5 design things to do: Dec 12-18

5 design things to do: Dec 12-18 - KCRW

Posted: 09 Dec 2019 05:23 PM PST

This week: discuss how to maintain biodiversity in the post-anthropocene, shop for artisanal goods and hot vintage clothing; see artists response to the big question "why?"; check out the Lovell Health House at 90; and see lost landscapes of Los Angeles.

1) NAHR 2020 Animals: Interdependence Between Species

One of the more frightening stats of 2019 was the UN finding that one million species are threatened with extinction, courtesy of human development. NAHR, a self-described "Eco-Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Practice" in Taleggio Valley, Bergamo, Italy, aims to make a small step to reversing this decline, through the the exploration of "where and how species meet and intersect to co-create ecosystems in this post-human, post-anthropocentric era." This Thursday past NAHR Fellows will share insights in a conversation led by the City of LA's Deputy Chief Engineer Deborah Weintraub and NAHR founder Ilaria Mazzoleni.

When: Thursday, December 12 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Where: Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, 525 S Hewitt St, Los Angeles, California 90013

Tickets: Free. More information here.

2) Get your gifts: Hera Collective, Brendan Ravenhill Studio, and ThriftCon LA

The craft market bonanza that is November and December marches on. Last week we profiled West Coast Craft, which brought 300 vendors to ROW DTLA. Here are three more opportunities to get some holiday gift shopping done.

Hera Collective LA Holiday Marketplace

Hera Collective supports women makers and women-owned businesses. Shop goods from some of LA's most talented artisans, while checking out the building itself: a former suffragette house, civil rights meeting place, and progressive church that's now a venue for pop-up dinners, film screenings, weddings and film shoots.

Where: The Ruby Street, 6408 Ruby St, Los Angeles, CA 90042

When: Saturday, 11 am - 5 pm

Tickets: $8 admission. More information here.

Brendan Ravenhill Studio Sample Sale

Brendan Ravenhill Studio teams up with Kalon Studio, Scout Regalia, and Wolfum for two days at Ravenhill's Glassell Park Studio. Ravenhill will feature slightly imperfect and discontinued pieces from their lighting and furniture collections.

Where: Brendan Ravenhill Studio, 2122 Cypress Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Street parking available along Cypress Avenue and neighboring streets.

When: Friday, December 13th from 4 - 7pm, and Saturday, December 14th from 10 - noon

Tickets: Free. More information here.

ThriftCon LA

Out with the new and in with the old: vintage clothing is trendy once again. ThriftCon is landing at the LA Convention Center with over a hundred vendors of vintage clothing, collectibles and home goods, along with installations celebrating vintage and retro culture. Forget cruising the neighborhoods and classified ads: here you have all your favorite thrift stores, garage and estate sales under one roof.

When: Sunday, December 15, 10 am - 5 pm

Where: LA Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Tickets: $8 general admission, $20 early entry ticket. Get tickets here.

3) The Why

Four artist-designers -- Tahmineh Javanbakht, co-founder of Artecnica; Krislyn Komarov, Patricia Von Ah and Liz Young -- show work that endeavors to answer the existential questions "Why do we do what we do, and what does it mean?" Answers range from Javanbakht's beautifully detailed paintings and assemblages recalling her homeland of Iran to Young's recreations that relate to The Myth of Sisyphus and the story of Artemis and the need to control nature, recurring themes that play a central role in the artist's work.

When: Saturday, December 14, 5 - 8 pm; on through January 4.

Where: Gulla Jónsdóttir Atelier at the La Peer Hotel, 627 La Peer Drive, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tickets: Free. More information here.

4) 90 Year Anniversary of the Lovell Health House

Ninety years ago in December 1929, Angelenos mobbed the opening of the Lovell Health House, an astonishing fusion of European Modernism with the alternative health crazes that flourished at the time in Southern California. It was designed by Richard Neutra for the naturopath Dr. Philip Lovell and wife Leah and their children. To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of this landmark, join historian and author Lyra Kilston, architectural preservationist Joshua Gorrell and Lovell Health House owner Ken Topper for a special tour and reception. Also, treat yourself to healthy food and drinks inspired by Dr. Lovell's book: Diet For Health by Natural Methods.

When: Saturday, December 14, 4 - 7 pm (SOLD OUT); Sunday December 15, 4-7 pm

Where: Lovell Health House, 4616 Dundee Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027 (Ride share required as there is no street parking)

Tickets: $75 per person. More information here.

5) Rick Prelinger Presents Lost Landscapes: Los Angeles

Rick Prelinger is sn archivist, writer, filmmaker, UC Santa Cruz professor of film and digital media. He also founded and runs the San Francisco-based Prelinger Library as well as the appropriation-friendly Prelinger Archives, a free online clearinghouse of thousands of ephemeral films — think educational and advertising films, newsreels, and home movies.

For fans of LA history, his silent film "Lost Landscapes: Los Angeles" is a must-see. It uses never-before-seen archival footage of greater Los Angeles to tell a story about history and forgetting, borrowed from home movies, newsreels, educational, industrial and amateur films, even studio "process plates" (footage used in movie scenes using rear screen projection).

As Prelinger told DnA in 2015, "what I'd like to do is assist in the conversation about what kind of city you want to live in. And one of the ways to do that is by showing a working landscape of some years back and, is this where we want to go, did this work, how did we get from that place to this place?"

When: Saturday, December 14 from 2-4 pm

Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Los Angeles Central Library, 630 W 5th St, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Tickets: Free. More information here.