The Scout: La Brea Avenue, a shopping district revived

At Lab Art, a plastic figurine of a skateboarding “Soldier,” $600, by artist Desire Obtain Cherish sits beneath spray-paint can works by Gregory Siff that are not for sale.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Owner Iskander Lemseffer prepares for an open house at Lab Art. Los Angeles street artist Rabi created “The Cheshire Cow,” made of spray-painted fiberglass and selling for $6,500.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

In the front window of A+R, which specializes in cutting-edge European design, note the hand-hewn Raw chair by Swedish designer Jens Fager for Muuto, $1,550, and two oak-base and mouth-blown glass Muffin lights by Czech design firm Brokis, $940 and $1450.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

At A+R, wall-mounted timepiece uses words to tell the hour.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Lenin bust in decorated porcelain.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

“Splash” bowl at A+R.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Blank Russian nesting dolls, vases and notebooks on a wall unit.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Founded as an artisan emporium for made-in-the U.S. goods by Environment Furniture, Shelter Half (161 S. La Brea, [323] 936-0225) will be a year old in December. The store carries a wide range of fashion and home decor goods, including Environment’s Pacifica wing chair, left, $2895, and sofa, center, $3195, covered in vintage tent canvas. The pillows on the sofa are made from Swedish camouflage fabric and are $125 each. On the exposed brick wall, flag pieces by artist Caitlin Wylde of Echo Park.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Admiral chair at Shelter Half.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Typical of many of the new spaces on La Brea, Shelter Half has a stripped-down appearance including exposed bow-truss ceilings and brick walls. In the center, a hanging pendant light made from the industrial fabric Tyvek, $599, is by Environment.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Retrospecs & Co. eyeglass display.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Hand-shaped from bamboo, the Hut-Hut rocking stool by L.A.-based design firm Kalon Studios sells for $995 and $1595.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

At Cleveland Art, 606 N. La Brea Ave., (323) 525-0455, store manager Greg Glidden stands under a mammoth chandelier, made from hand-blown glass pendants and industrial chain, that sells for $25,000. The store opened in May and is the company’s second in Los Angeles (the other branch is downtown at 110 N. Santa Fe Ave., {213} 626-1311). Cleveland Art’s specialty, says Glidden, is “vintage and up-cycled industrial furniture and lighting.”  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Blown glass lampshades at Cleveland Art, where items are made of recycled industrial parts. At Cleveland Art, a single lighting pendant made of handblown glass described as “molten” for its free-form flowing shape is $475.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Lion statue from Penn Station made into a lamp with industrial chain lampshade at Cleveland Art. Lamps made from cast-metal lions from Penn Station in New York City with metal mesh shades are $2,400 a pair.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

A rare vintage metal toy firetruck, $1,200.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Seat from a B-29 bomber sits next to a steel table with gears at Cleveland Art, where items are made from recycled industrial parts.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Steel and wood credenza on wheels at Cleveland Art.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Owner Touche Zertuche walks through his Organic Modernism home furnishings business. Organic Modernism, 315 N. La Brea Ave., (323) 525-0911. Opened in July as the first West Coast branch of the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based manufacturer and retailer, which offers accessibly priced furniture based on original designs in metal and midcentury classics in wood. With deep-colored, wood-clad walls, plank floors and an array of antlers, the store has an urban hunting-lodge vibe that sets off modern designs inspired by the likes of Saarinen and Raymond Loewy.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Working women statuettes at Organic Modernism.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

A painting of Abraham Lincoln in the Hanna-Barbera style by Brooklyn artist Karazona, $270.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

A unique succulent arrangement entitled “Rocket Ship,” $250, features cacti and an aloe in an old industrial pipe. Behind it, the mosaic front of Organic Modernism’s Elk console, $1,975.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

The Elk console at Organic Modernism has a mosaic front and cast metal legs with a Hollywood Regency vibe. It’s $1,975.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Owner Touche Zertuche with elk horns and palm tree at his store, Organic Modernism.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

The Wallspace gallery focuses on Los Angeles artists, including Neil Alan Wicks. His “Sun Avocado Wood” is $6,000.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

For tighter budgets, Wallspace has smaller works, including “Sin” by Ruben Esparza for $300 and two pieces by Jodi Fuchs, left and right.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Accessory Preview stocks accent furniture, lighting and decorative objects including petrified wood, fossils, minerals and inlaid bone boxes. This Manuel Ferreiro bronze sculpture from Mexico is $695, and Kissi pennies from Sierra Leone embedded in a Lucite mount are $300.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Reclaimed wood is the signature of Croft House. This handmade speaker will play tunes from an iPhone and other devices. It’s $300. Scented Croft House candles are $15 to $25.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Canvas and cut metal lamps from Bali, $195 and $295, are part of the world bazaar mix at Malabar Coast Living.   (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Chicken-wire pendant lights, $350 each, hang over a display of timepieces and curiosities at Voila!   (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Holy Tony Duquette: The spirit of the late, great Hollywood decorator is channeled here at JVB Interiors. Atop a bevel-edged, black Lucite box, Josef Abdulian created a carved wooden bezel with 22-carat gold leaf holding polished malachite.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Little Paris Antiques is a 10,000-square-foot mall with 10 dealers and an array of vintage design. Pictured: one of a pair of bronze-finished, cast-aluminum ram heads concealing a loop for a curtain rod. The set is $125.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

