Read the Latest Issue
HD MAGAZINE
Inspiration at your fingertips
Sign up for the latest edition of Hospitality Design magazine and HD's various newsletters
DIGITAL EDITION PRINT SUBSCRIPTION NEWSLETTERS
ARCHIVED ISSUES
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
See you in 2025!
Save the date for the industry's leading event in Las Vegas, May 6–8th, 2025
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
        • Projects
          • Development + Destinations
          • Boutique + Lifestyle
          • F+B
          • Hotels + Resorts
          • Retail + Commercial
          • Wellness + Sustainability
        • People
          • Interviews
          • Podcasts
          • Webinars
        • News
          • Business + People
          • Boutique + Lifestyle
          • Development + Destinations
          • F+B
          • Five on Friday
          • Hotels + Resorts
          • Retail + Commercial
          • Wellness + Sustainability
        • Products
          • Accesories + Art
          • Bath + Spa
          • Beds + Bedding
          • Flooring.
          • Furniture
          • Lighting
          • Outdoor
          • Roundups
          • Surfaces
          • Technology
          • Textiles
        • Videos
          • Awards + Events
          • BDNY
          • HD Expo + Conference
          • HDTV
          • Partner Spotlight
        • Awards + Events
          • HD Expo + Conference
          • BDNY
          • HD Awards
          • HD Summit
          • HD NextGen Forum
          • HD Platinum Circle Awards
          • HD CitySCENE
          • HD Wave of the Future
          • BD Forums
          • BD Match
          • Gold Key Awards
          • Senior Lifestyle Design Match
          • Event Photos
HD MAGAZINE
Inspiration at your fingertips
Sign up for the latest edition of Hospitality Design magazine and HD's various newsletters
DIGITAL EDITION PRINT SUBSCRIPTION NEWSLETTERS
ARCHIVED ISSUES
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
See you in 2025!
Save the date for the industry's leading event in Las Vegas, May 6–8th, 2025
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
Follow Along
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
M
POPULAR SEARCHES
PODCASTS
WEBINARS
FURNITURE
PROJECTS
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
M
    
Search IconA magnifying glass icon.
  • News
    • Business + People
    • Boutique + Lifestyle
    • Development + Destinations
    • F+B
    • Five on Friday
    • Hotels + Resorts
    • Retail + Commercial
    • Wellness + Sustainability
  • Projects
    • Development + Destinations
    • Boutique + Lifestyle
    • F+B
    • Hotels + Resorts
    • Retail + Commercial
    • Wellness + Sustainability
  • People
    • Interviews
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
  • Products
    • Accessories + Art
    • Bath + Spa
    • Beds + Bedding
    • Flooring
    • Furniture
    • Lighting
    • Outdoor
    • Roundups
    • Surfaces
    • Technology
    • Textiles
  • Awards + Events
    • HD Expo + Conference
    • BDNY
    • HD Awards
    • HD Summit
    • HD NextGen Forum
    • HD Platinum Circle Awards
    • HD CitySCENE
    • HD Wave of the Future
    • BD Forums
    • BD Match
    • Gold Key Awards
    • Event Photos
  • Videos
    • Awards + Events
    • BDNY
    • HD Expo + Conference
    • HDTV
    • Partner Spotlight
  • Subscribe
    • HD Newsletters
    • HD Magazine – Print
    • HD Magazine – Digital
    • BD Newsletters
    • BD Magazine
Read the Latest Issue

PEOPLE:

Interviews
July 26, 2020

Adam Goldstein, Leslie Kale, and Christian Schulz

Words by: Alia Akkam
People:
Interviews
July 26, 2020

Adam Goldstein, Leslie Kale, and Christian Schulz

Words by: Alia Akkam

Imbibing at a Lakers game suddenly became a glamorous ritual when, in 2009, the sbe nightlife concept Hyde Lounge opened inside Los Angeles’ Staples Center. The Sunset Strip flagship was already a hit, but this classy, clubby sibling—a mélange of leather, gold, and onyx—was a luxe destination in its own right. Designed by Studio Collective, it was an impressive debut for the newly formed, multidisciplinary firm.

