Glamorous Green » Retailers

Cherokee Studios Rock N Platinum Showcase

Lori — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:40:56 +0000

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!

Valcucine's Sexy Glass Kitchen

Lori — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:18:07 +0000

Form Magazine and Valcucine invited the who’s who of interior design to their LA showroom this week to unveil the world’s first 100%recyclable kitchen cabinet system, Invitrum. Of course the Dennis Design Group and Jr. Designer, Baby Elle, were in attendance. As always, we were surrounded by glamour: the cabinets, the people, the food, the fashion displays. I’d have to say it was one of the better events this year. Go showroom manager Reba!

More about the cabinets- not only do they exude the sexy, sleek styling, which could only be Italian, but the contents are totally lacking in emissions. The Invitrum by Valcucine features recycled aluminum, sustainable wood, water based finishes, mechanical joints (so no glue is needed) and practically scratch proof, tempered glass. The cabinet fronts are half the thickness of normal systems which reduces the weight by 50% and extends the life of hinges, joints and the overall kitchen. When the time comes to recycle the components, they are labeled for an easy dismantle.

Cheap, Fast and Green

Lori — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:03:03 +0000

I admit it. I love fast food, especially the roach coach carne asada. Cheap, fast and yummy are high on my list when it comes to jam packed days. Having a four month old has made finding time to eat an even bigger challenge. Grabbing a quick bite at the Jack in the Box was a savior many times. Then I had to go and watch King Corn, the documentary about the way America grows engineered corn, feeds it to cows and manufacturers corn syrup which winds up in almost every food you find on a supermarket shelf. In addition to being inhumane to pen cows up their entire lives to fatten them up quicker, it’s unsanitary (they pump them full of anitbiotics) and unhealthy for the cows to have a corn diet. You can only imagine how horrible it is for us to eat the meat. I remember 20 years ago when I was in Jamaica and asked a native why their cows looked anorexic. He replied,” our cows are normal, your’s are bloated with filler and chemicals.” I didn’t really understand what he meant for a few years, but I never forgot what I saw. Since this is a green blog we can’t leave out the fact about how much methane those millions of penned up cows produce and how it affects global warming. For many years I’ve crossed chicken which is not free range off of my list of edibles. Now, it’s beef (unless it’s free range and grass fed).

My husband, the burger lover, doesn’t know what to do with me anymore. ”WHAT? No more Carl’s Six Dollar Burgers? No more Mini Sirloin Burgers?” I just can’t eat them anymore knowing what I know. But I have no idea why Jack in the Box hasn’t partnered with Whole Foods and developed a cheap, fast and green solution for us? Maybe it would be a few dollars more for free range, grass fed beef, organic buns, cheese and potatoes and soda with actual sugar in it, but I think there’s a market. I became convinced of this when I was at the Pasadena Green Fair and saw a GREEN roach coach.

All food on the green roach coach is organic and grown locally. The cups and plates are biodegradable, but they encourage you to bring your refillable cups and give discounts for doing so. Napkins are made of recycled paper. The truck runs on used, vegetable oil.

I love the fact that they listed all the good stuff right by the organic menu, so you know why it’s green and why it’s good for you.

In case you can’t read it, the truck can be reached at www.greentruckonthego.com. It’s brilliant. If there was one on every few blocks and they were open 24 hours, my problems would be solved. Until then, if you know someone who wants to open a drive thru, fast food, green burger joint, I’ll give them half off on the design fee!

The Greening of Westweek

Lori — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:00:19 +0000

Every year the PDC opens their doors for a fabulous three day party called Westweek. Showrooms host glamourous parties with entertaining lectures and tasty treats. This year I was delighted to see so much attention being to sustainable products and practices. The libation station hosted by Liebherr served up a refreshing organic fruit drink. When they handed me the styrofoam cup and offered me a plastic cap and straw, I proudly declined and said, “caps and straws are not great for the environment”. I was so happy to hear the reply, “but these are 100% percent biodegradable and made of corn, even the cup breaks down”. I had just been rereading Cradle to Cradle the day before and this was one of the solutions they offered. Talk about syncronicity. The PDC was the last place I expected to practice cradle to cradle theory. Go Liebherr.

As I was sipping my delicious libation, I headed through the Green Building lobby and saw fashion and furniture collide in the Barbie/Student Designer exhibit. Cisco, one of my favorite sustainable vendors, provided this adorable campaign inspired seat. Barbie can fold it up into a suitcase and hit the road in her hybrid.

My daughter Elle and niece, now 2 1/2 and three months old, made their first appearances at Westweek this year. Elle was much more impressed by the bagpipes at Edelman Leather than the Barbie exhibit. I always imagined she’d be a singer, so this was encouraging. Her smoking hot daddy carried her around in the Baby Bjorn. You can imagine all the attention he got!

