Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1020281
letter editor STEVEN VISNEAU, SISTERBROTHER MGMT. 32 T en years ago, I walked into the PaperCity office for the first time. Brooke Hortenstine and Rob Brinkley were co-editors, and I swore I had landed the dream internship. A few days after starting the job, I was tasked with accompanying the photographer to PaperCity's 10th Anniversary Party at Forty Five Ten's former McKinney Avenue location. I was barely 20 years old and about to enter my junior year at Southern Methodist University. Having moved to Dallas from L.A. two years prior, I was no doubt a fish out of the proverbial water. I vividly remember walking into that party — and into PaperCity's world — and feeling like I'd finally found my tribe. As it turns out, I had. Here we are, 10 years later. A lot has changed since 2008 — not to mention since the magazine's inaugural issue in 1998. Yet, much has stayed the same. Brooke and Rob are still my dearest confidants, mentors, and friends; Forty Five Ten now resides in glossy digs down- town; our once broadsheet magazine is now perfect-bound; and here I am, still coming to the same office, helping build a magazine I have loved and considered family since the beginning. Earlier this year, I began reflecting on PaperCity's 20th Anniversary in Dallas and what the magazine's lasting presence means for our city, longtime readers, partners, and friends. I sent a note to Neiman Marcus senior VP and fashion director, Ken Downing, asking if he would join me for lunch. It is worth noting: One of my most formative early PaperCity memories was the first time I met Ken. I was PaperCity's assistant editor covering the Dallas Art Fair's kick-off party at NM's downtown flagship. Ken took a small group and myself upstairs to view Neiman's glorious private contemporary art collection. To my young editor eyes, Ken was a fashion icon; and I had the privilege of going behind-the-scenes of one of the industry's most storied retailers with him. The dream! Back to this summer: During our two-hour long afternoon together, Ken summarized PaperCity's impact more perfectly than I ever could: He credited Holly Moore, our brilliant co-owner and founder, with singlehandedly inventing social media, years before the digital age swept in. And he's right. Those party pages were the first iteration of Facebook and Instagram — and every month, people still flock to our magazine in search of the Who's Who. And oh, those parties — many of which Ken was an integral part of orchestrating. They launched careers, supported non-profits, and they injected Dallas with a wildly progressive spark unlike anything the city had ever seen before. But Ken didn't stop there. PaperCity, he said, pushed the conversation; it pushed the envelope. The magazine gave Dallas a look into a world where the highest levels of fashion, art, design, and storytelling collided. It changed the conversation in Dallas — and the outside perception of our city — from one of old-school Texas stereotypes to one that was far worldlier. We were, as Ken put it so succinctly, ahead of our time. So what about the now? The next 20 years? The core of what we do is still the same as it was all the way back in 1998: Stay ahead of the curve; tell important stories; embrace all things bold and unconven- tional; and bring you into a beautiful, boundaries-pushing world. Oh, and while we're at it, try to remind you that life (if you let it) is a party. Christina Geyer Dallas Editor in Chief christina@papercitymag.com