Los Angeles Confidential

The Velvet Garden Gets a Refreshed Space

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Inside The Velvet Garden’s newly expanded retail space on West 3rd Street.

“I want people who are walking on 3rd to get to see flowers,” says Kimm Birkicht, co-owner and artistic director of couture florist The Velvet Garden, which has occupied its prime West Hollywood space for the past 18 years. Birkicht and her business partner, Diane Munoz, have long sold home goods in the storefront—the back is a fragrant workshop where bouquets for loyal customers like Jennifer Aniston are carefully crafted—but their spring remodel really makes the space bloom.

Situated on a corner, with giant southwest-facing plate-glass windows, the storefront was exposed to too much direct sunlight to display live flowers. With this revamp, The Velvet Garden will install walls that will allow Birkicht to build elaborate floral window displays, a solution inspired by the Iowa native’s first job in Los Angeles, as a window dresser at Neiman Marcus. It was also there that she realized her true calling was flowers, leading her to take an apprenticeship with Neiman’s florist. “I went from top window dresser to sweeping floors and maybe touching an orchid here or there,” she remembers.

The gamble paid off. LA’s beauty-obsessed have made The Velvet Garden one of the city’s go-to petal purveyors. Recent brides Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, and Drew Barrymore all turned to the florist for their nuptials, and all opted for flowers like English roses, peonies, sweet peas, and clematis, which evoke the old-fashioned, homespun feel that is currently in vogue. And, for an extra touch of nostalgia, the actresses chose to have their flowers displayed in unusual containers, everything from old apothecary jars to silver gravy boats from the local flea market.

What’s more, with the store’s revamp, drop-in customers can finally pick up ready-made bouquets assembled by the same team of floral artists, but they can look forward to Birkicht going beyond vintage: “I’d love us to go Baroque, with gilded containers and bountiful flowers… like something you’d see in paintings by the Dutch Masters.” 8327 W. 3rd St., LA, 323-852-1766

Shamin Momin's List of Art Basel HK Musts

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

LAND’s director, cofounder, and curator Shamim Momin.

“The Art Basel shows are very selective in their inclusion and that tends to generate a much more thoughtful sensibility within the gallery list,” says Shamim M. Momin, director, cofounder, and curator of the cool, cutting-edge nonprofit Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND). Momin doesn’t just attend the various Basel fairs, she specializes in staging infamous independent exhibitions during the shows, like “The Station” in 2008 and “The Island” in 2010. Below, she describes the strong bonds between Hong Kong and LA suggesting what Angelenos should see and experience this month in Hong Kong.

The LA /Asia connection: “One of the things that interests me about Asia,” says Momin, “is the relationship to ‘new’ markets in the global scheme of things… something I’ve thought a lot about in terms of Los Angeles. Coming from New York and a more Eurocentric spectrum, it has been fascinating to participate in a city (like LA) taking shape and changing the art world. There is something intriguing in terms of directionality going on in Hong Kong right now as well. As a child of immigrant parents—one European, one Asian—I’m guilty of having always thought in a kind of “going East” rotation in the world, which of course privileges Europe first in the trajectory. In LA, there is a historical difference in the relationship to the East—“going West”— meaning Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands—that is far more embedded. It makes perfect sense to me to imagine a solid line from this city to those many in Asia ascending to a place of global prominence within the art world.”

At the show: Momin understands the excitement generated by the launch of Art Basel in Hong Kong due to her experiences at previous Art Basel shows in both Miami and Switzerland. “[They] allow for outside curators to feel comfortable participating in talks [and] onsite sections like Artpublic or other invited elements.” Knowing the overall inclusive feeling at both Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach, Angelenos attending the initial Hong Kong show will have a unique opportunity to see and purchase work created by Chinese artists, specifically those not represented by dealers outside the region, which is the basis of Art Basel in Hong Kong’s noteworthy Insights sector.

Around town: Local institutions not to miss include the multitude of international galleries that have sprung up in recent years as well as the new Asia Society Hong Kong Center, located in a (huge) former British Army explosives compound, and the ambitious Para Site, a (tiny) hip nonprofit organization dedicated to exhibiting international art. Of truly epic proportions is “Mobile M+: Inflation!,” the largest contemporary art exhibition to date in Hong Kong, at the West Kowloon Cultural District site, featuring inflatable sculptures by artists from South Korea, the US, and China (South Korea’s Choi Jeong Hwa and LA resident Paul McCarthy, for example), presented by Hong Kong’s future M+ museum. “The Asian market is growing and evolving,” Momin adds, “and the new Basel show is the perfect platform in which to discover contemporary art in this region.”

