Arroyoseptember2016

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA

September 2016

ATHLEISURE ROCKS THE RUNWAYS Workout Wear That Goes from Day to Night

SIMON G.

DIGITAL

STYLE FASHION GOES HIGH-TECH

SAYS Diamonds Are Still a Fiancée’s Best Friend

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SALINAS AND

STEINBECK Exploring “the Salad Bowl of the World” on California’s Central Coast

OUR MODERN EVOLUTION FA L L 2 016 CO L L E C T I O N

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arroyo

VOLUME 12 | NUMBER 9 | SEPTEMBER 2016

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10

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FASHION PHOTOS: (Top) Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; (bottom left) © ABImages; (bottom right) Amy Stone

13 DIGITAL STYLE New computer technology is transforming the fashion landscape in surprising ways.

—By SCARLET CHENG

17 SIMON SAYS DIAMONDS ARE STILL AN ENGAGED GIRL’S BEST FRIEND Diamond rings for brides-to-be are recession-proof, according to Glendale designer Simon G. —By BETTIJANE LEVINE

33 WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T WEAR LEGGINGS TO THE OFFICE? The hot athleisure trend is changing how we think about dressing.

—By DENISE ABBOTT

36 GETTING TO THE ROOT OF SALINAS The Salinas Valley is ground zero for agritourism and fans of farmworkers’ bard John Steinbeck —By IRENE LACHER

DEPARTMENTS 10

FESTIVITIES Celebrating Thai fashion and royalty at FIDM

11

LÉON BING Portrait of the Model as a Young Woman

29

ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX

40

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Wow your dinner-party guests by cooking with pure salt blocks.

42

THE LIST Tom Stoppard at A Noise Within, WelcomeFest at the Wallis, Edmund White on gay identity at the Huntington

ABOUT THE COVER: Incertitudes by Ying Gao, photo by Mathieu Fortin 09.16 ARROYO | 7

EDITOR’S NOTE

For our Fall Fashion issue, we look at some exciting trends. Scarlet Cheng unpacks digital style, which uses new technology to create astounding silhouettes. Denise Abbott looks at athleisure, stylish workout wear that takes you anywhere. And Bettijane Levine talks to Simon G., a Glendale fine jewelry designer whose diamond ring settings are flashed by women around the world.

While fashion is mainly about currying what people see on the surface, some brands blend style with charitable values that go much deeper. Tuk Watches (tukwatches.com), for example, are sleek, unisex timepieces moderately priced at $149. For each watch sold, the Austin, Texas–based company donates a water-filtration system to classrooms in Cambodia (tuk means water in the Khmer language).

Closer to home is For Better, Not Worse (fbnw.us), a Pasadena-based casual clothing brand dedicated to feeding hungry children in the U.S. FBNW sells message tanks, T-shirts, sweats and caps, and donates a bag of food for each item sold. On June 4, FBNW gave away 622 bags of groceries to kids in the Pasadena Unified School District. That was three times the number founder Patricc Reed donated here in the first food drop less than a year before.

Good on you, Patricc. We like your style.

—Irene Lacher

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher ART DIRECTOR Carla Cortez ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Torres

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PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Rochelle Bassarear, Richard Garcia EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine COPY EDITOR John Seeley CONTRIBUTORS Denise Abbott, Leslie Bilderback, Léon Bing, Martin Booe, James Carbone, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, Richard Cunningham, Carole Dixon, Lisa Dupuy, Lynne Heffley, Kathleen Kelleher, Rebecca Kuzins, Elizabeth McMillian, Brenda Rees, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller, Leslie A. Westbrook ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Lisa Chase, Brenda Clarke, Leslie Lamm ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bruce Haring HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker PAYROLL Linda Lam CONTROLLER Kacie Cobian ACCOUNTING Sharon Huie, Teni Keshishian

SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin CONTACT US ADVERTISING dinas@pasadenaweekly.com EDITORIAL editor@arroyomonthly.com PHONE (626) 584-1500 FAX (626) 795-0149 MAILING ADDRESS 50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105 ArroyoMonthly.com

OFFICE MANAGER Ann Turrietta PUBLISHER Jon Guynn

©2016 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

PHOTO: (Bottom) Lesley Park

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA

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FESTIVITIES

Thai Consul General Tanee Sangrat, Barbara Bundy and Wisharawish “Wish” Akarasantisook

David Paul, Nick Verreos, Sorasak Samonkraisorakit and Rachadaporn Samonkraisorakit

Fans of top Thai fashion designers Thakoon and Philip Lim may be adding Wish to their list in the wake of Wisharawish Akarasantisook’s Aug. 9 runway show at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in downtown L.A. More than 200 guests attended the tented show of 24 silk outfits co-hosted by Nick Verreos, FIDM spokesperson and Project Runway season-two contestant, and Barbara Bundy, FIDM Museum director and vice president of education. Royal Thai Consul General Tanee Sangrat presented Wish’s show of colorful, contemporary looks — pencil skirts and A-line and wrap dresses — that blended classic Thai and American styles. The event, accented by performances

by Thai dancers, musicians and weavers, celebrated the birthday of H.M. Queen Sirikit of Thailand, who appeared in a framed portrait on a pedestal.

PHOTOS: © ABImages

Japanese Consul General Akira Chiba and Yuko Chiba

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LÉON BING

PORTRAIT OF THE MODEL AS A YOUNG WOMAN

Rudi Gernreich and muse

PHOTO: William Claxton

I

t was the ’60s, and I was living in Manhattan, newly separated from my husband, who’d moved back to Los Angeles. Our six-year old daughter, Lisa, remained with me.

I knew I had to find work, and that’s when a remarkably talented young man ambled into my apartment and my life with a friend of mine. Bill Smith was the chief designer for Oleg Cassini, whose name was on everything from high-end clothes to sunglasses. Bill designed all the clothes. When we met, I hadn’t worked as a model since I’d married and told Bill so. He didn’t miss a beat: “Get yourself a really good haircut and then come down to the showroom and try on a couple of samples for Oleg. You’re about to become one of my core girls.” I got a great haircut, very much like the silent fi lm star Louise Brooks but with longer bangs that brushed my eyebrows. I arrived at the showroom at the appointed time, Bill introduced me to Cassini and, at Oleg’s request, I tried on a wisp of black chiffon (without a bra; I never wore them) and was hired immediately for fittings and shows. (Cassini later ordered the other models to lose their bras as well.) Then Bill sent me to a top runway models’ agency with orders to tell them I was working for him. They took me on and in two days I was going out on go-sees (the model goes to a designer to be seen and hopefully hired for fittings and shows).

I got lucky: within a couple of weeks I was booked solid, showing for nearly all the big-name designers: Cassini, Anne Klein and Norman Norell, plus the big show for Ohrbach’s (then a big department store on 34th Street) that featured line-for-line copies of Chanel and Dior made in the same fabric as the originals. The year’s Big Event was the annual Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum. I was happy to be chosen as one of the models who would show clothes and jewelry from the museum’s archives to the assembled celebrity guests seated at white-clothed tables around the museum’s vast Great Hall. There were at least two fittings before the show: each model would show only one outfit. I was to wear a plum-colored heavy silk dress from the post – Civil War period.

It was trimmed — around the high neckline and at the edges of long, pleated belowthe-elbow sleeves — with ivory lace and it had tiny buttons down the back, ending in a

large bow from which cascaded a sweeping train. The underwear (also from the archives) included a waist-cinching corset over a white cotton chemise, many starched petticoats and nearly ankle-length pantlettes also bordered with lace. Each article was lifted from its nest of tissue paper by white-gloved museum workers who dressed the model in much the same way 16th-century queens were attired by their attendants. No eating, drinking, smoking or sitting once you were dressed and coiffed. My short bob was swept back at the sides and a fall of matching waist-length hair was attached to a braid that made a kind of coronet around the crown of my head. Garnet hairpins from the museum were attached to the braid.

As I was standing at the models’ entrance, waiting for my turn to lead a slowly moving spotlight around the gleaming parquet floor, another model from my agency turned to look me over. She was wearing a slick of bias-cut amber satin designed in the ’20s by Vionnet, and she whispered that I looked like Scarlett O’Hara at the end of Gone with the Wind. Then she said that designer Rudi Gernreich (notorious for the topless swimsuit) was looking for a model who “looked like a spy” and that he should see me as soon as possible.

I went to Gernreich’s showroom and, after trying on one of his wonderfully avant-garde dresses (black georgette strewn with great poppies), got the job.

A few months later I moved back to L.A. to try again with my husband, and the fi rst call I made (after my family) was to Rudi. The timing, it turned out, was perfect. His other model, Peggy, had gone to London to pursue a career as an actress and Rudi asked if I would take her place. I was delighted. For the next three or four years, all his designs were fitted on me, and I showed the clothes in New York and on television and modeled for photographers (mainly the late Dennis Hopper). Working with Rudi Gernreich was a delight: his humor was Gobi-dry, his sense of style unrivaled. He was inspired, he told me, by what he saw young people wearing on the street. Painters — Mondrian, for example — inspired some of the silk fabrics he designed for his couture clothes. I have a clear memory of a dark blue silk dress splattered with crimson dahlias; the buttons in front looked like –continued on page 12 09.16 | ARROYO | 11

LÉON BING 1880 silk-and-abalone dress once modeled by the author Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009

–continued from page 11

tiny glass paperweights. He was in partnership with Harmon Knitwear for a less expensive line that was as wonderfully avant-garde as the couture outfits. Rudi was vehemently opposed to what he considered obscenely overpriced designer clothes; even his couture line was reasonably priced.

In 1968, Rudi received a Coty Award, fashion’s equivalent of the Oscar. The ceremony was held at the St. James Theatre on Broadway, and a small galaxy of stars modeled along with Rudi’s regulars. There was a live orchestra and the house was packed. I have a vivid memory of Lauren Bacall calling down to me from her dressing room to “get the hell up here for some champagne!” before the show began.

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Rudi’s first model, Peggy, came back from London in time to be photographed with Rudi and me for the cover of Time magazine. He sat, impishly cross-legged, on the floor beneath the bridge made by the linked arms of his two standing muses.

Several things stand out in my memory from those years of Sassoon haircuts (Vidal would come to the dressing room before shows and trim away, often creating new looks).

Andy Warhol piloting Edie Sedgwick to the back row where his whispered “Oh, wow!”s could be heard as each new thing was modeled. Vogue editor Diana Vreeland drawling “Chaarrrming” as she peered at my face while Rudi and I visited her scented, crimson office to show her some particular piece. But what I recall most clearly is the wraithlike photographer Diane Arbus asking in a smoky whisper if she could take my picture in the showroom. I stood quite still — no quick changes into model’s stances — and studied this intense, somehow girlish woman as she snapped several shots. She died soon after and I have often wondered how she saw me through her lens. To my knowledge, the photographs were never shown.

