Sometimes a parent wonders if a young child appreciates fine art. According to sneaker entrepreneur (Undefeated footwear boutiques in L.A., Japan, and Vegas) James Bond and his artist wife, Karen Kimmel, their kids do. Having been married ten years prior to having them, they decorated their bedrooms with it. Instead of saving money for college, they’ve been buying art and giving it to their children which they can either keep or sell. The kids complain if art on the walls of their rooms are moved around. Their family home is in the Los Feliz neighborhood of L.A.
Chatting with Kathleen Rowland 
Karen Kimmel often buys art at local auctions run by LACMA or the Museum of Contemporary Art. Anyone can buy a ticket for an auction and show up.
What can you tell me about the wall of skateboards? Our boys, Jake and Max, would love that!
Hey Mary Alice, the skateboard installation was created by Supreme, a New York skate shop. Nice, huh!
Their home is very tasteful with interesting and personal decorating.
Their kids’ closets look like any kids’– jumbled piles of shoes, ha ha.
I like the subtle tones of the living room, too, Janessa. Kathleen, how is D’mitri doing this summer? I know your son (one of the RNs) and his wife (the law school graduate who is studying for the California Bar) and two kids have been in Dana Point just a month.
Johnny and Jan are super busy. Three-year-old Roxy goes to the Dana Montessori School and loves it. She shoved Johnny out the door on the first day because she was so excited to join in. I have been driving down to take D’mitri to a tennis clinic. He has such a tough but positive attitude– always the first kid to start picking up tennis balls.
Kathleen, please do not feel offended by me asking this question– I do not mean it in a racial way. D’mitri is a very cool kid and the champion speller of his former school and all that. Here is my question– there aren’t many blacks in Dana Point, and he is very dark compared to other black people.
No offense taken, Reba. There was one day at his new school when a girl in his (2nd grade) class said, “Blackie, I want to play with you.” D’mitri felt embarrassed and told parents Jan and Johnny about it. Jan (a black history major before going to law school) told D’mitri that the girl probably hadn’t encountered many blacks. She wanted to play with you, and that was the first thing that came to her mind. Johnny said to tell her the next time he sees her that his name is D’mitri and he doesn’t want to be called Blackie.
Wow, simple as that. I’m glad to hear that D’mitri is learning these skills.
I swear, with those skills D’mitri will probably be mayor of Dana Point one day.
He just might! Not that it matters to them much, but the black population is growing in Southern California. The last census showed that.