newest

For the trendiest tenants in Hollywood office buildings, it’s the latest fad that goes way beyond designer furniture and art: mini studios

To capitalize on the never-ending flow of stars and influencers who come through Los Angeles, a growing number of companies are building bright little corners for content creators to try products and shoot short videos. Athletic apparel maker Puma, Kim Kardashian’s Skims and cheeky cosmetics retailer e.l.f. have spaces specifically designed to give people a place to experience and broadcast about their brands.

Hollywood, which hasn’t historically been home to apparel companies, is now attracting the offices of fashion retailers, says CIM Group, one of the neighborhood’s largest commercial property landlords.

“When we’re touring a space, one of the first items they bring up is, ‘Where can I build a studio?’” said Blake Eckert, who leases CIM offices in L.A.

Their studio offices also serve as marketing centers, with showrooms and meeting spaces where brands can host proprietary events not open to the public.

“For companies where brand visibility is really important, there is a trend of creating spaces that don’t just function as offices,” said real estate broker Nicole Mahalka of CBRE, who puts together entertainment property leases and sales.

Puma’s global entertainment marketing team is based in its new Hollywood offices, which works with such musical celebrity partners as Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, Dua Lipa, Skepta and Rosé, said Allyssa Rapp, head of Puma Studio L.A.

Allyssa Rapp, director of entertainment marketing at Puma, is shown in the Puma Studio L.A. The company keeps a closet full of Puma products on hand to give VIP guests. Visits to the studio sanctum are by invitation only, though.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood is a central location, she said, for meeting with celebrities, stylists and outside designers, most of whom are based in Los Angeles.

The office is a “creation hub,” she said, where influencers can record Puma’s design prototyping lab supported by libraries of materials and equipment used to create Puma apparel. The company, founded in 1948, is known for its emblematic sneakers such as the Speedcat and its lunging feline logo, and makes athletic wear, accessories and equipment.

Puma’s entertainment marketing team also occupies the office and sometimes uses it for exclusive events.

“We use the space as a showroom, as a social space that transforms from a traditional workplace into more of an experiential space,” Rapp said.

Nontraditional uses include content creation, sit-down dinners, product launches, album listening parties and workshops.

“Inviting people into our space and being able to give them high-touch brand experiences is something tangible and important for them,” she said. “The cultural layer is really important for us.”

The company keeps a closet full of Puma products on hand to give VIP guests. Visits to the studio sanctum are by invitation only, though. There’s no retail portal to the exclusive Hollywood offices.

Puma shoes are on display in the Puma Studio L.A.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Puma is also positioning its L.A studio as a connection point for major upcoming sporting events coming to Los Angeles, including the World Cup this summer, the 2027 Super Bowl and 2028 Olympics.

In-office studios don’t need to be big to be impactful, Mahalka said. “These are smaller stages, closer to green screen than a massive soundstage.”

Social media is the key driver of content created by most businesses, which may set up small booth-like stages where influencers can hawk hot products while offering discounts to people watching them perform.

Bigger, elevated stages can accommodate multiple performers for extended discussions in front of small audiences, with towering screens behind them to set the mood or illustrate products.

Among the tricked-out offices, she said, is Skims. The company, which is valued at $5 billion, is based in a glass-and-steel office building near the fabled intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

The fashion retailer declined to comment on the studio uses in its headquarters, but according to architecture firm Odaa, it has open and private offices, meeting rooms, collaboration zones, photo studios, sample libraries, prototype showrooms, an executive lounge and a commissary for 400 people.

Pieces of a shoe sit on a workbench in the Puma Studio L.A.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

The brands building studios typically want to find the darkest spot on the premises to put their content creation or podcast spaces, Eckert said, where they can limit outside light and sound. That’s commonly near the center of the office floor, far from windows and close to permanent shear walls that limit sound intrusion.

They also need space for green rooms and restrooms dedicated to the talent.

Spotify recently built a fancy podcast studio in a CIM office building on trendy Sycamore Avenue that is open by invitation-only to video creators in Spotify’s partner program.

“Ambitious shows need spaces that support big ideas,” Bill Simmons, head of talk strategy at Spotify, said in a statement. “These studios give teams room to experiment and keep pushing what’s possible.”

