Mark your calendar for the most highly anticipated design event this spring….La Cienega Design Quarter’s LEGENDS, a 3-day extravaganza of keynote speakers, cocktail parties, open houses, exhibitions and networking with the top design editors, writers and bloggers from throughout the country. After experiencing LEGENDS for the first time last spring, I knew I had to make it an annual creative pilgrimage! I am thrilled to an ambassador for this year’s event and look forward to sharing coverage of all of the events in just a few short weeks.
Now in its seventh consecutive year, the event has attracted over 60,000 guests and all funds raised go towards Habitat for Humanity and the La Cienega Design Quarter Beautification Fund. The LCDQ was established in 2008 to promote the flourishing antiques and design community in one of Los Angeles’ oldest thoroughfares. Since the 1950s, it has been a shopping hot spot for designers such as William Haines, Else de Wolfe, Tony Duquette and Frances Elkins.
Don’t miss the video below which captures the essence of LEGENDS in sunny Los Angeles…
Sixty-seven talented designers from around the country will transform the windows of the LCDQ member shops, showrooms and galleries on the theme of Where Muses Dwell. The designers have been asked to present to the design aficionados who throng the LCDQ during LEGENDS where their muse dwells. The designers have been asked to bring their muses to life and show guests WHO, WHAT, WHEN or WHERE inspires them most.
1) A spirit or source that inspires an artist
2) Greek Mythology. any of the Muses
a) the spirit that is thought to inspire a poet or other artist; source of genius or inspiration
b) Now Rare, a poet
I asked some of my favorite design muses what made the LEGENDS event so special….enjoy!
“LCDQ is a unique event that unifies the design community. It seems all facets of our industry participate, from shop owners, to decorators,magazine editors and bloggers. It makes it all the more fun!”
“I love LCDQ because it’s an event that it brings together the design community like no other. There is a sense of inclusiveness unique to LCDQ. Interior designers, showroom owners, magazine editors and design enthusiasts mingle, learn and share in the joy of design. To quote Patrick Dragonette, it’s like spring break for the design community! It’s positive,fun with a “design for all” ethos.”
“I am always excited for this time of year, spring and the LCDQ Legends event! The opportunity to meet so many talented people associated with the design industry. Our lives are so busy day to day, it is a delight to share ideas, see old friends, and make new ones. I am looking forward to another year of incredible windows, great talks, and happy gatherings!”
“LCDQ is engaging, experientail,intimate and exceptional. We love to meet and greet with new friends and old, hear terrific speakers, and persue la Cinega’s wonderful design outposts. All of this in LA’s heavenly weather.”
“Legends of La Cienega has become one of the premier design events in the country. As a designer, it is absolutely THE place to be! Los Angeles has become a major destination for designers. Its vibrant culture and growing design community makes it an amazing place to draw inspiration from. Legends of La Cienega gives designers the opportunity to interact with one another and to realize how different, yet similar, the design industry is across the US. I am so looking forward to the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, meet new friends, and see what’s fresh and exciting in the design world!
Alexandra Loew – Jamal’s
Amanda Richards – JD Staron – Edith Piaf
Amy Meier – Marc Phillips – My Mother’s Workroom
Annette English – Downtown – A Guiding Genius
Barondes Morris – Egg & Dart – Gustav Eiffel
Betsy Burnham – Mecox – Wild Animals
Cami Wright – Sherle Wagner – The South/ Texas
Christina Rottman – Mansour
Christopher Kennedy – Marc Phillips
Cliff Fong – Dragonette
Commune Design – Remains – Viennese Secession
Curated – Downtown
Elizabeth Dinkel – Nicky Rising – Julia Morgan
Gary Gibson – Lee Stanton –Sculptor Martin Puryear
Geoffrey de Sousa – Tufenkian
Hallworth Design – Lee Stanton – Mother Nature
Hammer & Spear – Woven Accents
Jason Oliver Nixon/Madcap Cottage – Baker
Jeff Andrews – Fuller & Roberts – Movement
Jeneration Interiors (Jennifer Dyer) – Ralph’s Antiques
John Wooden – Mansour
Julia Buckingham – The Rug Company – Slim Aarons
Kate Lester Interiors – Hollywood Sierra Kitchens – Father Time
Katie & Jason Maine – Jean de Merry
Ken Fulk – Therien – The Movie Inside My Mind
Kendall Wilkinson – George Smith – Blondie
Kerry Joyce – McKinnon & Harris
KM Nelson – Egg & Dart – Pauline de Rothschild
Konstantin Kakanias – Jasper
Kylee Shintaffer – Hollyhock
Larry Rizkowsky – The Rug Affair – Bank Vault
Laura Kirar – Baker
L’Esperance Design – Dragonette – The World of Cartier
