March 10: This is Your Library

Save the date! On March 10th I will be sharing the stage with a famous actor, a former NBA star and a best-selling author. Nah, not intimidating at all eh?! Nerves aside, I am really excited and honored to have been chosen to be featured with such an amazing caliber of talent. It's all part of the fifth This is Your Library, the Library Foundation's series of late-night talk show style events that occur after-hours at the historic Central Library, right here in downtown LA!

Being a part of this special night holds a lot of meaning to me because I'm a huge fan and supporter of the DTLA library... I grew up in LA and so visited the library a lot as a kid. I remember how special it felt to check-out books, and how "grown-up" it felt to bring them back and put them in the return bin. One of my all-time favorite childhood memories is watching puppet shows at the library with my little sister - we'd bring picnic dinners (or if we were really lucky we'd get "take out", fried Pioneer Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy) and find a spot on the floor for an evening of fun. As I grew older and discovered the Sweet Valley High series, I'd check out as many as I could at a time and would devour them cover-to-cover in days. Now as an adult I visit the library for inspiration and research. And whenever I need a place that is air conditioned in the summer, I head straight to my local library!

The thing about libraries is that they are one of the few places left that are free and open for all. Libraries don't discriminate, their doors are open for all who wish to come in and open their minds (or simply take a break at a desk in a quiet atmosphere). The This Is Your Library event is one of many that the Library Foundation of Los Angeles puts on to support and enrich the capabilities, resources, and services of the Los Angeles Public Library. Please come join me for this night of fun... Which also includes drinks and live bands! I hope to see you there...

Sweet Times at 'Local Love'

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.

UNIQUE Jewelry Line

It's Here... Our UNIQUE Jewelry! I am super-super-super excited to announce that I have started to design a line of housewares, jewelry and clothing. Yipee! I used to design a lot, especially as an interior designer on TV, so have missed that creative aspect since starting UNIQUE LA three years ago. But now that my "baby" is growing up and I am surrounded by great people who help me nurture it, I can start to design again. #SoFab

This special sneak preview pic doesn't do the line justice but will hopefully get you excited to stop by the UNIQUE LA booth this weekend to check the full line out. Special thanks to our great friend Jen at Plastique* who made my designs right here in LA!

Our Local Love Event Map

Things are about to get sweeeeet around here! We can't wait to see everyone at our 1st Annual Local Love Event this weekend, Feb 11 & 12. We've got a treat for those who like to plan ahead... It's the handy-dandyMap & Vendor Directory(click to download and print)!

Use this to plot your route so you don't miss your favorite designers and artists. Oh, and make sure to note the Cafe area and Gourmet Edible food vendors who will keep your belly filled with delicious local-made treats. :)

DIY Valentine Matchboxes

Make a "hot" Valentine this Weekend at the Local Love Event! Shoppers at our 1st Annual Local Love Event this weekend will love the free DIY project... Sit down with the cool craft-leaders DIYFO (Do It Yourself. For Others.) and learn to make a Matchbox Valentine. Or make a few! The DIY Craft Area is always free at UNIQUE LA and runs all hours of the event, 11am - 5pm, so no sign-up is required.

"Come on baby light my fire..."

The Local Love Event

We're so excited for our First Annual Local Love event hitting town next weekend (Feb 11th and 12th). We created this new event because we love the idea of shopping for Valentine's gifts from local designers/artists, thus sharing the love within the city! We don't want to spill-the-beans but the Oh Snap Studios live photo booth is going to be really amazing, and admission comes with a UNIQUE (as in individually numbered) keychain which will get you special access to events and deals later! Yeah baby...

Check out the participants and get all the details here.

Volunteer!

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"]

Monthly Movie Nights Begin in Feb

If you love great films and LA, this is the perfect movie series for you! Once a month we'll be showing a movie at The Echoplex that takes place in-and-around the City of Angels.Sisters Sonja Rasula (the founder of UNIQUE) and Hilda Rasula (a film editor who most recently worked on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) have teamed-up to curate an amazing, and quite diverse, selection of films. This will no doubt become one of your favorite things to do... And because we believe that popcorn and movies go hand-in-hand, we'll have free popcorn at each show!

- Tickets are $10 pre-sale online only (Please note there are limited quantities. Don't miss out, buy yours now!) - Join us for dinner, a movie and drinks! There will be cocktail/beer specials all night, pizza from Two Boots, and sweet treats from local vendors available for sale. - Doors open at 7pm / Movies start at 8pm

The Debut Movie is... FEBRUARY 27: Chinatown (1974) Buy tickets now! A neo-noir classic set in Los Angeles in 1937, with a sinister plot about crime, adultery, and...wait for it...the DWP! It won Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for 10 other Oscars. Locations include Echo Park Lake, Catalina Island, a South Pasadena mansion, and one of our fav bars The Prince in Koreatown (standing in as the old A-List Hollywood hangout, The Brown Derby). This Jack Nicholson classic is a must-see whether you've watched it before or not. They just don't make them like this anymore...

Click to see the full schedule of movies!

UNIQUE LA: Best Of

2011 is coming to an end and we thought it would be a good idea to do a little "Best Of" kind of post. So without further ado, I present to you the best moments that we've captured at UNIQUE LA 2008-2011.

Unique LA Holiday Party

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

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

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.

'

Holiday Show 2011 Lookbook

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.

Open publication - Free publishing - More arts

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

DIY Workshops Announced

Time to get crafty y'all! We are excited to welcome back The Urban Craft Center, L.A. Zine Fest and the Craft and Folk Art Museum as our DIY Workshop partners at the 4th Annual Holiday Show. We're also proud to offer our own UNIQUE project as well! Free crafty fun is offered all-day long at the Holiday Show from 11-6 both Saturday and Sunday (December 3 and 4). There's no need to sign-up, simply come to UNIQUE LA and look at the Map in our printed booklet to find the DIY Lounge. See you soon!

Make a Zine This activity allows DIYers to make their very own Zine... Make one as a gift, create a biographical zine, tell a story or simply create a great visual piece of art - the possibilities are endless!

Sew a Vintage-Inspired Flower Crafters will use basic sewing skills to whip-up flowers out of fabric. The flowers can be used to make a brooch, attach to headbands/hats/hair pins, or even be used to create jewelry or appliques on pillows and quilts...

Make a Green Gift Bow CAFAM will lead crafters to make perfect paper bows out of old magazines, making this an awesome eco workshop! And one that I need to take, as I've tried to make 'nice bows' my entire life and can't seem to get it right.

Tickets Are Now On Sale!

Back by popular demand, we've released a limited number of pre-sale tickets for the 4th Annual UNIQUE LA Holiday Show! Plan ahead and avoid the lines when buying at the door. Sweet! Buy your tickets today...