Get Ready for UNIQUE NYC
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UNIQUE NYC is right around the corner and we thought it would be kind of amazing if you guys would help us spread the word about the show! Here's what you can do:
#1 Download our UNIQUE NYC buttons and fliers below to share online (lots more sizes and options coming soon). Post them on your blog, website, Facebook pages, Tumblr, Pinterest – heck, wherever you can! :) (Please point the ads back to http://stateofunique.com/unique-nyc)
#2 Join and share the event on Facebook.
#3 Tweet about the event & follow us @UniqueNYC
#4 Wanna help us with our grassroots marketing effort? Email (aisha at stateofunique dot com) with your mailing address and we’ll send you postcards to give to friends and family and distribute in your neighborhood/at work/in your community/at your favorite cafe/etc., plus we'll include a gift!
Unique LA This Weekend!
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Cost: $10 at the door, or buy online to also get a free ticket to the OC Fair! Kids 12 and under are free. 10% of all ticket sales go to the local non-profit organization GreenWish.
Admission includes: • An exclusive UNIQUE LA tote bag! • Unlimited re-entry for both days • Free drinks from our friends at The Naked Grape Wine, Hendrick’s Gin, O.N.E. Coconut Water, Honest Tea, GT’s Kombucha, Diabolo Drinks and more! • Free DIY workshops + crafts all weekend long in the Toyota Retreat with I SPY DIY and SWELLMAYDE • Free photo booth portraits and a print at the Oh Snap Studios Photo Booth • Our curated food truck alley, so you can enjoy lunch, snacks or a sweet treat • Live screen-printing, a Braid Bar, massages, a lenticular photo booth and more (all free)
Thanks SF!
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We also wanted to thank our amazing partners, whose support made it possible to expand to the city. Toyota worked with us very closely to create an area filled with free interactive activities such as live screen-printing, hair braiding and massages (yes, free massages!), kick-butt DIY crafts and more.
A very special area that we offered at UNIQUE SF was an Analog Zone, which was created by my good friend Levi of The Digital Detox. In this 'device-free' area people could get their portraits taken, type letters, partake in yoga, play board games and more. It was really inspiring to see everyone interacting live, in real time, and not typing a play-by-play about the cool area on their phones!
Oh Snap Studios offered unique portraits at their live photo booth... You can download yours here.
Were you snapped? Make sure to take a peek at all the rad photos here.
Last Friday we threw a launch party for 
Mama Mia! Spring Show Success
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THANK YOU CALI! Last weekend's 4th Annual UNIQUE LA Spring Show was a huge success with over 16,000 shoppers coming to support our great designers/artists. Some of our favorite moments include watching 9-year-old Caine (of Caine's Arcade) take pictures with fans and see kids shout with glee as they played his cardboard games; seeing all the families/kids treating Mom to gifts and sweet treats; being a tad starstruck while meeting amazing musicians Tegan and Sara, and Paramore; and getting to see all the great products and designs from first-time vendors while finally meeting ones from Portland and NYC face-to-face.
We're excited to share that we raised thousands of dollars for our non-profit partner CicLAvia, who you should check out and go to their next ride on October 14th. Here are a handful of pictures from the show, you can browse them all and look for yourself on our Flickr page! If you'd like to download your Oh Snap Studios photos from the weekend, click here for Saturday and/or Sunday. We loved having I Spy DIY, Swellmayde and the Craft and Folk Art Museum on-hand to teach free craft projects to y'all all weekend. Thank you to all the great sponsors who help to create such a cool environment and handout freebies - it wouldn't be the same without you!
Our next shows? We've got our very first UNIQUE SF June 30 & July 1, and then we head to the Barker Hangar for our UNIQUE LA Summer Show. We hope to see you soon!
Sweet Times at 'Local Love'
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We want to thank everyone for coming out to our 1st annual Local Love event, which we held February 11 & 12. It was pretty amazing to see so many people sharing their love for LA while getting gifts for their loved ones - we even spotted a few crushes shopping, including Ty Burrell from Modern Family, Fiona Gubelmann (We heart Wilfred!) and John Boyd from 24. We'll definitely do a Local Love Event every February from now on! Remember to keep your UNIQUE key tag (shown above) on your keychain to get discounts and exclusive event invites in the future - you are part of the Local Love club!
