People going to Sunset Boulevard on Saturday likely were surprised to see flower arrangements placed at various locations along the Strip.
Those floral art arrangements are part of the celebration leading to the long-awaited opening of the Pendry Hotel on 8430 Sunset Blvd., at Olive Drive. The luxury hotel with 149 guest rooms and two restaurants by chef Wolfgang Puck is scheduled to open on April 2.
Intended as a gift to the city, the arrangements, dubbed “A New Season on Sunset. Love, Pendry,” were placed at seven locations along the Strip on Saturday morning at sunrise and will be in place for a few days.
The seven sites, each chosen because they are iconic locations along Sunset, are (from west to east):
- Sidewalk in front of Tower Records, near Horn Avenue
- Center island east of Coffee Bean, near Horn Avenue
- Island on the north side of Sunset Plaza drive, surrounding the Sunset Plaza sign
- Courtyard of The Sunset (near Equinox), near Alta Loma
- Light post in front of Fred Segal on south side of La Cienega
- Post in front of Pink Dot on north side of La Cienega
- Corner of Sunset and Olive at the Pendry West Hollywood
Azadeh Hawkins, the creative director for Pendry Hotels and Resorts, explained the idea behind the arrangements is to signal new beginnings – the beginning of spring and the opening of the Pendry.
“It’s been an unimaginable year for Angelenos,” said Hawkins. “We dubbed this campaign, ‘A New Season on Sunset. Love, Pendry’ as it is really intended to be our gift to L.A. to celebrate new beginnings and a new season after an unprecedented year. With the first day of spring kicking off last weekend, these floral masterpieces are a symbol of rebirth and reawakening for a bright future.”
Renowned floral designer Eric Buterbaugh is the mastermind behind each of the arrangements. The florist-to-the-stars told WEHOville that he gave special care to create an arrangement appropriate for each location.
“I always check out the surrounding elements for inspiration,” said Buterbaugh. “For example, I thought it’d be fun to incorporate pink pampas in front of Pink Dot. I was inspired by the yellow building at the Sunset Plaza sign so we incorporated stunning yellow forsythia, yellow acacia, yellow lipstick pincushion protea and lots of soft pinks for an opulent, springtime vibe. We are using vibrant colors for the installation in front of Fred Segal to play off the use of colors in the Fred Segal logo.”
Buterbaugh is excited to have created these special arrangements because stunning florals are something he associates with West Hollywood.
“When I think of West Hollywood, I think of glamour, beauty and style which are the same adjectives that I associate with flowers,” said Buterbaugh.
