tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post3759858101764658592..comments2024-03-24T16:07:46.227-07:00Comments on Blogtown: Sorry, Adidas. You Do NOT Define Venice.CJ Gronnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-68062360763119470682017-07-16T14:51:41.399-07:002017-07-16T14:51:41.399-07:00Even if they hadn't used that "defining V...Even if they hadn't used that "defining Venice" nonsense, their whole presence on AK is generic. If they wanted to come to Venice (it was probably inevitable) they should have localized the store w local artists, local furniture makers, maybe used a hand drawn version of their logo outside and not made the whole store look like generic crap available at any mall. In other words they should have at least make an effort to signal that they understand that Venice is unique and made an effort to be unique in their store design and product range. But they don't care - they are on AK because of he spending power of the neighbors and visitors. It's a shame.Michael S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01024219179357287804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-36017807444987687822017-06-21T23:42:24.509-07:002017-06-21T23:42:24.509-07:00We got rid of pinkberry we can boycott Adidas tooWe got rid of pinkberry we can boycott Adidas tooAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01852005978451753164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-6616936670088508122017-05-22T23:20:41.518-07:002017-05-22T23:20:41.518-07:00Thanks for writing. I try to stay off Abbot Kinne...Thanks for writing. I try to stay off Abbot Kinney as much as possible but had to cut though today. <br /> I saw the Adidas signs covering the windows & it sickened me. The other stores are bad enough but I try to be accepting to with some of them (except Lucky Jeans!). Some of them are successful artists who make quality goods and by some stoke of luck, their brand flourished. I use Fiorintini & Baker as an example. there is a small handful of them (2 in the US); they sell high quality shoes & boots designed by Deborah Baker and hand made by their artisan Italian shoemakers. That's art. I'm ok with the small custom boutiques (but not the RENT!)... ADIDAS? ... Really? They need to go back to the mall! How dare they... Definers of the community???? Disgusting and then there's the Dog Town Lofts. What do condos with price tags of $1,000,000+ have to do with Dog Town???? I can keep going and start ranting & raving but I'm going to stop. I get too angry & it's not healthy. Again, Thank you for your post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-24572218329586362592017-04-19T20:40:30.812-07:002017-04-19T20:40:30.812-07:00The Soul of VB died years ago - along with too muc...The Soul of VB died years ago - along with too much of coastal SoCal...AK soul was at its peak in the late 90's/2000's when Massimo's had the best Italian gelato this side of NYC, Surfing Cowboys did a fine job of maximizing the shitty VB surf (90% of the time) with the timeless soul of surfing lifestyle (akin to LB Grotto in Leucadia!) & Equator had an eclectic mix of books!<br /><br />Having spent 28 years visiting & 4 years living in - coastal West LA - SM/VB/MdR/MV/DRey it was a blast sans kids! Since having a family we decided too much of West LA unwelcoming to families - some parts of SM/MV near parks are family-friendly (for West LA) but too cost prohibitive for 99% of families...<br /><br />My wife is a born & raised lifelong Angeleno yet does not recognize most of her West LA 70's/80's hood anymore...We still LOVE(d) LA! One bike ride (midweek/midday on a sunny Jan day!) from VB Pier to Sunset is a mini-vaca from Veeda!! Long Live el Mundo!!!KcGratitudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13609951383756968283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-80279726823894281512017-04-17T14:43:59.828-07:002017-04-17T14:43:59.828-07:00balanced view....balanced view....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-79639928368354312262017-04-13T17:23:49.660-07:002017-04-13T17:23:49.660-07:00pushed out 3 years ago. spent more than half my li...pushed out 3 years ago. spent more than half my life there...yet never claimed venice the way the new crowd does. the same crowd that would never venture into the hood after dark back in the day. the same crowd that lived east of the 405 near the adidas stores and the rag and bone stones and the overpriced coffee stores...a westside takeover and now commercialization is king. big square boxes, nda's, privilege. Progress! <br /><br />Matt M. (always remember Emilio Ballato's NYC)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-14575849088571022832017-04-12T07:58:14.424-07:002017-04-12T07:58:14.424-07:00Once upon a time a company called pinkberry was as...Once upon a time a company called pinkberry was asked to leave the neighborhood. I miss those days.stchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01111986307854052687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-51359804756867374362017-04-10T12:01:12.918-07:002017-04-10T12:01:12.918-07:00This is a great article! Venice has so much histor...This is a great article! Venice has so much history! CheriDollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17052949275381579387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-90908319995167273782017-04-07T17:08:49.705-07:002017-04-07T17:08:49.705-07:00I never claimed to define Venice, and clearly stat...I never claimed to define Venice, and clearly stated the things that I believe do. Not sure how I promote intolerance, but ok. Not at all ashamed, and thank you for reading anyway.CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-40265629216169687442017-04-07T13:29:29.161-07:002017-04-07T13:29:29.161-07:00That's me. Full of hate. Thanks for