The RSVP onion goggles (Photos by Elaine Johnson)

Sunset has the best test kitchen team. Not only do they fix any mistakes in our recipes before the recipes hit the magazine, they give as all kinds of great new ideas—like wearing goggles for grilling.

One of our recipe testers, Rebecca Parker, recently brought some RSVP onion goggles into work because she has sensitive eyes and knew she was going to be prepping lots of onions. When she found out her day was also going to involve testing Michael Chiarello’s Calabrian chicken al mattone over a potentially smoky wood fire, she had a brilliant idea: wear the goggles for grilling.

Rebecca, wearing the onion goggles while she builds a wood fire for grilling.

She says they work brilliantly. Even when the fire was smoking a bit, not a single tear. (And yes, she loves them for onions, too.)

What’s your favorite grilling tool?

Name: Daniel Nolan
Title: Garden Designer
Company: Flora Grubb Gardens, San Francisco
Age: 31
Instagram handle: DanielPNolan
Pinterest:  pinterest.com/danielfgg

What is your area of design expertise?
Daniel Nolan (DN): Sophisticated plant combinations with a classic edge.

Describe your aesthetic in 7 words or less.
DN: Warm minimalism, earthy but refined.

How does the Western lifestyle influence your designs?
DN: We have a strong gardening culture in California that comes from living in an area blessed with such an amazing climate: We interact much more with our outdoor spaces in the West than in other regions. My approach to garden design is tied to that lifestyle; I want the garden to be stylish year-round, not just showy for summer or spring. I want good bones, quality, and to feel the same joy in my landscape in August as I would in March.

What room are you working on for the Sunset Home Reimagined project? What excites you most about this assignment?
DN: My space for the Sunset Home Reimagined is the outdoors, which is more than just a garden – it’s a space meant for relaxation as well as socializing. What excites me about the space is the combination of materials, from the dark decking to the light gold of the gravel combined with the plants, but I’m really looking forward to the Sunbrella screens I’ve created. I love the idea of using plants almost projected against them like paint on a canvas.

Tell us a little about your vision for the room.
DN: The vision for this garden is to create a gallery-like space, combining graphic plants, modern furniture, and sculpture with classic elements like boxwood, gravel paths, and muted planters.

What is your advice to homeowners who are dealing with dated home features and a small budget? Are there any quick-fix solutions for things like ’70s dark-wood paneling or popcorn ceilings?
DN: My advice to new homeowners dealing with dated features and a small budget is to make one big change, like installing a new pathway, repainting the porch, or refiguring plant beds. Whatever you choose to change needs to refer to the positive points of your home’s design. In selecting plants, use repetition to create cohesion in the space and don’t get distracted by adding accessories.

Any advice for aspiring young designers?
DN: My advice for aspiring young garden designers is to learn the basics: how to dig holes, use different types of irrigation, prune properly, and place plants for both aesthetic impact and healthy growth. The most mundane and least glamorous chores are the foundation for any good garden design. And don’t be afraid to fail with plants: it’s how you gain your confidence and develop your best ideas.

Last month, we judged our second-annual Sunset International Wine Competition, which involved 49 judges tasting nearly 3,000 wines over the course of two days—and mind-boggling logistics behind the scenes (washing and re-washing 4,000 glasses, pouring just the right wine into each one of them every time … ). But get a group of wine pros like that in one room, and it’s not all serious business; entertainment is bound to break out.

On one panel specializing in sparkling wine, talk turned to the Napoleonic-era tradition of making quick work of popping off the top of a bottle of Champagne by just using your saber (seems the traditional, slower drama is unhandy on horseback). The panel being saber-less that day, one member—Eugenio Jardim, wine director at Jardinière in San Francisco—offered to go out back and do the deed on a bottle with a common chef’s knife. He pulled it off but, if you have an 18th-century saber that needs a job, all I can say is, make sure your bottle of bubbly is very, very cold and has been resting still for quite some time.

Name: Erin Hiemstra
Title: Stylist, Blogger
Company: Apartment 34 / Apartment 34 Media
Age: 33

Twitter Handle: @apartment_34
Instagram Handle: @apartment_34
Facebook Page: facebook.com/Apartment34
Pinterest Page: pinterest.com/apartment_34

What is your area of design expertise?
Erin Hiemstra (EH): I’m not an interior designer by trade or schooling. I like to call myself an accidental stylist. I probably rearranged my childhood home weekly, always wanting to move furniture, and I have been known to be late to dinner as my bathroom counter suddenly needs re-styling. I’ve also always been an intuitive designer and a voracious consumer of all things related to décor, design and style. That obsession continued through college and grad school (where I studied politics however), but in 2007, my love for the details in life could no longer be stymied. I started my lifestyle site, Apartment 34 as shelter blogs like Design Sponge, Remodelista and Décor*8 were just gaining traction and things took off from there. While I focus the majority of my time to being more of a style spotter on Apartment 34, last year I began to offer commercial styling services, styling shoots for clients ranging from apparel and accessories to beverage companies. And of course, I continue to design my own home again and again (and again!).

