Editor´s Letter

Summer’s Sizzle

“Optimism is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the bigger it gets.” Around here we like that kind of thinking and practice it daily, which is why we love this month’s issue that kicks your sizzling summer into high gear as we welcome our coverage of Houston.

This month we bring you that big mix with San Antonio style maven Erin Busbee’s look at the season’s graphic influence in accessories for your home and closet. Photographer Mark Oberlin and stylist Anrdu Wallace created a Jazz Age-inspired fashion feature that is both elegant and daring. We take our inspiration from this month’s film debut of The Great Gatsby, surely one of the world’s best books on how yesteryear’s high performers lived, worked and played. There are many to choose from that will dazzle your senses for your own selections of entrance- making show stoppers for any gala and luncheon. We well understand you want to look your best and we are here to motivate you. From sun up until sun down.

That’s why we love getting up close and personal with leading designer Jonathan Adler about his new stores in Houston and Austin, his design aesthetic and why he’s a boy who can’t say no to his enthusiasm for Mid-Century modern. From the best inspiring articles on topics as diverse as romance, self-empowerment and entertaining articles by our regular and wildly talented writers like Grace Ballard, Andra Millian. Julia McCurley, Elise Trube, Mary Schneider and Lara Shriftman, to name a few, to our feature on Vietnam and Australia by Wes Marshall. Then there’s an insider’s look at high society Austin when it was a town of 350,000, a far different city than it has become now.

On the topic of sociability, our crop of galas and luncheon social coverage chronicles where you went, with whom you sat and how much-needed funds were raised for so many worthy organizations. It takes a village to raise an event, as we all know, and we are honored these events that take a year to plan, create and execute.

In fact, according to the Texas Cultural Trust (You’ll see their bi-annual coverage of their Texas Medal of Arts Awards, these cultural events make a difference to every Texan, not just those in a ballroom. Look to your left/right? and you’ll see some facts and figures that will enrich and stir your senses on why the arts matter so much to this state. And, to us at The Society Diaries.

It is no secret we love being a magazine you can read all month: in your jet, on your coffee table or sunning poolside, so plan to take us along because each time you pick us up, you’ll see someone new, learn something different and cerate your own personal sizzle wherever you go.

XO Lance Avery Morgan
lance@thesocietydiplomat.com

ART FOR ART’S SAKE

The arts in Texas mean business. Recently, the Texas Cultural Trust commissioned, and Texas Perspectives produced, a study that illustrates the impact of arts and culture industries on a dynamic and diversified state economy.

In the last decade alone, arts and cultural industries added more than 12 percent growth to Texas’ economy, including millions of dollars generated locally through sales tax revenue. The arts and culture industries also make a significant contribution to sales tax revenue, tourism and economic growth.

The arts and culture industry is responsible for $4.6 billion in taxable sales every year.

• $290 million in state sales tax revenue is directly related to arts and culture activities.
• $150 million in local and state tourism revenue is attributable to the arts and culture industry.
• The arts and culture industry accounts for $2.46 BILLION in tourism spending, which translates into 21,000 jobs with payrolls in excess of $700 million.
• State support for the arts benefits the Texas economy, attracts tourists who spend on average 59 percent more and helps sustain a creative workforce.
• Highlights of “Update 2012: The Impact of Arts and Culture Industries on the Texas Economy” are listed below and the full study can be found at  www.txculturaltrust.org/invest-in-the-arts/