Joan S.
Yelp
"and the earth is our canvas"......is their slogan.
Big Red Sun opened its second U.S. location this past weekend. Now the commercial & residential landscape designers are in Venice as well as Austin.
I ended up at the grand opening party. I was passing by on Saturday afternoon and heard the live music, saw the crowd, pulled over & parked the car to see what was up.
First thing that caught my eye was the colorful corner building that houses the boutique filled with accessories. Next I noticed the eye-catching landscaping that surrounds the location, and even covers the entire corner. See the photos.
I'm a visual person who also loves nature as well as creative landscapes, so this scene was the ultimate eye candy for me.
I was invited in by a man standing on the sidewalk, who turned out to be Steve, the creative director of Big Red Sun (see photo). He explained that it was their first day of doing business in Venice, marked by a party to benefit Surfrider Foundation. Wow! They had me before I ever went through the door.
And it just got better.
I was starving, had been headed up the street to Whole Foods on Lincoln. But.....Eureka! Behold the Green Truck! I'd not seen it since our last Yelp event, in WeHo. They remembered me! I got a burger, delicious. Six bucks.
I sat in one of the garden spaces to eat, and that's where I met Jack, someone's very cute doggie. I had to give him a tiny piece of my burger because he kept staring at me with those soulful, longing eyes......
So. After Jack & I finished my lunch I explored the grounds. I saw interesting plants, cool wall hangings made from live greenery, a fabulous colorful boutique, handmade skateboards, the table set up by Surfrider where I bought a t-shirt......
Green sculpture was everywhere you turned. I went back to talk to Steve and complimented him on his very impressive creative efforts. There's even a veggie garden in front of the building with corn, a pumpkin (or squash?) patch, and more.
Steve told me that Big Red Sun specializes in major installations onsite. Their website is beautiful, in fact. According to the Austin Yelp reviews, services are pricey. I can't comment on that, because to be honest I never looked at a single price tag. I was too enamored with the visual aspects of all the displays.
According to the website, Big Red Sun also does floral designs for events. Wow, I'll bet that's something to behold......
One thing for sure is that the corner of 6th & Rose never looked more elegantly colorful.
I hung out and listened to the live music, Big Thaw, which was great.
Everyone at the gathering, mostly neighborhood people from what I could tell, was friendly. There were free samples of the super antioxidant drink, Acai, made from those much-hyped miracle berries. It was quite good.
I took 32 photos! Haha, I was in my glory, free to roam with camera.
Holy crap what a party, and what a fun experience to stumble upon on a Saturday afternoon.
Nice to meet you, Big Red Sun, and welcome to my former 'hood, which happens to still be my fave place on this earth that is your canvas......