Those years in fashion were a fusion of excitement, frustration and great joy. I wept when Rudi died from lung cancer in 1985 and his photograph is on the wall next to my desk. His partner of 31 years, UCLA French professor Oreste Pucciani, gave me the wide silver ring that was always on Rudi’s fifth finger. I still wear it often, on the fourth finger of my left hand, not as a wedding ring but as a symbol of great friendship with an extraordinary man. ||||

PHOTO: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Perfect pleating in Manus X Machina : Fashion in the Age of Technology. At right, ensemble by Iris van Herpen, spring/ summer 2010 haute couture; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2015

DIGITAL STYLE New computer technology is transforming the fashion landscape in surprising ways.

BY SCARLET CHENG

THIS YEAR THERE HAVE BEEN TWO MAJOR MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS ABOUT FASHION AND TECHNOLOGY: MANUS X MACHINA: FASHION IN AN AGE OF TECHNOLOGY (THROUGH SEPT. 5) AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IN NEW YORK AND #TECHSTYLE (ENDED JULY 10) AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON. IT’S NO ACCIDENT — THE WORLD OF TECH IS EVERYWHERE IN THE FASHION WORLD, AND IT IS CHANGING HOW CLOTHING IS BEING DESIGNED, MANUFACTURED AND WORN. –continued on page 14 09.16 | ARROYO | 13

Anthozoa Cape and Skirt, Iris Van Herpen and Neri Oxman with Stratasys, Voltage Haute Couture Collection, 2013. Object Connex multiple-materials; 3D printed. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston purchase with funds donated by the Fashion Council. © M. Zoeter x Iris van Herpen

Cityzen by Azin’s silk kaftan showing satellite images of Bangkok, Thailand ($465). The black Cha Phraya River meanders through the city starting at the bottom of the kaftan.

The Met show is historical, tracing the handmade versus the machine-made over the past century through 170 ensembles. It pivots on the notion that haute couture was born in the 19th century, paradoxically coinciding with the invention of the sewing machine it eschewed. Suddenly there was a divide between haute couture, which was designed by a couturier and included many handmade or hand-worked details, and mass-market, machine-made clothing. #techstyle focused on the future of fashion, featuring cutting-edge frocks and accessories by international designers such as Rei Kawakubo, Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake and Iris van Herpen.

How cutting-edge? Yin Gao’s Incertitudes in the Boston show is an interactive garment, covered with dressmaker pins that react to voice, music and noise by moving in a wavelike fashion. New manufacturing techniques were used in Anthozoa, a collaboration between van Herpen and MIT Media Lab professor Neri Oxman, named after the class of sea animals that look like flowers, such as anemones and coral. The result — a cape and miniskirt ensemble coated with 3D–printed blackand-white polyurethane and acrylic nodules. “They appear to be not just growing out of the fabric,” observed Katherine Bowers in Women’s Wear Daily, “but competing for space, pushing at each other like a living colony would.”

Dutch designer van Herpen, famous for her futuristic designs that incorporate 3D printing and laser cutting, was also part of the Met show. (While there are no van Herpen boutiques in California, her striking dresses, skirts and tops are available at online boutiques including thisisodd.nyc and yoox.com.) The two shows reflect the growing number of designers experimenting with new technology to create dresses, accessories, even shoes.

But while 3D printing has generally become more commonplace, with simple machines available for under $1,000, the limits on the types of materials that can be used and the slow speed of printing still present problems for the mass market.

Ilse Metchek, the head of the California Fashion Association, says, “3D printing is still very, very slow. It’s good for making a sample or a model, duplicating things in different sizes or colors, but right now it’s not used in mass production.”

Th reeasfour’s 3D–printed dress Harmonograph in the Boston show took more than 200 hours to fit on a model and 300 hours to print. But many foresee that technology quickly improving. Van Herpen fi rst introduced a digitally printed dress in 2009.

“I remember the fi rst piece I printed took seven days, 24 hours a day, to print,” the designer recently told Vogue, which called her “fashion’s leading exponent of what technology can do.” “If you count that in hours, it’s massive, but it doesn’t take that long any more.”

On the other hand, 2D digital printing is already being used on garments and accessories readily available to the mass market, at stores and online. New York– based architect and designer Azin Valy takes NASA satellite imagery of cities around the world and has them printed on fine fabrics and materials for her high-end line, Cityzen (cityzenbyazin.com). With digital printing, designs and images can be precisely located on the garment or object — her Paris dress features the river Seine curving around the neck, the Shanghai scarf (in silk, of course) spotlights major landmarks such as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and MOCA Shanghai. Each item comes with a mini-map and travel guide to the city depicted.

Some computer technology is used in ways we can’t even see. That’s true of computer-aided design (or CAD), which is used in many fields, including fashion.

There are several major purveyors of CAD systems in fashion, among them Gerber Technology, PAD System and Tukatech, which is headquartered in Los Angeles.

They provide programs and printers that enable pattern-making — that is, creating the pattern for the separate pieces that make up a garment, including “grading” them in different dimensions for different sizes.

During a visit to the downtown garment manufacturer Style Up America, I met with patternmaker Tom Farrell, a graduate of New York’s prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology with 35 years of professional experience. Garment-making is still labor-intensive — which is why so much of the work has gone to places with –continued on page16

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PHOTOS: (top) Ronald Stoops ; (bottom) courtesy of Cityzen

–continued from page 13

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Jenny Wu’s Flora bracelet in stainless steel

Kaikoku Floating Dress, Hussein Chalayan, autumn/winter 2011–12 prêt-à-porter; Courtesy of Swarovski, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ying Gao’s Incertitudes is constructed with PVDF, dressmaker pins and electronic devices.

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much m uch h llower ower labor labor b r costs, cos osts ts such h as a China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. As a patternmaker, he is handed a sketch or photograph of the ordered garment; then he draws the cutting pattern by hand with a pen, a straightedge and some old-fashioned drafting tools. “I find it faster this way,” says Farrell, “and I’ll bet you I can draw a basic pattern faster by hand than anyone can by computer.” From his pattern, a prototype is cut and hand-sewn and, if approved, the pattern is placed on a digitizing board, which translates it into a computer program. The beauty of this system, which he learned after graduation, is that it can create the grading, quickly making patterns in various sizes. “That used to take a really long time to do by hand,” he says.

At the fashion department of Otis College of Art and Design, interim Chair Jill Higashi Zeleznik says they have been teaching students new technologies such as laser-cutting, heat-bonding and sublimation printing (computer printing that uses heat to transfer dyes onto materials). She points to Nike shoes as an example of a ready-made brand that incorporates the new technology. The Lebron X PS Elite, for example, uses the automated, heat-pressurized Hyperfuse system, which bonds together three layers of material. That eliminates stitches and, along with the new composite, strengthens the shoe overall. “It’s lightweight and it feels seamless,” says Zeleznik, “so for you as the consumer wearing the garment, it’s light, it’s aesthetically appealing.”

While the cost of 3D printing now makes garments prohibitively expensive (and quite futuristic-looking), the technology can be effective for making small items, as Jenny Wu, an architect by training, has discovered. She has been working with CAD in her architectural and design fi rm, Oyler Wu Collaborative, based in Silver Lake.

“I’ve always been interested in accessories on the body,” she says, “and about three years ago I realized I had a lot of ideas about pieces I wanted to wear. I thought, I’m a designer, why not design my own jewelry?”

Using a 3D printer, she made prototypes and wore them to Art Basel Miami in 2013. “I literally could not walk down the street for five minutes without people stopping me and asking me where I got my necklace.” She spent a year investigating how 3D printing could make wearables and developing her line. Then in fall 2014 she launched LACE, with a pop-up store debut at Aqua Miami during Miami Art Week in December. Today she produces and sells her gracefully swirling designs for rings, necklaces and earrings through jennywulace.com; she makes them in bronze-infused steel using binder jetting (for printing industrial materials) or in precious metals, starting with a computer-printed prototype before turning to a more traditional casting process.

The only thing certain in this rapidly evolving genre is that there’s plenty more to come. As Zeleznik says, “Any type of technology that the fashion industry can embrace is what the fashion industry strives for.”||||

PHOTOS: (top right) Hans Koesters; (top left) Nicholas Alan Cope; (bottom) Mathieu Fortin

–continued from page 14

Simon Says

DIAM

NDS

Are Still An Engaged Girl’s Best Friend Diamond rings for brides-to-be are recession-proof, according to Glendalebased fine jewelry designer Simon G.

Simon G.

BETTIJANE LEVINE

YES, A DIAMOND IS FOREVER. BUT FOREVER IS NOT A CONCEPT MOST MILLENNIALS RELATE TO, SAYS SIMON GHANIMIAN. THE GLENDALE-BASED FINE JEWELRY DESIGNER AND CRAFTSMAN KNOWN AS SIMON G. SAYS HE KEEPS HIS FINGER ON THE PULSE OF JEWELRY STYLE TRENDS

PHOTO: Courtesy of Simon G. Jewelry

AROUND THE GLOBE BECAUSE HIS FASHION JEWELRY AND BRIDAL RINGS ARE SOLD IN 900 BOUTIQUES ACROSS THE U.S., CANADA, EUROPE AND THE CARIBBEAN. AND 2016 IS PROVING TO BE A VERY INTERESTING YEAR, SIMON SAYS. MILLENNIALS HAVE COME OF AGE, AND JEWELERS ARE TRYING TO CAPTURE THEIR ELUSIVE ATTENTION AND DOLLARS. 09.16 | ARROYO | 17

–continued from page 17

We’re in an era of ephemera, he says. Closets and drawers are fi lled with tech items that were new a few months back but are already outdated. Millennials are used to tossing the old and embracing the new. They understand that almost everything they buy is short term, because a better version is bound to come along. And jewelry is no exception. “Times have changed dramatically,” Ghanimian says. Boomers who used to buy jewels as investments and as heirlooms for future generations are retiring their credit cards, and middle-class shoppers are stretched too thin financially to buy baubles. “And millennials are a different breed,” he says. When it comes to fashion jewelry purchases, they don’t look for permanence or investments. They want throwaway chic, easy to wear and not too showy, priced not for longevity but for the moment’s trendy appeal.

Currently, the big look is layering of necklaces, bracelets and rings, he says. When millennials spend big, it tends not to be on precious gems but rather on exotic travel, new technology, homes and cars.

But there are some things — intangible things — that millennials do believe are meant to last, he says. Love, for example. It’s not a throwaway emotion, and the ring that symbolizes it should be equally enduring. “The bridal business is recession-proof,” he says. When the economy tanks, as it did in 2008 and 2009, it was the bridal business that kept the jewelry industry afloat, Ghanimian adds.

Ghanimian’s firm designs and sells the ring settings offered at retail jewelers. The customer chooses the setting and selects the size, shape and quality of diamond for the center. The most popular price for ring settings without the center stone is $2,700, either in platinum or 18-karat gold. With the center stone, the average price for an engagement ring is $6,500, he says.

Simon’s son Zaven, 33, is CEO of Simon G., a title he earned after working his way up through every facet of the business. He’s now most involved in the manufacturing process and in scouting new technology and techniques to produce new looks. “We have a proprietary system we use, for example, that recuts and grooves diamonds so they fit within each other, they interlock, so you get the illusion of one fabulous giant stone. It’s the look of a five-carat cut diamond, but it’s actually a set of nine stones perfectly matched and grooved to fit together and look like a single stone. That’s a big trend for budget-conscious consumers these days,” he says. You get a very expensive look, but you don’t have to pay the price. “We also hold a patent on the way we set a lot of our 18 | ARROYO | 09.16

Modern 18k white gold engagement setting with .60 ctw round-cut white diamonds and .40 ctw of princess-cut diamonds, $5,170

Floral 18k white gold bridal set accented with .28 ctw of white diamonds, $3,520

stones, the actual mechanical way of holding the stones in the ring,” he says.

Simon, 62, is the firm’s master craftsman and design guru, an Old World artisan who learned jewelry-making from masters who created impeccable pieces of wearable art by hand before technology and machines were ever involved. “My dad represents the American dream,” Zaven says, outlining his father’s immigrant rags-to-riches success story in a tone of respect and awe. “He came to America from Lebanon with $200 in his pocket. He wanted to become an engineer but couldn’t afford the tuition, so he took a job in New York with an uncle’s jewelry-making firm.” He learned from the bottom up, and discovered a talent and passion for that work. He visited Los Angeles on a vacation and didn’t want to leave, so he went to work in the downtown L.A. jewelry market and perfected every aspect of his craft, Zaven says. Simon started designing and making his own pieces of jewelry, and when he had enough samples to show, he packed them in a suitcase and carried them from store to store, hoping to get orders. Eventually, he did. He launched his company in 1982 and opened his Glendale office in 2006.

Now Zaven and another son, Hrach, are in business with him.

Why did Simon settle in Glendale? “It’s clean, it’s safe, it has flowers and trees and it opens your heart,” he says. “It’s a place where we can do our best work but also relax.”

It’s also where many of his 60 employees live, and it’s close to downtown L.A.’s jewelry market, but a much nicer place to work, he says. These days, Simon spends part of each year traveling the world to scout out new looks and trends. “But it’s always so good to get home,” he says. “I’ve been married 36 years to my wife, and we both feel blessed to have our children and all the good things we’ve been given.”

And no matter what else has changed, the engagement ring is still a must. It’s usually set with a diamond, the biggest and best a couple can afford. And in a bad economy, the diamond engagement ring has the added attraction of being an insurable asset with value that’s documented in black and white. This year, with an election coming up, he says, engaged millennials are not taking chances on anything new or gimmicky. They’re opting for classic, traditional styles. “Eight out of every 10 diamonds sold are round diamonds,” he says. “That’s probably because they show bigger than the pear-shaped, emerald or princess cut. The one-carat princess-cut diamond is six millimeters; the onecarat round diamond is six-and-a-half millimeters,” he explains. “So the round is more impressive, makes you feel like you’re getting more for your money.” And that’s a lovely testament to one of the few things money can’t buy — love.||||

PHOTO: Courtesy of Simon G. Jewelry

18k white and rose gold engagement ring with .23 ctw of white diamonds and .20 ctw of pink diamonds, $4,950

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ARROYO HOME & DESIGN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

HACKING THROUGH THE HOME OFFICE JUNGLE Working at home is wonderful – but clutter can sometimes overwhelm.

BY BRUCE HARING JANE WAS EXCITED ABOUT HER NEW JOB. ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF HER POSITION WAS THAT IT PROVIDED AMPLE TIME FOR TELECOMMUTING, A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR THE SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER. SHE EAGERLY ACCEPTED THE CHALLENGE OF SETTING UP A HOME OFFICE, CONFIDENT THAT THE GUEST ROOM IN HER HOME WOULD BE THE PERFECT SPACE. She soon discovered that everything she thought she knew about home office designing was wrong. Jane was soon buried under a mountain of paperwork from the new job. Worse, when the kids came home from school, the blaring television in the next room bled into her workspace, making it difficult to take professional phone calls with her clients.

In the actual office space itself, Jane soon found her feet encased in a mass of spaghetti, as wires for the phone, fax and internet router tangled together in an unsightly and dangerous mix. She also had trouble finding important documents, which seemed to grow legs and run out the door whenever they were temporarily put to the side of her desk.

What was once seen as an envious perk soon became a burden for Jane. The stress of tracking documents, the noise and distractions from family, and the general clutter were driving her mad. Jane found herself longing for the office, which seemed to lessen the burdens of work through its functional design.

Jane is not alone in her situation. There have been many books written about working from home. The joys of no commute, working in casual clothing, being able to do laundry while jamming out a marketing report,

and the easy proximity of the refrigerator are just some of the perks that come with the tasks.

But let’s face it – most homes were not designed to accommodate the notion of telecommuting. All of the items taken for granted in the office – proper lighting, temperature control, Internet connectivity speed, furniture, and particularly storage – now become your responsibility. It can be overwhelming as the paperwork clutter starts to take over your space.

A NEW BUSINESS EMERGES The obvious market niche created by the rise of the home office has not been overlooked. The professional organizing business is booming. The New York Times reports that membership in the National Association of Professional Organizers has increased 400 percent since 1999. As more people are consigned to the so-called “gig economy,” where working at home replaces full-time and part-time labor, having a home office that makes sense and can facilitate work and the search for more work is less of a luxury and more of a necessity.

Figuring out your space isn’t easy. There are differences in work styles and needs, making it imperative to customize your home office so that you can effectively manage your burdens.

Fortunately, there are solutions. Creating a space that’s functional, organized and relatively clutter-free is all a matter of having the right setup for the workflow. Instead of battling against the limitations of your space, you can focus on your work –continued on page 22 09.16 | ARROYO | 21

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 21

The first task is to assess your working space. The key to any productive area is the ability to focus, and that only comes from the ability to separate from the rest of the house. Is the television too near the office?

Is the bathroom too far away? Will you be disturbed by noise from the kitchen? The ideal situation is to have a room that is dedicated to your work activities, one where you can close a door, creating an environment where you can totally concentrate on the tasks at hand and make/receive calls without distraction.

This is particularly true if you will have to have clients or colleagues visit your home office for consultation or collaboration. Nothing is a bigger turnoff than noise and other people, which is why most offices have conference rooms for important business that can be sealed off.

Once you’ve figured out the silence part, it’s time to assess your equipment and workflow needs. Do you generate a lot of paper? Do you need space to package and process? What sort of storage will you need?

And are the proper hook-ups for Internet and telephone service available?

Finally, determine the layout of the room and particularly the color of its walls. You need to create a space that is harmonious with the task at hand and feels good. If you have loud, garish colors and a lot of clutter, it can retard your work pace and cause distractions that impede progress.

ORGANIZATION IS KEY Many home office workers are turning to custom closets and cabinets to manage their chosen space. These have two advantages – they create room in the office, and they provide a way that you can quickly access –continued on page 27

22 | ARROYO | 09.16

09.16 | ARROYO | 23

24 | ARROYO | 09.16

09.16 | ARROYO | 25

26 | ARROYO | 09.16

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 22

any reference or past documentation needed.

Although you can design a home office space yourself, it’s smart to get an estimate from a professional. Many consultations are free, and a trained eye may be able to determine organization vertically and horizontally that may not be obvious to anyone who doesn’t design space for a living.

Keep in mind that the home office doesn’t have to resemble something straight out of the Stalin era of the Soviet Union. A good designer can transform a space so that form and function are enhanced with creative style. Think architectural moldings, specialty arches and edges, textured materials and hardware, decorative doors, LED lighting, countertops, built-in cabinets, dividers and storage drawers, to mention just some of the options that can be done.

Home offices can also be converted into dual-purpose guest rooms, with Murphy beds descending from wall space and a few well-placed chairs serving both commerce and comfort. Adjustable shelving and multilayered cabinets can be implemented that can make the space hold guest towels and other needs.

Keep in mind that, like fashion magazines that airbrush imperfections from their models, home office design photos may not necessarily reflect the truth.

Even the perfectly organized workplace system can fail at times, thanks to the general pressure of getting things done or life getting in the way. When that happens, it’s best not to fret about your failure to make things perfect. Just start rolling the rock back up the hill, and soon, your office space will be back to some semblance of civilization and organization. ||||

09.16 | ARROYO | 27

28 | ARROYO | 09.16

arroyo

™

~HOM E SALES I N D EX~

-1.65% ALHAMBRA ALHAMBRA (NEW) Homes Homes Sold Sold Median Price Median Price Median Median Sq. Sq. Ft. Ft. ALTADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. ARCADIA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. EAGLE ROCK Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. GLENDALE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. LA CAÑADA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SAN MARINO Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SIERRA MADRE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SOUTH PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. TOTAL Homes Sold Avg Price/Sq. Ft.

JUL. ’15 ’15 JUL. N/A n/a N/A n/a N/A n/a JUL. ’15 46 $698,250 1422 JUL. ’15 37 $1,018,000 1898 JUL. ’15 17 $710,000 1795 JUL. ’15 155 $620,000 1442 JUL. ’15 32 $1,380,000 2196 JUL. ’15 185 $678,000 1412 JUL. ’15 11 $2,133,500 2021 JUL. ’15 21 $875,000 1838 JUL. ’15 19 $1,033,000 1762 JUL. ’15 523 $605

JUL. ’16 JUL.’16 31 610000 $498,750 1420 1320 JUL. ’16 25 $750,000 1586 JUL. ’16 29 $1,180,000 1990 JUL. ’16 13 $809,000 1488 JUL. ’16 101 $655,000 1494 JUL. ’16 24 $1,647,250 2600 JUL. ’16 146 $735,000 1475 JUL. ’16 10 $1,900,000 2391 JUL. ’16 11 $750,000 1560 JUL. ’16 12 $1,142,500 1627 JUL. ’16 371 $595

HOMES SOLD

2016

371

AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.

2015

jul.

HOMES SOLD

-29.06%

jul.

523

HOME SALES

HOME SALES ABOVE RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT ADDRESS CLOSE DATE ALHAMBRA 710 NORTH BUSHNELL AVE. 07/18/16 2062 MIDWICK DRIVE 07/26/16 2233 SUREE ELLEN LANE 07/12/16 2383 ALLEN AVE. 07/12/16 1171 EAST MENDOCINO STREET 07/22/16 3311 LAKE AVE. 07/06/16 ALTADENA 2329 South 3rd Ave. 07/08/16 990 Singing Wood Drive 07/18/16 533 Gloria Road 07/29/16 1438 Glencoe Drive 07/19/16 1901 Lee Ave. 07/15/16 533 Gloria Road 07/25/16 1644 Wilson Ave. 07/06/16 8 Linda Rae Way 07/15/16 409 East Camino Real Ave. 07/29/16 1906 Alta Oaks Drive 07/28/16 125 West Floral Ave. 07/21/16 1116 South 3rd Ave. 07/29/16 316 South 3rd Ave. 07/14/16 2242 South 5th Ave. 07/25/16 2414 Greenfield Ave. 07/14/16 619 East Pamela Road 07/14/16 3046 South 8th Ave. 07/29/16 126 Diamond Street 07/15/16 35 East Winnie Way 07/22/16 415 Leda Lane 07/22/16 ARCADIA 1304 San Carlos Road 03/09/16 1032 Hampton Road 03/24/16 1760 Wilson Ave. 03/16/16 1416 South 4th Ave. 03/30/16 1717 Alta Oaks Drive 03/30/16 1244 North Santa Anita Ave. 03/11/16 926 Mayflower Ave. 03/24/16 1311 South 3rd Ave. 03/21/16 29 East Orange Grove Ave. 03/02/16 346 Laurel Ave. 03/29/16 2538 Doolittle Ave. 03/14/16 418 East Las Flores Ave. 03/03/16 1810 Watson Drive 03/16/16 1815 Lee Ave. 03/15/16 1036 Encino Ave. 03/25/16 EAGLE ROCK 1222 Cedaredge Ave. 07/12/16 1258 Kipling Ave. 07/15/16 5110 Monte Bonito Drive 07/08/16 5236 Argus Drive 07/06/16 GLENDALE 1675 Ard Eevin Ave. 07/27/16 1501 La Vista Terrace 07/19/16 272 Caruso Ave. 07/22/16 1861 Cleveland Road 07/14/16 3207 Country Club Drive 07/28/16 1421 North Central Ave. 07/20/16 1815 Idlewood Road 07/21/16 263 Sleepy Hollow Terrace 07/08/16 2256 El Arbolita Drive 07/07/16 880 Cumberland Road 07/22/16 3144 Emerald Isle Drive 07/12/16 1545 Vanderbilt Place #A 07/15/16 1500 North Maryland Ave. 07/08/16 1642 Don Carlos Ave. 07/27/16 1650 Vista Drive 07/29/16 321 North Kenwood Street 07/21/16 1669 Chevy Knoll Place 07/05/16 934 East Dryden Street 07/27/16 1308 Oberlin Drive 07/11/16 1515 Cedarhill Road 07/11/16 3323 Sparr Blvd.

07/28/16 3929 El Moreno Street 07/25/16 3720 Cedarbend Drive 07/27/16

PRICE

source: CalREsource

BDRMS.

SQ. FT.

$825,000 $1,675,000 $1,440,000 $1,275,000 $1,265,000 $900,000

2 3 4 4 3 3

1380 2618 2630 3052 1964 1481

1908 1925 1956 1926 1925 1926

$435,000

07/09/2002

$710,000 $500,000 $760,000

06/25/2010 11/09/2000 12/10/2015

$3,660,000 $2,890,000 $2,300,000 $2,250,000 $2,200,000 $2,100,000 $1,890,000 $1,800,000 $1,800,000 $1,575,000 $1,505,000 $1,398,000 $1,260,000 $1,220,000 $1,180,000 $1,080,000 $1,050,000 $1,000,000 $988,000 $923,000

4 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 6 3 4 5 3 4 4 3 1 4 3 3

2205 2867 2810 2855 1971 2810 2980 4586 2546 2002 3662 2986 1808 1990 2768 1931 1144 1364 1576 1803

1951 1964 1951 1954 1951 1951 1950 1989 1923 1952 2009 1954 1947 1947 1948 1954 1918 1936 1956 1960

$1,550,000 $117,500 $2,100,000 $799,000 $500,000

05/28/2013 08/06/1973 07/25/2016 07/02/1999 05/15/2003

$981,000 $850,000 $550,000

06/17/2008 09/11/2001 04/25/2002

$1,248,000 $1,520,000

03/16/2010 11/19/2013

$154,000 $375,000 $800,000 $338,000 $228,000

09/30/1982 01/07/1997 02/12/2016 12/17/2003 12/04/1987

6 3 7 4

4433 1696 8040 2644

1937 1951 2007 1951

3 2 3 4 4 3 3 3 3

1148 1523 1855 2769 1897 1561 1611 1323 2263

1927 1954 1941 1988 1950 1950 1951 1951 1956

$1,540,000 $2,000,000 $1,580,000 $2,480,000 $1,325,000 $1,235,000 $888,000 $1,020,000 $1,750,000 $1,038,000 $167,000

04/18/2013 02/19/2002 12/17/2013 09/25/2007 02/07/2014 08/05/2011 09/30/2013 06/10/2014 05/02/2014 11/15/2013 12/28/1984

$182,000

08/30/1985

$1,098,000 $1,079,000 $930,000 $925,000

3 3 5 3

2060 1199 2381 1984

1926 1940 1950 1924

$700,000 $585,000

04/15/2015 11/05/2014

$2,105,000 $1,810,000 $1,800,000 $1,680,000 $1,640,000 $1,409,000 $1,275,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,200,000 $1,130,000 $1,128,000 $1,104,500 $1,085,000 $1,071,000 $1,065,000 $1,045,000 $989,000 $987,000 $945,000 $935,000 $925,000 $925,000

4 4 3 5 4 5 4 3 3 3 4 8 2 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 4

2932 3504 2505 3341 3257 3884 2743 2847 2924 2147 2828 2199 2173 2307 2226 2711 2600 1700 1878 2040 2114 2130 1781

1924 2006 2008 1925 1957 1927 1931 1963 1971 1948 1978 1925 1939 1927 1949 1957 1964 1927 1926 1962 1962 1964 1958

$1,275,000 $1,325,000 $1,025,000 $1,115,000 $545,000

07/30/2010 03/06/2008 05/18/2012 08/24/2011 09/06/1995

$360,000 $245,000 $875,000 $465,000 $380,000

08/10/1995 08/27/1981 10/27/2003 09/08/1988 07/24/2003

$965,000 $375,000

10/10/2002 05/13/1997

$4,000,000 $3,900,000 $3,850,000 $3,795,000 $3,750,000 $3,530,000 $2,570,000 $2,370,000 $1,890,000 $1,320,000 $1,015,000 $950,000 $935,000 $930,000 $910,000

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE

PREV. SOLD

$335,000 08/23/1995 $600,000 09/30/2015 $775,000 02/22/2007 $780,000 07/16/2009 $390,000 11/04/1999 $345,000 08/20/1991 $725,000 06/17/2008 –continued on page 30

The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and Alhambra. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2016. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.

09.16 ARROYO | 29

–continued from page 29 2012 Rangeview Drive 462 Caruso Ave. 2823 Hermosa Ave. 2604 Willowhaven Drive 1418 Thompson Ave. 3530 Mevel Place LA CAÑADA 4269 Hampstead Road 4270 Oakwood Ave. 5178 La Canada Blvd.

4443 Gould Ave. 740 Forest Green Drive 4977 Terracita Lane 2037 Orchard Lane 4330 Bel Aire Drive 1115 Inverness Drive 425 Richmond Road 4844 Commonwealth Ave. 1115 Wiladonda Drive 4444 Hobbs Drive 1705 Lila Lane 375 Santa Inez Way 4727 Alminar Ave. 4174 Hampstead Road 5130 Castle Road 4911 Carmel Road 4508 Littleton Place 4943 Del Monte Road 4215 Lenzgrove Lane 4434 La Granada Way 4400 La Granada Way PASADENA 1531 Glen Oaks Blvd.

2037 San Pasqual Street 1490 El Mirador Drive 700 Laguna Road 3570 Locksley Drive 875 Bellefontaine Place 112 South Orange Grove Blvd. #309 3336 Trevan Road 646 Linda Vista Ave. 809 South Los Robles Ave. 1090 Linda Vista Ave. 470 Madeline Drive 1295 South Euclid Ave. 225 North Wilson Ave. 1085 South Oak Knoll Ave. 412 South Santa Anita Ave. 309 Patrician Way 1494 Poppy Peak Drive 1465 Linda Vista Ave. 1730 Homet Road 3775 Greenhill Road 250 South De Lacey Ave. #308A 535 California Terrace 334 South Greenwood Ave. 1419 Edgehill Place 1407 Kinneloa Mesa Road 2915 Clarmeya Lane 1385 Wicks Road 482 South Arroyo Parkway #501 80 Glen Summer Road 114 North Allen Ave. 1500 East Mountain Street 486 California Terrace 2265 East Mountain Street 989 North Summit Ave. 600 South Orange Grove Blvd. #1 1385 Coronet Ave. 383 South El Molino Ave. 599 North Madison Ave. 982 Worcester Ave. 1200 Ave. #64 2799 East Orange Grove Blvd.

291 Arlington Drive 1302 East Villa Street 3245 La Encina Way #28 1045 South Orange Grove Blvd. #9 1275 North Wilson Ave. SAN MARINO 2285 Robles Ave. 2000 East California Blvd.

725 Plymouth Road 1889 Alpine Drive 1854 Twin Palms Drive 2380 Monterey Road 1515 Bradbury Road 2860 Somerset Place 1400 San Marino Ave. 2855 Woodlawn Ave. SIERRA MADRE 2225 Santa Anita Ave. 170 Coburn Ave. 136 West Bonita Ave. 411 Mariposa Ave. 461 Santa Anita Court SOUTH PASADENA 1818 Alpha Street 1421 Rollin Street 1108 Diamond Ave. 1926 Mill Road 2023 Stratford Ave. 1441 Oak Crest Ave. 303 Alta Vista Ave. 4964 Harriman Ave. 30 | ARROYO | 09.16

07/25/16 07/13/16 07/18/16 07/26/16 07/20/16 07/07/16

$915,000 $910,000 $910,000 $894,000 $875,000 $875,000

2 2 3 4 3 3

1615 1307 1596 2644 2196 1531

1952 2008 1939 1965 1960 1957

$690,000

07/15/2004

07/14/16 07/07/16 07/12/16 07/28/16 07/13/16 07/29/16 07/14/16 07/28/16 07/05/16 07/29/16 07/11/16 07/06/16 07/14/16 07/28/16 07/21/16 07/14/16 07/28/16 07/15/16 07/27/16 07/29/16 07/21/16 07/14/16 07/13/16 07/06/16

$4,195,000 $4,050,000 $3,425,000 $3,223,500 $2,580,000 $2,545,000 $2,515,000 $2,485,000 $2,480,000 $2,475,000 $1,868,000 $1,700,000 $1,594,500 $1,575,000 $1,550,000 $1,430,000 $1,325,000 $1,250,000 $1,225,000 $1,200,000 $1,160,000 $975,000 $940,000 $915,000

5 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 4 4 4 3 3 5 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3

6000 6121 4073 5006 4590 3880 3812 4786 4781 3066 3095 2639 2560 2012 1832 1816 1726 2138 1650 1650 1285 1460 1317 1696

2008 2002 1942 1940 1988 1991 1991 1995 1998 1940 1961 1948 1950 1960 1937 1946 1941 1955 1945 1950 1948 1961 1946 1962

$1,200,000 $2,925,000 $695,000 $1,525,000 $1,265,000 $595,000 $2,238,000 $775,000 $2,280,000 $1,662,500 $1,100,000 $755,000 $559,000 $1,210,000 $854,000 $380,000

04/12/2007 01/31/2011 01/31/1997 04/14/1999 03/23/1989 11/20/1995 08/10/2007 05/16/1997 06/08/2007 07/31/2012 07/15/2003 11/08/2002 10/12/2000 03/15/2013 01/02/2009 06/11/1999

$575,000 $1,125,000 $346,000 $722,000 $780,000 $630,000

09/18/2001 07/03/2014 09/30/1997 01/04/2016 08/02/2005 01/27/2011

07/26/16 07/12/16 07/21/16 07/20/16 07/15/16 07/08/16 07/05/16 07/18/16 07/12/16 07/28/16 07/29/16 07/27/16 07/15/16 07/29/16 07/14/16 07/22/16 07/22/16 07/07/16 07/22/16 07/26/16 07/18/16 07/27/16 07/29/16 07/07/16 07/21/16 07/29/16 07/26/16 07/14/16 07/08/16 07/08/16 07/07/16 07/29/16 07/13/16 07/26/16 07/20/16 07/18/16 07/13/16 07/08/16 07/26/16 07/06/16 07/11/16 07/22/16 07/29/16 07/19/16 07/21/16 07/07/16 07/22/16

$4,800,000 $2,940,000 $2,650,000 $2,600,000 $2,250,000 $2,200,000 $2,181,000 $2,175,000 $1,860,000 $1,856,000 $1,770,000 $1,705,000 $1,675,000 $1,650,000 $1,595,000 $1,588,000 $1,556,500 $1,520,000 $1,488,000 $1,400,000 $1,380,000 $1,350,000 $1,335,000 $1,300,000 $1,280,000 $1,270,000 $1,250,000 $1,208,000 $1,056,500 $1,040,000 $1,030,000 $1,015,000 $1,003,500 $985,000 $951,500 $950,000 $941,500 $940,000 $940,000 $927,000 $926,000 $920,000 $917,500 $899,500 $895,000 $890,000 $875,000

5 4 3 4 5 5 0 4 4 3 3 3 3 0 2 5 2 4 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 0 2 2 3 2 2 8 3 4 4 3 5 3 3 3 6 2 3 2

6261 4083 3990 4156 4117 3146 0 3569 3191 2515 2199 2468 1393 1845 2476 3557 2506 2497 2259 2088 2308 1870 2202 1985 3436 1749 2290 2106 0 1475 2076 1937 1362 1274 3094 2220 2408 2131 1760 2107 1728 1905 2037 2743 1535 1800 1384

2004 1931 1963 1925 1942 1924

$4,800,000 $1,850,000 $762,000 $2,150,000

04/11/2014 07/08/2008 07/24/1992 06/07/2011

$2,025,000

01/04/2008

1952 1916 1909 1959 1958 1954 1938 1954 1936 1955 1982 1949 1951 1950 2007 1988 1925 1992 1956 1954 1948

$1,925,000 $1,700,000 $1,580,000 $1,370,000 $235,000 $725,000 $610,000

11/14/2005 01/16/2015 12/28/2012 04/23/2009 06/13/1989 04/03/2015 06/08/2001

$814,500 $892,000 $1,160,000 $218,500 $210,000 $1,050,000 $185,000 $860,000 $1,200,000 $1,150,000 $1,189,000

06/12/2012 12/17/2013 07/21/2010 12/31/1992 02/05/1986 04/05/2012 11/07/1986 11/27/2013 08/18/2008 07/21/2014 04/06/2016

1948 1923 1922 1910 1926 1916 2003 1951 1951 1902 1910 1930 1947 1969 1923 1974 1970 1912

$689,000 $800,000

01/31/2012 03/11/2014

$695,000 $681,000 $1,300,000 $142,500

05/22/2008 09/05/2014 04/24/2007 02/29/1980

$704,500 $795,000 $716,000 $395,000 $350,000 $765,000 $640,000 $680,000 $768,000

03/29/2012 02/16/2005 04/22/2014 02/10/2012 11/06/1990 06/25/2007 04/14/2006 01/29/2008 05/04/2006

07/06/16 07/22/16 07/12/16 07/26/16 07/06/16 07/18/16 07/21/16 07/25/16 07/08/16 07/29/16

$4,680,000 $2,400,000 $2,388,000 $2,050,000 $1,900,000 $1,900,000 $1,796,000 $1,650,000 $1,600,000 $1,600,000

5 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 2 3

5082 2716 2943 2401 2381 2414 2010 2048 1775 2206

1948 1926 1928 1930 1928 1927 1945 1942 1955 1949

$3,450,000 $890,000 $557,000 $585,000 $1,480,000 $1,575,000 $1,130,000 $1,450,000

12/01/2006 08/01/2000 01/09/1998 10/06/1999 03/22/2011 04/06/2007 12/21/2011 08/21/2014

07/28/16 07/13/16 07/06/16 07/05/16 07/26/16

$1,600,000 $1,225,000 $1,105,000 $1,090,000 $1,040,000

3 3 4 0 4

2290 1749 2039 0 1823

1935 1956 1966

$1,165,000

03/27/2008

1955

$800,000

04/30/2013

07/28/16 07/15/16 07/13/16 07/14/16 07/13/16 07/08/16 07/20/16 07/18/16

$1,925,000 $1,695,000 $1,400,000 $1,370,000 $1,290,000 $1,175,000 $1,110,000 $1,000,000

3 5 4 3 3 2 4 3

2909 2542 2752 1393 1696 1280 3552 1868

1969 1938 1907 1917 1928 1938 1987 1970

$745,000 $1,175,000 $199,000 $900,000 $825,000 $915,000

09/29/1989 10/29/2010 03/05/1996 09/30/2010 11/04/2010 06/19/2013

$610,000

10/03/2002

$495,000 $690,000 $700,000

01/21/2010 10/28/2015 06/17/2003

09.16 | ARROYO | 31

32 | ARROYO | 09.16

Who Says You Can’t WEAR LEGGINGS

to the Office?

The hot athleisure trend is changing how we think about dressing.

BY DENISE ABBOTT

ORDINARY WORKOUT CLOTHES HAVE BECOME EXTRAORDINARY. CHANEL AND DIOR FIRST ROCKED THE RUNWAY AT THEIR 2014 PARIS COUTURE SHOWS WHEN THEY SENT SPARKLY SNEAKERS AND STATEMENT LEGGINGS DOWN THE CATWALK. NOW CLOTHES THAT PULL DOUBLE DUTY — BOTH AS FASHION AND WORKOUT GEAR — ARE PRACTICALLY UBIQUITOUS. RECENT RUNWAY SHOWS AT ALEXANDER WANG, PACO RABANNE, GIVENCHY AND ALEXANDER MCQUEEN ALL FEATURED WHAT’S BECOME KNOWN AS ATHLEISURE WEAR — CLOTHING THAT TREADS THE LINE BETWEEN GYM GARB AND ACCEPTABLE STREET CLOTHES. Even standard athletic brands are drawing new buyers through the intersection of fashion and celebrity. Major labels are collaborating with body-conscious celebrities such as Heidi Klum (for New Balance), Kate Hudson (for Fabletics), Carrie Underwood (for Calia), Jessica Simpson (for Macy’s), Beyoncé (for Topshop Topman [at the Americana at Brand]) and Rihanna (for Puma).

An almost $100 billion market, athleisure (yes, it’s in the dictionary, as of this year) is the integration of sportswear into your day-to-day outfit rotation. It includes anything from activewear to loungewear and can encompass a wide range of separates, from high-end cashmere sweatpants (Donna Karan and Bruno Cucinelli — selling for $550 and $1,150, respectively) to mini leather duffels that double as gym bags.

Athleisure promises a whole day’s wear from a single outfit, taking women from spin class to the coffee shop to the office and then out for drinks. “People of all ages are wearing their workout wear all day now, whether it’s leggings with a longer coat and a scarf, or someone younger wearing a cropped Tshirt with a denim jacket and some high-heeled boots,” says Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association. “Let’s be clear: these are not the same clothes one would wear to climb Mt. Everest. People shop for their athletic wear thinking, ‘How can I wear this from the studio to the street?’

It’s been driving the industry for the past two to three years.”

With the athleisure trend holding firm, designers have given the gym staple a brand-new look, mixing materials, adding patterns and playing with texture. Workout clothes for women, once relegated to the back of the closet, are moving to the front of the fashion scene. Yoga pants are the new jeans.

Jogging suits are just as likely to be seen in an office as on a treadmill. Because, as we all know, looking good on your way to looking good without clothes is half the battle.

The desire to look good at the gym is nothing new — just look to the neon leggings of Jazzercise yore. But today’s athletic clothing does more than make your butt look good during workouts. It’s carefully designed to fit your lifestyle, outside the gym as well as inside. In fact, researchers have coined the term “enclothed cognition” to describe the mental changes we undergo when we wear certain clothing. “It’s all about the symbolic meaning that you associate with a particular item of clothing,” organizational behaviorist and researcher Hajo Adam told The Atlantic. Volunteers for his 2012 study at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management were either outfitted in a lab coat or given nothing special to wear; they then performed attention-related tasks — at which those wearing lab coats proved significantly more successful.

“It would make sense that when you wear athletic clothing, you become more active and more likely to go to the gym and work out.”

Paco Rabanne’s two-color leggings, $540 09.16 | ARROYO | 33

1

2

3

Fabletics Clara sports bra and Labaree capri, $89.90

1) Seamless keyhole mesh detailed legging, Ivy Park, $60 2) Cropped logo detailed hoodie, Ivy Park, $52 3) Scoopneck cotton tank, Tory Sport, $45w

–continued from page 33

To see how firmly established the athleisure frenzy has become, look no further than this year’s Miss Teen USA pageant. That perennial competition made waves in July with the elimination of the traditional-but-controversial swimsuit category.

Instead, contestants will compete in a new category — athletic wear. In a statement to USA Today, Miss Universe President Paula Shugart said, “This decision reflects an important cultural shift we’re all celebrating that empowers women who lead active, purposeful lives and encourages those in their communities to do the same.”

Manufacturers’ creative strategies include experimenting with ties to art or underground culture — think Reebok’s capsule collection with graffiti artist Upendo Taylor or Nike Lab’s collaboration with Instagram heavyweight Olivier Rousteing. Some brands are offering heightened customization, including luxury activewear designer Alala’s $185 leggings with customizable colors and monogram.

Fashion-forward athletic wear not only gives brands a unique look, it also taps into a need among consumers. “We believe we have overemphasized the performance aspect of what our customers want in terms of athletically inspired apparel,” Foot Locker CEO Richard Johnson said earlier this year. “It’s a given that she expects the product to have performance functionality, but the athleisure customer really wants apparel that also has a sharp fashion edge.”

Los Angeles–based stylist Rob Zangardi, who works with Jennifer Lopez and 34 | ARROYO | 09.16

Cotton fleece wide-leg sweatpants, Alexander Wang, $134

Gwen Stefani, told Vogue, “It only takes one piece to take your athleisure look from gym to streets. A pair of mirrored sunglasses, a structured leather jacket, a shirt tied around the waist . . . the key is that the pieces have a sleek sporty feel. Don’t add a vintage fringed jacket to your Lululemon Wunder Unders.”

Yes, it all started with Vancouver-based Lululemon Athletica in 1998. That’s when Lululemon founder and former CEO Chip Wilson turned to manufacturing yoga wear after selling a snowboard apparel company he co-owned. His $100 yoga pants have dominated the market and begotten similarly priced workout pants from brands like Stella McCartney (Adidas by Stella McCartney), Free People (FP Movements), Rowley Fitness by Cynthia Rowley and Tory Burch’s standalone line Tory Sport.

Whether or not one is a gym rat, the fashion-conscious are adopting this trend with the alacrity of Cinderella’s mice turning into spectacular equines. A big reason so many clothing stores carry athleisure is that the clothes are comfortable. Brands at all price points have something to offer, from traditional athletic names to specialty chains to high-fashion labels. So, much like denim before, athleisure is increasingly being integrated into daily attire.

Consider the style mantra offered by designer Alexander Wang, who launched his sporty line for H&M a couple of years back. He claims he isn’t an athlete — just a devotee of athleisure. “I live in gym clothes,” he told The New York Times. “When you go out on the street, it’s the uniform now.”||||

09.16 | ARROYO | 35

Getting to the Root of Salinas The Salinas Valley on California’s Central Coast is ground zero for agritourism and fans of farmworkers’ bard John Steinbeck.

BY IRENE LACHER

(OR AGRITAINMENT, SERIOUSLY), ESSENTIALLY FARM VISITS

TRAVEL FAR AND WIDE IN SEARCH OF PALATE-PLEASING

BY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SEE HOW THEIR FOOD IS GROWN

TERROIR. BUT GRAPES ARE NOT THE ONLY CROP OF INTEREST

OR RAISED. AND FOR AGRITOURISTS, FEW PLACES ARE MORE

TO GASTRONOMES WITH A TASTE FOR DELVING DEEPER INTO

COMPELLING THAN MONTEREY COUNTY’S SALINAS VALLEY

THE ORIGINS OF INGREDIENTS THAN FARMERS’ MARKET STALLS.

ON CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL COAST, HOME TO SOME OF THE

FOR THEM THERE IS THE GROWING FIELD OF AGRITOURISM

WORLD’S MOST FERTILE LAND.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Ocean Mist Farms

WINERY EXPEDITIONS ARE NOTHING NEW TO FOODIES WHO

31 | ARROYO | 09.16 36

PHOTO: (Top right) Trish Triumpho Sullivan; (middle) Kirk Kennedy

John Steinbeck House

You probably encountered Salinas in high school, where the Depression-era novella Of Mice and Men by native son John Steinbeck is typically required reading. What you may not know is that Steinbeck’s books about migrant farmworkers — particularly his subsequent Pulitzer Prize– winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939) — made him as controversial a figure in his day as his fellow Pulitzer winner, meat-packing muckraker Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle (1906).

Both men exposed severe exploitation of labor in America’s food production.

Of course Steinbeck was redeemed during his lifetime by the two highest awards a novelist could attain — a 1962 Nobel Prize on top of his Pulitzer. He’s still a hero in Salinas, where the National Steinbeck Center (steinbeck.org), an excellent downtown interactive museum, illustrates his life and the real-life inspirations for his books. See the novels he read as a youth and discover how he learned about the troubled lives of agricultural workers early on, during summers working on nearby ranches and a sugar-beet farm. The ranchers “didn’t give a damn whether I was 16 or not,” he is quoted as saying. “I got a sense of values I have never lost, but above all, I became free.”

Steinbeck fans can pick up a T-shirt imprinted with his quote: “I guess there are never enough books” (seemingly a rare sentiment these days) in the museum store or dine in his Victorian boyhood home (steinbeckhouse.com) a few blocks away, where costumed volunteers serve a three-course meal for $30 the first Friday of the month (the occasional wine dinner goes for a still-reasonable $60).

Another intriguing stop on the Steinbeck map is half an hour away on Cannery Row (which inspired Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row, natch) in more touristy Monterey. It’s the preserved lab of the writer’s close friend Ed Ricketts, a marine biologist (Doc in Cannery Row) and ecology pioneer whose philosophy had a big impact on Steinbeck. After Ricketts’ death in 1948, the Pacific Biological Laboratory became a private club for jazz lovers, which helped birth the Monterey Jazz Festival. It’s now owned by the City of Monterey, which offers free tours one day a month (monterey.org/museums/).

Back in Salinas, agri-enthusiasts can see firsthand how food is grown (and learn how heavily California’s agriculture industry relies on undocumented immigrant labor, who account for 38 percent of its labor force, according to a recent USC study). Agritourist stops include The Farm (thefarm-salinasvalley.com), which bills itself as an agricultural education center and farming business. From June to August, The Farm offers basic tours (including a hayride) showing how it produces some 30 different organic crops, including strawberries, corn, pumpkins and, the Salinas Valley’s pièce de resistance, lettuces, the source of its sobriquet “Salad Bowl of the World.”

Group tours, for $8 per adult, can be arranged yearround.

Also bookable are Ag Ventures’ half- and full-day Salinas Valley Agricultural Education Tours (agventuretours.com) led by a trained viticulturist (yes, he also offers wine-tasting tours).

Owner and TripAdvisor darling Even Oakes starts at the Pezzini Farm Stand, belonging to one of two Italian families who introduced the artichoke to this country. Tourists walk through an artichoke field and learn about packing and processing before being driven to other fields, where they can watch workers pick and pack strawberries and other crops and pick up interesting factoids (did you know that eight kinds of lettuce are planted together so that pickers can fill cello packs with four varieties for Costco or Walmart?).

You might want to plan your trip around annual ag festivals, such as the spring Artichoke Food & Wine Festival (artichokefestival.org) in nearby Castroville, where you can sample such delicacies as artichoke ice pops and deep-fried chokes. (Thanks to its thistle-like crop, tiny Castroville enjoyed a brush with Hollywood in 1947 when the newly minted Marilyn Monroe became its first Artichoke Queen). You’ve probably heard of summer’s nearly 40-year-old Gilroy Garlic Festival (gilroygarlicfestival.com) half an hour north, where cooks compete in the Great Garlic Cook-Off and fans tuck into garlic kettle corn and garlic ice cream. Salinas also hosts its own summer Food & Wine Festival (salinasvalleyfoodandwine.com), which includes a winemaker’s dinner, a grand wine-tasting and live music.

So yes, conventional oenophiles also have plenty to do in the Salinas Valley, which prides itself on its chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Travel the River Road Wine Trail (riverroadwinetrail.com), which features some of the Central Coast’s most highly regarded wineries, including Hahn Estates and Scheid Vineyards, one of the largest independent growers of premium wine grapes. They’re among the 175 vineyards within a two-hour drive of Cannery Row that earned Monterey County its spot on Wine Enthusiast’s list of top 10 wine destinations worldwide for 2013.||||

31 | ARROYO | 09.16

–continued on page 38

River Road Wine Trail

Marilyn Monroe signs photos as Diamond Queen of Salinas in 1948.

The day before she was proclaimed the first Artichoke Queen.

09.16 | ARROYO | 37

National Steinbeck Center

–continued from page 37

IF YOU GO SLEEP Monterey Dunes is a family-friendly collection of some 120 rentable two-tofour–bedroom vacation homes on the beach with access to tennis courts. The décor and Internet access is pretty hit-or-miss, but the Moss Landing beach location can’t be beat. Rates vary by home size and time of year.

Monterey Dunes is located at 407 Moss Landing Rd., Moss Landing. Call (831) 633-4883 or visit montereydunes.com.

Captain’s Inn is a quaint B&B in Moss Landing with 10 different rooms (dubbed High Seas, Cast Away, Admiral’s Wife, you get the idea) boasting nautical décor and views of ocean and frolicking sea otters (the best kind).

Captain’s Inn is located at 8122 Moss Landing Rd., Moss Landing. Call (831) 6335550 or visit captainsinn.com.

Sanctuary Beach Resort, Monterey Bay is a high-end, pet-friendly hotel in Marina on 19 acres abutting a National Marine Sanctuary. Travelers who like their vacations in close proximity to sunset views, a masseur and a chef serving Hawaiian and Pacific Rim–inspired cuisine may never want to leave.

The Sanctuary Beach Resort is located at 3295 Dunes Rd., Marina. Call (831) 8839478 or visit thesanctuarybeachresort.com.

There’s no point being this close to the ocean without visiting Phil’s Fish Market, a casual restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating and sustainable seafood celebrated by food critics. Try the cioppino, for which owner Phil DiGirolamo is justly famous.

Phil’s Fish Market is located at 7600 Sandholdt Rd., Moss Landing. Call (831) 6332152 or visit philsfishmarket.com.

Sang’s Café is a classic diner storied for feeding John Steinbeck, and it’s still owned by the family who fed him. It’s also a breakfast hotspot for locals, although you might want to make sure it’s open before you go.

Sang’s Café is located at 131 Main St., Salinas. Call (831) 424-6012.

38 | ARROYO | 09.16

PHOTO: Trish Triumpho Sullivan

EAT Giorgio’s in Oldtown Salinas serves an Italian menu heavily influenced by local produce (blackened chicken–bacon-artichoke pizza, anyone?) in a majestic historical space built as a bank.

Giorgio’s is located at 201 Main St., Salinas. Call (831) 800-7573 or visit 201complex.com.

09.16 | ARROYO | 39

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

BLOCK HEADS W

WOW YOUR DINNER-PARTY GUESTS BY COOKING WITH PURE SALT BLOCKS FROM THE HIMALAYAS.

BY LESLIE BILDERBACK

elcome to the third and final installment llmen nt of my continuing obsession with h artisan salt. In celebration of my new book released this month, SALT: The Essential Guide to Cooking with the Most Important Ingredient in Your Kitchen (St. Martin’s Griffin), I am offering you, loyal reader, a quick tutorial on cooking with salt blocks. You’ve probably seen them in your favorite gourmet store and wondered, “What the hell would I do with that?” While salt blocks are really interesting to look at, their culinary use is not immediately apparent. But if you like to entertain, and are even a little bit of a showman, you will appreciate their utility.

With few exceptions, the blocks you find in stores are carved of pink Himalayan salt from deep inside the mountains of northern Pakistan. Also known as mined marine fossil salt, or Tibetan Rose salt, it is estimated to be over 250 million years old. Formed from an ancient sea, dehydrated and buried by shifting tectonic plates, it is considered to be among the purest salts on earth. The modern mine tunnels a half mile into the mountain range and branches out over 40 square miles. The color of the salt taken out of the mine ranges from white to deep pink and it comes in various textures and forms, including blocks. If you visit the mines, you will see some of the world’s most amazing salt sculptures, which include salt reproductions of famous architecture and statuary.

You can also find household items carved from this salt, including lamps and tabletop decorative art. But I’m not interested in any of this. I’m all about the culinary uses, of which there is a surprisingly wide variety.

The easiest way to use salt blocks in your kitchen is as serving platters. Simple foods placed on top will pick up a hint of saltiness from the block. The salt blocks hold their temperature for a long time, so a chilled block is the perfect way to serve up any fresh fruit or vegetable that benefits from a hint of salt (see recipes below). Chilled salt blocks also provide a stunning presentation for classic chilled raw meats, like beef tartare or carpaccio (try beef and tuna), and it is a fun way to present gravlax. You can also heat them for a unique cooking surface (see below).

The blocks are available in a variety of sizes for both small and large presentations.

When your dinner party is over, simply scrub any residue off the block with plain cold water, and dry completely. Because they are so thick, they will last for years. All in all, not a bad investment if you are looking to step up your dinner–party game. |||| 40 | ARROYO | 09.16

Salt Block Salads While it is possible to cook on the salt block, by far my favorite use is the presentation of chilled food. The surface does the salting, and the way the salt rises from underneath the dish is a palate pleaser. Here are a few of my favorites:

Avocado Grapefruit INGREDIENTS 1 grapefruit, peeled and cut in supremes (wedges without skin, membranes and seeds) 1 avocado, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns

Arrange grapefruit supremes and avocado slices alternately across a clean, chilled salt block. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with ground peppercorns. Set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving, to allow the salt to penetrate. If the day is particularly hot, chill the entire block for 30 minutes for a more refreshing course.

Cucumber, Avocado and Tomato Salt Block Salad INGREDIENTS 1 English cucumber, sliced thinly 1 avocado, sliced 1 ripe tomato, sliced 1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pink peppercorns 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

Arrange the cucumber, avocado and tomato slices decoratively across a clean, well-chilled salt block.

Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with ground peppercorns and dill. Set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving, to allow the salt to penetrate.

Salt Block Caprese INGREDIENTS 1 ripe tomato, sliced 1 large ball buffalo mozzarella, sliced 8 to 10 large leaves of fresh basil 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 to 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns

Arrange the tomato slices, mozzarella slices and basil leaves decoratively across a clean, well-chilled salt block. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with ground peppercorns. Set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving, to allow the salt to penetrate.

Salted Melon with Honey Mint Pesto INGREDIENTS 4 cups of assorted ripe melons, diced into 1-inch cubes 2 cups fresh mint leaves ½ cup fresh tarragon leaves 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1¼ cup honey Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon Pinch of fresh cracked pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

METHOD 1. Cut the melon into decorative, but uniform, pieces, and set aside in the refrigerator to chill.

2. Wash mint and tarragon leaves, and combine them in a blender with the ginger, honey and lemon zest. Blend on chop speed, then drizzle in oil to create a smooth paste. Continue blending until the paste is silky and smooth.You may need to add additional water, drop by drop, to achieve this texture.

Season with lemon juice as necessary to balance the flavors.

3. Arrange melon on a well-chilled salt block, and drizzle with the pesto. Set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving, to allow the salt to penetrate.

VARIATIONS Add a crumbling of goat cheese, cotija cheese, chili powder and lime, harissa, yogurt, mango and cucumber or prosciutto.

Carne Cruda

This is Italy’s version of beef tartare. In Alba they add white truffles to this, and it becomes all’Albese. You’ll see that variation at the end. The keys to a good dish based on raw meat are threefold — good meat, cold meat and a sharp knife.

The coolest thing about Himalayan salt blocks is their ability to retain heat. They are not something I would routinely cook on, but there is no denying that tableside searing is a showstopper. The method works best with thin, quick-cooking seafood or thinly sliced, high-quality beef. The basic method is explained below, with endless options to shift your creativity into high gear.

INGREDIENTS 1 large block of Himalayan salt ¼ cup olive oil 1 pound of meat, poultry or seafood (such as scallops, shrimp, calamari, octopus, tuna or salmon), washed, trimmed and sliced if necessary into bite-size pieces no thicker than 1 inch 1 to 1½ cups of accompanying sauce, such as pesto, salsa, aioli, harissa or gremolata

FOR SEARING:

INGREDIENTS 1 pound of quality beef fi let, chilled Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 2 cloves of garlic, halved Freshly ground black pepper

Salt Block Searing and Grilling

2 anchovy fi lets, chopped ¼ to ½ cup extra virgin olive oil Sliced Italian bread or crackers to accompany

Place the dry salt block on a baking sheet and place in a cool oven.Turn the heat to 400° and gradually heat the salt block. When the oven has reached 400°, keep heating the block for another 30 minutes.

Place the hot block on a heatproof platter and bring it to the table with the prepared protein. Place the meat onto the hot salt block and sear for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip it with tongs, and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately with selected sauce. Let block cool down completely to room temperature and wait several hours before scrubbing it with cold water.

PHOTOS: Teri Lyn Fisher

METHOD 1. Using your cleanest, sharpest knife, slice meat into strips a quarter-inch thick, then into batons, then into quarter-inch dice. Then rough-chop slightly smaller. (Be careful not to create a meat paste. It should not resemble ground beef.)

2. Place the chopped meat in a bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice, the garlic halves (you will retrieve these later), the pepper and the anchovy filet. Mix well, then begin drizzling in the oil, stirring, to bind it all together. It should not be wet or greasy, but well balanced. Taste, and season again if necessary.

3. Scoop the meat onto your well-chilled salt block, and press it into a nice mound, or use a ring mold.

Serve garnished with shaved white or black truffles, chilled sautéed mushrooms, more olive oil or lemon wedges, grated Parmesan cheese, cornichons, homemade pickled vegetables and crackers or a sliced baguette.

FOR GRILLING: Place the dry salt block on a cool barbecue grill. Light the flame and let it heat gradually to 400°, then continue to heat it there for another 30 minutes. Working on the grill, place the prepared protein onto the hot salt block and sear for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip it with tongs, and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately with selected sauce. Let block cool down completely to room temperature for several hours, then scrub it with cold water.

Leslie Bilderback is a certified master baker, chef and cookbook author. She lives in South Pasadena and teaches her techniques online at culinarymasterclass.com.

09.16 | ARROYO | 41

THE LIST

A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER

Last Summer Songs

stars to live music provided by West Coast

Here are a few highlights of the Levitt

Music. Tickets cost $1,000 and benefit the

Pavilion Pasadena’s final month of free

Huntington’s research and educational

concerts:

programming. Call (626) 405-2264 for

Sept. 3 — The Mariachi Divas perform at

information.

8 p.m.

Sept. 27 — The Harvest Moon Celebration

Sept. 4 — Drummer Pete Escovedo and his

evokes ancient Chinese traditions in honor

band play Latin jazz at 7 p.m.

of the mid-autumn moon from 6:30 to

Sept. 11 — Renowned jazz vocalist

9:30 p.m. Live music will be performed by

Barbara Morrison takes the stage at 7 p.m.

Beijing-based Chinese Music Orchestra,

Sept. 17 — Glen Phillips plays his signature

while guests savor food, beer and wine

Americana style at 8 p.m.

from nearly 30 Chinese and Asian-inspired

Sept. 18 — Laith Al-Saadi and Jimmy

restaurants. Tickets cost $98 ($88 for

Vivino perform jazz at 7 p.m.

members); VIP tickets for $148 include early

Sept. 24 — The Element Band plays world

admission at 5:30 p.m. Visit huntington.org/

music at 8 p.m.

harvestmoon.

Levitt Pavilion Pasadena is located at

Sept. 29 — In the Isherwood-Bachardy

Memorial Park, where Raymond Avenue

Lecture, “Becoming Gay in the 1960s:

crosses Walnut Street in Pasadena. Call

Reading A Single Man,” novelist Edmund

(626) 683-3230 or visit levittpavilionpasa-

White discusses the impact Christopher

dena.org.

Isherwood’s groundbreaking novel had on him as a young author assembling his

Two Classics at A Noise Within

gay identity in the pre-Stonewall era. The

Sept. 4 through Nov. 20 — Pasadena’s

7:30 p.m. event at Rothenberg Hall kicks

Sept. 4 and running through Nov. 20,

SUDS ON TAP IN SAN DIMAS

invites the audience to unravel mysteries

Sept. 10 and 11 — Frank G. Bonelli Park in San Dimas is the scene of a two-day

The Huntington Library, Art Collections

of the universe in bucolic Sidley Park. The

celebration of suds, as the California Beer Festival brews fun with 80 of the

and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151

interplay of past and present is driven by

state’s best microbrews on tap. Saturday, which runs 12:30 to 5 p.m. and is

Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 405-2100

intellectual curiosity and fickle passions of

open to visitors 21 and up, is titled “Craft Beer Heaven” for its array of craft beer

or visit huntington.org.

the human heart. Ticket prices start at $40.

samples. At “Sunday Funday,” a family-friendly event from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.,

Sept. 18 through Nov. 12 — Jean Genet’s

visitors can enjoy food and music performances. Saturday tickets cost $50

Comics Back Cancer Support

The Maids opens at 2 p.m. Sept. 18

($25 for designated drivers) and Sunday tickets go for $10. VIP Saturday tickets

Sept. 15 — WeSPARK Cancer Support

and continues through Nov. 12. The

cost $75, two-day VIP passes $99.

