Los Angeles, California's undiscussed creative capital, may not look to you as a place where initiatives aimed at championing the boundary-pushing talents that make the city a cultural must-visit are lacking — or, at least, it doesn't seem so from the outside.
Home to some of the most exciting curatorial platforms active across the US and the global arts scene, from the Future Perfect's West Coast outpost, a pioneer of the residential gallery model for collectible design, and the centrally located Melrose Hill district, where projects like Trevyn and Julian McGowan's African craft-focused gallery, Southern Guild, abound alongside the mazy homeware emporiums and showrooms scattered all around, to the countless studios you'll stumble upon while strolling through East Los Angeles and Downtown, the Californian city's streets come alive as a diffused creative hub.
Still, last year, when the team behind the Los Angeles Design Festival (LADF) announced that the initiative would disrupt its annual event to shift to a biennial format, Holland Denvir and Meghan McNeer — two local design insiders with years of experience working with rising and established personalities across boutique brands and creative agencies, and editorial projects, respectively — knew there'd suddenly be a gap waiting to be filled in the scene. Enter, Los Angeles Design Weekend.
Highlights from last year's Los Angeles Design Weekend, whose inaugural edition reunited over 140 labels, craftspeople, designers, artists, and architects.
"We created Los Angeles Design Weekend (LADW) to help establish Los Angeles as a global design destination that deserves recognition," the two tell me of the alternative festival they set up last year, whose inaugural edition (June 21-23, 2024) reunited over 140 labels, craftspeople, designers, artists, and architects in a four-day marathon of exhibitions, workshops, and collateral events held across multiple locations in the city's Northeast and Downtown districts.
Denvir and McNeer felt that the program of other LA design initiatives was failing to reflect the rich breadth of perspectives that converge in the City of Angels' "uniquely diverse community". Returning today until Monday, September 29, "LADW is structured to mirror how design thrives here through neighborhoods, independent studios, and collaborative energy," the co-founders say.
The idea is simple. Just like in the case of LADF, instead of centering everything in a convention hall or a single Los Angeles neighborhood, Los Angeles Design Weekend moves "across the city, spotlighting different creative communities each day," Denvir and McNeer explain.
Exhibitions and product launches alternate with interactive activities, talks, and more for four days.
When flying to Los Angeles from abroad, travelers' earliest introduction to its distinctive style flair is likely to come from the rooms and the lobbies of the addresses they are staying at. This isn't surprising considering that many of the best LA hotels bear the signature of design superstars like Kelly Wearstler, whose curated guide to the city is enough to show you how much there is to see.
LADW, though, extends the privilege of reveling in thought-provoking, innovative creativity to all through dozens of free-to-access activities to pick from. For its co-founders, this is what makes the experience feel quintessentially Angeleno — the fact that it's "rooted in discovery, accessibility, and connection, while showcasing Los Angeles as a leading voice in global design".
LADW 2025's Must-Sees
KLEIN's newly opened HOME STORE, where partners Jon and Maša Kleinhample's imaginative approach to design comes to the fore.
Similarly to its debut edition, Los Angeles Design Weekend 2025 seeks to rekindle the craftsmanship and manufacturing legacy of the city's Central and Northeast districts, where the appointments on its dense agenda take place. Expanding over the festival's first three days from south of the Mexican American neighborhood of Boyle Heights to Atwater over a stretch of about ten miles, the thick trail of open studios, interdisciplinary installations, and evening soirées that dot this year's LADW makes it particularly hard to choose highlights. There are, however, things I can't help but regret that I won't be able to see for myself.
I think, for example, of American-Slovenian designers Jon and Maša Kleinhample's new HOME STORE, which, situated in Los Angeles' arts district, will offer an intimate look at their humor-charged, whimsical collectible design and interiors practice, KLEIN, by juxtaposing the objects from their collection with vintage finds, their favorite printed goods, and art, one vermouth tonic after another.
Frozen Han, a poetic group presentation rooted in the ever-relevant legacy of Korean craft, will see ten artists explore the fragile and yet intoxicating beauty of the East Asian country's artisanry tradition across woodwork, glass, clay, metal, and textiles in a spellbinding installation accompanied by a tea ceremony hosted by the sweet delicacy makers at MIGAAM.
Echoing the iridiscent essence of Venetian Murano glass and the mesmerizing organic patterns of 19th-century spongeware, the animated, wavy ceramics of local artist Morgan Peck will be on show at Highland Park's quirkiest flower shop, Lenita.
