In the Desert
Author:Lindsey ShookHewn cofounders Jeff Holt and Peter West brought their love of design to the desert with the opening of Scout
Respected throughout the Bay Area design community for bringing rare collections by global artists and makers to the forefront, Hewn cofounders Jeff Holt and Peter West are a resource for great design. After years of operating their San Francisco showroom, they were eager to expand in another region. “Over the years we explored locations in Washington, D.C., Seattle and Los Angeles, but nothing felt right,” Holt recalls. Just before the pandemic, the couple purchased a vacation home in Cathedral City and started exploring local galleries, including Hedge (a referral by friend and designer Madeline Stuart). “We began furnishing our home with beautiful and chic offerings not only from Hedge but also from other shops in the district,” he notes. “Peter and I mused that it would be lovely to one day have a small store alongside these great merchants.”
Known as a prevalent resource for discovering mid-century finds, design enthusiasts flock to Palm Springs and its surrounding areas for vintage and consignment shopping. Holt and West understood they could mimic this model with a more modern curation of high-end design. “We are intentionally not dialing into traditional desert aesthetics. We like to say we are in the desert, not of the desert,” says Holt. Throughout Scout are pieces from makers represented at Hewn as well as rare pieces collected by their Northern California interior design clientele and friends, showroom partners and other design center showrooms. “Scout offers high-end furniture and accessories, both new, consigned and preloved and ready for immediate delivery,” he notes. “Becoming neighbors with successful, like-minded entrepreneurs made us confident that we could make this work for our customers and for ourselves and we are thrilled to be a part of this community!”
