Cheerio Collective is a storefront that hosts live events and sells vintage clothing atop a mosaic stone floor. Some of Cheerio Collective’s past events have been flea markets, repair vendor fairs and jam sessions. Located at 5917 N Figueroa St., they are open to the public as a resale store and event space.
Cheerio Collective co-founder Griffen Thompson said his wife, Lureena Thompson, deserves much of the credit for the space they have created. According to Thompson, his wife’s interests influenced the vision of their store.
“She loves collecting clothes, knickknacks and vintage goodies,” Thompson said. “She also has a background in comedy and improv, which was the impetus for creating a space for live events as well.”
Thompson said his wife was also a driving force behind their mosaic floor.
“She’s the mad artist behind it; she hand-placed every single stone,” Thompson said. “We had this 16-foot scaffolding. She would place one stone down, climb up, look down at the stone in context of everything else, and say ‘It needs to be rotated 30 degrees.'”
According to Thompson, the floor was made of free recycled material from people’s kitchen countertops. Thompson said the process of creating the floor also created a bond with the community; the fire station next door cheered them on during construction.
“When we were installing the floor, it wasn’t intended, but it was almost like performance art,” Thompson said, “People would walk by, poking their heads in. Even our neighbors were our partners.”
According to Thompson, Cheerio Collective’s event space can be moved around for various occasions.
“Everything is on wheels, so we can change the layout in an hour, set up chairs, and we have our stage,” Thompson said. “We’re able to transform from a vintage store to a live comedy show.”
First-time visitor Rebecca Sader said she loved the concept and design of the space.
“I’d heard about it from friends, and I like the idea of a performance space that’s also another space,” Sader said.
Sean Sader said he is a musician and a returning visitor at Cheerio Collective and hopes to perform in the space one day.
“I’m really interested in experiencing the events and maybe booking an event myself sometime,” Sean Sader said.
Cheerio Collective is not just a store or community space, Thompson said, but a combination of both.
“With everything together, we love the energy — dare I say vibe,” Thompson said. “So we decided not to have it be a separate store and event space.”
Thompson said he is very grateful for the long journey that he and his wife have been on and is grateful for how it has turned out.
“Seeing the hard work pay off, […] we’re graced with a full room of people standing on these stones,” Thompson said. “The stones were crooked and uneven for so long until we finally installed them, and no one tripped.”
Contact Cole Banks at cbanks@oxy.edu
