Heavy Metal
Q: Tell us about how your business came to be. A: I was working as a wardrobe stylist in Nashville, and a lot of my clients were celebrities who wanted editorial-style jewelry. I wasn’t happy with what I was finding…
Author: Olivia Sokolowski
Best Of The Emerald Coast Results 2026
Reliable, exceptional, laudable. Across the incredible Emerald Coast, some businesses, service providers, and delicious indulgences edge out the venerable competition. Each year, we turn to our readers to name the leaders across our region who are truly masters of their…
The Intelligence of Experience
Allow me to touch on a cliché subject here: AI. You may love or hate its array of possibilities. I lean toward the anti-AI camp but recognize one of its particularly useful (and less controversial) applications: our new, advanced search…
October/November 2026 Calendar
Pirates of the High Seas and Renaissance Fest Oct. 9-11 Ahoy, mateys! In celebration of the marauders who once sailed the Gulf, pirates will invade Panama City Beach for a weekend of fun—including a massive parade, kids’ parade, treasure hunt,…
A Walk In The Park
Lakeside and under the watchful eye of a broad-winged hawk named Dauset, I met someone at Callaway Gardens who had the exact same birthday as me. Same day, year, everything, born just 12 hours apart. We both turned 30 recently…
Rose-Colored Glasses
Mannequins outside of retail stores are generally a no-go in Rosemary Beach. It’s a good thing Nicole Paloma’s studio-shop is just outside city limits with an Inlet Beach address, because her mannequins are an attraction in themselves: sand-white, taupe, and…
Dinner Me Timbers
My friends are an extroverted group of scallywags. We love an adventure. We’ve pretty much done it all. But one thing we certainly haven’t done is dine in the midst of a battle over two pirates’ forbidden love. I took…
Grayton’s Found Family
The idea of a utopia conjures a different image for everyone. Whether it’s a silent, blue-skied field of lavender or a nest of gleaming skyscrapers, the commonality is likely a desire for connection—with land, self, or others—and an erasure of…
Gimme Shelter
A decade before I was born, my Atlanta-based beach-loving mother spent a long summer at Grayton Beach with a friend. “We were so tan,” she told me on the phone, laughing. She and her friend woke up to walk on…
Bears, Bats, And Beyond
It’s funny how reliably we humans gain animal emblems. One might say spirit animals or just those animals that seem to stick around in our brains. Case in point: Bats are my thing. When I was about 10 years old…
Honoring Impact
On a bright afternoon in late winter, the Hotel Effie was flooded with light, warmth, and purpose––850 Business Magazine’s Pinnacle Award luncheon had returned for its 12th year. Each year, 850 Business Magazine presents the Pinnacle Awards to exceptional women…
Where To Brunch?
It’s a Sunday morning. You and your closest friends are feeling hungry. Are you thirsty, too? Fonville Press Alys Beach Right off of 30A, the cheerful Fonville Press Market + Cafe serves refreshing breakfast and lunch options all day. Check out the…
Irreplaceable Creations
There’s a special feeling that comes from living in, or even driving through, a truly artistic community. Every building catches your eye. Every door beckons. Fulfilled, purposeful, unique lives are surely being lived inside every window. I feel assured in…
Rushing Around
When a Floridian hears the word “adrenaline,” a roller coaster might first come to mind. Add water to the equation, and it might be surfing or jet skis. I’m pleased to report, though, that we in the Panhandle have access…
Good Scents
In the opening scene of Nose, a 2021 documentary following the creative process of Dior perfumer François Demachy, Demachy stands amidst fields of green patchouli in Indonesia. There’s nothing fancy here, no laboratory or sparkling bottles, just a nose and…
Healing Waves
I’m an avid traveler, which comes with risks—illness being one of them. I’ve come down with COVID-19 four times, usually due to a plane full of coughers or a stagnant theme park queue. My first brush with the virus, though,…
