Designers Take First Steps at Publik Park
Publik Park might sound like a place for games, but owner Tom Heckman said his boutique will be a place where new designers can take their first steps toward being noticed.
The Los Angeles–based store debuted June 15. The merchandise will focus on emerging designers, and its designer T-shirt program might be the place where consumers can glimpse new talent.
In July, the store will start its T-shirt program, in which new designers and artists will submit their graphics to Publik Park at its Web site (www.publikparkclothing.com). If selected, the graphic will be printed on a store T-shirt. More than 10 different artist T-shirts will be offered each month.
The credits for the graphics will be listed on the shirts’ hangtags.
The tag will also refer customers to the artist’s Web site. Eventually, Heckman hopes to take this program a few steps further by manufacturing cut-and-sew pieces by students and new designers.
The focus on debuting new artists is part of Heckman’s wish to make a boutique like no other. The 30-year-old novice retailer designed the 2,800-square-foot space at 114 S. La Brea Ave. to look like a park. The interior design features synthetic grass, and a lifelike 20-foot-tall fake tree stands in the store’s front room. The store fixtures are monkey bars and swings.
The space, which formerly housed fashion boutique Oxygegrave;ne, offers clothes for men and women. The first crop of merchandise features well-known brands such as Penguin, Ted Baker and Ben Sherman for men, and labels such as Madison Marcus, Voom By Joy Han and Orion London for women.
Heckman, a manager of a hedge fund from 2003 to 2005, said he plans to keep the price points moderate for his store. More than 80 percent of his merchandise is priced below $200.
In the future, Heckman hopes to build other Publik Parks, but in the meantime, he wants his store to develop a conversation between consumers and designers. The boutique publishes “Park Guide” an eight-page newsletter featuring biographies and details of designers and brands offered at his boutique. —Andrew Asch
