I know I’m in good company when I say that I’ve been enjoying TED talks for a while now, but a friend sent me this link the other day regarding our personal health which really resonated with me.
I love socializing, going out, learning new things, but we have to take care of our health so we can continue to do the things we love.
Lissa Rankin’s TED talk is proof that common sense really can provide great insight with her view that the secret to our health lies within the quality of our relationships.
The key to good health is happy harmonious relationships. Beautifully simple isn’t it? When we have harmony with the people around us and the people we love, our health flourishes.
I’ve always felt that good relationships were incredibly important to me, but now I can justify my busy social life as being supportive of the happy relationships that are a medicinal requirement!
My LDN crew
My recent London trip started with a bang! Decided to stay in the East End this time around, which in itself was an adventure.
I had no idea how fun and hectic deciding to stay in East London would make the first leg of my trip to England.
I stayed at Shoreditch House, and was right in the middle of Shoreditch, which is home to many of my friends. My location on this trip was incredibly convenient and quite fun, maybe too much so!
Shoreditch House from exterior
On my way to the flower market in Columbia Rd.
Gorgeous restroom fixtures at Shoreditch House, classic LDN interior design
No club in the world has the convivial vibe of Shoreditch House so I felt I was w/ friends and family the whole time even when I was with their throughly charming staff.Went to the Adam Ant concert the next night at the Roundhouse in Camden, where he had last played over 35 years ago and had sold it out then and was selling it out again that night.
The man, the myth, the iconic LDN legend in full swing, my dear friend – Adam Ant
Adam and the Ants fam
It was great fun going en masse with a dozen friends and running into very many more. It was also a pleasure meeting Adam’s daughter and, of course, getting a kiss from Prince Charming himself.
Tamie Adaya & Adam Ant
Brunch the next day w good friends at Brick Lane where one of the larger halls had become a weekend home for ethnic food stalls and then a stroll to the flower market on Columbia Road.
The gorgeous selections at the local flower market
A few days of whirlwind excitement had me yearning for the relative tranquility of my next stop, the West End, which I shall share details of at a later time…
It’s a great honor & privilege of mine to be able to act, in a small way, as an art patron from time to time and it gave me great pleasure to sponsor Matthew Stone’s recent trip to the West Coast.
We brought Matthew out for BritWeek 2013, and were delighted when the interest in Matthew exceeded our already high expectations. Matthew was named by The Sunday Times as the most influential person in the arts under 30 in the UK and it is not surprising his reputation had already reached the West Coast even though he had yet to have his first show here.
As part of the BritWeek calendar we held 2 events with Matthew. A DJ party on our rooftop at Hotel Shangrila in which Matthew played the most tasteful and sublime set that I can remember hearing and a salon in which we discussed Matthew’s art, his motivations and his influences. We had a very elevating and enjoyable discussion, it was a pleasure to see the depth Matthew has an artist.
Matthew & I co-hosted the salon in the Dining Room of the Shangrila, it was an intimate roundtable format and our esteemed guests included Director of BAFTA Nigel Daly, wife of the former British Consulate Sharon Pierce, Executive Director of Britweek Lauren Stone, Artist Bexx Bissell, Music Video Director Georgia Hudson, and actress Tamzin Brown along w/ their lovely dates.
During the dinner Matthew read out his manifesto which I found incredibly life-affirming and elevating. Matthew & his art have an incredible sensibility and it does not surprise that he is held in such high regard.
…and of course, I can’t help mentioning what an absolute sweetheart Matthew is. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Matthew last summer in London and Matthew’s intelligent, gentle and playful manner makes him the most warm & wonderful company.
Shepard Fairey’s gallery Subliminal Projects reached out to me when they heard we were bringing Matthew out to LA. Somewhat magically, Matthew ended up having his first LA show at Shepard’s gallery which was a roaring success. Incredible crowd, breath-taking art and just the most delightful LA summer evening.
If you didn’t get a chance to catch Matthew or his work this time around I would definitely urge you to do so when Matthew returns, hopefully sooner rather than later. Come back Matthew! America needs you!
