Celebrating Love - Arms Are For Hugging!

There's a new message to folks visiting the Venice Boardwalk just in time for Valentine's Day ... Arms are for hugging! I couldn't agree more, and that's the message of love I send out to the world on this day intended for the celebration of love. (Thanks for the art, Trek Thunder Kelly!) Especially on this, the one year anniversary of the Parkland massacre.

It's kind of fantastic that there is a day set aside just for love, right? We all know it's a "made up holiday" and all of that, and can cause a lot of bitterness for those without a significant other - and believe me, I've been there. But I was helping out my friends at Fiore Designs who get absolutely swamped for Valentine's Day, and I helped answer the phone to take orders and write out cards. People, there is still SO much love in the world! This day magnifies it, and this world needs so much more of it. Many of the messages weren't even for lovers ... one Dad called and the message he asked me to write to his daughter made me tear up and have to clear my throat to continue, it was so sweet. We agreed that the best one of the day was "I love all of your curves, but my favorite one is your smile." Not bad. It's cute how nervous people get about what they want written on their cards, and I felt a bit like Cyrano for a couple of emotionally challenged fellows. It was adorable. A bonus was that all of the negativity going around felt like it vanished, even for just a few precious hours. LOVE prevails!

The Venice Sign knows ... and is once again blowing up social media feeds for this V Day. It's cold and rainy but we know the sun will return, and that love for our fellow humans will keep us warm anyway, at least inside. Let yourself feel it, even you, Cynics. Thank you. I love you for reading!

*If in the Venice vicinity and need Valentine plans, tonight is the Suzy Williams and Michael Jost album release party of their new project Bravo! at Beyond Baroque at 7:30 p.m. It's going to be a hoot, and I promise there will be extra love ... enough to go around for everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day, Loved Ones! xoxoxoxo

A Savor-y Event At Kustaa!

We had a lovely event last night at Kustaa Wine & Cheese to celebrate Savor, the new cookbook from our friend, Kimberly Stevens.

The entire evening felt charmed, as it was maybe the one day this week that won't be pouring rain, and it was planned weeks in advance, so we extra lucked out, as Kustaa's seating is almost entirely outside in the open air. Phew! Friends and neighbors came out to get their copies of Savor signed, and to indulge in the cheeseboards and wine that are Kustaa's specialty.

It was a very chilly evening that still somehow managed to feel cozy ... because of the heaters, blankets, and fur throws, yes, but also because there was so much good cheer in the house.

Our friend, Bruno showed up to offer tastings of Wish Wines, which turned us on to the concept of making a wish when you finish a bottle. The wine is delicious, so I'm pretty excited for all of the wishes I have coming to me!

Almost everyone present does something cool in Venice, and it was fun to see connections made and faces behind names be recognized. There was also a beautiful vibe of women-run businesses coming together to support each other in their efforts and dreams (this includes Fiore Designs, who provided the gorgeous flowers for the evening).

For several, it was their first time at Kustaa, and I have a feeling it's going to be their new spot. Many of the people were stopping in to have wine and cheese before heading to dinner elsewhere (the regular Kustaa menu was not being served for the event), and I kind of like that very civilized idea. Or even AFTER dinner. Yes.

Blogtown is very happy to bring people together, and it was a pure delight to host this event with Kim and Tina Bonfils, owner of  Kustaa. I look forward to doing many more of these kind of fun things, with the hopes that we all get to know each other a little better - and make the world a little smaller.

Many thanks to all who came out on a chilly Los Angeles night to celebrate good books, good food, good wine, and GREAT friends! (*Extra special shout-out to my friend Brenna Thomas who took two Ubers and the train from Arcadia to be with us. Now, THAT is friendship!) You're all just lovely.

*If you were not able to attend, Savor is available at Kustaa - and so is raclette! Mmmm.

V Day Love From Venice, California!

Love is literally in the air, as the Venice Sign is lit up purple and red with a big heart, created by Venice artist, Alberto Bevacqua, with assistance from his son, Ara Bevacqua, who handles the dangerous stuff. It's a popular photo op on a regular day, but the heart is causing quite a stir  - and traffic!

My friends at Fiore Designs have been creating the most beautiful floral arrangements I've ever seen for Valentine's Day, so I thought that I'd share some of the beauty with everyone ...