And the winners are... Thanks to everyone who stopped by the UNIQUE booth to enter the JetBlue contest... Congrats to Lucie P. and Jason S. who each won a round-trip flight to the destination of their choice in America!
Oh Snap! Did you stop by the photo booth? You can get your electronic pics here. To see more of our official UNIQUE photos you can visit our Flickr page.
Volunteer!
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You know how you always say you're going to volunteer for something? We're here to help with that! Sign up to volunteer at our shows and we guarantee it'll be the most fun job ever. You'll get to see how America's largest independent design show operates from the inside. Oh, and you'll also get a tote with goodies + 5 wristbands for friends and family + free parking and lunch! Sign up and we'll contact you prior to our shows to check your availability.
[contact-form-7 id="2485" title="Volunteer"]
Unique LA Holiday Party
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We wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone that came out to party with us on Saturday night! It was a blast and we definitely want to make this an annual thing, so if you weren't able to make it this time, do not fret, you'll have plenty of time to dust off your ugly sweater for our next holiday party! Here are a few pics of what exactly went down that night.
Holiday 2011 Day 2
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The UNIQUE LA Holiday 2011 show is officially over and we wanted to thank all of you (attendees, vendors, sponsors, staff) for making it the biggest and best we've had so far! Even though the show is over, we're right back here at the office editing pics, looking through the footage we've filmed, and (of course) planning our next show, which may happen earlier than most of you think! Anyway, here's a few pics from Day Two; if you want more, feel free to jump to our Flickr.
Holiday 2011 Day 1
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I'm sure by now you've heard from everyone and their mother that UNIQUE LA has taken over all of Downtown LA. All I can tell you at this point is that today has been our biggest first day EVER! Here's a few pics from today.
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Holiday Show 2011 Lookbook
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I'm excited to say that our 4th Annual UNIQUE LAHoliday Show is starting TODAY, and if for some reason you're still contemplating whether to come or not, here's this year's look book to help make up your mind.
Designer Q&A: Sadie & Emma
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To conclude our pre-holiday 2011 Designer Q&As, we have a great interview with the founders of Sadie & Emma, yup you guessed it - Sadie and Emma.
Founders: Sadie and Emma
Website: www.sadieandemma.com
Favorite thing about LA? The mountains!!!
What do you make? Hand-thrown pottery in Los Angeles
How long have you been in business? Almost 2 years
What inspired you to start your line? Hand-thrown pots are way more awesome than machine made pots and we wanted people to have access to this awesomeness. We also want to participate in creating local culture and supporting local food. Meals cooked using farmers' market ingredients deserve to be served on local pottery.
What makes your products special? Our hand-crafted local pottery is made with lots of love and care. We formulate all of our glazes to fit the clay bodies perfectly, unlike typical pottery with glazes that just float awkwardly on top. Our pots have a wonderful, supple texture and we devote much time to designing cups and bowls to have forms that feel nice in your hand. The pots have personality making them human objects for humans. Also, our studio practices are super environmentally friendly.
Have you had any (major) recognition? We were featured on LA Egoist and Re-nest blog.
Where are your products sold? Reform School in Los Angeles and soon we will be in Plum Goods of Santa Barbara
As a Small Business owner what are the challenges you face? The greatest challenge is balancing all of our other commitments and getting things done for the pottery. We also wish there was more demand for locally manufactured home goods, we are excited because this demand seems to be growing.
If you can give 1 piece of an advice to someone starting their own line what would that be? Be creative so your initial overhead is as low as possible and make beautiful useful things.
What are your plans for future? We plan to keep loving each other and spreading love for hand-thrown pottery. Eventually, we want to have a family farm where we can build and experiment with atmospheric kilns.
What are your favorite websites or blogs you go to for an inspiration? pppots.tumblr.com and re-nest.com
Designer Q&A: Continuous
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What do you think the name Continuous stands for? You'll be surprised to find out! Read our Designer Q&A with the founder of the brand Gail Gonzales.
