Interior designer Tatum Kendrick opens L.A. fashion boutique

Tatum Kendrick is making a loop from fashion to interior design and back to fashion via her new boutique in Los Angeles.

On a gritty stretch between downtown and the hipster haven of Silver Lake, behind a black iron door shaped like a woman’s hourglass silhouette, the former DKNY publicist is putting the final touches on You’re So Baby before unveiling it to the public on Dec. 1. Reflecting what she dubs “the edgy, sexy, feminine point of view, rather than California cool,” which is the raison d’être of many retailers here, the 900-square-foot shop in Echo Park is decorated like an inviting apartment inhabited by a woman who assuredly mixes blush pink floors with a leopard spot couch.

In addition to vintage Cartier lighters and jewelry by Hervé Van der Straeten and Gabriela Artigas, Kendrick also offers lingerie by Bordelle and TyLynn Nguyen, fragrances from Serge Lutens and erotic wallpaper drawn by Natalie Krim. In her pursuit of exclusive fashion finds, she experiments with collaborations, like a cashmere-mohair cropped sweater designed by Grant Knits, made unique to the store with balloon sleeves and crocheted edges. She does draw a line where it comes to denim and other sporty looks that are a stronghold of the local apparel industry. “I don’t think we’ll be the place where you’ll go for your everyday wear,” she said.

Fashion won’t be a full-time endeavor for Kendrick, however. Founder of Studio Hus, who has finessed the feel inside Moby’s vegan restaurant called Little Pine in Los Angeles and homes for discerning dwellers such as No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal, she situated her interior design company in the other half of the building. Most of the store’s decor is for sale, including a quirky pair of Verner Panton chairs replenished in black cashmere. Working with Jason Koharik on a line of lights inspired by a pearl set in a clamshell, she plans to broaden her decor repertoire with bedding and linens.

“For me, it’s finding the small things,” Kendrick said, “and finding the poetry in your life.”