David Alhadeff's The Future Perfect and artist-run gallery The Pit will celebrate the release of T-1000, the latest collection by Adam D. Miller's kitschy-cool design studio, Reaperware, with a party hosted at the latter platform on September 27 and a coinciding pop-up exhibition at TFP spotlighting numerous never-before-seen pieces from his ceramic lighting, vessels, and seating work.
Immersing visitors in a residential-like setting, husband-and-wife Michaele Simmering and Johannes Pauwen's sustainable furniture studio, Kalon, will be opening the doors to its Atwater Village home, inviting them to engage with their process and their award-winning, essentially beautiful line in metal and wood, Element.
"We take real pride in how relaxed and welcoming these gatherings are," the co-founders, who also joined LADW's first edition, tell me. Comparing them to "a great house party, with guests spilling onto the street, the rooftop, and into quiet corners across our three floors," they explain that, for them, the showroom isn't just a place where design is shown, but one where community gathers and cultural exchange can thrive and grow.
Los Angeles Design Weekend — In Three Picks
Guests enjoying themselves in the garden at Kalon's showroom.
I ask Los Angeles Design Weekend's Denvir and McNeer to share three event picks that sum up the festival's spirit. "Each of our top three must-sees embodies what makes LADW distinct — community, collaboration, and the belief that design should feel open and welcoming rather than closed-off or pretentious," they tell me.
1. "Lovers Unit: Open Studio + Ice Cream Party captures the generosity and playfulness of LA's design community," Denvir and McNeer say. An interdisciplinary design and architecture practice, on September 28, "Lovers Unite is opening their studio for an ice cream social, complete with Milkcult scoops and Kismet cookies. The heart of it, though, is an Instagram auction of handmade vessels, with proceeds going to CHIRLA to support neighbors impacted by ICE raids. It's design with purpose, rooted in solidarity and joy."
2. "What began as an introduction between a few people eager to get involved in LADW quickly became Open House — Art & Objects In Residence, a full-fledged exhibition inside a mid-century Glassell Park home," the festival's co-founders explain. "Borough Design and Thought Forms Studio pulled together artists working in print, textiles, ceramics, and scent to create an intimate, site-specific show. It reflects the collaborative spirit of LADW — a constellation of practices coming together to reinterpret modernism in Los Angeles through a very local lens."
3. Finally, "Elysian Park Collage Party & Potluck represents the true beauty of LADW," they explain. "It's not about prestige, it's about gathering: people will spread blankets in Elysian Park, share food, and make collages together — crafting as a community, outdoors, in one of LA's most beloved green spaces. It's the kind of event that makes design approachable, fun, and deeply Angeleno."
LADW 2025 in Practical Things
Whether it's Milan or New York Design Week, no showcase is ever complete without the right dose of drink and culinary tips. That's why we have turned to Kalon's co-founders, Simmering and Pauwen, to bring you an insider's lifestyle fix. So, where are the best restaurants and cafés in Los Angeles?
"Our own stretch of Casitas Avenue has quietly emerged as a center for design in Los Angeles," they say. Neighbors like Waka Waka and Estudio Persona are shaping the city's contemporary design conversation, and you'll find the same creative energy spilling into the cafés and studios nearby. Proof Bakery and McCall’s are long-time local favorites, while Barra Santos channels the best of a European sidewalk wine bar.
Those searching for the top concept stores in LA should rejoice, too. "Plant Material — the nursery and retail space from landscape studio Terremoto — is a destination for anyone interested in plants and outdoor design," explain the two. "Architectural icons like Hollyhock House and Neutra's VDL House give a glimpse of Los Angeles modernism, while Skylight Books' Art Annex remains an essential stop for art and design magazines. OK Store, one of the city's best design shops, specializes in impeccably curated everyday objects and is always worth a visit."
For something more unexpected, the Kalon duo recommends walking or riding along the LA River bike path, where a major rewilding project — led in part by Frank Gehry — offers a rare and striking stretch of urban nature. Much like each LADW 2025 event, "these spots capture the mix of craft, culture, and neighborhood energy that makes this corner of Los Angeles such a vibrant place to experience design."
Los Angeles Design Weekend starts today and continues through September 29. Walking, cycling, or cab sharing is highly advised to minimize congestion and pollution. Plan your visit
Not in LA for the weekend? Check out our most recent edit of unmissable London art and design exhibitions instead.
