We've Partnered with POOL!

UNIQUE LOS ANGELES and pooltradeshow have partnered to become, what I like to call, The Dynamic Duo. ;)

For those who don't know, pooltradeshow is the original independent tradeshow. A semi-annual event just like UNIQUE (which will occur every May and Dec), POOL occurs every February and August in conjunction with the MAGIC Marketplace, when the apparel industry converges on Las Vegas for the most influential week in the business of fashion. pooltradeshow showcases the best emerging designers, featuring new product ranging from women’s and men’s apparel, to shoes and accessories, and including a variety of lifestyle products — from art, to music, to home.

The reason this is such a symbiotic match, is because it allows independent artists and designers to reach and sell to consumers twice a year (making great profits and creating customer demand/awareness), and also allows them to reach retail and trade buyers twice a year (landing them accounts in which to sell their designs wholesale).

It's a full-circle of opportunity and support - UNIQUE will provide special support and deals to POOL participants, and vice versa! "Gooooooo community!"

Ronald J Llanos: Local Artist and Art Instructor

I'm not sure if he's able to participate at UNIQUE, but am trying my hardest to make it happen. Ronald's work seems very familiar to me, probably because he illustrates what surrounds me here in LA and visual memories that have stuck in my mind since the 80s. His sense of perspective and color, and the moments-in-time that he chooses to document, speak volumes to me. Very simple and subtle, but never plain... Like the 3rd piece above, entitled Dinner, which instantly transports you into the atmosphere once you see the sprawling plastic 'playland' in the background. Shudder. ;)

He is a great example of the talent this city is home to.

Enjoy, and please check out his website to see his work. I especially love the Sidewalk 2 pieces, Toy District series, and Narratives gallery.

Pumpkin Stencils

Check out these Pumpkin Carving Stencils I helped to create for HGTV. They're super-easy, yet super-cool. We'll be carving pumpkins this weekend... Or attempting to.

:)

Inspiration among empty streets and warehouses...

Last night I went to an Obama fundraising dinner with an amazing group of writers, artists, filmmakers, etc. THIS IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT LA. Not a fancy-schmancy, wear a dress and heels kind of fundraiser, but a warm casual gathering in a friend's converted downtown warehouse. This is not Hollywood's version of LA [insert images of the shoreline or seedy streets with so-called gang members], but the city that I know and love. There we were, about 45 people, gathering for hope and change. Most did not know one another, but we bonded over a huge home-cooked meal, cheese and wine. We agreed and disagreed on certain political issues, but we were all there to participate and grow. It was an incredibly inspiring night - very unique. Very LA.

And it made me think about how proud I am to have started UNIQUE. It's all about creating, fostering and supporting community. While the focus is on participants based in Cali, to me 'buying local' and supporting the creative community means buying from great North American merchants who don't use factories overseas to manufacture their products. There are artists coming from Portland, Brooklyn, Las Vegas, and even Canada. I want you to come to UNIQUE LOS ANGELES to discover, support, interact, and enjoy the diversity. Just like at the dinner party, discovering and meeting all the talent that will be at UNIQUE has been incredibly inspiring. Thank you for your support so far - this community is indeed very special and very unique...

Sneak Peek at a Few Vendors

People keep asking for "just a preview" of who will be at UNIQUE LOS ANGELES. We are still accepting applications, until Nov 2nd, so the list of vendors is not set yet at all. But you wore me down! So without giving too much away, here is just a handful of the amazing, eclectic offerings we will have...

LA WEEKLY PARTNERS WITH UNIQUE LOS ANGELES (OMG)

YO this is BIG TIME...

You're the first to know that today the LA WEEKLY and UNIQUE partnered. OMG! LA WEEKLY is psyched on our event, and so will be 'presenting it' and doing a lot... Please support them as they are so supportive of our community.

Just a peek at what they'll be doing:
- throw a great VIP Preview Party
- create a cool LOUNGE for relaxing at the show
- will have their street team promoting the event, and then taking pictures during it
- loads of advertising
- emails to over 35,000 subscribers
- text message invites to their subscribers
- just being cool in general ;)

AWESOME. With them on board, UNIQUE is seriously going to be huge. That's it for now... I'm hitting a bunch of fashion shows and Obama events all weekend.... Whew.

DON'T MISS OUT, APPLY FOR THE EVENT NOW!

My other gig... Vote in LA!

When I'm not organizing UNIQUE LOS ANGELES I'm making sure that LA-area voters, in their 20s and 30s, are registered and informed so they can vote all the way down the ballot in each election. That's right, we get people to vote for everything, not just President and Mayor. WORD.

We produce a kick-ass voter guide for every election. Check out the Young Progressive Majority site and all of us on the executive board.

944 snapped me while registering voters; me and Eric Garcetti talking; our cool stickers; Hot young voters at the Sunset Junction Fest...

Blog Heaven

So I loooooove design blogs. They inspire, they give me great ideas, they look purdy. Well, the blogosphere is starting to sit up and take notice of UNIQUE! To quote my best pal LaRue, "Gosh, y'all..."

HOLLY AT decor8 POSTED SOME REALLY NICE WORDS ABOUT US



Erin was inspired by UNIQUE!

LACMA thinks we're LA's "most stylish"...

Really? REALLY. In the most recent LACMA newsletter I noticed this:

"LA STREET STYLE: Check out photos of Los Angeles' most stylish, captured at LACMA's late night art event, LA Flash."

There were thousands of people at the museum that night, so I freaked-out when I clicked the link and saw us!!! They feature the picture I took with Adam, LaRue and Kevin as the main pic. Wow, very cool. I think they liked the "robot stance" we decided to do, but think it was the VOTE shirt that I designed that probably cemented it. ;) THX LACMA!

If you haven't registered to VOTE or need to find your polling station in LA, do it now!

We Rocked Detour Fest!

A street team of fine, savvy thangs connected with hundreds and hundreds of people at the LA Weekly Detour Fest yesterday/night. People grabbed UNIQUE LOS ANGELES stickers, and as the day went on we saw people wearing them or that they had posted them on street posts and stuff (awesome...)!

The feedback from people was also AMAZING, and makes me feel so good that people are excited about the event. We got hundreds of people saying things like:

"OMG, I love this idea, I'll tell all my friends!"
"We heard something about this from our friends who are here already..." (which was really exciting to hear!)
"I hate the mall too... I will totally come support you guys in December."

Pretty much we rock. A full-on marketing campaign will start soon with postcards, fliers, lawn signs, posters and more. I can't wait!!!!!

*On a sad note, my bike was stolen, which breaks my heart... If anyone has a cheap old bike or knows of a cool place that sells old bikes (not cruisers, but vintage styles or 10-speeds) lemme know...