BLACKBURN AND SWEETZER

I went to the launch for the semi-new Image section of the L.A. Times last night, which was at Bar Nineteen 12 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I had never been to Bar Nineteen 12, and I have to say it was pretty fantastic with a lot of outdoor space and sweeping views of the palms and pool and pretty grounds. Events such as these can be a dime a dozen, but something about the combination of location, people, temperate night air, champagne, and overall good mood, made this one particularly fun.

Rose Apodaca, who was the West Coast Bureau Chief of Women’s Wear Daily for years, has been instrumental in the Image section, and owns global design haven A+R in Silver Lake with fiance Andy Griffith (pictured together above), was there snapping pics with impressive diligence. I should have been taking her picture, not the other way around.

Rose, in fact, had the big news of the night: A+R is opening a second store at 1121-1 Abbot Kinney in October, which, at 450 square feet, will be twice as big as the Silver Lake boutique. The store will be on the first floor of an award-winning building (pictured above) by Michael Sant of Sant Architects, which also houses Hans Rockenwagner’s 3 Square Bakery + Cafe. Rose describes the new store as a ’step up’ from the Silver Lake store, where they’ll be able to offer a ‘wider and deeper range of products’ that will include some pricier items like an $800 porcelain sculpture by Italian company Bosa. Rose and Andy chose Abbot Kinney because they felt it was the ‘closest in philosophy and vibe to Silver Lake’. October also marks the two-year anniversary of the first A+R boutique’s opening, and is right on time for some serious holiday shopping.

More information is on Rose’s blog, which, by the way, you should bookmark or subscribe to because like her, it’s incredibly stylish, smart, and not at all pretentious.