If you've spied a stylish button or pin on the collar of a Southern California buff around town or beyond, the sort of whimsical wearable that pays tribute to a well-loved local landmark, chances are good that Merch Motel created it.
The brand, which is "... inspired by signage and architecture of the past," has paid colorful tribute to a number of businesses, buildings, and neighborhoods around our history-filled and retro-fied region through eye-catching magnets, pins, buttons, keychains, and more.
Canter's on Fairfax has its own snazzy salmon-pink pin, while the Theme Building at LAX is captured, charmingly, in all of its mid-century spaciness.
Now Barkev Msrlyan is showing Altadena his enduring adoration through a series of fetching new pins, buttons, magnets, and keychains.
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The company announced that all proceeds for the in-the-works items — illustrations on the Merch Motel site reveal how they'll look — will be donated to fire relief efforts.
Mt. Lowe, Christmas Tree Lane, local songbirds, and a beautiful pin paying tribute to the Sahag Mesrob School, which was lost in the Eaton Fire, are among the heartfelt offerings. All proceeds from the school pin will help its rebuilding effort.
"I have spent the last week with friends and family, helping out our community," shared Merch Motel in a Jan. 15 post. "My heart aches. I've been more personal on here, sharing stories from these places that we've lost."
"I can't sleep or focus on anything else. While staying up late, I worked on these concepts to help raise funds."
You can read more about how this fundraising project came together, but there's no need to wait if you'd love some of these lovely items: You can pre-order your keychain, stickers, or magnets now.
Merch Motel has also been sharing snapshots of favorite Altadena spots in recent days on social media; check out the pictures, and moving comments, here.
