There’s no question that of all the chain stores in the US, Anthropologie tops the list with store display and photo styling. Year after year they find ways to update their look while staying true to the worldly & unique feel of their products.

The online shop Peek Keep specializes in Scandinavian design. Their products celebrate organic forms and functional design.

1 ~ what’s your name, shop name, and shop location…
Heidi Nigen
The online shop peek keep based in California

2 ~ tell us about some of the objects in your display…
This is a picture of a handmade bud vase from Louise Langgaard of Copenhagen, Denmark.

3 ~ describe the mood, what inspired you, or what you intended when creating/arranging these pieces…
I wanted to express it’s handmade quality, so I didn’t want too much in the photo to distract from showing that element. I also find the bud vase so charming and thought it looked “in it’s place” next to the old phone on the little table.

4 ~ what are 3 objects/pieces sold in your store that you are dying to have or… you already have and love…
I Want, Covet:
Baby Alpaca Throws from Denmark and an Ivana Helsinki Bag
I Have, Love:
This Ivana Helsinki Printed Case case is perfect for toiletries; you can see everything! It always gets admiring looks at the gym.

5 ~ list three things that provide you with inspiration…
good food, good wine, and good friends

thanks to the lovely and talented lizzie garrett of designwatcher, d*s now has a guide to design shopping in la to join the brooklyn guide! lizzy put together a fantastic guide that covers some of the must-see home and design shops in the los angeles area. i’ve edited the list and we’ve provided links wherever possible directly to shop websites. there are also recommendations for grabbing a bite to eat when you’re in each area so hopefully the guide can be helpful if you’re looking to make a day of it. also, this is just a starter guide and will be expanded over time, so if you don’t see your favorite area or shop covered just send us a note and we’ll add it as we go. thanks so much to lizzie for all her hard work and i hope you all enjoy the guide! [photo above from new stone age]

[i'm out filming my very first video for h&g's website today so i'll be out for the afternoon- see you tomorrow!]

Written by Lizzie Garrett + Edited by Design*Sponge

When I was talking to Grace about the idea of an L.A. design guide I was moaning about how hard it is to compartmentalize this sprawling city into neat little neighborhoods, and while some, like Silver Lake, are easy to define— the one I live in has no distinct name (it’s between Hollywood and West Hollywood, usually I just say my street.) No distinct name is a fair trade, however, for the best design shopping in town. What follows is a guide to the must-visit design stores in Los Angeles, including four great streets from my “Los Angeles” neighborhood and the best of Silver Lake. Enjoy. [This list will be updated frequently so please feel free to comment below or email d*s your suggestions]

Getting There: For public transportation options, check out mta.net.

W. 3rd Street: If you have to pick one street for walking, eating, and shopping, the strip of 3rd between Crescent Heights and La Cienega is a no-brainer. It’s colorful, sunny, and has a great energy about it. Here are the must-see design shops on 3rd:

• OK Store: OK, quite rightly, has the reputation of being the mecca of LA design stores— maybe because the owner, Larry Schaffer, seems to be known by everyone in town. The store has a little bit of everything good, and a wide range of blown glass, rare design books, japanese tea sets, and Tair Mercier placemats.
• Zipper: An excellent place to go for gifts, Zipper mixes elegant with whimsy.
• New Stone Age: From its edited selection of John Derian trays to the antique bird cages—it makes you feel like you’re in a 19th Century science lab—I love it. [Photo above from New Stone Age]
• Plastica: All plastic, all the time (bento boxes, woven plastic rugs, Marimekko trays)—this shop shows the world not all plastic in L.A. comes from Dr. 90210.
• Flight 001: Anything you need to travel comfortably and stylishly under one fuselage—and the best selection of luggage tags around.
• Room Service: Located way east on 3rd is Room Service; a Poppy/funky home goods store heavy on the loft style.

[Nosh: One of the most popular places to eat on 3rd is Toast, especially for brunch because it has plenty of outdoor seating—but hardly the best food. Try the new Little Next Door Market—a French deli with excellent baguettes and soups or Joan's On Third, the local's favorite.]

Beverly Blvd: Parallel to 3rd, and just one block north, Beverly is not only the new restaurant row—it boasts a sprinkling of design shops, including two of my favorites: Zelen Home and Ige Designs. Here are the shops to visit when you’re cruising on Beverly:

• Ige: Helene Ige, famous for her pillows and mobiles, has a store that I could spend hours in. Last time I was
  there I bought a tiny plastic lobster with bobbleing pinchers that sits on my stovetop.
• Zelen Home: Zelen is a little shop full of beautiful curiosities, most with an emphasis on the natural world. Here is where you find the things everyone will comment on, and no one will have.
• Modernica: I think of it as DWR’s arch enemy! I love Modernica because you can custom build an Eames fiberglass chair in any color, base or height you want. Herman Miller stamp? We don’t need no stinking stamp.
• Sonrisa Furniture: Fantastic office furniture with a selection of vintage (Steel Case) and modern metal.
• Emmerson Troop & Orange: These two stores (right next door from each other) both offer a selection of vintage goods, mostly furniture, that will knock your socks off, unfortunately the prices won’t.
• Shelter: Inspired by mid-century design, they call their furniture and accessories “high-end basics” and I agree.
• Twentieth: The closest thing to a Moss in Los Angeles, Twentieth focuses soley on high-end design.

[Nosh: BLD has a blueberry ricotta pancake that will bring you one step closer to heaven as well as an out-of-this-world fried egg sandwich.]

Melrose Ave: Just one more block north from Beverly lies perhaps one of the most well-known streets in the city. East of Fairfax, Melrose is full of clothing stores, head shops, costume stores, sneaker stores (read: Von Dutch, Johnny Rockets, and that place that sells herbal ecstasy); but West of Fairfax caters to a more sophisticated palate—(read: Stella McCartney, Diane Von Furstenberg, Fred Segal and Marc Jacobs). Most of these stores are not unique to L.A., so I wont go into too much detail. Oh, and rumor has it Murray Moss is opening a West Coast Moss sometime in 2007 on Melrose Place.

• The Rug Company: Designer rugs at designer prices.
• Paul Smith: I love going into the Paul Smith store to check out their coffee table books, Deadly Squire merch, Aalto vases, and other designy items.
• Jonathan Adler: Where would we be these past ten years with out JA?
• TableArt: Just over a year old now, Tart has become synonymous with hip tableware (think Bodo Sperelin and Ted Mueling) in L.A.
• Zero Minus Plus at Fred Segal (8100 Melrose Avenue): If you can handle it, Fred Segal has home store that has a great selection of picture
  frames, coffee table books, and home office goods.
• Marc Jacobs Home: His first shipment flew out of the store faster than most people could even get a glimpse. Perhaps
  his collaboration with Waterford will stick around a little longer.
• Soolip Paperie & Press: Excellent selection of stationary and cards.
• Fitzsu Society: Carlo Alessi, Marcel Wanders, Kaj Franck, Phillipe Starck, Marc Newson, and Michael Graves all living in
  harmony under one roof. I love this store because it melds together several decades and still maintains a current-as-ever vibe.

[Nosh: Urth Caffé: is a casual lunch spot with excellent organic coffee, tamales, and salads. M-Café de Chaya boasts an all macrobiotic menu— order the organic French fries, trust me.]

La Brea Ave: Most of the action on La Brea is on the East side of the street, you’ll find some great little stores to pop into, an artsy
movie theatre, a vintage sunglass store that is unreal—no really: the have mirrored white Rossignol aviators from the 1980s, and a general youthful edginess to the atmosphere.

• Maison Midi: A must for Francophiles, the imports like Perrier glassware and Lagiole knives are top notch. Conveniently a connecting doorway will lead you right into American Rag for some designer denim.
• Volcom: Occasionally the Volcom store, which blends artistic expression and retail seamlessly throughout their clothing
  opens it’s back room as a gallery to surfer/skater/snowboarder artists like Oska Wright and Kenton Parker, and those bros can paint, man!
• Homework: Homework balances whimsical design with modern staples and just as important— no pretense anywhere.
• Landon Cole Furniture: Along with Landon’s custom furniture (much of it rich dark woods) he sells original photography and paintings in the store.
• Diamond and Foam Fabrics: Interior designers swear by this place and I have to say it’s more fabric than the eye can see—so go with something in mind or you’ll be there for
  hours.
• Pulp: Off beat office supplies, beautiful wrapping paper and the best greeting cards are why I am there before every holiday and birthday.

[Nosh: Pop into Cube, for an artisinal cheese plate
or charcuterie assortment, some pasta, a pizza, or a just a great salad. It is one of the best bangs for the buck I know of in this city (besides the Taco truck next to the car wash). Or, for an almost guaranteed celeb citing check out Café Midi, which is connected to the home store Maison Midi, and has a killer croque madame. For a great drink and some goat cheese fondue keep walking South down to Luna Park]

Silver Lake: For a more hipster (L.A.’s version of Williamsburg) experience head east about 15 minutes to Silver Lake, home to rockers
like Beck, Rooney, Karen O, Pavement and a few design stores you don’t want to miss.

