REAL Exclusive Magazine

2018 Beertopia

Benefiting Eye Center’s Vision Foundation

& Hernando DeSoto Historical Society

Hosted by Gold Coast Eagle Distributing

Photography by James Corwin Johnson

Click HERE to download the event collage.

Slide show below. Read More

2018 Thunder By The Bay

Benefiting Suncoast Charities For Children

Photography by Tim Britt, Michael Whitney & Mindy Towns

The direct and indirect overall economic impact of the 2016 Thunder by the Bay Motorcycle Festival was calculated at almost $8.9 Million (a 10% increase from 2015) and generated 8,400 room nights in area lodgings.

Click HERE to download the event collage.

Slideshow below. Read More

Wine, Waves & Wheels

Photography by James Corwin Johnson

Hosted By MarineMax Sarasota

Click HERE to download the event PDF.

Slide show below. Read More

Business Builder

Benefiting The Players Center for Performing Arts

Children’s Summer Camp

Photography by James Corwin Johnson

Host: Gold Coast Eagle Distributing

Click HERE to download the event PDF.
Slide show below. Read More

THUNDER BY THE BAY

Rev It Up!

By Ed Bertha

“You do not need a therapist if you own a motorcycle, any kind of motorcycle”
Dan Aykroyd

Once again Thunder by the Bay ROARED into Sarasota raising over $136,000 for Suncoast Charities for Children. This year’s event enables Suncoast Charities for Children to continue providing support to Suncoast Foundation for Handicapped Children, which over the years has constructed area facilities valued at over $20 million dollars. This past year approximately 8,000 special needs children, teens, adults and their families benefited from Suncoast Charities for Children funding.

Research Data Services calculated that the direct and indirect overall economic impact of the 2018 Thunder by the Bay Motorcycle Festival was $7.8 million and generated 6,800 room nights in area lodgings. Not too bad for a bunch of bikers. Read More

Position Yourself with Positivity

By Crystal DaCorta

Realtors, are you feeling tired and stressed out? It may be that you could use a boost of positivity to get you back on the right track. Although harder than it may sound, incorporating positivity into your life should be part of your daily routine. With busy work schedules, family lives, and social activities, it may be easy to lose sight of attending every day to a positive mind-frame. It is our belief that when you attend to the body’s position of the spine and joints, you will allow for the best circulation of the body’s fluids and organs ultimately aiding in having a better outlook on life.

Always immersing yourself in the positive aspect of experiences and forming healthy habits through daily attention to your own self care is the key to implementing positivity. Incorporate small techniques to the normal day-to-day tasks that are already taking place to maximize your time and energy. You will begin have better health on a regular basis leading to a healthy and successful lifestyle. These habits will include a combination of practices from proper alignment of the spine and joints to the words you use to talk yourself into the person you want to be. Read More

REAL La Dolce Vita

MÉLANGE

Exploration of Food, Art & Drink; A Brunch Experience

By Sandra Halliday

Photography by James Corwin Johnson

To step into Mélange is like entering into a world of wonderment and magic. Owner Chef Lan Bradeen inherited a deep love for cooking from her Vietnamese mother and an appreciation of wine and whiskey from her Scottish father. After graduating from college with degrees in Religion and Chinese Medicine, she honed her craft in restaurants that specialized in international cuisines. Her culinary style can best be described as an exploration of food, art, and drink.

Our journey into her brave new world began with an impressive selection of aperitifs, aptly described on the menu as Unbridled Spirits. The ingredients in the Green Bloody Mary read like a who’s who of power antioxidants–raw juices of freshly squeezed tomatillo, celery, and cucumber; garnished with a delectable selection of charcuterie, cheese, and crudité all beautifully displayed on a blue glass tray. Our Mimosa had champagne dancing flirtatiously with freshly squeezed orange, mango, pear, and guava juice. The flavors of our special Mimosa were further enhanced with berries and a baby sorbet cone. Our free spirits were finally unleashed after one sip of Corpse Reviver #2. Poured straight out from an apothecary bottle, its formula contains botanical elixirs powerful enough to bring the dead back to life. No incantation needed here. No decent brunch would be complete without a good brew of Java. Coffee à la Mélange came in the form of an Irish Cold Brew made with an energizing shot of Irish whiskey and available in hazelnut or vanilla flavors. Read More

The Academy At Glengary

“The Journey To Wellness”

By: Ed Bertha

Photography By: James Corwin Johnson

Nationwide, the unemployment rate for those with serious mental illnesses — such as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress, schizophrenia and major depression hovers around 90 percent. The Academy At Glengary, formerly the Vincent Academy, a new Sarasota vocational training center for adults with mental health challenges, is in a position to assist in changing that number in our community. Without a program like Academy At Glengary’s, many individuals with mental health issues end up dependent on public assistance or get caught up in an ongoing cycle of incarceration or hospitalization.

Initial funding for the recently-constructed 8,500-square-foot facility came from Joan and Bob Geyer of Sunset Automotive. Detailed planning went into construction of the new building, with careful consideration of everything from fixtures to paint colors. Vincent Academy operates as a public/private partnership, supported by governmental agencies, local businesses and private philanthropy. The Geyers have already helped facilitate several partnerships between the non-profit and outside entities to support ongoing endeavors. Read More

Makers United for Children’s Hope Foundation

Blake’s New Ride

By: Zac Hurst

Photography By: Chuck Carroll & Julie Hirsch

Last issue we featured the MUCH Foundation and Blake was our opening photo, mesmerized by a butterfly. This past month Blake received something even better.

