Clint Smith on Style

Ah, Los Angeles. It never ceases to inspire me.

And whenever I’m there, I go non-stop—there’s just so much to absorb. Here’s a brief overview of where I went, what I saw and who I met.

Friday, February 25
After a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call, I was on my way to the Atlanta airport for an early-morning departure. I arrived in LA just before lunchtime and went straight to the Sofitel hotel for check-in and then on to Taste on Melrose for lunch. It was almost 1 p.m. at this point (4p.m. Atlanta time), so I was starving. A steak salad and pomme frites were in order. Feeling fortified, my next stop was at Book Soup on the Sunset strip. I’m a magazine junkie and I love a good newsstand, especially one that stocks international magazines. As always, the Soup did not disappoint.

Back near the hotel, I popped into a shop that I first discovered last September. Inheritance is a shop I adore, full of curiosities and found objects, vintage things as well as artisanal jewelry. With the old Cadillac parked out front, you can’t miss it!

Needing to get my second wind, I popped into Beverly Hills Juice for an apple lemon ginger banana mana almond smoothie. Beverly Hills Juice may conjure up an image of a modern and chic, see-and-be-seen hot spot but the space is tiny and no-frills—I’ve been in walk-in closets that are larger! But the juices and smoothies and shakes? They’re very berry good!

After resting up at the hotel, an early dinner at Lucques was in order. I had the Schaner Farms’ citrus salad with avocado, arugula and pistachio aïllade for a starter and cod for my main course. Both were delicious, although I passed on dessert.

Saturday, March 26
With my body clock still on Eastern Time, I woke up early, as in 6 a.m. early! By 8:15, I had made my way across town, down Santa Monica Boulevard, to FarmShop at Brentwood Country Mart, one of my all-time favorite shopping destinations. My egg-salad sandwich was unlike any other I’ve had before and is something I’d normally never order. It was delicious. After the non-stop rains from the previous day, the bright sunshine and cool, crisp, clean air of the Pacific was invigorating. (Note to self: On next trip to California, do not leave Ray-Bans at home!)

I love the fine print on FarmShop’s menu!

Just a short drive away, Santa Monica beckoned and window shopping commenced along Montana Avenue, including stops in Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic Couture and Rosemarie McCaffrey Antiques. Shabby Chic ain’t what it used to be—I was really impressed by the furniture’s clean lines and tailored slipcovers. Nary a ruffle in sight. If you haven’t looked at Shabby Chic in awhile, you might be surprised. I was.

Because of time, I had to bypass two of my all-time favorite art and design bookstores, Hennessey + Ingalls and Arcana Books, but I wanted to poke my head into the Viceroy to see how it’s looking after Kelly Wearslter redesigned the space almost 10 years ago, which ushered in the return of Hollywood Regency style with a vengeance. The public spaces still look great.

After a quick peek in the Santa Monica Museum of Art—which has a great gift shop!—it was time to head back to the hotel for a quick shower and then lunch.

My reservation at Pizzeria Mozza (see previous entry) had been booked for quite some time. And what about that butterscotch budino that consumed the entirety of my last post? It was better than I even remembered! No joke! I wanted to order two. Lunch was followed by a leisurely drive through Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Griffth Park and Hancock Park.

After a quick run through the new Gagosian gallery in Beverly Hills to see works by Ed Ruscha and Gus Van Sant and James Franco (yes, that James Franco),  I headed to see the “All of This and Nothing” exhibit currently on view at UCLA’s Hammer Museum. I loved the installations by Jorge Macci and Karla Black. Just genius!

At this point in the early evening, it was time to—you guessed it—eat again! Dinner was at AOC, and it is owned by Suzanne Goins, the brains behind Lucques (last night’s dinner place), as well as Tavern in Brentwood. A smorgasboard of small plates did not disappoint. My favorites included the farro and black rice with pinenuts and currants, as well as the arroz negro with squid and saffron aïoli. Passed on dessert here, too. What’s wrong with me?

Sunday, February 27
The morning began quietly with a smoked salmon tartine for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien, along with time to peruse the Sunday papers, wading through all the Oscar hoopla. The Academy Awards were that night.

