Monos Opens Themed Retail Stores in Chicago and Los Angeles
Vancouver-based luggage brand Monos, founded by Hubert Chan and Victor Tam, has expanded its brick-and-mortar presence with two new stores designed to evoke local culture. The Chicago West Loop location, designed by Ste Marie, features limewashed walls, butter-yellow elements, and a café/listening bar called Postcard, referencing the area's history as a pharmacy and birthplace of house music. The Los Angeles Abbot Kinney store, designed by Leckie Studio Architecture + Design, incorporates wood finishes, cerulean walls, glass bricks, and a courtyard café to reflect Venice Beach's casual vibe. Both stores include 'third spaces' for community gathering. Monos launched as an e-commerce operation in 2018 and is a certified B Corp. The brand's name derives from the Japanese idiom mono no aware, appreciating beauty in impermanence.
Key facts
- Monos is a Vancouver-based luggage brand founded by Hubert Chan and Victor Tam.
- The brand launched as an e-commerce operation in 2018 and is a certified B Corp.
- Monos opened a flagship in Vancouver with a coastal rainforest theme.
- A Toronto outpost features an indoor olive tree in Little Portugal.
- The Chicago West Loop store is designed by Ste Marie.
- The Chicago store includes Postcard, a café/listening bar with vintage JBL speakers.
- The Los Angeles Abbot Kinney store is designed by Leckie Studio Architecture + Design.
- The LA store features a glass brick sculpture and a courtyard café with Hay bistro chairs.
Entities
Artists
- Hubert Chan
- Victor Tam
- Craig Stanghetta
- Michael Leckie
Institutions
- Monos
- Ste Marie
- Leckie Studio Architecture + Design
- International Anthem
- King Hippo
- Azure Magazine
Locations
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Toronto
- Chicago
- United States
- West Loop
- Carpenter's Addition
- Fulton Market
- Los Angeles
- Abbot Kinney Boulevard
- Venice