Laurel Consuelo Broughton's Fave Place to Shop, Wander in DTLA

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Los Angeles has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around LA that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

Image via Yelp

Laurel Consuelo Broughton is the founder of WELCOMECOMPANIONS, a brand that is currently sold at Creatures of Comfort, Lost and Found and Ooga Booga. Here, she fills us in on her favorite shop to wander about in DTLA .

"Right off the bat I want to get something out in the open. I don't ever venture into Anzen Hardware for anything in particular. That doesn't mean that Anzen Hardware doesn't have many practical and wonderful things. In fact, most people probably go there for practical reasons. You can get a key made if you need a spare. Try on a pair of shiny white wellies. Stock up on cast-iron cookware. Buy a stool or a basket. Get some nails or a hook. Maybe some masking tape or even a seed packet. Famous chefs go there for knives. But I go there the way I imagine one might have wandered through the first department stores in the 19th century—to be dazzled by an abundance of a lot of quotidian things artfully jammed into one place. I like to take it all in. And there's a lot to take—the relationship of object to object, the great labels and packaging, the whole cultural mash-up that is Los Angeles. On leaving I like to go to Fugetsu-Do next door to swaddle my eyes in color and satisfy my sweet tooth with a piece of mochi."

· WELCOMECOMPANIONS [Official Site]
· All Shopping Confidential Posts [Racked LA]

Anzen Hardware

309 E 1st St Los Angeles, CA 90012