By Ann Volkwein
Photographs by Abigail Fenton
Styling by Lauren Fritscher
Hair and Makeup by Sonya Heimann

This summer, when Christo Morse wasn’t on set in Italy or Manhattan with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway for “The Devil Wears Prada 2”—he is first assistant director on the film—he was spending as much time as possible in Stockbridge with his fashion entrepreneur wife Lauren Gabrielson and their two children, Hobey and Christopher. Their cedar shingled house has outdoor spaces to lounge, swing, bounce, cook, and dine—or take a sauna. It’s furnished with a Hamptons-meets-Berkshires feel that’s midcentury-kissed, kid-proof, casual and cool. It’s where the active Brooklyn-based family goes to capture some well-deserved R&R.

Lauren’s successful fashion design, bespoke bridal, and manufacturing business, The LG Project, means her Williamsburg studio is constantly abuzz. Christo’s film and television work schedule is seemingly nonstop. Other recent projects include “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Succession,” “Babygirl,” and the latest season of “Stranger Things,” which comes out this fall. He wouldn’t reveal any details, of course, but shares the fans’ sense of wonder about the show. “I feel incredibly lucky to be involved in a project that becomes part of the cultural conversation in such a lasting way. With ‘Stranger Things,’ you see that connection across generations—it’s both humbling and exhilarating.”

For Christo, it all began in Stockbridge. Having a base here now means he can recapture Rockwellian childhood memories with his wife and kids. Indeed—he grew up just a street over from their house; his mother, artist Shawn Baker, still lives in town, too, and spends a lot of time with the family. His schooling included Berkshire Country Day School, the local elementary school, and then middle school at (now closed) Searles. And having honed his skills on Catamount, he followed his passion for skiing in high school, attending the Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont, where he competed around the world and became a top, nationally ranked USSA ski racer by the age of 16. He went on to ski and study political science at UC Boulder, before returning to the East Coast.

Tyringham-based producer Nan Bernstein gave Morse his start right here in the Berkshires as a production assistant, and also helped him land his first big-time PA job in New York, on “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Morse and Gabrielson were introduced through mutual friends in 2014 in the Hamptons. “He was working on ‘House of Cards’ in Baltimore, at the time, but we lived close to each other in Williamsburg,” Lauren says. “Christo wanted to show me the Berkshires, and brought me up here for the first time the next summer. He took me to James Taylor on the Fourth of July at Tanglewood. We would come up on weekends and stay at The Red Lion or rent an Airbnb. Then when we had our daughter, Hobey [named after Hobey Baker, the famous early 20th century ice hockey player, who is related on Christo’s mother’s side], we would come up to ski at Catamount.”

COVID brought the family back to the Berkshire hills. The house they found was a haven from the city but needed some work. “It was low ceilinged, and it was all chopped up,” says Lauren. “We wanted to expand the house, but everything was so expensive during COVID, so we said if we can’t go out, we will go up. We busted through to the attic. It was hard because the whole upstairs was torn up, Christo was working at that point on ‘Succession’ in Italy, and I would come up to check on it with a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old. There is a bedroom in the basement, and we would stay there for a night.”

All in a day’s work: Christo on the set of “Stranger Things,” and with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway for “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (below); Christo and Lauren with friends Brian Cox and Nicole Ansari Cox at BIFF this May; Christo and Brian worked together on “Succession.”

Lauren, Christopher, and Hobey visited Christo at work in Central Park this summer—and were extras in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”

But when he was home he was focused on transforming the structure and space. Christo says: “At midnight I would be going around the house, power washing the cedar shingles. And I had an idea to put big patios around the house and do some platforms to raise everything above the swale that was here. I wanted to create a nice living environment and give us better sight lines through the home.”

He credits his old friend, local contractor Jay Rhind, with helping him to get the overall concept; Tom Farley for executing the landscaping; and Ron Petkus for the stonework. While they have more plans in mind for the future, the present result is chic but family friendly.

The interior design and feel benefits from Lauren’s deep roots in textiles, which stretch back to her Midwestern childhood, when she would sit for hours in the sewing room, beside her seamstress grandmother. “I spent a lot of time with her doing crafts,” explains Lauren. “We would go to Jo-Ann Fabrics and make things for my dolls, make Halloween costumes, everything. At Michigan State, after my first Fashion 101 class, I was like, this is it. I graduated in three years, and I told my parents, I am going to move.”

In the downstairs family room, a Princeton ice hockey jersey commemorates Hobey Baker’s time there, and serves as a backdrop for trophies from Christo’s childhood.

It became clear that New York was where she was meant to be. “After about two years of living and working in the city under the Tommy Hilfiger umbrella, I had an idea to open a little summer popup shop in Sag Harbor and sell brands I knew.” Its success led her to launch her own brand and shop on Mott Street, Lauren Gabrielson, from 2010-2014. “It was all made in the garment district in New York. I have always loved local production, going to the factories and seeing where all the stuff was made. It can be difficult to navigate as a small brand, as there are language barriers and things can get lost in translation. Which is why I wanted to open my own factory, not so much to promote my own line but to make that experience easier for new brands, and help walk them through the whole production process.”

Lauren’s current business, The LG Project, consists of a team of 12 seamstresses and a pattern maker. Her core mission is focused on providing an alternative to fast fashion and building a brand and business that harnesses local resources. In addition to indie brand clients, she works with the influencer world, which kickstarted her business of custom bridal gowns, providing an entirely personalized experience for brides to be. Aligning with her ethos about keeping it local, Lauren says, “It’s my dream to have a little offshoot of LG here. To have a seamstress right in Stockbridge.”

Christo says they’re always finding new ways to have local hubs. “I grew up sweeping the courts at the Stockbridge Country Club, with my mom and dad playing in the tournaments and winning the mixed doubles. Lauren and I became mixed doubles champions a few years ago, so we’re up on the board 30 years later.” He’s also taking Christopher and Hobey out on the golf course. “We play together as I did with my dad for many, many years,” he says.

Sports aside, “there’s always something happening that connects to the arts,” says Lauren. Christo agrees, “It’s been a very natural transition for us, and a lot of film-related things are here, too. It’s so bizarre, here I am in the Berkshires and I am having more dinners and film interactions than I do in the city. And now I am developing a few movies with local people, getting into more producing and directing, as well.”

You’ll find them here on holidays, weekends, and much of the summer. As much as they love the city, leaving feels good. “This is our happy place,” says Lauren.

Above: Lauren is dressed for a night out, in one of her own designs. Her light-filled atelier in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is just three blocks from their home.