Fashion designer Juan Carlos Obando spent Valentine’s weekend showing his latest collection at Fashion Week in Bryant Park, New York. Juan Carlos, a former advertising and marketing guru, is regarded in the fashion world as one of the top up and coming designers.  Style.com, who appear to have their hands on the pulse of all the happenings in Bryant Park, have already reviewed his most recent show for his fall 2010 collection and noted that “Obando’s scissor skills were plainly on display and his tailoring indeed proved to be flawless.” His spring 2010 show last year also drew great reviews from Style.com as they explained, “Obando’s message…pondered the macro idea of new frontiers and the micro one of imparting the patina of history and natural forces to textiles.” They went on to say that, “His jackets certainly hit the nail on the head, with perfect hand finishing inside and out—elegant enough for lunch uptown but so innovatively crafted that they can be crumpled up like a jean jacket with no consequence.”Juan Carlos Obando’s base of operations is one of LA’s truly urban and modern loft developments, The Westmoreland Lofts. Located on the border of Silver Lake and adjacent to Downtown and Hollywood, the lofts have a unique look and character to match the equally unique and extremely diverse tenant base. Along with Juan Carlos, the creative complex boasts make-up artists, photographers, screen printers, production companies, writers, hair salons, musicians, dance performers as well as marketing and advertising firms—to name a few. Needless to say this eclectic group interacts and network in a way unlike most office or apartment complexes. With the ability to both live and work in their spaces, the individuals and businesses thrive in an inspirational and creative community. As Juan Carlos once explained in an interview with Style.com, having a break every now and then from fashion forces him to “… take the blinders off and spend a little time in the world where, you know, fashion actually lives.” It is possible that the Westmoreland Lofts provide him with the perfect atmosphere to do just that.

HOW MANY BILLBOARDS? ART IN STEAD

The MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House announced its most ambitious project to date: How Many Billboards? Art In Stead. This large-scale urban exhibition debuts 23 new works by leading contemporary artists, presented simultaneously on billboards throughout Los Angeles for seven weeks from February 5 through March 26, 2010.

The exhibition will be accompanied by an overview exhibition and orientation station at the Schindler House, which opens on February 23, as well as a series of public programs and bus tours. Twenty-three artists working in the vein of California’s conceptual art movement have been commissioned to create a new work that critically responds to the medium of the billboard and interprets its role in the urban landscape. The exhibition looks at California’s conceptually-orientated art history and examines the relationships between outdoor media and architecture in the city, and also suggests in-depth consideration of participating artists’ broader contributions to contemporary art. Investigating art as an idea as well as art as a media for critical intervention, the exhibition highlights the interaction of Pop, conceptualism and architecture in Los Angeles since the late 1960s.

To get more info on this event, go to: www.howmanybillboards.org

Looks like Anschutz Entertainment Group is not done with their multi million dollar development at LA Live. The Community Redevelopment Agency is considering a request from AEG to develop the South Park entertainment district. Their intentions are to create a more business oriented development that will provide customers for the existing restaurant tenants.

Today, January 21, 2010, the CRA is considering the request to add office and production studio space to the site, while reducing the number of hotel rooms that were part of the original LA Live master plan. This doesn’t come as a surprise since the hotel industry is still hurting the recent recession. More hotels have gone out of business in the last 3 years compared to the previous 10 years combined.

This would allow for AEG to add approximately 600,000 square feet of office space. No timeline has been provided. In addition the above mentioned project, the City Planning Commission separately considered plans for AEG to develop a 269,182 square foot broadcasting studio at LA Live that could accommodate a nationwide cable television network.

 Met-Romantic:: L.A. Metro :: Swoons Creative Angelenos

A recent move, at the end of a decade replants this seasoned Angeleno as a new resident of Lincoln Heights… Not unfamiliar with this area that’s a pocket of cultural diversity, this area also is home to many visual artists, and the hip canyon dwellers of Mount Washington. Where is this, “pocket”, you ask? Try Avenue 26 at Lacy Street :: Lacy Studio Lofts. Home to small businesses like Marketing and Branding, Design, Fashion, Film Production, Photography that make live work look like chic modes opperendo of the free world.

