When one of the coolest, serious-about-fun, girl-led, bad-a** brands in LA approaches you to help them find the most perfect poolside to host their summer product launch soiree, well, if you're us, you roll up yo sleeves and set to one heckuva hot venue search for a "rosé all day".kinda spot. We'd been fans of the indomintable Jen Gotch and the Ban.do #girlgang for some time, so when the opportunity came about to work together, we knew that hotline bling could only mean one thing.... FUN, and lots of it (ok, ok and lots of neon and pool floats). We knew we needed to find the ultimate location that would show off not only the new Outdoor FUN line of products we'd been dreaming of, posting about and well coveting in a maaaaaajor way for all of our poolside par-TAYs, but the inherent spirit of design and forward-thinking so prevalent in the Ban.do brand. When you NEED a floral day planner, neon bendy straws, rainbow unicorn pool float and an "I Heart Pina Coladas" ring, you know you're onto something special.
If all the world is a stage, then certainly the venue is the massively important opening act. A hop, skip and a quick cannonball from the heart of Tinseltown in Koreatown we fell in perfect step with the The Line Hotel, where an unmistakable sense of "cool" and "fun" emanates from it's mid-century bones and it's pedigree reflects the heartbeat of the vibrant city it stands prominently and proudly in the middle of. Perfect.
While we obsessed and giggled over plenty o' perfect poolside venues in LA, we knew we needed something a little out-of-the-ordinary. Cool without being overdone. Off-the-cuff and off-the-beaten Hollywood path if you will. Authentic LA, reflective of the ACTUAL City of Angels, not how an outsider would interpret it. A supremely stylish venue (with pool) in a central location for all the fabulous, invited LA-based bloggers as well as a venue that would work in direct partnership with us and Ban.do to bring this big, bad, beautiful product launch dream to life. Not only was The Line Hotel ready and willing to collaborate creatively, they were prepared to give the Ban.do #girlgang license to thrill... think fruit totem poles, mylar fringe and flower errrrythang... including in the cocktails.
The Line Hotel's decor is industrial hip, think raw cement walls, floor-to-ceiling views of the Hollywood Hills and a diverse collection of multimedia works by contributing artists adorning the 383 rooms. Rooms are appointed with hand-selected, custom-designed furnishings from Sean Knibb's Venice Beach studio, various objets d’art, and original artwork by local artists. It's no surprise really, considering the design dream team assembled to bring it to beautiful life. The Line itself is a new hotel collaboration by the Sydell group (The Nomad Hotel New York, Freehand Miami) with modern interiors by Sean Knibb, food and beverage by L.A.’s Roy Choi, a lounge by Koreatown natives, The Houston Brothers and a lifestyle boutique shop by design collective Poketo.
Words by Jen Gotch of Ban.do & Images by Braedon Flynn
The results aren't just cool, they're downright revolutionary while being approachable and dare we say it for a hotel this hip... welcoming. We knew a hotel with such a posh pedigree, boasting a restaurant helmed by kogi truck king Roy Choi in the form of onsite greenhouse, The Commissary, set astride a shimmering pool was that off-the-cuff, diamond in the rough we were looking for. Coupled with that modern yet unprentious pool boasting 360 degree views of Hollywood was the beyond-beautiful baseline we needed for the vibrant, fun and colorful Ban.do products. The neon in the products would be allowed to shine amidst the modern lines of the pool and the turquoise, vintage umbrellas a nod to the old-Hollywood pool parties of a Slim Aarons past. Did we mention the hidden 80's karaoke bar?? Let's just say, each and every corner of this hotel is Insta-GOLD and luckily for us, after one walkthrough, Ban.do thought so too.
Why did you choose The Line Hotelas the poolside venue vs. the other venues we presented?
We chose The Line because it's one of the coolest hotels in LA—a super instagrammable pool deck, chill vibes, good food and a hidden 80s speakeasy karaoke bar? YES, please! We also love that it's a local LA business and were excited for the chance to support our community. 
