Color Me Fabulous: The Magic of Cathy Provenzano in Beverly Hills

COLOR ME FABULOUS: THE MAGIC OF CATHY PROVENZANO IN BEVERLY HILLS -- She's been one of those best-kept secrets in Hollywood for many years -- and her work has turned heads around the world. And now you -- our ever-stylish readers -- are in on the secret....and her name is Cathy Provenzano (pictured above applying hair color). She wields her tint brush like a magic wand: applying just the right amount of color, dabbing here and there in only the perfect places, moving her hands and fingers as if weaving an elegant tapestry. And, indeed, she is! And throughout the process, Provenzano is making her celebrated clients feel completely at ease -- for they know that they'll always get exactly what they want from a lady who is always in demand. Though she originally hails from Michigan, Provenzano always knew that she'd be a part of Hollywood. "As a young girl, I'd beg my mother to get a subscription to the now-defunct Photoplay magazine," she tells Studio of Style in an exclusive interview, "and I lived for each and every issue to arrive in the mail so I could look at all the clothes, hair and jewelry of the stars." Finding her way from Michigan to Los Angeles, Provenzano attended the renowned Vidal Sassoon Academy and upon graduation landed a coveted assistant position at Sassoon's salon on Rodeo Drive smack dab in the middle of Beverly Hills -- and she was on her way! At the salon, she pursued being the best hair colorist possible and would provide color for Beverly Sassoon (Vidal's second wife, pictured upper right) and a host of celebrity clients including Yoko Ono (lower right) and Princess Margaret (center right) to name but a few. Nowadays, Provenzano is found creating her colorful magic as a senior colorist at Rossano Ferretti Hairspa in Beverly Hills where her clients include film industry writers, set decorators, studio executives, fashion editors and some of her longtime clients including actress Kelly Rowan (a client for 20 years, pictured at top left) and Beverly Hills power attorney Elyse R. Margolin (center) who is shown here working her iPad while Provenzano applies the color that Margolin absolutely loves (and has for 15 years!). Did you know that one of her clients drives in from Las Vegas...and another from Palm Springs -- they must have her special services! "Every head is different," says Provenzano, "and that means I never do the same thing everyday. What I learned from Sassoon was that to succeed, you have to practice your talent daily with dedication and hard work -- and that is a motto that I have lived by ever since I began working as a professional hair colorist." Hollywood dreams do come true...and Cathy Provenzano is living proof!

Book an appointment with Provenzano: (310) 598-6780

Photo of Provenzano by Greg Firlotte

Living in Color: The Prismatic Perfection of Artist Jane Gottlieb

LIVING IN COLOR: THE PRISMATIC PERFECTION OF ARTIST JANE GOTTLIEB -- You can blame it on the Yucatan....gladly! For Santa Barbara, California artist Jane Gottlieb, a visit to the exotic Yucatan peninsula in eastern Mexico many years ago provided a colorful life-changing experience that would take her art in a direction from which she would never veer thereafter. "I was color-liberated during that trip!," says Gottlieb to Studio of Style. "Up to that Yucatan visit, I had always been in love with color, especially the palette used by the Fauvism artists of the early twentieth century. But when I saw the intense purples and magenta and other colors of the houses in Mexico, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my art and my life." In the years leading up to the Yucatan experience, Gottlieb had many years of art training and skills tucked neatly under her belt: she studied in Florence, Italy and went on to obtain her degree in painting and art history at UCLA where the faculty at the time included such art world notables as Richard Diebenkorn and William Brice. Later in New York City, she worked in the world of commercial photography alongside photo legends Francesco Scavullo and Sid Avery. Gottlieb's list of accomplishments continue to include a stint as art director at Warner Brothers -- and all along this journey she relentlessly honed her painting style which would lead to numerous solo and group exhibits worldwide. "When I returned from the Yucatan," Gottlieb tells Studio of Style, "the first thing I did was to paint my little house, then in West Los Angeles, bright purple, magenta, pink and turquoise -- inside and out. I was bold and undaunted regardless of what people thought. And over the years after painting four homes in this style, I've truly learned a lot about color, about living with color, about how a complete wall or a just a detail of color applied to an interior space can truly impact your life, attitude and spirit." And to further all of this, Gottlieb bought an Amazon parrot in vibrant yellow, chartreuse, blue and red -- and he loved being on her shoulder in her studio for many years which also inspired her to continue adding more and brighter colors to her palette. Her current home in Santa Barbara (shown above) is a 5,000-square-foot wonderland of color both inside and out. "I see them as three-dimensional art pieces," she says of her collection of homes over the years. "And I've always changed colors here and there to make them continually interesting." On Wednesday May 15, the works of Gottlieb are celebrated at the UCLA Anderson School of Management with a special reception in her honor. This exhibit entitled "Dreamscapes" features pieces from the artist's Monuments series, Joy Rides series and Lawnbowlers series -- all in vibrant colors, of course! "This exhibit will be up for ten years," says Gottlieb, "which means that I'll be able to touch and inspire visitors for a long, long time." So, yes, do blame it on Yucatan....and the Fauvists....and the Amazon parrot....and that sits just fine with Gottlieb whose pursuit of prismatic perfection is a joyous journey.

