Housewarming: Skye Weinglass

—by Ali Margo —Photography by David Marlow An Aspen native proves you can go home again—and love it Like most kids from Aspen, Skye Bird Weinglass had no intention of sticking around the small town where she grew up. The daughter of Leonard “Boogie” Weinglass, a prominent philanthropist and retail entrepreneur, Weinglass spent her childhood in the legendary Merry-GoRound Ranch, a sprawling estate famous for the regulation basketball court inside its 13,000-sq.-ft. fitness center. She started working at her father’s iconic retail store and diner at 12, hawking designer jeans and matzo ball soup. But by the time she graduated from high school, she was ready to flee the nest. The 31-year-old artist and philanthropist earned a degree in fine arts and traveled the world while honing her skills in a wide variety of media. When her dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, she immediately returned home—and never left. “Aspen always felt so small,” she says. “But now that I bought my own house, I absolutely love it.” In 2018, Weinglass found her calling at the intersection of business and art, when she opened her eponymous gallery in downtown Aspen. There she provides a venue for artists who might otherwise be underrepresented and utilizes the space as a vehicle for social change, hosting events and openings to raise money and awareness for environmental and social causes. “I don’t have the means to be a serious philanthropist yet, but I do have a generous spirit,” Weinglass says. She donates a lot of her time to serving as a board member for the Buddy Program, the mentorship nonprofit founded by her father, and the Art Base, a local community arts organization. Still, it wasn’t until she purchased her first house in Snowmass Village, a 1970s contemporary overlooking the valley where she grew up, that she finally came home. Built in 1978, the three-bedroom home features an open, lofted design with all three stories connected by a spiral staircase, and a unique prism-like window configuration that anchors the space through a singular lens. “The house has all these pointy angles that remind me of a gemstone or a crystal,” Weinglass says. “The style is so unique and completely different. I have really high ceilings with a lot of space for art. Owning a gallery, I can’t help myself,” she says. The best picture of all is the view. “I love it at night because I can stargaze from my living room; it almost feels like I’m outside, looking out at the mountains and the valley. It’s so calm and peaceful.” Find your next home in Aspen today.