OAKVILLE, Calif. – For its 60th anniversary, the Robert Mondavi Winery has restored its Cliff May-designed visitor building and relandscaped the grounds, bringing renewed attention to one of the most recognizable pieces of architecture in American wine. The historic building and its signature tower—long featured on the winery’s labels—remain centralMORE HERE
BURBANK – A new exhibition on the history of Warner Bros. has debuted to celebrate the centennial of the Warner brand. The exhibition features Warner Bros.’s “impact on storytelling” from Casablanca to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The tour is not only about movies; one of the more popularMORE HERE
LONDON – The Wilbur Smith Estate and Leopard Rock Studios has hired ACF Investment Bank to handle the sale process of the intellectual property of the late South African author Wilbur Smith (1933-2021). Smith, born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), wrote about colonial Africa, and lived most of his lifeMORE HERE
LOS ANGELES — The Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles will celebrate her centennial in 2023 with restored ballroom frescoes and windows, and a year’s worth of special events. “I want to acknowledge everyone who loves this building,” said Los Angeles Conservancy President and CEO, Linda Dishman at a Dec. 2MORE HERE
OAKLAND, Calif. – Courtsmith, the sports uniform brand founded by Courtney “Court” Smith, has won a $300,000 investment from ICA, a non-profit that supports investments in companies to “close the racial and gender wealth gaps” with a vision of creating an economy that works for all. Smith began by sellingMORE HERE
GOLETA, Calif. – The shoe brand Hoka One has hired two for key design positions. Evie Moe is the brand’s first senior director of apparel. Moe has 20 years of experience in apparel, ranging from performance running to lifestyle and swimwear and most recently served as the vice president of designMORE HERE
SAN FRANCISCO – The Snap-E-Tom tomato cocktail was a product of the Pioneer Ortega company, and later Heublein, and today owned by Del Monte. Made with chile peppers, onions and tomatoes, it was a Bloody Mary mix that advertised itself as the Big Brother of the Bloody Mary, Bloody Thomas.MORE HERE
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – A group in Redwood City, Calif. failed to save a landmark sign that was the marker for the headquarters of Ampex, the nation’s pioneer maker of audio and video recorders. Through the latter part of the 20th century, the word Ampex was synonymous with technology leadership andMORE HERE
MARINA DEL REY – There are thousands of family businesses in the U.S. that were once considerable enterprises, so it is refreshing to see some of them come back, even if they are but modest start-ups. To wit, Cohen & Sons Apparel. I don’t know much about the original, butMORE HERE
Last week, I was in a Wells Fargo branch, looking at a beautifully produced booket and story of the company. It included an explanation of how it ran stagecoaches and ran money to the West, and detailed many of the innovations of the hundreds of banks that made up whatMORE HERE