Road Trip: BottleRock Napa Valley Festival

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Zac Brown Band highlights the BottleRock Napa Valley musical lineup

Sunny spring weekends call for road trips to wine country, and as if we need an additional tease to jaunt to Napa vineyards, this weekend oenophiles will be toasting incredible live music. The inaugural BottleRock Napa Valley festival held May 9-12. A four-day affair with stellar music, vintners, culinary cache, and comedy.

"This is a festival for music-lovers with a palate," says BottleRock co-founder Bob Vogt. "BottleRock offers festival-goers the best in Napa Valley food, wine, and beer. Where else can you see this many musicians and comedians and have access to shaded areas, seating, and restrooms? [It] has something for everybody.”

First, the musical lineup: Leading bands include The Black Keys, Kings of Leon, The Black Crowes, Jane’s Addiction, Zac Brown Band, The Shins, The Avett Brothers, The Flaming Lips, Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, Alabama Shakes, and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, among others. With more than 80 bands performing over four days, the musical gamut crosses nearly all genres and will certainly pack a loud punch. Held on three stages over 26 acres of the Napa Valley Expo grounds, the music alone is worth tapping those frequent flier points.

Next, the epicurean extravaganza. On tap at Bottle Rock are more than 50 wineries and artisan brewers, with featured vintners including Silver Oak, Miner Family, Rombauer, St. Supery, Grgich Hills, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Hahn Family Wines, to name a few. Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Cindy Pawlcyn will helm the festival’s culinary execution, sharing the spotlight with celebrity chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Ken Frank, and Todd Humphries. The list of participating Napa eateries and food purveyors is equally of note, including Mustards Grill, Oenotri, ZuZu, Grace’s Table, The Girl & the Fig, Azzurro Pizzeria and Enoteca, Tra Vigne, Fish Story, Farmstead, The Model Bakery, C Casa, Barbers Q, and Gott’s Roadside.

And let’s not forget there’s comedy, to boot. In the midst of all this wining, dining, and dancing, the country’s top comics promise plenty of laughter, too. Jim Gaffigan, Demetri Martin, Aasif Mandvi, Anthony Jeselnik, Tig Notaro, Jim Breuer, Greg Behrendt, Wyatt Cenac, Rob Delaney, and Kristen Schaal, among others, ensure no dull moments.

Given the staggering lineup of musical acts, we asked Nicholas Allen, founder of Carte Blanche Wine and Soulshine Music LLC, for some festival and wine cliff notes. Following are his Top 5 “pairings” of rock and wine, focused on micro-cult wines crafted by acclaimed vintners that have mastered the art of bottling terroir. If you can’t make it to Napa with us, at least you can create a playlist, sample some vino, and pretend you’re there.

1. The Black Keys & Carte Blanche 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. “The Black Keys are one of the best, if not, top, acts on the national touring circuit,” says Allen. “I’d pair this complex rock ‘n roll with a big red—the CB Cabernet is layered, surprising, with big notes, and a real powerful driving force behind it, just like the band.”

2. Jane’s Addiction & 2010 Keplinger Sumo. “If you’ve seen front man Perry Farrell perform, then you know that a bottle of red is most likely in his hand. I’d suggest he drink the Keplinger Sumo--a spicy, bold red that gets you fired up, and can perfectly handle the band’s hard-hitting rock.”

3. Zac Brown Band & Morlet Family Vineyards Couer de Vallée. “It's such a nice blend of cabernet culled from the top to the bottom of Napa Valley, and Zac Brown's music is such a nice collaboration of musical instruments and different musical genres, from country, to bluegrass, to reggae, to rock ‘n roll!”

4. The Black Crowes & 2010 Macauley Cabernet Franc, To Kalon Vineyard. “The Crowes consistently stay in the realm of blues-driven rock ‘n roll, but both the band and this wine offer so much more than one varietal or style could have ever been thought possible. Wines and acts like these are extremely rare, intricate, and passionate, and need to be embraced for the long haul.”

5. Alabama Shakes & Bure Family Wines 2010 Duration. “A perfect pairing for Alabama Shakes; it's got that power and elegance from the cabernet, and that depth and extra ‘umph’ (fruit) and nuance from the Cabernet Franc. These two—the band and the wine—will be around for a long time. Bure is becoming a staple Napa wine for cult-boutique collectors, and The Shakes are becoming a sought after staple on the music scene. I dread another ill-fated and ill-timed loss of talent such as Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse. Like the finish on the Duration wine, I hope to see longevity in their musical careers.”

For BottleRock Napa Valley festival passes, pricing, and additional information visit bottlerocknapavalley.com