Palisadian Laura Revness has worked at the plant store Acme 5 this past year and will help Pacific Palisades residents with design.
Acme 5 Lifestyle, a nursery located in a small triangular area on Temescal Canyon Road, across from the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center, is scheduled to close tomorrow, November 14, after just a year in business.
Construction on the site began in early in 2014, but the actual nursery did not open until last November.
CTN was told that the rent was being raised and there is a possibility that another plant store may be going in, possibly in January, but was unconfirmed before posting.
Store owner Anton Goss has been nominated for an Emmy in production design eight times, winning three times. He has designed for shows such as “The Voice,” “Ellen DeGeneres,” “Oprah” and “The Bachelor.”
The plants from this store will be transferred to another of Goss’ stores at 3280 Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica. The owner has additional stores in San Pedro and Yucca Valley.
The hiring of store employee and Palisades resident Laura Revness was serendipitous.
“I was walking by the store and stopped in as a customer,” Revness said. She bought a plant, but the employee just put it in a pot, so “I asked if I could pot it myself.” She did and made is so attractive that Goss, who happened to be walking by, asked if she could do 10 more. Then he asked, “Can you set up the store?”
Revness broke the news to him, “I don’t work for you. I’m just a customer.” But then she did.
“I’m grateful to him because he took a chance on me,” Revness said. “They’ve asked me to do classes [potting arrangements] at other stores.”
“I’m starting again,” said Revness about her life. Her plant compositions are done with an artist’s eye—because that was her first career. “I know design principles: mass, scale, color and positive and negative space.”
Revness grew up in Brentwood, attended Paul Revere, Windward and then UCLA, where she received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in art and art history. Later she went back to school to study education and started teaching art for gifted students at Beverly Hills High in the 1980s.
“I always loved art, kids and plants,” she said, and was happy teaching. In her 31-year career, she won teaching awards and said, “I knew everyone in Beverly Hills.”
Then Revness was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It was supposed to be a quick surgery, with her missing two weeks of school. Instead, she was out for the rest of the school year and when she returned, she found herself tired and having difficulty speaking. She decided to retire from teaching.
While working at the nursery, Revness soon was discovered by her customers, not only for her artistic plant arrangements, but also for her eye for reimagining a space.
A second career was born: “Rearrange Design.” Revness will go to homes to help people “reimagine” a space.
“I’ve always done home design on the side,” she said. “I work with people to help them reinvent their spaces. They know what they want, but just don’t know how to do it. I like to reassemble and reuse things [already in the home].”
One person Revness worked with wanted to add more color to a room that was white and black. In addition to adding pillows, she took an oriental carpet that was hanging on a wall and put it under a glass living room table, which brought about the desired result.
Another person had a large hole in a deck and Revness crafted a cascade of succulents to fill the space.
Said Revness, an ardent environmentalist: “You don’t need to spend a million bucks to make a place look like a million bucks.”
Resident Miriam Shulman said that Revness “did a beautiful installation for my backyard – with extraordinary succulents. Laura has a good eye and she’s fun to work with.”
“Your place should look like you; it should reflect who you are, your interests, your travels and your passions,” Revness said. “It should be assembled with memory and care, rather than containing prepackaged materials from a generic store.”
Revness has 25-year-old twins, Chloe and Gabe. Her daughter is a computer engineer and her son is applying for medical school. Her husband, Bobby “Carlos” Schwartz, is a musician who restores vintage instruments and is a guitar technician for The Eagles.
Contact Revness at (310) 775-3947 or email larevness@gmail.com.
Laura Revness designed this succulent garden, which nicely fits in what was once an unused and unattractive space.
I know and LOVE Laura (and Bobby) and I am so glad you are singing her much due praises!!!
This is wonderful to hear. I was one of Laura’s students at Beverly Vista Elementary School. Over the years we’ve been able to catch up here and there, she is a terrific example of the positive impact that a teacher can make. I was her student 30+ years ago…. she can do anything!