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Emily Pearl

@pearlito

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Olle. Still heavy. Too close. Fell to my knees when I heard. 5 months pregnant, I’d just told him. Two strides from where I’d collapsed 4 years earlier upon hearing of my brother’s death, then 9 months along. “Get up” rings sharply when walking through that room. There was so much more we’d planned to do.

I walked into Lundberg Design for an informational interview 15 years ago and essentially never left. Made an easy gut decision that day. Olle had a rare magnetism and charm that made you feel like an old friend in minutes. He effortlessly corralled an evolving ensemble of dedicated, willful team members over the years. We all drank the kool-aid. Olle gave you the world of opportunity in a grain of sand. Both a requirement of running a small practice and belief in giving people an opportunity to rise to the occasion. A true gift.

Every big move I’ve made following gut instinct—landed me at LD, after all. Olle lived by and substantiated this practice, solidifying it professionally for me. Be fearless with an instinctual leap. Design decisions. Circumstances. People. Freeing (and efficient!), and authentic and true. Do, or don’t. No try.

Olle lived with his generous heart wide open and his opinions similarly. Larger than life in presence and capabilities, he was equally defined by his effortless, deeply resonant humanity. A model Viking. Days before he left us, an inscribed copy of The Book appeared. A rich collection of memories, lessons, beauty. The Work. Something to hold onto.

After years of mostly brown cocktails, we discovered one Sea Star evening we had the same martini order (gin, dry, stirred, twist. Side olives.) One shared over salty tears after Charles’s funeral. Two after a great Oregon coast site visit. “You have a rare combination of gifts exactly suited to this” he said over another, particularly bolstering words during this stormy period. Today I picture you on a barstool aside Charles, attempting to drain a bottle of endless mezcal. Lumbering dogs underfoot, perpetual pets. A hearty laugh. Shoes definitely off. A characteristic eye twinkle accompanying a knowingly witty comment.

I carry you so closely in my heart. Cheers forever, Olle. by @pearlito

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a month ago

I’m grateful to the design community here for coming together to honor the life and work of Olle Lundberg… he will be missed by so many of us. taken in San Francisco, California by @pearlito

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8 months ago

Yesterday would have been Charles’s 63rd birthday. The reality remains unsettled—it’s more believable he’s on an extended gallivant around France, Hong Kong, Hawaii. I still catch myself expecting him to walk into the studio any minute, beelining to discuss a new back-bar idea, recipe, adventure, or hilarious story. Probably all of the above.

Since we met in 2011, Charles has been a part of every life event. The most joyful and painful. Big and small. A constant. Always with food. Charles and the entire SD team have been woven into my family’s Bay Area culinary experience since Slanted Door opened on Valencia in the 90’s. The restaurant’s Ferry Building location is one of the influential projects that led me to Lundberg Design, where Charles soon became my first direct client. I was pretty star struck, and mortified, when soon after meeting, I burned crostini he’d asked me to prepare. No hard time given, he just scraped off the charred bits, slid them into the cioppino, and winked. Our secret.

The gifts of sharing in the intense grief of his death—an immediate deepening of friendships, the revelation of his profoundly widespread impact, a deeper and more nuanced understanding of his heart, character, and resilience—have been instant, if not aching, comforts. Charles, Chuck, Charlie, CP, Big Boy, Toan…he was known by many names, but always was the same authentic and genuine person. Never resting, always dreaming (and scheming). Quick to say yes with his time, energy, advice, and a laugh I can’t erase. Always pushing forward, trying something new, outwardly unafraid. There are more Charles stories than we could count, all with the same underlying message exemplified by a man who lived his values out loud. Treat your people well. Be generous with others but uncompromising in your personal pursuit of excellence. Have as much fun as possible. Say yes (until it’s no, then don’t look back). Charles leaves a legacy so much larger than the extraordinary (and delicious) culinary one for which he is most celebrated. May we all live each day with more generosity, more drive, and more humor. Thank you for these lessons, CP.

Oh Charles. I will miss you forever. 💔 by @pearlito

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a year ago

Two years.

Love doesn’t die,
People do.

💔 by @pearlito

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3 years ago

My brother died unexpectedly about a year ago. “About” because we don’t exactly know when. No known cause. Life snuffed out without warning. So, no how, either. My daughter was born days later. His and his twin brother’s birthday soon followed. To everything, turn.

Sadly, our family is no stranger to tragic loss. You too? Fucked-up club, isn’t it. Admittedly, it feels slightly odd to write this given my conflicting feelings about online platforms. Maybe it’s strangely part of healing—it still doesn’t feel real so perhaps leaving this here makes it painfully, but necessarily, more so. Maybe since life is catapulting itself faster forward every month I feel compelled to somehow mark this moment externally. Maybe it’s to say if you’re in a season of deep grief, a season that is the loneliest I’ve ever been, that I am with you in yours. I’m not exactly sure.

