Turquoise And Tobacco - Venice Made By Laura Genevieve

If you were at Coachella last weekend, or are going this weekend, all reports back insist that THE accessory for Festival chic this year are the fantastic pieces from Turquoise And Tobacco, the Venice-made jewelry company by my friend, the darling Laura Genevieve.

Laura was born in Kansas, "in a town so small I didn't even know you could have fashion be a career." Her parents had lived in California, but moved to Kansas to be near family, and Laura's Mom always said to her, "Get back to California for me." The family took road trips to the Golden State every year, where that request was solidified in the mind of young Laura. All those stops at National Parks and taking the Amtrak train instilled in her a love of travel, a love of nature, and on one particular trip to Albuquerque, a true love for turquoise.

She wanted to be a triple threat growing up, a singer/dancer/actress, and auditioned like crazy for everything, winning scholarships and chasing the dream. Fashion was always her thing, and when her Mom taught her to sew, Laura began ripping up things and putting them back together in her own way, which got her a lot of attention at school, "where I stuck out like a sore thumb." (We bonded over that, because I was the exact same way. Madonna gloves and a big hat to the football game? Of course.) The highlight of these times were when Laura exactly replicated Jennifer Aniston's fake dreads for her prom. I bet those Kansas kids are still talking about that one!

When it came time to decide on school and a career, Laura detoured on her way to California to Seattle to live with her Kansas boyfriend. She wound up staying a lot longer than she'd planned, splitting up with the boyfriend, but launching her fashion career as a buyer and model for the late Seattle boutique, Sway and Cake. This gave her a taste of the travel and trade shows, and pretty much cemented for her the industry that she wanted to work in.

New Year's Day 2011 found Laura finally making the move to California, to live in Venice - "And only Venice." (Again, my thoughts exactly.) Very soon upon her arrival, she met and fell in love with the equally darling Jonathan Strader, which again affected her life choices (and ensured that they will always win "Cutest Couple" wherever they go, no matter who's there). Now she was interested in a way to touch lives, support other cultures, watch Strader surf, and live a bohemian, gypsy life wherever the surf was good.

On one such surf trip, to entertain herself, Laura made herself a necklace of a skull and leather fringe. People immediately began asking her where she got it, and begging her to make them one, so she did. She was working for various stores and helping out other labels, when she started posting photos of the necklaces on Instagram. She immediately had strangers asking where they could get one. That led to stores and fashion websites placing orders, and soon, "When the side thing takes over your day thing, you quit the day thing and do that, so I did." Did she ever. One day, the actress Vanessa Hudgens was photographed wearing Laura's most popular design, "The Drifter", and she was off to the races. Requests to have the necklaces for photo shoots and fashion layouts began pouring in, and now it's all Laura can do to keep her materials in stock.

When deciding what to name her company, Laura asked herself what she was inspired by ... Native American culture ... family road trips across the West ... Riding horses across fields ... and the name "Turquoise And Tobacco" sprang to mind. Turquoise because she'd always love and been drawn to it, Tobacco because she never wears black in New York (ha!) and she loves the brown of an old, worn in cowboy boot, and she wanted to pay homage to the Native American aesthetic as well.

Laura is a friend who I can get really Venice-groovy with, like Full Moon ceremonies, dream manifesting, and drawing spirit cards and stuff. One such time, Laura drew the Whale card. The Whale is the record keeper, that encourages you to look at your past to create your future and find your own "whale song". When Laura looks back, she is inspired "from the Great Plains to the shores of California, and everything in between. Embracing freedom." Clearly, it is no accident that we are friends. Laura's whale song now sings of travel, surf, fashion and fun. "I'm in this to create the life I want. The whole goal is to have a simple life, travel the world, and do this." Amen, Sister.

In talking about our beloved Venice, Laura says, "The moment I got here - instantly - everything happened for me, for the good. It was the only non-pretentious place in L.A. that was real. That was gritty. That people acted like humans." (Granted, this was a couple of years ago, and there have been some hipster invasions, but still.) Like many of us, her favorite place in all of Venice other than the beach is "The Hinano". I love her.

Turquoise And Tobacco is available all across this great country Laura has traversed ... and abroad. New designs and materials are also in the works, just you wait! Get your special, handmade treasures here:

Turquoiseandtobacco.com

Showmeyourmumu.com

Boutiquetoyou.com

You can also find these gems in Venice at Animal House and The Golden State, so far.

You can follow Laura's travel and adventures and life in Venice at:

Instagram: @turquoiseandtobacco
Twitter: @turq_tobacco


Hot.