Stylemaker Thomas Lavin embraced green design with open arms. He’s included an entire line of sustainable fabrics, Creation Bauman and featured Chista’s gorgeous tables at Westweek this year.

And as always, Thomas had the hippest flowers arrangements. They reminded me of something I’d see in the Jetson’s living room. Brook Casey really loved them because they actually looked like his work.

The show stopper was at Moura Starr, a wholly sustainable showroom which just relocated to the PDC after 14 years on Melrose. I can only imagine how they got this table into the showroom, it’s enormous. The table is made from a fallen tree which was nearly impossible to win at auction and fabricate. You only have to look at it to know it was well worth the effort. I had admired Moura Starr’s furniture for years without knowing about their committment to sustainability. Westweek was a hit and I now have another green showroom in my arsenal!

Reinventing the Wheel

Lori — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:13:10 +0000

The only thing better than the original Phillipe Starck Louis Ghost Chair was the introduction of its much more petite version, the Lou Lou Chair. Available in Kartell retail stores the Summer of 2008, the release party for the Mini Ghost Chair drew quite a crowd at the showroom on Robertson Blvd in Beverly Hills.

Our gang had a great time. (from left: Galina, Brook, Lori and Jessica).

The party was awesome and the showroom was filled to the brim with curious (and thirsty) Angelenos. Some even brought their kids, and it was quite fun to see them squeal as they tried the miniature chairs on for size.

Philippe Starck, who never fails to thrill us with his elegant yet simple-minded furniture, has done it again. His furniture, known to be of “indestructible” quality, will last for many many years without having to be replaced (which expends new resources and puts old ones into our already-overflowing landfills). Available in a variety of colors like green, lilac and glossy black, these new chairs are a true crowd-pleaser.

Cleaning Green

Lori — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:03:57 +0000

Everyone seems to be catching on to the green trend in techniques and materials for buildings and homes. Something people rarely think about is the way they clean these spaces. It doesn’t matter how much effort goes into the design and execution of your project if you don’t maintain the property in a green way. Think about this the next time you clean your windows with a toxic product or wash your whites with bleach. The amount of toxins that go into your space is alarming. What we’ve been taught to think of as a ” fresh, clean” smell is actually pretty bad for our bodies and the environment. This hit home on my recent trip to a friend’s newly constructed condo. We walked in the door and the new paint fumes (off gassing) hit me like a truck. I told her she needed to open the windows for at least a week before bringing her 2 1/2 week old infant to live in the space. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “but I love the smell”.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day are my favorite cleaning products. With smells like lavender, basil and geranium, cleaning is as fragrant as cooking a meal. I scout Ross and Marshall’s for Mrs. Meyer’s on sale because it’s not cheap. I also came across greenhome.com for great deals on healthy, earth friendly cleaners. Just be careful, buying a bunch of stuff isn’t very green and this site is full of goodies!

Robertson Blvd becomes Green Central

Lori — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:33:38 +0000

I keep hearing “green just needs a little glamour.” I guess those people haven’t been to Robertson Boulevard lately. Some would argue that Robertson outshines Rodeo Drive as the fashion mecca for the rich and famous. Try to get through the street between Burton and Santa Monica when there’s a herd of paparazzi trailing Brittney. Not fun and I’ve never endured this, not once on Rodeo. Now you can add long-time designer retailer H. Lorenzo, with three boutiques at Sunset Plaza, to the who’s who of eco friendly establishments on Robertson. The other major is the BP gas station at the Olympic intersection. (We recently blogged about an Earth Day event they held.) H.L.N.R. , which stands for H Lorenzo North Robertson, at 474 North Robertson Blvd, just south of Melrose, has recently opened its new 4,000 square foot eco concept boutique. It’s not just that they’re selling eco friendly duds, it’s the actual building that is green. They installed a solar paneled roof, paperless receipt system (emailed to you instead), eco friendly hangers and dual flush toilets (Toto’s Neorest which can handle the job without any paper) in the bathroom. The labels at H.L.N.R. are similar to other H. Lorenzo boutiques, stocking Zac Posen, Ann Demeulemeester, Balmain, Comme Des Garcons, Preen, Veronique Branquinho, Viktor & Rolf, Junya Watanabe, Dsquared, Yohji Yamamoto, Marc Jacobs Shoes and Chloe Shoes. But they also sell environmentally friendly lines like Kohzo Denim- non cotton jeans made from Japanese paper, bamboo and pineapple. In a statement, owner Lorenzo Hadar said he chose to open on Robertson because “this is where the fashion nucleus in L.A. has shifted. Nowadays the fashion elite who come here to shop are people who care about the environment.” Can I get a Hallelujah? This is coming from an LA retailer who’s run a successful business for 23 years. Another exciting draw is the 13-space parking lot, and for VIPs, a private entrance. Hopefully they will swarm the alley with the paparazzi and let us get through Robertson streets on the way to the PDC.