LONDON has a new cheap hotel chain – and it’s already a huge success in Europe.

BOB W joined the scene back in 2019 , followed by its first hotel in the UK capital in 2024.

It’s a take on pared back hotels, close to an Airbnb but without the hidden fees, as well as much loved extras like gyms, luggage lockers and breakfast options.

I stayed at the newest hotel, Bob W Hyde Park, which only opened earlier this year, and paid £59 for a room for two people.

This was with the five per cent discount you can get when signing up to the free Inner Circle membership of the hotel.

It’s a short walk from Queensway tube station, as well as close to Paddington train station.

Read more on London hotels

CROWN GLORY

The London hotel that’s on the former grounds of a famous English king

GRAND DAME

I stayed at the grand 172-year-old hotel that is ‘London’s best connected’

Everything is done online, via the website or app, where you’re sent codes to get access to the building and room.

As it is a blend of Airbnb and B&B, but without all the much hated bits of each, this means you can forget the steep cleaning fees – you just pay the room cost.

Before I arrived, I received a phone call: “We’re so sorry but we’ve had to downgrade your room from a spacious to a compact. We will refund the difference but we’re really sorry.”

Slightly frustrating but, as a solo traveller, no biggie (apart from the fact they were the same price, so no refund for me).

However, everything else? Smooth as anything.

Arriving at 3:30pm, I easily entered the building – it is in the Henry Hotel but with Bob W posters to reassure you you’re in the right place.

There’s no lobby for guests, although there was a man behind the desk for the hotel guests themselves.

I personally love a lobby reception, as I’m often down there when my key doesn’t work, I have questions about the area or just need someone on hand.

But if you are someone who hates the awkward interactions then its the hotel for you.

Another nice touch within the lobby filled with sofas and chairs was a cupboard with free extras, such as toilet roll, ear plugs and spare tea and and coffee pods, as well as leaflets and London hotel guides.

The room was perfect too – clean, spacious, and modern.

A coffee pod machine and kettle were joined by complimentary towels, as well as a hairdryer, ironing board and safe, along with a huge TV.

Despite being the ‘compact’ room, it had a desk for working too. 

The bathroom looked recently renovated with a big walk in shower and complimentary toiletries.

Some of the hotels have added extras too, like kitchenettes and washing areas, which make them ideal for longer stays.

One downside was that it comes with “complimentary gym access,” but this was just a pass to one that was 45 minutes away at another Bob W hotel, so I didn’t end up going.

Breakfast is extra – I paid £13 – and it includes food and drink at a choice of cafes as well, although only up to this price (any bill over £13, the difference needs to be covered).

If you are on a budget you can easily skip this and just buy some snacks at a nearby bakery or corner shop, but if you want a proper breakfast, it definitely wasn’t overpriced.

I also loved getting to know the cafe owner, as it was a proper local caf so ended up chatting for ages.

So what’s the verdict?

I was seriously impressed with the whole process. Emails were sent promptly, check in was easy, the rooms were clean and the location can’t be beaten.

One of the biggest problems with Airbnbs is the lack of luggage storage, especially if need somewhere to leave it before a flight or train, so I’m glad this wasn’t a problem here.

Even with the smaller niggles, a room for £30 each in central London? I’m not sure I’ve seen a price like that in years – at least for a place as chic as this.

Other cheap dates still available:

• March 3-4 at Bob W Earls Court – £61 a night (£30.50 each)
• March 16-17 at Bob W London Olympia – £79 a night (£39.50 each)
• March 25-26 at Bob W London Kensington – £77 a night (£38.50 each)
• April 12-13 at Bob W London Holland Park – £76 a night (£38 each)

We’ve found another cheap hotel in London where you sleep in a private pod.

And here are our top 100 cheap hotels in the UK.

SACRAMENTO — Only one of the candidates for California governor will appear in a splashy Super Bowl ad on Sunday, though a rival has locked in a valuable spot on Animal Planet’s lighthearted, cuddly “Puppy Bowl” before the big game.

A Silicon Valley-backed independent expenditure committee booked $1.4 million in airtime on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service, which will feature the big game along with NBC, and on other broadcast networks on Sunday to introduce Matt Mahan, the mayor of San José who entered the governor’s race in late January.

