This is one of the many upcoming profiles of our neighbors in the Arts District of LA. It’s an area of Downtown LA that has seen a huge explosion of growth recently. Residents, creative business’, artists, designers, and entrepreneurs have been moving into this once sleepy district. Everyone living and working here are naturally bonded, there is a strong sense of ownership, a sense of looking out for each other and supporting each other here to make sure our community thrives. Once an area that was mostly manufacturing and warehousing, it’s now a mix of artist studios, restaurants, coffee roasters, bars, cafes, boutiques, lofts and a renowned architecture school. We are seeing it grow and it’s nothing but exciting.

Poketo has been operating from a loft here since 2007, right before many of the current business’ moved in, right around the time change was happening…and if you may or may not have noticed on our Instagram, Poketo will be opening its first brick and mortar right here in the heart of it all. But, more on that later.

This is Jeremy of District Millworks. He runs a custom fabrication shop here in the Arts District, specializing in acquiring and breathing new life to reclaimed wood from across the country. Whether it’s wood from railroad depots in Alabama, old barn siding, bowling lanes in Nebraska, or old homes that no longer have a life… that wood ends up here at District Millworks. It’s right here in this seemingly cavernous, endless warehouse that he and his team design furniture and objects for homes, retail, restaurants, and commercial properties. Their latest endeavor, that newly opened, much talked about UMAMIcatessen in Downtown LA.

We got a rad tour of District Millworks… or rather, we ended up walking aimlessly and getting lost in the myriad of rooms in this huge space.

A view into the open sky courtyard…

We stumbled into areas most people won’t see. If you do go and visit (and you should), you’ll walk through their storefront showroom and will be instantly surrounded by beautiful, handcrafted furniture, tables, beds, and even a playful swing hung from 20 + foot tall ceilings. District Millworks designs and fabricates all their pieces here. You can pick what you like from their showroom, or you can come in with an idea… they’ll help you envision it… they’ll make it come to life.

More at DistrictMillworks.com.

We got an invitation from our friend and designer, Tanya Aguiniga to give a talk to her class at Otis College of Art and Design. We’ve worked with a handful of artists from Otis and have had many interns coming from this school who just rock our worlds. It was an honor to finally visit the campus and meet the students face to face.

Aftwards, we took a little tour of the industrial design and fashion departments. Always an inspiration to be immersed in student life…

The gentleman here was showing us one of his works in progress.

Angie checking out a bag exhibition.

The Knowhow Shop LA is a design/build/DIY workshop in Highland Park, owned and operated by architects, Kagan Taylor and Justin Rice. These two run their own firm out of here, working with clients big and small. In between their client work, they open their studio as an educational/DIY center for folks interested in learning and working on their own projects with wood. They have a range of tools from band saws, sanders, power saws, laser cutters, and even a CNC router. Anything you want to make with wood, you can pretty much do here. Both Kagan and Justin are great teachers and love to share their knowledge of wood with those that are interested. They are not only enabling people to create, but, in turn building a community of makers.

This past weekend, artist and KnowHowShop collaborator Linda Hsiao held a workshop for creating wooden cooking utensils. If you remember, Linda was in the Los Angeles, I’m Yours show we held a couple years back at Space 15Twenty. When I first saw images of the tools that Linda was making, I fell in love instantly. Her utensils are rustic, imperfect, yet beautiful and elegant.

During the two day class, Linda took us through the entire process, from sketching out the design in pencil, milling using the CNC router, doing rough cuts with the bandsaw, finishing with the sander, and finally creating a food safe oil for our new kitchen tools. Linda is an extremely generous teacher, always helping and giving tips along the way, it was an amazing experience to learn how to make these from scratch. Kitchen tools are often things you thoughtlessly pick up in a superstore out of necessity… but, these pieces took on the style of the maker, everyone infused their own personal style into their pieces. Mine tended to be geometric and full of imperfect facets, while others tended to be smooth, round, and more polished. Once finished, they all looked beautiful together, their utility was obvious, but more importantly, you see the time, love and creativity that went into them. They were no longer just tools, but, works of art.

Stencils for different kitchen tools to get started.

Linda went through a homemade recipe to keep your tools food safe and hydrated. A combination of mineral oil, beeswax, coconut oil, and a sprig of rosemary.

More info on KnowHowShopLA.com
More from Linda at Lindahsiao.tumblr.com

Last week I mentioned ADX in Portland, well here it is! We got a complete tour of the space from Clifton Burt. This space is an inspiration, fully equipped with a wood shop, a metal shop, laser cutters, CNC milling machines, and studio spaces for rent… it’s a makers dream. The space is geared for both novice and professionals, all on a membership basis. ADX runs classes frequently and there is a wealth of pros there to help you out. Some of the basic classes dive into wood working, intro to metal and welding, and even bike maintenance.

While I was there, there were folks building boats, blimps, working on high end commercial projects, and even programming and gearing up for a robotics exhibition. Check out ADX, a total inspiration, one that has got me hyped on starting some projects of my own. From them, I found out about a similar shop in LA, The KnowHow Shop LA. I’ve already made an appointment.