CONTENTS
editor’s letter
MAY 2 0 2 0
departments
2
6
8
10
EDITOR’S LETTER
BUZZWORTHY
NEIGHBORS
INFLUENCER
features
12. DISCOVERING TOGETHER, APART
Montclair Film Festival connects viewers,
even during the pandemic
16. MUSIC FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES
Michael Blume embraces a variety of
sounds and styles
18. LIVING IN THE MOMENT
ON THIS PAGE
Long before COVID-19, writer Debbie
Galant decided not to postpone her
passions
20. ESCAPE TO MANTOLOKING
Montclair designer takes her talents
down the shore
A custom sectional and commissioned artwork continue
the oceanic theme of this Mantoloking home.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MAXEY HAYSE DESIGN STUDIOS
ON THE COVER
Artist Michael Hoeweler
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
BACKGROUND DRAWING BY MICHAEL HOEWELER
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JORAM MUSHINSKE
CATNIP
FOR THE
HIP
Get your attitude on. Check out the irresistible hot and cool
trendsetting styles we’ve got in store for you.
GLEEK & HOWARD OPTICIANS
10 S.Fullerton Ave. Montclair
2
MAY 2020 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
973-746-6809
W
hat a difference
a couple
of months
makes. The
spring issue
of Montclair
Magazine arrived in homes on March
12; Gov. Phil Murphy announced
aggressive social distancing measures
four days later. Since then, life in the
Garden State, as
everywhere else, has
become an exercise
in regrouping and
taking it one day
at a time.
The highly
anticipated
Montclair Film
Festival, which was
to have launched
its 2020 season on May 1, will have
to be anticipated a while longer. The
good news is that its organizers have
created multiple options for viewing
and discussing movies together
online. Find out about them in
“Discovering Together, Apart.”
Montclair High School graduate
and singer Michael Blume was
delivering his unique blend of hip-
hop/spoken word/anthemic pop/
jazz at New York City venues and
live festivals. Fortunately for us, he
can still be heard on Apple Music,
Spotify and his two EPs (learn more
by reading “Music for Uncertain
Times”).
We’ve been shut up in our homes,
but as the weather turns better, we’re
coming outside — at appropriate
social distances, of course — to
enjoy what nature has to offer. You
can get yourself in the mood for
summer by checking out “Escape
to Mantoloking,” which features a
9,000-square-foot home designed by
Montclair resident Susan Pitaccio of
Maxey Hayse Design Studios.
Here’s hoping that by the time our
next issue comes out, we’re heading
down the shore, or anywhere else
we want to go, at will. Be safe and
healthy, Montclair! ■
Fashion in focus.
www.gleekandhoward.com
CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER