06.25.09 Heath Tile Factory

Ah Sausalito - the sea air, the redwood trees, the tippy top of the Golden Gate bridge over the next hill and the earthy rich hues of Heath tile. Anyone who's ever poured over the uniquely glazed, one-in-a-million colors of the Heath tile catalogue really needs to hightail it to the bay area factory and store to see where everything happens.


Edith Heath's (1911-2005) life was dedicated to the craft of ceramics and the skill of the artisan glaze - many of her pieces live in the permanent collections of museums such as the MOMA in New York City. In 1948, following her one-woman show at San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor, her pieces were picked up for sale at Gump’s of San Francisco and she opened the shop in Sausalito, which remains a model for local manufacturing and time-tested quality. And be sure to check out the overstock room where you can pick up a box of misfit tiles for $25 a pop.

400 Gate Five Road
Sausalito, CA 94965

06.21.09 Looking for Work @ Fifth Floor Gallery

Fans of sassy and innovative design work should check out Chinatown's Fifth Floor Gallery this month for Looking for Work, a show that features a group of L.A. designers who traffic in smart modern home furnishings and furniture.

Stand outs include Aimee Less' flat fold loft chair which cradles and supports the sitter via a balance of tensioned flexibility. Manufactured, shipped, and sold flat, Less uses architectural and fashion industry know how to sculpt the form (it pops into shape when it is laced up by the end user). Less' chairs are available in a variety of to-die-for fabrics and color combinations.

Architect Earl Parson creates his chairs and functional objects from cast off steel beams, powder-coated with super-bright primary colors that give the heavy industrial heft of the materials a light and huggable finish.

Fifth Floor, Chung King Road/Chinatown. Show ends July 18.

06.12.09 Citybuilt.org @ L.A. Forum's Pecha Kucha night

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the third installment of L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design's Pecha Kucha "Femme Fatales" night, where 20 talented ladies from L.A.'s design community presented their wide-ranging scope of work via 20 slides. Citybuilt.org's Wendy Gilmartin took the stage to present the online urban database you all know and love. Thanks again to L.A. Forum, and specifically Siobhan Burke, for organizing the event.

Click here to see more images of the presenters and here to see the lineup. Look out for more enlightening and fun LAForum events in the future.