Footloose and Fancy-Free in Los Angeles

By Reena Jana
July 8, 2011

A popular Los Angeles-based design writer, Alissa Walker lives up to her name, literally. She is, as she identifies herself on her blog, gelatobaby.com, “a walker in L.A.” Which means in a city where cars are the ultimate status symbol, she does not have one or use one. Pretty much ever. And, yes, as if the image of the old-school ice cream truck on the masthead of her blog isn't indication enough, she adores gelato, too—to the point where her cute business card is a plastic gelato spoon emblazoned with the phrase “Got a scoop?” along with her email address.

Walker walks to everything with in a two-to-three mile radius of her house and does a bike/bus combo for larger distances. She says, "I probably walk 10-15 miles a week and ride my bike about 30-40 miles a week." She also leads an architectural walking tour in the Silver Lake neighborhood and does an annual 40-mile walk from Downtown to Hollywood that takes two days and includes walking up over 100 public stairways.

On her blog, Walker writes mostly about a life spent happily navigating Los Angeles, as she puts it, arriving "almost everywhere via bus, subway, sidewalks and stairs." She tells readers about the chickens she saw on the street corner, the way her orange bike matches the city's public buses, how she first gave up her car and figured out a way to fulfill her basic needs (groceries, drugstore, gelato") by walking, the best way to see the Hollywood sign and the most stylish walking shoes. (She also writes about gelato, though she gave it up for the month of June.)

Alissa Walker

images from Alissa Walker's blog, gelatobaby.com: To get to the other side and The best way to see the Hollywood sign

On Twitter, where her handle is, naturally, @gelatobaby, her 7,000-plus followers read not only her latest stories for magazines such as GOOD and Dwell, but also about the intriguing design tours she co-hosts in L.A. (part of the deLab, as in “design East of La Brea” series) and the museum exhibitions and other programs that she curates. An entrepreneurial thinker who works with both social and traditional media to spark thoughtful conversations on how design can help improve the world, Walker also works as an associate producer for the public radio show "DnA: Design and Architecture" and is a founding writer for Fast Company magazine’s Co.Design web site, which won a National Magazine Award earlier this year.

Recently, she helped to launch GOOD LA, the first local online community that Good, the multi-platform media company, has created. For GOOD LA, Walker writes a sunny—as in optimistic—piece a day, encouraging Angelinos to support their area’s cultural scene and to take real action to solve urban challenges within their city.

Given her interests and passions, we asked Walker about her favorite walking gear and writing-related gadgets, as well as the design exhibitions and objects that have caught her eye of late.

And, of course, we had to ask why she's so obsessed with gelato. The answer: Gelato has long served as Walker's inspiration; she had her “aha!” moment when she decided to pursue writing as a profession while happily eating pistachio and stracciatella gelati while strolling around Italy seven years ago—a trip she took after a previous career in advertising wasn’t panning out the way she expected. Lucky for us, Walker is still walking and writing (and, we hope, back to enjoying her gelato, too).

Alissa Walker

Knowing the distance and Matched set

The Inside Source: You walk in Los Angeles. Why?

Alissa Walker: It started as a game, really. I'd try to get somewhere like the grocery store without a car just to see if I could do it, and when I realized that was easy, I tried taking the bus on longer and more complex journeys. It was so much more fun than driving—it's an adventure every time I leave my house—that I realized I didn't really want to have a car anymore.

The Inside Source: How does walking in L.A. change your experience of the city that so many associate with driving?

Alissa Walker: Most people never, ever consider not driving. It's almost like a secret society here in Los Angeles, this under-explored world of pedestrian life and public transit. I have met new friends, stumbled across stories, learned about my neighborhood, and gotten writing assignments from walking, and I feel so much more invested in Los Angeles. Plus, walking provides great brand equity for my name.

The Inside Source: What are your favorite walking-related gadgets and gear?

