the APL “concept 2″ model in black and green is a light weight basketball shoe, featured in our *Moving LA* exhibition.

Athletic Propulsion Labs is a LA based, high-performance footwear and apparel company founded by Adam and Ryan Golston with products from athletes for athletes.

Their breakthrough “Load ‘N Launch™” technology in shoes instantly increases the vertical leap of athletes, and therefore got banned from the NBA, because of  ”undue competitive advantage” of the players. The ”Load ‘N Launch™” technology  is complimented by a unique, 4-layer insole engineered to work with the high-performance sockliner and internal shank plate.

Their shoe “Concept 2″ has the innovative “Load’ N Launch™” technology and is featured in our Moving LA: People-Powered Design exhibition for you to check out and buy.

Find out more about the APL “Concept 2″ Model at Ilan Dei Venice – Store & Project Lab starting on October 11 at our OPENING NIGHT PARTY!

Designed and manufactured right here in Venice for over 20 years,  surfboard shaper Scott Anderson brings his handcrafted boards to our Moving LA: People Powered Design exhibition! What once was Anderson’s hobby turned into a local Venice surf brand, known for its experience and quality.

Come see for yourself at Ilan Dei Venice – Store & Project Lab starting on October 11 at our OPENING NIGHT PARTY!

Moving LA: People Powered Design is a month-long, pop-up exhibition and store featuring locally designed and manufactured products that empower Angelenos to actively use their bodies as they enjoy the natural environment.  The exhibit, sponsored by Ilan Dei Venice, is curated by Stuart Karten, founder and principal of Karten Design.   A portion of the proceeds from the exhibit will benefit Venice Family Clinic, a community health clinic that provides affordable, quality health care to 24,000 low-income, uninsured, and homeless patients each year through eight sites on the Westside of Los Angeles.

We are excited to introduce IntelliSkin, as a part of the Moving LA: People-Powered Design exhibition.

Their performance-enhancing apparel designed in Southern California, mimics healthy muscles and provides constant feedback. Athletes like Surfers, Swimmers, Golfers, Bikers, Yogis, etc. such as Health & Fitness Professionals swear on the positive results of performance  and improved posture.

Come check out some of their very intelligent products at our POP-UP STORE starting OCTOBER 11, 2012 at our OPENING NIGHT PARTY!

Moving LA: People Powered Design is a month-long, pop-up exhibition and store featuring locally designed and manufactured products that empower Angelenos to actively use their bodies as they enjoy the natural environment.  The exhibit, sponsored by Ilan Dei Venice, is curated by Stuart Karten, founder and principal of Karten Design.   A portion of the proceeds from the exhibit will benefit Venice Family Clinic, a community health clinic that provides affordable, quality health care to 24,000 low-income, uninsured, and homeless patients each year through eight sites on the Westside of Los Angeles.

We just said our farewells to a great class of students who were interested in learning about the digital fabrication process here at Ilan Dei.  After covering the vast capabilities of the topic, we proposed a design challenge for them to solve through their own day-long projects. As it was a very successful process with some fun twists and turns, we are pleased to share a few photos of this adventure, from the first clicks of the mouse through the nitty-gritty of cnc milling. Happy viewing!

At “Let’s Talk About Food” Evening Salon

We had some really great speakers last night that were all obsessed with one idea… bringing truly fresh and sustainable foods into our hands (and bellies!). Being a new resident of Los Angeles, it was wonderful to learn of the ways that people are pushing to make a more healthy future, and all in strikingly creative ways. By popular demand, I will end this blog entry by providing some website links for our speakers. But, for those of you that couldn’t make it to the evening salon, I will give a little extra information about each person out of my own excitement for their projects. I’d like to also give a special thanks to the moderator, Michael Pinto from Project Food LA, for bringing all of the ideas of the panel together for successful discussion on great food.

Megan Hanson, Root Down LA

Rootdownla.org

She runs a non-profit business to not only get kids to eat their veggies, but to spread love and a sense of community. She established an after school program for high school students to take pride in the food they grow in their garden and teach them how to cook in a fun, home setting.

Meg Taylor, Large March Sustainables

Largemarchsustainables.com

On top of running a sustainable foods catering and picnic company, Meg and her staff set up a free food service where they cook up delicious meals from loads of donated produce and then distribute it via bike cart, feeding anybody that is hungry. Amazing!

David Rosenstein, EVOfarm

Evofarm.com

It’s not often you find someone who calls himself a farmer in LA, but this guy takes it to a whole new level. He uses aquaponics for high-density urban farming, mostly in unsuspecting neighborhood backyards (If you have a large backyard, you two might be able to make a deal!). He is in the process of designing and developing home aquaponics systems for purchase so you can easily grow your own produce, so be sure to keep an eye out!

DeKoven Ashley, Thrd Place

Thrdplace.com

This guy is the one that takes all the efforts of community members and brings it to one place that we can all get our hands on… an app! He developed a means for sustainable community members to come together through a an interactive mapping system and organize towards common goals. Definitely worth checking out on your computer or on downloading to your phone!

Kerry Clasby, California Family Farms

She provides for an unbelievably long list of farmers markets and fine dining chefs as a self-proclaimed forager. She seeks out the freshest and most specialized foods that can be found by driving up and down the coast and using her finely tuned detective skills to find what is truly fresh and organic. Us urbanites that have been blinded by the convenience of market produce could really benefit from visiting her farmers markets… check them out nearby in Culver City and Santa Monica.

One of the best things about teaching workshops here at the studio is meeting the incredibly talented and interesting people who come to participate. So we are going to start highlighting our students’ work on the blog — it’s a way to introduce you to our growing creative community and invite you to be inspired as we are!

So our first student profile is Orly Ruaimi, who flew in from San Francisco this week to attend our Rhino Level 1 Training class! Orly is a sculptor and jewelry designer who came to learn 3D modeling skills so that she can begin designing digitally. Here are just two samples of her always-bold designs: a cuff of powder-coated copper, and a gilded ceramic piece that we loved so much we had a dream about it (seriously…).

It was wonderful to meet you Orly, and we can’t wait to see what you do next with your new 3D modeling skills! A

We’re recently back from Berlin, where we were initiated into the fantastic and mesmerizing world of Berlin-style ping-pong!   And at the infamous Dr. Pong, no less…

The Berlin-style component is basically the elimination round, which occurs before every match to determine who will play the next round. As many as 30 people gather around the table with paddles and begin walking counter-clockwise, hitting the ball as their turn comes. If you miss, you are eliminated! The speed increases until only two players are left running around the table, and those two play the next match! Here is a video to give you a taste:

watch?v=zB2l03Bjof4

Soon you too might be playing ping-pong, Berlin style — because we’re bringing it to our new pop-up space on Abbot Kinney — so stay tuned, grab a paddle and prepare to run!

Welcome to summer!  On Saturday, we enjoyed an evening of storytelling, music, and a mediterranean supper at our first Salon dinner, hosted by the inimitable Jessica Fleischmann in her Echo Park home. We are reconnected with old friends, made many new ones, and were invigorated by our creative community here in Los Angeles. Can’t wait for the next one!  Want to join us next time? Be sure to add yourself to the mailing list!

Our little parking lot was graced with a parade of glamorous shoes as guests gathered for last night’s fashion-themed Evening Salon: “Beyond the Catwalk – The Other Faces of Fashion”. We couldn’t resist showcasing this rare scene!

Suddenly it’s summer, and the office is filling up with bikes. Today we set a personal best: more than half of us rode to work today!