I.D. Stars Sparkle Above a Hazy LA
It felt like Clue: A dozen designers, gathered at the behest of I.D. editors Monica Khemsurov and Jill Singer during their quick (and post-Connecting) visit to LA. We met at the enviable Hollywood Hills home of Lettuce‘s Chet Callahan and master chef Jase Hernandez. High above Cahuenga Pass, with striking views of both downtown and Burbank (and a smear of smoke barely visible on the horizon) we nibbled inventive bruschettas and vanilla cupcakes that matched the house’s sleek all-white decor.
Our seating arrangement–precariously close to the edge of the cantilevered hill-clinging home–compelled Elena Manferdini to recount her visit to a Pierre Koenig Case Study during an earthquake, which sent the pool water splashing onto the patio and Manferdini scurrying for solid ground (the house, of course, was fine). Clive Wilkinson lamented his absence from this year’s Burning Man only to discover that he and Khemsurov had both spent the year before in Belgian Wafflemaker Arne Quinze‘s camp. We had a similar discovery, learning that Singer not only worked at the mothership (and manned UnBeige for a bit), we attended semi-rival high schools–at the same time! Benjamin Ball strolled in at this point, slightly late, minus Gaston Nogues, and suspiciously ebullient (don’t worry, he took a cab).
As Khemsurov and Singer solicited advice for their final day in LA–Dieter Rams at Moss? Party at Diva? Dinner at Pizzeria Mozza? Fire-watching by the pool?–multi-talented Lettuce principals Michael Chung and Kara Bartlet described their latest project (production studio Soapbox Films, having its opening party today) and the origins of their firm name (short answer: they named themselves like a band). Parched, no matter how much white wine or Pellegrino we pumped into our bodies, we perched on the white cubes populating Callahan and Hernandez’s deck, flipped through copies of I.D.’s New+Notable product round up issue, and chatted about public transportation, energy conservation and global warming—ironic, indeed, as superheated Santa Ana Winds blasted the balcony well into the night.