Describe your aesthetic in 7 words or less.
EH: Relaxed, modern, urban minimalist, comfortable–not stark.

How does the Western lifestyle influence your designs?
EH: Having grown up the Pacific Northwest, I’m definitely influenced by the craftsman design style that tends to dominate there. I think that’s why I still love to mix materials like rich cherry floors with leather and metal accents. But having moved to San Francisco, I now get to play with the more urban side of my aesthetic, focusing on cleaner lines, more mid-century pieces and a lighter touch.

What room are you working on for the Reimagining the Sunset Home project? What excites you most about this assignment?
EH: I was tasked with designing the Home Office and what was originally inspired by a ’70s Rumpus Room, which I’ve redefined as an “Unplugged Den.” I was excited to create spaces for a modern West Coast home that I would actually want to live in. To me, those are spaces that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are functional; realistic as they are inspiring.

Tell us a little about your vision for the rooms.
EH: Today’s living is all about multi-tasking so I set about creating rooms that could pull their weight by serving multiple functions.

Today, the home office is no longer a little desk in the corner, nor an out of the way room where Dad goes to disappear. As more of us have flexible working schedules and play multiple roles in life, so must our Home Office! I approached the space to serve the needs of everyone in the family, from both Mom and Dad to the kids (of course with my own world as a blogger in mind!). It could be used simultaneously by everyone in the family; for homework, paying bills or simply unwinding with an issue of Sunset magazine!

When approaching the “Unplugged Den” I was very excited to create a space that was about reconnecting. Rather than retreating to remote corners of a house with our electronic devices, I wanted to create a room that fostered offline interaction, promoted engaging activity and of course offered a great space to relax. Rather than separate parents into the living room, relegate teens into a basement or send kids off to watch a movie, this space is intended to let everyone be together – sans screens. I enjoyed getting to play with a bit more whimsy than I’d normally put into a space. Think of my design as two parts adult + one part kids.

What is your advice to homeowners who are dealing with dated home features and a small budget? Are there any quick-fix solutions for things like ’70s dark-wood paneling or popcorn ceilings?
EH: This is a dilemma I’m always considering as my childhood home still has exactly that and I’m counseling my mother on remodels constantly. I’m firmly in the camp that there is no quick fix for popcorn ceilings. They really just need to come down. The work, though messy, can be done yourself (as long as safety hazards are taken into consideration), so block off a few weekends (or a month or two!) and take it down. Wood paneling (or really horrible avocado green floors) can be refreshed more easily. A fresh coat of paint (I love my bright white, but a soft grey would also be pretty) would give a space a bit of a coastal feel. There is also really good looking faux flooring these days that can be laid down for a cosmetic upgrade in a pinch.

Any advice for aspiring young designers?
EH: I don’t believe there are many yes or no questions in design. Most choices are a matter of personal taste, but you also should always be a student. Always be evaluating design. Look at books, magazines and other designers’ work and ask yourself what you like and what you don’t.  What functions well and what doesn’t. Then just begin to try, learning from every project you do, be it for your mom or your first paying client. I’m the first one to admit something can always be improved, but you just have to start somewhere.

What’s up with Moscato?! Sales of the slightly sweet (usually), sometimes fizzy wine were up more than 30 percent last year, and that’s above and beyond the whopping 75 percent or so increase the year before. Turns out there’s little mystery about who’s drinking it and why: With hip-hop artists trading in their deep-pocket Cristal Champagne for this highly affordable quaff, and writing it into rap lyrics, millennial drinkers are piling on. And my daughter, Audrey, is with them. Recently—goaded by her Moscato-love admission (read the full tale in my SIP column the April issue of Sunset)—I faced the beast and tasted through a ton of Moscatos to find out if there’s really something there to like. Actually, I challenged Audrey and her housemates to a taste-off. Here are three we all liked, and their comments instead of mine.

Enotria 2011 Moscato (Mendocino; $15). “Fruity, not earthy; more crisp than sweet. Apple (green) and pear.” And a highly sophisticated out-take from Audrey’s friend Alexa: “stemmy.”

St. Supéry 2012 Moscato (Napa Valley; $25). “Sweeter than the Enotria and not as crisp; no bitter aftertaste. Fruity and smooth—it drinks like juice, with a little bit of sweet apple and peach.” And then food pairing was on their minds: “I could eat lemony chicken with rosemary, salad, watermelon …”

Beni di Batasiolo 2011 Bosc Moscato d’Asti (DOCG; $16). “Bubbly! Seems sweeter than the St. Supéry, but doesn’t have as sweet an aftertaste [these kids are good! That would be the Italian acidity and minerality kicking in to offset the sugar]. This is the best one—more mellow and balanced—with strawberries and apple.