For our second event held here at the hotel for Britweek 2013 we had UK born, but LA based artist, KESH host & present her latest creations custom made for the hotel. The unveiling consisted of 7 limited edition pieces inspired by her personal experience’s, and the hotel’s almost 75 year old history brilliantly re-appropriated into a timeless collection of art. This is the first artwork of it’s kind to be hung on the walls of our Terrace Suites to capture the imaginations of our guests while they escape in Shangrila.
The beautifully lit penthouse with Kesh's brochure.
Sneak peek of one of the stunning pieces for our Terrace Suites beautifully displayed in our penthouse
Her works of art were showcased throughout our rooftop penthouse and the pieces were both captivating & alluring. Each piece carries elements of the hotels aesthetic through the eyes of Kesh and imbues a unique duality of modern art & art deco that is a perfect compliment to the style of our beloved hotel. It was an inspiring evening & the crowd was full of energy & excitement with an eclectic mix of fashionista’s & art lovers alike popping in throughout the evening, dressed to impress.
Kesh in her photo-booth zone on the rooftop
Such an amazing group of creative individuals made it out for the evening
Me & Kesh in front of one of the pieces inspired by our Rock & Roll suite's bathroom decor.
Amazing style & fierce poses throughout the evening
Also – Here’s a wrap up from our dear friend, Mark “Cobrasnake” Hunter
During Britweek 2013 I had the pleasure of hosting our first Jubilee Swing Tea Party at the hotel co-hosted by Mich Dulce, British milliner & corsetier.
It was a sublime Sunday afternoon, everyone in attendance was dressed to the hilt, swaying & dancing away the afternoon in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50′s attire. Mich’s spectacular and interactive hat display along with a photo booth allowed for everyone to partake in quite an impressive dress up party. Surrounded by fun conversation, an assortment of hob nobs, custard creams, tea, biscuits and swing dancing made for an incredibly delightful, creative, and innocent afternoon.
Britweek started out w a huge splash (and a red carpet) at the Residence of the British Consul General in Hancock Park. The theme was Art Deco which fits in perfectly with my tastes and inclinations although I did not know that when I dressed up to go. We were welcomed with open arms by the Consulate staff and even the former consul and his wife, Bob and Sharon Pierce, and it was lovely to have that kind of relationship with them after working together for 2 years. Everybody was dressed beautifully and I received a lot of complements which makes any girls night just complete:)
Love the step and repeat that featured the Shangrila!
Loved the gorgeous stage
Gorgeous Art Deco panels
Met lots and lots of fun elevating stylish people
Come check out the Britweek Events I’ll be hosting at my beloved Hotel Shangri-La
The opening night of Charming Baker’s art show at Milk Studio’s in Hollywood was a roaring success. Well attended, great atmosphere + world-class art.
The state-of-the-art hanger style gallery space was packed to the gills + furnished by new works from the artist who many are saying is currently the hottest British artist in the world.
Damien Hirst commented of Baker’s work; “It’s hard to say exactly what makes a painting great… Its flatness and its depth, its ease and its complexity, a kind of preciousness that’s also kind of throwaway, a risk factor. Who gives a damn? Charming Baker’s paintings are great.”. I would pretty much go along with that.
Having grown up in the same part of the world as Charming, it’s hard to ignore his subtle cultural references to Post-War Britain, for example, this Damask wallpaper design that was a mainstay of my elderly relatives living rooms in the 1970′s.
It was a pleasure to meet Charming himself as he most definitely lived up to his Charming monicker. Inspite of the quintessentially British E-Type Jag he’s driving around in + the delectable Paul Smith suits (both of which he looks great in) Charming remains utterly down to earth, warm + personable.
With the recent arrival of The Pikey, Soho House + Top Shop at The Grove in Hollywood, it feels that Charming’s successful show might just be part of a new British Cultural Invasion, which might end up leaving an even greater legacy than the musical one spear-headed by The Beatles in the 60′s.
Guest blogger
-Bexx Bissell
Went to the opening of Alec Monopoly’s satirical street art exhibition at Lab Art on La Brea last Wednesday. The event was a packed house.
This guestlist only event was sold out which is testament to Alec’s metoric rise in the art world.
Alec’s latest portraits of Keith Haring + Madonna are tagged at $50,000
Loved the Richie Rich Rolls Royce as well the painting of Richie walking his cute pet Dalmatian ‘Dollar’
Alec was very warm & friendly despite being pretty much swamped by the crowd, I really enjoyed meeting him. A true gent!
