Lively conversations on fascinating topics in casual settings is the Highwood Chamber of Commerce’s plan for its new monthly Spill Sessions. A bonus is that each of the events will be held in a different Highwood restaurant or bar, where attendees will enjoy a complimentary beverage and some tasty light bites, in addition to a stimulating conversation.
“We want to give people a reason to experience Highwood in a way that feels both social and meaningful,” said Jennifur Condon, Executive Director of the Highwood Chamber of Commerce. “Instead of putting someone up on a stage in a more formal setting, we’re trying to bring thoughtful conversation into places that people already love — our bars and restaurants.”
In choosing subjects for the monthly events, Condon said, “I’m trying to come up with people who are interesting and maybe unusual in an effort to get people into Highwood, which I am passionate about.”
The series begins at 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at The Merchant, 122 North Avenue, with former Project Runway contestant Peach Carr.
“I had watched Project Runway long ago and I had learned that Peach Carr is a Lake Forest resident,” Condon said. “I reached out to her and she was very excited about helping us out.”
Carr never planned to enter Project Runway, she admitted. “My daughter and I were watching the show — she was almost 16 at the time — and she said, ‘You should be on Project Runway.’”
She recalled telling her daughter, “You should mind your own business.”
Carr explained that, although she was a designer, she had never gone to fashion school. “I just learned how to sew in 4-H,” she said.
Her daughter, Molly, decided not to mind her own business and sent in the application for her mother.
Carr wasn’t accepted the year her daughter applied for her but she made it the next year, from a field of 44,000 designers! That was in 2010.
“I cried the whole way there on the airplane,” Carr recalled. “The woman next to me thought I was going to a funeral.”
Even though, before being chosen for the show, Carr had only made children’s clothing, she was one of the six finalists.
“I was happy and grateful and nice to everyone,” Carr recalled.
She made such a strong impact on the staff of the show, because of those traits, that Carr was given a contract by Project Runway and Lifeline to represent them across the country, doing events. For the next eight years, she hosted fashion shows, meet-and-greets with fans, and other events.
Since she is no longer under contract, Carr will be able to share all the secrets of Project Runway and how the show changed her life at the Spill Session.
The February Spill Session will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 at Beermiscuous, 552 Sheridan Road. It will feature two authorities — Daniel Weinberg, President of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago, and Roxana Uskali, Director of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions.
Weinberg has been president of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop for 54 years.
“I’ve always been interested in history since I was a child,” he said. “I had been working part-time at a book shop, Paperback City, in New York and enjoyed what I was doing.”
When he was 27, Weinberg, who grew up in Glencoe and was in New Trier High School’s class of 1962, returned to Chicago. There he met Ralph Newman, who had opened the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in 1938 and began a partnership with him that lasted 13 years, after which Weinberg ran the shop alone.
His criteria for selecting books for the shop involve looking for “something I think will sell,” Weinberg laughingly admitted. “It takes time to see what books are worthwhile and what people might like to read or collect.”
They don’t just sell books, though. “We look like a museum because we have artifacts and autographed pieces, letters, documents, statuary, oil paintings, and photography,” Weinberg said.
What distinguishes this from a museum, though, is that all of the items are for sale.
“The research is fascinating to do,” Weinberg said. “Every artifact has a story.”
The shop also has a broadcast studio where, since 2005, Weinberg has been interviewing authors and people in the field.
At the Spill Session, Weinberg said he will talk about the artifacts and let the audience know “Why Lincoln is interesting to people today and why he should be.”
Uskali has been Director of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions since they opened a Chicago office in 2017.
“Every day is different,” Uskali declared of her responsibilities. “A lot of times, I’m meeting the client face-to-face. Sometimes I’m emailing with people; it could be all over the world. A lot of times I’m traveling to look at a collection in person.” She also travels to coin shows, in this country and abroad.
During the Spill Session, Uskali will be talking about pennies. “People have been looking at pennies online for years,” she said. “The discontinuation of the penny is creating more interest in it now.” She revealed that, before production stops, the government is issuing a limited edition of about 233 sets of pennies with the Omega symbol on them. That’s the last letter in the Greek alphabet, “to signify the end of the series,” she said.
People are being asked to bring a coin or two to the Spill Session. “This is like a pseudo mini ‘Antiques Roadshow,’” Uskali said. “They can ask me questions about it.”
Uskali believes people should be interested in coins and “in money in general,” she said. “I think it’s really important that people know the history behind the coins. There’s battles that are commemorated. There’s weddings and marriages. All this stuff is really important and it’s on a nice coin with a beautiful image that’s taken a lot of time to produce.”
Condon said that she is grateful that Highpoint Living, which owns three apartment buildings on Green Bay Road, is one of the sponsors of the series.
The cost for each Spill Session is $40, which includes a beverage and light bites. Registration is required at highwoodchamber.com/events.
The Highwood Chamber of Commerce plans to continue sharing the charms of its community with its first-ever Restaurant Week, “Eat. Drink. Highwood,” Feb. 3-7. Watch the website for details.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.