PHOTOS: COURTESY TAPPAN
Chelsea N. Nassib
Founder, Tappan
When Chelsea N. Nassib launched the online gallery Tappan in 2012, she wanted to take the secrecy and hobnobbing out of the art-buying business, and she knew her audience well–that the growing number of young collectors would be comfortable purchasing contemporary art via a digital platform. Today, she counts both celebrities, like Miranda Kerr and Jonah Hill, and companies, such as Parachute Home and Madewell, as her clients. Most recently, the online gallery opened a brick-and-mortar space, Tappan Atelier, in the Koreatown neighborhood dedicated to artists-in-residence. “We’ve had pop-ups in downtown L.A., Culver City, West Hollywood and a few on the Westside, but there’s a lot of energy in Koreatown,” she says of the location. “Potential collectors can schedule studio visits or just stop in to say hello.” But it’s not just wall art. Nassib is currently working with wine club Winc to create a Tappan wine. “We’ve had two of our artists design the labels: Luke Chiswell for the pinot noir and Daniel Fletcher for the chardonnay.” Here, Nassib shares a few of her favorite mid-city haunts. We’ll cheers to that.
7 a.m. I like to get things accomplished before the work day starts, so I’ll take a private Pilates class with Dano Gregori before stopping by Alfred Coffee to grab my morning pick-me-up: an almond-milk latte.
9 a.m. Being the head of a company means every day is different. The good days are when I’m reviewing artists and artworks. Recently, I’ve been working with Andrew Steiger and Alice Quaresma for their newest series. I’ve also been helping Kelsey Shultis relocate to L.A. to be closer to the Tappan team.
1 p.m. Often, I have lunch with family since we work in the same building. It helps to keep me grounded. As a team, we also love ordering from B.S. Taqueria, KazuNori or Bread Lounge.
3 p.m. In the afternoon, I’m bouncing around L.A. checking on projects we have in progress, like murals at Sweetgreen on West Third Street and installations in Venice.
7 p.m. After work, I like to meet up with friends at Son of a Gun, Soho House or Market Provisions–they’re all fun places. Everyone in L.A. is so busy. It’s important to schedule time with your friends, or you might find weeks have passed since you last saw them!
8:30 p.m. Time for dinner with my husband, Elliott. Sometimes we’ll stay home and cook (with a bottle of wine, of course); other times we’ll try a new restaurant in the neighborhood. We love Jon & Vinny’s, Animal and Gusto.
