The New Tastemakers

Food

"I can create off-the-cuff," he says. "I can do what I need to do socially and cater to customers’ eating preferences. I’ve got so much product I can pull from and tailor to anyone who’s sitting in front of me."

That includes food such as Australian Kobe beef tenderloin, New Zealand elk chop, spiced cherries from Tasmania, tuna from Honolulu, exotic cheeses and organic greens.

"I create dishes and let the flavors speak," Yates says. He juxtaposes salty flavors with sweet and complements the meals with a wide selection of imported wines that are shipped in temperature-controlled containers.

"Eating is like religion, a way of life," Yates says. "When people spend the money they do, I want them to enjoy the experience."

Yates is continually updating his menus. (There are two—one for the Tasca Lounge and one for the dining area.) He doesn’t want people to feel intimidated, so he talks with them about the various offerings and encourages them to try different things.

The restaurant, located in the Bell Tower Shops in south Fort Myers, is decorated in black-on-black, with red accents. There’s the Tasca Lounge. ("In Spain, it refers to a place to meet to eat and drink," Yates says). Then the bar, which Crü calls the chef’s table; it’s used for eating instead of drinking. There are also a dining room that seats 60, and a private room that holds 16. The restaurant includes outdoor seating. Yates also plans to put in a courtyard and bought the building next door for a yet-unnamed 60-seat high-end wine bar. Not bad for a guy who isn’t classically trained in the culinary arts and who originally desired to have a career in baseball.

Yates has also worked at Sanibel Harbor, the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, and Bistro 41. He was executive chef and designer for Bacchus in downtown Fort Myers and at the Bell Tower, and also for a cocktail bar in downtown Fort Myers called Shannon. Then Crü opened in 2004.

"I fell into something I really, really liked," he says. "I like coming to work."

A tastemaker has to be adventurous, he says, adding, "No fear." You "can’t worry about something not tasting good," he says. "If you don’t try it, it’ll never happen. Some people in this town are scared to put it on the plate. But by no means can a tastemaker be conservative."

"I could turn people into frogs, but I could also grant their wishes," Senneff jokes. "I did consider being Cinderella, but couldn’t find glass slippers. I decided on sensible shoes."

Many in the arts community consider fairy godmother on-target typecasting, because in the five years she’s been executive director of the Alliance for the Arts, Senneff has magically transformed the arts in Lee County.

The list of accomplishments is long.

The Alliance, now fiscally sound, has gone from a skeleton staff to eight employees, all knowledgeable and passionate about the arts. "The things we do happen because I’ve surrounded myself with creative people on purpose," Senneff says. "We’re always looking for ways to make things better. Our events and solutions come from that desire."

The annual Art Royale event, for example, was the idea of Fort Myers artist Aida Bukovica. Patterned after European street fairs, the interactive performance-art event has become the Alliance’s signature fundraiser.

"The guest becomes part of the art," Senneff says. "And one goal at the end of every Art Royale is to have a permanent piece of sculpture on our campus." Artists are presented with a different theme each year, such as Metamorphosis or In Flight, and have to create something reflecting that theme. Last year’s Art Royale included live music, theater, belly dancers, sculpture, film, fashion, food and women who danced with fire.

Senneff started the Lee County Coalition of the Arts, a loosely formed organization of local arts companies, from galleries to the Southwest Florida Symphony and everything in between.

"You can accomplish more together than we can separately," Senneff says.

She put together Walk Through the Arts, a middle-of-the-night brainstorm: a family day for the arts on the Alliance’s campus, including performances, artist demonstrations and information about various venues, galleries and artists.

Senneff’s increasing the quality and variety of the Alliance’s art exhibits. For the first time, it’s showing international exhibits and also hosting an annual 2D-3D juried exhibit. In the future: a fiber art show and a big sculpture show.

"We don’t bring in touring shows," Senneff says. "We’re providing a different quality and broader spectrum of art."

Senneff’s on the City of Fort Myers Public Arts Committee, working with the mayor to plan public art for downtown Fort Myers. She’s also put together the three-county committee for the "In Flight" public art program, to provide permanent public art for the new Southwest Florida International Airport.

A tastemaker "can be someone who offers opportunities to others," Senneff says. "They come up with new and innovative things. Though nothing is new in this world, they’re willing to explore and dream and set goals to develop something that is new for them. Take it and make it work for you."

Many view handbags as an accessory. But to purse designer Martine Cronin, handbags are so much more: sculptural works of art so striking you gain as much enjoyment looking at one as using it. How out of the ordinary are Cronin’s purses? Well, if you own one and want to clean it, you’ll need window cleaning fluid or WD-40—not exactly typical purse-cleaning materials.

Cronin uses aluminum for the body of her purses—brushed or shiny silver, or colored wine-red, copper, matte black, purple or grasshopper green. Each purse stands on "little feet"—four small aluminum balls.

Like artist Robert Rauschenberg (who owns a Martine purse himself), Cronin believes in using disparate materials, combining them in new ways. For her purses, she incorporates chains, black rubber fuel hoses, thin plumber snakes, rhinestones, knobs or circles of metal that look as if parrots should be perched upon them. One series boasts barbed wire handles.

