Margaret Russell Shares What She’s Excited About for Winter

Passion is the driving force behind nearly every feature in our winter issue. Brian McCarthy, who designed the apartment in our cover story, tells us that he fell in love with the place as soon as he saw it. “Honestly,” he admits, “I would have been heartbroken if I hadn’t gotten the job.” For Charlie Ferrer, the emotion-laden experience of working with clients who are also his parents represented a challenge that ultimately expanded his creativity.

Paris artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, who crafts lyrical, jewel-like sculptures, has earned worldwide acclaim because of his passion: an endless fascination with “the idea of transformation, a liquid that turns into a solid—a material that’s not fixed,” he explains. Beirut-born Parisienne Aline Asmar d’Amman, the mastermind behind the Hôtel de Crillon’s brilliant new interiors, reveals an obsession with stone—she loves visiting quarries—as well as with the color gold. Both hip-hop guru Swizz Beatz and the Detroit gallerists JJ and Anthony Curis share a fierce commitment to making art more accessible to the masses. And, finally, the Milan duo behind Studio Peregalli find their passion in devising the most elegant and evocative settings for their clients’ treasured collections. To them, “the most important thing is simply the beauty.” Truth be told, I’ve always felt the same.