After breakfast, I took a few minutes to explore one of my favorite places, The Farmer’s Market at Third and Fairfax. It’s next door to The Grove and CBS Television City and you really feel like a local when you’re there. One of the best shops at the Farmer’s Market is a place called Shine Gallery, which specializes in genuine vintage memorabilia. I left with a handful of fun finds, none of which cost me more than $10. (Be sure to check out their extensive online e-commerce site.) Of course, this being LA, there’s a Taschen bookstore amidst the Farmer’s Market’s burger joints and smoke shops.

Sunday afternoon, I headed up the winding roads of Beverly Hills to Dawnridge, the legendary home created by the celebrated designer Tony Duquette. Owner Hutton Wilkinson and All the Best’s Ronda Carman hosted an intimate luncheon of designers, bloggers and TV personalities to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Sferra Linens, of which Ronda is the company’s brand ambassador. It was such a fun, easy-going group and I was thrilled to meet so many folks in person that I had only previously corresponded with online, including Stacy Kunstel of New England Home, StacyStyle and Dunes and Duchess, Scot Meacham Wood of The Adventures of TartanScot and the inimitable Tobi Fairley. It was a pleasure to meet Paloma Contreras of La Dolce Vita, designer Lori Dennis, Barclay Butera and Suzanne Rheinstein of Hollyhock, as well as to see long-time friends again, including Jan Showers, Hutton Wilkinson and Fred Iberri.

Luncheon Photos by Andreas Branch for Patrick McMullan. For complete coverage of the luncheon, click here, here, here and here.

After lunch in Dawnridge’s exotic gardens, it was back to the hotel to change and watch a bit of the Oscars red carpet preview and the show itself. At 7, a cocktail reception was held for all the attendees to the Design Bloggers Conference, which was being sponsored by the company for which I work, and the primary reason for my trip to LA. The positive energy and excitement in the room was a great precursor as to what would transpire over the course of the next two days. Dinner with colleagues followed at The Bazaar by Jose Andres at the SLS Hotel.

Monday, February 28, and Tuesday, March 1
The next two days were spent at the Design Bloggers Conference, learning from some of the top bloggers and design experts in the country. On one of the days, I served on a panel with Ann Maine, editor of Traditional Home, Loren Ruch, Director of Original and Special Event Programming for HGTV, Anne Sage of The City Sage and of Rue magazine talking about what new media can learn from traditional design media. I kicked off Day 2 of the conference by introducing our keynote speaker for that day, Tobi Fairley, who is considered a rock star in the design blogosphere. (Click here for a comprehensive overview of the conference.)
The day ended with a party at Almont Yards to celebrate the launch of Trad Home, a new online magazine from the publishers of Traditional Home. It’s being edited by Michelle Adams, the editor of Lonny magazine. She and her photographer partner had just returned from photographing 21 homes in as many days all across the country. At Almont Yards, it’s always a treat to peruse the showrooms of Nathan Turner (upcoming star on BravoTV’s new show, “Million Dollar Decorator”), Kathryn Ireland and Harbinger, among others. Following the TradHome event, I attended a reception hosted by Currey & Company in the Hollywood Hills home of designer Marjorie Skouras. A casual dinner with Tobi Fairley, Ronda Carman, Brooke Carter Wallace and Brad Clifford followed. I laughed all night and cannot remember the last time I’ve had so much fun.

Wednesday, March 2
My last day in LA began with another breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien (I’m a creature of habit!). A little before lunchtime, my friend—and a former Atlantan—Jesse Harrison took me to scout a contemporary project in Hollywood being designed by the firm he works for, Atlanta-based Harrison Design Associates, which maintains offices in Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara. After a quick driving tour to see some of Beverly Hills’ most amazing (and expensive) real estate, we chatted over a lunch of pesto linguine at Mauro’s Cafe at Fred Segal.

Just after finishing off the ricotta cheesecake (finally, dessert!), I had to be on my may to LAX and, alas, back home to ATL. Indeed, a Hollywood ending to a fantastic trip. As they say in the movies, that’s a wrap!