“Charged with vivid energy” is how artist Ricardo Roig describes his work, which includes hand-cut paper stencil screenprints and murals inspired by a similar process. It’s a phrase that not only captures his mural “Metuchen Magic,” which has transformed and activated a town alleyway, but also distills the essence of the other people and businesses profiled in this issue.
Nicole Contursi’s Purple Cow Cakery also has an inspired origin story.
“Long before I became a cake designer, I worked in finance,” she says. “Hanging on the wall of my office was a large print of Andy Warhol’s “Purple Cow.” Every time someone sat across my desk, it looked like the cow was sniffing the top of their head. It never failed to make me laugh, and somehow it always made everyone else smile too.”
The whimsical purple-and-pink “Cow” print from 1976 then moved from her office to her children’s playroom. It spent the next 10 years presiding over “tea parties, building forts, endless games, and all the wonderful chaos of childhood.” Contursi realized the cow always represented joy, and when it was time to name her business, “there was never really another option.”
Transformation takes many forms. Metuchen’s Black Belt Institute is a place that has helped kids train in taekwondo and redirect their lives in the process. Retired martial arts instructor Bob Matland founded Kicks Are For Kids, a nonprofit that offers financial-aid scholarships for children who might benefit from the lessons and techniques taught at the school, and he has seen firsthand how training in taekwondo can shape a child’s sense of self. He remembers how one special-needs student grew from a white belt to a black belt over four years, emerging with newfound confidence, discipline, and self-esteem.
Some of the most memorable moments in Marc Hughes’ career have come during people’s darkest hours. He recalls helping a young family after they lost everything in a house fire, and handing their daughter a teddy bear. His approach to personalized service is rooted in empathy, one that has earned the trust of clients navigating everything from accidents to long-term financial planning. “On people’s worst day, they reach out to us, and we get to make it a little bit better,” he says.
Enjoy!
