Our Beneficiaries
My work at Palisades Flowers has been my proudest accomplishment. I remember first stepping into that small, easily missed wooden flower shop at the corner of Sunset and Swarthmore and falling in love. The high wooden-paneled ceilings, the stained-glass windows with flowers, bees, and butterflies, and the round window in the back that reminded me of a Hobbit Hole. The shop was struggling at the time, with no clear leadership or vision, missing its identity after the departure of the lead designer and previous owner. I was cautiously optimistic about taking the job as a part-time designer.
In 2019, I had just attempted to start my own floral business, creating planters and doing flower subscriptions for a small collection of businesses I had connected with through cold calls and determination. It was slow going, and I was happy to have part-time work to stabilize my income while I kept trying to break through and get seen by the right people. Then, COVID took the wind out of my sails. I lost my hard-earned accounts and closed Palisades Flowers, unsure if I would ever return.
It was an Avengers Assemble-level whirlwind when I got the call that the shop was back up and forging ahead into Mother’s Day 2020. I fondly remember jumping up and instantly getting back into florist mode. I made sure to take days off from the delivery job I had taken during the early days of the pandemic, delivering medicine for a pharmacy. It was a wild ride, but we made everything come together as best we could to start accepting Mother's Day orders on such short notice. That's the kind of rag tag team we were, feisty and messy at times but the flowers were pristine and poised. I loved that duality.
I cared about Palisades Flowers. I fell in love with the space, the community, the charm, and the whimsy. When I got the offer from the owner to manage it full-time, I hesitated for just a minute. The commute was far. I can be shy and soft-spoken at times, and I questioned if I could really manage a team. Was I ready? Taking the job was the best decision I could have made. I am so grateful for what I learned—leading a team, purchasing, merchandising, and creating a space that flourished and blossomed into a thriving local business. I blossomed into a capable leader, a confident designer, and an adaptable businesswoman. I bonded with my coworkers who I hired myself, and together, we made a space that reflected our fun wild spirit. Our laughter and joy were part of every arrangement we made. I will never forget those days.
The fire took that space. It was so heartbreaking to see those ceilings, those stained-glass windows, and the home where so many memories had been created—just gone, reduced to ash. But we are still here. We created the magic that lived there, the shop just housed it.
I want to bring back everything I loved about Palisades Flowers, the community, the freedom, the joy. I want to rebuild a space where people can connect over the beauty of flowers, where I can pursue my passion for plants and flowers without restriction or being restrained by someone else’s vision. The beauty of flowers is that they aren't just a product to be bought and sold, they are an expression. They join us in shared joy, in celebration, in grief. That’s why I created Root & Petal—to celebrate everything Palisades Flowers was, and to celebrate my love for folklore, thrifting, magic, whimsy, and hands in the moss and dirt.
In 2019, I had just attempted to start my own floral business, creating planters and doing flower subscriptions for a small collection of businesses I had connected with through cold calls and determination. It was slow going, and I was happy to have part-time work to stabilize my income while I kept trying to break through and get seen by the right people. Then, COVID took the wind out of my sails. I lost my hard-earned accounts and closed Palisades Flowers, unsure if I would ever return.
It was an Avengers Assemble-level whirlwind when I got the call that the shop was back up and forging ahead into Mother’s Day 2020. I fondly remember jumping up and instantly getting back into florist mode. I made sure to take days off from the delivery job I had taken during the early days of the pandemic, delivering medicine for a pharmacy. It was a wild ride, but we made everything come together as best we could to start accepting Mother's Day orders on such short notice. That's the kind of rag tag team we were, feisty and messy at times but the flowers were pristine and poised. I loved that duality.
I cared about Palisades Flowers. I fell in love with the space, the community, the charm, and the whimsy. When I got the offer from the owner to manage it full-time, I hesitated for just a minute. The commute was far. I can be shy and soft-spoken at times, and I questioned if I could really manage a team. Was I ready? Taking the job was the best decision I could have made. I am so grateful for what I learned—leading a team, purchasing, merchandising, and creating a space that flourished and blossomed into a thriving local business. I blossomed into a capable leader, a confident designer, and an adaptable businesswoman. I bonded with my coworkers who I hired myself, and together, we made a space that reflected our fun wild spirit. Our laughter and joy were part of every arrangement we made. I will never forget those days.