A 30-second ad depicts Mahan, a moderate Democrat, as a “fixer of problems” in a big city “just miles from the big game” and touts his record reducing homelessness, building housing and reducing crime.

The ad was produced by a committee run independently of Mahan’s campaign and funded mostly by Silicon Valley executives, including $1 million from Michael Seibel of Y Combinator and $500,000 each from Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill and his wife, Ashley.

“This Super Bowl ad kicks off our support for Matt Mahan’s run for governor,” said committee spokesman Matt Rodriguez. “His unmatched record on tackling crime, homelessness and housing in San José while focusing on the basics that Californians care about is very different than the old playbook of toxic politics.”

The committee has so far raised more than $3.2 million, according to Rodriguez, who provided the information about the contributors.

Other financial backers include Neil Mehta and Brian Singerman, two Bay Area venture capitalists, along with Paul Wachter, an investor who has advised former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and celebrity figures such as LeBron James and Dr. Dre on their business ventures.

As an independent committee, the group is barred from coordinating with Mahan and his campaign. A spokesperson for Mahan declined to comment on the committee or its game day ad.

Mahan, a moderate Democrat, has broken with Gov. Gavin Newsom on crime and other issues and is pitching himself as a pragmatist who would prioritize results over party politics or fighting with the Trump administration as Newsom has. Mahan’s campaign is not yet required to disclose donations but said it has raised more than $7 million since he entered the race, more than any candidate besides Tom Steyer, a progressive billionaire whose campaign is primarily self-funded.

Steyer, an investor turned climate activist, has already spent more than $27 million on his campaign. Most of that money went to producing and airing ads in which Steyer touts his wins supporting various ballot measures and pledges to break up utility monopolies to lower costs.

His latest ad debuts during Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl,” a pregame show that features two teams of adoptable dogs tussling over toys in a model football stadium. In the spot, a Realtor tells a couple that in order to afford a home, they might need to go back in time to 1980, “when the average home in California cost $100,000.”

With a burst of sparks, Steyer appears inside the time-traveling DeLorean from the 1985 film “Back to the Future” and says, “You shouldn’t have to go back in time to afford a home in California.” He then pledges to stop “Wall Street speculators from buying up homes” and pricing out “regular Californians.”

To have a legitimate shot at winning a governor’s race in a state as vast as California, home to some of the nation’s most costly media markets, candidates must raise millions of dollars to air ad campaigns robust enough to introduce themselves to voters or undercut their competitors.

According to campaign finance disclosures, former Rep. Katie Porter raised $6.1 million in 2025, the most of any candidate besides Steyer. But Mahan’s entry into the race has excited the tech and business interests that have until now avoided giving.

“The race is now kicked into gear,” and some candidates who have been fundraising for months — or years — “may find themselves lapped by the Mahan machine,” said Andrew Acosta, a Democratic strategist.

Though tech funders appear to be coalescing around the Silicon Valley mayor, he is “not going to come out of the gate lighting the campaign on fire because no one knows him,” Acosta said. With three months until primary ballots start hitting mailboxes, it’s a challenge for Mahan — though one that could be solved with enough money.

Steyer’s campaign criticized the wave of tech figures flocking to Mahan, saying business titans don’t spend their money without expecting something in return.

“This isn’t charity — it’s an investment so they get richer while everyone else gets priced out of California,” Steyer spokesman Kevin Liao said. “While San José remains the least affordable housing market in the world, Tom Steyer is ready to take on powerful special interests, make billionaires and corporations pay their fair share, and make California affordable for working people.”

With the threat of a proposed billionaire’s tax on California’s November ballot, new restrictions on AI and social media simmering in the Legislature and the impending exit of Gov. Gavin Newsom — who has been a reliable tech ally during his tenure — Silicon Valley leaders have made moves in recent weeks to boost their influence in California politics.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin and a handful of other CEOs recently loaded $35 million into a ballot measure committee and spent some of it on two separate efforts to lower housing costs.

Meta and Google have also ramped up spending on lobbying and super PACs in an effort to elect tech-friendly candidates and fight against AI regulation in statehouses both in California and around the country.