Parties, Parties, Parties

Santa AT NPA Party in WLA

We had a hectic and fun-filled weekend. The holiday party season is upon us. Friday we were invited to a party at NPA (National Promotions and Marketing) on Overland near Palms. Some of our friends from the Modern Committee of the L.A. Conservancy put the word out about this gala. It seems that the owners of this promotion company are collectors. They have old neon signs, various fantastic sculptures, vehicles, memorabilia and a 1950's Greyhound Bus in the compound. If fact, the Greyhound is actually the lobby of their office. You walk thru the bus to get into the building. The bus driver is a grey hound, of course.

'Lobby' of NPA

Grey Hound Bus Driver

NPA Neon Sign Collection

My worlds collided at this party. There were people there from a few of my old entertainment jobs (Henson, Castle Rock, 20th Century Fox); people from the ModCom; people from my blues radio days and more. There were losts of celebs and sho-biz types at this fete. One of my fave bands, The Dave and Deke Combo were performing. The food and drink were flowing. There was all kinds of alternative entertainment. It was truly an extravaganza!

Saturday night we attended a private party at a home in Santa Monica. Great group...faboo party. Thanks, Nancy!

Sunday, we drove over to Echo Park for Peter Shire's Pottery Sale and Christmas Party.

Echo Park

Peter Shire Outdoor Sculpture

This event was mentioned in the L.A. Times today. In addition to this being a pottery sale of Peter's work, it was a benefit for Echo Park Animal Alliance. Lots of well-behaved dogs were standing in line to have their photos taken with Santa.

Unidentified Lady, Santa and Peter Shire

Peter's EXP Studio

Mr. Larry at Peter Shire's EXP Studio

Ellen in the Kiln Area - Shire Studio

Peter's studio complex is another whimsical and fun place, filled with his gorgeous pottery, teapots and constructions. I picked up a few hostess gifts for the season and took lots and lots of colourful photos. They had a table of sweets and savories. My personal favorites were the Cheese Trees with crackers.

Incredible Cheese Trees

Art Day

On Sunday we attended two artsy events.  First, we zoomed up to Echo Park for Peter Shire's holiday studio sale and fundraiser. I've always loved Peter's work, especially his striped pieces. Many people at the event on Sunday wore stripes, in honor of Peter. 

Artist, Peter Shire and Photographer, Larry Underhill

Stripey Fans

Billy Shire and Ellen. Check out Billy's store, WACKO for Xmas shopping!

Alas, there weren't many striped pieces for sale. We saw a few friends, toured the studio and left. It was quite a scene on an unusually hot day in Echo Park!

Peter Shire's Studio, Echo Park

We headed downtown to The Brewery's L.A. Artcore Annex Gallery to see James P. Scott's work. I love walking around The Brewery. It's a series of ancient factory buildings on the eastern edge of downtown, north of Chinatown. Now, this group of buildings houses painters, sculptors, writers and other artistic types in converted lofts and studios. It's industrial, a bit grimy and very cool.

Curator, Wendy Sherman and Artist, James P. Scott

Jim's mixed media pieces took up most of the gallery space. His paintings were 3-D with bits and pieces attached, gauzy curtains overlaying some canvases and some highly interesting paint and collage work. 

"Peeled and Raw" by Dani Dodge

Around the corner in a smaller room was an interactive wallpaper installation by Dani Dodge called "Peeled and Raw." Read about this piece here. 

We ran into more friends, viewed some wonderful artwork and basically had a delightful day.

Photo by Wendy Sherman

Weekend Calendar

Peter Shire's Echo Park Studio

The holidays are definitely upon us! There are so many craft fairs, sales and holiday events this weekend!

"Made in Echo Park" - Studio Open House at Peter Shire's Studio. Friday, 12/5, 5-9pm; Saturday, 12/6, 1-5pm; Sunday, 12/7, 1-5pm. In addtion to Peter's faboo pottery for sale there will be people there selling 50's English cut apparel, aromatherapy goodies and original photographs. Also in attendance: Echo Park Animal Alliance. There are always refreshments, music and very interesting people too. 1850 Echo Park Avenue, EP.

Peter Shire Pottery

You can get your knit and crochet-on at the HomeGirl Cafe from 2-5; Bruno and Alameda St., Downtown LA.

