Blackburn + Sweetzer Has Moved

I spotted the “for lease” sign at 410 North La Cienega back in April, 2008 when there were racks of Love Amour’s boutique merch still lining the walls. I’m not exactly sure when photographic art center Art & Artifact took the space, but it couldn’t have been too long ago.

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Can we just stop for one moment and talk about Tanya Aguiñiga’s rope knot necklaces? Lilliam and I were totally transfixed when we first saw Aguiñiga’s work at Commune’s Community Shop pop up over the holidays—a mix of cool nautical bracelets, textural furniture pieces and colorful textiles that you want to wrap yourself up in, [...]

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groupLA 2008 Project
— Text and photos by Christina von Messling
I was strolling over the LA Art show yesterday, and just wanted to share a few of the things I saw there that I especially liked: First off, there was the groupLA 2008 Project, initiated and directed by photographer Helen K Garber: she asked participating photographers [...]

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Style Section LA reports that fash-forward LA brands Unholy Matrimony (designed by Brett Westfall) and Case Study (designed by Amir Gharavi who also owns Anastasia, “a Laguna Beach-based retail temple of avant-garde fashion”) are teaming up to open art/fashion boutique Case Study Unholy Matrimony at 138-140 N. La Brea Avenue, step from American [...]

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I mentioned the ultra high-end mall, The Shops at the Bravern, that I visited while in Bellevue, Washington over the holidays. Hermès is one of the shiny new shops, and with it, this brilliant ‘Pani La Shar Pawnee‘ scarf by artist Kermit Oliver. Exclusive to the boutique, only 200 were produced—in this turquoise, orange and [...]

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After an impressive 10 years in business, lifestyle shop Blanche & Co. closed shop yesterday at 8315 West 3rd Street. I ran in toward the end of the day and picked up a handful of Rhodia notepads, Parisian magnets, and a pale blue glass bowl perfect for serving a colorful salad or pasta, all 50% [...]

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Thanks to my mom for this impeccably constructed Shoshone-Bannock clutch she picked up at Clothes Horse—a retail outlet for the tribe’s craft work at the Fort Hall Trading Post. Exquisitely beaded front and back with complementary designs and palette, it has a zip top and interior pockets, everything precisely executed. I open it just to [...]

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‘Heath Ledger Joker’ by Mache275
First off, clearly The Red House Interiors has left its 372 North La Cienega Boulevard space. Apparently that happened December 1, that’s per Mike Miscannen (aka sneaker customizer Jest3R), who’s taken over the shop through December 27 (daily 12pm-7pm) with his ‘Clash of the Customizers‘ exhibit, the result of an online [...]

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While I haven’t yet had a chance to explore (I happened by on a Sunday), new flower, art and tea shop/salon Marcelita L’Art et Le Thé is now open in the former Zipper space at 8316 West 3rd Street. Open Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, I’m intrigued by a blooming bicycle perched inside.
Check the interior…

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— Text and photos by Christina von Messling
“I was jumping up and down when my husband showed me Simone’s website,” Pooneh Mohajer-Arnold, COO of Tokidoki remembers about her first encounter with creative director Simone Legno’s work.
That was back in 2003, and a lifestyle-empire and a couple of store openings (in Milan and New York) [...]

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— Text and photos by Christina von Messling
Unique LA took place this past weekend in Downtown, and I must say it was a great experience. Since it’s the beginning of the holiday season, I was still lacking some bigger and a lot of smaller gifts, and the idea of finding something more creative than a [...]

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If yo haven’t walked by lately, the former Zipper space at 8316 West 3rd Street (next door to shuttering Krisol) is now deep purple. Incoming tenants are husband and wife duo Michel Robba, a floral artist, and Marcela C. Mumet, an artist and writer, who moved from Miami Beach to LA this past [...]

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