store – Echo Park Now

E.P.I.C. (Echo Park Independent Co-op) Opens It’s Doors

Readers, you will be proud to know that I ingested one too many caffeine and guarana infused vodka drinks on Friday night all in the name of bringing you in the inside scoop on the Echo Park Independent Co-op. You’re welcome. Of course, I didn’t do it alone. Kelly and Faith and I all put on our Friday night best and headed down to the swanky affair that was their grand opening.

The Echo Park Independent Co-op (E.P.I.C.) is the creation of Tristen Scott and Rhianon Jones. It’s located in a big beautiful space on Sunset within the confines of the Jensen Recreational Center Building. The interior design of the store is stunning. Very grand and elegant but simple enough in it’s decoration to let the artwork and the clothing really stand out. Admittedly, it is their goal to present everything in the store in “a gallery-like setting.”

Half of the store is dedicated to one-of-a-kind clothing pieces created by L.A.-based designers. I’m not going to lie about the prices. They range from $60 to $1,000 and on average are somewhere between $100 and $300. When I asked Tristen about this, he admitted that this was not affordable to most people. His goal is not to provide cheap, ready-to-wear fashion to everyone but to support local artists many of whom have no other venue in which to display their work. They also eventually plan on “taking artists and designers under their wing to create in-store products that are unique to the market place.”

The other half of the store is to be used as a gallery space. On Friday there was Post-It Note art on display created by a variety of artists and friends. Each display was priced at $10 and all of the proceeds went to Million Trees L.A. In addition, 10% of all the proceeds from Friday night’s sales went to the same organization.

The Echo Park Independent Co-op is located at 1712 Sunset. Their website (http://www.shopepicla.com/) is not fully-functional yet, but we’ll be sure to let you guys know when it is.

March 16, 2010/783 Comments/by Caitlin

Eat & Shop

Mishka Echo Park Grand Opening

February 16, 2010/59 Comments/by Kelly

Eat & Shop

Take a Trip Into the Desert at the Echo Country Outpost

It’s a bit of a hike up Echo Park Avenue to get to Echo Country Outpost, but it’s certainly worth the trip. The interior design and the wares they’ve got for sale set it apart from the other boutiques and thrift stores in the neighborhood. While browsing their selection of moccasins, zarapes and giant pinecones, I felt less like I was in a second-hand shop in Los Angeles and more like I was visiting a roadside gift shop off of the 395.

The store has been open since November 2009 and is owned by Erica, Brendan and Chris. According to Erica, the store is a kind of extension of their home. Many of the goods for sale are antiques and handmade objects that they collected while traveling through the desert: antique wool point blankets, all-natural fir and cedar incense, vintage literature and a really fun assortment of goods that evoke the spirit of the American southwest.

As well as a store, they also strive to be “a new neighborhood gathering place.” They’ve already started hosting events including poker every Friday night (open to everyone)! So strap on yer chaps, git on yer mount and ride on over to 1930 Echo Park Ave. They’re open from noon to 8, Tuesday through Sunday.

Click below to see more pictures!

Echo Park Shop Guide: Future, Origami and Two Boots

I know, I know. We were supposed to be a little bit further into this series by now than just two posts, but don’t we all have projects that get put on the back burner for just a tad too long? Well, I’m back, I’m bad and I’m unemployed, so let’s do this!

This time we’re going to be telling you a little bit about those three little but awesome places that occupy the strip in between The Echo and the travel agency: Future, Origami Vinyl and Two Boots.

Future just moved into their current spot at 1814 Sunset this past November. I really can think of no better way to describe this place than to use the owner, Will’s, own words: “good times and cool clothes.” When I went in they had a screen and a projector set up with which to watch skate videos. They gave me two free Bill & Ted’s trading cards. They have a bench out front emblazoned with lines from 80s films for their friends to skate on. They have an impressive selection of VHS for sale. And in their store I found the most mouth-watering (maroon, leather, Jordache!) jacket I have ever seen.

Check out their blog and their online store. Or, if you would like to actually go there, they’re located at 1814 W. Sunset Blvd. They’re open from noon to 1 am, Monday through Sunday.

There isn’t much to say about Origami Vinyl that hasn’t already been said. Every person I spoke with before going to visit them told me about Neil and how his and Sean’s store made the neighborhood an awesome place to live. They exclusively sell new vinyl and re-issues, so don’t go there looking for second-hand or vintage records to hang on your wall. To paraphrase Neil, there are just too many great new releases and re-issues to fit anything else into their small space. But he obviously adores every square foot of his little store. They get new stuff in once every couple of days, and there are shows there about once a week. Be sure to check out what’s going down on their blog.

Do you like pizza? Do you live in or near Echo Park? Well, then you should be eating at Two Boots on a regular basis!! This goes double if you’re an east coast transplant and crave the kind of pizza that you find everywhere on the right side of the country. Oh, that delicious cornmeal-coated crust (not the type that you have to dip in ranch dressing)! Hurray for their carefully-planned-out topping combinations! Behold the pizza angel that adorns their wall! It’s not as cheap as La Pizza Loca, for example, but it’s worth every penny. And they’re open until midnight every night and 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays. You can order online here.

February 5, 2010/121 Comments/by Caitlin