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Here at Convo By Design, we are dedicating another week to the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. I have worked with this group going on three years now and they do such good work. Think about this for a moment, over 54 years producing showcase homes and raising over $23 million in the process for youth arts programs. We spoke last week about the architect on this project, Reginald Davis Johnson and the legacy he left behind, dappling Southern California with Spanish Revival projects. The city of Pasadena is a pretty special place, and while I am sure you are already familiar with Pasadena as home to the Tournament of Rose Parade, Rose Bowl, Jet Propulsion Lab, California Institute of Technology and the Norton Simon Museum, there are a few other things that might interest you.

Pasadena has a rich architectural heritage covering multiple styles by modern masters including the Batchelder House, an American Craftsman masterpiece, built in 1909. Built by Ernest A. Batchelder, known as a trailblazer in the Arts and Crafts movement and his wife, Alice Coleman. Coleman, a musician and local piano teacher. Batchelder was also a filemaker and you can find his homes dotted with his signature tiles. He actually started a factory in his back yard. This is another example of Southern California’s rich architectural heritage and the best part, you can still go see it. As you can with the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. If you are listening to this episode in May of 2018, the house is open until the 20th. After that, as always, please go to convobydesign.com or our YouTube channel to see videos from the house.

This episode features Michael Wrusch of Michael Wrusch Designs in a stunning Family Room dripping with tech. The only room in the house that I noticed with a tv. Next we swing by the Dining Room to visit with Room At The Beach’s, Elizabeth Lamont and finally we check out the Au Pair’s Suite with Rosita Nazarian of RKN Design. Please remember, these interviews were recorded mere days before the showcase open and there is a ton going on in the background. Saws, heavy equipment and more. Thank you for listening. If you like what you hear, and I hope you do. Please go to Apple Podcasts and leave us a note and a 5 star rating. It helps new listeners find the podcast. Enjoy this episode of Convo By Design from the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts.

Music provided by Electric Sol
Artist: Electric Sol
Song: Your Love Makes Me High
www.electricsolmusic.com

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This week, we are going back to the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts to visit with three extremely talented designers and highlight the work they did in this years offering. To remind you about the home this year, it’s being called, “The Overlook”, originally built in 1915 for a whopping $14,000, it was home to the widowed sisters, Ruth Hargrove and Mary Emma Baker. and while it’s billed as a Mediterranean, the Spanish Revival elements are unmistakeable. And there is a very good reason for that. “The Overlook” was crafted by master architect, Reginald Davis Johnson. This is one of the architects responsible for Santa Barbara’s trademark Spanish Colonial Revivalist look. Johnson was an interesting guy. MIT educated, son of an Episcopal Bishop, LA’s first actually. He also tried his hand in modernism for a while which showed both creative bravery and laid testament to how versatile an architect he was, Johnson always went back to his trademark Spanish Colonial Revival roots. Which is how we wind up over 113 years later in Pasadena.

First up is the Living Room, designed by Designs of The Interior, Karen Shoener, Genaro Lagdameo and Carla Pardour Wening. Carla joined me in the Living Room to tell me about all three spaces the group designed including the Billiard Room and Petite Lounge. Next, you will hear from Cabana Home’s Steve Thompson in the Mezzanine and finally, from Greg Parker of Parker West Interiors in the Master Suite.

Another fun trip around this year’s Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. Special thanks to all our designers, and of course Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts for access and all of their support. Congratulations on a wonderful job again this year and for the last 54 years, producing this event and providing over $23 million dollars to fund youth arts programs in Pasadena and surrounding communities. And of course, thank you for listening. Without you, there is no Convo By Design. If you enjoyed this episode, please go to the iTunes ratings and reviews page and leave a nice note and 5 star review. For videos of the Pasadena Showcase or many of the other stories you hear on the show, convo by design dot com is where you will find it. Talk with you next week.

www.ConvoByDesign.com

Music provided by Electric Sol
Artist: Electric Sol
Song: Your Love Makes Me High
www.electricsolmusic.com

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Grant Kirkpatrick is one of those architects that is actively shaping the way we view Los Angeles. He, through his firm KAA both creates and re-imagines places and spaces. The firm’s mission states a devotion to warm, contemporary design. Providing solutions for modern living and at the same time, he has a love and a sense of duty to protect the structures that Southern California offers the world. Grant and I sat down at the Vondom showroom during West Week at the Pacific Design Center to talk about Southern California architecture, his Marina Del Rey offices that have already lived lives as the original Hobie Catamaran Factory and a warehouse for all of the props and set decor from Cast Away.

