Meet James L. FRACHON | Creator of L.A Loire Atlantique

We had the good fortune of connecting with James L. FRACHON and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James L., maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?

The beginning of L.A Loire Atlantique is a bit like the Bee Gees’s song :  « I started a joke »

This whole adventure started when my wife Claire and I would be driving from a region of France called Loire Atlantique to Paris, telling our friends we just spent « Two days in L.A »

Of course people were stunned : « What, L.A. Los Angeles ? »
And us to answer, « No…L.A…Loire Atlantique »

The joke continued for more than twenty years, until in 2018 we thought « Hey…why don’t we create a store that would sell that joke. Why don’t we create Tshirts, Sweatshirts that will show a big L.A with a tiny line under it with the quote « Loire Atlantique ». Something that triggers in everyone’s brain « Los Angeles » but turns into a hilarious concept when « Loire Atlantique » is read underneath.

Claire and I both come from the film industry in Paris. I’ve been producing and distributing films, directing shorts, TV programs and documentaries while she was working in PR and feature film distribution. I also spent more than 20 years going back and forth from Los Angeles to France, therefore, we really had our own experience as a rich background for the L.A store project.

We rented a spot in the beach town of LA BAULE in June 2018, decorated the place using our own stuff. Movie props, film cameras too old to be used today (16mm, Betacam), heavy tripods to hold the metal bars for the hangers, we pinned on the walls our collection of movie posters from Mondo, hanged my first Burton Snowboard from Jake Burton back in 79′ or my Logan skateboard from the happy days skating in L.A when Lord of Dogtowns ruled the streets.

So the whole place represented our world, in a away, and triggered curiosity, sympathy and joy among customers. People really felt they were not entering a regular franchise store, but something completely different with a offbeat atmosphere
«Wow, i am so pround to live in L.A now » said one person smiling.
« This place is more than a store, it’s a story » another would say.

And for the last five years since we opened, it’s always been the same reaction on the street, with people looking at our store display.
“Look…this is the other L.A, our L.A !”

These comments make your day because you know you aimed right with this concept.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I created my own film company MYGALE FILMS, in the early 90’s because I wanted to distribute in the french home video market one of my favorite TV series as a child : Gerry Anderson’s THUNDERBIRDS.
I knew nothing about video distribution, but all i knew was that i wanted to get the rights of this cult animation series. I met with the top executives of the company ITC ENTERTAINMENT from Los Angeles (Jim Marrinan and Josh Elbaum) and after 15min, they gave me the french rights simply because they knew they had the most motivated person to do the job and that through my work and success, they’d be able to sell THUNDERBIRDS to all the other countries.
And it happened.

Years later i decided to direct a horror short film about a couple renting a house and ending up attacked by tarantulas. (Always loved spiders as a child wanted to become an arachnologist) My short film was a mix between : « very scary » with « very silly ». I produced it on my own, got selected to the biggest french horror film festival of Gerardmer, and ended up awarded as « Best short film » in 2002 by director Norman Jewison (Rollerball, Thomas Crown affair etc) Obviously something you don’t forget.

Recently, i created a brand with my wife in which we turn the famous letters L.A. LOS ANGELES into L.A LOIRE ATLANTIQUE, a region on the West Coast of France. Here again, Claire and I decided we would invest our own money to try to open a store without knowing anything about it and without any marketing studies. We knew we had to try because we strongly believed it would work. And it worked

Long story short, try to do whatever you want and try not to have anyone confuse you because that’s when you end up being lost. Keep track with your goal and move ahead. If you succeed, great. If you don’t, at least you tried and that’s a success as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Apple Pan, Wexler’s, Carneys, Philipe the original, Canters, Fatburger or Musso & Franck. These spots represent the L.A. i enjoy.

Of course i would suggest Amoeba for music lovers even though i miss the huge store on Sunset.
Last Book Store is a must place to visit, along with Wacko on Hollywood Bld. An offbeat library displaying amazing artists. That’s how i met Laurie Lipton, an impressive artist in L.A whose life is dedicated to drawing with a pencil on giant canevas, the mad world we live in, we such a talent !
Another original museum to visit on Selma Ave is called MOD that stands for the Museum of Death, created by old friends JD Healy and Cathee Schultz.

Melrose was great before Covid with all the vintage clothing stores.

I like to visit cemeteries and supermarkets because it’s fun to see what physical and metaphysical a city has to offer.
Trader’s Joe is great because i think they have good wines for a fair price (a complicated equation in L.A. mostly when you come from France). And on the metaphysical side, I’d say Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a great spot to visit, even though I am more used to the much older style of the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Claire UHLHORN – FRACHON my wife cofounder of L.A Loire Atlantique 

Website: www.laloireatlantique.com

Instagram: la.loireatlantique

Facebook: L.A Loire Atlantique

Image Credits
(c) James L. Frachon