beautiful art

Spending the day with
Cheryl Tiegs
classy, sexy and elegant
S
written by Debra Usher
ince 1964 when Cheryl Tiegs first
appeared on the front of a national
magazine, she has been a cover girl
fixture in Canada and the United States.
Representing the true blonde California beauty
which so many little girls in the seventies wanted
to be, she has endured through the years,
appearing on cover after cover.
Whether gracing Sports Illustrated or Time,
she has always managed to look beautiful,
classy and sexy. In 2004 for Sports Illustrated’s
fortieth anniversary, she was inducted into the
Swimsuit Hall of Fame. In 2007 she was named
one of People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful
People for the second time. She was the first
page 250 • Spending the day with Cheryl Tiegs
prominent model to cross over into the celebrity
endorsement business and began selling her
own signature line of products.
Cheryl was the all-American beauty. She
was an example of a very specific look and
lifestyle that a woman could aspire to. When I
was given the opportunity to spend the day with
her in Toronto and write a story, I was a little
apprehensive – what should I do? However, we
had a lovely day as we generally just had fun
and talked.
Cheryl arrived for the day with an armful of
dresses from New York and an amazing stylist
named Gig. With the chef at Bellvue Manor
preparing a lunch with some of Cheryl’s favourite
dishes, including the classic steak and fries, and
a really good red wine, the day was well under
Arabella • Summer Dreams 2010
way. The chef prepared some amazing desserts
but Cheryl doesn’t eat dessert, which probably
is one of the reasons she looks so beautiful and
timeless. I on the other hand couldn’t resist
dessert. The special crème Brule and chocolate
molten cake were unbelievable. Some things are
just worth the calories – at least to me.
Cynthia Findlay from Cynthia Findlay,
Antiques on King brought a large selection of
beautiful vintage and new jewellery for Cheryl to
try on with her dresses, creating havoc and fun
with the photo shoot as we all stopped to look
at this amazing collection.
Bellvue Manor was gracious enough to allow
us the use of its grand hall for the morning,
making our life easy as we photographed Cheryl
wearing some amazing designer dresses and
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jewellery. I had a lot of fun interviewing Cheryl
and finding out what her life has become today.
We then took Cheryl shopping for art and
ended up at Harbour Gallery in Mississauga
because she wanted to see Sir Anthony Hopkins’
new paintings. Here again we had a lot of fun
photographing her in front of the paintings and,
as you can see, Cheryl herself is a true work of
art. Gig and Cynthia Findlay made sure she was
well attired.
Jenna and Jackie Bryant, the owners of
Harbour Gallery presented Cheryl with a
painting by one of their artists, Gerda Marshall,
and the painting is now back home with Cheryl
in California.
For someone who has lived much of her adult
life travelling the world to beautiful locations with
Spending the day with Cheryl Tiegs • page 251
Joe Sampson, Clear Rollers, oil on canvas, 48” x 96”
Paul Tom, Hidden Sparrow, oil on canvas, 54” x 80”
beautiful art
an endless barrage of flash bulbs illuminating her
every move, it is very understandable that when
she can Cheryl chooses a more subdued and
private lifestyle.
In talking with Cheryl we found out that
she loves just curling up with a good book or
hanging out in the kitchen and spending time
with her son Zack and two golden labs, Truffle
and Bugs. Her home in Bel Air, California is a
garden oasis where she can escape from the
hectic lifestyle. Cheryl says her home design is
all about producing a soothing, calming effect.
Cheryl was raised on a farm in Minnesota but has
spent most of her life trekking exotic and unusual
locations for photo shoots. She has brought all this
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travelling home to her interior décor, combining
traditional country, Balinese, British colonial, and
striving to be eco-friendly and create a harmonious
and peaceful inner sanctum.
Originally she designed her kitchen with
beautiful Italian ceramic tiles covering the
countertops and floors of her kitchen. While
they looked beautiful they didn’t suit the hectic
energy of the dogs and Zack running in and out
from the pool and garden.
Working with her designer they decided to
explore natural quartz surfaces in the redesign of
her home. When she was looking at her choices
she found one marketed by a company really
close to her old home in Minnesota. Cheryl still
Spending the day with Cheryl Tiegs • page 253
timeless beauty
goes back to her home state a lot and so she was
able to meet with Cambria president and CEO
Marty Davis and his family. She was invited to
take a tour of the facility in southern Minnesota
and was impressed with its environmental
sensitivity. She also loved the pure natural quartz
countertops and floors which are stain resistant
and twice as strong as granite. Cambria is a stain
resistant, nonporous natural quartz surface that
is harder, stronger and easier to care for than
other stone surfaces because it does not require
sealing with chemical-based conditioners,
polishers or wax. Cambria is extremely committed
to environmentally friendly business practices.
The choice became obvious for her redesign
and in the process Cheryl decided to partner with
Cambria. The real turning point in Tiegs decision
to become a Cambria partner, she stresses, was
understanding the company’s commitment to
the environment. Cheryl was impressed with
their commitment to the environment and the
company values overall.
page 254 • Spending the day with Cheryl Tiegs
For Tiegs, environmental advocacy is no mere
pose and has she has been following ecoawareness guidelines for over 25 years, even
when she was living in Africa.
She is an avowed recycler of pretty much
everything and her home is a wealth of individual
earth friendly and green initiatives. She has
changed her pool to salt water, changed her light
bulbs to low-energy ones and now owns three
low emission vehicles, two electric hybrids and
one experimental SUV powered by hydrogen
fuel cell. When she removed her Italian tiles she
had them removed carefully so she could use
them in another less trafficked area.
Partnering with Cambria is just one thing Cheryl
Tiegs is up to. For the summer she will be travelling
with her son Zack and just hanging out.
I look forward to hearing about the next adventure
for this timeless, elegant, environmentally friendly
and truly beautiful woman. She will be spending a
lot of time in Canada as she works with Cambria to
grow the business both in Canada and the US.
Arabella • Summer Dreams 2010
HARMONIZING BEAUTIFULLY WITH LIFE
The Beauty of Stone h The Durability of Quartz
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