Hi!

from Owner & Proprietor

Carla Lejade

Jeff Shelton designed Lobster Tile Detail — Lobster tiles by architect Jeff Shelton

You may have noticed that El Zapato is covered with

whimsical characters made of happy Maine lobsters!

Whenever the architect, Jeff Shelton, designs a building for a client he often creates a unique tile at the owner's request — in this case, I requested a Maine lobster because I'm from Maine. I grew up going to Maine every summer to see my grandfather on the New Meadows river near Bath and Brunswick. All of my family lives there and my great grandfather had a farm that is still partially owned by the family.

I love Maine and you will notice touches of it throughout the house — notably the paint by number collection of Maine lighthouses decorating the Lobster Studios. (Those are all retro paintings done in the 1950s and 60s by people on vacation who loved Maine as well)

About the artwork:

Visit the paintbynumbermuseum.com — the creative work of a wonderful friend who gifted me all the paintings from her collection.

When visiting
El Zapato

I will absolutely enjoy meeting you — although if I miss you, I'll likely be visiting Maine.
You may recognize me as I often wear red Converse high tops as I travel the world. I like to call it Red Shoe Living.
*Red Shoe Living is putting on your red shoes and living every moment while doing your best to give back.*
Hope to meet you!

Meet El Zapato SB’s architect

Jeff Shelton

Architect & Designer

El Zapato was designed by noted architect Jeff Shelton who is quite well-known around Santa Barbara. There is a full architectural tour you can take starting from El Zapato when you arrive. There are at least 10 other buildings within walking distance that are all unique and wonderful. Jeff's style is a whimsical combination of Dr. Seuss meets Gaudi and below you see some of the original concept drawings for El Zapato.

Do be sure to visit Jeff's website and take the self-guided walking tour while visiting. There is a large blow-up map of the tour in the garage and below, in the Awards section.

@jeffsheltonarchitect

In his colorful new book, Architect Jeff Shelton tells the stories behind the playful bunch of downtown Santa Barbara buildings within walking distance of each other and of his Fig Avenue office.

The Fig District book contains a hand-drawn map and can be used as a companion on a walking-tour of his downtown Santa Barbara buildings, including El Jardin, Cota Street Studios, El Zapato, Vera Cruz, the Ablitt Tower, El Andaluz, and the Pistachio House, as well as a fond farewell to Casa Blanca Restaurant.

The story behind El Zapato's Lobster tiles, as told by architect Jeff Shelton. Buy his wonderful book!

When I asked Jeff about a shower window on the busy Garden Street not offering much privacy, he sent me this...

Jeff Shelton's Architecture Walking Tour Map, you can find a large print of this in the garage.

ElZapatoSB.com is next door to a Planned Parenthood. A cock with a twinkle* in his eye overlooks the parking lot, as does a pussy cat stone sculptures on the building...

You may not see it from this angle, but the cock has a beaded eye that glints in the sun

Planned Parenthood pussy cat stone sculpture!

The courtyard's latest addition, meet El Burrito! The ultimate pussy, cock, and ass trifecta.

Awards

Santa Barbara Beautiful Award for Best Commercial New Building — El Zapato is the winner of Santa Barbara Beautiful's 2017 Best Commercial new building. Quite an honor *for a building covered with Maine lobsters!*

…and other fun facts

El Zapato was featured in the 2018 Downtown Architectural tour of notable architecture of Santa Barbara.
We’ve been featured in a multitude of travel guides and lifestyle magazines as a top Santa Barbara destination. Here is a feature in Santa Barbara Magazine.
And here is a lovely profile from Phoenix Magazine
We are also a Top AirBnB Santa Barbara destination! So if you’re looking for a warm and whimsical unique experience, everyone agrees you’ve arrived at the right place.
People say we are highly Instagrammable!
(feel free to tag us @ElZabatoSantaBarbara)