Now Open: Iko Iko Gets Arty in Angelino Heights

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Ever-changing theme boutiques are hardly a new concept, but when the mastermind behind such a shop is Rowena Sartin designer Kristin Dickson, the results are sure to be more inspired than most. Her new gallery-slash-retail space, Iko Iko, launched Saturday night on a desolate stretch of W. Sunset between Echo Park and Downtown (Angelino Heights, if we're being specific).

"I wanted Iko Iko to feel like a curiosity shop," explains Dickson, adding that her goal is to carry objects that can't be found anywhere else. Every three months, she'll enlist artists and designers to provide work relating to a specific idea. The inaugural theme is "Still Life", which begat pieces like Natascha Snellman's collages, Hannah Keefe's wooden chain necklaces , leather pouch pendants by Warbonnet, and the weirdly fascinating human hair felted by Ashley Helvey. There's also a hefty selection of Rowena Sartin garb, including drop-crotch bike shorts and diaphonous sheer kaftans in delicate floral fabrics.

"Still life typically includes symbols of the era's trade and economy alongside elements of nature" explains Dickson. "I thought it would be interesting to explore today's middle-class symbols, the things that people are responding to in the recession." Although her current focus is the Sunset shop, Dickson eventually hopes to take her show on the road, touring to other venues throughout the city and, perhaps, beyond. We like this idea—she's got far too many treasures to be hidden amidst the Angelino Heights auto-body shops.