A look at “A Dinosaur in the City” *technically not a dinosaur, the latest window display at The Time Travel Mart

Earlier this Spring, a new window display appeared in our Echo Park Time Travel Mart!  Conceptualized and built by Shing Yin Khor with a fabulous and striking mural painted on-site by Jared Andrew Schorr, customers can experience a miniature 826 City complete with representations of each of our 9 chapters.  The city remains under the watchful eyes of an oversized green prehistoric creature, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a closer look, too.  In fact, this display has an opportunity for you to add your own specialty to the shop in the neighborhood.  Let's find out more directly from Shing and Jared!

How did you come up with the idea for this window installation?

SHING: I was really inspired by the history of Echo Park, and the evolutions through time of Echo Park buildings - and the Time Travel Mart itself was immensely inspiring in terms of how playful it could be with anachronistic time periods. Which is why there is a prehistoric lizard in there - I’ve honestly been looking for an excuse to build a large puppet of my favourite prehistoric creature, the Dimetrodon (not technically a dinosaur, although it makes it into a lot of dinosaur toy packs).

Did that idea evolve?

SHING: Yes, and I’m happy it did! The buildings were supposed to be “past, present, and future” buildings, but I put in a Robot Repair store as a “future” building, which I didn’t know was basically 826 Michigan’s store (Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair)! After talking to Wilson and learning more about the other absolutely delightful 826 National storefronts, I was inspired to pay homage to as many as I could.

JARED: And I had the much easier job of making nondescript storefronts. It was fun thinking of the future city skyline brightly peeking through the acrid orange sky. The few colors we chose really helped make it feel grounded, but distant. Now and Then.

Any surprising challenges in creating the display?

SHING: I had a pretty ambitious goal of making the dinosaur move using a combination of marionette and automata techniques, but as we were building everything in, I quickly realized that I didn’t quite trust that to be sturdy enough for the amount of foot traffic and interaction that the Time Travel Mart gets. Wilson and I quickly brainstormed another interactive option, and I actually like it so much better!

JARED: We are two tiny people, but then you add tools, a giant dinosaur, and a little beautiful city, and the window display is a lot more challenging to move around in. But it was a fun challenge!

What is your background in creating imagery?

SHING: I’m a set designer and large-scale installation artist, but I’m also a graphic novelist (The American Dream?, The Legend of Auntie Po). I’ve always drawn, built, and sculpted things! I work in a lot of different mediums, but tangible physical mediums are where I am happiest.

JARED: I’ve been an illustrator for 15 years. I specialize in cut paper! I’ve drawn kids' books (Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights, Better Together) designed with great clients (BEAR, Disney, Highlights). I’ve always loved making things with my hands, with what's in front of me.

How did you and Jared decide to take on the project together?  How do the two of you know one another?

SHING: We’ve known each other in the greater LA art scene for a while, but our partners are old friends, so we’ve had many opportunities to hang out more in the last couple of years! When I started designing this project, Jared’s bright and colorful art was the first example I thought of for an accompanying mural, and I knew he’d be a great collaborator. 

JARED: Yeah, I knew of Shing and very much admired their work. Then the universe gave us this amazing push together through our partners, and now we’re all old friends! When Shing asked me to help with the project, I immediately started sketching while we were on the phone. I was so excited to collaborate, and it was so fun!

What gets you up and moving in the morning--what excites you about a new project?

SHING: I love digging in and getting my hands dirty. Any day I spend in my workshop getting paint and sawdust all over is a good day (I am traditionally less excited about the end of the day, when I have to clean up all the paint and sawdust).

JARED: Lots of coffee! Making something new that only I can make. I learn something on every project, and I am still so excited about what I can do with illustration and cutting paper. 

How did you first hear about 826LA & The Time Travel Mart?

SHING: I volunteered a bit in the writing center and with college admission letter reviews a couple of years ago, but I feel like the Time Travel Mart has always been part of Los Angeles for as long as I’ve lived here. In 1913, one of the paleontologists working on the excavations at the La Brea Tar Pits told me I simply had to check out the canned Mammoth Chunks at the Time Travel Mart, but it took a couple more decades before I finally made it into the store.

JARED: I’ve been a big fan of 826LA and The Time Travel Mart since day one. It is such a vital and vibrant program for the people of LA, all behind a simple, silly, brilliant idea. All of the 826 storefronts nationwide do such amazing and important work. I then had the awesome opportunity to design and illustrate the 2023-2024 826LA Impact Report! Seeing and contributing to the actual impact on the community was inspiring.
Have you been to any of our other locations?

SHING: I’ve been to the Pirate Supply Store in San Francisco and the Superhero Supply Store in NYC! The Bigfoot Research Institute and Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute are the two I am most excited to visit, because I love playful interpretations of research institutions.

JARED: I’ve also had the privilege of going to the Pirate Supply and Superhero Supply. Along with Time Travel Mart, they do such an amazing job of transporting you into a whole other world, to inspire kids to see themselves and their writing differently. I would love to go see the Secret Agent Supply in Chicago (cause I’m in the Super Cool Spy Club) and will definitely visit there next time I’m there! 

If you could create a new 826 Storefront, what would you want to see?

SHING: I would create the Arthropod General Store. We would sell exoskeleton polish, bug repellent, and hats. We would also save a lot on real estate costs because we wouldn’t have to be very large to serve our primary customer base. As long as the entrance door is at least 16 inches wide, even the larger horseshoe crabs should be able to get in.

JARED: I think for the Secret Agent supply, it would be fun to make a plain room that has secret compartments in the walls. But instead of weapons, they have art supplies. Then you have to draw a secret message that you have to hide somewhere in the storefront.  

Drop by the Echo Park Time Travel Mart any day between 12 PM and 6 PM to check things out!