Blue, pt. 2

As excited as I was about working with natural indigo and learning how use it as a dye, I was equally excited about where the Indigo Workshop was being held: the home of Beatrice Valenzuela -- designer, hairdresser, gourmand extraordinaire, and all- around creative goddess.

I met her briefly at a party this past summer, and was immediately smitten. As my friend Hadley once said about Bea (paraphrasing a bit here) : "She has a knack for bringing creative people together; everything seems a little magical when you are around Bea."

One can tell she and her partner Ramsey, with whom she shares the Echo Park home, have a mutual appreciation for art and all things handcrafted.

As a part of the workshop's fee, both a light brunch and late lunch were provided.
Beatrice made a delicious, brothy, pork soup and served it with nuts, fruits, a baguette, and cheese. Cardamom laced coffee was prepared: warm when we arrived in the morning, and iced with cream in the afternoon.

The entire afternoon was full of warmth-- due in equal parts to both the sunny weather and Beatrice's hospitality. I feel pretty confident in saying that I think we all felt that it was the perfect setting for the perfect afternoon. Thank you Beatrice!


(I love how many of the workshop participants wore their Beatrice Valenzuela shoes, myself included, as a tiny homage to our hostess.)