Shopper’s Diary: RTH Shop in Los Angeles

It's easy to miss RTH Shop, Rene Holguin's tiny store on N. La Cienega, in a neighborhood otherwise teeming with swanky design stores. It's utterly worth a visit, though, even if it takes a couple of drives around the block to find it; Rene, who worked in visual merchandising for some of the biggest names in the fashion retail world (Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, Levi's, etc.) spent years circling the globe on business trips but became dismayed by the global "sameness" of goods and aspired to do his own thing. "I wanted a store where I could make things that I love and sell stuff that I liked," he says. "I was inspired by the old souvenir shop, where you could buy a trinket as a memento of your holidays."

His store does not disappoint. It's all very unisex and global, with an underlying vibe of the old American West (the interior is infused with the heady sent of cedar oil and leather) yet in a thoroughly modern and creative way. On offer: Rene's collection of leather goods, including his signature egg bags, nubby leather wallets, colored kilt pins, leather flowers and bows, as well as a rotating selection of clothing. For more information, visit RTH Shop.

N.B. Rene will be joining us on Saturday at our Remodelista Holiday Market at Big Daddy's Antiques.

Photography by Megan Small.

Above: The entrance sign made from scrapwood.

Above: Rene grew up in El Paso, Texas, and as a child learned to work with leather from his boot-making father; above are his Market Tote, Junior Market Tote, and Egg Bag

Above: Beaded belt buckles.

Above: An array of Rene's found trinkets gathered from his travels, including wooden beads, colored kilt pins, beaded bracelets, and beanies adorned with his leather arrows.

Above: A collection of colored kilt pins.

Above: Snap wallets in five different sizes and in a myriad of colors.

Above: A gray egg bag with scarf.

Above: A couple of the outfits Rene pulls together using his own pieces and others on sale in the shop.

Above: The RTH workshop where Rene and his team design and finish the leather pieces, many of which are sourced from Texas.