Mark Sikes – Hollywood at Home
Matt O’Dorisio – Cote Jardin – Yves Saint Laurent
Maxime Jacquet – George Smith – Andy Warhol
Maya Williams – Marc Phillips – Women of Rock
Michelle Workman – Mehraban – Starlettes & Set Decorators of the 1940’s
Natasha Baradaran – Claremont – La Dolce Vita
Nathan Turner – Serena & Lily
Patrick Ediger – Gina Berschneider – Marie Antoinette & Thalia
Philip Gorrivan – Harbinger
Platner & Company – Stark – Rose Cumming
Ryan Saghian – Janet Yonaty – Iran
Sam Allen – Hollyhock
Scot Meacham Wood – Mehraban
Scott Mitchell – Jonas
Stephen Shutts Design – Sherle Wagner – Eden
Studio Tim Campbell – Elizabeth Eakins
Susan Cohen – JD Staron – Coco Chanel
Tag Front – Renaissance – Maria Felix
Thomas Allardyce – Janet Yonaty – Euterpe (Greek Goddess of Music)
Tim Barber – Waterworks
Timothy Corrigan – Compas – Jean Charles Moreux
Todd Nickey & Amy Kehoe – Hollywood at Home – Wes Anderson
Vance Burke – Reborn Antiques – Albert Hadley
Windsor Smith – Arteriors – Renee Perle
Young Huh – Harbinger
For coverage of last year’s LCDQ LEGENDS event, click here.
For more of my design inspiration, please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to Bespoke Banter….Thanks for reading and please visit again!
Almost reaching the summit with Julia Buckingham Edelmann |
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Runyon Canyon |
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Kate Kelly Smith |
The pillar of wisdom can be summed up in the serenity prayer, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” By listening to our inner wisdom, it helps us to reconnect to our creativity and and intuition.
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Elle Decor Lunch in the Comaps Courtyard |
After our delightful morning, we were off to experience La Cienega. Elle Decor sponsored an event hosted by editor Micheal Boodro at the gorgeous Compas showroom.
Next stop, a quick lunch at Fig and Olive before heading to Nathan Turner‘s charming shop for a book signing for friend Jane Scott Hodges of Leontine Linens.
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Fig & Olive |
The charming and dapper Nathan Turner |
Jane Scott Hodges with Martyn Lawrence Bullard |
Ironwork Detail |
Dining Room |
Ironwork Detail |
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Living Room |
Fireplace Detail |
Dinner at The Little Door |
We could not have asked for a better day to exemplify the pillars Arianna Huffington writes about in her book. We began the day focusing on our well being, then experienced wisdom from Kate Kelly Smith, wonder at the sites of LCDQ and Ennis House, and an inspiring example of giving from Ron Burkle and the legacy he has left for Los Angeles.
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Nightcaps at The Sunset Tower Hotel |
Design Trust Lunch in Paris |
Yesterday, I posted an interiors article I wrote for Peachy Magazine on the FUN , FEARLESS, and FABULOUS Julia Buckingham Edelmann. Here are some more questions, both serious and silly, I had for Julia about her creative process and other interior design work. Enjoy our chit chat!
While we were driving my son to boarding son near Boston, I had a referral from a client to meet a potential new client on the trip. When I pulled up in front of the stunning Italianate mansion that took up five city lots, I knew I would have get a real office and hire staff if I ended up getting the job. Fortunately, I got the job, realized I could not do it all on my own, and Buckingham Interiors came to life! To date, it is still one of my most favorite projects I have ever designed.
I am a huge fan of Daryl Carter and Axel Vervoordt. I also love the whimsy of Kelly Wearstler and the happy chic interiors of Jonathan Adler
I am working on a Victorian farmhouse in Texas that has been in the family for 6 generations. We are reinterpreting the historic home in a modern aesthetic. I am also working on an exciting project in LA. Typically, I encourage my clients to think outside the box. In LA, we are arready starting way outside the box, so it should be a VERY fun project!
I would like to be an example of creating your dream career based upon your passion. I did not begin this career until my children had gone off to college. I would like to inspire others to just go for it and realize it is never too late to start over!
Don’t be afraid. Be confident. Trust in yourself. Begin at the bottom and work through every level of the business.
A desert bike ride with Edels (that would be her adorable hubby!)
A visit to Ireland to see our family’s old stomping ground.
Chardonnay, or cognac, or both, with friends in Paris
Listening to classical music, especially when played by our son.
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Buckingham Interiors Showroom Lonny Magazine |
Madonna’s “Material Girl”