California Apparel News

Childrenswear and juniorswear maker Evy of California has only been in its new downtown LA headquarters for two years, but already it is running out of room.

With a new license to produce toddler wear for the Peppa Pig brand and other projects in the pipeline, Evy of California has decided to rent 7,800 square feet of office space across the street from its stylish headquarters, located in the former lobby of the historic Southern California Gas Co.building at 810A S. Flower St., done in a Renaissance Revival style.

The new space will be called “The Evy Labs,” and the creative forces behind the company’s primarily girlswear licenses and company brands will work to create cute graphics and styles for such labels as Hello Kitty, Minnieand Mickey, Disney Princess, Lil’ Panda, Emily the Strange, andThe Public Zoo.

“We are taking a different approach for us,” said Kevin Kreiser, president, chief operating officer and co-owner of the company with his father, Kurt Kreiser. “It is all going to be open space. No offices.”

Evy of California believes a creative environment begets creative thoughts, which is ideal for the graphic artists, designers, online staff and business-development people working to grow the garment maker, founded in 1948 by Fred and Eva Volmer.

The company has gone from a maker of girls’ special-occasion dresses manufactured in California to a childrenswear maker of licensed apparel and clothing made under its own brands, which include FleurishClothing and California Talk. Everything is now manufactured primarily in China, Indonesia and Latin America.

“We are focusing on our Hello Kitty line and keeping it fresh,” Kreiser said. The company will also be incubating a number of boyswear concepts, which Kreiser hopes to launch in 2014, catering to its current customer base, which ranges from Wal-Mart to Nordstrom.

At Evy of California, staffers are working shoulder to shoulder in the headquarters, which is located around the corner from the downtownMacy’s. “When we moved two years ago, we expected this space to last seven years,” Kreiser said, noting his company signed a seven-year lease with the CIM Group, which owns the building. Previously, Evy of California was located in Vernon, Calif.

Things have gotten so tight that the company has been renting a condominium at the Historic Gas Company Lofts next door to accommodate some of its creative staff.

When the new space is ready at the beginning of May, Evy of California expects to transfer 20 to 30 artists, designers and other employees to the new office at 809 S. Flower St. Currently, there are about 120 employees working at the downtown LA headquarters.

The creative space will have a photo lab, a digital-printing shop, sample area and desks for freelance artists. And in keeping with that creative office vibe, there will be a pingpong table.