The Huron SubStation, a historic 1906 Los Angeles trolley power station, recently launched its first line of candles under the helm of Manifest Destiny. The line, unique in concept, aromatics and visuals, creates its own genre within the candle market. Created by SubStation owner, Meike Kopp, the line debuts with a series of luxurious candles, each memorializing a time in history with an antique image and a vintage scent. The line utilizes such striking images as lost photos found in the attic to civil war daguerreotypes, pairing them with hauntingly evocative scents such as cognac, burning birch, and pouch tobacco. Adding yet another dimension to the line, the antique images on each of the candles inspires the creation of a character that is immersed in a mysterious fable. Written by Kopp, a teaser of the fable accompanies each candle and the fable in its entirety can be found on Manifest Destiny’s site www.manifestdestinyline.com.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo credit Aaron Gautchi

When Lucent Dossier Experience started their new artist residency in the heart of Hollywood last month, they were presented with an unusual challenge: the h.wood space they now inhabit on Wednesday nights is a series of small, den-like chambers without a large, conventional stage. While this could have been a liability, the inventive troupe rose to the occasion by reconfiguring their show, conceptually transforming h.wood’s labyrinth of rooms into a modern day cabinet of human curiosities. Wednesdays through December 23, 2009, Lucent Dossier Experience opens h.wood’s doors every week at 8:00 p.m. with the troupe’s tantalizing performances from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, and DJs/dancing continuing until 2:00 a.m. The residency runs through December, culminating with their Orphan’s Ball on December 23rd which benefits Cuddle The World, Lucent’s charity project for disadvantaged children. Read the rest of this entry »

Los Angeles-based humanitarian organization NextAid offers three “green” holiday giving options that benefit African children in need. All three philanthropic gifts are perfect for those who want their holiday giving to mean a bit more:
1.) Funk Aid for Africa, a critically acclaimed CD mix of funky goodness released by Dubspot
2.) MUD Cares Palette of Eye Colors – earthy eye shadows by Make-Up Designory (MUD)
3.) NextAid’s “Send a Child to School” program

Proceeds from all three gifts support NextAid’s work to create sustainable solutions for African children orphaned by AIDS. For more information on NextAid, please visit http://www.nextaid.org. Read the rest of this entry »