Continuing my series on interesting people in the industry and what makes them tick, I interviewed wedding and event designer, David Pressman over a long lunch. His background in fashion, art and entertainment makes him a wonderful lunch companion and of course a meticulous designer. A quote in his bio says it all: "It was designer Mary McFadden that introduced David to some of the most high-profile women in the world, telling him that intelligence and a quick wit would serve him well in a world dominated by women." Of course, that combination took him far in the New York fashion world, then later the event world. When he transferred his center of gravity from New York to Los Angeles and started David Pressman Events, it served him well here too!
In the spirit of our long lunch that meandered from subject to subject, I am doing something different with photos of David's work in this post and have placed them between questions. Think of each as a delicious bite of good taste!
How would you describe your home?
Having moved here from Manhattan, I wanted to find a place where there was an active walking street life – not found in every neighborhood in LA. West Hollywood has just been named as one of the Top 5 cities in America for walking. I’m fortunate to have soaring ceilings, a fireplace, two full baths, a large kitchen, my own laundry room and not enough closet space.
What is your favorite object in it and why?
In an apartment filled with piles of books, art leaning against walls, and counters covered with magazines (who actually has time to read all of them?), it has to be my two cats – please don’t tell them I referred to them as objects – Aja and Dr. Wu. Invariably when I get home from an event, a long day of meetings, or a destination wedding, they are patiently waiting by the front door. One problem is that they don’t always listen to me, but then I’m used to that.
The short answer is no. The longer version is that I try to dress to send a message to whomever it is I’m meeting with, i.e., after almost ten years in fashion, I think about every article I put on (and I actually know every single piece of clothing I’ve bought in my adult life) and know that how I look can send a very strong message about my attitude towards whom I’m meeting with. French cuff shirts don’t really work all the time.
Do you have a design style?
Less is more. Both personally and professionally I believe I can create elegance with subtlety, i.e., the right choice of fabrics, lighting, tabletop décor, flowers. When I was a kid starting out with Mary McFadden and selling gowns to woman regularly on best dressed lists, Mary taught me one thing that has remained with me to this day – my job is not to visually interfere with what I’m doing. It’s pretty simple, I don’t want anyone paying attention to what I’m wearing (that I know and that I’m comfortable that I won’t be calling attention to myself is key). As for my design aesthetic, I want guests to be surprised, slightly amused by my choices, and understand that their visual experience has been considered.
What is your favorite reality show obsession and why?
No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. He is brutally honest about what he eats, where he finds himself and isn’t afraid to look into the camera and just say words to the effect of “get me the f**k out of here.” And twenty some years ago I was a regular at Les Halles in NYC when he was the chef – and that was always a party, aside from great frites, beautiful women and chilled French reds.
What is one restaurant that we will never find you at?
Taco Bell
What’s your favorite meal after a long event?
A pint of Ciao Bella Key Lime & Graham Gelato.
What is your favorite beverage?
Macallan 18 over one perfect rock; preferably two.
In this past year, what was your biggest accomplishment professionally?
An 8-page spread in Martha Stewart Weddings Destinations with another 24 pages online and an invitation to write 5 blogs to accompany the online pages. The wedding was at Babington House in Somerset, UK and shot by the incredible Aaron Delesie.
What have accomplished the most personally?
Three years ago I enrolled at UCLA and completed their Certificate Program in Nonprofit Fundraising and Institutional Development. I was petrified of going back to school and found it to be a life changing process.
What’s been your favorite event to design and why – of your career?
Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day supper and Black Tie New Year’s Eve for the same client – multiple times over the years. My client does the majority of cooking herself, goes with me to Costco, The Cheese Store in Beverly Hills, The Wine Merchant on Canon, Al Gelato on Robertson and other local spots. The table seats 22, although somehow I find a way to make it seat 26 or more. It’s a house that her presence fills with her extended family, friends, and the occasional friend of a friend with nowhere to go. It reminds me that no matter how much money someone might have, it’s the personal touches that make an event the most successful and fun. And there’s always a place set for me at the table.
What have you learned from your father?
Passion, not being afraid to reinvent myself and that finding the right mate should be about love first and no one else’s business.
And from your mother?
An eye for beauty, my love of peanut butter, and sarcasm.
What is always in your fridge?
Fage 0% yogurt, crème cheese icing (from Joan’s on Third), sliced mozzarella, English marmalade and seafood bisque made for me in batches of 10 quarts by Bristol Farms. And in the freezer Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups (dark & milk), Vodka, Gelato, and Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream from Rori’s.
What type of art affects you?
WPA (Works Progress Administration); Art that comes from a time when our government supported art in America, put artists to work, and supported public art projects. Art that can be gut wrenching in it’s honesty and art that can be seductive in its’ beauty.
What irritates you the most about modern life?
The failure of the American educational system to offer kids the range of knowledge to learn that my brothers and I were given; hunger in America (the lack of fresh food in low-income urban populations; the paucity of school lunch programs; seniors going without food); and the ridiculous politics in our country where some people believe government shouldn’t help its citizens while others fail to help maintain social programs and complain about paying a fair tax rate.
Do you think you’ve grown up yet?
Not quite ready!
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