Why We Blew A Gajillion Dollars To Paint A Mural At 418 Molino Street
Colossal just set up shop in LA. Well, we didn’t just set up shop — we also covered that shop in 3,000 square feet of pure, unadulterated insanity. Here, co-founder Paul Lindahl explains why.
Paul: We opened a West Coast shop in the Arts District for two reasons.
First, we do way too much work these days to keep flying our crew from New York to cities all over the country. There just aren’t enough Bloody Marys on a plane to accommodate us, plus the staff at U-Haul, the Marriott, and the Home Depot all know us better than our own families. That ain’t good for anyone. So from now on, any work west of the Mississippi will be orchestrated and executed by the team at 418 Molino Street.
Second, we wanted to attract more talent. I’ve found that LA is full of people who see opportunity as a privilege not an entitlement — people who are real hard workers and are super down to push the limits of what’s possible. That’s exactly the type of person we’re looking for at Colossal. So this shop is where we’ll develop and train new blood so we can take on even more opportunity. As a result we’ll become a stronger, tighter team because with the right people in the right places, Colossal will be unstoppable.
The shop is in a really dope spot in the Arts District, one of the raddest neighborhoods in LA.
“Graffiti Fetish Pattern" by INSA / photo by dope magazine
"Redemption of the Angels" by Fin Dac / photo by Los Angeles times
"Peace by Piece" by Tristan Eaton /
photo by Nook Real Estate
"Non Toxic Revolution" by Shepard Fairey & Studio Number One / photo by Wakin Muklashy
The district is super vibrant and full of life, with paintings made by artists from all over the world around pretty much every corner. There’s an excitement that draws you in and inspires you to contribute to what’s going on. I think that comes as a result of so many people in the neighborhood making things and putting new ideas to work, and this is exactly the type of setting that will help us lay the best foundation for growing our West Coast team.
The building itself was boring and uncared for when we moved in. We covered every square inch in chaotic, hand painted madness to publicly display our intent to make shit that’s awesome for no reason other than to make shit that’s awesome.
This project was a massive logistical and financial undertaking for us. It took a year to develop the art, six months to find the time to squeeze it into our schedule, twelve guys brushing twelve-hour shifts for 30 days, a couple of Ivy League degrees worth of cash, and one poop in a kitchen drawer, but it doesn’t always have to make dollars to make sense, or maybe it doesn’t have to make sense at all, and it’s just fucking rad.
