Clare Vivier practically owns her L.A. neighborhood: She’s lived in Silverlake for a decade (yup, early adopter) and recently opened a store there with her jewelry-making buddy (and fellow Of a Kind alum) Kathryn Bentley. Basically, if you need someone to show you the ropes, she’s your girl, and she was kind enough to play tour guide. Taix“Taix is a really old-school French restaurant—the interior hasn’t changed in 30 years, and the waiters have been there forever. I love to eat steak frites in the bar area.” (taixfrench.com) Intelligentsia“It’s just the best coffee. I usually get an espresso, and they serve it with a little glass of sparkling water. I think that’s really cute.” (intelligentsiacoffee.com) Forage“My very favorite restaurant is Forage. I eat there at least once a week and order the kale and arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette and toasted breadcrumbs on top.” (foragela.com) Mohawk General Store“I got a pair of silver Rachel Comey loafers there last year, and I feel like she should release them again because I get so many compliments on them! There’s a Raquel Allegra coat in a nubby, boiled wool that I want right now.” (mohawkgeneralstore.net) Cookbook“This is a super cute little market on Echo Park Avenue. Any time you don’t have an idea of what to cook, they’ll help you figure it out. It seems like a small store with a small selection, but they’ll be like, ‘Oh! Just take this arugula, this mint, and peas…’ Which is nice—to have your selection totally slimmed down.” (cookbookla.com) You are not going to want to miss out on the second edition from Clare Viver. Best tactic for scoring it: Get on our email list.

It all started in 2006 when Clare Vivier, then a journalist, couldn’t find a sturdy, stylish sleeve for toting around her computer. So, she decided to make one. “At the time, computers needed more protection. You know—when they were new, we all wanted to be really careful about our laptops,” Clare explains. “Now you can practically throw them around.” After experimenting with all sorts of padding and quilted fabrics, she started working in leather, landed on her pared-down, sophisticated aesthetic, and got into the bag business. “I loved Bonnie Cashin-era Coach when I was young, how minimal the company was in its leather goods. Then I went to France and saw things that were just beautiful in their simplicity, without much hardware and other things going on,” she says. Clare lived in Indiana, Minnesota, San Francisco, New York, and Paris (where she picked up a French husband and corresponding last name) before landing in Los Angeles. The city has proven to be a good home for her no-nonsense line of saturated navy messengers and slightly retro shoulder bags—she can do her designing from home (which means less time away from her seven-year-old son) and work with local factories. But lest you think she was always an ultra-polished sophisticate, you should know that Clare co-owned a hip-hop-inflected clothing store with an in-house D.J. in Haight-Ashbury during college. Get on our email list to make sure you don’t miss Clare’s second edition for Of a Kind! It’s major.

With their classic shapes and lack of any clunky hardware, Clare Vivier’s designs might be minimalist, but they are also crazy-easy to spot—no small feat. Take a look at how she uses her own leather pieces, and then take a stab yourself with the envelope-style wallet she made for Of a Kind. Clare introduced her La Pochette design for the first time on Of a Kind in January, and now it’s back—this time with animal print. Right this way…     Clare’s Essentials + Clare Vivier canvas simple tote, black pebble flat clutch, white leather zippered card holder, and black leather zip wallet – “I’m introducing the zip wallet in the spring!” + Neon iPhone case and hair elastics – “My friend Grace Lee—she’s a jeweler, with a line called Oli and Me—just went to Korea and bought me back this neon stuff. Like a lot of people, she and I both have a little obsession with neon right now.” + Nars pencils – “The color of the Larger Than Life eyeliner is so rich. That Hollywoodland is actually an eye shadow pencil, but it’s kind of like a magic wand. If you have dark circles under your eyes, you can use it there, too.” + Drugstore mascara + Steven Alan cashmere beanie – “I always have this with me this time of the year when it’s chilly. I bought them for everyone who works for me, too, so now we’re all wearing them.” + Ballpoint pen swiped from The Odeon – “Every time I’m in New York, I always end up at this restaurant for lunch or dinner.” + CV medallion key chain – “This is an idea we played around with but never produced.” + Smith’s Minted Rose lip balm– “I love the way it tastes—it’s yummy, rosy mint! And, you know, it’s just a good, old-school product.” + MacBook + Josie Maran cream blush – “I like the fact that she uses all organic ingredients. It’s a very natural-looking blush, and that feels good, too.” + Red Moleskine calendar – “It sits next to me at work all day long, and I write notes in it all day long. It’s my major crutch. If I lost it, I would be absolutely lost.”