Knowing that the Metro is just down the street, is something that cannot be ignored- After spending 9 years of commuting up and down freeways and side routes (to work!)  but also across town to music venues, like the Wiltern, or the Hollywood Bowl, fighting for parking to no avail….the Metro Line is romancing us from the corner : I welcome it with open arms. Having only been a resident of Lacy for a few weeks – the holidays are here – and X is playing a Christmas show with Calexico at the Wiltern-Awesome! – A Band that is from Los Angeles, and has influenced hundreds since the 80′s…and BONUS! No driving and No parking : The Metro is just on the corner, sweet…..

So, because we could have an extra cocktail, we did, and we enjoyed our wait for the train that much more, but also the scenic journey: The Metro rolls up…we board,and as we roll west towards Union station where we transfer to the purple line that will take us to destination The Wiltern, we are happy to see the layout of our city as if we are on a monorail ride at Disneyland- but better, it was Chinatown! Seeing the city glitter passing over Chinatown with a birds eye view, I have to tell you, is quite cool.  And no driving mind you- Look Los Angeles, going across town no longer requires hands.

Not only can we travel to great music venues in a jiff, we can also get to view some of the hippest Art galleries, and Events, all happening downtown, such as…..”Live the Dream 2010″ > Jerico, the original artist bar,  is hosting an event this Thursday Jan 14th at 7pm, featuring the best of the best L.A. Downtown Artists, and will be featuring one of the Lacy Tenants, Emmeric Konrad. Of course….I’m going, and, I’m taking the Train

Living in Los Angeles has proven to be an existence in various shades of tan, brown, acrid yellow and if we are lucky to be missing the notorious smoggy grey haze a scientific blue. I ask, in this perfect climate where is the green?  I am sure our extreme lack of “green” space does not help with the production of the much needed supplemental oxygen and room to wiggle our toes. Los Angeles is considered to be the most park poor major city in America, with a sparse 7.8 % of its city space allocated to parks.  It seems that other Angelinos might be feeling the lack of green these days and perhaps find more value in parks and recreational areas, because the “Green Alley Movement is gaining momentum:The city of Los Angeles has officially committed to an innovative proposal to transform some of its neglected alley ways, typically used for dumping, trash bins, slumbering quarters for the occasional drunken bar hopper unable to make the staggering trek home and just good old fashioned crime.  This transformation comes by way of “green space”The proposed green alley project will use existing spaces in a new progressive way.  It is creative ideas using mostly existing infrastructure that will quickly transition urban areas to sustainable pedestrian havens.  Most of the existing alleys in LA are in dense single-family residential neighborhoods, and the majority of these are in South Los Angeles.   The goal is to give these spaces back to the public for recreational use, and in turn increase the green space of the city. The City Council approved recommendations advancing the proposal of the Green Alley Project. It included provisions for developing design guidelines, determining cost, building a detailed map of alleys and identifying pilot project sites.  The first pilot project site to be Cosmo Alley and slated for completion the summer of 2010.This alley runs north and south from Hollywood Boulevard and Selma Avenue between Cahuenga Boulevard and Cosmo Street and has been gated for many years.   Adjacent businesses have used the public alley for private purposes and the public has been denied access to the alley.  This canker sore of a street and eclectic mishmash of dumpster valet is soon to be reborn as a pedestrian mall as City Council with Garcetti’s motion has declared this alley to be returned to the public and require business’s to apply for revocable permits for the use of the public space.What does this mean to business’s and local property owners? Simply, more pedestrian traffic and opportunity to increase business and revenue.  What does this mean to residents and tenants in the area?  A well maintained relaxing space to enjoy lunch alfresco, and a great place to take a stroll and wiggle your toes.