Life + Culture

Round Top Mamas

Local Vintage Stores Curate Boho-Chic Style with Substance Article by Julie Fustanio Kling The Round Top Antiques Fair in Fayette County is a feast for vintage junkies who love a good story behind an antique or a garment. Shoppers travel from all over the world to Round Top, the smallest incorporated town in Texas, to sift through treasures. Vendors display their wares in barns, tents and small buildings stretched over 11 miles along Highway 237. The renowned city with a population of 87...

Style + Beauty

From the Top

Where hair is more than a service – it’s a transformation Article by Samantha Daviss | Photography by Twinty Photography Rebecca "Bek" Acosta Ojeda knew she wanted to become a hairstylist long before she ever stepped behind a salon chair. As a junior high student, she dreamed of cosmetology, but teachers discouraged her, insisting it wasn't a "real career." She followed the traditional path, enrolling in junior college, but quickly realized she was miserable. "I finally went to cosmetology...

Education

Mahjong Maven

Local Artist Finds a Painterly Outlet in Teaching Mahjong Article by Julie Fustanio Kling | Photography by Twinty Photography Whether it is the satisfying sound of shuffling tiles, the stylish Chinese characters carved into them, or the desire for community amidst the drain of the digital world, the American allure for the centuries old game of Mahjong is mounting. Yelp searches for Mahjong instructors have jumped 818 percent, and searches for clubs are up almost 4,500 percent from 2023 to...

Beauty

From Boardroom to Beauty

Redefining the Modern Nail Salon Article by Samantha Daviss | Photography by Twinty Photography When most people think of a successful nail salon owner, they imagine someone who has spent years behind a manicure table. Truc “Trudy” Nguyen’s story couldn’t be more different. Armed with a degree from the University of Texas, a master’s in business administration from Harvard, and more than a decade in finance, investment banking, mergers, acquisitions and consulting, Nguyen left corporate...