CHIREL

 

Today I talked to Chirel. 

I am looking for comfortable summer shoes in order to walk in the streets of Los Angeles and become a better blogger. The Lux shop stands on Larchmont Blvd and carries affordable things. Let's say that if Ali Baba were a girl, this would have been her summer cave. Everywhere you look, there is something you want to touch. Fine jewelry, shoes for night and day, sunglasses, hats, and scarves. Chirel, a petite smiling trendy girl, is the boss here. A few years ago, she moved to Los Angeles from Paris, France. At this time, all her friends were getting married. She suddenly saw herself at the age of forty, married with three children, eating quiche with girlfriends on Sundays. "I wanted to live something exciting," she says. So she flew to Los Angeles to work with her brother. 

By the way, this portion of Larchmont Blvd is pretty much like a family business. Chirel's brother manages one of the shops next door. His wife, Jacquie Aiche, designs fine jewelry, that Chirel sells. Amongst other things, she creates handcrafted amulets inspired by her Native American and Jewish origins. The necklaces contain a blessing and are said to bring good fortune and protection to whomever wears them. Then, I meet Cynthia who shows us her hand. Her wedding ring says "Fuck". "Fuck, I'm married!" she says, and laughs. She works at the men's store next door. Her husband is Chirel's brother's best friend. "We're one little family over here," says Cynthia. She points to the bench in front of Lux: "Sometimes we seat here and talk about people on the street. We call it Larchmont Talk," she says. A girl with a light summer dress and black sandals walks by. "She would be a perfect customer for me," says Chirel. At this moment, the girl blatantly pulls on her panties. "Well, she puts her panties back in place but that'll do," adds Chirel with a laugh.

Every five minute, a new girl pops into the shop and  looks delighted to see Chirel. A woman with green-tinted sunglasses enters: "I've sold the house. I'm moving to New York," she says. Chirel congratulates her and they hug. Her name is Viktoria. She has created Ebba, a line of scented candles and fine perfumes. Women who wear these perfumes seem to love them so much that they refuse to reveal the name of the brand to other women. That's intriguing... I definitely have to check it out. 

Tonight Chirel is going to a restaurant that shows movies on its rooftop for free. She says that her friends call her Huggy Bear, or Huggy les Bons Tuyaux in French (Antonio Fargas' character in Starsky and Hutch, TV series). They say she knows all about the best tips, the free parties, and the great restaurants in town. But most of all, you can tell this girl loves people. She offers advice about fashion or anything else concerning... well, life. 


Suddenly, after maybe an hour or two of girl talk, Chirel mentions that she is creating things too. She shows me her black leather bags and purses. Each one has a different object engraved in the leather: a plastic spider, a pair of sunglasses, or a paintbrush. The idea is unique and the result definitely cool. Her brand is called Sibling as a tribute to her brother and sisters (The French name is: Trois Soeurs et un Frère, but Chirel says it is way too long) and it can be found at American Rag. 

It is finally time for me to leave this bubbly girly experience. I have enjoyed meeting these fun and creative women, and I hope to hear from Huggy Bear's good tips soon. 

NATHALIE & CAROLINE

Today I talked to Nathalie and Caroline.

Every Sunday on my way to the Larchmont farmers' market, I walk past a bunch of dogs to adopt.

Enclosed in a small fence is a muddle of teensy five-weeks-old puppies. Their space looks like a circus school with each animal trying out some peculiar new trick. People stop to watch this adorable show. The children want to pet them and adults exclaim: “Look at that! So small and sweet!”

I notice a young girl with long curly hair who juggles the puppies with confidence. “They’re very mischievous”, she says. Her name is Nathalie. She is thirteen-year-old and works as a volunteer for the mission -Saving Grace- . “I just do this because I love animals”. She points at a younger girl, Caroline: “She’s here because she follows me around. We’re sisters”, says Nathalie. “She’s the one who starts the fights and I’m the one who takes the blame”, says Nathalie. Caroline looks at her oldest sister but doesn’t say a thing. “I’m better with parents”, adds Nathalie. Caroline utters timidly: “She thinks she’s pretty”. Nathalie laughs. Then Caroline gazes fondly at the cream puppy wrapped in her arms and her freckled face brightens.

Later the girls introduce me to Polly who created Saving Grace twenty years ago. She was an actress but found it too difficult to wait for calls from Hollywood. She explains humbly how much work the animals represent and adds that she paid four hundred dollars to get the puppies out of the shelter.

In the fence the puppies are fast asleep, crammed into a comical puppy-pile. A forty-year-old bald man holds a chocolate brown puppy in his hand and then raises it to his face: “I wish I could take you home with me but my cat won’t allow it!”. He turns to his friend: “I come here every Sunday to torture myself.” He puts the chocolate dog down and leaves.

A slender young woman grabs a golden beige puppy. “The good thing about them being so small is you can tell their character”, she says to her boyfriend. He points out to the little animals: “This one is timid and this one is a fighter,” he says. “Mine is a quiet one. It could be cool to have one like that”, the girl adds.

Two hours go by. Caroline is still holding her creamy friend in her sweater. “It’s a boy puppy. I like boys better, they’re more playful”, says Caroline. Nathalie glances towards the animal : “He is very sweet but I haven’t had a chance to hold him yet”, she says. She rolls her eyes and looks really annoyed. “Because she won’t let me have him”, she adds.

It's 4pm. Polly packs the pets and their fences. She is exhausted. Today, only one out of the ten puppies found an adoptive family.

The sisters’ dad is on his way to pick them up. Their secret plan is to foster the puppy for a week and have their dad allow them to keep it. “We have a dog. His name is Joe”, says Nathalie. “Our dad thinks we can’t handle another animal, even though we took care of a cat for ten days”, she says. Caroline is quick on the draw: “You’ll pick up his poo”, she says. “NO! It’s liquid poo. It’s disgusting”, answers Nathalie.

Their father, John, parks his car. Caroline holds the creamy puppy with outstretched arms and with an imploring look she asks: “Father, can we keep him?” - “We already have a dog”, he says. Caroline approaches the puppy to her dad: “But his name’s Sergeant Pepper!” she shouts in desperation. Her father smiles softly and looks away.

Tonight, Nathalie and Caroline’s little friend will sleep with his siblings. But now at least he has a name.







Saving Grace: http://www.savinggracela.org/