... my only regret is that we do not yet have scratch and sniff internet. You would swoon.

I'd say I love white roses most, and then they come out with lilacs, and I think I love them the most. Then the gardenias come out and you nearly faint with their heady aroma, so they become your favorite. But then you see the rich reds and ravishing hot pinks, and you don't have favorites anymore. They're all the best.

Love is everywhere, whether between lovers, family, pets, nature, and our various passions, but most importantly, I hope that today you find it in your own heart, for yourself (I know how hard that can be on days like this, but you're the best!). Then go BE love. That's how you win.

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone! Love, Me

Abbot Kinney Festival 2017 - Truly A Venice Homecoming

I always love the Abbot Kinney Festival, and have always considered it Homecoming weekend for people that have lived in and loved Venice. This year, it was especially so, as I'd been gone a month, and not exactly positive that I was coming back. Seeing all the friendly faces and having all that fun absolutely confirmed that I made the right decision in doing so.

It wasn't just "Oh, hey, hi" style bumping into people either. It was the eyes and mouths wide open, arms outstretched, grabbing each other and rocking back and forth while hugging extra tight and yelling kind. Like every two feet. The whole day was awesome, and I'd like to rewind and do it all over again so I could see even more people and cool things. So, to relive it a bit ... The day was perfect, let's just get that out of the way. Blue skies, no clouds, bright sunshine, slight breeze to make it all comfortable ... you could not ask for more, weather-wise. On the walk down to the Festival (after a resounding Vikings victory in the morning!), we came across two little enterprising kids that had a lemonade stand on the outskirts of the Festival. I didn't have my notebook along, but if memory serves, these gems were Hayden and Phoebe. It was the best customer service I had all day, and I wish them well in everything they do, the little dolls. Thumbs up!

We had a slight game plan for doing and seeing it all, but when you keep bumping into the incredible people of Venice, plans change. I honestly could have stood in one spot all day and just talked and caught up with everyone going by, but we did our best to keep it moving. We had to stop into The Green House and have our annual Festival photo with our longtime friends, who I LOVE, and was so happy to see.

The Brig (and all the Beer Gardens) and Trim were going off with more fun, as usual, and the lines were long everywhere you looked. This might have been the most packed Festival I can remember. When you got to the area where the food booths were on both sides, the middle of the street was nearly impassable. Yet no one really seemed to mind.

Patience was key. As was love, as Venice legendary activist, David Busch was there to remind us. "Love is not a point, but a circle." And I was enveloped within that circle all day long.

The Venice Historical Society was there to remind people of what has come before ... and to emphasize those great days when there were no chain stores on Abbot Kinney - where they do not belong. It re-inspired me to get my Venice book launched, as people today need to know what made this place so cool to begin with ... and it certainly wasn't the rampant greed you see today. I had a friend say today that he didn't go yesterday, because he felt it was all about commerce now. That's too bad, because this day really is about so much more - mainly COMMUNITY and our NEIGHBORHOODS. That was felt ... so much more than the presence of the brand name jerks. In fact, I didn't even notice them with all the great people around. I also saw several "Snapchat Must Go" type shirts and stickers. Good for them/us.

It was a delight to see my friends at the Venice Pride booth, all happy and celebrating the recent victories of both the Rainbow Lifeguard Tower becoming a permanent fixture on the beach, and the announcement that The Roosterfish will indeed by reopening, by the fine fellows of South End up the street.

It was rumored that The Fish would be open as a pop-up for the Festival (which we all wanted dearly, not least because the ladies bathroom lines have historically always been the shortest there), but that didn't happen. Not sure why. There was a BBQ place out front, so it felt all festive there anyway.

There was sensational music all day, on a slew of stages. We caught some great funk, we missed the Superbroke Orchestra, heard Citizen Cope was playing somewhere ... but you've only got one body, and you do your best.

The Venice-Brooks Festival again piggy-backed on the Abbot Kinney Festival this year, making it even harder to do and see it all. Which is fine, because it was really fun, with reggae d.j.'s making it feel like a tropical get-away all day.

They had AWESOME music, great cocktails, cool merchants, fun people ... I just wish it was its own Festival day, so we wouldn't have to be spread so thin, racing from one end of Venice to the other all day (you definitely get your steps in on this day). Too much of a good thing is not a bad thing.

