, below.

THICK OR PLUCKED,ARCHED OR WILD, KEEPINGBROWS WELL GROOMED ISTHE TRENDING STYLE

By Christina Hennessy

Cara Delevingne Gwen Stefani

Kendall and Kylie Jenner

Brow quiz answers:1. Cara Delevingne, model

2. Frida Khalo, painter

3. Kendall and Kylie Jenner, entertainers

4. Groucho Marx, comedian

5. Gwen Stefani, singer

6. President Barack Obama

D4 | The Advocate | Sunday, January 17, 2016

Design

Public library readingrooms hold a specialplace in a town or

city’s cultural life. Strug-gling writers rely on thequiet, well-lit spaces topractice their craft. Poets,novelists and playwrightshonor them with dedica-tions. And they are themost democratic of institu-tions, open to anyone whoenters.

The Rose Main ReadingRoom of the New YorkPublic library is the moststoried such room in theU.S., an architectural mar-vel with 50-foot ceilingsthat spans almost two cityblocks. Its low, bronze read-ing lamps cast a warm glowon long oak tables, makingeach person feel as if theroom is theirs alone, thoughthey are one of hundredsoccupying the grand space.

The Rose Room is closedfor renovations until some-time in 2017. But Greenwichhas its own public libraryreading rooms, and thoughthey do not have the worldrenown of the Rose Room,they both offer uniquecharms, a sense of placeand quiet, well-lit spaces.

The manor-like stone-and-brick building thathouses the Perrot Librarycommands the northernend of Binney Park in OldGreenwich. Two curvingmarble stairways frame theentrance to the lobby andlead to the second floor,where one finds the WaidRoom, a reading room de-signed in traditional style.Dark-stained wood pan-eling and bookshelves linethe walls, a large chandelierhangs from the high, gentlycurved ceiling and threelong wood tables withbrass-shaded reading lampsprovide ample workspace.

The Waid Room does notrely on architectural mas-tery to achieve its aestheticforce; there is no one partic-ular detail that marks theroom as a great space. Butlike all good reading rooms,it creates a sense of quietthat calms the spirit, focus-es the mind and allows forthe possibility of work welldone. And the fireplace isnot too shabby, either.

Designed in the 1920s,the library cornerstone waslaid in 1930, the start of theGreat Depression. Whilethe exterior shell was com-pleted as designed, financialpressures forced the libraryboard to finish just onefloor, and it chose the sec-ond one. I suspect theboard wanted to take ad-vantage of the large win-dows that provide strongnatural light all day long. Inany event, the second floorwas divided into a chil-dren’s library and an adults’library. Years later when theinterior was finished, thechildren’s library becamethe reading room it is today.

Across town at the mainbranch of the GreenwichLibrary, there is a jewel of areading room that could notbe more different in designfrom its Old Greenwichcounterpart. And the li-brary knows it’s a jewelbecause that is its name.

A silver plaque just out-

side the room reads in part,“The Jewel. Here one canaccess 21st-century tech-nology while cloisteredwithin an architecturalgem.” The room misses themark a bit on 21st-centurytechnology (Who in 1999could have equipped a roomfor the world of smart-phones, tablets, USB portsand other now common-place technology?), but itscores a direct hit on thearchitectural gem scale.And in the fading daylightof dusk, the seven sym-metrical rows of squarewindows that punctuate allthree walls of the roomreveal the warm glow oflight from within, literallycreating a bright jewel.

Though it is the mostdistinctive part of the li-brary building and sits atthe entrance to the maindriveway, the Jewel gives nohint of its presence as youwalk around the library’s32,000 square foot Pet-terson Wing, designed byfamed Argentinian architectCesar Pelli. There is no signdirecting you to it, and mostlibrary users walk right bywithout noticing. But that ispart of its charm. It is as ifyou have discovered thisgem that no one else seemsto know about. And it’sonly when you walk downa small hallway that you seethe sign describing theroom’s intended use anddirecting you back to theinformation desk to sign in.

Once you tell the helpfulperson behind the desk thatyou’d like to enter the Jewel,you complete a sign-insheet and are handed theentry pass, which is awooden building block,painted orange, much likethe ones my first-gradeteacher used to hand outallowing students to roamthe halls of RiversideSchool in search of the restrooms.

But once you open thedoor to the Jewel, you feellike you have joined anexclusive club, and you arein a very special space in-deed. Pelli describes it as“sculptural form that com-bines the geometries of atriangle and a circle.” It isthe shape of a watermelonseed, and you feel com-pelled to just stand at theentrance for a few minutessoaking in all the details.Veterans of the orangeblocks recognize this behav-ior in all first-time visitors,but no matter. The precisewindow placement and thelight, natural wood panelsthat cover the walls directyour eyes up to the ceilingabout 30 feet overhead,where narrow woodenbeams curl together fromeach side of the triangle,complementing the curve ofthe entire design. It is mas-ter design and craftsman-ship.

The Waid Room and theJewel come from differenteras, but both create anatmosphere that fostersquiet work or contempla-tion, and that makes themboth beautiful rooms.

Bob Horton is a columnist forthe Greenwich Time and aregular contributor to thismagazine.

Chris Setter / For Hearst Connecticut Media

At the main branch of the Greenwich Library is a gem of a reading room designed by Argentinian architectCesar Pelli called The Jewel.

Quietplease

Catching up on work at the Perrot Library’s reading room are Maja Kjukic, of Greenwich; Peter Garlich, ofPortland, Maine; Christian Iannucci, of Stamford, and Michael Colavecchio, of Greenwich.

Libraries’ reading rooms arearchitectural gems

By Bob Horton

A table glows by lamp light in The Jewel.

ONCE YOU OPEN THEDOOR TO THE JEWEL,YOU FEEL LIKE YOUHAVE JOINED AN

EXCLUSIVE CLUB, ANDYOU ARE IN A VERY

SPECIAL SPACE INDEED

Five papers, five distinct covers