The fire took that space. It was so heartbreaking to see those ceilings, those stained-glass windows, and the home where so many memories had been created—just gone, reduced to ash. But we are still here. We created the magic that lived there, the shop just housed it.
I want to bring back everything I loved about Palisades Flowers, the community, the freedom, the joy. I want to rebuild a space where people can connect over the beauty of flowers, where I can pursue my passion for plants and flowers without restriction or being restrained by someone else’s vision. The beauty of flowers is that they aren't just a product to be bought and sold, they are an expression. They join us in shared joy, in celebration, in grief. That’s why I created Root & Petal—to celebrate everything Palisades Flowers was, and to celebrate my love for folklore, thrifting, magic, whimsy, and hands in the moss and dirt.
We are Stephanie Kanan and Toni Balfour, founders of Oasis Palisades, a health and wellness center we established in 2007. Our sanctuary offered massage, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and organic facials in a thoughtfully designed space that transformed clients' energy the moment they entered. True to our name—"a hidden treasure in the Palisades"—we were nestled behind Vittorio's restaurant off Marquez, creating a peaceful retreat from daily life.
After dedicating years to providing healing and wellness to our community, witnessing the collective suffering from the fire has been truly devastating. Stephanie has begun rebuilding our practice in Santa Monica, continuing to support clients who remain in the area and gradually restoring our massage and facial services. Meanwhile, Toni faces the additional challenge of cancer treatment, focusing on her recovery while still serving herbal medicine patients through telemedicine.
Despite these immense challenges, our commitment to the Palisades community remains unwavering. As the town rebuilds, we hope to once again be a source of healing, peace, and wellness for our cherished clients. With your support, we can continue being a bright light for this community that has meant so much to us over the past 17 years.
After dedicating years to providing healing and wellness to our community, witnessing the collective suffering from the fire has been truly devastating. Stephanie has begun rebuilding our practice in Santa Monica, continuing to support clients who remain in the area and gradually restoring our massage and facial services. Meanwhile, Toni faces the additional challenge of cancer treatment, focusing on her recovery while still serving herbal medicine patients through telemedicine.
Despite these immense challenges, our commitment to the Palisades community remains unwavering. As the town rebuilds, we hope to once again be a source of healing, peace, and wellness for our cherished clients. With your support, we can continue being a bright light for this community that has meant so much to us over the past 17 years.
Vittorio's opened in 1984 in a small shopping center on Marquez Ave with half the space that it is (was) now. It was only the second Italian restaurant in the Palisades, following Dante's, that opened a few years before. When word traveled of a new Italian restaurant in town with the most amazing garlic balls you could find west of the Mississippi, it was all over. The lines were out the door, the place was mobbed, and it prompted the then owner to expand. The hair salon next door left, and the wall came down. It was the start of a beautiful journey.
In 1989, my mother, Mercedes, had been peddling her cakes in her silver Datsun, all over the Westside. With the help of Kris, the head manager at Pepponi's, she paved her way into the restaurant scene. Vittorio's was one of those restaurants on her many stops. After about a year of delivering her famous European cheesecake, her flawless chocolate mousse and her now, one of a kind, triple layer chocolate cake, the then owner of Vittorios, Giovanni, asked her to come into the business. He was planning his trip back to Italy and didn't want to leave such a business to the wayside. Mercedes was a baker. She had no idea about the restaurant business, nor did she want to leave her baking business behind. But something told her to try it for 6 months and give it a shot. If she didn't like it, no hard feelings, and she was free to go back to baking full time. Well, 6 months turned into 35 years. On October 19, 2024, Vittorio's celebrated 40 years in business.
Vittorios is our "Italian Cheers". We know everyone, and everyone knows us. It's a family, a community center, a refuge (when the power goes out, or there's a massive accident that clogs Sunset Blvd), but mostly, it's Home. It's where we lived, we laughed, we cried, we fought, and we loved. Our friends, their friends, generations of families and people from all over the world would come to L.A. and we were always a stop on their itinerary. We are a place of comfort and stability. No where in the world will you find a place like the Palisades. No where will you find workers who have been there since Day One and still continue to come to work 40 years later and smile, laugh and love what they do. Our vision is simple: Rebuild. Rekindle. Restore. We will come back better and bigger than ever. Our story does not end here with this fire. This is just a new beginning for us to start again and reinvent ourselves. Our community needs us, but no more than we need them.
