by Tony Avent The genus cyclamen has long fascinated me, perhaps for its unusual, almost magical-looking flowers as well as its enchanting silver-patterned leaves. I first encountered cyclamen in the flesh in the early 1970s while garden-shopping at the old…
by Kaitlyn Goalen A politician. A bribe. A business. What sounds like the basis for season three of House of Cards is in fact the story of lettuce – butterhead lettuce from LL Urban Farms, to be specific. The politician…
by Dean McCord photographs by Nick Pironio The town of Ninety Six, S.C., might be known to history buffs as an important backcountry outpost for British forces during the Revolutionary War. But few people know that Ninety Six is the hometown of…
To learn more about the urban drawing group, see The Usual.
by Liza Roberts photograph by Nick Pironio When Raleigh artist Luke Buchanan met developer James A. Goodnight, Buchanan was pouring drinks behind the bar at Poole’s Downtown Diner, where he works many evenings. The two developed a rapport, and Goodnight became…
photographs by Geoff Wood Thirty-five years ago, commercial real estate developer Bobby Kadis was strolling through an arts fair in Goldsboro with his wife Claudia when he saw a man throwing a pot on a wheel. Kadis was mesmerized. The next…
by Todd Cohen Linda Nunnallee believes that building relationships is indispensable to serving people. The executive director of StepUp Raleigh, a nonprofit that helps adults and children build stable lives through jobs and life skills training, she says it’s a…
photograph by Travis Long “I’ve always watched Mythbusters on TV and I plan to go see the live performance. It’s crazy how they come up with (ways) to test theories and notions.” – Hai Tran, sommelier, The Umstead Hotel &…
by Ann Brooke Raynal photographs by Jillian Clark Despite years of passionate advocacy and numerous letters to the newspaper, when John T. Rex died in 1839, there was no hospital in Raleigh. Wealthy people could afford the journey to Charleston…
by Kevin Barrett In 2012, I decided to quit my job and head out on the road to a place we Americans refer to as South America. It was just me and my trusty sidekick Oscar. Oscar is a fat,…
by J. Michael Welton photographs by Geoff Wood It’s early August, and Cam Ingram, 38, is under the gun, busily packing up for Pebble Beach. He’s not going out there for the golf or the ocean or the sun. And…
by Maureen Sherbondy Forget rules. Make your way to the finish line. The snake is the end and the beginning. Sing while you work. Work is play. Eat all the apples. Toss cores into the stars. Remember to climb jungle gyms…
by Todd Cohen Tanya Jisa found her mission in 2006, when she read in a newspaper article that roughly one in 100 Americans was behind bars. A trained social worker, Jisa had worked at a juvenile detention center, an abortion clinic,…
by Samantha Thompson Hatem photographs by Tim Lytvinenko Gabrielle “Gabe” Bratton loves a good story almost as much as she loves making jewelry. Bring her your grandmom’s old lace wedding dress or yellowing veil, and Bratton wants to hear everything…