Founder: Gail Gonzales
Website: thecontinuousline.com,
Favorite thing about LA? The traffic. Love it!!!
What do you make? Mens & Womens surf, skate, snow, street and active apparel
How long have you been in business? One year
What inspired you to start your line? Got laid off.
What makes your products special? The line. In our graphic tees, one continuous line makes an image, representing a person's journey through life. It doesn't stop. It stays continuous. Our tagline: "Don't stop. Stay Continuous."
Have you had any major recognition? We won Magic's Launch Pad Emerging Designer for 2011-2012. Selected and debuted Spring/Summer mens and womens line 2012 for LA Fashion Week.
Where are your products sold? Select stores throughout the nation. Online at store.thecontinuousline.com and currently at Jokenstyle Showroom for wholesale in New Mart.
As a Small Buisness owner what are the challenges you face? The main struggle is capital. It is really expensive when you add up all the costs associated when putting out a brand. Another struggle is space. When you have no money, you have no space. Be careful about the people you choose to go for the ride. You need more people other than yourself. If you want to make clothes, a good resource is Fashion Business Inc., a non-profit organization that helps young designers starting out their lines.
If you can give 1 piece of an advice to someone starting their own line what would that be? Quit before you start, unless you're truly passionate.
What are your plans for future? Burn the boats. I just took a TD Ameritrade seminar and the speaker quoted Napolean at burning the boats so there was no other option than conquering.
What are your favorite websites or blogs you go to for an inspiration? I don't like getting inspired online. I'd rather take it offline and get inspired by the real things in life.
Holiday Show 2011 Staff Picks
/Usually, the UNIQUE LA staff has barely any time to do any shopping during the actual show. This time we're coming prepared! We each picked 5 (believe us, we'll buy waaaay more) items that we just can't wait to purchase this weekend.
1. Miss Fruitfly Watts Towers tea towels / 2. KYYOTE earrings / 3. Ayana Designs necklace / 4. Orange Heat kids tee / 5. Nell and Mary pillows
1. Gold feather Jewelry Rings / 2. Loschy Designs Russia necklace / 3. Essential oil by Klean Spa / 4. Future Standard Blouse / 5. Cut out map of Brooklyn by Lekker Haas
1. The Legendary Guy Long Air Yeezy 3D / 2. MNKR Amazing t-shirt / 3. The Whiteout monkey mask / 4. Creme Caramel LA bread pudding / 5. Paper & Type 2012 Calendar
1. Sires Dylan Thomas (Walnut) / 2. Graf & Lantz Messenger Bag / 3. Hugh Simms Any Means Herringbone Tie / 4. Love Nail Tree Harmonica Necklace / 5. Ex Libris Anonymous Handmade Journal
Designer Q&A: Further
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With the show right around the corner, we shine light on one of our favorite vendors - Further.
Founders: Megan and Marshall Dostal
Website: www.furtherproducts.com
Favorite thing about LA?
Having moved here from New York we have nothing but great things to say about the weather! And the incredible Mexican food is a plus, too!
What do you make and why are the products special?
We make soap, lotion and candles that are very unique. We take wasted vegetable oil from local restaurants like Tiato, Mozza, and Tavern, and turn it into biodiesel fuel for our cars. We then take the byproduct, purify it, and reuse it to make our products!
How long have you been in business?
3 years
What inspired you to start your line?
Lots of "waste" glycerin building up from our biodiesel production. We needed something to do with it and my wife thought it would be a good idea.
Have you had any major recognition?
Our products have been featured in House Beautiful, Lucky, InStyle among other publications - and we were featured in Entrepreneur Magazine earlier this year.
Where are your products sold?
Fred Segal, Williams Sonoma, Dean and Deluca, ABC Carpet & Home, Club Monaco and great small boutiques across the country.
As a Small Buisness owner what are the challenges you face?
Having enough hours in the day to get everything done!
If you can give one piece of advice to someone starting their own line, what would it be?
If you like what you're doing, you only need to believe in yourself.
What are your plans for future?
World-wide domination!
What are your favorite websites and/or blogs that you go to for inspiration?