The annual Los Angeles Design Festival, now in its seventh year, honors Los Angeles as a global design capital, with its opening night party and fundraiser set for this Thursday night, June 8th. Although there will be events taking place all over the city (including CicLAvia in Glendale and Atwater Village, The Long Beach Design Showcase featuring a studio tour of designer Eric Trine’s workshop, and a tour of the Modernica Factory), the bulk of this year’s festival is concentrated around two new and up and coming mixed-used areas in downtown Los Angeles. Former industrial spaces, The ROW DTLA, reimagined by Rios Clemente Hale Studios and City Market South, previously a produce market, will be the setting for most of the four day celebration, which runs through Sunday, June 11th.
While the full schedule of events can be found here, with tickets varying in price (although many of the events are free, RSVPs are necessary). a few of the highlights we’re planning to attend include:
The festival’s fundraiser will include music by dublab, installation by Assembledge+, floral installation by Krystal Chang Projects, and a performance by MashUp, and more. There will be a presentation of the awards to the ICON and EDGE recipients al fresco on the piazza. (Louise Sandhaus will receive the ICON award for her outstanding contributions to the design industry, while emerging talents Tuesday Bassen, Lauren Halsey and Jihan Zencirli will receive EDGE awards
We’ve spotlit de LaB before: the organization not only shines a light on the creatives spaces, places and people all over the city, it also focuses on creating solutions to some of the city’s real-world issues. Described as “‘Project Runway’ meets ‘Shark Tank,’” and moderated by a panel of experts, design teams will pitch ideas to a live audience, who will then vote for the best project in each of four areas: transportation, water, density and community.
Jonathan Lo of Happy Mundane curates this intriguing exhibition of artisans from all around California, including pieces from weaver Janelle Pietrzak, designer Karen Kimmel and ceramacist Tracy Wilkinson, among others, whose work pushes at the boundaries between craft and art, re-envisioning traditional techniques through a fresh, modern and often unconventional lens.
A intimate and selective cross section of what’s new in design, this show aims to provide an alternative experience to the standard design trade show environment, by integrating a series of art and design installations into one cohesive exhibit. See new work from Bend Goods, Brendan Ravenhill, Block Shop and Stephen Kenn among others.
LA DESIGN FESTIVAL POP-UP SHOPS from June 10 – 11 (Row DTLA)
Mara Mehdy, formerly of Show+Tell, joins forces with Jordana Howard of Echo + Air to create Atmosphere, a pop-up shop that balances fashion and wellness, featuring designers Jill Aiko Yee, Creative Collective LA, and artist Buckley. Also not to be missed, Clever LA hosts Chaparral Studio, Farron Feiner, Fine Ass Lines and The Radder for their second live pop-up shop.
Find the full schedule of events and ticketing information here
