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Margaret Russell and Williams Sonoma Kick Off Westweek

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

I got the invite, heavy card stock, multiple layers, all the right hosts: Elle Decor, Margaret Russell, Monique Lhuillier, Windsor Smith and Julia Sorkin, but having recently gone to three events atWilliams Sonoma I still wasn’t thrilled about attending. I also felt bad, that I hadn’t placed in order there in quite some time. But I pulled out the hairdryer and lash curler, put on effortless cocktail attire and hit the party. Was I ever glad to have done so. I can’t remember a party with a better dressed crowd. One outfit was more stylish than the next- and I did not spot one pair of jeans.

The neon yellow, organza skirt paired with a biker jacket ala St. John Knits was the first blast of fabulousness to capture my attention. Even Alison Muh, President and Chief Fashion Officer of Surly Girl commented how well dressed we all were. (Alison is VERY successfully in business across the street from Channel, so you can bet she knows a thing or two about fashion. )

The showroom is so well appointed that I’ve officially named Williams Sonoma Home the new arbiter of interior style. They’ve always been good, but now they’re one of the best. I was gushing over this place setting, while asking an adorable gentleman

to help me turn off my flash. Turns out he was, Andrew Angel, Visual Manager for Williams Sonoma and responsible for the gorgeousness.

One room glowed a little more than the others, of course this was right where Queen Margaret sat and signed copies of her new book Style and Substance The Best of Elle Decor (a portion of proceeds going to benefit P.S. Arts) . Also exciting was that the event was sprinkled with Top Design starlets, including fan favorite Felicia.

As you know, I’ve been contemplating if Los Angeles is really the best place to live. At this point of the festivities I turned to Rachel Winokurand exclaimed, “I love living in LA!” Never disappointing, Miss Rachel showed up in true green fashion wearing Gramma Etta’s vintage dress. (Etta was petite and those sleeves ended at her wrists.)

I’ve lived in LA since I was 14, grown up with the rich and famous, and I don’t get star struck. But when I saw my blogging idol Ms. Ronda Carman, I shed my uber, “I’m too cool to care” skin, grabbed her, primped her hair and shot a photo. Ronda- I love you and this was the highlight of my night!

Ok… gotta get dressed and get over to the PDC for what I am sure is going to be one hell of a Westweek! …and think about what I will be buying from Williams Sonoma for two new clients……..

Tags: All the Best Blog, book signing, Margaret Russell, P.S. Arts, Ronda Carman, Style and Substance the Best of Elle Decor, Top Design, vintage dress, Westweek, Williams Sonoma
Posted in Books, Charities, Events, Parties | 1 Comment »

Cultivating Compassion

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Compassion is part of our biology, doing good is the key to feeling good. Neuroscientists are actually discovering that feeling compassion is associated with the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps calm stress and boosts immune function. Acts of loving, kindness, meditation and dwelling on positive thoughts for other people are free, easy to do and ultimately help improve your mood and health. One of my favorite charities is the Smile Train. What I love so much about this organization is that for the price of a cute shirt or a nice dinner $250, I can show compassion and literally change a child’s life. They are one of the best run organizations I’ve come across, traveling the world and teaming up with local doctors to repair cleft palates around the planet. In poor, underdeveloped regions of the world having a cleft palate is considered as a bad omen for a family or a village. So in addition to not being able to eat or speak properly, these children are shunned by society and sometimes even their own families. Countless children are ridiculed and beaten by other children, preventing them from going to school. Unknown numbers of infants with cleft palates are simply abandoned. It doesn’t have to be this way because the Smile Train has never turned away one person who arrives for a surgery- which takes just under an hour to completely repair a cleft palate. Some people walk for days with only the hope that this blessing really exists. I invite you to watch the video below. If you’re feeling compassionate after, the organization takes donations as little as $25 and think about how you will smile knowing you helped a child being able to do the same. Click here to see video Smile Train Visits Somalia

Tags: cleft palate, Smile Train
Posted in Charities, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Cherokee Studios Rock N Platinum Showcase

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Alcie Cooper Lyrics

: Platinum records for the Platinum loft

Thursday night, across the street from Genghis Cohen and behind a secretive, black curtain Rethink Development unveiled the rock n’ roll lofts at the Cherokee Recording Studios LEED Platinum Lofts Showcase benefitting Habitat for Humanity. We (Lori Dennis and Brook Casey of the Dennis Design Group) were in charge of the Alice Cooper pad and took our assignment very seriously, literally dressing the part.

