72 HOURS IN PALM SPRINGS: DAY 2

Our trip to Palm Springs was thanks to the gracious and generous Trina Turk. She had come to The Mint Museum as the keynote speaker for a fundraiser and had the Palm Springs weekend donated as part of the Silent Auction. Trina is just as optimistic and lovely as one would expect.  Her brand is a true extension of her delightful personality and her contemporary and colorful aesthetic.

She and her equally talented and charming husband Jonathan Skow (aka Mr. Turk) founded the company in 1995. Jonathan not only photographs and styles all of the shoots, but he is also known as the “Director of Inspiration.” The company has grown into an iconic lifestyle brand that creates eleven annual collections of women’s ready to wear and accessories, swimwear, active wear, Mr. Turk menswear, residential decor and textiles. In 2014, the company will  launch their footwear, handbag and jewelry collections.

To our delight, we were greeted with gift bags from Trina upon our arrival, complete with beach towels, jewelry and our very own VIP cards to use at the boutique.

Trina and Jonathan fell in love with Palm Springs in the 1990s and became immersed in the renaissance of the Palm Springs community. They purchased their mid century home “The Ship of the Desert” in 1998 and opened the boutique in 2001. (More to come on “The Ship of the Dessert” in my next post)  Trina wanted to create a boutique that captured the essence of what her collection embodied…”the cocktails by the pool” lifestyle of Palm Springs. She enlisted the help of Kelly Wearstler to design the space after seeing her work at the Viceroy. The boutique looks just  as fresh and modern today as the day it opened. We lingered at the boutique for hours and literally tried on just about everything in stock!

For brunch, Cheeky’s is the best in town.  The wait is definitely worth it…where else can you order a flight of bacon? Chef Tara Lazar only uses fresh local ingredients and takes brunch to an entire new culinary level.

After brunch, the shopping along North Palm Canyon is out of this world.  The galleries and boutiques are full of mid century wares, vintage fashions and jewelry. Some of our favorites were Flow Modern Design, Retrospect, PS Modern Way and Raymond Lawrence.

Located at 1077 Granvia Valmonte, the Kenny Irwin Sculpture Park is not to be missed.  Kenny’s father handed over his 2 acre property to his son to fulfill his creative fantasy. Kenny uses found objects, melds them together and paints them in vibrant colors to create a wonderful of offbeat, imaginative sculptures. Kenny says his work is inspired by his vivid dreams of aliens and distant planets. He collects everything from old typewriters, computers, slot machines, to air compressors and garbage cans, to realize his visions.

Workshop Kitchen + Bar is not to be missed for locally sourced food (within 100 miles) in an industrial chic setting. The original Spanish Colonial building was transformed into a sleek, modern restaurant with 27 foot high cathedral ceilings, sleek seating and concrete walls. Chef Michael Beckman draws quite a crowd with his crafted custom cocktails and farm to table food.  The space is usually fully booked.  Be sure to make reservations weeks in advance.

Back at The Parker Palm Springs, have a nightcap at the dark and groovy Mister Parker’s.  To get the essence of the “joint”, be sure to click here.