K Bond
Los Angeles
Janson Goldstein

Suave Boutique Displays Offbeat Products

© Toshi Yoshimi Photography

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

The owners of the new KBond store on Beverly Boulevard wanted a showcase for cutting edge men's clothing, a surprisingly unusual commodity in Los Angeles. "There are places that have very expensive clothes and others which sell T-shirts," explains Hal Goldstein, a partner in the New York firm, Janson Goldstein, which designed this 1,850-square-foot space. "They asked us to create a world which would house that exciting in-between." Janson Goldstein's design response was also something in between: a combination art gallery and retail space.

The inspiration for the gallery theme came from Kbond's owners. James Bond is a commercial and music video director, while his partner, Karen Kimmel is an installation artist. Thus, the space, with its polished concrete floors and plain white, sheetrock walls, is large enough to accommodate a long wall on which Kimmel paints a new mural every month.

The designers then used floor to ceiling display units to divide this "gallery" into cozier areas to show off the eclectic range of men's clothing. Each display unit opens for viewing on one side while the other is faced with a scrim fabric. Tucked above are flourescent lamps with tinted gels. At night, the latter flood each storage unit with a color, which matches the four signature colors displayed on the front window. Red, for example, announces the arrival of new shipments and blue a sale. When aficionados of Kbond drive by at night and see the units aglow, the color tells them what's going on inside.

The designers' ability to juxtapose display options and experiment with lighting results in exactly what Kbond's hipster owners wanted: a retail space that is also a "visual happening."--David Hay

Formal name of building:
K BOND

Location:
Los Angeles

Gross square footage:
1,850 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$180,000

Owner:
Karen Kimmel & James Bond

Architect's firm:
Janson Goldstein LLP
180 Varick St , 15th Floor
New York, New York 10014
Tel: 212.691.1611
Fax: 212.691.2244
jansongoldstein.com