This past weekend I went to the Sunset Celebration Weekend in Menlo Park. It's basically like a big street fair on the grounds of Sunset Publishing Corporation's headquarters.
I've been two other times in the past several years. Once it was raining cats and dogs, the other was sweltering hot. Fortunately, we had beautiful weather on Sunday!
If you've never been to Sunset's headquarters, it's kind of an interesting place to check out. Although Sunset has been in publication since 1898, it didn't move into it's current location until 1951.
Sunset's success and relocation was big news in this Time article from October 15, 1951:
"This week the magazine gave in to its own sales talk, and moved from a drab San Francisco office building to a new, $500,000 ranch-house building in suburban Menlo Park, with glass partitions, barbecue pits, foot-thick adobe walls, floors of Indian-made tile, beams, acres of gardens."
Apparently Sunset was doing quite well at the time, bringing in $350,000 a year!
I went through these headquarter doors one other time when it wasn't Celebration Weekend. Met with the Editor and Home Editor to discuss some story opportunities. I ended up styling for a shoot and writing up an entire how-to on "Nautical Window Treatments." Very crafty for me! Unfortunately, the story was killed. Guess this sort of thing happens all the time, but I was pretty sad about it. Maybe next time...
See? Typical street fair. (Sorry - no shots of the Fried Pickle stand.)
Here's the Benjamin Moore booth. They are EVERYWHERE, aren't they?
Pssssst. For the California Wine Book Giveaway, you'll need to answer this question correctly: "What ingredient is commonly found in toothpaste, marshmallow and paint?"
I know, I'm sneaky putting it in the middle, huh? Gotta make sure you're reading!
There was an Airstream and "glammed up" camping section to tour but it was pretty congested so I skipped it. I decided a shot of the signage was cool enough for me!
What great marketing by Kohler! They set up an entire hand-washing station. Pretty fancy.
And of course we had to stop by our favorite booth, Vintage European Posters. If you haven't heard of these posters before, please visit the website and my previous blog post. They are truly enthralling from an artistic, social and cultural perspective. Not to mention the colors!!! The colors are magical.
That's Elizabeth, the owner. She knows her stuff.
Italian cheese adverstisement. Might be from the 1950s?
San Francisco/United Air Lines Travel Poster from the 1960s.
French furniture ad from the 50s or 60s.
Hotel promotional ad. I think this was from the early 20th century.
Aren't these stunning colors? There's our green and turquoise that's so trendy today. Only these posters are from the late 1960s.
A little Bauhaus exhibition poster from 1968.
And what Celebration Weekend is complete without a glass (or two) of wine? Thanks to my brother Doug and Rich for being members of the Sunset Wine Club and getting us into the special VIP tasting room! It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Now on to the giveaway...
The first person who responds with the correct answer to the question asked earlier in this post gets a copy of California Wine Country: A Sunset Field Guide AND a Sunset Wine Club Aroma Wheel.
Good luck!
If you are interested in color and interior design services, please call me at 818.825.0155, or shoot me an email at kelly@artestyling.com to discuss your project.
