apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Holly over at decor8 has quite a few links for great shopping there..
dwelling designs
finn style
indigo
ligne roset
paper source
patina
room + board outlet
walsh design....check out her site for the real links

Check out the Los Angeles Shopping District. It has everything from clothing and accessories to housewares at extraordinary prices. The Intersection at 9th and Los Angeles streets is also home to four of the most important designer showroom buildings in the world: The California Market Center, Cooper Design Space, Gerry Building and The New Mart. Don't forget China Town. There are 25 blocks of shops, restaurants, and attractions featuring merchandise and food.

Have fun!

Possibly the coolest, only-in-L.A. happening is the Cinespia summer outdoor film series at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. $10 donation. Classic and slightly left-of-center Hollywood films are projected on the wall of the mausoleum shortly after dusk. A DJ (usuually KCRW's DJ Jun) spins music before and after the film. Brink a couple of blankets (one for the ground; and a couple to bundle up under), a picnic basket, some wine, low seating and pillows. It's a great place to meet some of the more adventurous locals. Line up early and get to know the other folks in line. Or share your picnic with your neighbors once inside; and they'll probably do the same. My friends and I go a few times each summer, and always make a big event of it. [Bonus: the Joey Ramone statue marking his grave is right by the walkway to the mausoleum. And Cinespia once had a screening of "Rock & Roll Highschool" in his honor.] http://www.cinespia.org/ Also, read up on Hollywood Forever here: http://www.hollywoodforever.com/PressClips.htm

the venice canals & abbot kinney; montana ave in sm on wed or sat am from 14th to 3rd st promenade & the sm farmer's mkt with beautiful produce; 3rd street in la between la cienaga & the grove for furniture & clothing shopping, also beverly blvd, which runs parallel; for a good overview, check out "3 perfect days" from hemispheres mag: www.hemispheresmagazine.com mexican food a must, also thai. the crazy houses in bev hills, like the witch house

It's definetely not touristy, but I always steer people to Sawtelle Blvd. -- there's a stretch between Olympic Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. that has a lot of great little finds. There are a bunch of great restaurants (mostly Japanese) ranging from fusiony small plates (Orris) to Japanese "home cooking" style food (Sawtelle Kitchen) to shabu shabu (Mizu 212) and on and on. There are also some cute boutiques like Happy Six (http://happysix.com/ - perfect for teenage girls and women who are still girls at heart) and Black Market (blackmarketla.com - trendy but not too expensive clothes and accessories, and a rotating schedule of art on exhibit/for sale -- they're open late and have a little party with drinks and music once a month when they bring in a new artist's work -- there's one this Friday!) and Giant Robot -- a really fun store (actually there are two stores) with all sorts of asian pop culture stuff (www.giantrobot.com). This area is just west of the 405 freeway -- perfect for stopping by if you're traveling between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica/Venice Beach.

In fact, here's an LA Times piece on the neighborhood:
http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-wk-cover30mar30,0,7076169.story

shout out to my neighborhood, culver city! i would definitely recommend checking out the helms furniture district and the surrounding galleries/shops. the downtown district is very walkable too.

http://www.downtownculvercity.com
http://www.ccgalleryguide.com/

also, the museum of jurassic technology
http://www.mjt.org/

I second Abbott Kinney/Venice canals walk (a little Abbott's pizza and sitting around Abbott's Habit for coffee. Or Jin Patisserie for pastries and nice garden ambiance). I also second the Culver City recommendation for HD Buttercup at the Helms Bakery and some really great food at Beacon. I'd also recommend the stretch of Third Street between La Cienega and Fairfax. I love all of the shops on the blocks close to LA Cienega--
* Free Hand for handcrafted pottery, jewelry, art
* New Stone Age--I could spend all my money there
* Plastica--another place to spend all my money--beautifully designed products, all plastic
* The Cook's Library--Bookstore with nothing but cookbooks (and the Travel Store next door with nothing but travel books)
* Polkadots and Moonbeams--cool womens clothing store
I could go on--Zipper, OK, etc. Then all of my destinations need good food so you should stop at Joan's on Third for a delicious sandwiches and cupcakes. Good star watching opportunity too.

All I can say is GETTY Museum. The tram ride, architecture and cactus garden alone are worth the time. Bring your camera and make sure to take lots of shots outside, you are going to love the view. A LA MUST SEE!

I *heart* LA - I can't wait to go back for a visit. Last time I was there, I met Rachel Ashwell (Shabby Chic) and attended a sale she had, it was great chatting with her. I also got to attend the red carpet event for Batman Begins, Katie Holmes brought Tom Cruise with her and I saw Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale, lots of WB Stars... it was fab.

Have a GREAT vacation.

Holly

JulieW I just scrolled up and read your post, how nice of you to refer to my site. I'm flattered.

JulieW is right, I have lots of shopping links for LA, most of which I hit when I was in LA last year, so I know they are worth a visit...

I have yet to go see Brad at Show in LA,though. I spoke to him on the phone and exchanged emails with him, he must be the nicest man alive. He was in Arch Digest and Domino magazine, so I'm sure you'd love his store. His link is http://www.showlifestyle.com


Okay, I'm signing off... have a nice trip and thanks again juliew!

Holly