Ephemera, a “vintage pop culture wonderland” on the second floor of the Fort, will host an event with live music from 3 p.m. Saturday, July 9. The theme is “Get Lit with Ephemera,” and at sundown, its new “authentic Vegas-style neon sign” on the side of the building will be lit.
Los Angeles experimental artist and musician Nico Turner (opening act for Cat Power) will perform from 7 to 9 p.m, and interviews with guests sporting their best vintage apparel, conducted by neon TikTok influencer @nonstopboogie, will occur from 3 p.m. to sundown. Neighboring Wine Finch will offer specials from its “eclectic list of small production, organic and natural wine” and craft beers.
The award-winning Los Angeles audio-visual production writing and directing team Samuel Markus and Jennifer Thorington, (markusthorington.com) opened Ephemera. The shop has garnered mention in places like Glamour and Desert magazines, and boasts over 9,000 followers on Instagram. The collection includes clothes, art, music, books and assorted stylish swag.
The Crier caught up with Jennifer who explained the multifaceted activities of the creative duo. “Both of us have been self-employed entrepreneurs since our late teens. We own Ephemera together as well as a marketing firm and production company Working Brilliantly. We are currently in the throes of a couple of film projects we are super excited about and cannot wait to share (once everything is perfectly aligned).
“We have lived here in Idyllwild full time for 13 years this year and have run our business Working Brilliantly since 2011. Prior to that, we toured and wrote music as The Morning Birds. Sam had gone to Idyllwild Arts for film school (which is why Idyllwild was our first choice to move) — and after meeting in LA we moved to Idyllwild to write an album.
“Ephemera opened late 2019 and has been a magnificent whirlwind of joy and fun. Sharing our passions with people has always been at the forefront of our deeply creative relationship and Ephemera was/is a natural progression on our journey. A deep interest in vintage, sustainable fashion, music, film and pop culture has been something we have shared since we first met, and bringing that to our hometown through our store has enabled us to share that with other like-minded people here and all over the globe. It’s taken on a life of its own, as all passion projects do, and the outpouring of support and community we have felt and experienced has humbled and inspired us. We are deeply grateful for it all.”
