de LaB: de LaB on KCRW's "DnA: Design and Architecture"

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

de LaB on KCRW's "DnA: Design and Architecture"

If you were at our LACMA event you may have noticed the de LaB hosts slipping away for a few minutes with KCRW's Frances Anderton. We were recording a segment for Frances' show DnA: Design and Architecture on new made-in-LA design products that might make good locally sourced gifts for the holidays. The show aired in December, when we were honored to be included on the same episode as Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan (our heroes!). You can listen to the entire episode online, and here are our picks for some of the most intriguing local design products of the year. Many of the designers will be familiar faces, as we've featured them at recent de LaBs! Thanks to Frances for having us on the show.

The Dustbin by Brendan Ravenhill: This ingenious trash can not only keeps a dustpan and brush at-the-ready, all of its parts were manufactured in Los Angeles by companies ranging from a 60-year-old metal stamper to a brush maker who produces parts for the Mars Rovers. $220 at BrendanRavenhill.com

California Design: Living in a Modern Way 1930-1965 designed by Michael Hodgson and Ph.D: The gorgeous catalogue for the definitive exhibition on California design includes hundreds of objects produced in the state during the midcentury modern movement. $60 at the LACMA Shop

Rodarte by Laura and Kate Mulleavy, Catherine Opie and Alec Soth: This art-fashion photo book is a collaboration between the Mulleavy sisters, renowned Pasadena fashion designers, and photographers Opie and Soth. It features the Rodarte clothes against the California landscapes which inspired them. $80 at Hennessey + Ingalls

toHOLD designed by Kara Bartelt: Part modern art, part terrarium, Bartelt's delicate pieces use succulents and airplants to create beautiful living sculptures that look right at home on a desk, a coffee table, even as a unique necklace. Starting at $8.50 at Etsy and other LA locations

Design your own present at KnowHow Shop LA: Visit this Highland Park workshop with your own gift ideas and their skilled proprietors will help you navigate their fabrication wonderland filled with laser etchers and CNC milling machines to bring your creation to life. Contact for prices

Geoff McFetridge's collection at Heath Ceramics: The Los Angeles designer and illustrator dabbles in clay for the first time with a limited-editon line of custom-painted dinnerware and accessories covered in McFetridge's signature doodles. Various prices at Heath Ceramics, 7525 Beverly Boulevard

No comments:

Post a Comment

About de LaB

(that’s: design east of La Brea)
part design lab, part social experiment

de LaB (dee-lab) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)3 nonprofit that celebrates and supports local creatives in their efforts to enlighten, improve and engage the city. Through monthly events that are educational and inspirational, de LaB unites an enthusiastic community of local residents who are invested in the future of L.A.

We firmly believe that the east side of Los Angeles is home to the most exciting creative community in the world. We hope to bring exposure to its artists, designers and architects—both legendary and emerging—through events, workshops and public engagement projects that focus on building a better L.A. Through these events, we explore the changing urban environment, discover new projects and ideas, and learn more about the city in which we live, helping us to become more passionate, invested Angelenos.

Want to know more about what we do? Here's a list of the events we hosted in 2012, a list of the events we hosted in 2011 and a list of the events we hosted in 2010.

Join us on Facebook, won’t you?

Follow us on Twitter.

We're now on Instagram!

Or say hello [at] designeastoflabrea.org.

If you're coming to an event, tag your photos wherever you post them with #delab so we can include them in our newsletter.

And please add them to our Flickr pool.

About Your Hosts

ALISSA WALKER//Alissa writes about design, architecture, cities and transportation for publications like Fast Company, GOOD, Dwell, Sunset, and is the associate producer for the public radio show "DnA: Design and Architecture," hosted by Frances Anderton. She is a frequent collaborator with GOOD, most recently as curator of a series of events called GOOD Design, where designers solve city problems proposed by urban leaders. Alissa lives in a royal blue house in Silver Lake where she throws ice cream socials, tends to a drought-tolerant garden, writes infrequently but obsessively on her blog, Gelatobaby, and relishes life in LA without a car. Follow her at @gelatobaby

HAILY ZAKI//A creative at heart, Haily Zaki satisfies her love for modern design by promoting great companies doing interesting things. She launched Secret Agent PR in 2008 with the specific mission of infiltrating the media in the name of good design. She is also a co-founder of the Los Angeles Design Festival and an erstwhile contributor to Inhabitat and The Architect's Newspaper. In her spare time, she blogs about her adventures on the Intel Report and is the proud mom of a ridiculously precocious little boy and a 90-lb. pitbull. Follow her at @SecretAgentPR

MARISSA GLUCK//As co-founder and managing partner at media consultancy, Radar Research, Marissa Gluck is a writer, speaker and consultant covering the marketing and media industries. Marissa became interested in Los Angeles' architecture as she was completing her master's thesis for The London School of Economics and USC. Thus began a love affair with LA's buildings, sushi and sun. In her spare time, Marissa writes about LA real estate, architecture and urban planning for the LA Times, The Atlantic Cities, and LA mag, volunteers as a docent for the Schindler House in West Hollywood, and chases after late night taco trucks. Follow her at @marissagluck

ERIN CULLERTON//Erin is the founder of Design Agency Co., a boutique pr firm specializing in communications, strategy and cultural engagement for the design industry. A newfound lover of Los Angeles' rolling hills, Erin is the former Assistant Director of AIA San Francisco and creator of the popular Architecture and the City festival. A consummate advocate for good design, Erin serves on advisory committees for The Architect's Newspaper, A+D Museum, and Southern California Architecture and Design Consortium; is an honorary AIA SF member; and an occasional curator, writer and crafter. Follow her at @designagencyco

de Lab logo by Keith Scharwath