Pat Lloyd (also known as PvL to some) is a dear friend of mine. It’s hard not to love his charismatic personality and I admire his sense of design, particularly his antique typewriter collection displayed throughout his home and his tendencies toward midcentury modern design. His home in Costa Mesa, California is filled with worldly treasures full of creative inspiration and since we’re in the thick of spring (cleaning or redecorating), this might be just what you need to be inspired to freshen up your space. I had the pleasure of taking an exclusive tour of his growing art collection along with our mutual friend and photog, Eugene Jack Lai. You can peek through Lai’s fun-filled lens at his photoblog: www.hasfunallthetime.com.
Love,
LH
“One of my favorite books is, Case Study Houses, by Taschen. It was an architect’s bible in the ’50s, documenting 36 case study prototype homes in the L.A. area. Number 22 is my favorite. I love midcentury modern design.”
“My uncle used to work with old race cars, particularly F1. Omega made this watch for his race team. The 12 o’clock is actually 25 degrees off because when you’re driving it’s pointing up.”
Accidental Picasso: “My ex-girlfriend’s dad had a bunch of these drawings covering his wall in his bathroom. His uncle was a big art dealer and he inherited this series of drawings, not knowing who they were by. I loved them so much that he ended up giving me a few. I went home and Googled it and they kept coming up as Picasso. I took them to an art dealer and they confirmed they were original. I ended up giving a lot of them back to my ex’s dad. They’re supposedly one of the last series of drawings Picasso did…they’re mostly self-portraits of him smoking cigarettes and lots of naked women.”
Le Sex: “Those are just letters that I found and put together. But I made up this story that it was from a restaurant so that my mom wouldn’t get mad at me.”
“That print is actually my girlfriend’s hands. I bought it before we were together. It just so happens she posed for an artist friend of hers and I bought the prints. We later discovered those were her hands when we got together.”
“This was my dad when he was young. A full Canadian tuxedo and axe. I never thought of myself being like my dad and then I saw this photo and was like, ‘Holy fuck I’m just like my dad!’ Boots, pants rolled up, the uniform, it’s awesome.”
“I think the easiest and best way to approach the creative process at home is just to live with it. People will put something up and then they’ll go, no, and move it. Put it up and just go through the process of living with it there and then go onto the next thing.”
“I used to be super into minimalism. Like, fuck it’s so rad to have a room with a chair and that’s it. Now I hate it. It’s so impractical and uncomfortable and that’s the last thing you want in your home. Now my sense of style has to be (in this order): comfortable, practical, unique. I love this vintage steamer trunk and my pj’s.”
“I love typewriters. When I was a kid I would go to this library down the street that had a bunch and just draw them. Then finally my parents got me one. And I started collecting them”
“This display of my collection of typewriters features a cross. It’s a statement of history. Back when the printing press was first introduced the church was against it because it gave people the freedom of speech and they could type whatever they want and put it out there so they were against the printing press.”
Pat Lloyd’s passport proves he’s well-traveled—every page is stamped and about 45 countries are represented. “Growing up, if I was studying the Sistine Chapel, my mom would fly me to Italy to see it,” says Lloyd, 29. The New Orleans-born, Ecuador-bred Volcom senior director of international first joined the surf-skate giant 11 years ago as a rep rider, but transitioned to his current gig upon discovering a void in the industry in Latin America. The avid surfer (he recently surfed Hollister Ranch in Santa Barbara) spends three weeks each month jetsetting for work and play, collecting artifacts for his midcentury-mod Costa Mesa bachelor pad.
“I’m inspired by David Hicks, who taught me to be ballsy with my décor.” If challenging the church in his dining room isn’t brazen, we’re not sure what is. He’s dedicated a wall to his collection of typewriters, which are displayed in modular shelves with exposed red light bulbs hovering in the shape of a cross. “It’s a mockery of the church, which didn’t like typewriters because they symbolized freedom of speech back when the idea of a portable machine was mind-blowing,” he says.
His latest hobby is filling his refinished garage-cum-secret hideout, which he’s dubbed Chinatown, with some “really amazing Asian antiques.” After growing up around the world and constantly sleeping in airports, he has his mom’s boyfriend to thank for instilling in him the real meaning of home. “He was an architect and taught me to maximize opportunity within a structure,” says Lloyd. “I spend one week a month in this baby; I better make it a good one.