We'll be attending the West Adams Homeowners Association "Festival of Lights" house tour and progressive dinner on Saturday! We love viewing all of the amazing Craftsmen style, Victorian and Spanish Revival Homes on this tour! Sometimes, local celebrities show up....

County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas at 2007 West Adams Holiday Tour

The L.A. Conservancy is screening the classic 1954 flick, "White Christmas" on Sunday at the historic Los Angeles Theater, Downtown LA on Sunday, 12/7 @ 2pm. Tickets are still available.

Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Vera Ellen and Friends in "White Christmas"

If you need MORE YARN, Wild Fiber's sale is ending this Saturday, 12/6. The back room has yarn half-off!!!

Cole's French Dip Restaurant, Downtown LA is hosting it's 100th b-day celebration this weekend! Cole's is one of the longest, continuously runnig restaurants in L.A. They recently did a major remodel and refurbishment, so this should be fun!

The 2008 Bust Magazine Holiday Craftacular is also being held this Saturday, 12/6 at the EchoPlex in Echo Park. If you missed last month's Felt Club, or feel that you need more crafts in your life, this is the place! Thanks to Lauren for the link!
Thanks to Rhoda for the reminder about the Craft Riot Saturday, 12/6 from 11 - 4 at Plummer Park in West Hollywood. Click on the link for a discount coupon.

Thanks to Molly at my Fairview Knitters group for reminding me about the International Gem & Jewelry Show in Santa Monica. Also, the shop, Ritual Adornments on Main Street in Santa Monica is having a big sale.

I still have a few finishing touches to put on my handmade holiday gifts. It's going to be a busy weekend!

Saturday Overload

Christmas Tree @ The Original Farmers Market

Phew! I was swamped on Saturday. I started out early and went to The Grove. I had to pick up a few gifties. At 9:45 in the morning, the kids were already lined up to see Santa Claus! I quickly did my shopping and got outta there. You do not want to be at a major mall two weeks before Christmas...ugh...the crowds!

I picked up my shopping buddy, Rhoda and we zoomed out to Funky Junk Farms in Altadena. My friend, Yipsy, is a very talented jewelry designer and Saturday was her holiday jewelry show.

Yipsy's Jewelry Designs

I'd heard all about Funky Junk Farms, but hadn't visited yet. It was FANTASTIC. It's a very deep lot on a residential street in Altadena. When you walk through the front gate, you see a sweet little log cabin and a few vintage cars and trailers. As you continue down the walkway, you see more out-buildings, more trailers and yard sculpture! Funky Junk Farms appears to have been an old trailer park and trout fishing camp. There are even ponds for fish.
Yipsy's jewelry was in one of the out-buildings. It was packed with shoppers. Of course, Rhoda and I managed to snag a couple of pairs of earrings. Mine are fantastic...red, copper, orange...I'm wearing them today and I love them! Check below for a slide show of Funky Junk Farms:

Rho and I then traveled south down Fair Oaks Avenue into Pasadena. We visited the Folk Tree to see their current exhibition and the fantastic jewelry, pottery and sculpture from Mexico and other Latin countries.

The Folk Tree, Pasadena

It's a wonderful little shop. We grabbed a sandwich next door at the Central Park Cafe, then high-tailed it over to Echo Park and the studio of Peter Shire.
Peter's studio sale was low-key. He had some beautiful dishes, cups and saucers, vases, etc. for sale.

Peter Shire's Bowls

Rhoda had an early dinner enagement, so I dropped her off at her place in West Hollywood and continued west to my cousin Amie's jewelry sale at La Duree Hair Salon on Westwood Blvd. Amie is very talented and she was almost sold out when I finally arrived!

Cousin Amie, selling her elegant jewelry, Westwood

I finally made it home after my tour of Los Angeles basin craft shows. I had all intentions of cooking dinner, but I was just too tired. The wonderful Mr. Larry took me to Pann's for dinner! I was surprised to see a crowd there on a Saturday night. Usually, you see breakfast crowds, but not dinner crowds on the weekend! Oh well...we only had to wait a bit before enjoying our dinnner. I had the divine fried chicken....the best in Los Angeles, IMHO. Larry hadn't quite had his fill of Thanksgiving dinner yet, so he ordered the turkey and dressing plate. Both were faboo!
Re-reading my post is exhausting me!! I haven't even told you about my Sunday adventures!!!!