How-to Create a Fruit Totem Pole At Home
Let's take a second to interject here peeps... have you ever seen a fruit totem pole? According to Ban.do, "here’s something you didn’t know you needed in your life until now: fruit totem poles. Seed Floral helped us up the ante with these conversation starters that are actually pretty easy to make. Just create a base with plywood and a metal dowel. Next, get a ton of fruit and drill a hole in the middle of each piece. stack the pieces on the dowel, and use a staple gun to decorate it with flowers (of course) and palm fronds. Fruit is legit. fFowers are legit. Fruit flower totems are a pure expression of this legitness."
What about The Line Hotel influenced your design board?
The great thing about The Line is that the design is clean and modern, so it gave us a great baseline to work with. After making the pool our focal point, all we needed was some ban.do flair to take #bandopoolside to the next level.
We know you're looking to re-create a bit of this Ban.do magic at home, so here's a little "how-to" straight from bad-a** b Ban.do prop stylist Natalie Shriver.
Once you've got your pool, now it’s decoration time (aka put-flowers-everywhere time). we enlisted our go-to prop stylist, Natalie Shriver, to help us decorate and she put real and artificial flowers on the walls around the pool, under some incredibly cute vintage umbrellas, and even in our drinks! Yes! drinking rosé is already fun, but drinking rosé with little daisies floating on top—umm, incredible. Also, never overlook an opportunity to make a statement. a vintage patio umbrella is already amazing but adding a pineapple topper and taking advantage of the area inside to add flair takes it to the next level. And then there is mylar...mylar everything. when in doubt, add some iridescent mylar fringe.
What are your favorite design elements of The Line Hotel?
Basically everything The Line does is our favorite, but if we have to choose…the modern architecture and furniture mixed with the vintage/thrifted vibes of the fabrics and dishware. Oh, and all of the greenery! It really made our pool party dreams a reality.
What led you to the fun menu items of pizza and champagne that you chose?
We literally asked ourselves what we’d want to eat at a cool party…ha!
We know this was your first big launch gathering. why did you decide to host it? :) What is it about people coming together in person that is so important in this digital landscape?
We wanted to bring our "we're serious about fun" mantra to real life in a new setting outside of our office. It was also about spreading our wings to see what we could accomplish, reinforcing community/authenticity and connecting with friends of the brand, influencers, media and most of all—customers.
What are some of the fun things you discovered about The Line Hotel while planning the event that you were not aware of prior to hosting your poolside bash there?
Their staff is incredibly helpful and friendly, Chef Roy Choi loves to put his spin on every dish (especially classics like pizza!), each nook and cranny feels intentional…and again…the hidden 80s bar? Need we say more?! Also, we all realized we wanted to take staycations there after we got ready in one of their suites. That view of Hollywood is so amazing! You’re on the same level as the palm trees and it just feels cool.
Any other items that particularly stood out about the LINE & why it's an ideal venue?
The versatility! We could see ourselves having SO many different events there in each of the unique spaces. Parking was also key. We didn’t want parking to be a hassle. You’re going to a party, it shouldn’t take you an hour to find parking. THANK YOU, VALET!
When you come across an inherently cool hotel doing it's own thing so well, you wonder if there's room for creativity, collaboration and a vision for something... different. What you get at The Line Hotel is a visionary space and staff wholeheartedly embracing other ideas while maintaining it's own sense of self. It's like the massively well-adjusted, cool older sister you wish you had. The good news? A staycation, pool party, wedding, birthday bucket list dinner or workshop would all feel at home within it's supremely stylish walls and serve to majorly upgrade your IG game, no doubt.
Credits:
Planning & Design: BAN.DO | Photos: BRAEDON FLYNN | Venue Scouting: THE VENUE REPORT | Catering: ROY CHOI for The Line Hotel | DJ: Michael Antonia of THE FLASHDANCE | Video: AUSTIN HENDRIX | Florals: SEED FLORAL
Special thanks to:
Michele Marie PR, Stila, Kate Somerville, Emma Straub, Anese, Zero UV