**Side note, can you believe that Cast Away was released in the year 2,000? In the following conversation, Grant tells me about the fact that his current offices served as the prop house if you will during filming and I thought it would be fun to reintroduce you to a past guest on Convo By Design from the 2016 WestEdge Design Fair, Rosemary Brandenburg. Brandenburg was the Set Decorator on Cast Away, a Robert Zemekis film starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Peter Von Berg and of course Wilson, the volleyball. It’s one of those Southern California stories that ties architecture and film making, seamlessly.

Back to Grant. Kirkpatrick has published a new book called California Contemporary: The Houses of Grant C. Kirkpatrick. This covers 30 years of architectural mastery in Southern California. These homes possess elements that have come to embody the California lifestyle. Architects from around the world try to emulate elements of the modern style and use of materials, not to mention the seamless flow between indoors and out. Kirkpatrick, as you might imagine, has a solid roster of celerities for whom he has designed home, including; Matt Damon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and of course, of course, Tom Hanks. So the circle is complete. This is KAA Design’s Grant Kirkpatrick. And after Grant, Set Decorator of America member, Rosemary Brandenburg.

Music provided by Electric Sol
Artist: Electric Sol
Song: Your Love Makes Me High
www.electricsolmusic.com

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This is the first in a series on the Pasadena Showcase House of Design. For those not familiar, Pasadena Showcase is an all volunteer organization that has been producing remarkable showcase houses for over 50 years. This episode was first published in April 2018 and the house is now open for for you to see. If you are in Southern California and happen to be in the Pasadena area, I highly recommend that you take the tour and see this fantastic home. What you will find is a collaborative effort by some of the most amazing and talented designers in the business today. I started showcasing design houses on the podcast a few years ago and what I like best about that is the fact that many of you will be listening to these episodes long after the design house is closed. Should that be the case, please visit our YouTube channel where you can see short segments recorded from the house with the designers themselves.

These interviews were conducted from the house in the last week of design. You are going to hear the buzz of circular saws, hammering dropping of heavy materials. Makes it kind of fun to hear what is going on behind the scenes. Another element to showcasing design houses is to capture, in real time, the essence for how much work really goes into projects like these. If you are a designer who has considered taking part, a potential sponsor looking to get involved or an enthusiast who wants to know what happens behind the scenes, these are true stories from the front lines of design. Major pressure, immovable deadlines and problems…there are always problems. So today, we are speaking with Amy Peltier of Peltier Interiors. Amy designed the Grand Foyer, and it is grand. Amy is a mid-westerner with great taste. When asked what Amy is ‘crushing on’ now, she has some really interesting thoughts on use of color, art and space. Following Amy is Jason Lai of L2 Interiors. L2 took a Spanish Revival guest house and molded the interior into a sleek and stunning Mid-Century Modern inspired refuge. Listen to Jason explain the philosophy behind the design and again, if you want to see it for yourself you can go tour it, or check out the video on YouTube.

I love doing this show for you and I hope you enjoy it, if you do… please go to “Ratings and Reviews” on iTunes, leave us a note and a positive review. Positive ratings helps us attract new listeners to the podcast, and it is very much appreciated. Enjoy this episode of Convo By Design Presented By Snyder Diamond from the Pasadena Showcase House of Design.

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Music provided by Electric Sol
Artist: Electric Sol
Song: Your Love Makes Me High
www.electricsolmusic.com

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Convo By Design Presented By Snyder Diamond publishes our 100th episode. Here is a composite that includes designers, set decorators, architects, influencers, innovators and artists. Thank you to everyone who made it possible to reach 100. Thank you to everyone who appeared, produced and promoted. Thank you to everyone at Snyder Diamond for your continued support and thank you to YOU, for downloading, listening, watching, posting and coming out to see us. Enjoy the following taste of Convo By Design at 100.