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Follow on Google News | Designer Claudia Grau Opens The Gräu Haus in Historic Crossroads Of The World Shopping MallLegendary Melrose Avenue designer emerges from her private clientele business to open trio of retail spaces in Hollywood
By: Pamela Nittolo After decades of success in her famous store on Melrose Avenue and her equally successful appointment- “I wanted to create an environment that is more than just a store, where things change regularly,” says Grau. Her retail spaces will offer salon-type intimacy with small craft dinners and evenings of spoken word by people of interest in Los Angeles. In addition to various special events, the Grau destination will feature pop-up stores. “We have created a gallery setting for collectibles and hand-crafted work that will change frequently: one month a bookstore, the next month a men’s store, and so on,” explains Claudia. “The Gräu Häus was created to be a shopping adventure. Customers can expect to be surprised with what they find.” About Claudia Grau Claudia Grau has been a creative force in Los Angeles for more than 30 years. In 1979, at age 21, she ventured into the fashion world by founding her company, Gräu Design. In 1980, she opened her first store on then-sleepy Melrose Avenue (with only eight stores from Doheny to Highland), and became one of the pioneering designer-retailers who made Melrose famous for fashion. Her shop was an instant success with celebrities and stylists. As an early pioneer in deconstruction and collaged clothing, Grau was named an LA mover and shaker by the LA Weekly at age 24. Grau has referred to her bold, up-cycled, collage clothing and eclectic designs as “adventurous clothing for fearless women.” She was likely the first modern eco-friendly designer, repurposing used clothing to create new garments in the early 1980’s, and she continues to use primarily recycled clothing and fabrics to this day. Grau produces free-cut garments (most without the use of patterns) that are hand-died and hand-sewn. Her distinctive one-of-a-kind work has been seen on TV shows including Dharma & Greg, The Cosby Show and Moonlighting, commercials, and films including the cult classic Heathers. Grau has designed for celebrities including Cher, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler. She has opened more than 300 wholesale accounts and sold her signature Japanese kimono jackets into many major department stores. Her Melrose store, with its curved wood walls and cracked tile façade, was featured in many magazines. In 1994, after the birth of her second child, Grau closed her shop on Melrose. In 1996, she opened a studio in the Crossroads of the World complex. For the last 15 years, Grau’s studio has been an appointment- Always upbeat and inspirational, Claudia Grau doesn’t follow a master plan, but sees life as an adventure. Following serendipity, she takes the next inspired action that seems the right thing to do. Recently her studio was overflowing with fabric and a friend observed her new storage space in the Crossroads would make a great retail store. With her three children almost raised, Grau allowed the idea to unfold into reality. For more information about Claudia Grau and The Gräu Haus, please visit www.graudesign.net and “Gräu Design” on Facebook. An e-commerce website, www.thegrauhaus.com, will launch in early November. To attend the grand opening and fashion show on October 19 at 7pm, RSVP to 323-461-4462. (Space is limited.) The Gräu Haus is located at 6671 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1511, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Store hours are listed on the website. About Crossroads of the World The historic Crossroads of the World has been credited as America’s first outdoor shopping center and is known today as a famous Hollywood landmark due to its iconic 60-foot neon tower with spinning globe on Sunset Boulevard at Las Palmas Avenue. Originally intended to feature retail space on the ground floor and office space on the second floor, its central building was designed to suggest an ocean liner coming into port, surrounded by small international villages (Old English, Spanish, California Mediterranean, French, Italian, Moorish, European, and Early American /Cape Cod) with cottage-style bungalows. The Crossroads was designed by Robert Derrah and built in 1936, and has become a part of Hollywood lore. The Crossroads was used for location shooting in many films (L.A. Confidential, Indecent Proposal), television shows (Dragnet, Melrose Place, Charmed, Dexter) commercials (McDonald's, Ford, Mattel) and music videos. Alfred Hitchcock, Tim Burton, the Eagles and Jackson Browne are a few of the many famous filmmakers and musicians who have had offices or recorded music there. The Screen Actor’s Guild, Billboard magazine and The Hollywood Reporter once leased offices there as well. A reproduction of the Crossroads' iconic tower and spinning globe can be seen inside the entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida. Today, Crossroads is the creative home for producers, film companies, casting agencies, publicists, costume designers, film and television writers, music publishers and recording companies. The Gräu stores will be the first retail spaces at the Crossroads open to the public in years, reminiscent of the center’s early days when movie stars shopped there. (For more information, visit www.crossroadshollywood.com.) # # # Our store is a newly opened trio of retail stores located on Sunset Boulevard in the historic Crossroads of the World and featuring clothing designed by local designer Claudia Grau along with guest artisans and craft peoples. End
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