SHANE BAUM rose from a small Iowa farm town to found the luxury label Leisure Society and international eyewear house Baumvision, which distributes his creations as well as those of designers including Paul Frank, Rebecca Minkoff, Moscot and Barton Perreira. The father of two daughters, aged 9 and 13, Baum is an avid polo player, loves wine, stages memorable parties in the Alps and elsewhere, and holds a tennis tournament in Costa Mesa, CA, each summer to raise money for cancer research.
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“My family owned a restaurant and I worked there, starting with cutting the wings off whole chickens when I was 10, ultimately working my way up to running the grill.”
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“My dad stressed that things had to be done the ‘right way.’ He treated every customer with respect and gratitude. I think about this every time a customer orders a frame from us.”
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“I’m addicted to discovering cultures and subcultures of all types. From punk rock to bocce ball, there is a story to be told.”
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“Southern California is a great place to drop the anchor. The weather is fantastic and the place is populated with optimistic people who came from all over the world to live with open minds and achieve their dreams.”
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“I love the classic Left Bank Bordeaux, aged Burgundies, Medocs and Gamays, Barolos and Nebbiolo. My favorite white varietal is Gruner Veltliner, a byproduct of working from our office in Vienna.”
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“My Uncle David got me into tennis in the 1980s, when Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe were at each other’s throats. Tennis was played with more finesse, and the style of short shorts and mustache was equal parts funny and macho. My friends and I thought it would be great to compete in the old style and pay homage to our heroes (with our tournament).”
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“The ‘Tyrolean escapade’ started with my dear friends Henrik Orgreen and Gregers Fastrup. We met when our companies had virtually no employees, no money and no customers. We worked hard at Opti Munich and then headed down to St. Anton to blow off steam — a nice way of saying we were imbeciles that drank too much. Now, in our more sophisticated years (wink-wink), we invite some guests to share in the beauty of the Tyrol.”
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“Banksy plays with irony and popular culture so well. There is a cerebral element and simplicity in his concepts that are equal parts genius and overtly obvious.”
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“Having children is life’s most rewarding pursuit. We all want to love and be loved. To take this knowledge and impart it again on some new humans that you helped make is a fun and interesting experiment.”
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“I LOVE COOKING, HAVE A SPICE GARDEN, PLAY GUITAR, SING OFTEN AND AM OBSESSED WITH FLY FISHING. I’M A SERIOUS JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES AND THE MASTER OF NONE.”