General Admission and Fioré Designs put on the alternative festival, and it gets better every year. I would have loved to have hung there all day, but my good friends were playing at the "Locals" stage on Andalusia, and we had to get back over there to reunite with all the homies.

I didn't really stop in to the Kids Area, but was very impressed to see this one little girl giving her all at the hammer game thing. Girl Power! We almost got our faces painted for the fun of it, but those dang kids made the lines too long. Oh, well.

Speaking of kids, I got to meet my new, little friend Coyote, enjoying his very first Abbot Kinney Festival! He seconded that it was one of the best ever. Shout out to Laura and Strader for bringing such a cool cat into Venice ... we'll need him.

The sidewalk chalk street was great again this year, with neighbors and friends all coming together to create a mandala of love and creativity. I can't wait until the Chalk Festival is its real own thing. (A different day than the Abbot Kinney Festival, please!)

I was happy to see the fine Venice activists still at it, showing all who came by that it's a tradition in Venice to resist. And resist we will.

The Locals stage was well under way by the time we got there (after again stopping every two feet to greet a new face that I loved), and it was truly a headquarters of all the longtime Venice beloved family.

Logistics made me miss Lacey K. Cowden, Blue Eyed Son, and Steve McCormick (dang it!), but we got there just as Matt Ellis took over the stage, bringing up Paul Chesne just as we arrived for the aptly titled, "They Don't Make Them Like They Used To". Yes, of course, it was awesome.

With so many of the friends now gathered in one spot, it made it difficult to leave. Especially when the backstage area featured refreshments and a bathroom. We posted up here for pretty much the rest of the fest ... it was just too easy.

The day always go by too fast, but then the after-parties kick in. There were several to choose from, so we went to the one that our friends were going to be playing more music at ... the party spot at the corner of South Venice and Abbot Kinney. We got turned on to a great new band there, Fox Trails (We thought they were saying Fox Hills, but I'm pretty sure it's Fox Trails), that we dug a lot. They sounded like new Harry Styles a bit - and that's a compliment I'm surprised to be giving, but it's true. There's maybe a little Incubus vibes in there too ... good stuff. Good times.

It was such a perfect Venice day, and I was so happy to be back, you just wanted it to go on and on and on ... and it did, until fatigue and dehydration forced us to throw in the towel long after the sun had set. Always the best day of the year in Venice, this year's Abbot Kinney Festival was even better than usual, perhaps because there was no taking it for granted. I KNOW how much I love it here, I KNOW how much the people mean to me, I KNOW that this is still where I belong, and deep down, this is still the Venice we all know and love ... you just have to feel it like we did yesterday, and you'll know too that Venice Lives!

Thank you to one and all for a most excellent Venice Homecoming! It was beyond special. I love you all.

Fiore Designs - Your Local Venice Flower Purveyor

"If someone loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows, in all the millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars ..." That has always been one of my favorite quotes from The Little Prince, and one that I think of each time I go to Fiore Designs, often to get a single blossom to love. There's something so nice about having a beautiful flower in a bud vase to look at whenever you need some beauty in your life. Which is pretty much always.

Fiore Designs is a Venice flower shop, founded and operated by Venice ladies, Jennifer Juhos and Nicole Renna. We've all been friends for ages, so it makes me so happy to see them realizing their dreams, right here in our own neighborhood - and beyond.

Juhos is an L.A. girl, born and raised, and as it's warm here most all year round (besides this week!), she was always surrounded by flowers. She loved flowers. She worked at flower shops, learning how to make gorgeous arrangements under their designers, and after graduating from USC, she started her own flower business out of her Dad's garage. The business grew fast, and soon Juhos had her Fiore Designs own real store in Studio City.

After 12 years of beautifying Studio City, Juhos met her husband, Colin (not him pictured above. That's my brother, Paul, cutting up), who lived in Venice. Which meant that she soon lived in Venice, and opened the new Fiore shop on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in 2010 (before it got as nuts as it is now). That darling little cottage was almost directly across the street from me, so I'd pop in there often, both to see my friends and to get myself a flower, or a party stopping bouquet to bring to a shindig. It was a great addition to the block, and friend-owned!