• A+R: Hands down my favorite design store on the East side. It’s one of those places where you say, “I like everything in here.”
• Yolk: The place to find unusual gifts, items that are only carried by independent contractors. An indie design store in Silver Lake? No way!
• Reform School: Opened last Fall to rave reviews not only because their products are great finds, but most of them are environmentally-friendly.

[Nosh: Gingergrass: Fresh Vietnamese food with a modern interior—their imperial rolls are reason enough to make the
drive, or even rent an apartment in Silver Lake.]

This article was written by Lizzie Garrett and Edited by Design*Sponge. Lizzie Garrett is an L.A.-based freelance writer who has written for Los Angeles Magazine, Bon Appétit, and edits a design blog called DESIGNwatcher.com

i am absolutely smitten with dwell’s new collection of linens. i was too sick to go see them in person at the gift fair but my press cd just arrived in the mail and now i’m dying to check them out. some of my favorite color palettes yellow/brown, yellow/slate gray and yellow/blue are back in a big way and dwell seems to have really taken some great steps forward with the new pieces. moving away from the all-geometric look of their past collections, they’ve added some great new patterns including a bird print, a lovely worn in blue stripe and my favorite, a new gold/blue/brown floral pattern. pictures speak louder than words so i’ll let you form your own opinions- i think they’re gorgeous but you can take a look for yourself above and below. the new pieces aren’t online yet but you can browse dwell’s current collection right here and i’ll be sure to update when they’re ready for online shopping.

Michele Varian’s pillows are often seen in the pages of Lucky and Domino Magazines. Her shop is a wonderful mix of her designs and the work of other designers whose work she admires.

1 ~ what’s your name, shop name, and shop location…
Michele Varian
Michele Varian, 35 Crosby Street, in NYC’s Soho.

2 ~ tell us about some of the objects in your display…
The gold bottles are by Eva Menz and are 10k gold plated porcelain. They are cast from found bottles (one is Jack Daniels) and each one is made “imperfect” in some way before they are cast, so there are no 2 alike. The jewelry shown is by Alex and Chloe. We sell a lot of jewelry, and I love buying it. I like these pieces because they are a little bit manly/huntery and dark, but they are so beautifully cast and delicate that they are feminine and the dark side makes them sexy.

3 ~ describe the mood, what inspired you, or what you intended when creating/arranging these pieces…
I opened the store as a showcase for my collection of decorative pillows, which are all made in the studio behind the store. My inspiration for designing the pillows and selecting and arranging items for the store is usually the same. I like organic textures and I love birds, but I like to mix things up. Objects are more interesting when they have a little bit of conflict and ambiguity. So, even though I like natural and organic, I like to use gold to luxe it up or to use dark iconic imagery, such as skulls, crosses or guns. I have a lot of taxidermy-esque pieces right now, but none of it is real, making it more funny and ironic.

4 ~ what are 3 objects/pieces sold in your store that you are dying to have or… you already have and love…
We sell a lot of Tord Boontje’s designs and even though they are everywhere, I had to have one of the garland lamps in black. Love it in gold, but when I saw it in black, I knew my husband would like it too. I have to be careful with my husband to not make things too precious, so we have a lot of my tougher pillows at home – the flaming heart, the buck, the eagle. I also sell Neisha Crosland wallpaper and our apartment is covered in it. In one room we have 3 patterns – all quite dark, but with hints of metallic.

5 ~ list three things that provide you with inspiration…
I was just in Detroit and bought a set of 1914 World books at an estate sale. They’re amazing and in great condition too. Tons of illustrations and prints. Very stylized and dated. Old things usually inspire me the most.

I love early design during the industrial revolution. All these metal and mechanical things with floral flourishes and curving lines. I like to see how things are constructed. That’s why I use a tie closure on all of our pillows and make it part of the design – not hidden.

Textiles of every kind excite me. I love the way that they are made. I have to be careful to not go into a technical reverie when customers ask questions about specific fabrics.

in honor of the impending holiday of love- youngandwithit’s penguin heart screenprinted cards. $9 for three and perfect for sending a little love note.

speaking of things i love, a wonderful d*s reader (and fellow design writer) is working with me to create a guide to design shopping in los angeles! much like the d*s guide to brooklyn, the d*s guide to los angeles will include shops, restaurants and transporation notes by area so those of you visiting can have an edited guide for must-visit shops. look for it in the next few weeks :)