The first thing one notices upon walking into the offices of Vain Media is the color scheme: pink and black adorn the windows, walls, and furniture. Then there are the giant stuffed animals, which according to Steven Schkolne, Vain’s chief executive officer, help maintain a calm office environment. We sat down with him to learn more about his mobile app and game company, and what drew him to the Historic Core.
Those stuffed animals are awesome. What is this place?
We are Vain Media, and we develop, market, and sell interactive software products for online, mobile, as well as other emerging media platforms. Our clients are very diverse, from corporate brands and entertainment companies to celebrities and boutique businesses. In fact, we started in the Toy District, and have been in the Historic Core for two years now. However, I’ve been living here for eight years, and so I’m no stranger to downtown. It has definitely changed, but even with all of the economic development and change you still get that mixture, which makes it feel more vibrant.
But specifically, why Vain, and why Historic Downtown LA?
There are certainly a lot of similar companies on the West side, but I think there is a migration to the East side because that environment isn’t as creatively stimulating as it is here. In this part of town, we see the old and the new coming together. You see cultural forces coming together. There’s a great mix of languages, socio-economic levels, and visuals–like Spring Street. Just the way people dress walking along Spring St., you see experimentation. And here at Vain Media, we are often on the cutting edge in trying to forge new ground, and I think having that variety and culture is a really great source of energy for the work that we do.
Find out more about Vain Media by visiting them on Facebook.