As Fiore became a full-scale operation, growing well beyond just bouquets, and on up into corporate events, creating large scale environments for events like conventions, weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, building sets for photo shoots, productions, storefronts, company gifting, and all the things in life that need flowers and greenery and lovely decor ... Juhos soon realized she needed someone to help her visions come to life. Maybe someone with a background in big productions. Maybe someone that already loved accompanying her downtown to the Flower Mart whenever she was in town. Maybe dear friend Renna, who was in the midst of changing careers and coasts - from film production in New York, to she didn't know what in Venice, just that it had to be Venice again. The timing was perfect for her to make the leap and join her friend as her partner in Fiore. And all this happened shortly after she told another friend how, "I just want to have like a flower shop in Venice or something." Bam. Stars aligned.

Soon thereafter, they expanded to the Pacific Palisades, which really brought both the ladies, and the business together. The Palisades location was relatively short-lived, as let's face it, it's not Venice, and they grew tired of running all over town to be everywhere at once, and got bought out to focus on all the events and the Venice shop. The Venice shop that would soon move to it's new, current location on Pacific Avenue and Brooks.

Abbot Kinney was going crazy (as we all know), and as locals don't even really go there anymore if we can help it (besides to the token few favorites remaining), the writing was on the wall, and the Fiore gals decided to cut out early and build their home base over on Pacific, even closer to the beach that they both love. Sharing the adorable block with the surf shop, General Admission, Fiore Designs opened in the new location last December, with an extra-fun mulled wine and champagne party that was so fun we almost forgot we were in a place of business ... except for all the exquisite floral arrangements that we partied amongst.

The new space has more of a Brooklyn or European vibe, with its exposed brick walls and high ceilings. The shelves are lined with wonderful gifts (including books, bath, candles, CHOCOLATE...) that Juhos and Renna curated from gift shows in Paris and London, gaining inspiration all along their trips from store windows to street signs. They carry products that they made sure were not available anywhere else in the United States, so that Fiore can be a truly unique destination (even online).

"Venice is our home. We want Fiore to grow here," explained Juhos, adding that they hear customers come in all day long from their office loft above the shop, all saying, "It's so nice to be in a real flower shop, right around the corner!" It feels cozy. It feels neighborhoody. It's right up the street from the beach, so you can smell the salty air and feel the sunshine as you walk home carrying your bundle of floral joy, and probably wave at a friend that you pass by. Because this place is part of a community, that as far as Juhos and Renna are concerned, still very much exists.

"When you go out to parties, restaurants, coffee shops, you still see people you know everywhere you go. People support each other and their businesses here, and no matter what, it's still an AMAZING community," Renna insisted, truthfully. Juhos added, "L.A. is so big, but this is still the one place left that still feels like a neighborhood." She explained that she and her husband's favorite thing to do on a day off is just get on their bikes and see where the day takes you ... the bike path, mimosas, bump into a friend, stop by their place, grab people for food, bike to the sunset ... those kind of perfect Venice days where anything can happen. I knew exactly what she meant (mainly because we've all been together on those kinds of days!).

The local businesses they support by patronizing, support them back by ordering flowers. Tasting Kitchen, Hourglass, James Beach ... all places they love, loving them back. That's how Community works. When we talked about longtime, beloved businesses and friends getting priced out of Venice, we all agreed that it's sad and wrong, but you can't give up on Venice. "What I love is the essence of Venice. It's not just one place ... my backyard is one of my favorite places, because you can feel that essence just in the air," Juhos told me. And she's right. You can also feel the love in the air, as the attention to detail and sheer beauty of the things they create can only be done with love. Just in time for Valentine's Day (for which the ladies are more than happy to assist you sometimes clueless gentlemen!)

You for sure get that Venice essence - and love - within the almost Boardwalk-adjacent Fiore at No. 907 Pacific ... where Renna invited everyone to "Come in! Visit! Feel the vibes! Smell the flowers! You are WELCOME."  Juhos added, "We put a little Venice pixie dust in everything we do." And you can feel it.

Fiore Designs
No. 907 Pacific Ave.
Venice
310.230.5007
Fioredesigns.com
Instagram: @Fioredesigns


*PS - When telling the ladies about my series of stories about taking cool classes in Venice, they said they can do flower arranging classes/workshops for groups (like you and your friend's birthday party), with wine, and cheese, and flowers, and skills. Yes! Contact Fiore to arrange.