For businesswoman Rachel Sarnoff, a cease-and-desist letter from the National Geographic Society paved the way for a new venture.
Last spring, Sarnoff and two partners launched GreenGirlGuide.com, which covered eco-friendly fashion for women. But by the fall, the partners received the letter from lawyers representing National Geographic, which has a Web site called TheGreenGuide.com that offers tips on living an eco-conscious life.
“It was pretty clear they weren’t interested in any negotiation. They wanted us to just go away,” said Sarnoff. The partners stopped updating the site and ultimately parted ways.
But now Sarnoff has a new eco-themed site, EcoStiletto.com. Like the old site, it will cater to women and includes information on green fashion and other products. But EcoStiletto, which was to launch June 30, has a more high-end bent than the old one.
Wine Woman
When Jill Bernheimer, an independent film producer in Los Angeles, started to get interested in wine she turned to Web sites for information. But there was a problem: She noticed that there were only two types of online wine sources wine blogs that taught readers how to match their filet mignon with their merlot and sites that offered online wine shopping.
So in May 2007, Bernheimer created domaine547.com, which combines wine education and e-commerce, and puts together live events such as wine tastings. Bernheimer’s online store sells more than 200 wines and her blog serves as an online journal that caters to curious customers. It also includes a bulletin board that posts wine events Bernheimer organizes every month.
Fun in the Sun
Lawyers and clients of powerhouse litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP braved the sweltering heat two weeks ago to party at the world-famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Los Angeles-based firm hosted its annual summer event on the stadium’s football field, complete with carnival games, mechanical bulls and live music.
The annual event, which started years ago as a celebration for the firm’s incoming associates who had recently passed the bar exam, was first held at firm partner A. William Urquhart’s house.
But the firm quickly outgrew the space, and moved the party to the Los Angeles Zoo. And for the past several years, Quinn Emanuel has hosted the event at the Rose Bowl, which Urquhart said is a special bonus for football fans. “Anybody would be lying to you if they said they didn’t think it was exciting to walk on the Rose Bowl field.”
Staff reporter Alexa Hyland and contributing reporter Yoo Mi Chin contributed to this column. Daniel Miller can be reached at [email protected].
