April 4, 2005 My Robot Friend Your friends are hard to buy for. Since they've gone all iPod on you, CDs are out of the question. DVDs are nice, but you watch them once and they sit on a shelf. You want to give a gift that says you're an original, but you can't seem to find it at the mall. Lucky for you, Giant Robot is expanding. After a few years with two locations on Sawtelle, the specialty store is setting up digs in Silver Lake. Grab yourself an Atomic Banzai tree that you build yourself. Or let a wind-up desk cleaner tidy up your work space. There are art-oriented items from the likes of Nara, novelties like the sushi-shaped eraser, and stacks upon stacks of art books. The product selection bears a clear Asian influence, though store founder Eric Nakamura says his real interest is in design. Giant Robot got its start in print over a decade ago. The magazine featured so many cool items that its readers clamored to know where to buy them. Nakamura opened an online store in response to the demand, and that eventually led to retail outlets and a restaurant in L.A. and San Francisco. The art influence is especially strong in the new Silver Lake location where the store shares space with the Junc Gallery. Breeze past Robot merchandise and you'll find yourself among the artwork of Brendan Monroe. Now you've cracked the problem of where to buy gifts. But you still have to figure out how to let go of them. Giant Robot is located in the Junc Gallery at 4017 Sunset Blvd near Circus of Books.