Animals Rule! Top 8 Designs at the Unique Los Angeles Event.

#8 - Notecards by the founder of Unique LA herself, Sonja Rasula, formerly an interior designer on HGTV and TLC’s ‘Trading Spaces’.

MMM's post led me to this weekend's Unique LA shopping event, and it did not disappoint. Some 200 independent designers and artists converged at the indoor shopping bazaar's debut in the Fashion District part of Downtown Los Angeles. Once you step into the "market", which took up the top floor of California Market Center building , the creativity in the air was palpable. Discoveries of wonderful and truly unique treasures awaited around every bend. There were awesome t-shirts, adorable prints, posters and letterpress notecards, and beautiful jewelry and baubles aplenty. Here are my top eight favorites, zoo edition!


#7 - Furry friends by Absolutely Small.


#6 - A framed monster bird by Monster Kat.


#5 - Soft, hand-crafted leather purses from Spike by Sandy.


#4 - Good night goldfish, by Dee and LALA.


#3 - Be still my heart. Posters by The Poster List.


#2 - Wild prints by Chanon Nick Sermchief at Imaginary Friends.


#1 - My number one favorite, the polar bear woodblock, by Portland artist Elizabeth Soule.

Most items were reasonably priced at an average of about $10 to $50. Every vendor was friendly and warm (I'm sure the free flow of non-stop Pabst Blue Ribbons didn't hurt). You know a shopping event is good when booths were vacant at day's end because the exhibitors were off shopping at other booths!

Run, don't walk, to the next Unique LA event if you:
* Are a MyModernMetropo-lite
* Prefer Etsy to eBay, Domino magazine to Architectural Digest, and IKEA to Pottery Barn
* Live with Ugly Dolls
* Still buy notecards just because the design is cute or the paper feels good (ahem Kara), despite trend towards a "paperless" society
* Has a closet full of American Apparel, and now Alternative Apparel
* Love original design but don't believe in t-shirts that cost more than $30

I'd have to give it up to founder Sonja Rasula - the event had just the right mix of art vs. function, "green" products (too many can be too much), pricing, and quality. The organizers and volunteers gave thought to every detail, which made the event inviting, comfortable and hassle-free.

UNIQUE LA
December 13th & 14th, 11 am – 7 pm
California Market Center (Penthouse), 110 East 9th Street, Los Angeles, CA
www.uniquelosangeles.com
$5 per ticket. Children 10 and under free. 50% of ticket sales benefited CREATE NOW, a local arts-based charity for high-risk youth.

Want to see more pics? Check out the Flickr set.

Did you go? Share with us your thoughts and pics!