The Great Recession was still in full swing when Studio Collective’s three partners, Adam Goldstein, Leslie Kale, and Christian Schulz, banded together. Goldstein, who previously worked with Kelly Wearstler and at Commune, and Schulz, a former design consultant for Thompson Hotels, first met in grad school at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), before reuniting at sbe. Schulz knew Kale, one-time creative director at Kale Handbags, when they were both at Dodd Mitchell Design.

Although the Venice, California-based Studio Collective “started out loosely to make ends meet,” says Schulz, the trio was buoyed by the additional calls coming in—especially when one of them led to cocktail lounge the Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel in Los Angeles, at which point “we strategized on how to turn this into a real company,” adds Goldstein. After designing a number of restaurants and bars, Studio Collective dove into hotels, bringing a refined Scandinavian style to the revamp of the Landsby in Solvang, California in 2015.

Shelves filled with eclectic décor line a hallway at Jonathan Beach Club in Santa Monica

Since the firm’s inception, hotel public spaces have morphed from the days of “exclusive, dim nightclubs to a living room for the community,” says Goldstein, a shift that has allowed the team to become even more imaginative.

Consider the renovation of the Hotel Figueroa in DTLA, where a robust collection of pieces by female artists honors the building’s roots as a YWCA hostel. Another standout is the EAST Miami hotel, for which Studio Collective designed the sprawling rooftop bar Sugar, incorporating bamboo, rattan, and abundant botanicals “to create a giant garden,” points out Kale, as well as Quinto La Huella, sister restaurant to the now-shuttered beachfront original in Uruguay. There, “people came off their yachts to eat and drink all day,” adds Kale.

Wood tones dominate at the Bungalow Huntington Beach’s main bar

Because of their knack for creating authentic, locally driven spaces, Studio Collective has become the go-to for hotel companies that need help defining their brands. There’s the third outpost of the Bungalow lounge in Long Beach; the much-anticipated unveiling of Hyatt’s Tommie Hotels in Hollywood and Austin (Thompson Hotels’ value-conscious sister brand); and the summer debut of Hotel June, the first location of Proper Hotels’ breezy Southern California-centric spinoff brand on LA’s Westside, complete with Mexico beach-inspired pool decks. Also in the works: boutique property Shay in Culver City; a redo of Auberge Resorts Collection’s Solage in Calistoga, California; and the spa and guestrooms at the forthcoming Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Equally compelling is the firm’s own coastal-influenced furniture line. Now, in its early stages, its arrival feels as organic as Studio Collective’s origins.

Whimsical colors and patterns animate the Park House, a members’ club in Dallas

A rendering of the patio at the upcoming Bungalow Long Beach harborside lounge

Jonathan Beach Club’s residentially informed lounge, complete with a fireplace

Photos and renderings by Roger Davis and courtesy of Bungalow Hospitality Group, Park House, and Studio Collective

This article originally appeared in HD’s July 2020 issue.

Interviews

SHARE

em

ln

fb

pn

tw

← Previous Interview Next Interview →
People Interviews

John Grossman Reinvents His Legacy

Apr 28, 2025

People Interviews

Ronan Bouroullec Carves Out His Next Chapter

Mar 26, 2025

HD MAGAZINE
hospitality design magazine august 2024 issue product marketplace

Inspiration at your fingertips

Get the newest issue of Hospitality Design magazine

DIGITAL EDITION

PRINT SUBSCRIPTION
ARCHIVED ISSUES
HD NEWSLETTERS

Join the list

Sign up for HD's various newsletters
for exclusive weekly content
SUBSCRIBE

BD MAGAZINE + NEWSLETTER

boutique design magazine fall 2024 issue

Sign up!

Don't miss the latest from Boutique Design

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

SUBSCRIBE

ARCHIVED ISSUES

About | Contact | Buyers Guide | Advertise | Advisory Board | Sitemap

FOLLOW US ON

  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

Subscribe

Emerald Logo
© 2025 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved
ABOUTCAREERSAUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERSYour Privacy ChoicesTERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY

Sign up to stay informed about our latest awards and events.

Follow Along
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

Sign up to stay informed about our latest awards and events.

Follow Along
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow