Forging a bond between the creative pursuits of established visual artists and young writers, Poketo, a Los Angeles design company specializing in limited edition, affordable art products, teamed up with 826LA, a non-profit organization that teaches writing skills to students ages 6 to 18, to create a special series of artist wallets.

826LA held a writing workshop called When Wallets Eat Words, where students developed short stories to line the inside of the artist wallets. Each wallet was then illustrated with a Poketo artists’ interpretation of the stories. The series was conceived when Poketo approached 826LA with an offer to curate a project for the organization.

Started by McSweeney’s Quarterly founder David Eggers, 826 has grown into a nationwide network, with two facilities in Los Angeles (Echo Park and Venice,) as well as branches in San Francisco, Seattle, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Boston and Brooklyn.

The wallets are available for $20 on the Poketo site , as well as at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, 1714 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90026. Proceeds benefit student writing programs at 826LA.

Wallet designed by Martha Rich.

Sean first posted about the in-progress move here a couple weeks ago, and yesterday was the first opportunity I had to bring in a front wheel desperately needing a new hub/rebuild and step inside the giantness that is the new home of Orange 20 Bikes in the famed Bicycle SquareQuadrantZoneDistrictRealm. DotCom. Also known as the corner of Heliotrope and Melrose in East Hollywood.

Turns out my timing was as impeccable as my taste in homegrown velocipedic establishments as yesterday was their first day of bustling operations in their new castle:

After stepping inside and gaping at the absolute vastness of all that additional square footage I made my way back across what may have been a change in zip code to the service/repair area — itself easily as large as the entire shack that was O20’s first home across the alley out back.

Greeted by proprietor Jim C. I guesstimated that the place must be three billion times bigger and he corrected me down to reality.

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Image by Getty Images via Daylife

LA, you know I have much love for you, but some days…some days lady, you really work my nerve.

I’m trying to make some cheese.  It’s really basic: salt, milk and rennet. It’s finding the rennet that is making my head explode. When I was a kid, we learned how to make this cheese from an Egyptian lady.  Luckily the halal meat market in Diamond Bar (shout out to the Jibanis!) carried it, so it was no problem to get it and we made this cheese almost weekly. But all the Eid ul-Fitr festivities are this weekend so there is no way in hell I’m driving out to Diamond Bar for some plant extract. So, I turned to the internet.

I didn’t want to order it online, because I wanted to make the cheese today. Yesterday, I figured if I posted the question to Twitter which also feeds directly to my FriendFeed account then I’d get a response and pick it up in the afternoon. You’d think with all these self-described LA-based “foodies” who follow me on both services, that someone could have pointed me to a local store. I received exactly zero whole responses.

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Whoo-hoo!

I used to think of Washington Mutual as the Trader Joes of banking. It seemed to be the alternative place where Angelenos would bank that didn’t suck you dry by charging for checks and account fees, and the staff was always nice. Unfortunately, it turned out that after getting that first overdraft fee waived, WaMu was just more like a new Ralphs, but no different than any other grocery store. Or bank. (I’m writing this while I’m hungry, so please forgive me).

Anyway, this really has nothing to do with the big news this week that Washington Mutual became the largest bank failure ever, as they were so nice they gave out way too many loans too easily, and people weren’t paying them back. As a result, the bank was pretty much going bankrupt, so the government swooped in, and sold WaMu to JP Morgan Chase, whose name will soon begin appearing on your banking statements, your checks and debit cards, and the bank itself.

Or something like that. Seriously, I’m mostly thinking about getting some food. Have a snack with me, then make the jump for more details… (more…)

CFL's on the cheap while supplies last at Smart and Final

If you are in need of more CFL’s and want them cheap head over to your nearest Smart & Final.  They are a whopping 49 cents, centavos, pennies or whatever name you have for those small shiny copper bits in your pocket.  The box says the price reflects an allowance courtesy of So Cal Ed.   They certainly are the best price I have seen on them yet.   Word of caution, if you suffer from migraines (like I do) keep some regular incadescents around as those CFL’s can be murder during an migraine, if not trigger one on a sensitive day. 

Pic by my at the Smart and Final on Huntington Drive here in Monrovia with the phone cam this evening.

Note to S. F. :
Is this poster really a good idea? I mean, right here (Sunset and Maltman,) right now (yesterday– and I ride by this corner a few times a week,) at this point in the election? It seems like it could be useful for the McCain campaign. Can’t you just see a 527 luridly splashing it on a massive direct mailing sent out to scare the most impressionable, most easily misled “undecided” voters?

Has the Palin situation gotten me this jumpy? Uh, yah.

“Alleged” cease-and-desist letters and street art branding wars aside, I quote from the “warning” link on the Obey site: “Please use common sense and consideration when applying stickers or other propaganda materials.”

Or maybe it’s just guerilla marketing for the Obey fashion/music/home/cake mix line? (Btw, the money clip? Loves it.)

[Full disclosure: I have a "hope" sticker on my car. And I'm curious about how the jeans fit.]

Handcarved bone (not ivory!) and utterly beautiful

I’ve seen this stuff in person and it’s worth the drive. Stuff in every price range. Book shelves galore, antique furniture (some of it authentic prized Tibetan treasures), lamps, mirrors, collectibles, ceremonial masks from around the world - heck you’d better check it out yourself.

Craigslist ads here and here with more info and great pictures.

Today only, 830am - 6pm
(NO EARLY BIRDS!)
3350 Wood Terrace @ Griffith Park Blvd.
More info: (323) 660-8622

I finally had a chance to swing by the new Anti Market location at 3300 Sunset (down the street a bit from their old location closer to Echo Park) and wow, not only do they have about 10x the space they used to but they are putting it to full use. It’s packed with lust inducing bikes and they are now doing tons of custom work right on the spot. If you ride already, or are thinking of starting this is a great place for browsing. I rode over on my bicycle and the guys were all super friendly and helpful without being pushy at all. My only regret was they didn’t have one of their swanky “Anti Market - Silver Lake” shirts available in my size. Next time!

Look: East of Eden - Silver Lake Gallery Alliance is holding what will be it’s first annual multi-gallery exhibit this weekend at Barnsdall Parks’ LA Municipal Art Gallery in Los Feliz.

Exhibition organizer Zara Zeitountsian, owner of Black Maria Gallery in Atwater Village, tipped me off to her plans last spring.

“I predict it’s going to be a major event that will have historical implications for the future of Los Angeles art and how the East Side is perceived. I think people will be surprised by the scope of the work.”

Participating galleries are La Luz de Jesus, Black Maria, LAMG, Farmlab, drkrm, Ghetto Gloss, Gallery Revisited, Thinkspace, Junc, Materials & Applications, Acuna Hansen, Bert Green Fine Art, De Soto, David Patton and Tropico De Nopal.

The three day exhibition will be free to the public and include an opening night reception on Friday evening and a Saturday night gala with a portion of the art sales being donated to The MOCA Contemporaries, a volunteer fundraising support council of MOCA.

Guest project spaces will also be on display, including Guey Smart: Emerging Latino Artists Exhibition and the interactive Fresh Pressed T-shirt printing workshop.

Sept. 19-21, free; Barnsdall Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd. LA 90027

Wear: LA belt buckle, from popKiller. $14; 7503 Sunset at Gardiner LA 90046 and 343 E. 2nd St. Downtown LA 90012

Grow: Lithops from Trader Joe’s. Maybe you’ve seen these little buggers labeled as “Living Stones” at TJ’s. Some may find them a bit creepy, especially the ones that look like brains. A type of succulent, lithops need minimal water, a lot of sun and they bloom during late summer and early autumn. $5.

Avoid: The revived “preppy look” for men. Worse than the frat boy look, it was suitably horrifying the first time around in the ’80s, making those sporting it look like young Republicans. One can hope that LA men are impervious to actually buying it, even though it’s inescapable in stores now. Jeans, T-shirts and flip-flops never looked so good.

Tomorrow night, September 4, walking will be encouraged in Los Angeles.

A group of businesses has gotten together to create an evening of “Shopping, Walking And Giving” (SWAG) to benefit the Saban Clinic (formerly the LA Free Clinic).  All along Beverly, between La Cienega and Crescent Heights, from 6 - 9 pm businesses will be open with prize giveaways, discounts, raffles and some yummy free tastings from UV Vodka, Pane e Vino, Mandarette and other restaurants.  10% of money spent that night will got to the clinic.  The more you shop, the more they get!

For more info, please click into the SWAG site.

(Found this tip via Thrillist.)