Opening night was even more fun than last year’s WestEdge Design Fair, the West Coast’s premier modern design fair, which returned for its 7th year to Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger.
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Opening night WestEdge Design Fair; photo by Kathy Leonardo; courtesy of LAAP;

As soon as I walked in, I was handed a glass of Champagne and delicious passed hors d’oeuvres like tuna tartar, peanut crusted chicken on skewers and chimichangas were everywhere! We enjoyed seeing the top-tier design brands in categories including furniture and lighting, kitchen and bath, pottery, jewelry, functional art, wallpaper, accessories and other inspiring products. 

Elements Room by Pacific Shore Stones of North Hollywood, California, showcased their gorgeous marble that they import from select quarries from all over the world, in places such as Brazil, Italy, Spain, Turkey and India. Exhibitor Flavio Silva said, “We specialize in exotic stones which we call book matching stones, that follow the vein patterns to create a continuous slab sequence.” 
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The Team of Elements Room by Pacific Shore Stones; From left to right: Marco Pereira, Flavio Silva, Donald Ciceri; photo by Richard Bilow; courtesy of LAAP;

The surfaces at their booth were exquisite and each surface had a unique design. According to Flavio, the company has created a new showroom concept that combines creativity with service. Their clients are able to visualize the use of the natural stone in their own home/office due to the design of their showroom. Slabs of natural stone such as granite, marble, quartzite, and onyx are exhibited along with a broad range of quartz and other man-made surface options. These include brands such as Caesarstone, Cambria, Dekton, and Silestone. Their warehouse boasts an array of top-quality surface materials and stylish cubicles that provide space for creative work.

Another favorite, was the water vapor fireplaces by Nero Fire Design of Toronto, Canada with showrooms in the US including Torrance California. 
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Nero Fire Design; photo by Barbara Kosoff; courtesy of LAAP;

While speaking to Brian Cuiper, he showed me that you could put your hand up to the fire. It was just steam, but created a very effective, beautiful illusion of a fireplace. His company is passionate about innovation and design, and offers their customers the best quality and innovative products on the market.

Terry Holzgreen of Los Angeles, is an artist who creates beautiful one-of-a-kind furnishings, functional art and sculptural objects. Each one of his pieces is handmade with re-purposed wood that he has found over the years from beaches, washed hillsides and buildings. He says, “The emphasis is on showcasing the diversity of patterns, colors and natural beauty and soulfulness of the wood itself by juxtaposing them alongside each other in a variety of continually evolving shapes.” His work is simply stunning, organic and unique.
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The functional art of Terry Holzgreenphoto by Barbara Kosoff; courtesy of LAAP;

Another standout was Kurva Design of Vancouver. British Colombia, whose modern, modular lighting design was elegant and refined. British born Mike Randall, has a west coast minimalist style. His unique pieces are influenced by his love of clean lines and curved forms.

There were so many others worth mentioning…Bueno Glass of Penland, North Carolina displayed beautiful hand blown glass from husband and wife team, Thor and Jennifer Bueno.
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Bueno Glass; photo by Barbara Kosoff; courtesy of LAAP;

I especially was drawn to their Stone series which looked like jewels on the wall. The colors and shapes were inspired from nature.

For additional info about WestEdge Design Fair, please visit https://www.westedgedesignfair.com