We've blogged TINI before in one of its previous incarnations. What began as a favorite Craigslist seller and then morphed into a online retailer now has a bricks and mortar presence in Los Angeles. T.I.N.I. aka This Is Not Ikea is a magical hodgepodge of vintage finds. It's like having your own personal furniture stylist with an eye for the unique, the unusual and the unexpected. As the name suggests, this is as far from mass market as you can find.
Whether you're looking for cool seating, a bright light to add a bit of color to your home (I bought my home's bright orange lamps here), a large vintage poster for a focal point or a bowl for your foyer that's sure to be a conversation starter, check TINI's ever changing offerings. Alexis Hadjopulos and Tom Whitman post their latest finds, culled from estate sales, auctions, garage sales, flea markets and online outlets, on Mondays and Tuesdays and they're happy to help you in your search for a specific piece or in suggesting a piece to work with your existing furniture.
Alexis' Modern Glass House 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Tom Black Espadrille
20 Scrumptious Brunch Recipes 
Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Comments (24)
i bought an old blue chest from them and love it~!
The cluttered cluster of shadeless lamps on the desk is hurting my eyes.
Best store ever. I love it. I bought so many cool things from here I can't say nicest enough things about the store and Alexis. Great eye!
Tons of fantastic stuff, but their prices are a bit over-the-top; $70 for what looks like an old IKEA Lack table? uh, no. I just got a great old metal table out of my neighbour's garbage that's exactly the same as they are selling for $135.
Hmm I see a coca cola item... "as far from mass market as you can find" ;)
I bought a desk from them a couple years ago. I have the same little red fan, that I bought at CVS pharmacy. It looks vintage, but it's new.
wasn't there another post very recently about this place? I find it difficult to find anything and pricier than it should be.
When this store was profiled a while back, I spent some time looking at their website. Imagine my surprise when I saw an IKEA item I own for sale at thisisnotikea. And it costs about $40 more than what it cost me at IKEA.
FYI: This is ikea. http://www.thisisnotikea.com/wordpress/?p=19245
tons of overpriced junk. some of the items are seriously a paint chip away from the trash bin.
I wouldn't support them solely based on their premise that IKEA is a bad thing.
I love them. We bought our vintage credenza from TINI, and it's the showpiece of our apartment.
I frequently see members of their team at the various LA flea markets.
Maybe it's better to go in person but, from what I've seen of their web site, it's about like my local Value Village.
I was actually excited to visit tini when I went to L.A., but found them to be EXTREMELY overpriced. I was stunned to see the markups on stuff I see in thrift stores all the time for next to nothing. They may have cool stuff, but I would never give them my money just based on principle.
You're better off going to the flea markets yourself instead of paying the markup for the rent on their fairfax space.
There's some really neato vintage things at their site, but there's also some junk, too.... all boils down to what really stands out and you can't live without.
I still love Ikea. 8^p
LOVE ME SOME TINI!!!! This is my favorite store in LA! there's always new stuff coming in, it's become a weekly routine of mine to check their new arrivals section, i've bought some amazing pieces in the past from them, LOVE all of them and got them for great prices!!
I think the people that are giving negative comments is only because they don't want other readers to go check them out and buy the stuff before they have a chance to...
oh gusano - they killed your link! i wanted to see it...darn!!!! good catch :)
Gee, @hocca, you and your single comment post wouldn't by any chance be affiliated with TINI, would you? No, of course not.
@hocca...yes, that must be true, I want to spend hundreds of dollars on things I see on a regular basis in flea markets for next to nothing. lol....
@ gusano: RIP for the deleted post you linked to! I wanted to see it too!
You're essentially paying these people to do the work of scouring flea markets and thrift stores for you, which is just silly in my book because it's fun to and worth it to do it yourself.
In my opinion, they're overpriced, and they don't always sell vintage items. They are trying to pass this off as vintage http://www.thisisnotikea.com/wordpress/?p=24888
It's not. We got two of these at Target 3 years ago for about $25 each. I contacted them to let them know, and I never got a response and the item is still for sale for $135 and is said to be "vintage." BUUULLLLLSH*T
really is way overpriced. i've seen some of this stuff for really cheap or even free on craigslist. i've walked around the store and looked at their wordpress site but wasn't that impressed. they seem to be more about quantity than validity. "cool" and "industrial" are not the words i'd use to describe rusted metal pieces. "vintage" isn't a word you throw around for furniture that is broken and missing pieces.
their website isn't working :(