LAUREL CANYON—If you live in the hills you know the name Richard Seireeni. He’s always there and elusive. He thinks of himself as “The Canyon Switchboard Operator.” If you’ve lost your pet Toucan, need a baby sitter, need to borrow something from a neighbor, Rick’s your man. Send him an email, he “vets” it and will forward to 2,000 other canyon residents. I just had breakfast with a new friend and fellow writer I met through Rick’s emails.

What’s the story behind the man in your Inbox? He is a formally trained architect out of the University of Washington. He traveled to Rome to write his thesis on the Campo de’ Fiori market. This project taught him that an architectural place can create a community. This concept captured his imagination. He also philosophized that the Northern European societies were centered on the sanctity of real property, whereas the U.S. organized its society around there sanctity of personal property. When he said that a light bulb went off in my head.

Rick came back to the U.S. and went to work. His early memorable job was for the Pike Place Authority in Seattle. He described it as a preservation project where the design elements created a community focus. Then he got an offer to work at Rolling Stone Magazine. Who could refuse that? Off he went to San Francisco. He says he was not reluctant to move away from architecture for a while. He saw the broadening of his skill set as an asset in the workplace. In the early 80s he came to L.A. and worked for Warner Brothers doing design and graphics work. From there he set up his own private shop.

Richard Seireeni’s business is called The Brand Architect Group. His Los Angeles office is on Third Street here in L.A. The company also has offices in Tokyo and Shanghai. He and his partner, Sy Chen have developed a strategy to brand companies and products. Given his background, Rick comes at branding from his own unique perspective. This gives the company a chance to offer new and fresh visions for branding.

He moved to Laurel Canyon in 2001. His wife Elaine Kim is a fashion designer with her own label ElaineKim. Her studio and showroom are on Third Street as well. They have two kids, who integrate them into the Wonderland Avenue Elementary school network.

How did Rick’s canyon switchboard services come about? Rick says that when he moved to the canyon, he, like everyone else, spent time at the Canyon County Store. The bulletin boards at the entrance of the store just didn’t do it for him. He originally started the email bulletin board to spread news about development projects and public safety. His interest springing from his architectural training. Soon however the project transformed itself into a vibrant communication network throughout the canyon. He thinks of it as a tool which has created a Laurel Canyon centric society.

Rick can be sitting in his Tokyo office and he’ll be sifting, sorting and editing our local news. We owe him a shout out for his ingenuity in coming up with the concept and his dedication to making us a community. Thanks Rick.