reading, a...That's me. Full of hate. Thanks for reading, and for your valued anonymous opinion. xoCJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-54993516741001784322017-04-07T12:12:00.992-07:002017-04-07T12:12:00.992-07:00Amen, and thank you for reading! Amen, and thank you for reading! CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-35970374673845370972017-04-07T12:11:39.236-07:002017-04-07T12:11:39.236-07:00It's all still here if you know where to find ...It's all still here if you know where to find it. xoxo (who is this?)CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-37887535482544952662017-04-07T12:10:34.859-07:002017-04-07T12:10:34.859-07:00Thank you so much for reading!Thank you so much for reading!CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-6997905348829006332017-04-07T09:02:08.823-07:002017-04-07T09:02:08.823-07:00Being raised in Venice I've seen this many man...Being raised in Venice I've seen this many many time. Great article! And as you said and I believe this as a Venice original. Venice decides who stays and who goes and there is really no need for stores like this in Venice. I've seen this before and again mother Venice will let you no who's going to be able to stay in her town!!!! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-52154435828157161292017-04-07T08:44:31.665-07:002017-04-07T08:44:31.665-07:00Respectfully--CJ back as early as 2003 it had alre...Respectfully--CJ back as early as 2003 it had already begun...and by 2011 when cliques started to form in the neighborhood and certain people got invited to certain parties I couldn't get the fuck out of there fast enough. There's lots of people who've been there the whole time and have either a. made money b. ushered along the gentrification. I made a whole shit-load of enemies back then by ranting just like this--and people didn't want to hear it. The fact is that a lot of great people simply moved--and a lot of not so great people took over and have created the weird consumerist-post-hip bullshit that it swims in. Personally I can't stand even coming back. Too many memories of fire-pits, and ring a dumpy bike in my wetsuit down to the breakwater, rambling out my front door to Hals and ending up at someone's house. There was a real energy there long before I came and went, and it crumbled to money....I get your ire, I feel it, I share it--but this generation do not care about these simple values--unless they make money. The days of an everything bagel at Abbot's habit and a chat outside seem a very long time ago now. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-25505184829891937582017-04-07T04:42:16.900-07:002017-04-07T04:42:16.900-07:00Sorry CJ, but you DO NOT get to define Venice eith...Sorry CJ, but you DO NOT get to define Venice either. People change, Places change as well. Promoting vandalism, violence and intolerance just because it does not fit in with your ideas of Venice, how different is it from the religious extremists? Shameful article!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-87794606416623398872017-04-07T04:09:57.464-07:002017-04-07T04:09:57.464-07:00what a boring article with an arrogant attitude fu...what a boring article with an arrogant attitude full of hate...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-63754174235512161802017-04-07T00:18:04.469-07:002017-04-07T00:18:04.469-07:00thank you for writing this. such a great piece. thank you for writing this. such a great piece. SKYLARKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08955076820310726437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-36817392120871289692017-04-06T19:55:19.375-07:002017-04-06T19:55:19.375-07:00Annie, no offense to you, but I am the same age as...Annie, no offense to you, but I am the same age as you, I moved to Venice in 2008 after visiting it for years before that...and I would NEVER consider myself a "millennial" and I don't consider you one either. We are not in the age group by a year or so. Probably why you DO attend town meetings (I kid, sorta). So get off that soap box and suck it up. You are not a millennial by definition at least. Howe and Strauss define the Millennial cohort as consisting of individuals born between 1982 and 2004. I am guessing you were born in 81 or MAYBE 82. <br /><br />I *wish* Adidas was not so tone deaf as well. Additionally, I doubt they will be pushed out.They are leasing the most expensive building to ever sale on AK to date (am I still right here?) and I am sure their lease is solid. Who else could afford what they are paying on that place besides another company on the Forbes top 500 (Adidas comes in at #577 with 25.2 Billion in annual sales). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-50590938520071988812017-04-06T18:59:17.689-07:002017-04-06T18:59:17.689-07:00You give your opinion. You give your opinion. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-70227488535563262882017-04-06T16:12:20.359-07:002017-04-06T16:12:20.359-07:00Sad. Sad. CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-6729184702352193012017-04-06T16:11:51.840-07:002017-04-06T16:11:51.840-07:00Thank YOU! Thank YOU! CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-31887956211119898432017-04-06T16:11:37.380-07:002017-04-06T16:11:37.380-07:00I know you're not anonymously calling me a Dic...I know you're not anonymously calling me a Dick ... Thanks. CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-72670019523760641152017-04-06T16:10:57.138-07:002017-04-06T16:10:57.138-07:00Good luck with that. Good luck with that. CJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676550240235939148.post-43579165329203072652017-04-06T16:10:41.400-07:002017-04-06T16:10:41.400-07:00Thank you! xoThank you! xoCJ Gronnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398621907471292064noreply@blogger.com