Big Mike and Sean Barnes of love & aesthetics

Big Mike and Friends

Big Mike Phillips

San Diego is truly a rainbow of creative, fun and colorful people that shine in their own way to enhance the culture of our city. Every day, I meet individuals that empower their dreams and ideas and share them with the rest of us. One such person is my friend Sean Barnes, who opened his dream store love & aesthetics in a co-op in Little Italy more than eight years ago. When he started, he had one space in the co-op and so much self-doubt. Sean knew that he was starting something that was going to be so personal to him and so different to San Diego that he had it in his heart he would fail. But it meant so much to him and he really believed in it so much that he was determined to make it work. Sean’s point of view was to show people a diverse group of vendors and gather artists with unique, creative and different styles of work that needed to be showcased and introduce their creativity that had never been seen or even understood in his store. The month of Sean’s grand opening in the co-op, his mother had her second brain aneurysm, and sadly it ended her life. He flew back to San Diego the week after his mom’s funeral and had to celebrate the opening of his passion, his love and his heart. For several months, he had so much sadness, yet so much love toward his store. So much of what the store was about was based on his mom and Sean’s childhood. This is where the darkness of the store comes from. He knew his mom was all around him after she passed, pushing him to constantly be better. She was so incredibly artistic and beautiful. This is where the overall base of love & aesthetics stems from.

With any darkness stems beauty and with any beauty brings darkness. We need to rise from anything that pushes us down, much like the artists Sean works with. They are not the norm, not the mainstream — these artists are incredible, talented people that work with what they are passionate about. They work from the heart and soul; love & aesthetics is about working with people who care and love what they do. It’s not about mass production, getting rich or even being famous. It is about finding that one diamond in the darkness that makes your heart happy.

Sean prides himself that love & aesthetics is constantly changing. They get shipments daily and their inventory rotates monthly. The store’s selection, look and energy are based on what is going on in Sean’s mind and heart. He is providing a lifestyle store where he invites consumers into a place that is personal and so meaningful. He introduces people to artists and products that might make them laugh, feel scared and maybe sometimes uncomfortable. It may not be for everyone, but it is for Sean and he hopes that people embrace it. Since opening his first store, Sean has been fortunate to expand his creative dream to other locations. Six years ago, he went from his co-op to his own space in Little Italy, then fell in love with a space and opened a store in North Park five years ago. Just two years ago, Sean paired up with family and opened a store in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. This is a city that his mom had consistently talked about when she was alive. Sean’s parents lived in Pensacola and would visit Ocean Springs often for art shows.

Recently love & aesthetic moved into Palm Springs. Sean paired up with his friends at Krave and Kulture to open a store in their space. He has several other works on the horizon, and we look forward to seeing what the future holds for Sean’s adventures.

Sean grew up as a military brat and lived all over, growing up in a military family that moved constantly. The family was usually in a city for two years at the most, then transferred to another base.

Moving around nonstop was so hard; Sean would make a close friend and then move a year later as soon as they became good friends. He hated being in a military family when he was younger but now looks back at it and feels so lucky. One good thing about moving around is that he got to see a lot of the United States and meet all walks of life. Growing up with a colonel as a father in the Army taught him a lot of discipline and respect. Sean’s mom was his best friend and an amazing artist; they were the perfect ying and yang growing up. Every time the family would move with the Army, they would meet such a diverse group of people but it still was such a challenge and so different.

One of Sean’s favorite cities he lived in was Colorado Springs. There, he learned to ski and later became part of the ski team and ski patrol. From there, they went on to Burke, Virginia where he found himself constantly going to Washington, D.C. Sean said that D.C. will always hold a special place in his heart. It was then he became a vegetarian, learned about punk rock and he initially found his first bit of independence. Being in a military family, you never know where to tell people where you are from. Sean was born in Oklahoma, but he honestly knows nothing of it because they moved when he was so young. Both parents have family all over the United States, so they never really had a base to consistently go back to. He has been in San Diego longer than any other place and he consider this his home now. Military life surely opened Sean’s eyes to so many things, including so many diverse walks of life.

Not only does Sean own three retail lifestyle stores, he also has a design/consulting business that specializes in commercial design, consulting and buying. On top of all that, he loves painting when he has a free moment. Sean works a ton so to relax, he usually likes to hide and take time for self-care. As a huge fan of live music, he tries to see as many concerts and theater that he possible can.

San Diego is very fortunate to have Sean as a member of our city, community and LGBTQ family. He gives back to a charity of choice to honor his mom who had a rare disease called Behcet’s syndrome. Sean has chosen to donate and bring awareness to the American Behcet’s Disease Association. He has also worked closely with Mostly Monkeys, which is a nonprofit sanctuary in San Diego that provides long-term care for a variety of exotic animals. And it is not uncommon to find him donating gift certificates or items to local LBGTQ charities in San Diego.

Thank you, Sean, for bringing and introducing us to so many different artists through your store. Bringing art, people, love and aesthetics together.

For creative ideas and how to contact Sean:

[email protected]

loveandaesthetics.com

instagram.com/loveandaesthetics