The Sunny Home and Garden of Model Courtney Coll
Images by Serafina LoGiacco
This week we return to Southern California where we meet model, keen gardener and founder of Potions N’ Motions, Courtney Coll at her sunny home in Venice, Los Angeles. We spoke to Courtney about harvesting a bountiful crop, collecting vintage records and taking time to ground down during the pandemic.
“I’ve lived in this house for about four years now while occasionally bouncing up to my family farm in Northern California. This home has always been a base for my friends and family to stay while they visit Los Angeles and enjoy spending time near the ocean. It's important for me to have a space in L.A. to be here for work and this house has always been a great spot.”
Courtney’s bed is dressed in an IN BED 100% linen duvet cover, pillowslips, fitted & flat sheets in dove grey. Courtney wears an IN BED 100% linen robe in khaki and slip in dove grey.
“I tend to go in phases with my room. One day I want plain white walls and the next day I want paintings all over the place. Currently my room is filled with old antique dresses and plants. I love vintage furniture, it always makes me wonder about the life each piece led before it was here and how amazing it is that it’s lived on for years.”
I tend to go in phases with my room. One day I want plain white walls and the next day I want paintings all over the place.
“I also love my record collection! I have now traveled with this collection for ten years from house to house. My dad gave me his records from when he collected them back in the day, so it's a very special connection I have to them.”
“[Around my local area] it’s great having spots that are walking distance from my house, I’m lucky that we have the beach so close by and Rainbow Acres, a natural food store that has been here since the seventies is my favourite daily spot.”
A predisposition for natural remedies and spending more time in her garden during the pandemic led Courtney to start her own business ‘Potions N’ Motions’ which sees her creating a range of different products both collaboratively and straight from the plants in her backyard.
“I first became interested in natural products and remedies when I started farming. I was growing all of my own flowers and really starting to connect with each of the plants, that’s when I started diving in more and more. I began by making stuff for myself, and my friends would come over and want what I was making so I decided during covid to make a business out of it! Collaborating with different herbalists to make various products or even distilling everything I was growing at home! I believe in plant medicine and love creating and learning more about plants.”
“Our garden took a lot of time and patience to get going but it’s always worth it in the end. We have built this garden up in the four years we have lived here. Every house I have lived in I have made sure that a garden was built! Currently growing in the garden is cucumbers, San Marzano tomatoes, melon, kale, dill, basil, jalapeños, gotu kola, blackberries, passion fruit, figs, strawberries, jasmine, calendula, comfrey, sunflowers, sage and multiple types of geranium!”
Our garden took a lot of time and patience to get going but it’s always worth it in the end.
Courntney’s garden also provided the perfect outlet for slow time at home during the pandemic.
“I am such a homebody so during the pandemic I was fine! It taught me more to slow down and be in the moment. With focusing on the garden and myself it really was a good time for me to finish one project at a time. I love creating and making new things so I was able to also focus on finishing my embroidery, weaving, and dying projects!”
In addition to ‘Potions N’ Motions, Courntey is also represented by multiple talent agencies after being street-cast in L.A. She enjoys being part of re-shaping the way the industry thinks about beauty.
“My experience with modeling has been amazing, like everything it has its ups and downs but for me the journey has been nothing but good experiences. I didn't really have the passion or want to be a model, it kind of just fell into place when I was spending more time in Los Angeles. I started modeling when there was a change in the demographic for models, when more brands wanted to see real people just in their everyday life.”
Courtney’s bed is dressed in an IN BED 100% linen duvet cover, pillowslips, fitted & flat sheets in dove grey.