#sparkchamber 091222 — Leena Culhane
A friend once said “allowing is an action,” and no words more truly capture the energy buzzing in #sparkchamber today as we welcome interdisciplinary artist and restaurateur Leena Culhane. Leena describes her path as “a series of uncoverings, a series of letting go to allow new things to enter my view and pique my interest.”
Leena started playing piano at an early age, learning to read notes before words. She began writing songs at 11 or 12, and performing professionally in high school, spending her teens playing with San Francisco-based bands as a keyboardist, and later a guitarist, eventually opening for local luminaries including Bonnie Raitt and The Dead.
Accepted into the Acting program at the School of Theater, Film, & Television at UCLA, Leena moved to Los Angeles. She focused on the imperatives of keen observation and true connection which fueled not only her work in theater, but also in her songwriting and musical performance. Leena’s music is reflective of her life — she seeks to balance the ethereal and the grounded, the subtle and the deep. As an artist of many shades, Leena finds all her best work takes place at intersections, particularly those of creativity, curiosity, and heart.
In March 2020, Leena had just released her 5th record and was planning to tour for the rest of the year … when the pandemic hit, shutting a lot of doors. … but opening another. She met Brian Bornemann, formerly the Executive Chef at Michael’s, The Tasting Kitchen, and farm-to-table pioneer, Potager — “we just started surfing together and became a pod.”
Pod turned pop-up when the two co-created Crudo e Nudo, an Italian-inspired raw bar using local, ethically sourced, seasonal ingredients, served simply. With The Birth of Venus as a metaphorical true north of inspiration, Crudo e Nudo was likewise born of turbulent seas to offer something beautiful — Brian and Leena hosted vibrant, socially-distant evenings across Los Angeles, from Venice to Echo Park. “I come from a super creative family and all my friends growing up were really into expressing themselves in ways that they were born to do — there’s a real sense of community and that’s what I am truly interested in, no matter the medium I’m working in. I just want to have a place that feels like home, creating a place for people to connect and to feel seen and say what they need to say.”
With no outside investors at first, the pair did everything themselves … and their bold initiative, hard work, and idealist intentions soon took root in a brick-and-mortar space. “We were very much living month-to-month even though we’d committed to a two-year lease. We saw that the world could change overnight and opted to take a leap we wouldn’t normally take.”
After a successful couple years in Santa Monica, they took another leap … to the other side of the country. Driven by the same ethos of an environmentally progressive menu, an equitable business model, and a whole lot of heart, the two opened Bella Dea in New York City. While the future remains unknown, one thing has become abundantly clear: evolving the ways we interact with our planet and each other is the only way forward. “The ethics of how we are doing things feel truly sustainable for our employees, our vendors, and the people that patronize our business and support us.”
And now, with both restaurants thriving, Leena is letting go of a lot of the managerial tasks, delegating the day-to-day stuff to the team, transitioning back to original love music. “I’ve always been a high performing student in school. I loved writing, and I loved people-pleasing. The first 20 years of my life were based off of that … and the next 12 have been about undoing all of that and seeing what happens when you take the reins off a little. It is such a life-long process, in true perfectionist expression — not quite there yet. “
1.] Where do ideas come from?
Ideas come from problems — it’s a little bit of the chicken and the egg situation … it’s like solutions come from problems. There’s always a riddle to be solved for me, like when I’m writing songs. It’s much easier for me to write songs and have ideas about discomfort than it is to be like “I’m having the best day ever.” Maybe it’s also the music I listen to, that’s comforting to me. Yes, I think ideas come from problems that need solutions, conflict. I think ideas come from collaboration, for sure. I am definitely one of those people that believes nothing good happens alone, we’re always working with many different energies.
I know that two heads can be better than one a lot of the time, but I like one head being better than two in my introversion.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
With Crudo some form of stability is really important, having a steady income stream is a consideration, especially as an artist.
I’ve kind of pieced it together for a long time, but I want to have a family and a life that feels like I’m not just cobbling it together … but at the same time, I don’t want to give up my creativity or go into a more traditional career path.
There’s a certain level of discomfort that I like to live in, not in terms of financial discomfort but in terms of not knowing where life is going to take you, and you don’t know what the day is going to hold or what solutions you’ll have to come up … which is part of the fun for me.
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
It depends. A lot of times things feel like they take a long time but that’s just the process of it, and when it comes time to actually run with the decision, it tends to be easier for me because I’ve done the research. I’m definitely an early bird and definitely a tortoise with hidden activation mode with the final sprint towards the finish line once I’ve decided on a direction. I feel more confident about something once I’ve decided to do it. But as a Libra, the deciding is just arduous … but once it’s been decided everything else lines up and moves quickly.
I get up early and like to start my day really actively, and also quietly, by myself. I like to work out [surfing] and really embody myself and not have the needs of others pressing down on me until I clock in for the day. Boundaries — that is the name of the game. It’s hard when running your own business, sometimes you feel like if I don’t do this, it’s not going to get done, or it’s not going to get done in the way that I want it to happen. That’s just all part of the bigger work. Having Crudo and doing what we’re doing now is just such good therapy — the business is a mirror to you, how to you relate to your work is how you relate to your life.
4.] How do you know when you are done?
Do you ever? Is that a thing that people experience? I’m thinking about the photos that NASA just released of all the galaxies and my answer is really just that photo. :-D
