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New on Melrose, a Mine of fresh and vintage design

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A new Los Angeles home store named Mine is one of the latest L.A. retail outposts to combine vintage and new furniture with art, lighting and a bit of retail attitude. Lori Fradella, who previously co-owned Gallery L7, opened Mine to showcase some of her favorite furniture finds as well as works by artists, most from L.A., whom she’s long admired.

The vignettes that Fradella assembles throughout the small space not only highlight new and old design but also her sense of humor. One recent grouping included a Milo Baughman dresser with a series of graphic posters by Boston artist Adam Cohn. One reads: “hi. I am not interested in what you are saying. Ok.” It hangs next to another Cohn piece that says: “hi. I am in love with you. Ok.” The framed works sell for $650 each.

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“I love the idea of hanging those two posters together,” says Fradella, who carries lots of elegant, mostly midcentury seating, lighting and tables along with quirky antique finds such as a wooden harp case from the 1800s graffitied with shipping stencils ($3,000) and a 1950s-era wooden monkey by Danish designer Kay Bojesen ($700).

Works by L.A. artists include a Louis XIV-styled desk ($15,000) by Matthew Ready, who reconstructs furniture out of aluminum from SUVs and a dramatic bronze-cast burger and fries “meal” by artist Miles Eastman ($6,500).

Mine joins like-minded shops including Galerie Half, Hallworth Design and Reform Gallery, all clustered near the intersection of La Brea and Melrose avenues. All of the stores focus on the collectible, the quirky — and the expensive. Some of Fradella’s finds, however, may be among the most affordable of the bunch.

“I’m not going for name so much as for things that people are actually going to buy,” she says. “Not everything is affordable here, but some pieces, like side tables in the $400 range and a sofa that is $2,000, definitely are.”

6912 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 936-1337

-- Alexandria Abramian Mott

CORRECTED: A previous version of this post incorrectly said Kay Bojesen was Dutch. Thanks, readers, for the catch.

Photo credits: Mine

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