LA Makers Podcast: Recent Episodes
Lynz Floren
An exploration of people who make things in Los Angeles, brought to you by the Los Angeles County Store in honor of the shop's 5 years in business supporting local makers.
PopUp Episode!
Very Local on display through September 17
Paintings by Erica Goebel
In this decade of my 35 years of residency in Silverlake, it seems that demolitions, upgrades, and new construction are happening more frequently. The changes evoke my memories, rouse my aesthetics, and lately, make me bless the “personalities” of our older structures that are still with us. Because of my long association with these landmarks, I find them beautiful examples of Silverlake’s real character.
When I am in my backyard, I hear my mom and grandmother’s voices discussing their gardens. Our landscapes (we’re three generations of So Cal gardeners) are nothing alike, but in my mind we talk about the joys of a nicely swept walkway, note which trusted, seasonal flower is blooming, and regard – always with hope – the additions to our scenery.
Particular colors and shapes engender happiness in me, and lure me to my paints. But it was the feeling of sadness – and fear of loss – that prompted me to paint some unheralded and iconic Silverlake structures. Now I see that that my garden and local landmarks share the theme of “inevitable change”.
Come to the Los Angeles County Store to see her work before it comes down on September 17!
~~ Submit your LA-themed art show idea for the 2020 Fine Art Series at the LA County Store. Find out more here. ~~
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
PopUp Episode! ¡En Español!
If life give you lemonson display through August 13
Embroidery by Carmen Mardónez
Before I even menstruated for the first time, I had already been taught in my school how to cook, sew, knit, and embroider. Regardless of what I wanted to be as a grown-up, I had to have the necessary skills to become a good wife and mother. I was told to learn how to embroider canonically to craft beautiful dresses for my future daughters (!!).When I became a mother, all my rebellion, hidden in the depths of myself, irremediably exploded. I refused to be what I had been trained for. My artistic work then became another way of expressing my resistance. The stitches lost the tidiness of the selfless mother and became wild and unpredictable, privileging the exploration of color and movement over a finished technique and detail.
Paradoxically, instead of being housework, my practice as an embroidery artist makes me a bad wife and mother, because it does not meet the practical needs and takes away hours of housekeeping, diverting me from the absolute dedication to the upbringing of my son.
Embroidering skies is not just about light and intangibility. It is also, in some sense, trying to seize the passage of time. In the calm of a nap, of an early bedtime, or making the most of a solitary game, my work becomes a moment of contemplation. Is to grant myself the right to leisure and calm. To enjoy the passage of time and, beyond pediatric controls, getting a feel for the seasons of the year, between sunrises and sunsets. It is the joy of every day, of the magnificent pace of life captured by celestial landscapes.
"If life gives you lemons" is the result of a year of experimentation with embroidery on the lemon meshes we consumed at home. The yellow nets were the imposed foot, and the inspiration images, own or borrowed, came from the skies of this city that I am just starting to inhabit. During this year of embroidery and mothering my son learned to walk and climb everywhere, so small pieces were perfect for keeping out of his reach. Therefore, both the size and the format of the artwork mounted on a frame, respond to the needs of working at home with my son around. By exhibiting the outcome of this self-sponsored artistic residency with the public, I am disclosing my struggles as an artist, woman, immigrant, and mother. The result is a collection of imaginary landscapes and self-contained universes, that helped me to navigate through this year of transformations.
You can find me on Instagram @desbordado and website: www.carmenmardonez.com
Come to the Los Angeles County Store to see her work before it comes down on July 17!
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
PopUp Episode!
Light Hits Natureon display through July 18
Paintings by Nicole Schroeder
Los Angeles-based artist Nicole Schroeder creates vivid artwork and accessories inspired by the diversity of our earth. She has always been passionate about the environment and has also had the opportunity to immerse herself in foreign cultures as a diplomat living abroad. All of her mixed media and oil painting work stems from a desire to share the essence of diversity, whether it is biodiversity or cultural diversity. As a part of that, Nicole created the brand Atthirtyone to share fashion and home accessories inspired by her fine art.
One of Nicole’s key bodies of work is Water Series, abstract paintings of the moment light hits the surface of water. She has been painting these worldwide, from the Turquoise Coast to Central Asia. After moving to LA, the Pacific Ocean caught her eye and she began experimenting with murals. Then, she left the coast for the desert and did the same thing, painting a moment on the surface of the desert floor. This show highlight’s LA’s fun-in-the-sun attitude with a focal mural of the ocean, and features abstracted paintings of light in nature, from the ocean to the desert and everything in between.
Come to the Los Angeles County Store to see her work before it comes down on July 17!
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
~~ A big thanks to everyone who came to our Launch Party at the LA County Store last weekend and an extra special thanks to Laura Ann Masura for being a great interview guest and to LA comic Thea Lux for warming up the crowd. We're also grateful for the delicious beverages provided by Smog City Brewing Company, Discovino wines, and Monk CBD beverages. It was a fun party! ~~
LA Makers Podcast is produced by Lynz Floren & Sparks Factory in partnership with the LA County Store.
