L'USINE

L'usine is a retail space, cafe and gallery in the heart of Saigon. L'usine brings together emerging Vietnamese talent with established designers from abroad to offer an eclectic offering. La Cafeteria de L'usine offers a place to relax, eat, drink during the moments in between exploring all that Vietnam has to offer.

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L'USINE ESSENTIALS

1. THERE ARE MANY OF US Black Leather Bag

2. Happy Sock

3. Mr. Simple Stripe T-Shirt

4. Lomography Spocket Rocket Camera Edition in Neon Yellow

5. Marou Chocolate

7. Lomography Color Negative Film 100

8. Clae Ellington Shoes in Ruby Suede

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L'USINE ON ELLE MAN VIETNAM APRIL ISSUE

CLAE Red Suede Shoes and THERE ARE MANY OF US Black Leather Bag

CLAE Green Suede Loafer

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L'Usine Gift Idea No.2

AIAIAI Tracks Headphone with mic and 3 interchangeable colored sliders.

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L'USINE ESSENTIALS

1. Marshall Artist Stripe Sweater

2. Pijama Herringbone iPhone Case

3. Les Canet Notebook

4. Clae Midnight Suede Mid-tops

5. Baxter California Slick Pomade 

6. LUXE London Guide

7. Izola "Three Sheets to the Wind" Flask 5oz.

8. Baxter Black Quilted Dopp-Bag

9. Braun BN10 EasySkroll Stainless Steel Bracelet

10. Baxter California After Shave Balm

11. Marshall Artist Stripe Gray Pocket Square

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L'Usine Gift Idea No.1

Lexon "Take Time" watch collection designed by Mathieu Lehanneur with 3-in-1 concept of jean's loop, hand bag or wrist.

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Some pics of the new Le Loi shop!

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** L'Usine Le Loi **

We are delighted to announce that L’Usine has opened its second location on Le Loi, in the heart of the city.  Following the success of the L’Usine flagship boutique store on Dong Khoi street, the time was right for a new store to offer exciting new products, a fresh new café, all set to a backdrop of our famous L’Usine style.

Set in a colonial era French building, with unique architectural features – the owners took on the task to transform the building to its former spectacle.  The new L’Usine offers an entirely unique experience; disappear from the bustling streets of Le Loi into a calm, open, capacious, well-orchestrated lifestyle store.  On the ground floor L’Usine Le Loi showcases some of the world’s most cutting-edge brands in clothing, stationery and accessories. Climb the extraordinary staircase that spirals up through the ceiling of the space and you’ll find yourself in the spacious café, immersed in L’Usine’s renowned vintage style.  Set amongst the swivel chairs and reclaimed wooden table tops of the café and the gallery, is the homewares range; exhibiting a variety of products and vignettes that have been curated by local exciting artists and stylists. The café has been designed as a Panini bar, serving all-day hot Panini’s fresh from the grill and a host of refreshing hot and cold beverages, and of course, our famous cupcakes.

L’USINE LE LOI – 70B LE LOI STREET, D1, HCMC 

Store: [phone] 

Café: [phone] 

Email: [email protected]

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A sneak peek of our second L'USINE @ 70B Le Loi Street. Retail section is now open! Come by and check out our new space!!

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JUST IN....Linda Mai Phung AW Collection and La fiancee du facteur jewelry!

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End of Season Sale Starts Saturday July 14th!

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Plant-in City: Architecture and Technology for Plants in New York City

Huy Bui of An Choi and *HB* Collaborative, along with Carlos J. Gomez de Llarena (Med44) and Jon Schramm (*HB* Collaborative), present Plant-in City, a 'Green City' of stackable and interconnected structures of plants combining architecture and technology. 

Plant-in City is currently the support of backers on Kickstarter to meet its goal of $25,000usd by the end of the day of June 30, 2012. From now, there are less than 13 days left to get involved as a backer to help actualize a large-scale installation of this 'Green City.'

A small-scale version of the installation is currently up at Lost Weekend at 45 Orchard St. in the Lower East Side, NYC until the end of June. 

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Step into Serenity with Shri Yoga

Far from the highly trafficked streets and motorbike honking of Saigon, serenity can be found tucked away in the quiet and peacefulness of Shri Yoga.

Shri opened its doors in early March of 2012 and offers a variety of multi-level Yoga classes in both Vietnamese and English including pre and post-natal courses along with an opportunity to gain International certification through their Master Teacher Training. 

Shri Founder, Kim Szwarcburg, is originally from Tay Ninh and has been practicing Yoga for over ten years. Kim received her International certification from Tirisula Yoga in Singapore and previously worked at California Wow Yoga and Fitness Centre until venturing off on her own with Shri Yoga. Kim brings a high quality standard of her practice to both expats and locals and not only focuses on the Asanas (postures) but also on the philosophy of Yoga. 

