Old Friends:

A number of people helped The Nearby Café during its original launch phase. We remember them fondly; some of their energies remain embedded here.

• Nina Sederholm, the Café's part-time Assistant Manager, a Finn sometimes residing in New York City but presently back in Finland -- teaching, lecturing, consulting, and pursuing her several creative photography projects. Nina's a photographer, printmaker, graphic designer and maker of unique artist's bookworks. We're featuring extensive samplings from several of her unique photo series in the Café Gallery. These include . . .
• Annika Eklöf, artist, writer, and jewelry designer, another Swedish-speaking Finn. Annika also resided briefly at Villa Florentine in the mid-'90s. Her ice-cream dish and coffee cup serve as our logos, but she also produced the drawings for the Café's unique Extra Anchovies! newsletter. Back in Finland, Annika had a baby -- her first -- in September '97.
• Alexander "Sandy" Kohner, from Connecticut via Nantucket -- artist, carpenter, novice bartender, all-around good guy. Spent a few months at Villa Florentine in the mid-'90s, serving as handyman-in-residence for our physical plant and contributor of some delicate graphics for our original Guest Book page. Still on Nantucket, so far as we know.
• Peter C. Guagenti, our good friend and start-up designer of the Café. Peter has since moved on to bigger (if not better) things: he's designed sites for People and Paper magazines, and worked on the Superbowl '96 site as well. Peter now lives in Portland, Oregon, but still keeps a helpful eye on us -- and we suggest that you keep your eye on him, via his own site, guagenti.com.
• Ralph Mastrangelo, the Café's second former chief designer, digital-imaging specialist, and overall technical whiz. Currently applying his skills to a job on Wall Street.

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