BRICK & MORTAR: Seven Points
Since our inception, our go-to showroom for photo shoots has always been The Park Showroom in Downtown LA. Whether it’s a shoot in Malibu for our #SunJunkie, Los Feliz for our #EdgarAllanFaux, or West Hollywood for our #HopelessRomantic, they have always had the best selection of any showroom. Hearing that they recently opened a retail store under the name Seven Points, we knew this was a boutique we had to cover. We spoke with co-founder of the shop Adam Redhead to learn more about the premiere men’s boutique in Downtown LA. Bouncing around from thought to thought, we picked up some interesting historical tidbits regarding the name "Seven Points.” Read on to find out why you must make this brick and mortar part of your Los Angeles tour next time you visit Downtown LA.
Labeling Men: Tell us about how the idea of Seven Points started.
Adam Redhead: Back in 2011, Eric Martin and I were entertaining - I don't know if you're super familiar with the backstory behind us - but Eric owns The Park Showroom which is a wholesale agency. We have two locations, one in Los Angeles and one in New York. I'm a contractor for them with some of the more tenured reps on the West Coast. Back in 2011, we were entertaining the idea of expanding our horizons a bit and not supplementing what we were doing on the wholesale side, but complementing it with opening up a retail store. We were actively looking all over down the coast, from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and a space became available in our building. We went downstairs, we poked around and we found that there was this hidden gem that was covered up by dry wall and a dropped ceiling that looked like an office space. But when you took all that back, there was super tall ceilings, crown moldings, brick on the wall, brick behind the dry wall and we said, "Hey, this space is amazing, it’s huge, what if we just moved the showroom downstairs and put the store up front.” We thought we'd really create a unique shopping environment in Downtown LA that hadn't been down there previously, so we pulled the trigger and made it happen.
Labeling Men: When did that come about?
Adam Redhead: So in 2011 we started shopping. In August of 2012 was when we walked into that space and we took occupancy in November and started the build out. In June of 2013 we moved the showroom down there and in October of 2013 we opened the retail store. Six months later, we had the barbershop open. Our next phase, which hasn't happened yet, is to offer some form of food and beverage of some sort, whether it’s a coffee or tea, something unique and different to what is already in Downtown LA, and finding a partner that will help finish that off. There is a whole space that is right next to our retail store that is primed and ready for a coffee shop or something of that sort, looking for somebody who will complement our lifestyle and what it is that we're doing.
Labeling Men: How did you come up with the name "Seven Points" as opposed to something like "The Park Boutique"?
Adam Redhead: So the Park Showroom is fairly well known in the wholesale industry, we didn’t want to have a consumer jump in on The Park Showroom or in the Park of some sort, we wanted this to be its own unique identity and not be confused with what we were doing on the wholesale side. We picked the name "Seven Points" because we are in the "Lady Liberty Building" in Downtown Los Angeles. It’s a ten unit building that has a huge mural of the Statue of Liberty. On the crown of the Statue of Liberty when the French originally gifted it to the States, they made the crown with seven points on it and what that symbolizes is the seven continents and the seven seas, so we thought it tied in really well with what we were trying to do - blend a couple of different worlds and kind of brought it all together in one area.
Labeling Men: It’s a really cool story; I had no idea about that and I live New York.
Adam Redhead: Haha yeah, a lot of people don't! We spend a lot of time trying to not have something that was just surface, that was just language, we wanted something with a little meaning behind it and that we could really get behind.
Labeling Men: Do you feel that Downtown LA is a good spot for your shop? It’s changed so much since my first visit to LA in 2009, but is it good for shopping instead of just business?
Adam Redhead: Now, yes. What’s happening is there is a lot of real estate companies that are coming in and building residential lofts, so there are a lot of people that are moving there. Los Angeles is a really expensive place to live. Downtown is really an affordable place to live, and it’s attracting a young, cool, culture-driven, character-driven crowd. There is a pretty big artistic movement; it’s brought in a lot of cool coffee shops and bars. I would almost compare it to Brooklyn. Fifteen years ago, Brooklyn had a certain stigma to it and when you go to Brooklyn now, it’s a completely different world then it was in the late 1990s. New York City is amazing, it packs in an insane amount of people, they have these tall buildings, but there isn't anything similar on the West Coast. Our tall buildings are really Downtown and people just didn't go down there, it has a different vibe. You go down to Santa Monica or Venice Beach and it’s a really beachy feel. Hollywood has a certain identity, even Silverlake and outside of that has a vibe to it. Downtown LA is reminiscent of a big city vibe but definitely has a different element that you can't find anywhere else. It feels like you're in a different world then in Hollywood or on the West Side. There are tourists that come up from San Diego and Palm Springs who come to shop and hang out and then go home.
