Finally, CB2 comes to Los Angeles!

April 29th, 2009

Outdoor-Live-Decorate-Eat-Work-Sleep-Splash

CB2's first Los Angeles outlet opens on April 30th

I remember all those years when I lived in Seattle and eagerly anticipated my occasional trips to Chicago, New York and Boston – because that’s where I could finally shop at Crate & Barrel. It was always a challenge to see how many throw pillows, dessert plates and flatware I could cram into my suitcase when time came to fly home.

For me and countless other Seattleites, those retail pilgrimages to Crate & Barrel’s Midwest and East Coast outposts whetted our appetites for the time when the innovative home furnishings-and-accessories merchant finally came to Seattle about five years ago.

Inside the new CB2 store, opening in LA on April 30th

You could say the same scenario is playing out here – again – as fans of Crate & Barrel’s younger, modern-focused sister store, CB2, have been keen for a real, brick-and-mortar version to arrive on the West Coast (catalog and online shopping is cool – but nothing beats touching, feeling, sitting in and sizing up the actual product).

By the way, the first CB2 store in Los Angeles isn’t just brick-and-mortar construction. The smart, modern and affordable retail environment conforms to LEED requirements by incorporating eco-friendly bamboo floors, low VOC-paints and the re-use of existing materials.

Situated on the corner of Sunset and Laurel in Hollywood, the store’s façade is ornamented with gun-metal gray grates. Its large windows display CB2’s iconic vignettes. This is CB2’s third West Coast store – in the past six months, San Francisco and Berkeley addresses have also opened (and there are also two original stores in Chicago and one in NYC’s SOHO neighborhood).

There are definitely echoes of Crate & Barrel’s aesthetic at CB2. Althought, with its own streamlined, uncomplicated and playful vibe, CB2 targets apartment, loft and home dwellers with a modern attitude.

According to a 2008 article in the Chicago Tribune, CB2 is Crate & Barrel’s “less expensive furniture concept aimed at younger shoppers who frequent Target and Ikea.” I kept asking myself why that Tribune statement bugged me. I finally realized that it’s because CB2’s shopping environment is way more sophisticated than the two stores to which it’s compared. CB2 is everything about design, but in a specialty store setting rather than a big-box one. Unlike Target and Ikea (which are great, don’t get me wrong), you don’t have that anxious, gotta-grab-what-I-need-and-get-outta-here feeling at CB2. You want to stay. And chill out.

I predict a huge success for CB2 in LA, starting tomorrow morning, when its 8, 500-square-foot outlet opens on Sunset Strip. I visited CB2 to see and shop there during this morning’s press preview.

I'm sharing a seat on CB2's "resort" sectional with brand director Marta-Maria Calle

Greeted by Marta-Maria Calle, CB2’s brand director, I enjoyed the chance to sit down with her for a quick interview. Hey, I really like this woman, not only because she was wearing the same chambray-blue linen Eileen Fisher tunic that I wore for the taping of “Peace by Design.”

Marta-Maria shared the background of CB2’s genesis – from a seed of a modern design idea to a full-fledged retail destination – and she graciously answered some of my questions: 

When did CB2 first emerge as a Crate & Barrel concept?

The first store opened in Chicago in 2000. Gordon Segal (C&B’s co-founder and Chairman) and Barbara Turf (longtime Crate & Barrel president, appointed CEO last year) wanted to test the brand’s modern attitude. They asked a few Crate & Barrel buyers to buy for CB2. I was one of them.  Now, we’re a company of 16 people and we are moving away from the “mother ship” to our own office location in six weeks. [Marta-Maria told me that after about five years of juggling buying duties for both retail concepts, she persuaded Barbara to spin off CB2 as a separate retail venture with its own, fully-dedicated creative staff.]

Why has it taken 10 years for CB2 to begin expanding more aggressively?

The signs say it all

We don’t do anything until we’re ready. We wanted to give this brand a reason to be. It’s all about value. Our emphasis is “Simply Modern and Simply Affordable.”

What is your retail philosophy?

We believe we’ll build the CB2 brand one customer at a time. We are one-hundred percent customer-service powered.

Tell me how you develop your product selection:

We work with designers and manufacturers to create CB2 products. Ninety percent of our products are exclusive to CB2. We want to allow people to bring their ideas to us (rather than only developing products internally). We always ask: how much would our customer pay for this? If we can’t meet that price, we won’t carry the product. Also, our design priority is to balance mass-produced with the “hand touch” aspect of design.

