The Lakeside Collection
This is my ode to the lakeside city that became our refuge: Cleveland. In all honesty, it became our home by chance. The seaside town of Ladispoli, Italy was the way-station for Soviet Jewry who fled the USSR in the late 1980s. From there, few options existed: 1, open immigration to Australia; 2, open immigration to Israel; 3, family or friend sponsors in the United States; or 4, community sponsorship at random. We waited for our American dream - for a community to sponsor our journey - and afford us the chance of a new beginning. My grandmother would visit the HIAS [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society] regularly to see which city - by lottery - had a Jewish community offering sponsorship for our larger family of seven.
And then one day she came home and announced we were moving to Cleveland. That was that. By entire chance, Cleveland held all of our dreams for the future.
A family photo in Italy. I’m the toddler standing in my grandfathers’ arms.
My mother’s first reaction was “Where is Cleveland”. It wasn’t long before we were introduced to Cleveland’s winters - where snow flurries matched the Soviet cold - and the ever-changing Lake Erie, perhaps, not quite the vistage of our seaside Ladispoli home. But in Cleveland, we found the warmth of community and our fresh start.
Opening ws-fiori is a dream of bringing the elegance of our custom events to everyone.
“Lakeside” is homage to Lake Erie and the dreams of vacations on the lakes of Italy.
It feels right to honor my - and my family’s - journey in this new venture.
Credits: Photography: Lamb Photography @lamb-photo Marisa Lyon Photography @marisalyonphotography Kayla Duffin Photography @kayladuffinphotography Venue: Warehouse on the Canal @warehouseonthecanal