Opening imminent! The Velveteria LA opens this Wednesday:

I am extremely happy to announce the opening of Carl and Caren's Velveteria Gallery in Chinatown downtown LA, tomorrow, Wednesday Dec 11th
It will be a soft opening from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm (or later)

Carl Baldwin and Caren Anderson are the authors of BLACK VELVET MASTERPIECES

They opened the VEVETERIA MUSEUM in Portland….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrHcUdgjclo

….and now relocated their amazing collection to Southern California

The opening show has the motto:

"Sixties on Velvet: From Hawaii the 50th state to JFK, Black Power, Vietnam, Beatles, Stones, Rock n Roll,

• and The Art of Earl Frysinger and Cecelia Rodriguez - Great Velvet artists of the 60s"

There will be "light refreshments and heavy velvet" plus " Beautiful Ladies Wahines Blacklight Unicornucopia Liberace and the Hall of Elvis" Admission is free only on the day of the opening

MAN this site is dead! I know it's easier to "LIKE" on Facebook, but if this is not exciting news, I don't know what is!

Is this a permanent display, Sven or a show with a limited engagement?

A "soft opening" for a velvet painting show, Ha! Looks awesome and a nice historic part of town to boot.

Sven, did you see the Velveteria in Portland, or are those recent photos?

DC

My wife and I will be going to 711 NEW HIGH STREET, CHINATOWN, LOS ANGELES tomorrow and check this place out. Looks exciting.

Thanks for the intel...I don't own a black velvet so got the book to read up a little.

DC, the pics are from our visit to lovely Portland for the new Trader Vic's opening a couple of years ago. The gallery will be open from now on.
In their own words:

"Wednesday, the first day open will be FREE to the public. We will open the doors at 11am and will stay open as late as needed. We will have light snacks and refreshments and a free personalize gift for each guest!

COME SEE THE GREATEST ART IN THE WORLD
Velveteria Fighting Cultural Deprivation

We open regularly on Thursday December 12 from 11-6 Thursday through Sunday 11am –6pm ten dollars $10 $ ten Bucks for a Life changing Experience without crawling over hot coals and broken glass.
Race you there."

I would be there if it were not for a company function tomorrow in Orange. Those velvet paintings are great!

Gorgeous paintings. Definitely need a velvet wahine for my home bar.

Here's their official website:

http://velveteria.com/

Rosemarie and I had a great time and enjoyed our conversation with Caren and Carl. Well worth the ten dollar admission fee they will be charging. Their location is half a block from our favorite Chinese restaurant, the Won Kok. Yes I spelled it right and don't let the name fool you, they have great tasting Chinese food. Felipi's is also right down the street if you're hungry for great sandwiches.
As we left, we saw my brother David and Cece. I hope the tiki community supports this informative museum.

Caren and Carl are a very gracious couple that have opened up a true gem of a gallery. Well worth a couple of visits. Sven, Mahalo for the heads up!

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2013-12-11 18:12 ]

Awesome time at the Velveteria, today! As Joe and David said, Carl and Caren were very gracious hosts. I was lucky to spend over an hour soaking up all the knowledge they have on the subject. I've got a respectable collection, so it was a lot of fun having all my questions answered. The $10 to see such a collection and support Carl and Caren's vision, is well worth it. Thanks to Carl and Caren for a great day, and to Sven, for giving us the heads-up about the opening.

This is one of those places you can surprise a friend or impress a girlfriend with: Tell'em you "just have to go by a place" and nothing more about it, and then completely blow their mind!

I was allowed to take some pics of this Black Velvet sanctuary:

Just a part of the cornucopia of Black Velvet. The South Seas section is in the foreground.
I had never seen the backlit painting style (which I love) in combination with Black Velvet:

Another classic of Afro Power:

I weep at such beauty:

But nothing prepares you for…THE BLACK LIGHT ROOM!:

You feel like on an exotic island…

…afloat in a blue velvety haze…

…between shadow and light…

it is truly trippy!:

And you are in luck!

There is MORE:

Plus the Velvet Nude Room, with beauties such as this!:

…and do not miss to visit the bathroom!

And all this in the cool neighborhood of L.A. Chinatown…

…just one block away from another favorite store of mine:

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2013-12-15 11:27 ]

Nice pic Sven. I have a CeCe Rodrguez that I snagged a couple years ago at that tiny resale store across the street from the huge St. Vincent De Paul about 3 miles away in Lincoln/Boyle Heights.
Your pix also made me realize that I have a “Blacklight” velvet painting that was just sitting around gathering dust. artist unknown.
Mahalo

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2013-12-15 14:53 ]

Made it up to check it out last Sunday.

Good stuff!

Lobby

My son Jack hangin with his last supper homies!

Hina Rapa ( knock knock :wink:

Bat Boy and a Flying Jackalope!

Bamboo Ben
Custom Tropical Decor
I build Tiki Rooms for you! Just ask around :wink:
http://www.facebook.com/bambooben

[ Edited by: RevBambooBen 2013-12-17 20:57 ]

I am starring in a TV show on Spike called Thrift Hunters

Tomorrow night's episode features a guest spot from Carl Baldwin.

9:30pm est/pst

Thrift Hunters