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Posted in Creativity, Entertainment, Furniture design | 2 Comments »

Santa Barbara Style – indoors and outdoors

April 26th, 2009

A tapestry of showy succulents, designed by Botanik

Erin (Keosian) Taylor’s  cool plant and design emporium called Botanik was one of my very first garden discoveries when I moved to Southern California in late summer of 2006.

I have Gillian Mathews, another awesome garden retailer who created Ravenna Gardens in Seattle, to thank for the introduction.

In September 2006, Gillian and Theresa Malmanger created and led the “Los Angeles-Santa Barbara Garden Tour” for the Northwest Horticultural Society. So I piggybacked on that trip and joined all my Seattle pals only 3 weeks after I moved here. I was in for a treat!

It turns out that I needed Gillian and Theresa to be my “guides” to begin to understand my new backyard.

It was the best gift they could have shared. The three-day garden extravaganza gave me a front seat tour to some amazing private gardens, public gardens and retail outlets. It fed my spirit and soul as I got to pal around with several very special, dear friends.It made me begin to realize that I was going to be “okay” living here because I started viewing SoCal’s horticultural and garden design world through the eyes of these savvy Seattle folks. That began my long education as to just how cool my new environs are.

One of our stops was the coastal village of Summerland, where Botanik occupies two cute cottages. Created by Erin Taylor, a fresh, young talent who has an amazing eye for design and a solid footing in horticulture, Botanik captured my imagination for gardening with succulents in a whole new way.

Since then, over the past few years, I’ve visited Summerland whenever I could (it’s only a few miles south of Santa Barbara off of Hwy. 101). Erin is inspiring, creative, and refreshingly casual in her design approach. She and staff designer, Molly Hutto create succulent displays like I’ve never before seen. Their creations are oft-copied but never surpassed in composition – with delicious succulent textures, colors, forms and patterns.

Botanik's entry porch converted into a potted plant display

In 2007, Kate Karam and I produced a story about Botanik’s luscious succulent designs for a future Cottage Living story. We had such a great time working with Erin and Molly that day. The designs they came up with were to die for! Sadly, as you all know, Cottage Living ceased publication after the December 2008 issue and we all miss it (we miss garden editor Kate, too!) Who knows where that film will surface or whether it will at all (I’m hoping Sunset picks it up, since it’s a sister magazine).

Not one to sit around and wait, I was recently fortunate to interest another editor in Botanik. Well, that’s not fair to say because I haven’t met an editor or publication yet NOT isn’t interested in Erin and Botanik!

But, earlier this spring, Erin graciously agreed to let 805 Living create a story around her natural design philosophy for interior and exterior spaces.

My story appears in the April issue of 805 Living, with photographs by Gary Moss. Here it is for you to read and enjoy. And for those of you planning a Garden Pilgrimage to Santa Barbara (Lotusland, Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens, etc.) don’t leave town without stopping in Summerland to visit Botanik.

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Posted in Creativity, floral design, Gardening, General, Landscape Design, Plants, Writing | 3 Comments »

Garden Conservancy’s Altadena Tour

April 25th, 2009

A small fountain bubbles at the intersection of the rose garden's central walkway and side paths

Last week, I toured the 3/4-acre landscape owned by Cheryl Bode and Robin Colman, a lavish garden developed over the past 10 years in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Tomorrow, April 26th, they are generously sharing their lush and serene property as one of six private, residential landscapes on the Altadena Garden Conservancy Tour.

My story, “Botanical bounty in Altadena,” about Cheryl and Robin’s abundant landscape, appears in today’s edition of the Los Angeles Times.

Since we had to cut the original piece due to space, I have included the full story below.

Take a virtual tour through this web gallery of photos from my visit:

Here is my original story. Enjoy a peek into the lives of two who are passionate about the place they possess:

By Debra Prinzing

Ten years ago, Cheryl Bode and Robin Colman discovered the house and garden they soon called Casa dos Mujeres (House of Two Women).

