Download PDFBewildering, indeed. How does she do it all? Lynn von Kersting co-owns and works at the Ivy, the Ivy at the Shore, Dolce Isola (the Ivy Bakery) with Richard Irving, and is the sole proprietor of Indigo Seas, which adjoins the Ivy in West Hollywood. Here is a unique boutique that attracts world visitors, frequented by Ralph Lauren, Bruce Weber and local tastemakers admiring Lynn’s extraordinary selection of furnishings, accessories and vintage editions of classic authors. (Not many know that before Lynn opened Indigo Seas 20 years ago, the location was a Chinese restaurant Fong Wong, which disappointed customers tagged Gone Wrong.)
Indigo Seas led Lynn to decorating houses featured in the shelter magazines for owners such as Peggy Lipton, Pam and Jeffrey Godsick, Pat Crowley Friendly. As expected, she’s created a living paradise in the former George Cukor estate, where Lynn, Richard and their beautiful dancing daughter India, studying for her law degree at USC, reside amid a thousand rose bushes and walls of trailing ivy. Long ago, we christened it Villa Abbondanza – a sumptuous cosmos of beauty from Lynn’s abundant imagination.
Lynn’s just published her second highly personal album, Amore e Gioia Sotto il Sole, An Indigo Seas Scrapbook of Ivy Recipes and Summer Snapshots (Amore and Gioia translate as love and joy.) Compiled and art-directed by Lynn and edited by Darra Baker, this is another extraordinary collection of photographs that Lynn, India and Richard have taken of their sitting rooms and bedchambers and lush gardens. Photographs of the family include India’s handsome beau, Mario Rivelli, whose dad served as Mayor of Naples, and let’s not forget the family’s rescue dog.
Here are portraits of the Ivy, Dolce Isola, Indigo Seas, their favored sunlit Isle of Capri with its azure seas, and scenes from travels abroad. The photographs explode with cloudbursts of colors that are Lynn’s design signature. Riots of flowers, table settings inspired by rainbows, eclectic objets, a tableaux of the homegrown vegetables Richard grows in his gardens for the restaurants.
Easy recipes from the Ivy flirt between the pages. Chef Richard’s infamous grilled vegetable salad with chicken, along with other salads. Pasta, vitello bello (rack of veal), coconut cupcakes, banana daiquiris and mint juleps, Bellinis and the Pazza Gioia cocktail (pazza translates as crazy).
Plus favored quotes from Truman Capote, who describes island life as “no place for the rush of hours … islands never are.” On arriving in Venice, Truman confessed, “I’ve starved myself all day because … Oh, what a joy to step out of the night into the chattering warmth of Harry’s Bar and wash down those little shrimp sandwiches with an icy martini or three.”
Pictures of and quotes from songbirds Billie Holiday (“no damn business like show business -- you have to smile from throwing up”), and Sarah “Sassy” Vaughan (“When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder, and I don’t even notice”). Cab Calloway’s sheet music for Jumpin’ Jive, Hep! Hep! Lyrics for Moonlight Cocktail, popularized by bandleader Glenn Miller during the ’40s (“couple of jiggers of moonlight and add a star”).
Mementos, too – telegrams and correspondence belonging to Maria Callas that Richard bought at auction in Paris as a gift for Lynn, who collects memorabilia from Noel Coward, etc. A photograph of a London delivery van’s signage: Booze After Hours, Delivered in 20 Minutes.
Lynn has a printing press at home, where she prints the photographs and adjusts the vibrant colors. The fine quality of the book’s paper reproduces her color images perfectly. Additonally, fourteen beautiful Cartoline di Vacanza (postcards) are included as bookmarks.
A must-have for lovers of beautiful books, Amore e Gioia Sotto il Sole is another collector’s item. Lynn’s La Strada della Dolce Vita is also available exclusively at Indigo Seas, 123 North Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles. Telephone: (310) 550-8758.
You’re in the right place when our Chief of Police David Snowden stops by your table for a kind greeting. David and wife Ellyn were guests of Redken founder, philanthropist and animal rights champion Paula Kent Meehan, who hosted five tables at the 9.02.10 Celebration Night on the rooftop parking lot across from the Beverly Hilton. “Never again will the calendar and our Beverly Hills zip code coincide,” announced Mayor Jimmy Delshad, who orchestrated and emceed this event that delivered a crowd of l,500. Would that Mayor Jimmy’s enthusiasm for the community could be bottled as an energizer drink.
Guests back-and-forthed at the buffet tables manned by the city’s famous chefs – you’ve read about them in BHC these past weeks. Seated we were at Marcia Hobbs’ table (Marcia being BHC’s Associate Publisher), with our tablemates applauding honoree Larry King, who announced that at his age, 77, there’s still no need for Viagra. A decade ago, Larry revealed, over lunch, that as a kid he’d walk the Brooklyn streets, cupping a hand over his mouth as if it were a microphone and playing broadcaster. “That’s how early I dreamed of being in the business.”
Honored were Hal David and Charlie Fox of Grammy fame, who wrote the 90210 Beverly Hills song performed for the first time by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. Also acknowledged was animal rights advocate Wayne Purcelle, who flew in from Washington, D.C. Wayne heads The Humane Society of the United States, and he presented awards to Wendie Malick, Jorja Fox and Kaley Cuoco for their support of our animal kingdom. The cast of 90210 was introduced, followed by driving entertainment by Brit pop star Natasha Bedingfield and Ne-Yo topping the evening. As with many first-time events, kinks need to be addressed, notably the parking and the service.
Philanthropists Margaret and Ronnie Preissman dined with us, reminiscing about the spaghetti dish with plum tomatoes, slivers of toasted garlic and olive oil that we three devoured at the now-gone Orlando Orsini in Pico Boulevard. It was the creation of Stefano Orsini, and who knows why no other chef’s been able to duplicate it. Marcia’s schoolmate Patty Brown praised Margaret for being a top-notch cooker, and Ronnie informed that he knew the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee when she lived in Beverly Hills with son Eric Preminger (dad being director Otto Preminger). “Gypsy parented eight Shih Tzus and 14 peacocks and schools of goldfish trained to do tricks.” (Gypsy’s sister June Havoc also housed a menagerie of animals at her Connecticut estate until her death at age 97.) The hit musical Gypsy is based on the stripper’s life in vaudeville.
Universal’s Ron Meyer and wife Kelly Chapman hosted the wedding of his daughter Sarah to Aaron Michaelson at their oceanfront Charles Gwathmey-designed house in Malibu. Sarah’s the daughter of Ron’s former wife, Ellen, and the newlyweds met where they work. At Joel Silver’s busy production company. Congratulations!