Alissa Walker: The iPhone has definitely changed the way that I interact with my city. I don't know how I would have done it before. I use my phone for everything, from mapping to an app that tells me when the next bus is coming, to catching up on reading. Also, maybe not a gadget but just as high-tech: shoes. I'm always looking for stylish shoes that I can walk in all day. My latest obsessions are the Zig Zag jellies designed by the Campana Brothers for Melissa and pink glitter slip-ons by TOMS. I also just got a bike, which has completely changed the way I get around L.A. again. I ride a beautiful Public J7 that's traffic cone-orange. I also recommend my helmet, a silver glitter number by Nutcase.

The Inside Source: You’re quite the prolific writer. What do you type on?

Alissa Walker: The first computer I ever used was one of the earliest Macs, so I'm not even sure I'd be able to physically use a PC. I write on the new 13-inch MacBook Air, which is so light that I thought I left it at airport security one time and ran all the way back only to find that it was in my purse. I might lose my design-writing license for this, but I have only touched an iPad once or twice. I actually don't know if I'll ever get one. I am glad it exists, I swear—I care about our future and the farm-tending games we can play in it—but I get by fine with my iPhone and my Air.

The Inside Source: As a design writer and radio-show producer, you must attend a lot of cool exhibitions in LA and elsewhere. What are the best museum shows you’ve seen recently?

Alissa Walker: The most exciting show I've seen in a long time is up here in Los Angeles through August 8, "Art in the Streets" at MOCA. The show itself is like an explosion of happiness—in every piece of work, you can see the joy the artist had creating it. It's just incredible to see the same work in a gallery that you've seen on walls and buildings and sidewalks all over L.A. There's all this criticism about how if you take street art off the streets it's no longer street art, but I got to go and interview a bunch of the artists on the day of the opening—many of whom grew up in the poorest, most dangerous neighborhoods in the city—and they were so humbled and honored that a museum had recognized their work.

The Inside Source: Is there any old-school tech that you love…and collect?

Alissa Walker: We have an old jukebox—a Seeburg Select-o-Matic that my parents bought from a bar outside Denver and I grew up with in my house. When we moved into our place they shipped it to us. It's gorgeous. In fact, there's a jukebox like ours for sale on eBay right now, which is just too amazing! You should buy this jukebox! Anyway, my boyfriend, the designer and artist Keith Scharwath, restored ours and updated all the labels. We like to keep it filled with a mix of old and new music and are always on the lookout for new 45s—often buying them on eBay. I like finding A/B side combinations where both songs are really good, and that doesn't happen very often. Like this rare Madonna 45 with "Borderline" on one side and "Holiday" on the other. Instant 80's basement rec room dance party.

Alissa Walker

A gelato-less June and Jellin'

The Inside Source: You clearly love gelato. What sort of gelato-related equipment or gear do you own...or wish you owned?

Alissa Walker: Gelato is serious, serious business to me, so I think I'd rather leave the gelato-making to the professionals. I make my own ice cream in the ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid 5 Quart Stand Mixer (which is, of course, pink). It works really well, but I prefer the gelateria. What I'm really interested in right now are these human-powered ice cream makers. The Donvier is the typical hand-crank bucket that you can give to a kid and tell them to churn it until ice cream comes out. And I love this Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker ball where you send the kids into the backyard to play soccer and then—voila!—fudge ripple!

The Inside Source: What is the elegant design object that you most covet these days?

Alissa Walker: I always wear dresses so I am on constant alert for fantastic frocks—but namely, vintage Marimekko dresses. I grew up with the Unikko fabric in my nursery, and I've always had a connection to it; I think the pattern somehow impressed itself upon my still-soft skull... I do look for Marimekko on eBay all the time but the vintage pieces are very hard to find. I might have to settle for buying some vintage fabric and making my own.

The Inside Source: Speaking of your childhood memories and its influence on you, I’ve read that your family has a certain thing for the Star Wars films—and you often list that Star Wars is a subject, besides design, that you enjoy writing about.

