Judi Alweil and her daughter, Karen Alweil Helfman, from Stitches by the Sea hold a needlepoint canvas depicting Atlantic Avenue downtown. Delray Beach residents are paying for each stitch to raise money for the Arts Garage. Behind the pair are women working on individual projects during a sewing retreat at Stitches by the Sea. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Christine Davis
When Karen Alweil Helfman, co-owner of Stitches by the Sea in Delray Beach, learned that the Arts Garage had lost government grants, a light came on for her, she says.
“I wanted to do something to give back to my community, but I didn’t know what place I wanted to raise money for,” she said. “When I heard the Arts Garage had lost all that money, it was a no-brainer. Art is so important to me, and art affects kids, adults and the community.”
Stitches by the Sea, at 710 E. Atlantic Ave., offers hand-painted canvases and threads as well as classes and personal instruction.
Here’s the project Alweil Helfman implemented in November: She is offering people the opportunity to pay $10 for 10 stitches to help create a canvas, which she will then sell, donating the proceeds and the profits to the Arts Garage.
“Our goal is to raise $32,448,” she said, explaining that this amount accounts for the number of stitches in the hand-made canvas, which by the way, is of downtown Atlantic Avenue and is based on a painting by Lake Worth Beach watercolor artist Ellen Negley.
Alweil Helfman has spread the word to her customers and via her Instagram account @stitchesbythesea. She and her family have donated the canvas, which retails for $410, plus another $150 to cover the cost of the threads.
“So far, we have a little over $7,200, but not that many stitches because people are so generous,” she said. “They are sending checks saying, ‘Put in my stitches for me.’”
Alweil Helfman’s parents, Judi and Richard Alweil, opened the store after they retired and moved from Long Island to the area 15 years ago. “My mother has been in the business for years,” Alweil Helfman said. “She started out selling needlepoint from her mother-in-law’s home in Long Island and she also had a wholesale company of needlepoint and knitting yarns.”
While Judi Alweil ran the Atlantic Avenue store, her daughter stayed in New York, running the wholesale line. “I used to dye the knitting yarns,” Alweil Helfman said, “and then I moved down here with my family about nine years ago.”
After she joined the business, so did her daughter, Mollie.
“We have created a community here at Stitches by the Sea, and our customers have been so supportive of us. It only seemed natural to want to give back to a community that has been so good to us,” Alweil Helfman said.
Marjorie Waldo, Arts Garage president and CEO, explained how the funding shortfall came to be. “In 2024-25, the Arts Garage received zero dollars from the state Department of Cultural Affairs when the governor vetoed the arts and culture budget,” she said, amounting to more than $32 million statewide in grants for that line item.
At that point, the Arts Garage launched a Call to Action fundraising campaign and raised the dollars that it lost when the veto occurred.
“In 2025-26, Arts Garage may receive a maximum of $4,500, but even that has not been confirmed,” Waldo said. A change in guidelines means that only organizations scoring 95-100 will receive full funding. Arts Garage scored a 91 and the state has a small fund that will be divided among all of the applications that scored between 80 and 94.9 (so, a maximum of $4,500).
Instead of budgeting any state funds, “we’ve increased donor engagement and made a few very careful cuts to operating expenses to cover the lost funds. We have not had to cut any staff or programming as of today,” Waldo said.
“Our donors have been incredibly generous and seeing a local business like Stitches by the Sea stand up for us with fundraisers like the Needlepointers for the Arts campaign is very rewarding,” Waldo said.
“Karen Helfman is an amazing community member who stood up for us when we most needed her.”
To participate, visit Stitches by the Sea. The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
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Richard and Diane Templer, owners of racehorses through Doubledown Stables, sold their 8,912-square-foot home at 190 NE Fifth Ave., on the Intracoastal Waterway in Boca Raton, for $18.73 million. The new owner is the Kendal Land Trust, with Cathleen G. Todd as trustee. On a 0.67-acre parcel, the five-bedroom home has a dock, summer kitchen, pool and a fire pit. The home last traded for $12.15 million in 2019. D’Angelo/Liguori and Pascal Liguori Estate Group of Premier Estate Properties brokered the deal.