At Mortise & Tenon you may see a William Haines-inspired slipper chair, a Scandinavian-style brass and wood bar cart and these: brass wire holiday (or any day, actually) wall sculptures in three sizes, $29 to $49.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Embroidered Indian textiles with mirror accents are used to create fringed parasols, $75 each, at Mix Furniture, which has two shops within a couple of blocks.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

One of the hundreds of vintage light fixtures that can be found alongside faucets, doorknobs, hinges and other household necessities of every imaginable style and material at Liz’s Antique Hardware.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

If you’re handy with a sewing machine or need something reupholstered, La Brea Avenue has multiple options: the venerable Diamond Foam & Fabric, and Deco Home, which sells rich velvets and damasks as well as window treatments and furniture.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Stocked with French tableware and linens and colorful woven bistro chairs, Maison Midi also dishes up gift items such as these large scented candles in Piero Fornasetti containers, $160 each.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Some design inspiration with your tacos? At Tinga, back-lighted mirrors add oomph to a wooden wall, and an everyday banquette gets a twist with 1970s patchwork leather.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

The bizarre bazaar known as Nick Metropolis Collectible Furniture beckons with vintage pieces needing a little TLC and pop culture ephemera that demands a serious sense of humor.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

With black walls, exposed ceiling beams, vintage department store display cases and a comfy Chesterfield sofa, What Goes Around Comes Around is the kind of vintage clothing store in which people love to linger. The store also offers decorative accessories, including these 1920s perfume containers, from $200.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Oh. My. Dog! The Brighton, a nailhead-trimmed and piping-embellished microsuede pet bed with tufted headboard, is $695 at 22 Bond St.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Trophy heads by Los Angeles artist Damien Stafford get wild in a mix of fiberglass and polished metal -- a modern twist to a tried and true (and possibly tired) taxidermy trend. Available at Craig Olsen, Stafford’s pieces range from $2,495 for stag heads to $11,995 for this massive bull with copper horns.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

La Brea Avenue is reflected in the window of WhyrHymer (138 N. La Brea Ave., [323] 964-9900), a recently opened gallery showing the furniture and lighting designs of woodworker Brandon Morrison, who was given the 2010 Stars of Design award from the Pacific Design Center.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

5395 Brandon Morrison may be best known for his wood furniture, but the designer’s lamps also brighten at his showroom, WhyrHymer. The Manhattan, available in multiple colors of pierced ceramic, is $575; Lights Glass Series No. 4, center, is $1,250.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Andrew Wilder, proprietor of Svenska Mobler, is the go-to source for Scandinavian Art Deco and Moderne furniture. He has added rare midcentury Argentinian pieces and “Mad Men”-era American photographer Mark Shaw’s fashion and celebrity images to his gallery. Pictured: a 1941 Moderne mahogany vanity and stool ($6,900) designed by David Rosen for a Stockholm department store.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

East Meets West Antiques specializes in antique Yankee furniture and textiles. Down-filled pillows made from vintage rag rugs with linen backing start at $250.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

The storefront of Kerson Gallery.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

The New York-based Kerson Gallery has locations in Palm Springs as well as La Brea. It emphasizes fine furniture, lighting and accessories by post-World War II designers. Pictured: a pair of French porcelain wall lights from the 1960s, listed at $2,400.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Another find at Kerson Gallery: a three-piece brass coffee set designed by the acclaimed Tommi Parzinger and manufactured by Dorlyn, $895.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

More Tommi Parzinger designs — brass candelabra and floor lamp and a studded credenza — can be found at Fat Chance. In the foreground, an intricately patterned metal table by Philip and Kelvin Laverne and a pair of rare kidney-shaped sofas manufactured by Brown Saltman and designed by Greta Grossman are $48,000.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

At Woven Passion: sheared, antiqued and over-dyed carpets, $20 to $55 per square foot.   (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Formerly based in Pasadena, Adesso Eclectic Imports has moved onto La Brea Avenue in a big way, taking over the two-story space that once housed Barclay Butera. Adesso has a signature collection of upholstered furniture as well as European modern designs and antiques such as this 19th century carved Italian love seat, $6,400.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Habite recently launched Denman Design, a collection of furniture by co-owner Kimberly Denman Rebuffel. Pictured here: the aptly named Custom 40s Inspired oak armchair, $3,650, also available in teak for outdoor use.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)

Bluehaus Interiors stocks contemporary dining and bedroom sets as well as accessories, including this modern take on holiday entertaining: leather-trimmed metal mesh trays, $58, and leather cocktail napkin caddies, $24.  (David A. Keeps / For The Times)