Three Apples @ Royal/T

In perusing old posts, I realize that I've only linked to Royal/T but never actually talked about it. Odd. Sometimes something is so much a given that it gets overlooked, like egg rice or the cosplay art exhibit / cafe / bar that is a block away from my work.

Last night, my friend and I decided to brave the crowds and go see the Three Apples exhibit at Royal/T, since we both think Hello Kitty is funny and cute. It's called Three Apples, by the way, because that's how much Hello Kitty weighs- the same as three apples.

Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
http://www.royal-t.org/

Telephone: 310.559.6300

Sunday - Saturday:
10:00 am - 10:00 pm

(click any photo for a larger version)









We got to Royal/T at around 9:00 and were pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't crowded at all. There had been lines around the block on previous days. The cafe isn't taking reservations during the Hello Kitty madness (10/23 - 11/15), so we got pretty lucky.












I got green tea and ham-and-cheese tramezzini- basically a stuffed sandwich made inside a Hello Kitty sandwich machine that prints her face onto the bread while sealing the edges.












We looked around- it was fun, though not very well laid-out. There are tons of stuff to look at, so much that the several photos I took don't even begin to show a fraction of it. There were game consoles, guitars, surfboards, an entire bathroom mocked up to be Kitty-licious, a kitchen, clothing, silverware, jewelry ... an exhaustive list of sparkly or pink Hello Kitty-themed items.

The sparkliest:












The biggest was a mock hot-air balloon, complete with controls, one of which let you dictate the amount of Fun! you were having.












Lots of paintings, most of which I liked, some of which I did not like at all. This was my least favorite, completely creepy and not in a good way:












Some of the pieces that I did like included these installations. I enjoy repetition, I think it's the OCD in me:





















Random photos from Royal/T. The outside window had a giant Kitty covering one side:









And inside, there was a little explanation of what Hello Kitty means, but it was difficult to read- even more so in a photo, which I took anyway:












Royal/T is very proud of its grade! All states do this now, right? Where restaurants and bars are inspected and graded? I have never stepped foot in anyplace that has received a C, and only rarely go somewhere that's received a B.












The mock-up of a Hello Kitty house. It had a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and closet. Really just an explosion of Kitty-palooza.









A Kitty cuckoo? And a Kitty with her house, complete with pumpkins painted white and decorated with (what else?) Kitty:












I have no idea if this actually does anything, but it lights up in different colors and is super tall- not something I'd have in my house, even as a nightlight:












They had a bunch of photos of Lady Gaga sporting Hello Kitty wares. I really LOVED the shoes in one of the pictures, so I took a close-up and am hoping someone decides to manufacture the things at a reasonable price. Also. Can someone tell her to PUT ON SOME PANTS??:












Creepy portion of the Lady Gaga shoot, wherein she has shot and killed and skinned several Kitties and then painted kawaii eyes onto her eyelids. The hairbow is cute. I can give her that:












A terrible picture, but I really like this tree that was hung entirely with cell phone straps. Too bad iPhones are useless when it comes to ease of decoration:












Paintings, paintings, paintings! Has any other iconic image spawned so much work?? This isn't even half of the paintings they had, just the ones that were easy to snap a photo of or close to me:












Dia de los Muertos Kitty. There were two of these, but this one was better. And I was getting sick of taking pictures:









Elvis Kitty, painted on black velvet. I wish the painting had been executed a bit better, more like the real Elvis paintings on velvet, but it was still a funny concept:












My favorites, for no apparent reason other than my quirky taste:












No one that leaves comments on my blog is from L.A., but in case anyone that reads this is, here are the remaining Three Apples events at Royal/T:

Saturday, 11/7- Hello Kitty Artist Party
JapanLA presents Hello Kitty Artist Party in association with Juxtapoz (if you've never seen an issue of Juxtapoz, get thee one pronto!)
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Friday, 11/13- Hello Kitty Goth Party
(Oh. Yes. Goth Hello Kitty? Why not??)
8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Saturday, 11/14- Fashion Show Party
(The last hurrah before Three Apples leaves.)
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

I doubt I'll go to any of the events, but I may go for brunch one day during the week. The brunch menu was intriguing, and a mimosa or two really makes the workday go by so much faster.

Happy birthday, Kitty!