The downtown Santa Barbara area is set for significant developments as renowned architect Jeff Shelton has proposed a new small hotel project on a vacant lot at 813 Garden Street, located between De La Guerra and Canon Perdido streets. The exciting proposal, which appears on this Wednesday's Historic Landmarks Commission agenda, calls for a three-story building that would house an eight-room hotel, one residential dwelling unit, and one accessory dwelling unit (ADU).
Meanwhile, the local retail landscape continues to evolve with several notable openings and expansions. The new Polette eyewear shop has officially opened its doors at 1014 State Street, situated between Carrillo and Figueroa streets, sharing its space with sister brand Academy of Love. Polette operates on a business model similar to Warby Parker, offering affordable eyewear with transparent pricing to customers.
Academy of Love brings a unique aesthetic philosophy to the shared retail space, focusing exclusively on all-white products that the brand believes represent simplicity and purity, reflecting what love should embody. The company releases five to ten limited-edition products each month, with all collections designed to be unisex, timeless, and characterized by softness. Their retail concept features showrooms designed as "Love Galleries," creating what they describe as a unique shopping experience where time moves slowly and love flourishes.
Several other retail developments are making waves throughout the area. The Folly shop at Arlington Plaza has expanded its footprint by taking over the former Marisa Mason space next door, a development that was discovered during research for this year's Shop-Local Gift Guide. Additionally, Goleta's Maker House community arts center has established a pop-up location at 913 State Street that will operate through the end of the year. Despite being a temporary installation, the space presents an impressive appearance and features ceramics that are both visually appealing and reasonably priced, including eye-catching giant toadstools that would make attractive yard decorations.
However, not all retail news is positive, as the Indian Summers women's apparel boutique in Summerland has announced its closure, though the exact closing date remains unclear. In the meantime, the store is offering everything at half price as it prepares to wind down operations.
The local art scene is also preparing for new exhibitions, with Separate Reality gallery set to open "The Shape of Unease" on December 6. The exhibition will showcase works by Armando Ramos, who serves as head of Sculpture and chair of the Art Department at Santa Barbara City College. Guided by a distinct sense of duality, Ramos's newest works explore the complex tension between industrial and handmade elements, examining themes of irony versus sincerity and reverence versus irreverence. His ceramic baskets, created through sophisticated firing and glazing techniques, emphasize both fragility and negative space, while his cast-aluminum knots contemplate the intricate entanglement of time, memory, and function.