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Paul and Joyce Schoemaker, former university professors, sold their oceanfront property at 755 N. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, to 755 N Ocean LLC for $17.5 million. According to the Florida incorporation documents, the LLC is managed by Cara Zuraksi with an email address at N.F. Smith, a Houston-based firm that distributes electronic components.
Built on a 0.48-acre site in 1992, the six-bedroom, 8,546-square-foot home features an elevator, a tiki hut with a bamboo bar, a media room and a private path to the beach.
The property last traded in 2012 for $6 million. Nick Malinosky and Michael O’Connor of Douglas Elliman represented the sellers in the new deal, while Maximo Cortese of Tangent Realty worked with the buyer.
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Horizon of Delray Beach Inc., the co-op representing the 10 unit owners at 1191 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, sold the property to 1191 S. Ocean Blvd LLC, managed by investor Daniel E. Edwards. Highland Beach-based 1191 S. Ocean CJ, LLC provided a $10.5 million mortgage to the buyer, with Edwards signing as guarantor. The co-op was built in 1952 on a lot of just under one acre. Edwards owned one of its 10 units. The sale was approved by the board and indicates potential redevelopment.
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RealTrends Verified, a real estate performance platform, has published its lists of top agents from 2024, with agents and teams from south Palm Beach County recognized.
Nationally, David Roberts of Royal Palm Properties, Boca Raton, ranked No. 8. Among Florida agents, he ranked No. 2 with $624 million in volume.
Other agents who placed in the top 50 for volume among Florida agents include:
• No. 21, Marcy F. Javor, of Signature ONE Luxury Estates, Boca Raton, with $134 million;
• No. 22, Michael Ledwitz, Engel & Völkers, Boca Raton, $128 million;
• No. 24, Rochelle LeCavalier, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, with $121 million;
• No. 43, Bonnie Heatzig, Compass, Boca Raton, with $91 million.
In the Small Teams category for volume, The Friis Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, ranked No. 28 nationally and No. 6 among Florida agents, with $251 million; and the D’Angelo/Liguori Team, Premier Estates Properties, Boca Raton, ranked No. 34 nationally and No. 8 in Florida, with $230 million.
Other Small Teams that placed in the top 50 for Florida for volume are:
• No. 28, Matt and Nick Team, Serhant, Delray Beach, with $119 million;
• No. 37, Ina Bloom, Compass, Boca Raton, with $95 million;
• No. 48, Karp/Wells Team, Premier Estate Properties, Boca Raton, with $79 million.
In the Medium Teams category for volume:
• No. 8 nationally and No. 2 in Florida, The Senada Adzem Team, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, with $386 million;
• No. 44 nationally and No. 10 in Florida, Pascal Liguori Estate Group, Premier Estate Properties, Delray Beach, with $204 million.
Other teams among the top 50 in the Medium Teams category for Florida for volume:
• No. 24, Alicia Gold, Compass, Boca Raton, with $105 million;
• No. 42, The Buchbinder Group, Boca Raton, with $73 million.
For the Large Teams category for volume, the Jonathan Postma Group, Coldwell Banker Realty, Boca Raton, placed No. 39 nationally and No. 5 among Florida agents with $234 million.
Other area Large Teams placing in the top 50 among Florida agents for volume:
• No. 13, Jennifer Kilpatrick Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, with $142 million;
• No. 39, The Rucco Group, RE/MAX Direct, Delray Beach, with $88 million;
• No. 48, The Modern Group, One Sotheby’s International Realty, Boca Raton, with $75 million.
Mega Teams ranking within the top 50 for volume in Florida:
• No. 11, The Koolik Group, Compass, Boca Raton, $291 million;
• No. 13, The Platt Group, Compass, Delray Beach, with $251 million;
• No. 42, The Saperstein Group, eXp Realty, Boca Raton, with $99 million.
The rankings were open to real estate professionals who chose to participate in the project, based on their reported sales volume and other criteria.