Labeling Men: What are some of your favorite brands?
Adam Redhead: Some of my favorite brands are ZaneRobe, and I Love Ugly is probably one of the coolest brands I've seen in a long time, they have a complete and total package and allows you to style one brand top to bottom and feel good doing it. It’s very difficult to do today, especially where everything is category driven. We have a leather jacket line that caters to our motorcycle customer called Roland Sands. I really like what they are doing; they are predominantly for the motorcycle customer. Barney Cools is another big favorite of mine.
Labeling Men: What distinguishes Seven Points from other menswear stores?
Adam Redhead: Well, the brands we have, you can find some in other places but it’s the assortment that we get and the story that we tell, I don't think is being told by any retailer anywhere else. We bridged the gap with surfer worlds, motorcycle worlds, bringing everything together, we cater to an audience that is evolved, shapes, sizes, races, it’s a really cool blend of cultures that come into one spot. It’s difficult to do but I think we do it really, really well. My dad can find something to buy and then the always dapper, super put together guy who wears a bow tie and gets a haircut three days a week can find something in our store. One other thing that's really important to highlight is that we take that old gentleman's approach to service. There used to be something around, if you bought a suit, they offered you a drink and the manner that they took care of you, we sort of lost that allure in the 2000s and our generation. I don't see that regularly happening - fast buy a shirt and leave - and we wanted to bring it back to that approach. Making sure that the client is being taken care of top to bottom, guys that work the floor are the nicest and knowledgeable guys, they are stylists and when you come in and work with us, it’s not about just selling you one piece, it’s about helping you shape whatever you're trying to do next and actually have a knowledgeable person who can help you in a manner that is modern gentleman like.
Labeling Men: Do you find that there is a difference between a retail and an online customer?
Adam Redhead: We have a mixture of both clients. What’s cool is that a customer Downtown is both a local and a tourist. What I mean by tourist is not from Downtown LA, could even be from Hollywood or San Francisco or San Diego. We've got people all the way from Germany and the UK come through, we have a cool little mix. That's similar to who shops with us online. A kid from Lincoln, Nebraska who really understands and is passionate about that lifestyle, we can cater to that guy. We make sure to package it really nicely; we always include a hand-written note and something extra, whether it’s socks or a hand-sharpened pencil. When that person opens up the box, they can tell that there was thought and care put into the package, and it’s always different, not the same generic thing. You get some personality in it and we try to take care of our online customers the same way we'd take care of our store customers. We make sure that person is taken care of and we've seen a lot of success with it.
Labeling Men: What is one go-to piece of clothing every guy should own?
Adam Redhead: Wow, that’s a tough one, man. You know, I'm going to say a good basic black t-shirt...and that applies to everybody. There is something to be said about somebody who is very simple in his style but also has refined taste. If you have a nice black t-shirt - not some basic Hanes t-shirt that was bought at Target - but a good, well-fitted, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles black shirt, then you wrap around that with a good haircut, denim, and a good pair of boots, it speaks a lot to the man about who he is and you can dress it by itself or wear anything else. You can wear it dressed up or even to bed. So one thing, I would say a basic black t-shirt.
Labeling Men: What can we expect next from Seven Points?
Adam Redhead: There are some cool things coming in the pipeline that we aren't ready to make public yet. For us, this is a passion project. The showroom is the big established business, this is something we like doing, it coincides with our wholesale business, and it’s an outlet for us to be creative and cater to that end consumer. Getting a food and beverage person in that space is perfect, that is a step, whether it’s the next step or not depends on the city of LA and their willingness to work with us. The plan is to expand our customer base and expand on what we are doing creatively.
Interview by Nisim Frank
Photographs by Mischa Teichgraeber
