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Creating A District Within a District

Hoping to create a vibe all their own, merchants on Kettner Boulevard in Little Italy have banded together to form the Kettner Art & Design District, a collaboration of art and design businesses located on the boulevard.

The district is home to 15 new art and design businesses, many of which have settled in within the last two years.

The boulevard, which has evolved into a hip section of Little Italy, is modeled after New York’s SoHo District, which is known for its artistic and trendy stores, said Merrilee Ekstrom, the president of the Kettner Art & Design District.

“We are trying to build something like what SoHo has in New York — where when you go to SoHo, you can walk down and there are boutiques and little shops. And give an alternative, give that real local feel,” Ekstrom said. “If you think of SoHo in New York, it is close to the Little Italy in New York. So there are just some similarities. It is more about having that urban setting and to have urban shops to go to as opposed to most of California, which is about going to a mall or a strip mall.”

To raise awareness of the district, the group has developed Kettner Nights, a progressive exhibition of the stores and galleries, much like North Park’s Ray at Night, a gallery walk held the second Saturday of every month.

The first Kettner Nights took place on Jan. 14 and drew more than 1,200 visitors to the district between the events hours of 6-9 p.m., said Ekstrom, who also owns Vetro, in the 1700 block of Kettner with her business partner, James Niebling.

Owned and operated by Ekstrom and Niebling, Vetro sells vintage hand-blown American, Italian, Scandinavian and Danish glass pieces, many of which have come from Niebling’s own private collection.

“KADD is a fascinating and exciting opportunity for all the business to come together to form this district,” said Niebling, who is also the treasurer of KADD.


Developing A Distinct Region

The move toward forming an organization, which strives to develop and promote the area into a distinct region, follows the trend done at other San Diego destinations, such as the improvements made in the Gaslamp Quarter by the Gaslamp Quarter Association and in North Park, which, in September, completed more than $100,000 worth of streetscape improvements to revitalize the Ray Street Arts and Culture District.

Marco Li Mandri, the president of the Little Italy Association, a merchant group consisting of 600 members, said he would like to see Little Italy, as a whole, gain awareness.

“They are one of many groups in Little Italy,” he said. “We think it is great that they organized themselves, but what about the people on India (Street). The issue is how do we bring all the art and design businesses together?”

The district should encompass the entire area, much like the Gaslamp Quarter, which consists of parts of Fourth Avenue as well as Fifth and Sixth avenues, Li Mandri said.

“We want people to identify with the whole region,” he said.

And building traffic within Kettner Boulevard and throughout all of Little Italy is a goal for the district, which was formed in late 2004 and consists of small owner-operated businesses with an average of two employees.

“What it comes down to is we really want to build a district within a district,” Ekstrom said. “We want to complement the Little Italy district that’s here, but really look at Kettner Boulevard specifically because that is where all of our businesses are based and actually enhance our street.”


Kettner Nights

The district, which has plans to host six more Kettner Nights, with the next one scheduled for March 4, plans to distinguish Little Italy as a location with more than what is just available on India Street, which, for so long, has been the mainstay of Little Italy.

“People don’t realize that Little Italy is more than just India Street,” Ekstrom said. “There is just something to this culture and this community that really marries well to our business. When you look at this community, there are a ton of architects, interior design businesses, a lot of these type of (creative) businesses. There is a lot to this district within a district.”

One of the first shops to open up on Kettner was Mixture, which, like its name implies, is a mixture of modern furniture, home accessories, custom furniture design, interior design and one of San Diego’s largest collections of locally consigned artwork.

Owned and operated by Charles Taylor, Brumby Broussard and Misti See, Mixture, in the 2200 block of Kettner, reflects the eclectic feel of the district.

“I think Kettner gives people a place to go and find anything that is oriented around design,” said co-founder Taylor, who opened Mixture in December 2003. “Each store has its own unique identity.”

Scott White, owner of Scott White Contemporary Art, in the 2400 block of Kettner Boulevard, said that many of these art and design based stores offer the same types of products one can find in more well-known art meccas such as Los Angeles or New York.

“If you look within our own resources (in San Diego) you will be surprised at the things you will find.” White said. “You are going to see that we have things that you can find in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles.”

But getting the word out about the culture and art available in San Diego, and especially on Kettner, has been a challenge, he said.

“I work with major collectors all over the world, and in all my years, San Diego culturally has always been considered a backwater,” said White, who has been an art dealer for nearly 30 years. “There are many local people who travel to New York, to Chicago, acquiring (art) but neglecting to look at what San Diego has. I’d like to see these people shop local and think local.”

The district also has plans to work with the Little Italy Association, a merchant group consisting of 600 members, to improve the area’s look regarding street improvements, increasing parking, putting up banners, adding an additional Little Italy sign on Kettner and putting up streetlights, White said.

Li Mandri said KADD is one building block in the redevelopment of the Little Italy area, which encompasses 56 square blocks from south of Laurel Street to Ash Street and from the coastline to Interstate 5 and down to Union Street.

“Art and design based companies in Little Italy have been around for many, many years,” Li Mandri said. “The fact that they are evolving on Kettner is great. KADD is just one piece of the puzzle.”

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