The LAist Interview: Kerith Elizabeth Henderson

Are there any particular types of creative/crafty entrepreneurial trends that you think we might see come to fruition over the next few years?

I see more and more independent shopping events springing up – but in a much more activity-based way. Events that benefit all who attend; the designers get a true audience and real opportunities, editors get new ideas for stories, sponsors widen their audiences and guests get new experiences and inspiration. This is beyond a sample sale or discount shopping event, more like a social gathering of open-minded individuals meeting together to share information and energy.

New York and even San Francisco have always had the idea to mix shopping with important socializing. I think we are still catching on as far as celebrating the creative people in this city – the artists, fashion designers, musicians and crafty-based businesses who create wonderful items and truly make the visions in their heads materialize.

How did you get started in the PR business?

By accident. I started a handmade crafts business in 1996 and couldn't afford to hire a PR company. I had no choice but to contact editors on my own. I found that not only did I find it fun, but I was good at it.

Friends and associates started asking for my help and advice with their own businesses and I started getting work and experience that way.

I also work with Kibibi Springs, president of Springboard Communications, an LA-based PR firm. She truly specializes in helping the LA-based business owner achieve their goals. We work together on many projects, including Red Carpet Boutique which we are partners in with three other talented women (Seema Syed-Rodriguez of Event Diva, Allyona Sevanesian my partner in Pisces Soap and Alicia Jackson of Moodivations Mobile Spa).

Los Angeles is often stereotyped as a hard place to find personal connections and make friends. Do you agree with that assessment? Do find it challenging to make new friends here?

My transplanted friends would definitely agree. Very few of them find the same deep relationships they had "back home". But I wonder if that is because of the city or because we are all adults now. It was much easier to make friends when you were in grade school and college forced to be social around the same people day in and day out.

Take that away and what are you left with? I find Los Angeles to be a very friendly town. I don't think this city is as "hard" as it is made out to be. I think the myth is bigger than the reality.

What's your favorite movie(s) or TV show(s) that are based in LA?

My favorite LA-themed movies are the ones that remind me of my childhood:
Valley Girl - The Punk and The Valley Girl trying to beat the odds.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Filmed at the Sherman Oaks Galleria! Plus, my friend Kenny was in it -- he played the freckle-faced kid who wanted the Blue Oyster Cult tickets.
Boyz in tha Hood - An instant classic.
LA Story - the quintessential movie about Los Angeles

TV shows: “Beverly Hills 90210” - so cheesy, so good.
”Three's Company” - As a kid I wished I could grow up, get two roommates and
move to Santa Monica.
“Girlfriends” - I love that they live in the Wilton Historic District. I love those homes.
“The Brady Bunch” - when Jan decides to get rid of her freckles she goes into the
pharmacy I used to go in as a kid. Southwest corner of Burbank & Coldwater

Best LA-themed book(s)?

Brent Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero. The college-aged characters in his book, were just like the real kids I knew in LA...only they were still in junior high. I attended a prep school where 12 year-olds were getting great tables at Spago (back when it was on Sunset over Tower Records), an unlimited supply of cocaine, and limos picking them up for school everyday.

What's the best place to walk in LA?

The Bronson Canyon Caves above Franklin. Rattlenakes, hiking trails, a waterfall and brook...you feel so far away from the big city below. It is a great place to detach from technology and get in touch with the true nature Los Angeles has to offer. Plus, The Batman TV series was filmed up there!

It's 9:30 pm on a typical Thursday. Where are you coming from and where are you going?

Sadly, I am still at my computer working. I have so many projects going on right now, I don't have the time to go anywhere -- unless of course it is related to a project!

If you could live in LA during any era, when would it be?

During the 1960's in Venice. From the Beats to the Hippies...must have been a very interesting time.

What is the "center" of LA to you?

Unfortunately, I don't think we have a center. We are way too stretched out. Downtown is too far east, we don't have enough parking in Hollywood, and no one on the Westside is schlepping to the Valley.

If you could live in any neighborhood or specific house in LA, where/which would you choose?

1. A beach house in Malibu. I find the ocean so calming in this stress-inducing town.
2. The house on Rodeo just north of Santa Monica that looks like a big wave. I am a Pisces and love all aspects of water -- I would be in heaven in this house.
3. A Victorian on Carroll Ave. I love homes with character and history

What is the city's greatest secret?

Underneath it all, we are just a regular town just like all the others.

Describe your best LA dining experience.

Spago! There is nothing like dining in the twinkly lit patio sipping on a glass of $300 bottle champagne with Chef Lee Hefter on one side of you talking about white truffles and Wolfgang on the other telling you tales of being on Iron Chef. Spago is the quintessential Los Angeles dining experience.

Where do you want to be when the Big One hits?

Hopefully in Hawaii, sipping on Patron margarita at the Mauna Lay Bay Hotel.