#DTLA

Honestly, I have never spent any time in Los Angeles... I guess I always figured it would be 'so LA'.  But to my surprise, Downtown LA really reminded me a lot of downtown Oakland.  Until recently it was dead quiet, a sort of no mans land sitting on a ton of beautiful architecture and history.  Developing these spaces is complicated to be sure, but watching a resergence of vitality is at the very least interesting.  Downtown LA has a lot of old theaters that are now being converted into other types of use, like the Ace Hotel and some as churches.  

The Ace DTLA | Hipster Paradise

Within a short walk of the Ace, we found Umami Burger, Aesop, Tanner Goods, and Botega Louie.  The old buildings are housing thriving businesses with a real strong aesthetic influence, mingling up with the gritty nature of the surrounding streets.  Kind of like our home Town.

We were in the cross section of the fashion district and jewelry district, the clothing was a total knock out.  We joked the whole time that us Bay Area girls are so tomboyish and practical.  Seeing all the fashion, ranging from bohemian to avant garde to beach bunny, really made me think about being a bit more adventurous with my clothing... We'll see about that.  

Here are some out takes from our week, enjoy!

Rooftop views at the Ace

A beautiful place to unwind after a long day

Pretty tiles in the Ace Cafe 

View from my bed, an old Jesus Saves neon sign from a now defunct evangelical church

Jewelry | Diamonds

The Empire |  prettiest building downtown 

The Dude Abides

Church | Theatre

Tanner Goods

Baco Mercat

Ace Rooftop

Coeur showroom floor

DTLA Murals

Westside.

L O V E + M E T A L

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LA Recap

Last week Christina and I drove down to LA for Coeur, a beautifully curated tradeshow in the heart of the fashion district.  The show brought in some of the areas most influential buyers, as well as boutiques from LA, Texas, Seattle, Canada, and Colorado.  The other artists in attendance were really well curated, creating a visual dreaminess across all the aisles of the show.  Here are some shots of our booth, enjoy!

Temerity | Brooklyn NY

Claire Kinder | Brooklyn NY

Giovanna Torrico | Oakland CA

Christy Natsumi | San Francisco CA

Collette Ishiyama | New York NY

Kate Ellen Metals | Oakland CA
{Sneak Peek at my newest collection HARENA}

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Coeur LA

We're taking a little slice of Old Oakland on the road next week to Coeur LA, a stunningly curated accessories trade show at Cooper Design Space.

Christina Bohn, my #1 gal, and I will be showing my new work alongside a really heavy hitting list of Bay Area and New York designers, all of who are releasing their latest collections at Coeur.  

We're gonna soak up some LALA Land sunshine and visit our old friends in the area.  Plus, The Ace Hotel LA.  'Nuff said.

Crown Nine will be
>>>CLOSED<<<

SUNDAY-THURSDAY

MARCH 16-20th

Follow our trip on Instagram { Me and Christina}

L O V E + M E T A L

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This is Oakland // Hawthorn

Last Friday I headed over to HAWTHORN for a trunk show with Amanda Bassolino of VOCE KEEN (a line we carry at our store) to celebrate the launch of her latest collection, Untamed.  Her pieces are earthy relic-like treasures, as if dug up from some primitive landscape.  And any chance I can get to visit store owner Laurie Lion and her No. 2 maiden Laura Akida, I am in.

Recently I made a vow to stop shopping "fast fashion" and instead buy fewer, better things.  Laurie is doing something really remarkable at Hawthorn, introducing more and more Made in the USA brands and more ecologically friendly lines over time, which totally jives with my new buying philosophy.  It only makes sense, I ask my customers to do the same--to slow down and really pay attention to quality, craft, and material to simply have less, enjoy more.

The mix on the floor at Hawthorn is so lovely, the fabrics are so luscious, you can absolutely feel the difference between your fingertips.  I decided to splurge on super-extra soft muscle tee from Cotton Citizen (Made in the USA) and Mother Denim jeans.  And that will be my clothing purchases for a while, so I'll have to be extra good about taking care of them. So if you see me in a muscle tee, just know that it's my new uniform, proudly proclaiming a "fewer, better things" type philosophy.

Here are some outtakes from my fun evening out with theses creative ladies:

VOCE KEEN artist, Amanda Bassolino

Fresh squeeze grapefruit + tequila punch, yes please!

We had to take a quick Cazadores break, standard.

My spoils....

Oakland artist Shayna Roosevelt did this tote for the Hawthorn maidens...

Lion cub, Jackson, tried on some super hot denim

Shop Ace, Laura, caught wearing a dress

L O V E + M E T A L 

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