As the saying goes, behind every strong CITY there’s a strong Woman, and DTLA is no exception to the rule.
Here’s a list of 10 Great Women Owned Businesses in Downtown You Should Know About.
Sex in the City
1. Sugar Puss Clothing
Owner Jennifer Summers first began designing her own clothes at UC Berkeley, just before traveling the world as part of the electronic dance phenomena of the 90s.
Today, Summers is selling clothing inspired by the 90s rave scene from her showroom on 8th and Los Angeles in a historic building erected in 1912. Her skin tight
She’s Not Cold…She’s Frosty
2. Little Damage
Just when did the world’s most soft and cuddly pop-culture icons first become popular for having anything to do with the ability to totally kick your ass? But, where is the danger in soft serve ice cream? Well, owner, Jenny Damage, took her love for ice cream and mixed it with dark black charcoal to present DTLA with ‘ice cream as dark as our soul”. Opening up on the once dilapidated corner of 7th and Spring, Little Damage became an overnight sensation and Ice Cream became the new Black. Rotating flavors like Unicorn Tears and Kiki & Cream abound, as returning customers snap photos and tourist never miss a chance to visit the corner of 7th and Spring when they are in town. @little.damage
3. Divine Dips
Ice Cream alchemist Diane Jacobs has been making desserts for most of her professional life. This chapter, she’s put all of DTLA on the path to righteousness with an ice cream haven on 6th and Los Angeles. DTLA is praising Diane’s all natural vegan, artisanal ice creams. And for good reason. After careful research, experimentation, and trial and error, she succeeded in achieving what others could not. The perfect balance necessary to replicate the look, feel and taste of dairy ice cream. Vegans feel blessed at Divine Dips as vegan options for DTLA remain rare. Non-vegans enjoy what they may think are sinful delights only to find salvation with flavors like Infinite Mint, Dulce Sans Leche and Caffe No~Lait. Stop by asap! Her entire shop is vegan, along with gluten-free cookies, brownies, toppings, and sauces, which allow her to offer some truly delectable options such as ice-cream sandwiches, sundaes, and milkshakes for customers to choose from. @divinedipsdtla
Book Smart
4. Brown Bag Books
Lynn Klopfer may not have the last book store, but she just may have the most interesting traveling bookstore in DTLA. For over 10 years, Brown Bag Books has been bringing hard to find, gently used, quality reading material to Southern Cali. If you’re a Smorgasburg or farmer’s market fan, you’ve probably seen her “mobile book shows” geared for people who miss the old fashioned, second-hand bookstore experience. Lynn travels the world, particularly Berlin, London
Dressed to Kill!
5. Hellen’s Sample Shop
Owner Hellen Lee is the proud CEO of a 4,500 brick and mortar located at the Stanford Regency Plaza on the edge of the Fashion District. Hellen’s, which sells overstock samples from local and international designers, carries a mixture of closet staples like basic tees, trendy work clothes, and fun party clothing and has an army of Hellen’s Girls who buy her wears and post them on social media… Well, just for fun.
Just to be clear, Hellen’s is not vintage, second hand, thrift, or even a consignment shop of used items. They carry high-quality items like Gucci and
6. Polished DTLA
DTLA YOU GOT SWAG! The DT is not all work and no play anymore. It’s LIVE, WORK and PLAY like never before. We work hard. We play hard. Working and playing require constant grooming. Nancy Nails, owner of Polished DTLA knows that manicured hands and well-groomed faces are an indication of social status, and she’s ready with a team of talented waxers and nail artists to help you fit in with the Downtown elite. With over 2 years of professional services, her new nail salon on 6th and Spring offers prices that are more affordable than most. Hassle free, walk in’s welcome, just sit back an relax and let Nancy’s team hook you up. @polished_dtla
7. Ross Cutlery
Jennifer Wattenberg Velazquez was just a four-year-old girl when her dad Richard and uncle Allen starting bringing her Downtown to visit the Bradbury Building which first housed the family’s tiny knife sharpening shop. After 40 years of observation and first-hand involvement, she took the helm; Ross Cutlery, now on Broadway, and its many sharp objects are all hers. As downtown’s restaurants continue to pop up like weeds, Ross Cutlery continues to provide everything they will need to slice, dice, stir or flip, from gigantic butchers knives to rare Japanese folded steel blades and cookware. 324 S Broadway, 90013.
Never let them see you sweat!
8. Sweat Shoppe
Wife, mother, business women. Three words to describe Mimi Benz, owner of downtown LA’s hottest new workout spot the Sweat Shoppe. Sweat Shoppe takes everything you love about your cycling routine and turns up the heat.
Benz came up with this concept a few years ago mainly because of the hot yoga phenomena that was all the rage. Since she’s managed to pedal herself all the way from Atlanta to Toluca Lake, stopping for a bit of ramen in DTLA, where she just opened the third Sweat Shoppe on 2nd and Los Angeles on the rim of Little Tokyo. The Downtown location has 50 bikes with temps set at a cozy 84 degrees. Anything above that Mimi says is too hot, but not as hot as your bod after a month or two of heated Sweat Shoppe classes. @thesweatshoppe
On top of the Game!
9. Omgivning
When thinking about the Downtown LA renaissance, the first thing that comes to mind is the city’s buildings, some old and some new. Leading the way in architecture and interior design is Karin Liljegren, Principal and Founder of Omgivning.
Omgivning, the Swedish concept for “the way a space feels around you” has become known for their timely ability to provide interior rehabilitation and restoration to existing spaces including roof gardens and pools, historic facades, interiors
10. A1 Bookbinding
Touted as Downtown’s “longest
