Hasta La Ideas

Malibu’s mecca for free-spirited shoppers moves to Hollywood

A shop known as much for its free organic OJ as its silk-screen printed tees, Nina Garduno recently moved her westside mainstay Freecity from Malibu to Hollywood. While the new home is 3,000 square feet, the “supermät” will keep a neighborhood feeling with its locally-sourced goods and welcoming vibe.

Freecity first caught our attention when Garduno collaborated with Mosley Tribes for a run of sunglasses sold through Fred Segal, where she was VP of men’s fashion. Her natural knack for discovery combined with a trip to the “freewheeling hippie enclave” of Christiania, Copenhagen led Garduno to open the original Freecity outpost in 2001, saying “Instead of moving to a place like that, I wanted to live that feeling in Los Angeles.”

The Hollywood Supermät will function as a one-stop shop where patrons can pick up a range of items, from vintage bikes to freshly baked bread with an eclectic mix of clothing, records and posters in between.

A poster show reimagines arcade classics for today

“Multiplayer” relives the beauty and simplicity of the ’80s arcade with a group show—including the likes of Dave Perillo, The Silent Giants, Mike Budai and more—atGallery 1988‘s newly-opened westside location.

Sponsored by OMG Posters, the screen-printed works span Zelda to Frogger. Artist Kevin Tong‘s labor-intensive take on Tetris (seen in the video above) is sure to excite the Illustrator crowd, while the collection of quintessential cartridges on display will certainly enthuse the diehard Nintendo fans.

“Multiplayer” continues the gallery’s video game theme established in the previous “I Am 8-Bit” exhibit previously showcased at 1988, but the broader reach here looks beyond the classic characters to the entire realm of gaming.

The show runs through 4 February 2010 at Gallery 1988‘s Santa Monica location, and a limited-edition set of posters will be given out to lucky “Multiplayer” patrons.

Fashion fantasies-come-true at Los Angeles Tron pop up

Disney continues to fan Tron fever with the release of several items of higher-end, wearable merchandise for men and women by designers like
Rousseau,
Hayden-Harnett and
Rotenier that will be available all in one place beginning 19 November 2010 at the Tron Pop-Up Shop inside Los Angeles’ Royal/T. The concept allows Tron fans to become as authentically part of it as Tron main character Kevin Flynn did when he entered his employer’s mainframe in the original film. We’ve put together our favorite pieces from the women’s couture collection here.

Among the dozens of retro-futuristic items available are jewelry pieces, like Rotenier’s sterling silver Lightcycle Cufflinks ($345).
Tom Tom’s Derez Earrings have blue topaz stone ($155) and match a Grid Escape Ring ($195) and Light Runner Cuff ($265)—both gunmetal plated with mirrored lucite. It also has a Legacy necklace made with antique bronze chain ($395), exclusive to the pop-up store.

Jerome Rousseau’s shiny Quorra Platform Sandal ($795) will perhaps be one of the most coveted items of them all, standing tall at five inches and unavailable outside of the pop up until February of next year.

Those looking for more practical accessories can choose between the various bags and clutches by Hayden-Harnett ($129-$478), with matching cuffs ($98-$110).

The shop closes on 23 December 2010, convenient for those in search of a last-minute gift for the holidays.

Chocolate designer Valerie Gordon weighs in on her new collaboration

Inspired by Byzantine tiles, Commune Design and Valerie Confections collaborated on a new collection of handmade chocolates. The cardboard box comes printed with an image of the tile design inside, which itself is comprised of 49 pieces of 72% bittersweet chocolate embellished with chocolate transfers made from colored, tempered cocoa butter.

We asked Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections to share some of the collaborative process with Cool Hunting.

What aspects of the Commune aesthetic are similar to creating chocolates?

Commune’s approach to materials is like our approach to ingredients. Everything is built around honoring the natural aesthetic of the materials, or in our case the flavors of the ingredients. We each also have a very clean, uncluttered look to our work. There’s a great quote, alternately attributed to Mies van der Rohe and R.M. Schindler: “An interesting plainness is the most difficult and most precious thing to achieve.” I think, conciously or unconciously, that’s what we’re each trying to achieve.

How did this collaboration come about?

We did their holiday gifts one year, and have been friends for a while. Then Roman and I were chatting at a party, talking about our various collaborations and we both just realized that we should do something together.

Where did the idea of the tile come from?

It originally came from Steven, one of the principals at Commune. The tile is his design, and we all started talking about how to translate it into chocolate. Then I figured out the proportion of it, and that it should go in a box that looks like you’d get tile in it. Originally, we were going to seal the box with a really wide rubber band, but that evolved into the graphic sticker that they designed. Completely organic, and very easy.

How much does that fact that both companies are located in L.A. have an impact on the final design?

Hugely. Especially with something like this collaboration, where you have to see, and touch, and taste to really understand how it’s all coming together. And the city and your surroundings continually impact your aesthetic. The same forces and inspirations play on us, which would be different if we were both in New York or Chicago.

Commune Chocolates by Valerie Confection is available at the Valerie Confections shop near downtown Los Angeles and online at Valerie Confections and at the Commune Design Community Shop.

A massive art compound opens its doors in Los Angeles

At over 32,000 square feet, the renovated former storage warehouse located in the middle of the downtrodden city of Inglewood, CA, doesn’t exactly have the pomp and circumstance that you’d expect Los Angeles’ newest art studio complex to have. But that’s the point. The new Beacon Arts Building is a low-key space designed to serve as a refuge for artists looking to focus on producing work away from the hype of the L.A. art scene.

Kicking off with “Ghost Stories: A Night of Happenings and Hauntings,” the Beacon Arts pre-Halloween bash will mix art, music and food “to activate architectural and societal space through shared experience” says curator Shana Nys Dambrot.

Rather than divide spaces into pre-built rooms, the open floor plan means renters can choose the size of their work spaces up to 800 square feet. The first floor houses the Beacon Arts Gallery, overseen by director Renee Fox, whose series Critics As Curators will bring in art critics and their visions for the space. She’s pushing for them to not include only stationary art pieces but more dynamic pieces with interactive elements, such as performance-based art. “We believe experiencing art on an engaging level and acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between artists, peers, art viewers, patrons and supporters will help to break the boundaries between viewer and artwork,” she says.

The premiere exhibit, curated by Flavorpill’s Shana Nys Dambrot under the Ghost Stories title, began a few weeks ago and fulfills the fine art part of the proposal, while this weekend’s event with storytelling, piano concert and performances including one by the Reverend Ethan Acres fulfills the interactive part.