*Photos by Nico Guilis/@findyourcalifornia (black and white)
and Lauren Meyer, courtesy of Laura Genevieve.

Principessa - Outfitting Venice Since 2001

I like to tell the stories about people and places that have made Venice interesting and cool ... and Venice. Lots of people have been coming in without really understanding what that means. We're here to help.

Principessa knows what it means to be Venice, and have been helping ladies put together perfect outfits since 2001. Partners Darla Bonnaire and Jennifer Corgan have great personal style, and once inside Principessa, it's pretty hard not to emerge with some of that flair rubbing off on you. They feature local designers (like Show Me Your Mumu, Totem Salvage, Flynn Skye, Jen's Pirate Booty, Luxury Jones, Mikal Wynn, etc...) as well as the big international ones (and great hard to find labels like Spell & The Gypsy Collective) you'd expect to find in such a style emporium.

The whole deal began with Bonnaire opening her store Vamp on Main Street in Santa Monica (after a brief stint near Windward Circle). She wanted to be in Venice though, so when a spot opened up on Abbot Kinney, she brought Principessa (Italian for "Princess", of course) to life. Shortly after Bonnaire's son, Wolf, was born in 2002, so too was the men's clothing store named for him (in the space that is now Kid Firefly). Then came Little, the children's store, until the madness of running four stores at once (with a toddler!) stretched them too thin, and it was all consolidated into the Principessa we now know at 1323 Abbot Kinney.

"The store has evolved with the street," says Bonnaire, meaning as the street has gotten busier and fancier, so have they, while paying close attention to who their customers are, and what their locals like (and can pay for). There's a great mix of things that will really set you back, investment pieces meant to be heirlooms, and fun, trendy stuff that you can pick up with no guilt at all. Carefully curated vintage pieces (and repurposed, one of a kind treasures) hang alongside the very latest fashions. I once played a game with a friend there, guessing how much things were. When the gorgeous blouse I held up ($49) was guessed at $500, I knew I had to get that thing. It's like that. You're pleasantly surprised often.

Modern day flower women will love Princi (as all involved affectionately call it), with its flair for bohemian dressing all set up for you to choose your look from.  "We seek out indie designers on the cutting edge, and we always want our things to be unique to Venice," explained Bonnaire. "To that end, they are also developing the label, Bonnaire-Corgan (named after the friends/partners), where all the lines are named after streets in Venice, e.g. "Electric pants".  Love it. Corgan added, "All the changes on the block don't make us want to leave ... we want to stay here to KEEP the local flavor." And we thank them for that. We NEED them for that.

 As longtime Venice residents all, we talked about what we love about it. "I love how Venice is set up. The whole town is walkable. We all share that desire to be outside, seeing people, being a part of our community. It's like a club of people that we're so happy to be a part of. It's a less exclusive club now, and it's sad that some special people who have been a part of it all for so long are being made to leave," Bonnaire said truly. "We really embrace Venice, imperfections and all ... because that's Venice," she shrugged.

The Venice they love is mostly outside, but when asked what shops they like to frequent, it was the equally legit ones like Firefly, Bazaar, Tortoise, Animal House and the one they say is without question their favorite, that they could not survive without - Elvino. Amen.

Corgan summed up their mission succinctly. "Individual expression is what makes Venice special. It's always been a mecca of variety, diversity, and funky, artistic bohemia ... and acceptance of everyone. That's the real Venice, and we're here to help people look the part." And they do. Beautifully.

Both Bonnaire and Corgan agreed that they've made their closest friends through the store. The girls are like a family, and once you've worked there, you're always a part of it. "Kind of like being a Playboy bunny," joked Bonnaire.

Principessa hosted an extra-fun pre-Valentine's party last weekend, complete with champagne, chocolate and live music. The store was full of things that would make any lady over the moon when gifted the dress, jewelry, lingerie or anything at all from her lover, and all the Princi ladies were happy to help find that certain item that would seal the deal. Like this hot bra I want:

Their parties are always a treat, and there's another one coming up to get everyone ready and looking great for Coachella. Mark your books on Saturday, March 22nd for that one.

Being inside Principessa, you can sense the difference that immediately sets them apart from the newer, polished up chain businesses that have somehow infiltrated our town. There's a true sense of place, there's a true sense of Venice, there's a true sense of uniqueness ... and as Corgan said about places, "I want truth."

The truth is that Principessa is a wonderful place to set yourself up if you're interested in a truly local Venice - and looking like it.

Principessa is located at 1323 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
310.450.6696
Ecommerce: www.Principessavenice.com
Twitter: @PrinciVenice
Facebook: /Principessa-Venice