http://www.janegottlieb.com/
Images courtesy the artist

Rain, Rain, Come to Stay! Dornbracht debuts the Revolutionary Horizontal Shower

RAIN, RAIN, COME TO STAY! DORNBRACHT DEBUTS THE REVOLUTIONARY HORIZONTAL SHOWER -- We at Studio of Style just love the rain -- and we never seem to get enough of our share living here in Southern California. But thanks to the folks at Santa Monica-based Snyder Diamond who have been serving the L.A. area for 65 years, we can have lots of beautiful, glorious rain whenever we want! And all it takes is a revolution -- of the nicest kind! It's called the Horizontal Shower and it's from Dornbracht of Germany who continually bring the finest in fittings and accessories for the bath and kitchen -- and the Horizontal Shower is absolutely amazing! Not only is this system stunning to look at because of its six water "bars" recessed into the overhead shower field, or that it incorporates an eTool as the main operating element which allows for custom temperature, intensity and quantity settings and a range of pre-programmed "choreographies" (yes!) -- but it allows for the ultimate experience in showering possible: to recline and simply allow the healing properties of hydrotherapy to balance, energize and de-stress every single part of you that needs serenity, peace and wellness that comes with every rain shower -- love it! So if you are in need of one of those wonderful Vichy showers found in the finest European spas, the Horizontal Shower is the answer for delivering the most precious pampering experience possible. To which all we can say is aaaahhhhhh............

Available through Snyder Diamond: http://snyderdiamond.com 

Carry On and be Fabulous! A+D Museum Celebrates the Future of Carry-on Luggage

CARRY ON AND BE FABULOUS! A+D MUSEUM CELEBRATES THE FUTURE OF CARRY-ON LUGGAGE -- So, imagine yourself propelled into the future of intergalactic travel...and you don't have a thing to pack your space clothes into! Well, if you were among the hundreds of savvy L.A. insiders who attended the A+D Architecture and Design Museum gala "Celebrate: The Journey" this past Saturday night May 11 on Wilshire Boulevard, then you would have an amazing selection of "luggage" to choose from. The museum (which happens to be the only such national institution dedicated to architecture + design) brought together some of L.A.'s visionary design, architecture, artistic and clever thinkers to create carry-on items -- from suitcases to jetpacks, satchels, strap-ons and very unusual works to represent what future travelers might take with them when jaunting about the universe. And it was an eyeful, for sure! Participants included such luminaries as Kathyrn M. Ireland; Kelly Wearstler; Steven Ehrlich; Craig Hodgetts + Hsinming Fung; David Hertz (747 House); Eric Stultz; Trip Haenisch, Fitzsu; Dan Meis -- and attendees included AIA|LA President Scott Johnson; Deborah Sussman and Paul Prejza; Eames Demetrios; ICM’s Craig Bernstein; HBO’s Cynthia Kanner; industrial designers Carl Magnusson and Emanuela Frattini Magnusson; Catherine and Richard Frinier; Grant Seltzer; designer-developer Billy Lehman; gallerist Timothy Yarger and many, many more. The event was the A+D Museum's annual fundraiser and needless to say, a fabulous time was had by all! So many fun things to see and people to meet at the event: the origami-like tote "The Fold" by Karten : Design (above left) was a crowd-pleaser for sure; a two-piece set "Flight Patterns" (upper right) by Selbert Perkins Design clearly was a colorful ode to travel; a "flight attendant" and a guest in themed outfit (middle right) add all the more fun to the evening; hobo-like bags "Three Bindles" (middle right) by Paola Tassara for Studio Brasa; and the most unusual organic-shaped backpack "Piknik" in flesh pink by Karim Rashid drew its share of oohs and ahhs.

http://aplusd.org/

Photos by Greg Firlotte

Carry On and be Fabulous! A+D Museum Celebrates the Future of Carry-on Luggage

CARRY ON AND BE FABULOUS! A+D MUSEUM CELEBRATES THE FUTURE OF CARRY-ON LUGGAGE -- So, imagine yourself propelled into the future of intergalactic travel...and you don't have a thing to pack your space clothes into! Well, if you were among the hundreds of savvy L.A. insiders who attended the A+D Architecture and Design Museum gala "Celebrate: The Journey" this past Saturday night May 11 on Wilshire Boulevard, then you would have an amazing selection of "luggage" to choose from. The museum (which happens to be the only such national institution dedicated to architecture + design) brought together some of L.A.'s visionary design, architecture, artistic and clever thinkers to create carry-on items -- from suitcases to jetpacks, satchels, strap-ons and very unusual works to represent what future travelers might take with them when jaunting about the universe. And it was an eyeful, for sure! Participants included such luminaries as Kathyrn M. Ireland; Kelly Wearstler; Steven Ehrlich; Craig Hodgetts + Hsinming Fung; David Hertz (747 House); Eric Stultz; Trip Haenisch, Fitzsu; Dan Meis -- and attendees included AIA|LA President Scott Johnson; Deborah Sussman and Paul Prejza; Eames Demetrios; ICM’s Craig Bernstein; HBO’s Cynthia Kanner; industrial designers Carl Magnusson and Emanuela Frattini Magnusson; Catherine and Richard Frinier; Grant Seltzer; designer-developer Billy Lehman; gallerist Timothy Yarger and many, many more. The event was the A+D Museum's annual fundraiser and needless to say, a fabulous time was had by all! So many fun things to see and people to meet at the event: the amazing "Glamb" bag by FORM (above left) is a strap-on with many movable and interactive parts; Minarc Architects provided the most inventive and puzzling item, the conceptual "Aphorism: The Journey is the Reward" in ethereal materials (top left); and the glow-in-the dark mesh bag "Traveler's Cocoon" (center left) by Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design is sensational; and we love the colorful big stripe tote (bottom left) "Voyager Bag" by Kao Pao Shu; and then there is the transparent Lucite suitcase (bottom right) by Erica Islas that is clearly a fusion of vintage and futuristic -- and you gotta love that!

http://aplusd.org/

Photos by Greg Firlotte