In 1989, my mother, Mercedes, had been peddling her cakes in her silver Datsun, all over the Westside. With the help of Kris, the head manager at Pepponi's, she paved her way into the restaurant scene. Vittorio's was one of those restaurants on her many stops. After about a year of delivering her famous European cheesecake, her flawless chocolate mousse and her now, one of a kind, triple layer chocolate cake, the then owner of Vittorios, Giovanni, asked her to come into the business. He was planning his trip back to Italy and didn't want to leave such a business to the wayside. Mercedes was a baker. She had no idea about the restaurant business, nor did she want to leave her baking business behind. But something told her to try it for 6 months and give it a shot. If she didn't like it, no hard feelings, and she was free to go back to baking full time. Well, 6 months turned into 35 years. On October 19, 2024, Vittorio's celebrated 40 years in business.
Vittorios is our "Italian Cheers". We know everyone, and everyone knows us. It's a family, a community center, a refuge (when the power goes out, or there's a massive accident that clogs Sunset Blvd), but mostly, it's Home. It's where we lived, we laughed, we cried, we fought, and we loved. Our friends, their friends, generations of families and people from all over the world would come to L.A. and we were always a stop on their itinerary. We are a place of comfort and stability. No where in the world will you find a place like the Palisades. No where will you find workers who have been there since Day One and still continue to come to work 40 years later and smile, laugh and love what they do. Our vision is simple: Rebuild. Rekindle. Restore. We will come back better and bigger than ever. Our story does not end here with this fire. This is just a new beginning for us to start again and reinvent ourselves. Our community needs us, but no more than we need them.
2025 marked the 40th year my family spent in Pacific Palisades.
My late mother, Mariam, out of necessity and unforeseen challenges, talked me into attending PALI HIGH my senior year as we were based in Las Vegas. Without setting up residency in her vacation property in The Palisades, she couldn’t insure financially my father would be able to afford to send me to college. He was a successful physician who was shot at point blank range by a deranged patient and his recovery took its toll financially on my family.
My mother said to leave my well-established teen aged life for angst when my summer friends went back to their fall lives. There was no social media or cell phones to connect back then, and my established existence was the only option. I went to Pali High and it strengthened my ability to tell stories. SMC and UCLA undergraduate provided the road map to my academic dreams, and UCLA Film afforded me the opportunity to live out my dreams of studying the art of screenwriting from an academic perspective.
I used the blessings of my education to forge a screenwriting business from home in The Palisades. To say that I was blessed that my boss, Ron Bass of Predawn Productions, came to me in the Palisades all of the years I worked for him would be an understatement. When we morphed into writing partners, he rolled his calls by the ocean. And when my mother contracted cancer and left this world prematurely, my writing held me up in the spaces in The Palisades my mother had so generously afforded me.
I pivoted into sharing the gifts of screenwriting by teaching it online and in person at my Sunset Blvd. space known by friends, students, and clients affectionately as The Treehouse. Now, that space remains only in my memories. But I always assert that human beings are basically made up of water and memories, so The Palisades will travel in my heart until it is built back stronger.
My late mother, Mariam, out of necessity and unforeseen challenges, talked me into attending PALI HIGH my senior year as we were based in Las Vegas. Without setting up residency in her vacation property in The Palisades, she couldn’t insure financially my father would be able to afford to send me to college. He was a successful physician who was shot at point blank range by a deranged patient and his recovery took its toll financially on my family.
My mother said to leave my well-established teen aged life for angst when my summer friends went back to their fall lives. There was no social media or cell phones to connect back then, and my established existence was the only option. I went to Pali High and it strengthened my ability to tell stories. SMC and UCLA undergraduate provided the road map to my academic dreams, and UCLA Film afforded me the opportunity to live out my dreams of studying the art of screenwriting from an academic perspective.
I used the blessings of my education to forge a screenwriting business from home in The Palisades. To say that I was blessed that my boss, Ron Bass of Predawn Productions, came to me in the Palisades all of the years I worked for him would be an understatement. When we morphed into writing partners, he rolled his calls by the ocean. And when my mother contracted cancer and left this world prematurely, my writing held me up in the spaces in The Palisades my mother had so generously afforded me.
I pivoted into sharing the gifts of screenwriting by teaching it online and in person at my Sunset Blvd. space known by friends, students, and clients affectionately as The Treehouse. Now, that space remains only in my memories. But I always assert that human beings are basically made up of water and memories, so The Palisades will travel in my heart until it is built back stronger.
