Sweet success

Tiffany Rosales is not one to shy away from a challenge. She taught herself to be a professional baker. She started a business when she had four young kids at home. And she built that business, Commonwealth Cake Company, with very little advertising. Instead, she credits her success to good relationships and the fact that, […]

Fine specimens

Charlottesville wouldn’t be Charlottesville without its trees. When the city adopted a Tree Conservation Ordinance in 2013 to allow special protected status for certain trees, it was an acknowledgment of all their many benefits: beauty, history, a sense of place, and all the “ecosystem services” that trees provide for free. They cool the air and […]

Into the future: Making an old kitchen serve a young family

A house built just before World War II might be replete with period charm, but it’s not necessarily geared toward the needs of a young family. Honoring that earlier era, while executing a major update, was Karen Turner’s charge in a recent project. “It’s an old house in a beautiful established neighborhood,” she says. “The […]