It was a great day. A day everyone was looking forward to. The MUCH Foundation gave a WCMX Wheelchair made by Box Wheelchairs to their favorite little Batman, Blake, once it was custom painted and lit up with an array of super bright LED lights of course. This wheelchair is a one of a kind, just like you Blake! We love you buddy and can’t wait to see what you will do next. Read More

The Legendary Crosley Estate:

An Upside To A Real Estate Bust

By Norm Luppino

Few properties were as affected by the dramatic swings in Florida’s volatile real-estate market as the historic Crosley estate on Sarasota Bay. But as evidence that there is often an upside within a market bust, it was during some of Florida’s biggest real estate slumps that the Crosley mansion was built, later saved, and finally restored to create one the premiere cultural facilities on Florida’s west coast.

The first attempt to develop the property occurred during the famous land boom of the 1920s. In 1925 – more than 3 years prior to Crosley’s association with the site — a business consortium purchased the 63-acre parcel for $365,000 with the vision to create an exclusive bay front subdivision named Seagate. At $5,800 per acre, it was the highest price ever paid for acreage in the Sarasota Bay area. Read More

Team Fontanetta

Ann & Frank Fontanetta

Fairway Independent Mortgage

Timing Is Everything

By Tom Heatherman

Timing — It is often said — can make a world of difference when introducing a new business or venture. That’s why Ann and Frank Fontanetta waited until just the right moment to team-up with Fairway Independent Mortgage.

Frank was at the peak of a career that spanned over 25 years in the lending industry, having risen through the ranks from mortgage originator to company owner. Similarly, Ann was at the apex of a 20-year career, with the last 11 spent as Director of MSC Mortgage, the in-house lending arm of Michael Saunders & Company—the leading independent real estate firm on Florida’s Gulf Coast; and 53rd largest by volume in the United States. Read More

Crafthouse Cocktails:

Healthy Drinking for Healthy Living

By Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT

Always keeping their customers in mind, Crafthouse Cocktails only uses the highest quality, 100% all natural ingredients such as organic ginger juice. Ginger juice has been shown to improve digestion, relieve pain, and even help with congestion and fighting off the common cold. Their cocktails boast a wide variety of ingredients and flavors from honey and lemon in their modern classic “Gold Rush” to the perfectly balanced, white wheat gin cocktail, “Southside”. Southside has a mix of mint and pure California lime juice. Lemons and limes have been proven to be loaded with phytonutrients that contain antioxidants and anti-cancer properties.

Behind every great drink are great people behind it. Matt and Charles have continued to build their careers on integrity that can be seen in all of their business ventures. Charles, the chief mixologist, had a vision to serve the world’s finest cocktails past the confining walls of cocktail bars and has been able to do so with this unique brand.

“We make Crafthouse Cocktails as if we were making it in our bar, no tricks and no gimmicks, just really great cocktails that we put into a bottle for you to enjoy,” shares Matt Lindner (co-founder). Read More

Worth New York

“Rewriting The Rules Of Fashion Since 1991”

By Becca Z. Towery

REAL Style introduces our readers to WORTH New York. In 1991, Worth pioneered a new way to shop: they made it personal. They took retail out of the store and into the home by selling their clothing collections exclusively through amazing Independent Stylists.

Worth Is – Ready To Wear. Made To Last

520 8th Ave, NYC: this is where Worth is made. Each garment imagined for the life you lead. Each detail carefully considered to last. Fabrics chosen to look good but feel even better. Because they don’t believe in fast fashion. They believe in forever fashion. Invest in your closet – because the right outfit makes you feel like you can do anything. The little black dress that has big dreams; the power suit that empowers you; a midi skirt with maximum potential. At Worth they want you to dress for infinite possibilities. Read More

Hair is Like a Canvas

By Sheila Venancia

Your hair is a canvas that can project your persona, be it a rich caramel or candy floss pink; and if you are feeling bold, you could always get a fiery red or an electric blue.

To get these lovely colors in your tresses, you will have to lighten your hair so when you apply the color, it will be effervescent. The coloring process opens up the cuticles and gives room for the new color pigments to be deposited and give better, even results. The latest trend that has taken over is ‘fallayage’ which is essentially a warm waterfall look which gives your lovely tresses dimension and shine.

We’ve all seen our favorite celebrities changing their fashion style; they are also always sporting a new hairstyle, cut and color which can inspire you to get creative ideas to give to your hair stylist. Celebrities like Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Kim Kardashian to name a few, use the procedure known as a freehand technique and the idea is to create soft natural looks. Read More

Casey Key Gulf To Bay Residence For Sale, NOT IN MLS.

Broker Protected.

Welcome to Casey Key; where the warm tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the highly desirable boating waters of the intercoastal come together to form an opulent beach to bay retreat.

This phenomenal estate offers a 75-foot unobstructed deeded beach easement for both viewing, and toes in the sand experiences. Watch the dolphins play as the sun sets over the horizon; you may just see the fabled green flash.

To the rear of the home you will find a day dock suitable for your recreational and angler needs. This well protected cove leading directly into Dryman Bay offers the perfect docking area while prepping for the adventures to come. Read More