Though the popularity of Yoga in Vietnam is nowhere comparable to India, Bali or Thailand,  awareness and the demand for quality classes from experienced teachers is growing. 

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CLAE and Our Favorite Shop in Los Angeles, California

Based out of Los Angeles, California,  CLAE 'creates footwear that evolves and endures' with a 'commitment to innovation and design... fit for the modern man.' 

CLAE opened their first retail space earlier this year, Our Favorite Shop (OFS), which is their design studio and a curation of their own product alongside other creative products that complement their vision and aesthetic. 

We had the honor of getting a Q&A with them about the shop and their favorite spots in the neighborhood. 

L'Usine:  When did OFS open?  

CLAE:  We opened our doors officially in the beginning of March. It has been a rolling opening, with the official launch event on the weekend of May 27th. 

L'Usine:  What was your inspiration for the design of the shop? 

CLAE:  The inspiration came from how various shapes related to each other in the space. We also wanted a design that would be versatile and could be transformed with relative ease. From this concept came the idea of creating modular square, triangle and rectangle fixtures. We primarily worked with architect Nathan Lentz, furniture designer Shin Okuda from WAKA WAKA for the main design, with the shelving system coming from architect Francis Irefej. The whole project was a blending of ideas from several different people and pulling in concepts from random places. To the extent that we applied the functional design of wood blocks used as a sound diffuser, that we saw at Lindsay Lai's recording studio in Hong Kong, to create a strong topographical/textural feel on the overhanging soffits above the windows.

L'Usine:  What are some non-Clae featured items (records, books, etc.) currently in the shop and what led you to include these as part of the curation of the shop's opening? 

CLAE:  Accessories by Claw Money, Baron Von Fancy, SLB Sal Barbier, Black Pine Workshop and Babutunde Hats. Books and periodicals including Rostarr, O.H.W.O.W., Sneeze, Wax Poetics, Huge, Inventory. Audio compilations by Masterpiece Sound, Deadly Dragon Sound, plus a selection of new and vintage LPs, CDs, & DVDs. Grooming and personal products like Yumaki toothbrushes, Portland General Store grooming kit, Marvis toothpaste, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Matt Singer Dopp Kit, Kuumba incense. We want to have a range of products, in addition to our shoes, which creates an environment that reflects our interests and inspirations whether it's books, music, or accessories. All the products we bring in to OFS have a unique point of view and a certain charm...we created OFS to support independent creative endeavors from artisans near and far...with new items being added weekly.

L'Usine:  If I was spending the day hanging out from shopping and eating on and around W. Pico Blvd, what are some of your favorite hang-out spots and why?  CLAE:  There is a lot of diversity in the neighborhood and it is reflected in the food choices, a French bakery, La Maison du Pain, for baguettes to great desserts; a great Jamaican restaurant Wi Jammin, which has daily specials and fresh juices; CJ's café, an underground LA institution, specializing in American comfort food and some Mexican specialties; and just up the street is Bloom, for the healthier alternative. Our section of West Pico also has some eclectic shops to visit, Mike’s Bike Shop, some vintage furniture stores and City Spa and Health Center, an authentic Russian spa, Russians included are all within walking distance. What you find on West Pico is a true representation of real LA and we are happy to have OFS join the mix. 

If living or visiting LA, stop by OFS and send our L'Usine love to the CLAE crew!

Our Favorite Shop

5455 W. Pico Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90019

Store Hours:

Tuesday - Sunday (11am-6pm)

CLAE is available at L'Usine.

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Limited Edition MiniMan Postcards represent a body of work of Aziz Melibayev from 2007-2011 and are available at L'Usine! From Uzbekistan, Aziz aka MiniMan currently works and resides in Vietnam. (Taken with instagram)

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Los Angeles' VELVET by Graham & Spencer now at L'Usine

   Jenson Twist Front Dress. Also available in Black.

New York, London, Paris, Sydney, Toronto and Tokyo LOVE LA-label Velvet and now Saigon can love on it too as L’Usine welcomes Velvet to our shop!

With a true understanding of the modern day woman, Jenny Graham and Toni Spencer, the designers behind Velvet, “fuse soft sumptuous fabrics with modern feminine fit.”

     Cicero Belted Maxi Dress. Also available in Burnt Orange.

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L'Usine was featured on Qantas in February 2011. The full review here. 

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Cheap Monday SS12 Mens and Womens available NOW! The Sahara Dress in light grey is great on its own or a layering piece. (Taken with instagram)