Michael despised lacking control over personal online content, so this is not the place for a tribute. I will just say that my adventurous, entrepreneurial, fiercely independent brother had big dreams, now in purgatory. His forever unreached potential one of the most crushing truths.

The loss of something you never had is a certain kind of potent. Future memories instantly impossible. He’ll never see his own deep dimples in his niece’s face. She’ll never get into mischief with her prankster uncle Michael, made for the role.

We visited the cemetery recently to try to select a headstone, babbling infant in arms. Discussed fonts and granite finishes in an attempt to mask the moment’s searing melancholy. Every epitaph inadequate. The oaks are so beautiful. Emotion inevitably broke the ruse.

I’ve been ravenously (but, tentatively) replaying memories to re-notice every detail, to recommit them more deeply knowing there will be nothing new incoming. Stakes feel too high to forget, so I hastily devour the past. Like that woman who eats the photographs. If only I’d taken more pictures. If only.

“It is not the weight you carry

but how you carry it—
books, bricks, grief—
it’s all in the way
you embrace it, balance it, carry it

when you cannot, and would not,
put it down”

I will continue practicing. by @pearlito

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4 years ago

2022 Mezcalnorah. The real Hanukkah miracle? If this bottle actually lasts 8 days. Happy holidays! taken in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur by @pearlito

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4 years ago

Start ‘em young #earlyartsedu #bouquetstoart 🌺🖼 taken in de Young Museum by @pearlito

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4 years ago

30 weeks | 5 Weeks (+ a whole lot of life lived in between). I can’t imagine anything could match the effort, joy, wonderment, pain, and excitement of the day Evia was born, but the first morning back on two wheels after my longest hiatus yet touched on all of these feelings in meaningful ways. Might have even cried a little 🥹. Grateful for these visceral reminders of resilience and strength, now more important than ever to model. Go get ‘em. taken in San Francisco, California by @pearlito

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4 years ago

How it’s going (…and how it started). Chad and I have been celebrating our birthdays together during the few days between them since the first month we met (accidentally at first, which we realized while sharing the Stark chair at the Clift.) Ten birthdays later, Evia Belle Pearl Arkoff eagerly arrived a whole week before her due date to continue and forever reinforce the tradition—she is our ultimate shared birthday treasure. Today marks 4 weeks with our girl. 💗🐣 taken in San Francisco, California by @pearlito

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4 years ago

***@lundbergdesign regram*** Emily Pearl has been with Lundberg Design since 2011 and is one of four recently-appointed Principals. Learn more about what drives Emily in this short Q&A:
∙ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁? HardWater (@hardwatersf), an American Whiskey Bar, the majority of which was meticulously handcrafted by our talented shop.
∙ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 is 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? Context is everything. A project site’s unique characteristics play a critical role in informing design decisions, which, if you pay attention, result in a truly one-of-a-kind place that could exist nowhere else. Constraints are a component of context that, while sometimes frustrating, can be your ally in this end goal as they encourage greater creativity and design refinement. Materials also have their own inherent directive that inspire how they can be best used and appreciated. The most successful projects are rooted in a response to, and are an enhancement of, a specific place (spatially, culturally, environmentally, materially) in the world.
∙ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿? Architecture is inherently an interdisciplinary and collaborative endeavor – a team effort. It is also aptly dubbed a practice in that there are always new things to learn and ways to improve. Working with, learning from, and leading teams of incredibly talented people (clients included), each who brings a unique perspective and expertise, makes every project a special undertaking. There is also nothing quite like walking through a finished project and physically experiencing something that used to only live in imagination and on paper. To be trusted with the responsibility to design and usher into the world elegant, excellently-functioning, visceral spaces – environments that impact the lives lived in and around them - is incredibly humbling and rewarding. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. #lundbergdesign #womenindesign #womenarchitects #womenleaders taken in San Francisco, California by @pearlito

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4 years ago

Looks like we’re going to need a bigger bike rack ………………🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏼‍♂️🐣………………… Petite Pearlito slated to join our peloton in April! 💜 taken in San Francisco, California by @pearlito

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5 years ago

¡Barragán! 🟦🟪🟥🟧🟨⬜️ (a quasi-unintentional architectour). ……………………………………………………………………………Casa Estudio Luis Barragán // Casa Gilardi // Casa Prieto López taken in Mexico City, Mexico by @pearlito

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5 years ago