New Store Brings a Touch of Melrose to Sherman Oaks

 The No Roses Gallery opened its doors this month in the heart of what is being called 'Celebrity Row' in Sherman Oaks.

Talking here about Ventura Boulevard near Woodman where celebrities such as Torri Spelling, Melissa Joan Hart, Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin have opened retail stores.

No Roses is a combination art gallery and boutique jewelry store,  but why the name 'No Roses?'

Co-Owner Lisa Hall says,"the name is a reflection on the premise that jewelry always makes better gifts than roses."

"A friend of mine told me once that a woman will greatly prefer jewelry, over roses that are going to fade away in a day or two," added Hall

The new store is a shot in the arm for Ventura Boulevard's commercial real estate scene where the vacancy rate is estimated at 14%.

Husband and wife team Lisa and Tracy Hall selected the Sherman Oaks site after scouting locations in several other communities including Beverly Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake.

"It just felt right to do it here in Sherman Oaks,” Tracy Hall said. “This is a neighborhood that’s really been on its way up as far as foot traffic and what’s going on around us. We feel it’s really a good match between what we have to
offer and the people here.”

No Roses Gallery features works for sale from more than a dozen artists that are displayed in a gallery setting with prices ranging from $25 into the thousands. The selected artists, who are mostly local to Los Angeles will be rotated roughly every six weeks. The gallery also includes three house lines created by Lisa Hall, a graduate of Otis College of Art and Design who launched her well-received No Roses Studio line in 2004.

“What we look for is a really distinctive look that has an artistic point of view,” Hall said. “That includes using a material that not many people work with or having a feel that is different and unique. We want their work to stand out.”

Everything at No Roses Gallery is displayed openly so items can be touched or tried on as needed. The Halls said that’s part of the gallery’s emphasis on providing an approachable and comfortable setting for customers.

To that end, No Roses Gallery provides a large vanity mirror for customers so they can try on  jewelry pieces  along with a couch, which Tracy Hall noted with a smile tends to be occupied by husbands and children as the women in their lives make their way through the displays.

“We are really trying to bring a certain type of experience, a destination,” Lisa Hall said. “This is for people looking for gifts, or maybe who are on vacation and just browsing. It can be a great experience to find someplace like this when
you’re on vacation.”

No Roses Gallery has gotten off to a fast start, Lisa Hall said. Early customers have noted the space is akin to an artisan gallery one finds in the art district of San Francisco or along Melrose Avenue., but is relatively unknown to
Sherman Oaks.

“The response has already been pretty amazing,” Hall said. “We’ve had local shoppers coming in and a couple of celebrities that have said there is nothing like it in the neighborhood.”

No Roses Gallery, 13624 Ventura Blvd.,is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.