Please reach out to lamakerspodcast@gmail.com with questions, comments or suggestions.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram: @lamakerspodcast
*Laurie Porter - Smog City Brewing Company*
Wearing many hats at Smog City is common place but Laurie does it with zeal. From sales to brand building, strategy, events, taproom, social media or bookkeeping, Laurie is there. The heart of Smog City, Laurie fosters community relationships and builds Smog City's presence and reputation in the L.A. Area and beyond. Besides her commitment to Smog City's growth, Laurie is also deeply invested in the L.A. County Brewers Guild and one of the newest Board of Directors for the California Craft Brewers Association. If you have questions, she's got answers - or knows to connect you with. Contact Laurie at laurie@smogcitybrewing.com.
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
~~ The LA County Store is also hosting the LA Makers Podcast Launch Party! Save the Date! Saturday June 22, 2019 at 7pm. Located at 4333 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake, it's the only curated gift shop that exclusively sells products made in LA County. ~~
LA Makers Podcast is produced by Lynz Floren & Sparks Factory in partnership with the LA County Store.
Please reach out to lamakerspodcast@gmail.com with questions, comments or suggestions.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram: @lamakerspodcast
PopUp Episode!
LA Beer Week June 15-23
Visit www.labrewers.org for more information
Preview for upcoming interview episode with Laurie Porter, Co-founder of Smog City Brewing Company
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
~~ The LA County Store is also hosting the LA Makers Podcast Launch Party! Save the Date! Saturday June 22, 2019 at 7pm. Located at 4333 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake. There will be refreshments and a live interview taping with Laura Ann Masura of Laura Ann's Jams, along with prizes and surprises ~~
LA Makers Podcast is produced by Lynz Floren & Sparks Factory in partnership with the LA County Store.
Please reach out to lamakerspodcast@gmail.com with questions, comments or suggestions.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram: @lamakerspodcast
*Emily Hillburg - boytearsllc*
Emily Hillburg grew up in the LBC and has never lived outside LA County. She searches the city for porcelain treasures to bloody up with her feminist rage and love for southern California culture. Her art has been featured in Vogue, Bust, Nylon, and in the homes of bad bitches all over the world.
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
~~ The LA County Store is also hosting the LA Makers Podcast Launch Party! Save the Date! Saturday June 22, 2019 at 7pm. Located at 4333 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake, it's the only curated gift shop that exclusively sells products made in LA County. ~~
LA Makers Podcast is produced by Lynz Floren & Sparks Factory in partnership with the LA County Store.
Please reach out to lamakerspodcast@gmail.com with questions, comments or suggestions.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram: @lamakerspodcast
SHOW NOTES:
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
~~ The LA County Store is also hosting the LA Makers Podcast Launch Party! Save the Date! Saturday June 22, 2019 at 7pm. Located at 4333 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake, it's the only curated gift shop that exclusively sells products made in LA County. ~~
PopUp Episode!
Art Opening May 18
Mikki Paek, aka mikkalous (pronounced like “Nicholas” w/ a “M”), is a visual artist living & working in Los Angeles. She works with a range of media including digital & print illustration, animation, painting, typography & sculpture. While she thinks Los Angeles is the best city in the world, Koreatown in particular holds a special place in her (he)art.
Her show, Koreatown, is one part illustrative-documentation and one part personal/communal history, and is part of a larger project of an interactive illustrated map of Koreatown launching in June. Strip mall signs, hole-in-the-wall restaurants & liquor stores aren’t what come to mind when one thinks about famous LA landmarks. But these places in K-Town, while they look weathered and sometimes neglected on the outside, contain thriving businesses and local culture that have survived throughout the years and continue to contribute greatly to the vibrant & unique culture of Los Angeles. For the locals, the images speak to their personal memories. For others, a familiar landmark in the background of their day-to-day. And for those unfamiliar, it’s an invitation to explore & appreciate Koreatown beyond “K-BBQ, NRB & soju”.
You can find mikkalous & her project on instagram @mmmikkalous & @koreatowntimes and also on her website www.mmmikkalous.com
On view at the LA County Store through June 12.
LA Makers Podcast is produced by Lynz Floren & Sparks Factory in partnership with the LA County Store.
