Proprietors Studio Tour

This week, we paid a visit to one of our partners for CAMP - Proprietors LLC and sampled the drinks that will be served to CAMPers this June! All we can say is YUM*

*We would say more but we're buzzed from sampling all the cocktails...

Everlane Studio Tour

This week, we had the chance to visit the Los Angeles offices of Everlane - one of the Internet's most legit fashion brands that wants you to know that you're probably paying too much for you name-brand basics (t-shirts, totes, oxfords, belts, etc). With an insane amount of detail to design and BFF relations with the factories that produce similar products for designer labels, Everlane is making ripples in the industry by simplifying the equation and cutting out the middlemen.

Their studio is based in the Arts District in Downtown LA and serves as the hub of production and creative. Everlane's entire production team (both domestic and international) is located here as well as creative team including the art director and graphic designers.

"We refer to this office as the heart and the San Francisco office as the brains." - says Everlane's Head of Culture, Eva Goicochea.

Enjoy the tour!

Around the Office

We're shooting an ad for CAMP at our office and we thought it might be interesting for you guys to take a look at space that the entire UNIQUE USA team (7 strong!) works out of.

What Lies Beneath

As I walked the first few hours of Stair Trek last weekend (the “Toughest Urban Walk on Any Planet”) I realized while talking to some of my fellow walkers that stairwalkers fall into one of two camps: Those who look up, and those who look down. The people who look up get to see trees and architecture. The people who look down are rewarded with views of trash and infrastructure (and sometimes they’re literally rewarded… they find money!). Both methods are interesting, and there’s no right way, so I challenged myself as an “up-looker” to shift my eyes down for a few miles. And when I looked down I saw these…

I can’t believe in all my years of walking that I never noticed how beautiful LA’s manhole covers are! Such beautiful type, patterned according to what’s below, inevitably straddling a massive crack in the concrete. I may never look up again.

More photos from Stair Trek. And if you’d like to join a future Big Parade stairwalk, go here.

Alissa Walker is a writer, a gelato-eater, and a walker in LA. Follow her at @gelatobaby and read more at gelatobaby.com

To Do: Tour Downtown Lofts

Okay, okay, you've heard it a lot lately: Downtown LA is becoming a hot-bed for art, design, food, mixology and all-things-cool. People tell you "it feels like a real city" but you're skeptical.However, if you are intrigued with moving to Downtown or just curious to see what is going on, we've got the perfect opportunity to do so!

The Downtown Center Business Improvement District has organized a free housing tour to provide an introduction to the many neighborhoods of Downtown. The tour showcases 6-7 residences that are available for lease or sale, so you can judge what it's like to live downtown for yourself.

Being a Downtown LA resident for almost three years, I love the urban feeling that downtown boasts. People actually walk on the sidewalks here, so there are always people 'out and about', unlike in the rest of the city. You can turn in any direction and go for dinner or find a hot new spot for drinks. One thing that I like is that there are numerous farmers markets held throughout the week, so getting fresh produce is just a walk away. Downtown is truly in its revival state. Plus from what I've heard there are a few big retail destinations slated to open in the next couple of years, which will help complete the area.

If you've ever thought about moving downtown, this is definitely something you should do. The next tour is on November 19, it starts at 10am and takes about 4 hours. It's free, you just need to sign up here.