Plan Ahead: Map & Guide to Unique LA
/Attention Shoppers and Super-Fans...Unique LA is this weekend, May 3 & 4, at downtown LA's California Market Center. We know that some of you like to pre-plan your stops, making sure to visit your favorite vendors. Here is the Vendor Directory & Map, which you can print to plot your way around the show.
We've got an absolutely amazing lineup of 350 vendors for you to enjoy, making it easy for you to buy American-made. See you soon!
map
Unique LA is This Weekend
/
That's right folks, our 6th Annual Spring Market has arrived. We've curated over 350 of the best made-in-America brands to help you "buy local" and support our economy while finding unique goods and gifts... Which reminds us to remind you that Mother's Day is around the corner, so give your mom some local love from UNIQUE LA - or better yet, bring her to the market and let her pick something out!
For more info: Get the details, browse the participants, flip through our LookBook, spread the word! We look forward to seeing you soon!!!
Attend CAMP #changeyourlife
/
CAMP2014
It's hard to describe the magic that took place last year at our first-ever CAMP, a creative conference I started to fill the void of uninspiring, boring, old-fashioned business conferences. There is relatively little trace of it online and in social media, namely because we take the attendees' phones for the four days they spend at CAMP. Gasp! :) My goal is to make sure every Camper is truly present, connected and open to the experiences at CAMP. Which is part of the magic I mentioned before - only those of us who were there truly understand and know what went on. The deep, life-long friendships that were formed; the elation, fear and pure glee from jumping out of trees; the delicious cocktails that were enjoyed while watching the sunset in the mountains; the inspirational rush we got when we each had an "a-ha moment" about life, work, play, passion; even skinny-dipping.
Rediscover fresh air and the wilderness. Rediscover that childlike wonder you had when you were 12-years-old. Rediscover the dreams, wishes, hopes you've tucked away over the years. Rediscover yourself.
DANCE-PARTY
TESTIMONIALS
In just four days you can completely change your perspective, gain clarity, increase confidence, embrace your dreams! The conference combines hands-on workshops, business classes and panel discussions, with campy programming like outdoor activities (archery, horseback riding, yoga) and arts and crafts (indigo dying, leather crafts, calligraphy), and curated evening events to allow for community building, networking and pure fun. Registration is open now and even though we added 75 spots, CAMP will sell-out, as it did last year. So hurry! Whether you work for yourself or a large corporation, give yourself the gift of play. Of growth. Of innovation and imagination. No excuses, just do it!
RegisterForCAMP
Get Your Key (Chain) to the City!
/
It's off the chain! Our big project, THE UNIQUE SPACE, is going to a key part of the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles. We couldn't be happier about the new, exquisitely modern, limited-edition leather keychains for THE UNIQUE SPACE made specially for us by the supremely talented craftspeople at Los Angeles Leathercraft. Donate $40 to our Kickstarter campaign and you can get yourself one of these beauties... The gorgeous key fob has been branded with the Unique USA logo in this modern, vegetable tanned leather and finished with nickel hardware. Get yours before they sell out!
Starry-Eyed for Our Limited-Edition Unique Poster...
/Attention, dreamers! Ever miss those glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on the ceiling of your childhood bedroom? So do we. Which is why we're over-the-moon excited to reveal our gorgeously uplifting, limited-edition, celestial-themed poster -- one of the many super cool rewards we're offering as part of our Kickstarter campaign for The Unique Space. The rather stellar design was dreamed up by Vanessa Hernandez, founder of The Vaguely and graphic designer/typographer extraordinaire. Donate $40 to support our great cause and get your very own made-in-America, star-spangled poster as an inspiring reminder that we are all cosmically connected!
Set on a pale peach background, the ruby red hand hand-lettering pops against a starry-night shadow -- you can keep your head in the clouds while remembering that the sky's the limit if you stay focused on the enduring, important message: we're all in this together! We love it when the stars align to bring a beautiful product like this into being. There are only 200 of them so they're gonna go quick -- get your celestial fix here before they sell out! Thanks to your incredible support and pledges for rewards like this one we're on track to open The Unique Space this fall and can't wait for things to take off at our official launch party on October 12th! See y'all there!
Join our June 27 DIY Workshop!
