Where Palette Came From

When Rand was in his 20’s and helping to build Solgar on the west coast he was set up on a blind date through a friend in Los Angeles.  The potential date was with Peter Benassi and they met at a now-closed French restaurant in LA called Palette.  Little did Rand and Peter know but that fateful night (where there was no love connection!) turned into a lifetime of friendship and from that point on, the two remained closest of friends until the day Rand died.  I know there are a ton of juicy details about this night that only Peter could tell…so hopefully one day I can convince him to guest blog all about it!!

What I do know, however, is that when Rand was forming his foundation many years later, he turned to his best friend Peter to help come up with a name.  Remembering how they met and the journey they started together that night, they settled on Palette. 

As for how to pronounce it, most would say it the American way…‘palit.  Rand always said it, however, with a French flair putting an emphasis on the “ette.”  When I first heard him say it, I wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to as Rand’s “French” mixed with his Long Island tongue didn’t quite make for the most eloquent of accents. He insisted, however, that he was saying it correctly and I can still picture him sitting next to me saying it over and over while motioning like a conductor on the emphasis at the end of the word until I would say it with him.  He was just too cute…and I have said it his way ever since.

One More Day -

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