hello! and thanks Grace! We’re super excited to be here as Guest Bloggers this week! For those of you that may not be familiar with us, we’re Jon and Em and together we’ve been doing a fun little blog called “It’s (k)not Wood“- a blog devoted completely to all things “faux bois” (fake wood). That means anything that resembles wood (but isn’t actually made of wood), anything with a woodgrain pattern, or anything tree related (since that’s where wood comes from) is fair game. We both live in Southern California (Em in Los Angeles, and Jon in Orange County). This week we’re planning on sharing with you a bunch of the local spots we love going to for a faux bois fix, as well as highlight a few people and products that inspire us and hopefully you as well!

To start, one of our favorite places in Los Angeles is Tortoise, a shop offering unique finds from Japan. There is no shortage of woodgrain here, real or fake. The owners Keiko and Taku like to call it their “Tortoise General Store”, selling everyday house wares and small gift items. We love the zebrawood, rosewood, and maple fabric available by the yard and are keen on the notebook, pouch, and aprons made with this timeless print.

Tortoise recently opened second shop a few doors down focused on furniture, artisan and vintage pieces. The day I visited, I relished in the scent of gigantic sections of freshly cut wood having just been shipped from Japan, which in our photo, is used to display the products. The architect of this brand new building took the opportunity to add a faux bois detail using wood planks to mold a grain texture into the concrete walls. The white plastic wood stump, separate from bunny, is sweet and subtle, perfect for indoors or outdoors.

Keiko sits with Fido, who greets everyone with his charm.

We love that the shop was named Tortoise to symbolize longevity and steadfastness, standards by which all their products are chosen.
Tortoise (www.tortoiselife.com)
1208 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Venice, CA 90291 tel & fax: 310-314-8448
1342 1/2 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Venice, CA 90291 tel : 310-396-7335 FAX: 310-396-7336

Tweet