Sparrow Mart

You know what conclusion I've come to? Los Angeles is not the right city to be in when you're trying to rest and recharge your batteries. There's always something going on: a gallery, a concert, a comedy show...a grocery store filled with 31,000 hand sewn, hand painted items.

I don't remember how I heard about The Sparrow Mart, whether it was from Discover LA or my friend, Rich Franklin, but the word traveled fast and I knew this was something I needed to experience. Created by the talented Lucy Sparrow (aka Sew Your Soul), everything in here is for sale (even the ATM machine), the prices vary depending on what you're getting. I knew I wanted something I can remember this by so I bought a cute little cigarette carton for $20. 

So let me tell you the lowdown on how to visit Sparrow Mart, because I know that's what most of you want to know. When you get to the lobby at The Standard, you wait in line to secure a reservation. The line when we went, on at Saturday afternoon, was about 30 minutes. Once you get to the front, a Sparrow Mart Employee gives you a time to come back. We reached the front around 1:30pm and were told to come back in 3:30pm. Admission is free, which is awesome, and you're not too far from Little Tokyo, so we just hung out around there until it was our time to come back. You get a text 5 minutes before your entry time, then they gather everyone in a line on the side of the escalator until they are ready to take you up. You have a total of 30 minutes inside, which seems like a long time but when you're going around and around through the aisles, the time goes by very fast!

Every time I went down an aisle, I found something I had not seen the first time around. The attention to detail was incredible, I can't imagine how long it took to make once piece, let alone 31,000. I only hope one day I can find something I'm as passionate about as Lucy Sparrow is about creating Sparrow Mart. I had a few people ask me if going to Sparrow Mart was worth seeing and I whole heartedly believe it is. When in your life will you ever get to be surrounded by handmade ramen packets and pick a cute little sushi spread? I may not be getting the proper amount of rest because I live in this city, but I feel blessed because this city has given me so many once in a lifetime experiences that I know I could not have gotten anywhere else. 

Sparrow Mart will be around until August 31st. Make sure you check out Lucy's Instagram here.