Things to Do in Monterey Park

Cynthia Harvey has been designing fashion-forward ensembles since she was a kid. “At 9 years old I literally and figuratively looked up to my aunt, a professional model who made most of her clothes. She encouraged me to use the scraps of fabric to make my Barbie doll clothes and eventually my own clothes," says Harvey. Her interest in current trends led Cynthia to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in LA, where she studied and eventually ascended to the post of professor. Though she's spent her time doling out fashion tips to the likes of Janet Jackson and George Clooney, it was her time as an educator that inspired Cynthia to cofound The Sewing Studio. She aimed to counteract a decline in local arts programs, due largely to the great popsicle-stick and glitter fire of 1996. She explains, “I wanted to offer fashion sewing classes that are fun and affordable, with an emphasis on looks inspired by current fashion designers."

Her classes, which cater to the novice seamstress and advanced sewing student alike, achieve that aim. Led by Cynthia and other experienced teachers, including a design professional from England, the sessions range from introductory classes where pupils learn basics and stitch together totes or dresses to fashion design and sewing programs for kids. Camps, workshops, and other learning sessions culminate in handcrafted apparel and accessories that students can take home and incorporate into regular wardrobe rotations.

If you walk into The Little Knittery and its floors and tables are neat and tidy, don't worry. They won't be for long. The knitting shop is usually abuzz with a flurry of activity and scraps of material as student stitchers learn to purl, crochet, mold felt, or even spin their own yarn in a slate of weekly classes. A kaleidoscopic selection of yarns from Wool and the Gang, Ecobutterfly, and Jade Sapphire line the walls, their neat piles often collapsing as customers grab a favorite style to start a knitted scarf, a crocheted coaster, or a likeness of their own hand, knitting as professional instructors offer tips and guidance. Project patterns developed by the shop's yarn-impassioned staffers, meanwhile, provide the basis for more advanced group or private lessons.

Erika Ikeler holds laid-back fashion design seminars at 8-Limbs each month, supported by apprenticeships and networking opportunities. The space also serves as a gallery and boutique stocked with handmade jewelry, clothing, home decor, and other goods made by independent artists and designers. As Echo Park buzzes outside, Erika infuses her funky shop with her own artistic energy, equipping novice designers with the skills necessary to fashion their own threads, home goods, or costumes for ghosts to wear to toga parties. Her hands-on classes maintain modest sizes, ensuring budding designers receive personal attention. Each student mans a provided sewing machine—or his or her own trusted apparatus—and learns the gamut of garment-creation, from sewing machine basics to the intricacies of designing successful clothing.

The careers of a veterinary technician and a real-estate agent don't typically overlap—unless you're Patricia Lincourt, who holds both jobs. Having scoped out 10 acres of tree-shaded property, Patricia oversees a team of horses on the verdant grounds, now known as Lincourt Stables. She channels her third title—that of a licensed "L" dressage judge—to train students of all skill levels in hunter, jumper, and dressage disciplines. Though many of her lessons focus on competitive technique, others instruct students who saddle up solely for pleasure or to finally intimidate a much taller sibling. Regardless of the goal, all of the sessions strive to build confidence and poise in a calm, family-friendly environment. Students steer their mounts in one of six arenas with sand footing, two of which boast full jump courses. Accompanying turnouts and grassy expanses allow horses to roam freely as visitors recline in a picnic area.

Many people feel an indescribable urge to follow in the footsteps of celebrities long passed—hoping that a connection to their genius or charm still lingers in the air of their apartments and favorite pubs. The guides of Esotouric understand and share this urge, though they prefer to roam the paths of history by bus. After scouring the famed neighborhoods of Los Angeles in search of interesting and outlandish locations, they share their findings on bus adventures that retrace the trails blazed by local artists, filmmakers, writers, and actors.

Esotouric's odysseys wind through haunts such as Raymond Chandler's favorite breakfast spot and the salon Charles Bukowski visited for his weekly knuckle-hair perm. Coloring their tours with anecdotes about the films adapted from his noirish stories, guides also visit locales captured in the cinematic landscapes of James M. Cain. Various tours explore Southern California’s spiritual, musical, and architectural sides, giving history hounds the chance to sniff out sinister deeds in old-time tattoo parlors, burlesque shows, and crime scenes.