Creative Director Tessa Tran's Carte

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Whether traveling the world or staying at home, Tessa Tran lives an inspired life — one where every detail reflects her taste and vision. Her style (casual-chic), culinary creation (farm-to-table) and beautiful home (perched in the hills of L.A.’s Highland Park neighborhood), all reflect easy California living. With years of travel under her belt, Tran’s home offers a glimpse into her worldly adventures, full of textiles and vintage pieces she’s been collecting for over a decade. Tessa serves as the creative director of Chan Luu, a contemporary jewelry line that looks to multicultural characteristics and nature for inspiration.

Carte caught up with Tessa, where the tastemaker shares the pleasure of tending to your own garden, her desire to set a colorful dinner table and the French-made linen bedding she swears by.

Kitchen & Tabletop

“My house is very minimal. So, I like some pieces in it to be bright and eye catching. Especially this summer, I've been craving for more color. Since I'm not going to be traveling this year, I want my table setting to be a little bit different.

MATILDA GOAD CUTLERY

I just came across this designer Matilda Goad who does tableware and home goods. She's so awesome. I got her cutlery which comes in all different colors and is so beautiful - this cutlery makes me happy! She also designs lampshades, linens, different things that feel like you would find it in a French flea market. She makes really, really cool stuff.

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POMELO CASA
**plateS with candy cane stripes**

I love Pomelo ceramics. It was founded by two women, Francesca and Maria, and everything is handmade in Spain using traditional designs like birds and floral motifs. I love the pinwheel design, they come in a ton of colors that make me happy. They’re so bright and colorful.

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EARTH & ELEMENT DINNERWARE

We eat on Earth & Element plates most every day. I met the owner Elizabeth Di Prinzio at a craft market and her stuff is so beautiful. It's very organic feeling and neutral.

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Iga-yaki Donabe Cookware from TOIRO

I have several Donabes from Naoko Takei Moore’s store Toiro in West Hollywood. Naoko is known as Mrs. Donabe. Donabes are Japanese ceramic cookware - you cook with it on a stove top to make rice, steamed vegetables, stews, so many different dishes. Naoko curates the most beautiful kitchen tools, ceramics and Donabes from Japan. Her store is amazing. I used to travel a lot to Japan for work, and there’s a street called Kappabashi filled with kitchenware stores. It’s probably my favorite place in the world, I go crazy there. They have tons of beautiful chopsticks, ceramics, mandolins - any sort of kitchen tool. Naoko has a lot of them in her store. It’s a great local store to find all of those things.

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MILO DUTCH OVEN IN EMERALD

For cookware, I use Milo every day (*Milo is founded by Tessa’s husband Zach Schau*). I love the emerald color Dutch Oven, which is on the site now. I probably use the smaller size Dutch Oven every day. It's nice when you're cooking for two to three people. The larger size is also great if you’re cooking for more people or want leftovers.

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Wooden Spoons from Midland Shop

A lot of my spoons are from Midland Shop. I love that store.

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Garden

Being at home during quarantine, I’ve really been getting into planting and gardening my own vegetables. Making a meal with your own vegetables is the most incredible thing.

Probably the easiest way to start is doing a raised bed so that you're starting with clean soil and everything is a bit more controlled. But for me, there is something special about growing things in the ground. Amending the soil is a crazy workout! I always recommend starting from a seed, it's a lot stronger than buying plants that are already sprouted.

My go-to Nursery is down the street in Highland Park called Fig Earth Supply, it's a beautiful boutique nursery. They have plants, fruit trees and basically everything that you need. They also offer classes.

Inside Fig Earth Supply, there’s a shop called Domecil. She sells beautiful linen aprons, sun hats and everything you would need to wear while gardening. Her home objects are very beautiful and handmade. I love her products.

Garden Works
Bamboo Indoor/Outdoor Gloves

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Decor

I travel a lot and I mix a lot of things I’ve collected over the last 10 years.

A few of Tessa’s collected objects on her dining room table. Cutting board from Patine on the ground.

Patine Linens & Home GOods

I met this woman named Dani Davis at the Long Beach Flea Market and she goes to the Rose Bowl Flea Market as well. She has a store in Santa Cruz called Patine. I love all of her home goods and curating things from her store. She has European linens which I like to use for all sorts of things - I’ve cut them up and sewn them into napkins. She also makes beautiful linen pillows that are super soft.
Dani also sources the most beautiful cutting boards from France, they’re huge. (pictured above)

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Still Carnations Flowers

I love having fresh flowers in my house, but I haven't been going to the Flower Mart recently. I’ve been getting flower delivered from a florist based in Glassell Park called Still Carnations. She does deliveries weekly or whenever you want. She's so talented and makes the most beautiful bouquets. I love them.

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Bedding

MERCI LINEN BEDDING

I also have linens from Merci, which is a store in Paris, and they have beautiful, beautiful linens in stunning colors. They're really soft and they wash really well. Every time I'm in Paris I’ll buy something new to add to the collection. I usually have white linens on my bed, but sometimes it's fun to experiment with different layers of colors. Your fitted sheet, flat sheet, duvet and pillow cover could all be different colors. I have a gray charcoal that I like to mix with a sandy color.

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— as told to Carte