LA Times "Best Bet"

Woo hoo! The LA Times Guide has given us "best bet" status! We love you LA Times!!!

DIY or Die: Fun with Etsy and Fresh Pressed

On top of shopping from 200 of the best independent designers and artists (seriously, these folks really are the best), UNIQUE LOS ANGELES will feature some super-special Do-It-Yourself fun. Me likey...


The FRESH PRESSED Screenprinting Space
For those who'd rather DIY then buy, come hit our amazing Screenprinting Space! The super-cool Los Feliz shop Fresh Pressed will be on-hand with a variety of shirts and tote bags to help you screenprint one-of-a-kind gifts right before your eyes - all at special discounted UNIQUE prices so you can be create one-of-a-kind gifts and not break the bank. Of course our bet is that you won't be able to resist printing a shirt or two for yourself too! :)


The ETSY DIY Lab
Come show off and be creative with us! The ETSY DIY Lab offers a place to sit down and make your very own gift tags and cards – all for free.

Extra! Extra! The papers show luv...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving... And that you're resting up for the big event in two weeks. Wink-wink.

We had a GREAT couple of days, thanks to the LA Weekly and Metromix who showed us a lot of love. Check out the LA Weekly coverage. And click here to read the Metromix article.

Now go grab a fork, open the fridge and grab a few bites of that leftover pie. Or turkey. Or Tofurkey.

Volunteering this season...

Do you have some extra time, the yearning to do some good, and want to get involved in the community? [insert sound of angels singing] Tis the season to volunteer!

UNIQUE LOS ANGELES will rely on great volunteer help to run the Etsy DIY Lab, assist in our Holiday Photobooth area, and run the sign-in tables. You must have a big smile, be quite outgoing, and be a lover of creativity and community. This is a great chance to help a new community event!

- shifts are 4 hours long on Sat Dec 12 or Sun Dec 13
- volunteers get to attend a special Staff Party/Orientation, where they will get to create and screen-print a shirt or two! Food and drinks will also be a plenty...
- volunteers will each get a signed and numbered limited edition Two Rabbits poster (1 of 50), which commemorates the first-ever UNIQUE LOS ANGELES. It's going to be DOPE.
- volunteers will also get 5 free tickets to UNIQUE for friends/family

Please email me by December 2 (sonja[at]uniquelosangeles[dot]com) if you're interested in helping out (please use the words Interested Volunteer as the subject line). If you can provide a brief bio/work background/interests, which day you would prefer to work, and a link to your blog/myspace/website/etc. that would be greatly appreciated. MUCHAS GRACIAS!!!

*For loads of other great volunteering opportunities, check out Big Sunday's PDF compilation of listings:
http://www.bigsunday.org/big_sunday_giving_2008.pdf

Desperate for Stella Neptune

A little bird told me that the Desperate Housewives stylist visited the Stella Neptune bunker for a bunch of pieces! We love Stella Neptune's frocks because they are whimsical and witty, and her line of one of a kind vintage pieces is great. Make sure to stop by her booth for sure!

Variety's STYLEPHILE!

We love this blog, so we're super-excited to see that we were blogged by Variety mag's Stylephile. So cool... THANK YOU!

RSVP online!

We're gettin' fancy on ya now... ;) RSVP on Facebook or Going.com to help spread the word. Let's get this party started!

RSVP ON FACEBOOK here!

RSVP on Going below...

Always Sunny in Philly!

So it's 12:56 a.m. and I'm watching the FX comedy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". Loves it! Imagine my surprise when I notice that one of the main characters is wearing a sub-urban riot tee (one of our vendors)! Their RIOT t-shirt looked fab (and I mean fab, wink-wink...) on actor/writer/creator Rob McElhenney. His co-star and partner in real-life, Kaitlin Olson, also rocks one of their cool shirts.

Make sure to come to UNIQUE to grab their great shirts before they're done!

**LA Times article about UNIQUE LOS ANGELES**

Woo-hoo... Check out this great piece that the LA Times featured online about UNIQUE. We love LA TIMES, and are are so thankful for all the great community support we're starting to get for this first-time event. Clearly LA is hungry for an event where the entire community can attend and find something - whether young or old, hipster, academic or hippie, we're all unique!

Thank you!

Check out our 165 Vendors...

"Step right up folks!"

We are pleased to announce that the vendor directory is now online. Check out our 165 amazing vendors who will be hawking everything from soy candles to designer clothing to letter-pressed cards. And take a peek at the special sections we'll be presenting: Eco Chic (green gifts), Gallery Row and Rising Stars (art), and Rockin' Babies & Cool Kids.

Seriously, find everything you need for your little sister, your grandma, your dad, your new crush, etc... And a ton of cool stuff for you too! Remember, 50% of ticket proceeds go to the great LA charity CREATE NOW (see previous post).

It's time to "give good gift" while also supporting the LA community.

The Vendors & Create Now!

We have spent the past few days going through all the applications, and are THRILLED with the results. There are over 165 amazing participants. Some sell their designs around the globe, while some just started to screenprint or sew in their garages this past summer -- all the vendors represent the amazing talent we have here in Cali, as well as some of the best that Brooklyn, Portland, Vegas and Seattle have to offer! We'll launch the Vendor Directory this week, so you can take a peek at every single participant...

In the meantime, I am proud to announce our new partner Create Now! I've chosen Create Now! as the non-profit who will receive 50% of all admission proceeds. This small-yet-powerful organization does amazing work in the community. Their mission is to change the lives of high-risk and at-risk youth through creative arts mentoring, education, resources and opportunities. For all of us who have grown up visiting museums and being able to express ourselves through art (whether that be dance, drawing, acting, etc.), I'm sure you'll understand how important their work is. They will be at UNIQUE LOS ANGELES with a booth, as well we are donating 30 tickets to the organization, enabling some of their mentors and kids to attend the event - seeing in-person that being an artist or designer is an actual career option. Let's inspire them all!

The Create Now! Vision:
Create Now! will provide at-risk and high-risk youth with information, motivation, inspiration and education through creative outreach resulting in a more well-rounded individual. Participants will have opportunities to explore and develop their skills in literary, music, performing and visual arts and to be matched with a caring mentor who will help them reach their personal, artistic and professional goals.

Due to Popular Demand... Extended Deadline!

WOW, thank you to everyone who has applied so far - the talent we've seen is phenomenal! While the official deadline was yesterday at midnight, we have received a flurry of emails and phone calls asking to submit late applications. Trust us, with all the election hoopla and a busy Halloween weekend, we understand. We've all been crazy-busy.

So the application will be available online until Sunday, Nov 9th - so fill it out ASAP. We'll alert everyone who already applied on Wednesday (Nov 5), and then send full info vendor packets to all next week (Monday, Nov 10).

Thanks for all the enthusiasm and support... Good luck everyone!

**VOTE LA (me on the news)**

Not that any of you need reminding, but remember to hit the ballot boxes tomorrow, Nov 4th. As a board member of YPM, I am heavily involved with the LA-area community, helping to increase the number of young people (24-39 year-olds) who vote in local elections. Yesterday I was out with a team at the Brewery Art Walk, and then hopped over to Fairfax and Third, where we spread the message to vote.

And well, I made the news! :)