Chocolatier Jonathan Grahm tells us about making his chocolate dreams come true

Jonathan Grahm began working in the world of chocolate when he was 15 years old. Nine years later, he bought the Compartes Company and has overseen its expansion and rise in acclaim since. The original Compartes, in LA’s Brentwood, was a shop and kitchen that spanned about 1,500 square feet. Now, in addition to its Century City location, the brand has opened a flagship chocolate boutique and factory on La Brea. It’s here that Grahm’s vision for a chocolate haven has become a reality.

The luxuriously designed chocolate shop (complete with custom marble display cases) features a large glass wall that bisects the space, revealing the mesmerizing chocolate-making process. Customers watch as glistening melted chocolate gets formed into custom confections by skilled employees. Truffle fillings are carefully added by hand, and as each item sets, they are sprung from their molds, packaged, and shipped from the shop. We met with Grahm to discuss the new location and how he continues making chocolate dreams come true.

Can you tell us about how and why you chose this location?

I wanted to be more in central Los Angeles. Opening here on La Brea, in the middle of town, creates a destination that people can come from all over the city. I thought about how many people drive by here all day, every day, and how often I drive on La Brea. It puts us smack dab in the middle of LA.

Why was this the right time to make an investment in such a luxe retail and production space?

Compartes has been growing every year. We had outgrown our Brentwood facility—probably to the point that we were almost on top of each other. We’ve had this building for about two years before we opened. The stars aligned on getting this property. I designed the whole space, the chocolate store and the chocolate factory. Streamlining the production, that was another thing that was really important to me. Creating a factory where we start making the chocolate then package the chocolate and it goes right out to the shipping room. So it’s really a linear path.

How are you utilizing this larger space?

I did many sketches over time. I also came and tested it many times to see where the sunlight would be. I brought my whole staff here last Christmas to show them what I was dreaming about. We all sat here and talked about it. We did many practice runs with no equipment and no machinery. I got feedback from all of our staff about what’s going to be the most efficient and work the best.

Why did you want to allow the chocolate-making process to be so visible?

I wanted it to feel when you walk into the chocolate store that you’re walking into the chocolate factory. When you walk in, there’s a 60-foot glass wall making the space feel really large. We always say that the chocolate-making is the heartbeat of Compartes and that is something that we haven’t really been able to showcase before. It’s about the chocolate, the beautiful ingredients, the caramelized pecans, the doughnuts from Primo’s, the  birthday cake we get from local bakeries. When you walk in and you see them making a doughnut bar on the left, and on the right you can pick up a bar that was just made, it’s an incredible feeling.

What was your motivation in filling the space with marble and brass?

I really wanted to do this store in natural tones, so that the packaging would stand out. Then that blue marble that we have is incredible. I went to 40 or 50 different marble yards just to find it. I wanted to choose one material rather than go overboard, so the store is basically made of marble. Then there’s the white plaster—I wanted to showcase the marble and add texture. We did the black acid-wash on the floors, that mirrors the plaster. That also mirrors the acid-washed mirrors in the factory. I wanted the whole place to feel cohesive. I didn’t want to have a beautiful store and then just a plain factory. Using that beautiful blue marble in the chocolate factory was definitely a luxurious expense.

In addition to your truffles, dipped fruits and original line of chocolate bars, you have added a new line of chocolate—tell us about that. 

Along with the store opening, we’re launching our vegan organic wellness line of chocolate, and that’s been two years in the making. I actually started by just playing with cocoa butter and raw cacao on my stove at home. I was going back to the basics of chocolate-making and really starting from scratch in creating this line. The vibe I am going for with those is gourmet nostalgia. In doing this line… I didn’t want to necessarily be indulgent. I wanted it to be really good for you.

I saw what’s already available and found that a lot of them have their benefits, but they’re all separate. One might be vegan, one might be paleo, one might be organic. I wanted to create an all-encompassing line for all health concerns. For people who are allergic to soy, for people that don’t want sugar. Then I wanted to add benefits to them: plant-based collagen, reishi mushrooms, or peanut butter. There are four clean ingredients in the chocolate and that is it.

What’s been your big takeaway since opening the new store?

This is my 20th anniversary year in my journey of making chocolate. The fact that my business is growing and people are still coming to me and I’m still creative and able to do new things all the time is really exciting. It amazes me still that every year, I wonder what’s this Christmas going to be like and then it blows up bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. I do what I love.

Images courtesy of Compartes

This is tricky to explain: Imagine that one of the pixels on your monitor could jump right off of the screen, and float in front of your face. Just one pixel wouldn’t be much use for conveying information. But imagine if that pixel could then zig and zag through the air, fast enough that it could draw letters or images you can read.