Under the rules of the survey, agents and brokers who handled both sides of a transaction — representing the buyer and the seller — were allowed to double the final dollar figure when they calculated their total sales volume for the sale.
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Huk, offering fishing and water-based lifestyle apparel, opened a store in July at 310A E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. The 2,300-square-foot location is Huk’s 16th retail store nationwide and its third in Florida.
“Florida has always been a core part of Huk’s story, and we’re thrilled to continue our retail growth with a third location in the state,” said Scott Smith, Huk’s vice president of marketing. “Delray Beach is a vibrant coastal community that lives and breathes the on-the-water lifestyle, making it a natural fit for Huk’s high-performance gear and outdoor spirit.”
Huk apparel offers ICE cooling technology, moisture-wicking fabrics and sun protection, with styles for men, women and kids.
For more information, visit huk.com.
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The Boynton Beach Online Chamber of Commerce has grown to become the Boynton Beach Chamber of Industry and Commerce, which will operate as a traditional Chamber of Commerce designed to promote and protect the interests of its members and contribute to the economic vitality of the community. It will act as a central point for networking, advocacy, and community engagement for business and industry. For more information, visit BoyntonChamber.org.
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The nonprofit Institute for Regional Conservation, as part of its mission to protect, restore and manage biological diversity, offers a free online tool “Natives For Your Neighborhood” at regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/default.asp. This database helps residents, landscapers and educators identify native plants, making it easier to know what to plant if nonnative plants are removed.
Also, the institute announced three new board members: Bill Petry, Jorge Carlos Trejo Torres and Alan Franck.
Petry, of Delray Beach, has been a volunteer with the institute since 2018. He brings experience in business and conservation nonprofit management to the board. Institute associate Torres, who resides in Mérida, Mexico, will help move forward programs in the Yucatan and Puerto Rico. Franck, an expert in plant taxonomy and floristics based at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, will elevate the collaborative work in plant conservation and restoration.
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Boca Raton resident Susan P. Brockway concluded her years of service to the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties board of directors in June. She joined the board in 2016 and recently served as vice chair.
She previously served as secretary and chair of the governance committee, and she was an active member of both the executive and governance committees.
A certified public accountant, Brockway built a professional career with PwC Coopers & Lybrand in West Palm Beach and later served as a financial controller for a real estate and golf course developer in Boca Raton.
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The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous has selected 12 middle and high school teachers and Holocaust Center personnel from five states to participate in its 2025 European study program in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
The largest contingent in this year’s program came from Palm Beach County. Among them were Maureen Carter of Boca Raton Community High School, Risa Della Rocca of Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton and Julie Gates of Loggers’ Run Middle School in Boca Raton.
“As we continue to move further away from the Holocaust, it is more important to empower our educators to better teach their students about the Holocaust,” said Stanlee Stahl, Jewish Federation for the Righteous executive vice president.
“By visiting the places where these complex events occurred, educators can better connect to what they are teaching, making them more effective teachers. The program is designed to help educators learn the Holocaust experientially so they can present it in a more meaningful and insightful way to their students and colleagues when they return to their schools.”
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Boca Raton Achievement Center, a nonprofit educational institution that serves 11- to 22-year-old students with autism spectrum disorder and related disabilities, has moved to a 9,500-square-foot facility at 2481 NW Second Ave., Boca Raton.
“One of the biggest challenges was zoning and finding a location with an appropriate traffic flow,” said Executive Director Evelyn Falconer. “We needed a place where families could drop off and pick up their children safely without impeding traffic on the main road. Our new home allows us to queue up to 30 cars around the building, which is a huge bonus.”
Highlights of the new campus include an expanded space, custom-built classrooms, gym and indoor activity centers, and a large parking lot.
It also has a new ambience: “People walk in and say, ‘Wow, it feels like a real school,’” said Falconer. “And we say, ‘That’s because it is a real school.’”
For more information, visit bocaratonachievement.com or call 561-559-9768.
Christine Davis writes about business and can be reached at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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