Editor’s Miscellany: Blog and Travelog

Today’s is my first post sent in from afar. I’ve spent the past few days busily connecting with other bloggers, both aspiring and already famous, at the first annual Design Bloggers Conference in Los Angeles. This gathering–the first that I know of of its scale and kind–has brought together well over 200 design, PR and publishing professionals of every sort to discuss the rapidly evolving universe of blogs, online magazines and social media.

Noted Dallas designer Jan Showers was the first day’s keynote speaker. (You can see one of her projects in the March 2011 issue of Veranda.)

Social media theorist Dan McCarthy.

New England Home homes editor Stacy Kunstel led a session on what new media can learn from older, print-based models. Others on her panel included Ann Omvig Maine, editor of Traditional Home, Loren Ruch, Director of Original and Special Event Programming for HGTV, Clinton Smith, editor of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, and Ann Sage, executive editor of the online magazine Rue.

Left to right: Stacy Kunstel, Ann Maine, Loren Ruch, Clinton Smith, Ann Sage

I myself was privileged to serve as moderator for a session called LA Confidential: Trends in Design, with two internationally known designers based in Los Angeles: Suzanne Rheinstein and Barclay Butera. In the midst of two full days of sometimes quite technical discussion, the pair provided a welcome, fresh outlook on what savvy design writers should be looking to share with their readers in the future. You’ll undoubtedly see some reflections on their thoughts in this space over the coming months.

Left to right: Kyle Hoepner, Suzanne Rheinstein, Barclay Butera

Happily, I even had a bit of time for the design equivalent of sightseeing in the nearby La Cienega Design Quarter. It was a bit like trying to spot movie stars, but in this case the famous names were the kind that would make a design junkie’s heart beat a bit faster.

The La Cienega Design Quarter in Los Angeles.

The office of design star Kelly Wearstler.

Therien & Co., home of gorgeous furniture in styles old and new.

A New York designer’s new West Coast outpost.

Antiques and home furnishings boutique Hollyhock.

For a bit of R&R after the close of the conference, some of us headed over to beautiful Almont Yard for the party celebrating the upcoming launch of Trad Home, a new joint venture between Traditional Home and the online magazine Lonny.

Party scene in the courtyard.

Stopping in to see the inimitable Kathryn Ireland.

A pleasant vignette next door at Harbinger.

And then a few of us followed up with a quick trip to a smaller party sponsored by Currey & Company at designer Marjorie Skouras‘s home nestled just below the “Hollywood” sign.

Reticence is not the order of the day chez Marjorie Skouras.

Every kitchen needs a stuffed duck to liven up its butcher block.

Such two-fisted partying is a bit unusual for me, and I worried that I might not have the energy to finish this post once back at the hotel. But you’re reading it now, so I must have pulled it off somehow.

By the way, if you’re interested in catching some of the continuing afterbuzz from the conference, check out the blogs of the various speakers and attendees (listed on the conference Web site) or #DBC2011 on Twitter.

–Kyle Hoepner