Saturday 20 February 2016

'My Nest'..... Vanessa and her Vintage store HoneyWood Vintage


Vanessa From HoneyWood Vintage shares her beautiful Vintage store with us


I am so excited to re-introduce you guys to Vanessa from HoneyWood Vintage. I have a bit of a crush on Vanessa and her impeccable tastes and have featured her home, her peacock chairs and snips of her home many times... so i thought it was about time I featured her beautiful store and Interviewed the lady herself....

So Hi Vanessa......


What inspired you to open Honeywood Vintage?
When I opened the store I was doing a lot of business online and I kept getting requests from customers to come try on items and see the pieces I was selling in person. I didn’t want people coming to my house so in the back of my mind I had started fantasizing about a small space where I could work, take appointments with clients and showcase my collection. It also seemed like all of my time was spent at home in front of the computer and I was very isolated not to mention the house was super cluttered with vintage clothing and textiles.


Why did you choose the building /area?
Honestly price, I had lived in Northeast Los Angeles on the boarder of Eagle Rock and Highland Park for a while and I was watching the change happening in Highland Park. I really wanted to get into the neighborhood before the rents skyrocketed. It’s a very creative, eclectic, and quickly gentrifying neighborhood, lot’s of artists, musicians (Jackson Brown is from Highland Park) and creative types as well as being a very culturally diverse area.. We feel very blessed to be where we are. I really couldn’t imagine being anywhere else other than the desert…


How would you describe the style/vibe of the store?
The vibe of the store is definitely an extension of our own personal styles, 1970s Ethnic bohemian mixed with a Rock n Roll vibe. We love anything that is Artisan created, Mexican hand embroidery, Indian Block Prints, 70s handmade leather, Native American jewelry and textiles. Charlie (my boyfriend/partner)  is a musician and has a pretty deep history in Rock and Roll so there are a lot of vintage Rock t-shirts, motorcycle boots, a few guitars and records as well. It’s very romantic with lots of textures and patterns but it also has a southwestern/desert vibe. There is a feminine and masculine energy which is a nice balance. A lot of our customers come to shop but end up hanging out for hours which is really cool, we love that people dig the vibe and feel really comfortable here. We’ve been told the shop is kind of a mix between Joshua Tree and Laurel Canyon in the 70s.



What is the inspiration behind the name?
People ask that all of the time and that’s a hard question to answer! It seemed like a good combination between hard and soft. I could have imagined a little western town years ago, named Honeywood.


What are your 5 favorite products?
Hmmmmmm, that’s a hard one! Like any die hard Bohemian woman at heart I am a sucker for vintage Indian Dresses, I have been obsessed with them since high school they always sell fast and I struggle because I want to keep them all! I also live in Calamity Pass Trading Co braid wraps (whose home was featured on Moon to Moon here) , I sell out of them and we generally have a waiting list. We are really in love with a brand we recently started carrying out of Joshua Tree called Totally Blown , they are a conceptual clothing company that distresses their one-of–a-kind pieces with shotguns. I am also so proud to carry my close friend Stormie’s beaded pieces, I have been obsessed with her Native American beadwork for years and years and we are honored to carry her pieces in our store. Last but not least we are pretty proud of our own creations my one-of-a-kind Honeywood overnighter carpet bags made from vintage woven textiles and Charlie’s hats, Lone Hawk @lonehawkhats



What’s next for Honeywood?
For over a decade, Honeywood has carried curated bohemian vintage and always will but we are very excited to be branding and making our own one-of-a-kind items, like the bags. Incorporating vintage handmade elements with luxury one-of-a-kind products is rewarding and has been a very organic progression for us. It’s also been VERY rewarding to move away from 3rd party online sites and be able to function autonomously as Honeywoodvintage.com. I also plan to launch my own line of handmade dresses this year as well so stay tuned!
 Vanessa's Collaborations with Free People and Lone Hawk hats


You recently Collaborated with Free People, do you have any future projects you would like to share? 
Yes! I am thrilled about Free People carrying my bags, it’s pretty cool to be recognized on that level. It has really given me confidence to push my boundaries as a designer and produce on a larger scale. Producing quantity while making one-of-a-kind pieces is a big challenge but one that I love and I am familiar with.

Honeywood is also the home of Charlie’s brand of hats “Lone Hawk” @lonehawkhats which has grown amazingly fast. Nine months ago he received a request from a friend in a successful rock band and Lone Hawk was off and running. Lone Hawk has quickly developed a loyal following of musicians and entertainers. Charlie picks only the finest old vintage hats and carefully and lovingly reshapes, restyles and puts his own vibe on them purely by hand so that every piece is one of a kind and of the highest quality. It’s been a really great blend, incorporating some of the textiles and bohemian elements of Honeywood into the hats.


HoneyWood Vintage Overnighter bags and Lone Hawk hats


If you had the choice of traveling back in time to shop for furnishing for your home or Honeywood what decade ?
I think London in the late 60s early 70s must have been amazing! The music, the fashion, Biba, Zandra Rhodes, all of the textures and patterns. I can only imagine how amazing Portobello Market must have been! One of my favorite movies of all time is Performance (1970) with Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg, the art direction and wardrobe is to die for! Decadent and rich but relaxed and unstaged.



A big thank you to Vanessa for taking the time out to talk to Moon to Moon.

Images sourced from Honeywood Vintage Instagram 

and Apartment Therapy

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