Time Sensitive

Richard Christiansen on Bridging Horticulture and Popular Culture

Dec 11, 2024

Richard Christiansen, founder of Flamingo Estate and author of "Flamingo Estate: The Guide to Becoming Alive," shares his insights on embracing sensory luxury and the beauty of nature. He recounts his lifelong passion for beekeeping and how it intertwines with his brand's ethos. Christiansen discusses the concept of 'radical inconsistency' in product development and reflects on transformative friendships, including one with Jane Goodall. His journey highlights a shift from urban pressures to cultivating joy through gardening and intentional living.

01:01:46

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Richard Christiansen

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Quick takeaways

Richard Christiansen emphasizes the importance of engaging all senses to reclaim pleasure as a fundamental human right in modern life.

Through sustainable practices and unique products, Flamingo Estate highlights the critical connection between agriculture, culture, and environmental stewardship.

Christensen advocates for 'radical inconsistency' in products, celebrating seasonal variations to enhance authenticity and elevate consumer experiences.

Deep dives

Flamingo Estate: A Cult Business

Flamingo Estate, founded by Richard Christensen, has rapidly transformed from a COVID-related side project into a successful cult brand within just a few years. The estate combines a flourishing home and garden in Los Angeles with a unique brand that focuses on a global farming collective, selling wellness and beauty products. With collaborations featuring celebrities like Julianne Moore and Martha Stewart, Flamingo Estate has launched around 200 products, reflecting a commitment to quality and sustainability. This swift growth highlights the broader movement towards reconnecting with nature and prioritizing pleasurable living experiences.

Intro

4min

The Sweet Legacy of Beekeeping and Honey

3min

Timeless Practices in Horticulture and Beekeeping

3min

Cultivating Pleasure: The Flamingo Estate Journey

24min

Navigating Success and Identity: The Contradictions of Creative Life

5min

Building a Utopian Retreat

20min

Embracing Action and Personal Growth

3min

Richard Christiansen believes that the true definition of luxury is having one’s senses on full blast—seeing, tasting, smelling, hearing, and touching the world around by engaging in its beauty and bounty to the fullest. This idea is at the heart of his company, the garden-pleasure apothecary Flamingo Estate, which is both a place—a home and garden on a seven-acre property in the hills of Los Angeles—and a brand, which operates a global farming collective and sells wellness, beauty, and “home essentials” products. In just a few years, Flamingo Estate has collaborated with cultural figures such as Julianne Moore, Martha Stewart, and Ai Weiwei, and created some 200 or so products, from C.S.A.-style farm boxes and flower arrangements, to scented candles and a rosé wine, to body washes and chocolates. Capturing the spirit of all this is a new book, Flamingo Estate: The Guide to Becoming Alive, which tells the story of his company’s rapid rise and includes interviews with the likes of Jane Fonda, John Legend, and Alice Waters.

On the episode, Christiansen talks about his lifelong connection with beekeeping and honey; why more brands should embrace “radical inconsistency” in their products; and how reading a book by Jane Goodall, and later befriending the anthropologist and conservationist, changed the course of his life.

Special thanks to our Season 10 presenting sponsor, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts.

Show notes:

Richard Christiansen

[4:24] Flamingo Estate

[8:05] Flamingo Estate: The Guide to Becoming Alive

[46:21] Jane Goodall

[12:48] Alice Waters

[15:06] Harvey

[35:35] Chandelier Creative

[45:51] Benetton

[45:51] Colors

[50:35] Rumiko Murata