12 DIGS.NET | 7.19.2019
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P R O F I L E | H A M M E R & S P E A R
T
he idea of mixing one's personal and
professional lives is not the rarity it once was.
Many partners are coupling interests and
combining talents as seamlessly as a signature indoor.
outdoor living space in Los Angeles. Not unlike
the minds behind burgeoning L.A. design brand
Hammer and Spear, spouses Scott Jarrell and Kristan
Cunningham.
After separate trajectories in the television
business (Cunningham hosted HGTV's Design on a
Dime and was a correspondent for Rachel Ray), the
couple made a significant life pivot, joining forces to
A union of designers and aesthetics—
for the founders of Los Angeles.born
brand Hammer and Spear, success
takes t wo.
Team Work
W R I T T E N B Y J E N N T H O R N T O N
launch Hammer and Spear in 2013. Since that time,
they have watched the brand balloon, stimulating an
expansion to bring its multidisciplinary design studio
and subsequent showroom under one roof, that of a
historic brick building in the L.A. Downtown Arts
District, a substantial 5,000 square feet of curated
environs that speaks especially well to the currents of
the resurgent neighborhood.
Featuring fluidity between settings, Hammer and
Spear has a kind of whole.house feel, as if one could
move into the showroom and never really know they
were in a retail environment. Certainly it's tempting.
e stylistic direction is quite sumptuous—moody
and industrial, with a masculine sense and near.
perfect understanding of how to mix accents with
ease. It is edgy and atmospheric, the urban.cool
reflection of DTLA. All is the result of the artistic
alchemy and thoughtful collaboration at the core of
the company.
Although best.known as a brand that bridges
different aesthetics and centuries in a contemporary
way—an exceedingly smart approach in a town with
myriad architectural styles—Hammer and Spear also
leans quite local, representing and collaborating with
L.A. makers. Look past the curated merch and more
than a few creative types milling about and one senses a
salon.like feel permeating the space, which is filled with
furnishings and apothecary items that are stylistically
symbiotic, with the likes of vintage rugs from Morocco,
a traditional leather Chesterfield sofa and other pieces.
It's a layered, collected aesthetic that looks a lot like
how one actually wants to lives—comfortably, with
perfection.is.in.the.imperfection idea.
As effortless as Jarrell and Cunningham make
it all look, the business they continue to build is
backboned by a great deal of refining work. e name
"Hammer and Spear" suggests nothing less, but in
reality, "Hammer" speaks to Cunningham's nickname
("e Hammer") and "Spear" references the name
last Jarrell, which means "man with the spear" in the
Norse/Scandinavian language. All helps to establish
a narrative, which is a big part of the Hammer
and Spear ethos. For Jarrell and Cunningham,
curating, community building and conceptualizing
environments is simply the story of their lives.
hammerandspear.com