Prompted by the desire for more space as they combined their individual households, the two Pasadena residents considered buying in nearby Altadena, a village in unincorporated Los Angeles County wedged between Pasadena and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

“Cheryl went to Altadena on a lark with our real estate agent,” Robin recalls. “This house was in terrible shape, but part of it really captivated her.” Later, when Cheryl returned with her partner in tow, she couldn’t help jumping up and down with happiness when Robin pronounced: “I could live here.”

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Posted in Creativity, Gardening, General, Landscape Design, Plants, Shed Glossary | 3 Comments »

California lilacs (Syringa, not ceanothus)

April 23rd, 2009

My lovely bouquet of California-grown lilacs from Kilcoyne Lilac Farm

A few weeks ago, I interviewed a hot Santa Barbara floral designer for a story that will run in the May issue of 805 Living, our local shelter glossy.

While telling me about the fresh-from-the-garden arrangement he created, the designer mentioned that the lilacs came from a farm in Antelope Valley.

I know of Antelope Valley because it is the famous home of the California Poppy Reserve (which I am kicking myself for NOT getting to see last month when the ubiquitous yellow-orange flowers were in bloom). That flower fact is filed away for future reference . . . but suddenly, the idea of LOCAL lilacs is tickling my fancy in a big way. Some of my best childhood moments were experienced with my face buried in wild, unkempt but intoxicatingly fragrant lilac shrubs: first in the backyard of a Connecticut rental house in the mid-1960s and later in a historic Massachusetts town square where lilacs grew with abandon in the mid-1970s.

In the late 1990s, we planted a Syringa ‘Sensation’ in our Seattle garden. My dear friend and former college roommate (and longtime garden muse) Karen Page selected the plant for us while helping with several landscaping projects. It grew tall and robust and blessed me and my garden alike each June, producing voluptuous trusses of darkest-purple florets edged in pure white. Too beautiful! It now lives in my memories.

So today, while racing through the Thousand Oaks Farmers Market near closing time (to pick up a half-dozen hand-made tamales for dinner), I stopped dead in my tracks at this little scene: a row of white plastic 5-gallon buckets FILLED with pale and deep lavender clusters of lilacs. Two women were working out of the back of a pickup truck, clipping and bundling lilacs: gorgeous, fresh-cut, real lilacs. I overheard one of them telling a customer that she grows the lilacs in Antelope Valley.

The connection was made! I introduced myself to Elizabeth Kilcoyne of Kilcoyne Lilac Farm and her neighbor-assistant Marie. I asked: “Do you sell lilacs to S. R. Hogue in Santa Barbara?” Her face broke into a lovely, warm smile: “Yes.”

I told Elizabeth and Marie about the 805 Living article and they already knew about it – my editor Lynne Andujar and her photographer Gary Moss had shot scenes of Thousand Oaks Farmers Market flower vendors a few weeks ago – for our upcoming flower story.

Without thinking, I switched into Debra-as-Reporter and started quizzing the women about these awesome, California-grown lilacs. Wait!!! I raced to my car and grabbed my little Flip video camera and returned to see whether Elizabeth would let me tape a short interview with her. She agreed and here is the interview:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oOdGqEm-xQ

I came home with a lovely bunch of Elizabeth’s lilacs and have promised myself that come next spring, I will visit her farm and display gardens filled with 150 lilacs. Plus, I need to find an outlet to produce a magazine story about Kilcoyne Lilac Farm.

The varieties seen here are: ‘Charles Jolie’ (or ‘Charles Joly’) and ‘Ludwig Spaeth’ – two dark reddish-purple lilacs (‘Charles’ has a tiny white spot – Elizabeth calls it a ‘B’ – in the center of the floret); and ‘Michael Buchner’, the pale lavender French hybrid. Before I filled a jug with the blooms, I made sure to clip the bottom of each woody stem and then slice the stem in half, with a 1-inch cut. This technique helps the stems drink more water and stay fresh.

My fresh lilacs, home from the market

making a "slice" in the stem base

Posted in Creativity, floral design, Gardening, General, Plants | 5 Comments »

The prettiest outhouse-turned-stylish shed I’ve ever seen

April 21st, 2009

The Cozy Shack, Designed by Scotty Thompson and Suzanne St. Pierre of "Living in the Garden," a cool Pullman (Wash.) garden emporium

I love it when I receive surprise “Shed-Mail” from Shedistas like Suzanne St. Pierre. Suzanne and her husband Scotty Thompson own Living in the Garden, a cool nursery/emporium in Pullman, Washington. We’ve swapped a few emails, originally prompted by Suzanne’s note saying she loves Stylish Sheds as much as I do.

