skirt! magazine augusta, columbia, aiken june/july 2012

Summer is: A school’s-out state of

mind. Skirts instead of pants. Ants at

your picnic. Salt on your watermelon.

Sunstreaked hair, naturally. Playing

hooky from winter. Hot pink and hot

salsa. Cut-offs and fresh-cut limes.

Augusta, Aiken & Columbia

Cover copy by Nikki Hardin, art by Aimee Sicuro

Neon-bright sunlight.

Tents and ten-speeds.

Fifty shades of blue skies. Tubing

a meandering mountain creek. The

fewest clothes possible. Calling a

nap a siesta. Finding the sunglasses

you thought you lost. A personal

playlist that’s Popsicles for your ears.

Trashy books that baste your brain.

Showering off a day at the beach.

“Some of the best memories are made in flip flops.”

Kellie Elmore

skirt!isfree!www.skirt.com

J U N E

People-watching from sidewalk cafés.

Your first boyfriend, your first broken

heart, your first rebound. Lawn-mower

mornings, swimming-pool afternoons,

solar-powered memories.

Columbia/Augusta/Aiken

june/july

Illus

trat

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by B

erin

Mad

e Ill

ustr

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Pap

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oods

. berinmade.com j U N E

4 june / july 2012 www.skirt.com

skirt.comskirt! is published monthly and

distributed free throughout the greater Augusta/Aiken/

Columbia area. skirt! reserves the right to refuse to sell space for any advertisement the staff

deems inappropriate for the publication. Unsolicited manuscripts

must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Letters to the editor are welcome, but may be edited due to space limitations. Press releases must

be received by the 1st of the month for the following month’s

issue. All content of this magazine, including without limitation the

design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content, as well as the selection, coordination and

arrangement thereof, is Copyright © 2010, Morris Publishing Group,

LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this magazine may be copied or reprinted without the

express written permission of the publisher. SKIRT!® is a registered

trademark of Morris Publishing Group, LLC.

skirt! is all about women...

their work, play, families,

creativity, style, health and

wealth, bodies and souls.

skirt! is an attitude...spirited,

independent, outspoken,

serious, playful and irreverent,

sometimes controversial,

always passionate.

sheMAILskirt! 127-A 7th Street Augusta, GA 30901 Sales: 706.823.3373Sales Toll-Free: 800.622.6358FAX: 706.823.6083

www.skirt.com

about skirt!Publisher

Nikki Hardin [email protected]

National Art Director Caitilin McPhillips

[email protected]

National EditorMargaret Pilarski

[email protected]

Market Manager

(Augusta/Aiken/Columbia)

Kate Cooper Metts

[email protected]

Contributing Editor Columbia

Jenny Maxwell

[email protected]

Contributing Editor Augusta/Aiken

Gracie Shepherd

[email protected]

Sales Executives Libby Salvador

[email protected]

Graphic Designer

Cher WheelerMeaghan Pafford

PhotographyMolly HarrellChris Thelen

Essays

Summer Lightning

Stacy Appel .................................................................................. 11

Finding My Native Self

Cynthia Briggs ............................................................................... 13

Depression Poker

Bridget Smith ................................................................................ 14

Features

Letter from the Publisher ......................................................... 6

Letter from the Editor ............................................................... 6

Feel Good ...................................................................................... 18

He’s So Original .......................................................................... 24

Meet ................................................................................................... 26

Skirt of the Month..................................................................... 29

Planet Nikki .................................................................................... 34

JUN

E/J

ULY

The Summer Issue

Women make more than 80% of all purchasing

decisions.

Women control 2/3

of the nation’s disposable income.

Women influence 80%of all car sales.

Women spend almost 2 of every 3

healthcare dollars.

Illus

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by B

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Mad

e Ill

ustr

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Pap

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oods

. berinmade.com j U N E

www.skirt.com june / july 2012 5

J U N E / J U LY

SPF

THE UNITED SKIRTS OF AMERICA

The United Skirts of

America was founded

on the blood, sweat

and estrogen of our

foremothers, who

won us the freedom

to choose...to break

The Rules, to wear

combat boots or high

heels, to run for of� ce

or run a marathon,

to form our own

rock groups instead

of being groupies, to

shatter Glass Ceilings

and Glass Slippers, to

shoot hoops instead

of settling for hoop

skirts. The ones who

came before us made

it possible for our

daughters to dream

bigger, to have the

chance to grow up to

be President and turn

the Oval Of� ce into

the Ovary Of� ce. In

the United Skirts of

America, every day is

Independence Day!

Aimee Sicuro

Aimee Sicuro received a BFA

from Columbus College of Art

and Design. After experience

working as a line designer for

American Greetings and a Flash

animator for a once-budding

dot-com in San Francisco,

she packed her portfolio and

headed to New York. Inspired

by circumstance and in search

of a new perspective, she took

a job as a project manager and

illustrator at a design � rm in

Soho. At Slover and Company

she spent three years learning

the business of art and the art

of business. Currently, Aimee

lives and works as a freelance

illustrator in California where

she rediscovers life every day

on the vibrant streets of San

Francisco. Whether she is

running in Golden Gate Park or

sketching at her favorite corner

café, she never fails to return

home with oodles of good

material for her art and

a renewed determination to

live a creative life. aimeesicuro.comVISIT US ON SKIRT.COM

Gracie [email protected]

FROM THE EDITOR

I believe one of the biggest � aws in American society is that grown ups don’t get a summer break.

