Last night was Angeleno magazine’s 7th anniversary party. It was thrown in the unlikely but perfect location of H.D. Buttercup in Culver City, a vast warehouse containing the wares of 50 vendors. This night the mag was offering guests Belvedere cocktails and an array of desserts amid the Turkish rugs and modern furniture.
The first time here for the both of us, my friend Val and I made the rounds, checking out the huge 100,000-square-foot space for wishful furniture shopping. Everything was gorgeous and expensive. A big fake porcelain, er, ceramic? book was tagged at $5,000. One dining chair was on sale for $290.
We sat in the sale section of the store on the sidelines to people watch. The crowd was comprised of well-heeled industry types. Val guessed they were Angeleno mag people, as they were all very slick, well-dressed and young. Everyone looked each other up and down for some reason. Why does it have to be like that? In any case, I felt like I was in that Seinfeld episode where George gains entrance into the secret world of the beautiful people.
Waiters fueled the masses with passed trays of mini eclairs, chocolate truffles and fruit tarts while bartenders shook up white cosmos and Vanilla Moons (Belvedere and white grape juice which tasted more like cough syrup according to Val). There must have been five bars scattered throughout the warehouse but each had long lines of patient PYTs.
A cute dj girl did double-duty entertaining everyone by dancing as she spun tunes by the likes of Tiffany and Justin Timberlake.
We strolled around the store until we found a clothes section called Find Outlet. Joy! I guessed that everything would be priced out of my range but was astonished to find some very nice shoes, orginally $240, on sale for $28! Cute kimono belts went for $25. A beautiful slip dress was on sale for $29. Apparently, this New York transplant holds fantastic monthly sales on discounted designer clothes.
In another section was a soap and candles store where we sniffed all things yummy. Since this was also where all the goody bags were located, Val and I agreed that we saw all there was to see tonight and grabbed our swag on the way out the door, promising to check out H.D. Buttercup another time.
All the times I pass that Helms Bakery sign and I had no idea what treasures were to be found inside.
3225 Helms Avenue
Culver City, California 90034
(310) 558-8900
Cross Street: Venice Boulevard