Local Is Cool - A Day In DTLA (Part 3)

If you've been following this series, you've already met our main stone cutter and his son, along with our oldest pal Richie who sets most of our stones. In case you have not, feel free to read Part 1 and Part 2 before continuing on. Your call.

Walk back down Hill St. to the St. Vincent building and head up in the elevator to Ancora Casting. It's run by brothers Tony and Ara. They're quiet and very kind. If you're like us, your waxes were delivered the day before and you're there to pick up your gold castings. A quick exchange and you're out the door. On this particular day we ask if we can photograph the area where they do the casting. Ara says "of course" and leads us to the back room with a nice view.

Let me interrupt this scene to tell you a shameful secret - until this day, i didn't know Tony and Ara's names. I may have heard them from people who have run errands for me in the past, but other than that, each visit was punctuated with a quick "thank you" or "Thanks, brother". One of my flaws is that I can be shy or avoidant at times when I just want to be quick and get things done. And apparently that can drag on for years. Many years. One of the reasons I love my wife so much is because she's the opposite. She spent years knocking on doors trying to get listings in real estate. In one visit Tif finds out Tony and Ara's names (by simply asking lol) and we immediately feel closer to them.

Back in the casting room, which i must say is immaculate and at a comfortable temperature, we're met with the tools of the casting trade. I really didn't know what to expect. The buildings in downtown areas tend to hide different levels of grime and chaos that never fail to surprise even after a decade in the city. (Remind me to tell you about the crazy bird guy at a later time). Anyways, it's nice to see where the metal for our rings is poured. It helps complete the story and clear up the mental mystery of what this room looks like.

We peer out the main window, Zach snaps a few shots of the room, and we head back down in the elevator. 

Later on a call I ask Ara to quickly give us some background on him, his brother, and their company. He tells me that he and his family came over from Istanbul, Turkey in the late 70's. Ara was only 12 so it's not like he had a choice. When he was older he spent some time in the diamond business, eventually opening Ancora Casting 12 years ago with his brother, who has been casting for 30 years. 

Over the past thirteen years I have tried several casting houses in DTLA. I can honestly say that nobody comes near to the quality of Ancora. They are kind humans, skillful, and dependable. It's the whole package. We wouldn't be where we are without them. The baklava pastry box they gave us at Christmas didn't hurt either. Shout out to their gal helper at the front window and all of their people that help turn our waxes to metal. We're grateful and happy to support a local company.

Thank you for reading. Hang around for part 4 to meet one of the last remaining hand engravers in Los Angeles.

With Love,

Jordan, Tif, + Josie