Instead of everyone agreeing to call a truce to the stock market, deadlines and sales we are forced

to keep wearing suits through the hot-as-hell months and banana popsicles are often reserved for

weekends only. Wouldn’t the world be a greater place if on May 31 we all left the of� ce for one

month to immerse ourselves in the world of sprinklers, vegetable gardening and the damp breeze

that often accompanies a summer sunrise? Of course, we can experience all of those things even

with a full-time job. This summer I’m going to be okay with less sleep and more nighttime outdoor

adventures, less air conditioning and more freckles, and hopefully collect a few more summer stories

along the way to brighten the rest of year.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Nikki [email protected]

The Summer IssueI used to buy fresh � owers at the grocery store every week until I started

feeling guilty about what seemed a luxurious self-indulgence. I would be

good, I told myself, and save rather than splurge on things I didn’t need.

So for almost a year, I mostly turned a blind eye to the purple irises, the

white hydrangeas, the big open-hearted sun� owers. But then the peonies

arrived. Buckets of deep rose-colored ones � rst. Yes, they were expensive,

but I had peony fever and I thought, “just this once.” And the next week,

bunches were waiting of the palest pink ones with a dash of alizarin red

in their centers. And I caved again. They don’t last long, these goddesses

of the garden, opening in one lush, languid burst of sensuality. But their

scent reminds me of my grandmother’s house in summer—the quiet rooms,

the polished furniture, the lingering smell of woodsmoke from the past

winter, starched white curtains breathing in and out on the sultry breeze

of a long gold-green afternoon. And peonies blooming in the yard. I would

have paid twice what I did for the inrushing of that precious sense memory

as I cupped their � ower faces in my hands and inhaled.


w w w . S h o e s a t S u r r e y . c o m

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Ladies Apparel

Like us on

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Located in HistoricSummerville

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Sat 11-4For the month of Julywe will be closed on

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Illus

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onke

y M

ind

Des

ign,

Uni

que

Pape

r Exp

ress

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. monkeym

indesign.etsy.com

Skirt of the MonthVan Jean

2734 Devine St. Columbia

803.252.4339 shopvanjean.com


If partIcular

care

Abigail Adams (1744-1818)

and attentIon Is not paId to the ladIes, we are

determIned to foment a rebellIon, and wIll not

hold ourselves bound by any laws In

whIch we have no

voIceor representatIon.



www.wedding101.net1537 Main Street, Suite B

Columbia, SC 29201

M: 803.463.2386 ∙ O: 803.254.4101 ∙ F: 803.254.4103T-F 10-4 ∙ Sat 10-2 ∙ Sun &Mon Closed

Evenings by Appointment

We ask justice,

We

equality, We ask that

all the civil and political rights

that belong to citizens of the united states,

be guaranteed to us and our daughters

forever.”

ask

Susan B. Anthony, 1876


planetnikki[ a v i s u a l j o u r n a l ]

I’m very attached to my silver skull bracelet by Douglas Magnus. I’m not into dainty jewelry, so its chunkiness and heavy weight make me want to wear it with everything.

I own all the music put out by Girls, but I return to the

gorgeous “Love Like a River” off their latest CD, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, over and over.

I bought a print of a dancing Ganesha last month

that I intend to frame and to hang opposite my bed.

I want to wake up every morning facing

the clever elephant god and believing that the obstacles

I encounter that day can be faced and removed.

Especially the ones I put in front of myself...

the self-doubt, defeatism and dare-nots. Instead, I want to open my eyes and think,

“let’s dance.”

My bag by Dana Waldon and Kat Schilke of Santa Fe Scout Collection has a hippie vibe and is handmade from an old Navajo rug trimmed with silver, deer hide, turquoise, horn, leather horse tack and fringe. I love how it gently jingles when I walk. (Check out their Facebook page.)

Nikki Hardin is the founder and publisher of skirt! magazine. She blogs at fridaville.com.

My photographer friend in London swears I could learn

to use this Olympus E-P2 Pen camera, even though I’m notoriously averse to reading manuals and just hit buttons

until something happens. The black and white function produces photos that look like slightly grainy film...so cool.


2850 Devine St, Columbia South Carolina 803.254.5051 www.shoppout.com

EXCLUSIVELY AT POUT

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FOLLOW US@SHOPPOUT

CHANTECAILLE NARS TARTE FRESH MOLTON BROWN ART OF SHAVING

STILA MARIO BADESCU NATURA BISSE GUINOT FREDERIC FEKKAI LAUNDRESS

FLAWLESS SKIN FROM SMASHBOX

skirt! magazine augusta, columbia, aiken june/july 2012

Documents

editor columbiajenny

editor augustaaikengracie

art director caitilin

u n epeople

publishernikki hardin

j u n e4

best memories

street augusta