Please reach out to lamakerspodcast@gmail.com with questions, comments or suggestions.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram: @lamakerspodcast
SHOW NOTES:
~~ As a thank you to listeners, the LA Makers Podcast is partnering with the Los Angeles County Store to offer a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS ~~
~~ The LA County Store is also hosting the LA Makers Podcast Launch Party! Save the Date! Saturday June 22, 2019 at 7pm. Located at 4333 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake, it's the only curated gift shop that exclusively sells products made in LA County. ~~
*Billy Kheel*
Using felt and thread, Billy Kheel creates soft sculptures, wall hangings, portraits and installations. His approach challenges traditional gender roles and concepts about masculinity. His use of material questions the boundary between art and craft. Regardless of the subject of a given series, a sense of humor and warmth runs throughout his work.Kheel first created and exhibited large surreal felt applique banners in 2010 at GATE Projects INCREMENTS show in Los Angeles. These banners were inspired by extreme sports fan culture and Kheel's own athletic background. He then turned his attention to his rapidly gentrifying East Los Angeles neighborhood. Kheel created Sunset Stitches, his first foray into soft scultpure, a show that brought to life business mascots from local strip mall signs from businesses which were rapidly closing and being replaced by juice and coffee shops. The Los Angeles Times said, "Many an artist has documented the visual landscape of Los Angeles’ streets, but few have felt it as strongly as Billy Kheel."
In fall of 2015, Kheel first expressed his love for tacos rendered in felt when he teamed with artist and beer enthusiast Dale Drieling for Tacos & Beer at the Fifth Floor Gallery in L.A.'s Chinatown. After these pre-game tacos Kheel again tackled sports with his next show at restaurant and Dodger's shrine Cofax in the Fairfax District. Kheel hoped his imagined Dodger baseball cards, made of felt applique and sequins would influence the World Series outcome in the Dodgers favor. He was wrong. That did not stop him from trying again at Denver's Blackbook Gallery with Sky High, a show of influential athletes in felt that included that years Super Bowl MVP and fashion icon Von Miller. As Vice noted about the show, "Kheel's work juxtaposes the masculine and heroic themes attached to professional sports against the matronly associates of sewing and quilting."
Kheel returned to Los Angeles and took a dive into the L.A. River for his next installation, L.A River: The Fiber of a City. Kheel recreated the famously repulsive L.A. River in a twenty foot by four foot installation of stuffed and appliqued felt. Using actual clean up inventories and scientific data, Kheel used the L.A. River as a prism in which to view the history, cultures and ecology of his neighboprhood. As KCET's Artbound said at the time "Kheel's installation evokes warring instincts in a viewer's mind: gritty clashes with mushy, resulting is a pleasant nostalgia, an emotional response of ownership with something that doesn't always present itself so beautifully."
Billy Kheel is a Los Angeles based artist who has exhibited nationally and internationally and his work has been featured in Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Vice Creator’s Project, KCRW's Design and Architecture and KCET's Artbound. He lives on the Eastside of Los Angeles with his family.
LA Makers Podcast is produced by Lynz Floren & Sparks Factory in partnership with the LA County Store.
Please reach out to lamakerspodcast@gmail.com with questions, comments or suggestions.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram: @lamakerspodcast
SHOW NOTES:
*Preview Episode - MaryAnne LoVerme*
MaryAnne curates and operates the Los Angeles County Store, located at 4333 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake. It's the only curated gift shop that exclusively sells products made within LA County. As a thank you to listeners, the LA County Store is offering a promo code for a one-time discount of 10% off your purchase in-store or online. The promo code is: LAMAKERS
Here is MaryAnne's bio:
My name is MaryAnne LoVerme. I grew up in Brooklyn and now live in my adopted home of Los Angeles.
I love both dogs and cats, and while I do not currently have a forever pet, I do work with a local rescue, Luxe Paws, to host events every season where a percentage of proceeds benefit the rescue.
I’m a huge film buff. Going to the movies is one of my favorite things and a huge source of inspiration.
Before opening the shop I was a teacher and a jewelry designer. I ran a company called Wabisabi Brooklyn, and collaborated a lot with other New York-area Etsy sellers to do pop-up shops and to put on craft fairs like The Handmade Cavalcade.
I love languages and my undergrad degree is in Spanish. My background is in education, and I taught middle and high school Spanish for ten years, all the while simultaneously pursuing my jewelry business.
I love to take long walks. I am a non-driver by choice, and exploring Los Angeles on foot is one of my favorite things, especially when it involves some of the cool Stair Streets that are relics of the Red Car Days.
I also love comedy and music and try to get to as many shows as I can manage.
Lately I have rediscovered my love of reading, and highly recommend Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends.I have a hammock I very much enjoy relaxing in on my days off. My sister and her family live near the beach here in L.A. so I go visit them when I can. And I have made an effort recently to enjoy some of the incredibly gorgeous natural offerings Los Angeles has, like The Angeles Forest and The Huntington Library.
A lot of my non-work time is spent trying to manage the stress of running the shop. It’s been a huge help to have the yoga studio One Down Dog right upstairs from the shop. Their chill and restore classes have helped me keep my sanity over the years. I was also thrilled when Pilates studio Avenir-LA opened just down the street on Fountain so I could add that to my self-care routine.
LA Makers Podcast is produced by Lynz Floren & Sparks Factory in partnership with the LA County Store.
Please reach out to lamakerspodcast@gmail.com with questions, comments or suggestions.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram: @lamakerspodcast