Molly Haas
In early 2021, a potential client reached out to Catherine Hooper of iSPY Home Design with an unconventional ask: renovating a vintage RV. The client s mother had driven the dated van from Nashville to her daughter s home in Oakland a few months prior. It was there, in her daughter s backyard, that she parked the retro (but sadly, falling apart) RV.
While a crumbling van might otherwise be a massive inconvenience especially one parked haphazardly in your backyard its presence actually provided a welcome escape from the main home as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on. The client decided that the RV would become a multi-functional backyard refuge, meant for overnight guests, working-from-home, and entertaining. Business spot by day, happy hour destination by night, as she and her husband describe it. I was impressed with their gusto and happily took the project on, says Hooper.
The idea for the new Atwater Village provisions shop Wine + Eggs sprang from a simple craving. Owner and Atwater local Monica Navarro had just expanded her family and was looking for a place to pick up pasta, tomato sauce, and a much-needed bottle of wine in the neighborhood. After searching for all of those things under one roof and coming up empty, she took matters into her own hands.
A month before the pandemic, Navarro who also owns Wine & Rock Shop in Yucca Valley signed a lease on a storefront across the street from her other Atwater business, Individual Medley, and began putting together a list of items she would love to see on shelves. The Wine + Eggs team didn’t have to look far to find the sorts of delicious and exciting pantry items Navarro wanted to stock.