The Brilliant Edit

What was your first impression of each other?

James: It’s funny, we met each other on the first day of orientation of Parsons back in 1982, and I remember Mark had a tremendous amount of hair.

Mark: I remember James was very handsome, very elegant, a little quiet, a little aloof, but I found him mysterious.

How do you celebrate Pride and what is a message you would like to share this Pride month?

James: I think we pretty much celebrate Pride all the time. We’re very proud of who we are and we’ve always been very open and very honest about who we are, and I think that’s what Pride is about.

Mark: I think that we’re lucky and privileged that we live in this country, and we’ve always been welcomed with our families and our friends and we’re on a career path that has always been extremely welcoming and open-armed to our lifestyle. So, we’ve been very fortunate.

What’s your date night go-to?

James: Given that fact that we have to be with people a lot, our date night go-to is to just be at home alone with our dogs. There’s nothing more special or more romantic than that.

Mark: I couldn’t have answered that any better.

Who buys the better gifts?

Mark: He does!

James: I come from a long line of notoriously bad gift givers, so I make a real special effort to make sure that my gifts are really considered and thought out.

Mark: Yes, he’s extremely original! I, on the other hand, have never bought him a Christmas gift or a birthday gift. We buy things for each other just throughout the year. He just bought me this gorgeous wedding ring from Grown Brilliance.

James: And he bought me my Grown Brilliance anniversary ring, but I picked it out!

To Mark and James, Pride is more than just a celebration, it’s a mindset, an attitude, and, a way of life.