By Emily Glory Peters Built in the 1880s, the Bissell House Bed and Breakfast is nearly as old as Pasadena itself. Named for that Bissell family (you probably owned one of their carpet cleaners at one point), this grand dame of San Gabriel Valley straddles much: the border of Pasadena and its southern sister; Victorian…
By Emily Glory Peters The course toward (and through) adulthood never did run smooth, especially where community is concerned. Some studies have posited that making friends is harder as you get older—and one could argue the same follows for making a social impact for the better. “I was born in Pasadena and grew up in…
By Emily Glory Peters When was the last time you walked into an indie shop for an item of clothing? Bessy Centeno wants to know—because for her, your choice to shop local holds the power to change lives. “Growing up in Honduras, I got involved in fashion as a means of survival,” says Centeno. Work…
By Emily Glory Peters For those of you who broke your mother’s heart when you came home with your first tattoo, rejoice. The years of tattoo stigma are in the past—or at least fading into something like acceptance for an art form. “It used to be that people who got tattoos were part of an…
By Emily Glory Peters Reading the news these days can be a grim exercise—you never know what bleak reality you’ll face. Some, understandably, may feel ill-equipped to do much to stop the carousel of social crises. “I’m just one person,” you may think. “What difference can I really make?” When the first Rotary Club began…
By Emily Glory Peters “Lover of all colored stones—and listens like your bartender” is how Tracy Wilke is described on the website for G.H. Wilke and Co., her family-run jewelry business in San Gabriel. And like the work of an expert jeweler, she considers listening an art form. “I get called a bartender because I…
By Emily Glory Peters “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” rings (partially) true for the folks behind Old Pasadena Management District (OPMD), the nonprofit you probably never heard of. Contracting with the City of Pasadena, the organization masterminds many of the creative events, initiatives and improvements that keep Old Pasadena buzzing. Yet…
By Emily Glory Peters Soap making is an age-old practice. Evidence of soap-like substances has been traced back to the ancient Romans, Egyptians, even the Babylonians, all whipping up mysterious emulsions of oils, salts and Mother Nature’s other odds and ends to get squeaky clean. That magic continues today, albeit with a considerable ingredient upgrade….