in , ,

Greening Hollywood: Marrakesh House Hosts Eco-Preneur Salon

Chris Our latest ongoing EcoPreneur Salon was graciously hosted at Chris Paine’s Marrakesh House in Culver City.  Marrakesh House is documentary filmmaker Chris Paine’s (Who Killed The Electric Car?) new green demonstration home.  Paine is currently at work on the documentary sequel.

EcoPreneur Salon at Marrakesh House. Presented by Paige Donner Founder of Greening Hollywood. Co-host Janine Johnson Founder of Greenwave Enterprises.Paige Donner, Founder of Greening Hollywood and EcoPreneur Salon; and Janine Johnson, Founder of GreenWave Enterprises Host EcoPreneur Salon at Marrakesh House, Culver City, May ’09.

Paine, owner of Marrakesh House used Shellie Collier, noted LEED AP, as his green building consultant.

Paige Donner’s Greening Hollywood presented the EcoPreneur Salon with co-host Janine Johnson, founder of non-profit Greenwave Enterprises. “We recognize that global progress is unstoppable, what makes us different are our wholistic solutions vs. simply green solutions. Our solutions are green, sustainable, forward-thinking, and ever-changing,” states Johnson who is now touring with band Crystal Method.   Johnson’s day job is working for environmentally sustainable property developer Kalia Living whose eco-communities are centered in Costa Rica.

More on Marrakesh House: The 4,300 square-foot house uses similar layouts of traditional Moroccan “riads” which center on a courtyard, in a way that mirrors the layout of this property. The home combines Mid-Century modern architecture with Islamic design motifs to forge a visual bridge between two cultures. “It’s sort of Frank Sinatra meets Morocco,” explained Paine on a recent sunny afternoon when he toured EcoPreneur Salon attendees through his home.  This vibed perfectly with our event sponsors which included TYKU all-natural liqueur, O.N.E. Natural coconut water, Frey Bio-dynamic and sulfate-free wines from Mendocino County, and Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss, an organic, vegan, dairy and gluten-free ice cream like perfection of a confection.

Attendees of EcoPreneur Salon included Aron Levinson of Recycle BankDeborah Lindquist, Eco-couture designer; Catherine  Geanuracos of Live Earth; Noorani, fabulous chef; Emilie Fritz VelosoPresident of O.N.E.; Alegre  Ramos of Green and Greener; Robin Paul of Berk Communications/ TYKU Liqueur; Todd and Ryan from Mabuno Eco-Furniture design; Tim Martin of IzoCleanze; Francis  DellaVecchia of Cultural Connections, Carly Miller of RevengeIs; Donald  Bluestein; Kris Willey of Coconut Bliss; Katia Louise of Wild For Life; Tiffany Davis-Rustam of T-Lux Design; Tracy Hepler of Your Daily Thread; and Russell Vare of L.A.C.C., among others.

EcoPreneur Salon at Marrakesh HouseEcoPreneur Salon May Attendees, Marrakesh House, Culver City.

Paine enlisted artist Shrine, whom he describes as one of L.A.’s “best artists” to also paint blue the cement floor of the inner courtyard.  (Shrine also designed the Moroccan paneling throughout the home.) The result is a decidedly N. African yet aquatic feel which reflects the glistening swimming pool just beyond. Attesting to the setting’s affinity with nature, a pair of ducks have adopted the swimming pool as temporary haven. Paine’s creative team, including Shrine, is also building a temple-like structure just adjacent to the hot tub.

Marrakesh House opens officially on June 6th with a big benefit bash.  I’ve already heard of at least one wedding planned for the summer to be held there and, naturally, there are plenty of events already calendared.  At present the home is abuzz with creativity. It has the feel of a hive – an apropos analogy given that Paine has delightedly discovered a natural honeybee hive on his property. A treasure he has decided to keep in tact.  As a parting gift to EcoPreneur Salon attendees, Paine doled out sweet, waxy confections of the natural elixir.  It just doesn’t get any more raw or better or sweetly organic than that!

EcoPreneur Salon Attendees, Marrakesh House, May '09.

EcoPreneur Salon May Attendees, Marrakesh House, Culver City.

Also, a big Thank You! to Rogers & Cowan for their support of EcoPreneur Salon!

Written by Paige Donner

Paige Donner has written on Entertainment for magazines such as Variety and Daily Variety since the early 90's. She produced several segments of Earth Views, for KTVU-Oakland also in the 90s before environmental reporting went mainstream. She currently writes a column, Greening Hollywood, that can be found on the Huffington Post, here on GO Network as well as other outlets. Paige holds a degree in Political Science with minors in French and International Relations.

3 Comments

Greening Hollywood: A Moveable Juice Feast

Greening Hollywood: Chic Green Weddings Are So Eco-In Style