Sleek Identity pops up on Abbot Kinney
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Sleek Identity, an online store for contemporary housewares that launched in May, is testing the waters of retail with a pop-up store that opens Friday on Abbot Kinney in Venice.
Among the streamlined and super-cute items, all exclusive European imports, is the shower caddy, Octopus, above. The $35 natural latex critter loops over a shower head (no suction cups required) and has eight arms with adjustable loops for bottles, brushes and washcloths. Bonus: You can hang those shampoo and conditioner containers upside-down.
Sleek Identity was founded by Stefanie Gelinas, a TV producer who often travels to Europe for work and comes home with new home designs.
‘I have to deal with the horror of international shipping,’ said Gelinas, who has a special affinity for pieces that can be flat-packed.
One such product is Martin Konrad Gloeckle’s Bendino lamp, right, a laser-cut, powder-coated steel piece that folds into shape.
The 10-inch-high light comes in five colors and sells for $72.
Gelinas and her kids test everything at home first, ‘to make sure it doesn’t just look good, but that it is also good design.’
Her missionary zeal for the products led to the holiday pop-up shop, which will be open for at least four weeks.
‘None of the designers are known in the U.S.,’ she said. ‘And a lot of the items need to be seen and touched to be understood and appreciated.’
Keeping reading to see more designs ...
The molded plastic Teacup stool, $325, by the British designer Holly Palmer is easy to transport and suitable for indoors and out. The powder-coated steel Drop coat rack by German designer Julian Appelius is nearly 1.5 feet long and has five hooks. It comes in seven colors that look like dripping paint. It’s $85.
Sleek Identity is at 1306 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice; (310) 740-7860.
-- David A. Keeps
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