Center honors the memory of its founder,

much-abused title characters, filled with

Frank G. Bonelli Park is located at 120 Via Verde, San Dimas. Visit

actress and comedian Wendie Jo Sperber,

self-loathing and driven by desperation,

californiabeerfestival.com/sandimas.

and its 15th anniversary in a 6:30 p.m.

classical repertory theater company, A Noise Within, presents Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. The play, opening at 2 p.m.

inhabit an eroticized fantasy world. Ticket

off a new lecture series made possible by the Christopher Isherwood Foundation.

Admission is free with advance reservations.

comedy benefit at the Skirball Cultural

prices start at $40.

Center. Performers include Ray Romano,

A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill

Wallis’ first artist-in-residence. Events start at

in innovative ways. Performers include

Kevin Nealon, Carol Leifer, Alonzo Bodden,

Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 356-3100 or visit

2 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

conductor Rachael Worby and the Muse/

Wendy Liebman and others. Tickets cost

anoisewithin.org.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the

Ique Orchestra, dancer Charles “Lil Buck”

$200, and table sponsorships start at

Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa

Riley, vocalist Ellis Hall, the Spirit Chorale

$2,500.

Annenberg Arts Weekend

Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. Call (310) 746-

of Los Angeles and singer Kenton Chen.

Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701

Sept. 10 and 11 — The Wallis Annenberg

4000 or visit thewallis.org.

Ticket prices run from $25 to $200.

N. Sepulveda Blvd, L.A. Call (818) 906-

Caltech’s Beckman Mall Lawn is located

3022, visit wespark.org or email marlene@

at 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena. Visit

wespark.org for tickets and information.

Center for the Performing Arts launches

a free two-day event including eclectic

Muse/Ique Concludes Summer of Sound

music performances, dancing, immersive

Sept. 10 — Pasadena orchestra Muse/

theater performances, hands-on classes

Ique hosts its final Summer of Sound concert at Caltech’s Beckman Mall

Moon Music, Gala Ball, Gay History at Huntington

Sept. 16 — The final installment of this

for all ages, cash bars, food trucks and family-friendly activities. Highlights include

Lawn with “Summer/Time.” The 7:30

Sept. 10 — The Huntington’s annual black-

series at the L.A. Zoo is a night of live 1980s

a salsa dance lesson led by Debbie

p.m. performance reimagines George

tie gala, the Huntington Ball, celebrates

music with tributes to David Bowie and

Allen, a performance by L.A.–based

Gershwin’s complex, heartbreaking

the first year of its new president, Laura

Prince, dancing to DJs spinning new wave,

contemporary dance group Jacob

and beautiful opera, Porgy and Bess,

Skandera Trombley. The event, from

metal and old-school hip-hop, a paint

Jonas The Company and works by Tony-

with director Matthew McCray weaving

7 p.m. to midnight, includes a cocktail

party, vintage video games, a costume

dominated director Michael Arden, The

together the worlds of theater and music

reception, dinner and dancing under the

its 2016/2017 season with WelcomeFest,

42 | ARROYO | 09.16

muse-ique.com.

The Final Roar season’s Roaring Nights summer music

–continued on page 44

09.16 | ARROYO | 43

THE LIST –continued from page 42

contest, pop-up zookeeper talks, visits

provides multidisciplinary screening,

to animal habitats and up-close animal

evaluation, therapy and specialized

encounters. The event, open to guests 18

services for children under 21 and their

and older, runs from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets

families, grappling with autism or other

cost $25 ($22 for Greater Los Angeles Zoo

problems in development, behavior or

Association members).

social relationships. Honorees are clinical

The L.A. Zoo and Botanical Gardens is

psychologist Mona Delahooke and

located at 5333 Zoo Dr., Griffith Park. Call

philanthropist John Plumb. Tickets cost

(323) 644-6001 or visit lazoo.org.

$150, underwriting opportunities run from $500 to $1,500 and sponsorships range

On The Boulevard

from $2,500 to $25,000.

Sept. 17 — Pasadena Heritage presents

Call Robert Bain at (626) 793-7350, ext. 281,

“South Orange Grove Boulevard: From

for information and visit pcdateam.org/

Millionaires’ Mansions to Contemporary

harvestmoon for tickets.

Condos,” a lecture by Preservation

High School, begins at 10 a.m. The tour,

Imagine Tea Returns to the Langham

with docents at multiple locations along

Sept. 18 — The

Director Jesse Lattig, followed by a selfguided tour. The lecture, at Maranatha

the way, runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets

Langham Huntington,

cost $40 ($35 for members).

Pasadena reprises its Imagine Teas for

Maranatha High School is located at 169 S.

children and their adult caregivers.

St. John Ave., Pasadena. Visit pasadena-

Guests can enjoy a special tea menu

heritage.org.

with decorated desserts while being entertained by junior members of the

Descanso Symposium on Wildlife Wonders

Academy of Magical Arts, a photo booth

Sept. 17 — Learn

benefits Milk + Bookies, a national

about the L.A. area’s

children’s nonprofit that inspires kids to give

and a craft session. Seatings are at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. A portion of the proceeds

native fauna and the importance of

back using books as currency. The cost is

urban biodiversity in a symposium from

$48 for adults, $36 for children ages 4 to 12.

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find out how to attract

Call (626) 585-6218 for reservations.

wildlife to your home garden and more in

The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is

discussions and workshops, including “L.A.

located at 1401 Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena.

Wildlife: What’s Out There,” “Gardening

Visit langhamhotels.com/pasadena.

for Wildlife,” “Citizen Science: Involving

Urban Mammals in L.A.” Other highlights

Concert Benefits South Pas Library

include a live animal encounter, an activity

Sept. 18 — Friends of

with the L.A. Zoo Classroom Safari program

the South Pasadena

and a workshop on animal tracks. Free

Library presents a

the Community” and “Big Cats and Bats:

with regular Descanso admission of $9, $6

4 p.m. performance

for seniors and students and $4 for children

by pianist Robert Thies (above) in

5 to 12; members and children under 5 are

the Community Room as part of its

admitted free.

Restoration Concert Series. Proceeds

Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Des-

benefit the ongoing enhancement of

canso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge. Call (818)

the historic Community Room. Admission

949-4200 or visit descansogardens.org.

is $20 at the door.

The South Pasadena Library Community

Moon Gala Aids Youth Therapies

Room is located at 1115 El Centro St.,

Sept. 17 — Pasadena’s Professional Child

South Pasadena. Call (626) 799-6333 or

Development Associates (PCDA) hosts

visit friendsofsopaslibrary.org.

its eighth annual Harvest Moon Dinner & Art Auction from 6 to 10 p.m. at a private home in South Pasadena. The nonprofit 44 | ARROYO | 09.16

–continued on page 46

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THE LIST

–continued from page 44

Chamber Orchestra Launches Season

snacks; from 4 to 7 p.m. entry costs $55,

Sept. 24 — L.A. Chamber Orchestra Music

pass goes for $75.

Director Jeffrey Kahane conducts “Bach

The Kingston Café is located at 333 S.

& Beethoven 7,” the first public concert of

Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. Visit holiday-

his final season, at Glendale’s Alex Theatre.

celebrationclub.com.

including a dinner buffet. An all-day VIP

The 8 p.m. program includes works by

trumpeter David Washburn, soprano Joélle

Climate, Industry Mingle in Art Exhibits

Harvey and violinist Movses Pogossian.

Sept. 25 — The

Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and Tigran Mansurian with these featured soloists:

The concert repeats at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at

Pasadena Museum of

UCLA’s Royce Hall. Ticket prices start at

California Art unveils two new exhibitions:

$27.

Lloyd Hamrol/Joan Perlman: “a sky in

The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N. Brand

the palm of a hand” pairs Hamrol’s

Blvd., Glendale. Call (213) 622-7001 or visit

site-specific industrial sculptures with

laco.org.

Joan Perlman’s abstract paintings and prints, creating an immersive multimedia

Gamble House Celebrates Half a Century

environment that considers both artists’

Sept. 24 and 25 — As

In the Land of Sunshine is an eclectic

part of the Gamble

group show by artists interpreting the

House’s celebration

coast and culture with a focus on ways

investigations of materials, processes, impermanence and landscape.

of 50 years as a museum, the Craftsman

industry and society have shaped the

landmark reverts to its original 1966

landscape and its occupants since the

entrance fee of $1 all weekend, when

early 1900s. It features some 90 oil, acrylic

visitors can tour the home, dine on food-

and watercolor paintings as well as

truck cuisine, listen to live music and join

prints, magazines, posters, photographs

in family-friendly activities on the lawn,

and other ephemera. Both exhibitions

including soap-carving and woodworking.

continue through Feb. 19.

The Saturday event, which runs from noon

The Pasadena Museum of California Art is

to 5 p.m., is a USC Trojan Family Open

located at 490 E. Union St., Pasadena. Call

House. On Sunday, all are welcome from

(626) 568-3665 or visit pmcaonline.org.

noon to 4 p.m.

Westmoreland Pl., Pasadena. Call (626)

Bars and Measures Plays at Boston Court

793-3334 or visit gamblehouse.org.

Sept. 24 through Oct. 23 — Idris

The Gamble House is located at 4

Goodwin’s Bars and Measures opens at

46 | ARROYO | 09.16

Musical Benefit for Suicide Prevention

8 p.m. Sept. 24 and continues through

Sept. 25 — “Here’s to Life! A Musical

brothers, Eric, a Christian classical pianist,

Artistic Feast of Inspiration, Hope &

and Bilal, a Muslim jazz bassist. When

Awareness,” benefiting the American

Bilal is accused of being a terrorist and

Foundation for Suicide Prevention, runs

jailed, Eric tries to stay connected by

from noon to 7 p.m. at Kingston Café.

setting aside his classical aspirations and

The event is hosted by singer Bill A.

studying his brother’s jazz style. As Bilal’s

Jones (Glee) and Martha Taylor LaCroix,

trial continues, Eric becomes disillusioned

founder of the Holiday Celebration Club.

and struggles with conflicting feelings

Jazz artists, including Sally Kellerman,

about his brother’s guilt or innocence.

Artie Butler, Nolan Shaheed, Bette

Ticket prices range from $20 to $39.

Midler’s Harlettes and more, will take

Boston Court Performing Arts Center is lo-

two outdoor stages. Admission is $35

cated at 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena. Call

from noon to 3 p.m., which includes light

(626) 683-6883 or visit bostoncourt.com. ||||

Oct. 23. It tells the story of two musician

09.16 | ARROYO | 47

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