Dennis Design Group gettin' down in bed?

Our shock rock loft never could have been possible without the generous donations of our many vendors and time from our interns, Sara, Rob and Natasha. Plus it’s not really a party if Tony of Francois and Roy from the SoCal Contractor aren’t in tow. In the bedroom Heritage Draperies fabricated and installed our padded, chained window treatment and Mike Ragan of Rags put together this amazing patchwork, padded wall with fabric from Jason Asch of Diamond Foam. The stars were out in LA on Thursday night and two showed up at our event: Jodie Sweetin , who we all know and love as the old Stephanie Tanner from Full House and Calico Cooper, Alice’s daughter and former co-star of his stage show.

Calico Cooper representin' for Papa

Looking at these pictures you would never know that a mere 24 hours before the event we had no stairs and were finishing up our super style in a deadly, construction zone! Sparks from the welding were hitting us, the wall, the furniture and Sara even got smacked on the noggin’ pretty good by a wayward steel beam. It’s a good thing she has a better work ethic than that witch who hit her head on the Apprentice and wasted the team’s time going to a hospital. No, not Sara… she just kept on hot glueing those recycled, reclaimed water bottles that we used as wall art in the guest bath. Through it all Brook and I just kept hammering the boxes and boxes of nails into our wall eating snake. Jason Asch over at Diamond also donated this massive amount of rocker, (faux) snake skin fabric.

Lori and Brook Nailing

Still nailing...

and finally it was done.

I was afraid Brook was going to hang himself. But he stuck it out and we even finished the lyrics on the bathroom wall so Tony from Francois could learn them and sing along.

Don't do it Brook!!

When the doors opened at 7PM we all took a shot of Skull Vodka and welcomed our guests to Alice’s Lair. Francois provided the Gothic mantel in the living room, serving as the perfect backdrop to the snake skin bench from Bausman and Co. and upholstered chairs from Cisco Brothers. All the kitchy 60s, 70s and 80s accessories from Retropia and the original props from Alice Cooper’s show gave our loft an authenticity rarely seen in staged showcase homes. Big Red Sun even landscaped our balcony in a true, desert decor representative of the golf courses in Phoenix that Alice so dearly loves.

Alice's Lair

You'll never guess what these balls are for!

Cooper Gang in the Loft

The most shocking thing about our shock rock loft was the dirty, little secret in our turquoise blue, laundry room. Really, how could you not go there in this loft?! Pleasure Chest hooked us up for the event and I’m not going to reveal we did or didn’t use before hanging it on the walls.

Green bondage-stay in and save gas!

All in all the showcase was an event to help the developers sell property in a really tough market. Habitat got more than a few bucks, we had a blast and I heard someone is making an offer on our loft today!

Tags: Alice Cooper, Bausman and Co., Big Red Sun, Calico Cooper, Cherokee Recording Studios LEED Platinum Lofts, Cisco Brothers, Dennis Design Group, Diamond Fabric, eco-friendly, energy saving, Francois and Co., Green Events, green materials, Green Retailers, green roofs, Habitat For Humanity, interior design, Jason Asch, Jodie Sweetin, LEED, LEED Platinum, Lori Dennis, Mike Ragan Rags, Pleasure Chest, Retropia, SoCal Contractor
Posted in Charities, Events, Furniture, Green Building, Green Living, Materials, Parties, Press, Retailers | No Comments »

[LORI DENNIS INTERIOR DESIGN]

Lori Dennis formed Lori Dennis Interior Design, specializing in green interior design, in 1998. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Coastal Living, Southern Accents, Woman's Day, Los Angeles Times, Apartment Therapy and countless other magazines, books and websites throughout the world. [more..]

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