Six years ago, when we first me up with Hopie and Lily Stockman, the two sisters were just back from Bagru, India, with some of the first block-printed scarves that gave their business its name: see Block Shop’s Wearable Paintings.
The two went on to expand Block Shop’s offerings to woodblock art prints, rugs, table linens, and more, all in bright, linear patterns that they say are inspired by Indian architecture, women of the Bauhaus, and Sonia Delaunay’s painted sets, among other things.
The Secret Shop
The pink-scarf-covered entry opens to Block Shop’s retail space, known as the Secret Shop “because we’re located in a warren of studios and are hard to find,” says Hopie (full instructions here).
“We started Block Shop with $5,000 when we were grad students, and we’ve sought to grow thoughtfully and deliberately,” says Hopie.
Lily and Hopie designed the build-out of the warehouse themselves with a lot of input from friends. And the furnishings are by a Who’s Who of LA creatives, including furniture maker Shin Okada of Waka Waka, who built the display racks.
The Sidewinder Robe hangs next to a display of Table Linens (napkins are $14 each).
Curved lines extend from the textile patterns to the walls—”a reference,” says Hopie, “to the archways of old city Jaipur. The tendril-like ceramic Table Lamp is by their friend Jonathan Entler of Entler Studios.
The Showroom/Conversation Pit
The shop opens to a hangout space: “It’s a showroom for people that want it to be, and a conversation pit for everyone else,” says Hopie. The daybeds—in white by Waka Waka (who also made the armchairs) and in peach by L.O.C. Architects—showcase Block Shop’s forthcoming upholstery fabrics.
Block Shop’s Woodblock Prints hang on the walls.
The turned wood sculpture, by Dan John Anderson, is made of California pinon pine that Hopie says “smells incredible.” The overhead Grain Drum Lights are by Brendan Ravenhill: “our sister Phoebe works in his studio.”
The Studio
The “Block Shop brain” is tucked in the back of the showroom.
Lily and Hopie collaborated with Shin Okuda on the table design: “We spent our first five years working on pieces of plywood balanced on sawhorses, so designing this with Shin felt like the next chapter for us.”
Lily’s desk has a Breuer Cesca Armchair and a Brendan Ravenhill standing light.
The sisters and their team are currently sheltering at home: “Like so many small businesses right now, we’re walking the tightrope of trying to keep sales coming in and cutting costs while prioritizing our staff’s well-being,” says Hopie.