/
Don't miss this exclusive business workshop at West Elm this month! With a limited class size, students will get the opportunity to not only learn all about crafting the perfect PR pitch, Sonja will edit your pitch to help you get press attention! Lead-times for magazines are 4-6 months in advance, so now is the perfect time to get your brand/product into Holiday Gift Guides... Don't spend a lot of money on public relations, learn to execute your own PR!
Space is limited to 12 people. Visit Skillshare now to register and reserve your spot before it sells out. See you soon!
Plan Ahead!
/Start planning this weekend's trip to UNIQUE LA early with our handy map of the Spring Show! For the full list of participating vendors, visit our Participants Page.
Check out our Partners Page to see all the amazing brands helping us put together the Spring Show.
Happy Birthday Marat!
/He films videos, he gets the press to write about us, he designs our postcards, and he's a mad man with a roll of paper towels and Windex... Quite simply we couldn't exist without Marat. Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday Aisha!
/Hooray, today is Aisha's birthday! Yep, our fearless and fabulous event producer turns 25-years-old today... We love her and appreciate everything she does for UNIQUE, so thought we'd go all out and get her favorite person in the world to wish her a happy birthday. Thanks Drake! ;)
T
Rodarte Exhibit at LACMA
/
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents the debut of RODARTE: Fra Angelico Collection. American designers, Kate and Laura Mulleavya gifted 10 fabulous gowns from their Spring|Summer 2012 couture collection to the museum’s renowned Costume and Textiles Department. At LACMA, the Rodarte gowns are surrounded by classic Renaissance artworks, due to the fact that they were inspired by frescoes painted by the early Italian Renaissance artist, Fra Angelico
Rodarte uses a variety of different silk fabrics, sequins, feathers and swarovski elements, breastplates and headpieces to dramatically complete the look of gowns.
Photos: via Lacma.org
Stoked for 2012
/While it's hard to accept the fact that it's the year 2012 (seems like just yesterday the world was counting down to Y2K), there are so many things to be excited about this year. Whether it's world events or smaller happenings in our own backyard, 2012 is pretty much going to rock. Here are a few highlights that I'm looking forward to...
Before I started UNIQUE LA three years ago I spent most of 2008 registering voters and acting as Director for a non-profit whose mission was to increase local voting among 25-35-year-olds. I guess you could say that one of the things I'm most passionate about is voting and this is an exciting year for politics! I'm excited because in November America will vote for President, which means the media turns up the attention given to voting...
As someone who cares deeply for local-level politics, this will be a good year to get more people interested in how their local vote truly creates the place we all call home. Long Beach to Silverlake, if you care about LA, and more specifically your own neighborhood, it's crucial that you vote not just for the sexy elections like Mayor and President, but for all of the small, local items on the ballot. If you want more bike lanes or better schools in your neighborhood or want the potholes on your street repaired, you should vote local. Use your voice to create the change you want to see!
With that said, I am making it my goal to help raise the number of people who 'vote local'. So this year at UNIQUE LA shows we'll have voter registration forms available at our booth. :) Let's rock not just the national vote but the LA vote too!
The debut movie is Chinatown, the 1974 neo-noir classic starring Jack Nicholson with a sinister plot about crime, adultery, and the DWP! Don't miss it on Monday February 27th - of course there will be cocktail + beer specials, food from our favorite Unique LA vendors and pizza from Two Boots! For all details on our Monthly Movie Night click here now!
I am a huge Olympics nerd. I love me some Olympics. Whether it's Diving, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Triathlon or Football (er, soccer) I watch it all! Four years ago my BFF Nick would arrive at 1am to watch the 2008 Summer Games with me (neither of us had 9-5 jobs so we could afford the luxury of being geeks, glued to the TV until the sun came up). Quite simply put, there is something magical about the Games. The amount of sacrifice and dedication that the athletes possess is inspiring, and the spirit that takes place around the world gives me chills.
This summer's Olympic Games take place in London, England, from July 27th - August 12th. I know I'll be watching, will you?
I was born in 1976 (yes, that means I am thirty-freakin-five), the year of the Dragon, so hold a special place in my heart for the Chinese Zodiac sign. Aside from my bias, the Dragon is the most treasured sign because it is the mightiest of them all. That means we're all in for a mighty good year! Dragons tend to be dominant, very successful and ambitious. They are the rebel of the signs and prefer to live by their own rules. Dragons are driven, unafraid of challenges, and are risk-takers. So get ready, I think this year is going to be powerful!