The RSVP Line: Mishka Echo Park Grand Opening.

Yeah, it's Fashion Week in New York right now, but a little bit of New York fashion is about to hit the streets of Los Angeles.

This Saturday, celebrate the opening of NYC based fashion brand Mishka in Echo Park. The line is a fresh, sophisticated take on streetwear--a mix of buttoned up and dressed down with a splash of awesome graphics. My buddy is opening the LA outpost which is sure to be a hotbed for all things and people fantastic on the East Side.

Stop by the Grand Opening this Saturday!

And while you're at it, check out Mishka's Spring 2010 Lookbook shot by photog Marley Kate.

Design Dish: Unhee's Suzy Yun on Fashion and the Future

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Unhee designer Suzy Yun for Style Section L.A. In a city inundated with aspiring young fashion designers, Yun stands out as smart and self-aware and her 2010 Spring/Summer collection, fresh and inspired. This will mark the LA native and Echo Park designer's first foray back into fashion after a brief hiatus in production and so far I'm terribly fond of what we see. Yun shared her thoughts with me on L.A.'s sense of style (comfy), her fave spots for food and fashion, her admiration of FIDM student style, celebrity fans of Unhee (Selma Blair's been spotted in her jumper) and the merits of 'side boob' (she's a fan). I'm looking forward to seeing more side boob and other striking fashions from Yun in 2010 and beyond.

Read the full piece on Style Section LA.

Worthy Reads: The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley.

Tonight, my out-of-town mother and I wandered into Echo Park's incredible independent bookstore, Stories [which incidentally turned 1 today--congrats Stories!] and I picked up a picture book I hadn't read before.

The story goes like this...

Riley, a rat, is content with life's simplest pleasures (food, family, his one and only love), whereas humans never cease to aspire to achieve more (better food, a larger home, better and more beautiful mates, and so on).

And the take-away message is summed up over the book's last few pages...

This is why it's never a good idea for people to compare their lives to animals. You will only end up feeling depressed...

because realizing that rats have a better life than you do, is really, really sad.

And the answer is very simple really--you just have to be happy with a lot less.

Release your inner Riley

The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley is so poignant, so truthful, that it seems almost unfit for children. But, I remember, children are much more accepting of truth than us adults. And some messages are best learned at Reading Level-Ages 4 through 8.

Buy the book on Amazon.

We Like To Party: the Silverlake Art Crawl fiasco.

When folks talk about a 'crawl' it generally involves a group of destinations--similar in theme and close in proximity. The Silverlake Art Crawl would have better been called a scavenger hunt. One with stops very, very, very far away from each other. In which guests are tasked with finding good art and interesting activities. Which were, as it turned out, relatively hard to find on the crawl's itinerary.

But here are some of the more interesting things and places spotted along the crawl.

Gogosha is an optical store for those with, shall we say, taste. We came upon it by accident after the first two stops along the crawl failed us. Pictured below are a ridiculous pair of sunglasses by Mykita and Willhelm that I tried on for kicks (as featured on Sex and the City).

We discovered Lawson-Fenning, a fabulous furniture and design store. Especially awesome? These big, big feet.

In the back of the store is yet another store, Ivanhoe Books, with beautiful coffee table books to last your living room's lifetime.

Materials & Applications hosted a fish taco party in their courtyard. M&A is a seemingly very cool research center, specializing in architecture, urban landscaping and design.

The fish tacos were made with tilapia fish bred in the center's most recent installation. This is either really cool. Or really gross depending on how you look at it. And depending on if you happened to overhear that tilapia are bottom feeders.

There happened to be some great street art right outside our parking spot. This was not thanks to the Silverlake Art Crawl. This was simple and pure luck.

The folks at Subliminal Projects Gallery (Shepard Fairey's Echo Park art lair), let us in early to get a sneak peak at WK Interact's show, 'How to Blow Yourself Up' which opened later on that night. I became aware of WK's work during a show I worked for Seth Carmichael of Carmichael Gallery. A-mazing.

We stopped by Junc Gallery to celebrate Blood is the New Black's 5 year anniversary with founder Mitra K. Great people. Great art. Great cupcakes (c/o Lemonade, my new favoritest spot for food in LA).

And worth sharing, is my new friend at the vintage lingerie shop next to Junc Gallery. She's fun. She's fabulous. She doesn't talk much.

826LA's Echo Park Lake Paddle Boat Regatta. Cause reading's for winners.

If you're reading this, I'm pretty sure you can read. If you can't, then let me include some pictures here for your entertainment:


Now, back to those of you who are literate. Being a reader and all, you understand the significance of reading, learning and edumacation. 826LA is a non-profit that ensures that the young people of LA receive the tutoring, reading skills, and creative voice they deserve. This Sunday, the org is hosting its 2nd Annual Paddle Boat Regatta. Yes, it is as fancy and regal as it sounds. And it's not too late to register a team to participate.