A sadomasochistic purse? "The barbed wire’s made of leather,"
she explains.

The interiors also surprise: a zebra pattern on velvety cloth or vibrant Japanese silk.

"I’ve wanted to be in fashion from when I was very small," Cronin says. After college, she got the idea to make aluminum purses, and got a local metal artist to show her how to use the machines.

"I thought a combination of the two, metal work and the purse, would be something that no one has ever seen before," she says, adding, "they’re purses or handbags—not pocketbooks. That’s a Northern term."

When her first purses were all enthusiastically auctioned for charity—her first sales—"I thought, I’ve got something!" And she did.

Five more were auctioned at an Alliance for the Arts charity event, and two stores in Fort Myers, Silver & Stones and Saks Fifth Avenue, began carrying her purses. Her purses are also in demand at the annual Arts for ACT auction that raises money to help those affected by domestic violence. She gave purses to guest auctioneers such as Sharon Stone, Lily Tomlin, Lauren Hutton and Tracey Ullman. When Meryl Streep was auctioneer, a Martine purse raised $3,800. (They typically sell for $150 to $1,250.) She’s also sold in Miami, Atlanta, East Hampton, Puerto Rico and Canada, and hopes to branch out by attending trade shows.

Cronin describes her purses as "funky, edgy and sophisticated. It tells who you are. Like good jewelry, it tells something about your taste," she says.

In the future Cronin wants to also create bed linens, furniture and jewelry boxes. And, she adds, "I think I could be a great stylist to the stars, putting people together from head to toe."

The characteristics of a tastemaker are "perseverance, thinking outside the box, having your own ideas, trying new things and not being scared to put it out there," Cronin says. "You know you’re going to be judged, and you just have to overcome that."

Music

It wasn’t her idea, but she realized it was exactly what she was supposed to do: start a professional opera company in Naples.

The soprano had earned international acclaim for her portrayals of Violetta, Tosca, Dona Anna and others, and has been a concert soloist at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

In 2001, she married Naples builder Samuel Vasquez Jr. and gained an instant family of three stepchildren. She knew touring was out of the question, going away for five or six weeks at a time.

She opened her own studio, teaching voice and "rapidly gathered a wide variety of students from middle school age to senior citizen." She became artistic advisor to the Bach Ensemble, became involved with the Naples Opera Society, performed concerts with the Southwest Florida Symphony and gave community concerts at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church and North Naples United Methodist Church.

But people kept suggesting she start a regional opera company in Naples. Though she didn’t have the business background, she did possess the artistic credentials, stature and reputation. She recognized the nudges as something bigger.

"If we’re spiritually connected, we’ll be in tune with what our purpose here is," Pearce says. "And given the many signals I was given, the way my life was flowing, and the fact that so many people said, ‘Hey, why not start an opera company?’ I knew it was the thing to do."

So she started Opera Naples, Southwest Florida’s first—and only—professional regional opera company. Productions highlight professional singers in the leads, people who have also performed at the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Pearce has also brought in prominent stage directors and guest conductors. Local singers play supporting roles.

The production created a buzz around town. Opera lovers were thrilled to have another option since the shows at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts are often sold out due to season subscribers, Pearce says.

Opera Naples’ goal is to produce a variety of operas, including American opera, contemporary opera, lesser known works and operettas, in addition to Classic Grand Opera.

"That’s an investment in the future," Pearce says. "These are people exposed to something new. When they grow up, not all, but maybe 10 or 20 percent will say, ‘I’ve seen an opera, I’d like to see another one.’ They won’t feel intimidated by it or think it’s something strange.

"To many people, opera is the consummate art form, because it includes music, theater, fashion, choreography," she says. "There’s a visual grandeur to it, a pageantry you experience."

"Those actors are going to be hot under the lights, wearing those coats," he muses, shaking his head.

"Our audience is more adventurous," Taylor says. "They appreciate the opportunity to experience new things and I think have a wider view of what theater is and can be. You never know what you’re going to get [when you come here]. That’s a comment we get from audience members, and that’s what they appreciate."

Though the intimate Foulds Theatre seats only 135 and tickets cost a reasonable $15, Taylor’s productions rarely sell out. His company runs on a shoestring and hangs on by a thread. But Taylor perseveres.

He started the New Play Contest 10 years ago, and Theatre Conspiracy has since put on numerous world premieres and regional premières of new plays. The first two performances of each winning play include talk-backs after the show: an opportunity for the audience to question the playwright, director and cast.

"It adds a whole new dimension to going to the theater," Taylor says. "You get some insights into the work you just saw that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise, and insights into the person who wrote it. The playwright sees what works, what doesn’t, and gets the actors’ and director’s take on it, not just the audience’s."

It’s also Taylor’s opportunity to put his mark on a new play. Theater is a collaborative art, and as director, Taylor stays in constant contact with the playwrights.

"We’ll tell them what’s working and what isn’t working," he says. "If something isn’t working, we come up with the solution. It’s our chance to put our stamp on a show."

Taylor acts in the occasional production, and his wife, Lauren Drexler, a critic’s and audience’s favorite, also acts in one or two plays a year.