Recently, while planning their own version of a spring flower show, Suzanne and Scotty recycled an old cedar outhouse from their 2-acre property and tricked it out to be a too-cute cottage for their nursery. She sent me a sweet note and some photos and gave me permission to share them with you.

Hello, inspired by your Stylish Shed book, my husband and I jazzed up an old outhouse we had on the property (to use) for a focal point in our Sweet on Spring event at Living in the Garden. It was a hit!! I wanted to thank you for the inspiration and tell you that I enjoy your blog.

I just caught up with Suzanne by phone and we had a good ol’ gab. It felt like I was talking with a long-lost friend. She described how this little structure found its way from humble to haute:

Originally, the cedar “box” was an outhouse over a pit toilet. The couple actually used it while living in their tiny “sugar shack” when they moved to the two-acre property about six years ago. After they built their residence and started running the nursery, they had a “real” indoor bathroom, so the 3-by-3 foot outhouse was no longer needed. “We filled in the pit and just moved the building around,” she says.

With shingles made from flattened tin can lids and hot pink trim, this is an outrageous outhouse!

When preparing for Living in the Garden’s “Sweet on Spring” event last month, they decided to create several indoor garden displays (it’s still pretty chilly out there on the Palouse in March). As Suzanne explains, “We wanted to create our homage to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show.”

Once she and Scotty decided to dress up the rustic outhouse, the creativity exploded. Suzanne told Scotty: “We have to use everything we already have on hand.”

Like most artist-builders (Scotty is “incredibly handy and artistic”), the couple has all sorts of project piles and cool materials had saved for future endeavors. Clearly, they love to re-purpose what others might toss into the landfill.

This detailed photo illustrates how they used flattened tin cans, layered like gingerbread shingles, to clad the upper portion of the structure. Scotty added a window and the arched doorway, plus the cool corbel-style brackets and scallop-trim fascia board around the shed roof.  It even has a skylight! I’m dying to see an indoor shot (maybe Suzanne will send it to add here!) because apparently she decoupaged the interior walls with pages from old gardening books someone had given them. I guess Suzanne broke her own rule about using on-hand materials when it came to paint. She confesses that she did actually buy the hot pink paint as a finishing detail. Fancy!

Cute Outhouse (left) outside the gorgeous conservatory, built by Scotty Thompson of Living in the Garden

I love this couple’s philosophy of truly LIVING IN THE GARDEN. Suzanne grew up in a family nursery and purchased and ran her parents’ former nursery for 12 years after graduating from college with a horticulture degree.

“But I burned out. I was never getting my hands dirty,” she confides. Several years (and a career in the wholesale plant trade) later, Suzanne realized how much she missed retail. “I just wrote on a piece of paper what the perfect job would be: Work from home. Work with Scotty. Work 4 months of the year for 4 days a week.”

Wow. How seldom do any of us have such an honest conversation with ourselves? Guess what? For the past six years, Suzanne and Scotty have been doing exactly what she wrote down on that page. “My commute to work is just 113 steps,” she jokes. “We’re working on our farm and making people come to us. It’s really wonderful.”

Living in the Garden's green roof

Living in the Garden is open from March through June (Thursdays through Sundays). Earlier in the season, beginning in February, Suzanne starts work in their production greenhouse, growing geraniums and plants for their own hanging baskets. By summer, the couple is off on trips in their camping van (complete with solar panels on the roof!) and touring around the Northwest and beyond to see other nurseries and commercial greenhouses.

They believe in “marketing with a cause,” so during the summer months Suzanne and Scotty encourage local charities to use their extensive and beautiful display gardens for fund-raisers or donor-appreciation events.

By September, just about the time Suzanne is “missing” her customers, Living in the Garden opens for one spectacular autumn weekend.

When you arrive, don’t be surprised to hear the mellow sounds of Gregorian chants drifting through the garden and conservatory. “Gardening is my religion,” Suzanne concludes.

Check out the nursery in person or read more at Suzanne’s blog, Living in the Gardens.

Posted in Architecture, Creativity, Gardening, Plants, Playfulness, Shed Glossary, Sheds & Havens | 8 Comments »