Tarantino to Open The Sparkle Factory
Tarina Tarantino will put sparkle in downtown Los Angeles grit.
By early Fall, the pink-haired designer and Alfonso Campos, her husband and business partner, will open retail concept The Sparkle Factory at 908 S. Broadway—the building where Harold Lloyd filmed his 1923 classic film, “Safety Last.”
Campos and Tarantino also will take possession of the seven-story building, where they will locate operations and headquarters for the Tarina Tarantino accessories brand, which they co-founded.
The first floor will be devoted to The Sparkle Factory, which will resemble a workshop floor. Tarantino’s staff will custom-make jewelry for shoppers on the floor. Tarantino’s cosmetics line also will be sold at the shop, along with exclusive items such as homewares.
The second floor will be devoted as gallery space for artists. The fifth, sixth and seventh floors are slated for Tarina Tarantino offices and production space. The third and fourth floors will be rented as space to creative companies, Campos said.
The Sparkle Factory is one part of a campaign to renovate Broadway. The Ace Hotel boutique lodging chain will open one of its locations in the United Artists Theater building at 937 S. Broadway in summer 2013.
Tarantino said she hopes The Sparkle Factory will help pioneer the gritty, urban intersection. “We want to get more interesting retail on Broadway,” she said. The building’s arrangement will allow the company to operate in a way older than silent movies. “We’re fortunate we do retail and manufacturing under one roof,” Tarantino continued. “It’s an old-fashioned way of doing business. It’s made upstairs and delivered downstairs.”
Expect the Tarina Tarantino brand to be on the move. Campos forecast they would open three more free-standing boutiques in 2013—perhaps in locations in Las Vegas and Miami and another one in Los Angeles.—Andrew Asch
