I tweeted out a Zoom link to a live stream of me working. I took it as an opportunity to ask the few people who joined some questions about our current end-of-the-world situation. I hope we can look back at this blog post and say “Damn, we really thought this was going to end in June. It’s September 2021 and we’re still in this shit.”
Reading Constant Mag at Lime Street
The second issue of Constant Mag is available online now at constantmag.com!
When I first met Kevin he was spinning a sign on the sidewalk for Dominoes. It was two years ago in the middle of summer in Victorville where it hits triple digits at noon. Today he runs a shop, At Large, and its venue, The Ball Pit. As I scroll through their Instagram feed I dream about owning some of the vintage items they have in stock that would easily be sold by the time I make the trek there. For the first feature of ‘This Is’, I gave Kevin a call to get a rundown on the shop’s history and its endeavors for the year.
How did At Large begin?
The concept was inspired by buy-sell-trade in LA. They do things their own way and carry certain products and I’ve always been a big fan of that format. Being able to buy something, wear it a couple of times, and if you grow out of it then you can just go trade it in. I’ve always felt like I could give it my own twist. Also, here in the High Desert, we don't really have anything like that and I felt like there was a market that wasn't being catered to so I said, “Why not be the first one to start it up?”
Did you ever do resale online?
Yeah for sure. Even to this day, I sell on Depop, Poshmark, and Grail, but to be honest I do like the store because it provides an experience. There are certain aspects like the playlist or talking to customers about their interests, you know?
“Sometimes I feel like people might be intimidated by the shop, but I want to fight that stigma.”
How would you describe the atmosphere at your store?
I want to say that it’s welcoming. I don’t think a lot of people in the High Desert are used to mom-and-pop shops. Sometimes I feel like people might be intimidated by the shop, but I want to fight that stigma. I would say the vibe is really friendly with an urban feel. When we did our pop-up in the mall, people were asking, “Are you guys going to be in the mall now?” and I told them “No, that’s not really out vibe and we don't want to be too commercial. We want to keep it homegrown.” I never try to be the biggest salesman either. I want people to get what they really like.
What came to mind when you first saw the space? Did you have a lot of ideas or did you immediately know what you wanted at first sight?
When we got the location we’re at now I definitely saw the potential. In the first few months, we had to do slight modifications, but afterward, we did a renovation of the shop. I had a lot of inspo from other places too like Dover Street Market and Stussy. I wanted something elegant but in a way that wasn’t too bougie.
So how'd you come across your space that you're at now?
Before we were at the Victorville Galleria which is just the fancy way of saying indoor swapmeet. Now we’re at 16822 C St, Victorville. That whole building was already a 3 part store called Dead Celebs. It was like a vintage store with 60’s 70s items. It was a women’s store, antique furniture store, and a men’s store. It was all owned by an older lady. The only reason why she bought that building was for her kids so her daughter was running the women's side and the son was running the men's side. After a year or two, the kids kind of lost interest. The daughter moved to SF and the son moved with his band to Oregon and pretty much left everything with her mom. I went there randomly on a Saturday and I liked the space and she asked if I saw the men's side which I didn’t even know they had. I went over and I fell in love with the little building. I asked, “Would you ever consider me taking over the men’s side and she was like, ‘yeah.’ ”She asked what I paid at the galleria and she said she’d charge me the same thing and we moved in the same month.
“- I’ve always had a passion for music and I’ve always felt like the community had a lot of artists that could really shine if given the proper spotlight and that’s what the whole goal of the venue is. ”
You’ve had some shows there too. Do you have plans to keep it more of a venue or a store?
I do like to keep it interconnected because we do keep the store open when it’s a venue so people can shop which adds to the experience. I’ve always had a passion for music and I’ve always felt like the community had a lot of artists that could really shine if given the proper spotlight and that's what the whole goal of the venue is.
So what's next for you for 2020 and At Large?
Dang lowkey this feels like is the perfect time for an announcement. There’s a lot of stuff planned for this year. We’re coming out with a Spring/Summer collection at the shop. It’s going to be a lot of cut-and-sew garments with the highest quality stuff. Also, we're considering opening a second shop in Victoria Gardens. We’re thinking at the end of the summertime.
Jaden Padilla photographed by Jovi Brooks
The Ball Pit
The Idea
A week before I moved to New York I sold my Super 8 camera to a friend-of-a-friend, Maya. During this exchange, I was able to learn about her craft as a makeup artist. Of course, I have friends who do makeup, but the effort Maya put into creating content around her work was skillfully impressive. Considering my shift in focus onto more “fashion” related videos, I knew I had to work with her eventually.
Pitching the Idea/Planning
Fast forward a few weeks and I’m officially living in New York and staying updated with Maya’s inspiring work. I pitched to her the idea of possibly doing a video together and she was down. I had no idea when I was going to be back in California so I guess my goal of the pitch was to make the initial “speaking into existence” phase. Over long periods of time, we would revisit the conversation to discuss our ideas on how I wanted the video to look and how she wanted her makeup to look. Once we had a solid idea, I was able to finally start looking for the best time to fly out to Cali. Although months had passed, the passion still remained and I got a ticket. This boosted my morale for following through with the project as I was slowly becoming doubtful due to the distance and lack of time/money. Knowing I was going to be in CA within a month, we hit the drawing boards once again to revise our ideas.
Preparing for the Shoot
Prior to my flight back home, I picked up a Pro-mist filter from B&H to create a soft dreamy effect that I’ve been wanting to achieve. At the same time, I grabbed a cross-screen filter that produces a cool cross flare that I knew would look awesome on the face-piece that Maya had created for the video. Three other essentials were a box of matches that would eventually tie into the “conceptual” part of the video, a slider for one particular smooth shot that I had in mind (provided by Tommy Bui of Daily’s Workshop), and a white cloth to use as a backdrop (provided by my grandpa). Lastly, I wanted Maya to bring her personal camcorder to the shoot for B-roll as I wanted to give a nod to her personal style. Aside from gear, I also created a rough shot list on my plane ride to San Diego up until the hour before shooting.
The Shoot / Editing
On the day of the shoot, I hung the backdrop on a wall in my front yard, laid out my equipment on a table, and revised my shot list. Surprisingly, the shoot went extremely smooth. I went through my shot list and directed Maya and within 2 hours we were done. It was also pleasing to see the new gear I got being put to good use.
I was too excited to wait on editing so the same night I got to work. By the time the sun began to peak from the horizon, I was finished.
The Takeaway
It’s funny. The hardest part of the entire project was planning. It took months, but the shoot only lasted 2 hours. This was largely due to the fact that I was on the other side of the country. If I had still lived in San Diego then this project could have been done within a week. I guess this is proof of what can be done with an idea and communication. I’m proud that we were able to make this vision a reality. It’s rare that a shoot goes this smooth. Find the ‘MAYA’ video here and follow her Instagram here.
See the selects by visiting the people tab above.
Here I am with no responsibilities for the next two days. Tomorrow I’m going to skate all day, but for now I’m going to switch between scrolling through Tumblr on my laptop and Vine on my cracked iPhone 4s. In a few minutes I’m going to be summoned to go downstairs and eat a hot meal with my family. After this I’m going to go back to doing nothing. Matter of fact, I’m going to pop back into the kitchen at 1AM and make myself a mug of coffee and some pizza rolls. Now I have a snack to accompany the 5 episodes of a new romance anime I’ve never seen but most likely starts off with a boy and girl who hate each other but end up falling in love. I try to watch a 6th episode but only make it 5 minutes before knocking out.
I want this feeling to last forever.