Modernica - 20th Anniversary

The Eames Shell Chair, Re-Imagined by Artist, Peter Shire

Did Those Crazy Legs!

Last night we missed the WeHo SnB so we could attend the 20th Anniversary celebration at one of our fave furniture and accessories stores, Modernica. Owner, Frank Novak, invited everyone to see new Eames shell chairs re-imagined by artist, Peter Shire and paintings by Amy Shock.

We had a great time visiting with friends and trying out all of the chairs! I love the new legs that Peter designed for the classic mid-20th century modern chair seat. He added slightly rococo curved wooden legs to the plastic molded seats. Brilliant! The wood brings the warmth of early-American design to the cool sleekness of the egg-shaped seats. Some of the chair legs are brown-wood in color and some are painted bright colors. I just love the marriage of the two styles. I'm considering purchasing one for our new bedroom!

After Modernica got too crowded, Larry, Mary Jo, Brit and I walked down the block to El Coyote for a delicious dinner. Yummmm...my fave...#4 combination, chile relleno, taco, rice and beans.

On the yarny front, I'm continuing work on my many projects. Being totally enamoured with the Noro Kureyon two-skein stripey thing, I thought that this method might also work with Patons Soy Wool Stripes yarn. I immediately picked up two skeins of the SWS and proceded to knit that scarf. Not so good. It just wasn't stripey enough. Sooooo, I remembered that this yarn felts really well, so I started to crochet a bag, alternating every row with a different colorway, double crochet stitches, size "I" hook. I'll keep working on this and possibly felt it over the weekend.

Have a good one!

Last Minute

Felted Tiger Slippers @ Future Studio

Still working feverishly on your knitted and crocheted gifts? Need a rest? I'm going to Future Studio (5558 North Figueroa Street, Highland Park, LA 90042) on Sunday (noon - 4pm) to pick up a few more fiber-related gifties. I just don't have time to finish EVERYTHING!!!

Felted Slippers and Purses @ Future

Owner and designer, Amy Inouye has stocked some mighty fine gift items relating to Chicken Boy (he's up on the roof now!), pug dogs and general kitschy cool stuff in her little shop/art gallery.

Also, Peter Shire at Echo Park Pottery (1850 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles 90026) is continuing his holiday sale this Sunday from 10-4. I've decided to shut down the knit/crochet workshop and buy the remainder of my gifts! See you at Future Studio and Echo Park Pottery!

Peter Shire's Faboo Pottery

Calendar

There are sooooo many holiday sales this weekend! There are craft sales, jewelry sales, estate sales and more! Here are a few:Saturday, Craft Riot, Plummer Park, West Hollywood, opens at 11 am. A lot of the artists formerly selling at the Felt Club will be there.

Saturday, La Duree Hair Salon, 2277 Westwood Blvd., LA, Jewelry and crafts sale, 12-6.
Saturday, Yipsy's Holiday Jewelry Sale, 519 W. Altadena Dr., Altadena, @ Funky Junk Farms, 1-6.

Bauer Pottery

Saturday and Sunday, Bauer Pottery Sale, 3051 Rosslyn St., Atwater, 9-5. This just in...there will be some faboo food trucks at the Bauer sale on Saturday!

Peter Shire Vases

Saturday and Sunday, Peter Shire Pottery Sale and Party, 1850 Echo Park Blvd., Echo Park, 12-5.
Saturday and Sunday, Handle With Care Estate Sale, 1205 So. Rodeo Dr., LA, Beverly Hills adjacent, 10-3.
Saturday, Holiday Vintage Costume Jewelry Sale, Ruth's house, 3553 Moore St., Mar Vista, 11-3.
This same sale moves to Johanna's house on Sunday, 1543 Marmont Ave., West Hollywood, 11-3. Profits from sales to benefit LARC Foundation, a home for developmentally disabled adults.
Of course, I want to visit ALL of these events. My shopping pal, Rhoda and I will be hitting a few on Saturday.On Sunday, after brunch with the folks and Sometimes Sunday Crochet Group, Larry and I will be heading downtown to Disney Concert Hall for Songs of the Sun with Brian Wilson, Dave Alvin, the Living Sisters and Harper Simon. I've been to the Disney and toured the exterior and interior, but I've never experienced a concert before. I'm really looking forward to it.
Hope all of your holiday pre-planning is coming to fruition!