That’s essentially what researchers at the UK’s University of Sussex have managed to accomplish. Their “pixel” is actually a 2mm bead of polystyrene that they are able to float, and precisely manipulate through 3D space, with the use of ultrasound. It can then “draw,” and it moves so fast that it does not flicker, as it does when it appears on camera:

The research paper is called “A volumetric display for visual, tactile and audio presentation using acoustic trapping” and is freely available.

Intended to carry pooches weighing up to 16 pounds, Wild One’s new Air Travel Carrier is plane- and pet-friendly. Small enough to be placed under regular seats, the carrier features a comfy quilted base mat and mesh panels with retractable screens, should your dog want a view or privacy. Made from neoprene, the outer is washable by hand, while the mat inside can be machine-washed and tumble-dried. The carrier also boasts a handy shoulder strap that doubles as a leash and a panel for sliding it all onto your suitcase.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has figured out a clever way to attract patrons–specifically, Edward Hopper fans. They’ve taken the realist painter’s Western Motel…

…and mocked up an actual, physical room in the museum to match it:

Here’s the thing: You can actually spend the night in this room, as if it were a real motel. Launched in conjunction with their “Edward Hopper and the American Hotel” exhibition, which opened last month, the museum started offering the “Hopper Hotel Experience.” For $150 to $500, depending on whether you want a private tour, dinner, after-hours access to galleries or other extras, you can lay your head inside this physical representation of the painting.

The ‘gram above is by writer Margot Boyer-Dry, who wrote about the experience of spending the night there for The New York Times.

The Instagram post below features five shots that show you the behind-the-scenes:

The “Hopper Hotel Experience” has proven immensely popular–it’s currently sold out.

If this trend continues, I wouldn’t mind having a cup of coffee in a Nighthawks mock-up.

For this series, the artist turned the lens upside down and to his hometown of Melbourne, Australia

Tom Blachford‘s Centro Verso photo series flips the lens in a few ways. These upside-down images are of his hometown Melbourne, and have futuristic and dystopian qualities—unlike his previous, inherently warm but noir Midnight Modern collections. This new project is also Blachford’s first foray into CAD (computer-aided design) and 3D printing, programming and more. It has all culminated in a show at Melbourne’s Backwoods Gallery (on now through 8 December) where his striking photographs are on display alongside light sculptures. We spoke with the artist ahead of the show’s opening about misleading his audience, learning a new skill and more.

How did this project—from your emotion to planning to post-production—differ, since it’s your hometown?

I’ve been wanting to shoot something here for years but was waiting for the right opportunity. I was offered unrestricted access to a 57th floor rooftop in the middle of the city for a commission and it was that opportunity that really spurred things on. Once I had taken the images I actually wanted to try and make it look as little like Melbourne as possible. For the past few years, my work has centered on trying to create images that made it difficult to tell when something was taken—whether day or night, 1957 or 2050. For this project, it was about trying to confuse sense of place as well as time. Even born-and-bred Melbournians think the photos were taken in Hong Kong or Tokyo.

Was there something you wanted to show about Melbourne through this series that you feel is missing elsewhere?

I definitely wanted to avoid cliches. Photography of our city usually depicts our laneways, the river or street art. I wanted to try and make people look at it differently. To begin by thinking it couldn’t possibly be Melbourne and then slowly orienting themselves by looking closer and trying to find landmarks within the density.

You’re also venturing into foreign territory with your 3D sculptures—was there a catalyst that sparked your interest in veering from photography?

Earlier in the year I travelled to Georgia to photograph a building I had been in love with for years—it has an amazing Soviet, Tetris vibe. When I finally made it there to take the image I found that the view, the lighting and the perspective just didn’t do it justice. I thought there had to be a better way to explore and communicate form and geometries without having to traipse around the world (which I do still love doing).

How has the process differed from when you were learning photography? 

I think I brought to it my understanding of composition, proportion and geometry that I have honed over my decade as an architectural photographer, but it was also a huge challenging and exciting learning curve. Learning CAD from scratch and as well as 3D printing, electronics and programming.

How do the sculptures and photographs work together in the show?

The images propose a suspended city defying engineering and creating a type of dystopia. The sculptures are hung from the gallery ceiling to continue that effect as you look up you see the 3D buildings being continued up into the darkness of infinity.

What do you want viewers to experience here, from the illuminated sculptures and photographs together?

The whole experience is designed to make viewers feel as if they are in a sci-fi film; Inception meets Blade Runner. I commissioned a 30-minute soundscape by local producer Richard Walker that was produced in part on the same synth used by Vangelis to produce the Blade Runner soundtrack. It all ties together amazingly well, I think!

Images courtesy of Tom Blachford