The design team at CM In The
City has curated a Holiday
shopping list from some of their
favorite Los Angeles spots. A
few of the shops are typically
exclusive to interior designers,
but do have special days or
events when the general public
is invited in to enjoy the great
prices and exceptional décor
items.
Starting off the list are a few
of our favorite locations to find
great hostess gifts. It seems
that every weekend during the
holidays there are several par-
ties to attend. This can pose
quite a challenge in coming up
with unique and useful hostess
gifts over and over. Here are
a few of our go-to-places for
finding items and help to create
the ideal gift.
Urban Radish, located in the
Art’s district of Downtown Los
Angeles is a wonderful grocery
store. Here you will be inspired
by their extensive collection of
locally made gourmet treats as
well as artisan creations from
around the globe. Their expert
staff can help you design the
perfect one-of-a-kind gift bas-
ket that will thrill any recipient.
Does someone on your shop-
ping list dream of wine, cheese
and chocolate, then The
Cheese Shop of Beverly Hills
tops our list of gourmet cheese
shops for you. Yes there are
other wonderful cheese shops
in Los Angeles, but when you
combine their unique selection
of amazing products along with
Norbert’s expertise you won’t
find a more fun or delicious
shopping experience.
Another never fail hostess gift
is a selection of desserts from
Bottega Louis on Broadway.
The packaging of their bak-
ery items is a beautiful as their
pastries are yummy. We like to
get items that the hostess can
enjoy the next day and for days
after the party.
Continuing on with our 12 days
of Christmas gifts, we like plac-
es that offer specialty home dé-
cor with character: Items that
become instant collectibles
and part of a home. Here are a
few places where you are sure
to find locate such finds.
Cisco Home in Pasadena is a
wonderful made-in-LA story.
They have mostly reinvented
items designed and built in Los
Angeles. They also represent
some talented furniture artisans
from the local area.
Urban Colony is owned by one
of our favorite people Robert
Wylie, and is located in the Pa-
cific Design Center in Los An-
geles. The PDC is one of those
locations mentioned earlier that
is for the design trade only: But,
on the first Wednesday of every
month it is open to the public.
Robert curates a wide variety
of items, but we are particular-
ly smitten with his Mid-Century
Modern Furnishings.
Located in the Art’s District you
will find a treasure of a store
called Hammer and Spear
which is owned by design-
er and TV personality, Kristan
Cunningham and her hus-
band and partner, Scott Jarrell.
Hammer and Spear has an out-
standing curated selection of
antiques, art and barware and
so much more. Every time we
stop by we find several must-
have-items and enjoy learning
about their adventures in find-
ing the store’s latest treasures.
They usually always have sev-
eral sets of vintage bar glasses,
which make wonderful gifts.
Speaking of outfitting a great
bar, a new store recently
opened on Beverly Blvd., in Los
Angeles called Cocktail Lab. It
is filled with all things cocktail.
They have the latest in mixolo-
gy, including an amazing variety
of mixtures and a great collec-
tion of vintage cocktail glasses
and barware.
A great place in DTLA to find
a unique gift for that person
who has everything is Caravan
Books on Grand Avenue. This
DTLA gem has been owned and
operated by the same family for
over 60 years and most days
you will find the owner Leonard
Bernstein behind the counter.
While they used to specialize in
books on food, wine and ear-
ly California, they now have a
collection of antique books on
most any subject.
You can’t forget the four-legged
members of the family at Christ-
mas! We love Pussy and Pooch
on Main Street. Here you will
find a wide variety of pet gifts
that would please any stylish or
fashion conscience dog or cat
(and their owner).
New linens are always a great
gift. Who couldn’t use a lush
new set of towels? There are
great towels everywhere of
course, but we love the selec-
tion at Rejuvenation Hardware
located in the Helm’s Bakery
Design Center in Culver City.
They always have a great se-
lection of lush towels in neutral
colors as well as snowy bright
white, our favorite gift towels.
Another always-appreciated