I’m baaaaack! I took a break on Friday, hence no post. To be honest, I’m telling myself it was a “break,” but in reality, it was anything but. Friday was one of those days that you lose to logistics. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with the pharmacy (TGIF, everyone!), and the rest was spent on photo editing, more chores, more logistics, and allll the things that I get to do now that I’m a grownup (ok, more honesty: I say I’m a grownup, but my mom still helps me with a lot. Thanks, Mom!).
Hence this belated Part II of the LA travel diary with my friend Cory, who runs her own interior design firm, Cory Alisa. She and I go WAY back, all the way to kindergarten – crazy, right?
Our mission, as I mentioned in Wednesday’s post, was to attend an annual interior design conference in LA called Westweek, and to have as much fun as possible in the process. Done and done.
In my last post, we talked about day 1 in LA – The Beverly Hills Hotel, Rodeo Drive, and Craig’s. It felt like I had crammed one week of activity in one day! This post is no different. Lots of looks, lots of fun, lots of learning.
Shall we?
Westweek
Hästens
We dove right in on Wednesday morning at the Pacific Design Center, an enormous complex of showrooms in West Hollywood. We headed up a maze of escalators to a tiny showroom for a breakfast and presentation by the Swedish mattress company, Hästens. Apparently every Swedish person ever knows this brand (Uncle Todd, can you shed some light on this?). These mattresses are incredibly elaborate, with layers of horsehair and cotton, and are supposedly built to last a lifetime.
To be honest, we went to this event because they served pastries, mimosas and coffee (3 of the major food groups, leaving out chocolate, cake, and peanut butter). The sales reps all wore gingham bathrobes, the lights were dim, and they called in a life coach to lead us in a guided meditation before the presentation began. I was super grumpy about having to do a guided meditation first thing in the morning on next to no sleep, in dimmed lights, surrounded by mattresses, and with that sorceress of envy in my gut at the downright cozy bathrobes those guys were wearing. Safe to say, I’m not a morning person.
I had a WWOD (What Would Oprah Do?) moment, and reminded myself that the meditation could either be a drag or be a gift, depending on how I received it. I begrudgingly let my inner light shine, did my deep breathing, and found my inner peace surrounded by mattresses that cost more than a year of college. That’s right. The base price for these things is $10,000 and the tippy-top range is $50,000.
Say what? Talk about an LA moment. Meditation with mimosas and millionaire’s mattresses. I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I, too, sleep on a Swedish mattress from an obscure brand no one has heard of called Eye-Kia (sp?). Haha.
Ok, I get it. People spend much more on cars, which comparatively speaking, you spend less time in than you do on your mattress, demand more maintenance, and die faster. And to give Hästens a break, they’ve been around since the 1800s and claim that their mattresses last 50 years, each one is handmade, and so on and so forth. So I wouldn’t ding people if they wanted to make that investment, not at all – I just had no idea that mattresses could be that costly, or that they could be handmade. You learn something new every day, right?
Thibaut
What followed was a super interesting keynote titled “Design is in the Details,” with Veranda magazine editor-in-chief Steele Marcoux and designers William McClure and Mark Sikes (if you haven’t heard of them before, neither had I, although I do love me some Veranda). Having never been involved with the world of design, it was interesting to hear how many themes it shares with fashion. When is “more is more” too much? How do you want to layer details? What is the value in bespoke pieces/vintage/mass produced? How is your personality reflected in your work? And on, and on, and on – I loved it.
Afterwards, in a pattern I learned was typical of these sort of conferences, they held a reception at the Thibaut Wallcoverings showroom. With more mimosas, more fingerfood, and more gorgeous design materials to swoon over. I’m no designer, but it turns out that I can appreciate things like ginormous tassels. I mean, who doesn’t love a huge tassel?
We then headed to a talk about how the art world (or is it Art World? They talk about it as if it had capital letters) intersects with interior design. It was interesting to hear about the tension between the dueling roots of inspiration: “I need to buy a painting to go over the sofa,” versus “I am in love with this specific work of art and will design my living room around it.” Apparently that is a point of contention, and it makes sense! Who wants to put your soul into a piece of art to only have a buyer say, “this would look good over my la-z-boy”? Anyhoo, it was a great discussion that I hadn’t previously thought of.
Outfit notes
I loved the challenge of dressing for a creative AND professional environment. I snagged this Rosetta Gray top from my bread-and-butter rental service, Rent the Runway (so essential for running a blog and not being super wasteful!). I love that it has the staid plaid, but has all this funky asymmetry going on that makes it unique. My consigned Marni belt made a great anchor point for such a long garment.
I recently bought the Vince Camuto slides from DSW – another great blogger standby – and love how the snakeskin pattern can be layered with other patterns without being overwhelming. It’s like adding salt to a sweet dish – it adds body, not confusion. I hope.
Cory went with an all-black, totally sophisticated combo of a gorgeous bodysuit we found on Rodeo with flowy slacks and classic cap-toe pumps. It was just SO her, and so effortless. I loved this on her!
Nobu
Cory, with immense foresight, got us a reservation at Nobu. Yes, that Nobu, the one co-owned by Robert De Niro and frequented by fancypants celebrities. I’m waaay out of my league here!
Well, maybe not completely out of my league. You don’t have to be famous to appreciate tiny, crunchy tacos (I had the crab, Cory the beef) or an eel handroll, or crispy rice cubes, or chocolate fondant served in a bento box with matcha gelado.
Friends, I was honestly surprised that it wasn’t more expensive. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not cheap by any measure. But it’s affordable enough that you could skip a few lattes and treat yourself to some fancy Japanese-Peruvian fare. They also have a ton of locations, which I didn’t realize either. Another lesson learned!
Outfit notes
I relied on some old favorites – my Balmain joggers that I bought a year ago on megasale, a crochet crop top from Topshop, the Mystery Necklace, and my new favorite sandals from Zara. On top, the microsuede jacket my mom got me from Catherine Malandrino, as it was a relatively chilly night.
Cory also went all-black, with this amazing Good American bodysuit and Rag and Bone hat. Laid-back, put together, and a bit steamy. Get it get it, Cory!
The Beverly Wilshire and Beyond
As our Air Bnb had no coffee for breakfast, the next day we were once again to our own devices. We wound up at the Beverly Wilshire – you know, the one from Pretty Woman, woo woooooo! – and had a lovely, light breakfast in their sunlit dining room. It was exactly what you’d expect from a posh LA hotel – a hearty but healthy menu, carafes of coffee at the table, and the sweetest staff.
Afterwards, we hit up another talk at Westweek and then jetted off to a meeting with Bodewell Home for Cory’s online boutique. They are woman-owned, ethically sourced, and make the most divine candles ever. They’re on my mind for gifts for some of my favorite people.
Outfit Notes
I’ve had this top from AFRM for a long while now, and am totally in love with it. It falls right at my natural waist, is slightly off the shoulder, has a bit of a pom pom thing going on, and has poofy sleeves. What’s not to love?
This skirt was an unexpected source of compliments at the conference. I’d be walking down the hall and women would tell me how much they liked it. Originally, I wasn’t sure about the length – but since the waist is high and snug, I think I pulled it off alright, no? It’s another See by Chloe treasure and I’m so glad I took the risk. It is also a good example of the “utility” trend that’s becoming a trend (pockets + buttons).
If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a medal! Thanks for hanging in there with me. I hope you have a wonderful week!
love,
Stig
