On a beautiful spring evening, the penthouse of the Hudson Hotel is a good place to be. With wide views out over the Hudson River and a spacious outdoor deck, it was the perfect place to host our friends and supporters in New York. (I’m always impressed with publisher Jennifer Matthews and her staff in New York, who manage to engineer remarkable settings for our many events across the country.) It was also fitting that our June-July cover features a Malibu project by the brilliant New York designer Denise Kuriger. (That illustrates the point we often make that the West is integrally connected to the international design and architecture world in myriad ways.) Denise was thrilled with the coverage, and it was great to see her and her staff getting so much positive feedback about the cover and the story itself.

As the terrace began to fill with guests, it was quickly apparent that we would have a big crowd. Steve Cohen, editor of Media Industry Newsletter (min), was there with his associate Iris Dorbian, as was the fabulous rug designer Rosemary Hallgarten with her associate Jennifer Pearsall, Los Angeles designer Philip Nimmo, New York designer Amy Lau, Austin architect Mell Lawrence, Robert Allen’s Jolie Cross, Pierre Frey’s Kim Huebner, Claudette Blackwood of Bernardaud, Carolyn Bayas and Katie Dodd of Tufenkian Carpets, writer Valerie Cruice and her husband Jay, furniture designer Paul Mathieu (we’re hosting a party with him at Ralph Pucci in Los Angeles next fall), Susan Inglis and Amy Chender of the Sustainable Furniture Council, Kate Jensen of Colorado’s ID Interiors, the wonderful Dottie Larson from Arizona, Lyn Schroeder, designer John Mahoney, Connecticut designer and author Cindy Rinfret (we’re shooting an amazing house by Cindy in Wyoming this summer), Los Angeles design stars Jaime Rummerfield and Ron Woodson (who have a new book coming out in the fall, as well as a new furniture line), Esther Perman of Karastan, Gwen Toline of Niermann Weeks, David Ryan of the RyMac Agency, Helmut Goetz of Rangecraft, designer Thomas Fuchs, Kathy Woldner of Edelman Communications, Joe DelGreco and lots of his associates from DelGreco & Company, Michael Chaves and Hillary White of Michael Chaves Advertising, Clair Pijoulat of Roche-Bobois, Valerie Moran of Grange, Robert Sacks of Precision Media Group, Nicholas Sterlington of Waterworks, Greta Gabaglio of Sicis, Ryan Finegan of Richard Schultz, Leslie Hart of Fry Communications, Margo Lea (my wife), Richard Matthews (Jennifer’s husband), Catherine B. Stein of the Color Council, Liza Vadnai of Good Inc., Ann-Marie Kishbauch, Carla Graubard, Christine Arrington, Tina Manis of Tina Manis Associates, Karin Craig of Nancy Koltes, Jeanne-Marie Byington of Lindal Cedar Homes, Georgina Bliss of Schlossberg of Switzerland, designer Barclay Butera and his associate Elizabeth Quinn, Elena Frampton of Curated Design Studio, and others too glamorous to mention.

There was a great relaxed feeling about the evening, and I enjoyed talking to our array of interesting guests as the sun set and the lights of the city sprang up around us. The party was supposed to end at eight o’clock, but there were still people happily hanging out at nine-thirty. I was beginning to lose my voice, however, and Margo and I reluctantly took our leave. On the way out, I reflected on the wide network that has grown up around Western Interiors & Design over the past five years, and how the magazine has filled an unique niche in the design marketplace that people are responding to in a gratifying way. Our anniversary parties in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York allowed us to stop and celebrate that fact, and to gather our breath for the next five years, which no doubt will be an exciting ride as well.

To see photographs from the party, go to www.westerninteriors.com/events.