A pinch of culture

COSTA MESA — Huntington Beach resident Jason Carrougher worked for years bringing music, art and fashion to events around the world, but he grew tired of setting up, tearing down and moving on each time.

Since the Network 17 shop on 17th Street closed down a few years ago, Carrougher had his eye on the location. After the flooring shop that had been there left last year, he swooped in and got the keys in December.

This month Carrougher and his business partner, professional surfer Jordy Brough opened the Pinch, an art and clothing boutique that aims to bring New York and Los Angeles arts, trends and fashions to Costa Mesa.

“It seems like Orange County has so much potential to influence, but nobody steps out of the box,” Carrougher said as he and others set up for their retail grand opening celebration that started Friday and ended Sunday. “It seems like there are so many trend-followers rather than trendsetters, which in itself is a Catch-22 statement because all the action sports companies are based here.”

The store features hard-to-find designer clothes at reasonable prices — a shirt costs from $12 to more than $100 — as well as mixed media art.

Carrougher’s friend and jewelry designer Tara Zelmer of Huntington Beach is selling some of her pieces in the store. She was excited when Carrougher and Casey Quirarte, the women and children’s buyer, opened the store with Brough.

“It’s fun — it’s different and eclectic,” Zelmer said. “It’s a creative place.”

The Pinch will always feature art and clothing, and Carrougher plans to have art showings every six weeks. Eventually he’d like to have artists and designers have full-blown installations. He’d give them free reign to decorate the window and the store.

“I want it to have a museum feel with the installations,” Carrougher said. “I think we’re definitely headed toward that.”

And he’s not hurting for artists. He’s booked for the year with eight artists committed to showings at the Pinch.

Display racks and shelves are on rollers and hooks, and at gallery showings they’re moved out of the way so people can freely roam around. He’s set up a DJ station that looks out over the boutique and there’s more storage space, including dressing rooms that can be used as booths to sell merchandise during events, as well as a back patio with a plush seating area.

On March 3, the boutique had its official art opening, and although Carrougher figured he’d be lucky to sell one or two pieces, he sold 15.

But Carrougher and Brough expect the “bread and butter” of the business will be the clothes.

“We’ve chosen brands that won’t sell to other stores,” Carrougher said as he browsed the racks.

The Pinch also carries clothes for kids so mom can shop with baby.

“We want to get the local community thirsty for this — our goal isn’t necessarily to tap into the local artists yet,” Carrougher said. “We want to wow the local crowd.”

The Pinch is at 440 E. 17th St. For more information, go to www.thepinch.com or call (949) 515-2018.