TO JOIN:

1. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sunsetmagazine

2. Post photos to our Facebook page with the hashtag #20minutegardener, from May 7 through May 28

3. On Wednesday May 29, Sunset editors will select the five most inspiring photos. Winners will be announced on Facebook, and here on Westphoria. Each winner will receive a copy of the 20-Minute Gardener.

Please note that we will not accept photos depicting people. See the contest rules for more details. 

Michael Chiarello grills dough over a firepit he built himself in 20 minutes. The tasty result: pizza. (Photos by Thomas J. Story)

For our May issue, celebrity chef, TV star, and cookbook author Michael Chiarello grilled asparagus piadine—a type of pizza from Emilia-Romagna—in the courtyard of his Napa restaurant, Bottega. He topped the piadine with asparagus pesto and a salad of arugula, asparagus tips, Meyer lemon, and roasted garlic.

The path to pizza: An hour earlier, the courtyard was a flurry of prep activity—minus Chiarello, who the day before had wrapped up filming on his upcoming TV show, Supermarket Superstar (it airs on the Lifetime channel later this year.) On top of that, his pastry chef had suddenly quit, right before the opening of his new San Francisco restaurant, Coqueta. Chiarello was inside vetting candidates for the position.

Behind the scenes of our photo shoot with Michael Chiarello. (Photo by Margo True)

As Chiarello juggled the deadlines and details, Travis Westrope, banquet chef at Bottega, seasoned the roasted garlic. Sunset’s staff photographer, Tom Story, zoomed in for a closeup, and his assistant, Ebbe Yovino-Smith, helped with the videotaping.

After the fire had been stoked and all the pizza ingredients were prepped and ready, Chiarello emerged and began stretching dough. Within minutes we had both the recipe photographs and a video how-to—not to mention slices of that amazing pizza. It was a busy and delicious few hours.

It’s artisan crafts month here at Westphoria and we’re celebrating all that’s local and handmade, with a spotlight on the craftspeople behind it. We asked some of our favorites to take us behind the scenes at their studios and workshops.

Today: Sonja Rasula’s office in the heart of downtown L.A.’s burgeoning Arts District. Sonja is a designer and the brains behind State of Unique, the enormous two-day marketplaces that take place in San Francisco, L.A., and New York and only sell American-made products. State of Unique’s Mission? To stimulate and nurture L.A.’s local economy, especially within the art and design communities. With Unique LA, Sonja is proving that the Angeleno economy offers more than movies: “I love downtown L.A.; I believe in it,” she says.

Sonja’s not the only one—she works among some 40 other artists, designers, and crafters in the Cooper Design Space, an 85-year-old warehouse turned creative hub for the Arts District. “Part of what I love about working here is that we are surrounded by creative people making interesting products,” she says. “Community is really important to me.”

The interior of her office is very raw, Sonja says, with the original 1927 warehouse floors, lots of exposed brick and beautiful wooden beams.

Previously: A peek inside illustrator Kate Bingaman-Burt’s Portland studio.

The mezcal-based Smokin’ Word.

Until recently in the agave-based spirit world, mezcal’s had a reputation as the rustic, rough-and-tumble cousin of the more sophisticated tequila (that worm in the bottom of some bottles didn’t help). But maybe we were drinking the wrong mezcals. More and more of the bottles making their way north of the Mexican border are polished up and refined, products of generations’ worth of proud distilling. They’re smoky, because the agave for mezcal is roasted in a stone-lined pit. But that can be a clever mixologist’s secret weapon.

Trader Joe’s Authentic Oaxacan Mezcal, $20 (not available in all stores):

Minimal smoke and toast—this one tastes more like an anejo tequila. Think of it as a starter mezcal. Very smooth, it belies the rough-and-tumble reputation of the spirit.

Monte Alban Mezcal, $26:

A little smokier than Trader Joe’s, with a lovely aromatic nose mixing fruit and smoke with an herbal edge. This is a pretty mezcal, with intriguing nuances.

Del Maguey Mezcal Vida, $36:

Your classic, deeply smoky mezcal, this is for hard-core fans. If you like peaty scotch, you’ll love this one. It’s more challenging to combine in a good cocktail—this level of smoke is a tough thing to pair, especially with sweet elements. But when you nail it, the cocktail is wonderful.

A great cocktail to showcase a smokier mezcal is a spin on the gin-based Spoken Word: Mix equal parts lime juice, Chartreuse, Luxardo (a Maraschino liqueur), and mezcal and shake with ice, then strain into a glass.

Find 19 more Latin-inspired cocktails here.