Artisanal LA

It’s not Unique LA.
Artisanal LA is an honorable mention for art events seasonally held throughout Los Angeles. But its variety is no comparison to what Unique offers.
VENDORS: This event was mostly filled with beef jerky samples, scented candles, healthy snack bars w/​organic ingredients, & pricey DIY sessions ($ 25 to make a dream catcher). My favorite vendors were Bön Bliss for their soap scrub presentation, BSweet’s sample tastings, and the Crazy Go Nuts samples.
SET UP/​PRESENTATION: Don’t get me wrong it was a good event. Clean, organized, and spacious. Could definitely be more interactive but probably not as highly sponsored, so for what it’s worth they did well with what they had. Less of a crowd meaning less shoulder bumps. However, Artisanal can be good & covered within a day visit rather than the whole weekend.
Heads up (s):
— Artisanal is $ 15 while Unique LA is $ 10
— Artisanal is smaller in size & Unique is much larger with twice as many vendors

Bring your wallet, but don’t bring your dog.$ 12 per person plus parking. However, there is free parking on the street on Sundays, if you are lucky enough to find a space. It’s a small indoors venue across from LA Trade Tech college. Great place to go to beat the late summer heat in October. There are a variety of local small vendors selling high end products and plenty of samples abound. I wouldn’t call it a festive. It’s more like a cross between a farmer’s market without produce to buy and an upscale bazaar. I thought it would be a great place for me and my dog to keep cool, but no. The website does not inform you that it only allows service animals.

Apologies for it taking so long for me to write a review for Artisanal LA. At first my wife bought my ticket and I wasn’t sure what I was going to but so glad that she took me! I love homemade food items! And this is exactly what it was! A lot of ambitious artists and people who came together and made their own products and getting their name out there. Yes people will complain that things were highly priced but I don’t think so if it was made fresh and made themselves. Sure you can go to the store to get what you want, but how long has it been sitting on the shelf? Anyways, I loved everything here. I walked down every aisle and just got to socialize with up and coming vendors and try their products. I spent a lot of money on macarons, unique jams, ginger beer, and vegan cookie mix! Super good! I consumed it all! I definitely look forward to coming back next year! Everyone keep up the good work!

SO MANY NEAT THINGS AND TASTY TREATS!
BACKGROUND:
Artisanal LA showcases the best artisanal food vendors around the country. Attendees shop a wide array of edible treats from butchers to chocolate makers, and enjoy programming like hands-​on workshops, chef-​led demos, expert panels and speakers educating guests on various food related topics as well as the opportunity to learn about non-​profit organizations changing the local food scene in Los Angeles.
About the Founder
Artisanal LA is the passion project of Shawna Dawson, a native Angeleno who spent her formative years terrorizing the good people of Mt Washington and Hancock Park. Dawson is a USC grad, marketing and social media maven with more than a decade of experience doing business in more than a dozen countries, from Romania to Japan.
STATS:
Event held a couple times a year-​next one – Fall 2015 Show on Saturday, October 10^th and Sunday, October 11^th
Hours open 11am-​6pm
Location: The Reef in downtown LA
Street parking, if you get there early enough
$ 15 valet
$ 10 lot across the street
Four Hour metered parking on Saturday
Free meters on Sunday
Discount tickets from Goldstar
Pay upon arrival also available
EXPERIENCE:
Received an email from Goldstar offering complimentary tickets to this event, unfortunately by the time all was said and done, comp tickets were sold out. But that didn’t stop fellow Unilocalers and I from purchasing tickets to this event.
I arrived at 10:45 and the line waiting for them to open the doors wasn’t too long, but within minutes, the line wrapped around the building. Once they opened the doors we were corralled into lines based on the first letter of our last names to receive our wristbands. After we put our wristbands on, we were shuffled to the elevator and told to exit on the 2^nd floor.
The event floor was like a huge warehouse, with high ceilings and buffed cement floors. From the elevator exit we could see isles upon isles of vendor booths, including arts and crafts, sustenance, Scooby snacks for the sweet lover and those looking for gluten-​free snacks, Eco and bio friendly products, candles, and soaps, a petting pen with a piggy and a baby goat and
was there with props and a camera.
We Unilocalers definitely had a nice relaxing time here, it wasn’t overly crowded, and we even had a celeb sighting. Woo Hoo!!!
Review 89 Unilocal 100+ Challenge 2015
#thereef #craftfair #artisan #eventsinla #artisanalla

Had a great time yesterday; get the pre sale tickets and save a couple of dollars. First time here and didn’t expect much; there were hundreds to maybe thousands of people. Parking was $ 10 but we found street which was really close to the parking area for $ 2!
Lots of cool hipster shops here; we got coffee from copa vida (always good), hot sauce (mango habanero; really good), and got a crown flower for the lady. All in all it was a fun experience; bunch of cool stores to check out. I would go just for the samples again!

I heard about this event through social media and since the tickets were so cheap (not free), I just had to check it out! We went on Sunday.
=LOCATION=
Located in the LA Mart at The Reef in Downtown LA. Slightly further east from all the «hotspots» and super easy to find. We found 4 hour street parking right across the street, but if you wanted convenience, you could park in their designated parking lot ($ 10).
=EVENT=
This reminded me of a high quality farmers market, but instead of vegetables and fruits, they had local, handmade and sustainable goods. According to my boyfriend, this is the type of place he and his family would go to right before they fly back overseas to visit family. This is the kind of «American stuff» that people ask them to bring back to them.
There were not only artisanal food and drink vendors, but also products vendors from all over the country. They offered samples of some of their top quality products, and had tons for guests to purchase. Some of these vendors don’t even have storefronts… those products are usually only sold online.
There were also demonstrations on a stage, and 3 farm animals (rescues). The adorable blind goat and I became close friends when she decided to eat my hair. There was also areas for people to sit and eat lunch or enjoy some good coffee from vendors, or Copa Vida.
You like honey? There’s honey. You like soap? There’s soap. You like plants? …they’re there too. Clothing, bags, chocolate, candies, cookies, sausages, hot sauce, jelly… jelly with hot sauce, jerky, goat cheese, cutting boards, etc. The list goes on and on… seriously. Of course, with high quality items, everything you buy would be expensive. That’s just something expected, and I hope no one complains about it!

Some vendors have been around for years, some were up-​and-​coming. Regardless of how long their products have been around, each vendor put up their most friendly and professional demeanor. You can see just how proud everyone was of their stuff!

Our favorite was the Wagyu beef. Oh gosh… we must’ve gone back to that booth about 6 times, each time hoping that the vendor wouldn’t remember us since there were always so many people there. Soo good! We were tempted to buy some sausages or beef, but decided not to. We saw so many people walking around with their bags and we were highly jealous.
=FINAL VERDICT=
This was a great event. It’s not for everybody of course… it’s not a music festival and no beer. If you’re into these kind of events, you should totally try it out next time they’re around. I know my mom, and boyfriend’s mom would love this kind of stuff. I personally do too and can’t wait until the next time they’re around!

The Artisanal LA Spring Show (April 26 – 27,2014) was a good event. It costs $ 12 (+ $ 1.65 via eventbrite for advanced tickets) to get in, and there’s a nice sampling of various food items and other hand crafted items.
On Saturday ⁰⁴⁄₂₆ there were samplings of lots of beef jerky, popcorn, cookies, sauces, ice cream, preserves, and things sweet, salty or spicy.
You can buy items here, direct from the makers.
The parking is rather easy, and there’s also a paid lot that’s adjacent if you don’t /​didn’t feel like walking.