Alec manages to comment on current affairs while maintaining a ‘feel good’ quality to his output.
People are obviously enjoying the playfulness, color & positivity of Alec’s work. Can you blame them? 
Tamie Adaya & Alec Monopoly wearing his top hat
The Richie Rich Rolls Royce! #RRRR
Tamie Adaya with Bexx Bissell & the newly painted Keith Haring
Last Sunday friend Trevor Miller invited me to a special screening of his new film, Riot on Redchurch Street, a movie about young, and not so young ne’er do wells sabotaging themselves and others on their way to building their careers. The movie had a great soundtrack with a lot of the songs written by my friends Siobhan Fahey and Julian Shah Taylor. The French chansons were particularly beautiful! It was a lot of fun seeing artwork from my friend Will Blanchard and clothes by Child of Jago in the film as well. Here are some photos w the director Trevor and Julian, one with me and Annabella Lwin from “I Want Candy” fame/lead singer of Bow Wow Wow, and one with Bexx Bissell.
Trevor Miller, Tamie, Julian Shah Taylor
Tamie, Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow)
Bexx Bissel & Tamie
On Saturday I was invited to a Black Tie Goth party in honor of my friend Justin Barco w the theme of Eyes Wide Shut up in the Hollywood Hills. It was a gorgeous evening in a lovely house overlooking a breathtaking view w iconcically dressed beautiful people, great tunes and a performance by the Music and Art collective Steed Lord.
Edward & Allison, the GBH Goths
W/ Eddie House from Steed Lord, check out his stee!
One of the bedrooms w/ it's owner/designer Jerry! Love the profusion of colour and prints
Justin Barco and me w/ our masks
The birthday boy and me again without our masks but w/ our #eyeswideshut
I had the pleasure of being invited by Bulgari to their party on Tuesday night, displaying the jewels of Elizabeth Taylor that Bulgari had bought back when they were put up for sale at Christies. Just seeing the famous iconic jewels brought back all the memories of hearing the lovely and torrid stories of the love affair between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor and how he always wooed her and wowed the world with the jewels he bestowed on her.
Stunning Bulgari Invite with the iconic Elizabeth Taylor image
impeccably designed personalized invitation for Bulgari event
Adding to my enjoyment was seeing all the lovely photos of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in their youth and in the prime of their love passion and beautiful looks, most of them taken by my friend Richard Young.
Afterwards the party continued at the top of the parking structure which had been converted into a gorgeous green garden/atrium, and true to the style of the famous jewelry house, no expense was spared in entertaining us, their clients, journalists and celebrities with the best of food, cocktails, champagne, desert and entertainment.
Ran in to some old friends like Dave Thomas there, and met some new ones like George Blodwell. All in all it was a perfect party with beautiful people, beautifully curated food, dazzling ambiance and most importantly the worlds most stunning jewels.
Stunning live performance violinist accompanied by DJ providing musical entertainment for the evening
Gorgeous projections throughout the event
Beautiful Bulgari Fan given out as a party favor to all the ladies in attendance
Elegant table top floral displays
Stunning Bulgari designed mirror inspired by the movie Cleopatra made custom for Elizabeth Taylor
The brilliant & dapper Dave Thomas, Tamie Adaya, and Isaiah @ Bulgari Event
Effortless beauty & timeless Bulgari design showcased in this display
My essential Bulgari watch that I wear daily
Last weekend I took a small working holiday and went to the Parker Palm Springs. I was there for 48 hours and had absolutely no desire or reason to leave the premises. Everything from my Jonathan Adler decorated room to the beautiful toiletries to the lush landscaping and the decadent opium-den-like Spa (which for some bizarre reason is actually called the Palm Springs Yacht Club instead…go figure!) were the many reasons that I only got into my car on Monday to drive home. Hammocks, tennis courts, multiple pools, delicious restaurant, great music all conspired to seduce and relax, and the masseur kneaded out all the tension, even Mother Nature was in on the secret and it was warm and sunny. All in all a winning combination.
The relaxing hammock oasis
Idyllic views in Palm Springs
The luscious pool area
My home away from home for the weekend
The most divine toiletries
The essential fruit salad
