The swathe of bucolic idyll that former creative director Richard Christiansen has carved out for himself on a hilltop in Los Angeles is truly the stuff of dreams. Anchored by a 1940s bungalow that Christiansen has lovingly reimagined to encompass a picturesque bathhouse and seven acres of verdant garden, Flamingo Estate is now as well known for its collections of vegetable-based candles, plant-scented bath and body products and its cornucopic boxes of farm-fresh produce as it is for its unbelievably stylish environs.
Christiansen’s ethos of bringing people back in touch with the beauty and bounty of nature couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Flamingo Estate’s home-delivered produce boxes came out of efforts to support local farmers whose traditional revenue streams of supplying restaurants and hotels came to a standstill in March 2020.
That then lead to the use of medicinal herbs to build out Flamingo Estate’s wellness line, the development of its first bottle of rosé wine, and then the launch of its own biointensive manuka honey – an especially significant product for Christiansen, seeing as his family are farmers and beekeepers in New South Wales, Australia.
In the lead-up to the holiday season, Christiansen has revealed some festive offerings that are bound to astound even the most jaded of bah humbuggers. First, there is Flamingo Estate’s inaugural cookbook, Fridays from The Garden, which compiles 150 recipes from chefs including Ella Murphy, Jo Ann Kim, and a foreword by Martha Stewart; the book essentially charts the arc of Flamingo Estate since its early days. Next, a limited-edition gingerbread house designed by Flamingo Estate’s close collaborator and comrade Kelly Wearstler.
Kelly Wearstler’s California Modern gingerbread house
Kelly Wearstler and Richard Christiansen with their California-style gingerbread house
California Modern in its aesthetic, the eye-catching gingerbread house is built by Balthazar’s pastry chef Mark Tasker, and only 100 will be made. Best of all, proceeds from the sale of the houses, which don’t come cheap, will benefit Structure, a charitable initiative of Better Shelter that helps communities rebuild, with sustainable housing, for example, following the occurrence of natural disasters.
‘After the year we’ve all had, it’s time for new traditions. We loved the idea of taking something iconic, and classic – then giving it a California spin,’ says Christiansen. ‘Kelly’s the reigning queen of the design world in Los Angeles. She’s the only person I wanted to collaborate with because I knew she would create something iconic, and bold. When I mentioned the idea, she jumped at it immediately, and she created something very special.’ He adds that the brief was simply: ‘Let’s build a type of gingerbread house we would actually like to live in.’
‘Gingerbread houses are one of the most traditional holiday items and so I wanted to give a contemporary feel to the classic treat,’ Wearstler says. ‘I also wanted to bring a little California into the design, so I was drawn to a classic midcentury modern home as a source of inspiration. The gingerbread base is the ideal canvas and is really elevated and accentuated by the checkerboard pattern.’
Christiansen concludes, ‘Central to everything we do at Flamingo Estate is the idea of bringing pleasure in your home. Whether that’s through your kitchen or bathroom. So when we started to think about the right charity, we wanted it to be for the home – and providing homes for people.’
INFORMATION
-
Spain meets Speyside at the Roca Brothers’ new restaurant for The Macallan distilleryFor its 200th anniversary, The Macallan commissioned David Thulstrup to design TimeSpirit, the Roca Brothers’ first restaurant outside Spain
-
Fashion features editor Jack Moss' style gift guideWallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss compiles his fantasy festive wish list – from a surreal Bottega Veneta tree decoration to Hylton Nel’s Dior-approved ceramic cats
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekA trip to Geneva, a festive light ceremony, new season fashion and pre party season health and wellness: it's been another busy week in the world of Wallpaper*
-
American food classics: recipes for a contemporary culinary saluteWe salute American food classics, from a hot fudge sundae to crab & corn chowder
-
How La Scala’s chopped salad became the Oscars’ favourite dishLA restaurant La Scala’s chopped salad turned an off-menu dish into a culinary icon. Here’s how, plus our pick of Oscar-worthy salad ware for your own table
-
Laila Gohar debuts bar accessories inspired by her travelsChef and designer Laila Gohar unveils a new range of bar accessories and cocktails with her signature surrealist flair
-
The Commerce Inn is a West Village Tavern inspired by the ShakersWe explore the simple pleasures of The Commerce Inn, Rita Sodi and Jody Williams’ perfectly crafted, Shaker-inspired West Village tavern
-
Happy Independence Day, USA! Wallpaper* launches a month-long celebration of creative AmericaThis 4 July we toast the cream of creative USA with our very own cherry soda float. See more in August 2023 Wallpaper*, on sale 6 July, and all month on Wallpaper.com
-
Lavender and Truffles: plant-based ice cream with Asian-inspired flavoursFashion industry veteran Alicia Liu launches an ice cream brand like no other, with passion and grit as the main ingredients
-
In Washington, DC, Yayoi Kusama and Veuve Clicquot are in full bloomYayoi Kusama and Veuve Clicquot continue their long and fruitful collaboration with a series of art events in Washington, DC, headlined by the artist’s major show, ‘One With Eternity’ at the Hirshhorn
-
New York exhibition celebrates the history of African American cuisine‘African/American: Making the Nation’s Table’ is a new exhibition in New York City that examines the traditions and innovations of African American cooking
