Since I was young my parents called me a dreamer. I took it as a compliment, but I’m not sure it was intended that way. Like many first generation parents, they wanted their children to be doctors, lawyers or accountants – something “sensible” – but I always had a different view of the world. Deep down I wanted to change the world, not simply fit in.

While I have never changed the world the way Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk have, I have had my sparks of genius. Now I focus my attention on writing about people who are agents of change in St. Louis. It is not as ambitious a goal as I once had, but it is the way I know best to change the world. I can inspire readers … and hopefully spread the passion for finding greatness in our midst.

It's not always easy. Some of the people I want to do stories about don’t want the attention. As a former publicist, I naively thought everyone secretly wanted to be in the spotlight. Boy, was I wrong. 

Typically when we feature beautiful homes, the owners don’t want to be mentioned. But in this issue, Michelle and Joe Buck were happy to speak to us about their new home. You are in for a real treat. It is a stunning home designed and built by Bobby Slavin for a high profile couple who could live anywhere, but make St. Louis home.

I have interviewed Jim McKelvey (the co-founder of Twitter and founder of Block) in the past about The Maker’s District on Delmar he dreamed of creating with Doug Auer of Third Degree Glass. Now Ben Poremba, a dreamer with a culinary bent, is opening two new restaurants and reopening three others from Tower Grove in the Maker’s District to complete what McKelvey started. This stretch between Union and Kingshighway, a part of the city which was seemingly left for dead, is now an organically grown food and arts community that is thriving day and night. It's all about the dreamers, dreaming and doing.

21C Museum Hotel was founded by art collectors Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson. Now they have opened 11 novel museum hotels in Louisville, Cincinnati, Bentonville, Durham, Lexington, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Chicago, Des Moines and St. Louis with a dream to attract visitors, residents, businesses and life to neighborhoods that have been ignored for generations. Each location is inspirational, and either by luck or sheer determination, became magnets in their cities bringing open-minded locals and guests looking for something different. I am not surprised when someone responds to my invitation to meet at 21c by suggesting someplace closer, or safer, or more predictable, but everyone who has met me there is surprised and ready for the next off-the-beaten-path suggestion. Just a short walk to CITY Park to see a soccer game makes this a dreamer's paradise and shows what we can do if we dare to dream.

For most of my 36 years in St. Louis, I wouldn’t call the Cardinals dreamers; they have been realists, always expecting to win their division, having a shot at the playoffs and frequently making it to the World Series. But in the last couple of seasons, they have become dreamers as they look to restore their winning ways.  I sat down with Bill DeWitt III to get his take on what's going on, what they are doing to win again, and all the other things they need to do to keep the fans’ heads in the game. While you may not like all of his answers, I am sure you will respect the amount of thought the Cardinals give to exceeding the expectations of some of the best – and hardest to please – fans in the business.

For the past 14 years, I have supported Pedal the Cause in one way or another. Some years I ride for the cause, and other years I have sailed for the cause and sent the money to Pedal. This September marks the 15th anniversary of Pedal and we sat down with executive director David Drier and Siteman’s CEO, Dr. Timothy Eberlein, to discover how a partnership of a start-up non-profit and an emerging cancer center can attract leading researchers and do some truly groundbreaking cancer research only dreamers can both imagine and appreciate. Now patients from all over the world come to St. Louis for their cancer treatment to make their hopes and dreams of living cancer free come true.

For years, we have tried to interview Webster Groves native Karlie Kloss about her fashion career, love of St. Louis and personal investments in STEM for young women. While she allegedly lived here during Covid, her publicists refused our requests for an interview and photo shoot since she was pregnant with her first child. But we recently caught up with her when she came home to unveil a street named for her at the corner of 16th and Washington Ave. In her acceptance speech she said, “Above all, this city has shown me that a girl from St. Louis can dream, achieve and work to make a difference in the world.”

In just a couple of months from now, we will publish our ninth issue of our annual charity register, Sophisticated Giving, which has helped raise more than $3 million for more than 200 deserving non-profits directly from our outreach to our readers. Many nonprofits have appeared multiple times – a true testament that Sophisticated Giving works – and for 2024 we have added new features to not only educate affluent St. Louisans, but also drive immediate and measurable donations. We have found that many nonprofits dream of getting their organization to the next level, but frequently don’t have the resources to get their story told to the right audiences. That’s where we come in … as do you.

And finally, you will start seeing a lot about Sophisticated Living’s inaugural SOPHI Awards, celebrating the best and brightest in local design, architecture, and builders. Our goal is to showcase innovative designers, visionary architects and cutting-edge projects that are shaping the future of our city. This will cap off our year dedicated to dreamers, spotlighting those people who are outstanding in their fields and are making St. Louis more beautiful.

Thank you for dreaming with us. We are on a roll as we now reach more than 50,000 people through our print and digital magazine, our blog, our e-blast and our social media. Now we are dreaming about getting to the next level. Tell everyone you know about us. Subscribe. Sign-up. Support our causes as we support yours. There’s no telling what we can accomplish when we dream together.

Craig Kaminer, Publisher

craig@slmag.net