Wednesday, June 26, 2013

LA Fabric Shopping & Science Geekery

We've visited LA several times in the past and spent most of our time eating.  For this particular trip, we decided to DO something as well as eat (ahem, priorities!).

Fabric Shopping - LA Fashion District
While the kids napped and my husband was mindlessly playing soccer games on his phone, I got to spend a precious hour at Michael Levine, a fantastically large (70,000 sq. ft.) fabric store in the heart of LA's Fashion District.  ML is split into 3 stores - the main store (pictured below), a home decor fabrics store across the street, and The Loft (also across the street) that sells a POUND of fabric for $2.50.  Unfortunately, the Loft was closed when I went, but I will definitely be checking it out on my next trip.

 Fabric Heaven - prices ranged from $3/yd and up

Well-priced zippers and 6000 yard cones of thread were only $2.25

Designer fabric options include Armani, Liberty of London, and more

Storefront

The Loft and a peek at other fabric stores (so many!) in the area.  I could spend days here if given the opportunity.  

My loot:
Soft neutral jersey, $5/yd

Brushstrokes chiffon, $3.50/yd

Chain print knit, $5/yd

Navy Stripes Knit, $5/yd

Navy stripes cotton, $5.50/yd

Science Geekery
I am a tried and true science nerd.  I loved the hand-me-down chemistry set my cousin gave me (though all the "cool" chemicals were used up) and spent many years working in Pharmaceuticals as a Chemist.  So I was delighted when the rest of the family was as excited as I was about visiting Griffith Observatory (no admission charge, but I'd recommend making a donation to help support such a wonderful facility):

Periodic Table display

V learning about the stars

Both kids were intrigued by the exhibits

Nice views of the city on their decks

Hollywood sign nearby

 What are your go-to places when traveling?

15 comments:

  1. OMG - I can see why you could spend hours in the LA Fashion District! I love the fabric you picked up - the fabric stores in Vancouver are so outdated. My go-to places when I travel are a) restaurants, b) touristy destinations and c) SHOPPING! lol

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    1. So far, my favorite fabric shopping places are NYC, LA, and Hong Kong :) Big cities definitely have the best stuff, I'm surprised Vancouver doesn't!

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  2. S - Thanks so much for this! I am seriously so excited to go see all the pretty fabric! I guess I will hold on buying any fabric until then. Tim is going to hate me for dragging him along to this. LOL!

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    1. HAHAHA, poor Tim! The men in our lives must always suffer through shopping - whether it be for fabric or clothing :)

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  3. Definitely looks like fabric heaven to me! Can't wait to see what you create with your fabric haul! And so great your kids loved the science museum! I'm not much a museum person, unless it's a hands-on kids museum for J ;). When we travel, I definitely like to find kid-friendly and relatively cheap things to do, eat good food, and shopping is dead last. But maybe because I'm pregnant, so I don't want to shop right now ;). Oh, I love visiting picturesque locations too.

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    1. Oh I love the hand-on kiddie museums! I actually have fun at those myself :)

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  4. Loved the look inside the fabric store...never been to one like that. The fabric you selected is awesome!

    What a fun idea to take the kids to the Griffith Observatory! I grew up in LA County during my elementary years, so that was where we went on one of our field trips.

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    1. I can't wait to go back and explore some more! My shopping adrenaline was surging once I stepped foot in the store :)

      I had no idea you used to live in CA!

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  5. Love all the fabrics in your loot, ESP the brushstroke chiffon and chain knit! Can't wait to see what they become : )

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    1. Thanks Jean! I'm thinking the chains will become a wrap dress, but we'll see! :)

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  6. As not a sewer, I gotta give some love to the science museum. There's a general science museum where I live and a few observatories. I don't think I've never been to an observatory!

    7% Solution​

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  7. Wow, that is fabric heaven for sure. E is so big now! I lived in LA for at least 7 years and never went to Griffith Observatory. I was always at the beach. lol

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  8. I'm sure this post will be helpful for a lot of people. Finding what you're looking for in LA's downtown can be a nightmare! I'm a DIY fashion blogger from Barcelona but I currently live in San Diego (since 2 months ago), and I sometimes find it really hard to get the supplies I need, here in the US.

    The first time I went to LA I got lost there and I couldn't find anything. All the shops around San Pedro St were a hodgepodge of tacky made-in-china accessories... But I went back there 2 weeks ago, to the Fashion District, and I came across Michael Levine. Thanks God! But they still didn't have some normal things like a footer to sew invisible zippers, ha ha!

    www.daretoDIY.com

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    1. Very cool, where have you been shopping in San Diego? I would love to get a better foot for invisible zippers!

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  9. Wow, all those fabrics! I remember going into a fabric store for the first time a few years ago and got so overwhelmed with the options!

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