In February we were asked, along with our very creative friends at Casa de Perrin, to host a whimsical shoot in The Salon, with the talented Max Wanger behind the camera, for Anthology Magazine. Any excuse to hang with these peeps, we are down. And as for Anthology Magazine, it is a lush, unpretentious pictorial journal that feels more like a merry design book for your coffee table. We were honored to be a part of such a deliciously colorful project. The day of the shoot, we served breakfast for dinner as Andrea Arria-Devoe asked us lots us questions like, "Did you name this tasting room 'The Salon' to communicate that you would be hosting gatherings of different local artists?"
Wow, I wanted to say, yes! But that wasn't the truth, the truth was that the space had been a beauty salon and the beauty salon was exactly next door to our kitchen and this beauty salon was rarely, if ever, open, and we wanted it. Bad.
We'd all ponder over what, if acquired, we'd do with "the beauty salon" and these musings grew so active that we shortened the reference down to just "the salon". What if we turned the salon into a walk-in? Hey, the salon would make a great prep room! What about putting all our dry storage in the salon? Things like that until one day it was available. On a whim, after a very busy wedding weekend of making the standard chicken and steak that brides and mother's of the brides always tend to favor, Matt and I looked at each other and wildly announced, "Let's turn the salon into a tasting room and make whatever we want!"
And so we did.
It was a given to name it "The Salon", anything else felt awkward after months of pining after it as such. We opened the space with a gallery show from Autumn de Wilde. Upwards of 100 people were served bubbly, compliments of Silverlake Wine, as well as twelve different tray passed appetizers all complimenting Autumn's theme of Blood and Earth. The following day during this Anthology shoot, with Autumn's gorgeous yet unusual photos expertly attached to smooth, freshly painted white walls by a mysterious fellow who packed a discreet black leather tool belt over his low slung jeans and, as word on the street has it, hangs all of Bansky's work (I asked him about this, he gave up nothing), Andrea just assumed, naturally, that because our intention with the space was to promote art and bring in various culinary artisans to team up with that the name was purely literal.
"No," I admitted, laughing at myself for missing something so obvious. "No."
She asked again to confirm. I shook my head with mirth, but as she enthusiastically scribbled in her notebook I realized, my nerves suddenly frayed, that this oversight would be a significant part of the Anthology article, and indeed, she opened with it.
So I give pause because now we are about to turn another nearby closed store we have obtained, a bike shop this time, into an office. As we predictably go about naming this space, you guessed it, "The Bike Shop", I ask myself, "What are the unmistakable cultural implications behind a bike shop that relate to a bustling catering office?"
My mind is blank.
Bike. Office. Peddle. Desk. I'm not making any connections. Is my poor brain really that foggy? Please let me know if I'm missing something before I'm taken off guard by someone with a pen.
In the mean time, we are ready to launch a series of pairings in The Salon, the first being on June 28, with Handsome Coffee and YEAH Rentals. We'll tell you all about it with pictures because we have Max shooting again. It will be a blast. And we will not be serving chicken or steak.
More to come on upcoming events at The Salon, which Webster defines as "a hall for exhibition of art" and/or "an assemblage of notables". It is our aim to live up to those descriptions.
**Many thanks to Anthology's Creative Director Meg Matteo Ilasco, for featuring us in your beautiful magazine.
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