Free Market, a modern retail collective of curated brands, restaurants and experiences, will open at Runway Playa Vista in Los Angeles as one of the property’s anchor tenants on May 1. The experiential collective is part retail, part brand incubator, and was designed by Los Angeles-based architects Design, Bitches.
Just like its flagship location in downtown Denver, Free Market Playa Vista will serve as a retail hub for high-end pop-up and permanent shops, each curated to appeal to the digitally savvy contemporary shopper. Tenants of Free Market Playa Vista’s 21,000-square-foot open-format space include:
- California-based home retailer Alchemy Works;
- County Line Florals;
- Personalized skincare brand Heyday;
- California-inspired lifestyle boutique Studio C by C Magazine;
- Natural Rough, the handmade clothing retailer that uses natural and sustainable fabrics;
- Handmade bespoke hat shop Teressa Foglia;
- Contemporary art retailer Please Do Not Enter;
- Motorsport-centric brand Period Correct; and
- L.A.-based stationery company Urbanic Paper Boutique.
The space also will feature a number of food and beverage concepts such as Joliet Café & Bar, a new bar concept from designers Ben Adams & Alex Meza, the minds behind the former Know Where Bar in Hollywood; artisan brand Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams; and LOQUI, a Mexican eatery with two other locations in Los Angeles.
In total, the collective will include nine furniture, art, gift and fashion retailers, two restaurant experiences, a classroom and event space, and a bar.
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“After a difficult year and rightful pause on retail, we’re so excited to bring Free Market to Runway,” said Raan Parton, Co-founder of Free Market in a statement. “We’ve pulled some of our favorite restaurant groups together with forward-thinking brands, merchants and services to rethink the traditional department store as a collection of things that are bought, not just sold, all while offering something fresh and new for the Los Angeles community to discover.”
In addition to the curated retail experience, Free Market aims to be a hub of art and culture at Runway, offering a variety of on-site offerings. The program launches with a collaboration with New York-based artist Nicholas Konert to bring his Spread Love project to Playa Vista. The installation will include an outpost where visitors can mail out specially designed Spread Love postcards or personal mailings to loved ones.
