TUSCANY TEL AVIV IBIZA FUNEN VENICE

SUMMER 2015 YOUR GUIDE TO HEAVEN ON EARTH

U.S. EDITION

INSIDER ACCESS:

ISTANBULSECRET SHOPS, HIDDEN

MARKETS, EMERGING NEIGHBORHOODS AND MORE!

CALIFORNIA COOLPalm Springs to Napa Valley

Europe’s NewCULINARY CAPITAL

+ Poppy Delevingne’s

Summer EssentialsMoby’s

Foodie Fantasies Kelly Wearstler’sLiterary Escapes

COVER SUMMER 2015.indd 1 6/22/15 7:02 PM

Chances are, if you’ve been to any of Los Angeles’ mostbuzz-worthy restaurants and hotels in the last few years, from theboho beachside lounge The Bungalow to The Hollywood RooseveltHotel’s sleek cocktail lounge and gaming parlor The Spare Room,to Brian Ling and Jordan Buky’s ultra-private, nameless club in thespace formerly known as Largo, you’re familiar with boutiquedesign firm Studio Collective’s singular look. “I think that all of ourprojects have a lot of soul,” says co-founder Adam Goldstein. “Theyhave a residential vibe, no matter what it is. I bet if we did a hospitallobby, it would still feel more comfortable and accessible.”

It’s a winning approach that has worked for Goldstein and hisStudio Collective partners Leslie Kale and Christian Schulz sincethe trio founded the firm in 2009. Goldstein and Schulz first crossedpaths as students at the Southern California Institute of Architecture,and later as part of the in-house design team for hospitalityimpresario Sam Nazarian’s SBE Entertainment. The trio’s firstproject, a Hyde Lounge nightclub spinoff at Staples Center, beganunder Schulz while he and Goldstein were working for SBE. Theycontinued the project after leaving the company, and brought onKale, with whom Schulz worked under Los Angeles interiordesigner Dodd Mitchell. Studio Collective was born—and thehospitality world has never looked better.

“All three of us have had fruitful experiences working fortalented and highly stylized designers—people like KellyWearstler, Philippe Starck and Frank Gehry,” says Schulz. “Thecommon thread that runs through our projects is the touch of thehuman hand.”

For evidence, look no further than each project’s distinctdetails, from one-of-a-kind lighting pieces sourced by Kale fromthe likes of Craigslist and eBay, to bespoke furnishings andcurated artworks, down to hand-drawn menu designs. “Christianand Adam tend to go off into the space-planning andarchitecture,” says Kale of their design process. “I’m more of ashopper and into the furniture aspect because of my backgroundin set decoration and art direction for film, TV and commercials.”

With Hyde Lounge as Studio Collective’s calling card, wordspread like wildfire in the hospitality world. Before long, the in-demand firm landed clients that included The Grill restaurant atL.A.’s The Jonathan Club, Chef Tal Ronnen’s game-changing veganrestaurant Crossroads Kitchen and Innovative Dining Group’s now-shuttered Chi Lin and Rivabella restaurants on the Sunset Strip.

Judging by their most recent projects—The Goodland hotelnear Santa Barbara, The Landsby hotel in Solvang; DrunkenDragon in Miami and Giada De Laurentiis’ namesake restaurantat The Cromwell Las Vegas—the studio, which now has 15employees, shows no signs of slowing down. And coming up nextis a remodeling of L.A.’s 1920s Hotel Figueroa, set to bow in2016; a Huntington Beach outpost of The Bungalow; two newrestaurant concepts for The Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olinaand a Miami offshoot of Uruguay’s beloved Parador la Huella,opening later this year in Brickell City Centre.

“To me, it’s still ultimately about creating things from thesketches on trace paper in our studio,” says Schulz. “It’sexhilarating to be able to sit back at the end of this long processand sip a nice reposado tequila within the space we worked on forso long with our clients, and discuss the next project on their list!”

When it comes to designing L.A.’shotspots, there’s one name on everytastemaker’s list: Studio Collective.BY LESLEY MCKENZIE

“The common thread thatruns through our projects isthe touch of the human hand.”

—Christian Schulz

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Clockwise from top left: Studio Collective co-founders Adam Goldstein,Leslie Kale and Christian Schulz; Giada restaurant at The Cromwell LasVegas; the chic wraparound bar at Giada; Teddy’s at The HollywoodRoosevelt Hotel.

PORTRAIT BY JESSICA SAMPLE; JIMMY COHRSSEN (ROOSEVELT); COURTESY OF THE CROMWELL LAS VEGAS (GIADA)

DESIGNING FOR THE SOUL

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