Stronger Together
Author:Lindsey ShookTwo iconic designers prove partnership goes a long way
In a deeply personal and profoundly impactful response to the catastrophic wildfires that recently ravaged L.A., celebrated designer Adam Hunter and Tamara Kaye-Honey of visionary interior design firm House of Honey joined forces to launch LA Can Do’s Soft Landing Project. What began as two separate but equally ur- gent efforts by Hunter and Kaye-Honey quickly merged into a united mission: to offer displaced families comfort, dignity and the foundations for a fresh start through donated furniture and home goods. Backed by California Home+Design and powered by an outpouring of support from the design community, the project ran for over three months, delivering thousands of goods to more than 700 families in need.
Photos courtesy of LA Can Do Soft Landing.
Just days after the wildfires erupted, Hunter launched LA Can Do (Los Angeles Creatives Aid in Natural Disasters Organization). Moved by the destruction in his own neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, Hunter immediately tapped into his network of designers, artisans and home brands to source everything from beds to bed- ding for families who had lost everything. “I’ve seen firsthand how devastating this has been,” said Hunter. “Friends, clients, neighbors—entire communities—are trying to piece their lives back together. This is about more than furniture. This is about giving people the chance to heal and rebuild with some semblance of peace and normalcy.”
At the same time, Kaye-Honey was grieving a loss of her own. The home where she raised her children in Altadena—where she first launched House of Honey—was among the many structures consumed by the flames. Her team responded immediately by transforming her South Pasadena studio into a pop-up relief center, distributing toiletries, clothing and basic necessities to over 300 families in just one week. “As a designer and a mother, I kept thinking, How can we preserve the memories?” said Kaye-Honey. “It was heartbreaking to realize our past home, our children’s school, our neighborhood—all gone. But I knew we could do something. We had to.”
Photos courtesy of LA Can Do Soft Landing.
The fusion of Hunter’s LA Can Do and Kaye-Honey’s Soft Landing Project was organic as both teams recognized the greater impact they could make together. With the help of industry partners and generous donors, they established two large-scale donation and distribution centers: one inside the Pacific Design Center and another in a 90,000-square-foot warehouse in Downtown L.A., where families had the opportunity to “shop” these curated spaces at no cost. “The support has been astounding,” said Kaye-Honey. “From Los Angeles to New York, people in our industry have responded with open hearts and open trucks. And teaming up with Adam Hunter’s crew has taken this initiative to a whole new level.”
While the current focus is on helping families settle into permanent housing, both Hunter and Kaye-Honey have ambitious plans for the future. For House of Honey, the next chapter of Soft Landing will extend support to small businesses in Altadena affected by the fires. “We know families who lost not only their homes but also the businesses that supported them,” she explained. “We’re exploring frameworks now to help rebuild those livelihoods.”
For LA Can Do, the initiative will evolve from a physical donation hub to a resource-based platform, partnering with brands to offer fire survivors access to deeply discounted home goods and essential supplies. “We’re shifting toward sustainability and long-term impact,” said Hunter. “The mission remains: restore hope, rebuild lives.” At its core, LA Can Do’s Soft Landing Project is more than a design-driven response to disaster—it’s a testament to the power of empathy, creativity and community. “This tragedy has shown us the worst and the best of humanity,” Hunter reflected. “But standing shoulder to shoulder with Tamara and this incredible design community, we’re choosing to focus on the good. We’re helping people find light in the darkest of times.”
