Painfully Hip Locations was founded around 2016 by LA-based interior designer and graphic artist Amber Mortensen, who began renting her 2,500 sq ft antique brick industrial loft for productions. Due to its popularity, she expanded to acquire more locations. In 2017, Amber purchased a fledgling location agency with just 10 locations and quickly tripled its inventory. To manage this rapid growth, she partnered with her long-time friend in New York, Abby McCreary, who brought extensive hospitality and production experience, along with a background in fashion design and production. 

Painfully Hip officially became an LLC in 2019. Today, PainfullyHipLocations.com receives thousands of visits and hundreds of booking requests each month, and is among the top agencies in Los Angeles. We're proud to have booked shoots for a wide range of clients, from major brands like Lexus, YSL, and Hugo Boss to celebrities like Kendrick Lamar and Kim Kardashian.

We work with several celebrity homeowners and recieve more new location submissions through our website every day. Despite adding new locations weekly, there is often a 3-6 month waiting list for new locations to be listed."