If you can't participate, raise money, and compete for greatness, consider joining me as a spectator.

The event needs all the $$$ help it can get so please consider getting involved.

Peep the details below!

xx * Jessie

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Please join us on July 26th at 4PM at Echo Park Lake for the pageantry on the lake as we celebrate the teams* of volunteers, staff and interns who have been racing for four weeks to raise money for 826LA!

We are also offering a limited number of tickets to The VIP After Party at the Rec Center to spectators (NON-RACERS**) for a donation of $15 (to cover food and drink costs). Don't let the fun end at the lake! Come to the after party and mix and mingle with your favorite teams! RVSP

Prizes will be awarded for the following categories:

Winners of Fundracing (highest fundraising team)

Best Costumes

Best Theme

Team Spirit

Best Paddle Boat Manuever - a quick figure 8 or something better!

Spectators Choice - the crowd will choose!

MVP - most valuable pedaler (highest individual fundraiser)

Click here to register or learn more.

The RSVP Line (Weekend Edition): Poketo Karaoke + Echo Park Fest + Renegade Crafts

T-G-I-[the mother f++king]-Weekend. Pardon the potty mouthed intro, but this week could not end soon enough. And the next few days are jam-packed with awesome free and fun activities. Because, apparently, the party Gods knew we needed a [mother f++king] break.

Tonight (Friday)! Get down with your local art community, care of Poketo at their Karaoke Dance Party. The party goes from 8 p - 1 a at Royal/T and offers something for everyone. For those who like to sing [badly], there is (duh) the karaoke. For those who prefer to shake a tail feather, there's (duh) dance. For those who get down with visuals, there's the Poketo pop-up to check out as well as the amazing collection housed by cafe-meets-gallery, Royal/T. Quick! RSVP here.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Echo Park Community Festival will be taking over what used to be the Lotus Festival (Lotus ran out of funds, so I've heard). The fest will take place in [where else] Echo Park. Though the website's art features dragons and ducks, I'm not promising either one. I just know there will be music and probably a lot of hipsters.

Also on both Saturday and Sunday is the Renegade Craft Fair, arriving in LA for the very first time. As we all know East Siders love to craft, I expected this to be held in Silverlake or somewhere equally artsy, but the fair makes its debut in Downtown LA at the California Market Center.

And if and when you do make it to Downtown, I highly recommend you stop by the sample sale going on over the weekend at Guy Baxter's studio (117 W. 9th Street, LA). I stopped by and spotted lots of great deals from $15 and up.

Happy weekend!! xoxo

Food find: Elf Cafe

On Sunset Boulevard, near a corner strip mall featuring both a cheap burrito stand and a liquor store (a dangerous combination in the patrons it attracts--often fighting, occasionally disrobed) and yet another outlet of American Apparel, is Elf Cafe. The restaurant, opened by members of the LA band Viva K., serves up "vegan, vegetarian, and raw food in Echo Park."

The first time we visited this tiny hole-in-the-wall cafe, we were seated right away at bar stools, facing the small kitchen area. It didn't feel cramped--it felt quaint. I thought our dishes to be the richest, most wonderful foods I'd ever tried. The new-agey music, the light din of conversation, the smell of the food...well, I thought I'd found a culinary Utopia.

This past Saturday, we returned...

The food: On our first visit we ordered the Crepe and the Blue Cheese and Potato Tart. A-flippin-mazing. Last Saturday involved a Moroccan stew over quinoa that felt more Mulligan Stew than gourmet (I found three almonds, a couple of orange rinds and one olive at random) and a Vegetable Torte that was innocuous but didn't live up to its price tag. I will, however, give it up for our starter, a baked feta dish that made me, for the first time, like feta.

The service: We arrived at 8:30 and were told we'd have a 25 minute wait. We went across the street. We returned. We were told we'd have another 20 minute wait. We were patient. We watched other parties get sat (parties who I am sure were not there before us but were merely friends of the owner). We thought about telling couples they were taking too long. We didn't. We were finally sat at 10 pm. Umm, that is an hour and a half wait time last time I checked. Get it straight, hostess girl.

The verdict: If you tried heroine and it was really, reeaalllly good the first time, you'd do it again. And if the second or the third time, it didn't feel quite right--well, you'd probably still do it again because you'd already had a taste. But had you overdosed on the first attempt, you'd be done for good. Let's just say, round two at Elf Cafe was sort of like a bad trip. But since the first time was so good, I'll be back for more. (Disclaimer: I've never tried heroine. Seriously.)

Celeb sighting: Michaela Conlin, who I very much heart from Bones.

Photo Credit: James L. on Yelp