The Curator: Five Favorite Things

In this month's The Curator column, Vanessa Ambrose, owner of Cameron Marks boutique, chooses five of her favorite things.

1. Aesop: As soon as you walk into an Aesop store you'll be completely hooked: from the amazing fragrance that hits the senses when you first walk in, to the gorgeous, intelligent and sustainable design of the stores themselves, the products with cool utilitarian packaging, to the outstanding customer service. Aesop was established in Melbourne in 1987 with a quest to create a range of superlative products for the skin, hair and body committed to using both plant-based and laboratory-made ingredients of the highest quality. My favorite product: Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser.

2. Gjelina: Easily my favorite restaurant in L.A., Gjelina has everything you look for in a restaurant—great ambiance, a hip crowd and most importantly delicious food. It's rustic but meticulously prepared—New American. Coupled with this is the decor of the restaurant—it's incredibly understated but very industrial cool. Think lots of exposed pipe work, dark walls, wooden floors, slabs of marble, concrete, and communal tables. A must. Reservations recommended.

3. LINUS: These bikes, based in Venice, Calif., are pretty much the total package. Simple, affordable, elegant bikes for riding around and doing stuff. Their styling is really quite neat, with the look of a mid-century French bike that's been updated for the 21st century. On my want list: Linus model "Mixte 8" in sage with an English leather "Brooks" seat.

4. Ear Jackets: I adore multiple ear piercings with an eclectic mix of earrings. Recently I've also come to love the ear jacket—a trend that has been gaining quite a bit of traction of late. It's where the earring backing serves a purpose that goes beyond being purely functional. An ornamental piece that clips onto the post from behind the lobe.

5. Freda Salvador Booties: I've fallen for a pair of booties. It happened one day when my great friend Pamela walked into my store (Cameron Marks) wearing one pretty, fine pair of black leather booties by San Francisco brand Freda Salvador. Perfect for fall, the "Star Bootie" is also versatile, as it has an amazing modular design feature where you can remove the cool hardware cuff when a simpler look is called for.

Photos: 1. Freda Salvador - courtesy of www.alwaysjudging.com / 2. Ear Jackets - courtesy of honestlywtf.com / 3. Linus - courtesy of www.endlessvelolove.com / 4. Gjelina - courtesy of Elle / 5. Aesop - courtesy of www.feeldesain.com.