Alissa Walker: The original trilogy Star Wars films play a very special role in my family: Each of the children were born in a year that a Star Wars film came out, so when my brother was born, my parents had to name him Luke Sky Walker. This is not a joke, I wrote a story about it for the L.A. Times. (I'm serious. He's getting married this summer, I can show you his wedding invitation.) We all know every single line and I'm pretty sure we could carry on a conversation with each other in all the languages (not the ones from the prequels—we don't even acknowledge those exist). I actually don't own a single movie, but if I rented them, I'd want to get the original theatrical releases streamed to my computer—not the "re-released" ones that Lucas mucked up.

The Inside Source: Is there a gadget that changed your life—sort of like Luke Skywalker’s light saber?

Alissa Walker: My Leica D-LUX 4 camera. I've liked taking photos my whole life, but it wasn't until I made an investment in this camera that I started carrying one with me all the time. I wear the strap around my neck like an accessory—nerd bling. I'm not saying it made me into this great photographer or anything, but it makes my amateur photos somehow look acceptable for public viewing. Being able to capture the little things I see on the streets and sidewalks so easily has absolutely changed the way I look at the world.

Design expert and author Alissa Walker shares her favorite gadgets and gear.

13-inch MacBook Air

Ultra-slim and portable, this small MacBook Air computer is so light, that Walker once thought she left it on an airport security conveyor belt but she actually had it in her purse all along.
iPhone 4

As someone who navigates Los Angeles often on foot, Walker uses her iPhone and various map apps with GPS capabilities to help her find pedestrian routes to restaurants, shops, and museums. She also downloads books to read on her iPhone when she rides the bus.
TOMS Glitter Shoes

(buy it now price, $19.99)

Strutting in L.A. means wearing comfy shoes. Walker loves glittery flats by TOMS. For each pair purchased, the company sends a pair to a child in need, too.
Melissa Zig Zag Jelly Shoes

(buy it now price, $89.95)

And if there’s ever rain in L.A., Walker will don her stylish jelly flats designed by hip Brazilian designers the Campana brothers for Melissa. They’re so cute that she wears them on sunny days, too.
Seeburg Select-o-Matic Jukebox

(buy it now price, $3,000)

One of Walker’s prized possessions is the vintage Seeberg Select-o-Matic Jukebook that she grew up with. Her parents later shipped it to her and her boyfriend in Los Angeles as a gift. They restored it and filled it with a mix of 1980s and new tunes.
Leica D-LUX 4 Camera

(buy it now price, $600)

One of Walker’s favorite pieces of “nerd bling” is her trusty Leica D-Lux 4 camera. She snaps personal pix and photos for her blog.
Nutcase Helmet

(buy it now price, $58)

When Walkers rides her bike in Los Angeles, she and relies on a sturdy and chic helmet by Nutcase, a company known for its eye-catching patterns and colors.
KitchenAid Artisan Mixer

(buy it now price, $284.99)

Walker leaves gelato-making to the pros, but makes ice cream at home with her trusty KitchenAid Artisan mixer, which she uses to stir ingredients
Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker

(buy it now price, $30)

Walker loves how kids of all ages put ingredients such as cream, sugar, and vanilla extract into this ball, close it, then play catch or soccer—et voila, they’re churning real ice cream while getting exercise!
Vintage Marimekko Fabric

(buy it now price, $85)

One of Walker’s earliest memories that helped shaped her interest in design: the colorful and graphic patterns of Marimekko fabric, which decorated her nursery. She often searches eBay for vintage Marimekko dresses and material, namely of the famous Unikko floral pattern.
Star Wars Trilogy DVD Boxed Set

(buy it now price, $70.79)

Walker and her two siblings were each born in years that one of the original Star Wars movies were released; her brother is even named Luke Sky Walker. Like a lot of people in her generation, she can quote almost any line from one of these films.