Designer, creator, and entrepreneur Joy Cho lives with her family and works on the eastside of LA. On her blog and Instagram account, she shares wisdom and lots of style inspiration including how to mix and match all the fun colors, what to do with playful patterns, and often, her favorite finds about town. Here, Cho shares her color and design (and dessert!) inspired tour from the Academy Museum through several East Side neighborhoods and into Little Tokyo.
Southern California, California
- Favorite place to eat in SoCal: Wat Thai Weekend Food Market in North Hollywood. If you love Thai food, it’s a fun way to get to have many different things all in one place. Go with family or friends so you can share lots of things!
Best kept SoCal secret: The best bang for your buck for food are street vendors/food trucks where you can support small, local businesses!
I love SoCal because...the weather, the food, the culture—so many things!
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Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema
EXPLORE THE POWER OF COLOR
Cho’s tour begins at the Academy Museum of Motion Picture’s PST ART exhibition Color in Motion, an exploration of the role of color in filmmaking through the years. “I think what's exciting about this exhibit,” Cho says, “is the idea of that crossover between black and white to when films and pictures had color. And to me, I mean, obviously, life existed in color back then, but it wasn't documented in color for a while longer. So, I love that idea of playing off some of these hand-painted images that were originally black and white. And, like…my life is so full of color, especially since moving to California. I used to live on the East Coast, and I dressed in black and gray, especially during my days in New York City. And then I moved to California, and it was like all the things that I was meant to see, and the colors that come from the sunshine, just became part of who I am. And I can't imagine a neutral or black and white life ever again. And in the same way, when we see old art, or old films in black and white—it's beautiful, there's so much beauty in it. But at the same time to then be able to see what something looks like in real life to me is just…I mean life in color, right? It's really cool to be able to view the transition.”
5261 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
MON-FRI:3-10PM
SAT-SUN:12.30-10PM
HAVE A SNACK (OR EARLY LUNCH)
If your appetite has kicked up after your museum morning, Cho has ideas: The first is Kanomwaan in Thai Town. “It's a new Thai dessert and gelato place,” she explains. “You can get a mango sticky rice sundae that's so good. It’s like an updated version of the traditional Thai dessert.”
unit c, 3170 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles
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FEELING SAVORY
More in a savory mood? Travel farther east to Atwater Village to Thai restaurant Holy Basil. Cho likes their Gra Pow. “They have a beef version and an eggplant vegetarian version. Both are delicious. You can get it at whatever spice level; I like it a little spicy.”
Atwater Village, Los Angeles
DO SOME SHOPPING
Also in Atwater Village is Dresscue, a stylish consignment clothing shop that Cho recommends. “People think about vintage, but they don't think about thrifting as much. Younger generations are better about it. But I love Dresscue for being somewhere you can sell your own stuff too, not just buy. You rent a rack, and your things could all sell or not, but it’s nice that you decide what you're selling, and how much it's going to go for.”
For gifts, Cho loves Parchment Paper in Eagle Rock. “They have the best food-themed gifts. All their things are food themed, whether it's stationary, wrapping paper, cards, or candles. It’s by the people who do Milk Farm. And Milk Farm itself is a great cheese shop right there.”
Not far away in Highland Park, you’ll find the cheerfully vibrant Crush and Touch, another of Cho’s favorite places for whimsical items. “They have great gifts,” she says, “art supplies, jewelry, cards. It's really well curated, very colorful and fun. It's not known as a kid’s store, but kids like it just because it's so colorful.”
Invisibility: Powers and Perils
While you're in Highland Park, head to the western end of York Blvd to see the PST ART exhibition Invisibility: Powers and Perils at OXY ARTS. A wide-ranging exhibition that explores the aesthetics of invisibility and features the work of Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan, well-known for his work that combines science, technology, mythology, and exploration. On view at OXY ARTS is The Encyclopedia of Invisibility, a work Strachen created in 2018 as an inversion of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Strachen's Encyclopedia lists the lost/ invisible histories of marginalized communities.
Views of Planet City
IMAGINE THE FUTURE
For the next part of Cho’s tour, head downtown to the exhibit Views of Planet City, hosted by the Southern California Institute of Architecture. This exhibit asks the question: Is it possible to design a socially and environmentally responsible city for seven billion people? And then imagines the possible answers. “There's something about being a parent…” Cho muses, “and obviously, all the things that we do now for our kids are to help set them up for being adults in the future. And then, when you watch these sci-fi dystopian shows or movies that are futuristic, about what the world might look like at some point, you have this weird feeling of, Is this what my children or my grandchildren are actually going to go through? Whether it's because of evolution or technology or global warming…. And I think there's something in that because eventually things are going to change remarkably, whether it's hundreds or thousands of years from now, who knows? I’ve always loved imagining what things are going to be like someday. This exhibit feels like a fun, artistic kind of exploration of that.”
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
A SWEET NOTE IN LITTLE TOKYO
“I love Little Tokyo, it’s so great,” says Cho. On First Street, she recommends Pinku DIY Studio. “There are these things called decodens that are very popular in Asia, but they're only starting to come over here. This is the only one that I know of within LA. It’s a little DIY spot where you decorate different items with, like, fake icing and little beads and charms. It’s great for an interactive activity to do with kids or adults. It's so fun.”
And because dessert is always a good idea, Cho has two last spots to get a treat before you head home: “I should just give you a dessert tour of LA,” she laughs. “For matcha soft serve, Tea Master. Matcha soft serve is the best in Japan, of course, but this one is pretty close. And then to tie in color and light, Fugetsu-Do Confectionery, the mochi place. It's been there forever.”
Olafur Eliasson: Open
FINISH UP WITH A LIGHT SHOW
Just around the corner from Fugetsu-Do, you can walk off your dessert with a wander around the eye-popping Olafur Eliasson: Open PST ART exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)'s Geffen Contemporary. Eliasson has spent his career exploring light and color, geometry, and ecological awareness. This exhibition will feature a series of large scale optical devices designed specifically for the Geffen. What more could you want?
