I *heart* craft shows. There are always interesting things to look at and taste. For Artisinal, the parking was a tad bit expensive for my taste. Also, the food options were all sweets. Now, don't get me wrong. I love dessert. I just wanted something savory as well. As a result, we had to hit up a lunch place afterwards, and it would have been nice to have grabbed a bite of something unique and different. That being said....there was a girl selling these AMAZING smores bites. I totally forgot the name of the company (I have to look at the bag when I get home -- of course I bought a bag....or maybe two....), but they were OUT OF CONTROL. My friend and I almost wet ourselves trying the samples. There was also a cute tea stand that sold these tea droplets shaped into flowers and hearts, etc. They completely dissolved in the hot water. I wanted to get some of these as well, but my friend pulled me away, seeing as I had already bought a number of things by then. I purchased a box of Brazilian chocolates called brigadiero, but my dog found it before I got to open it. So very sad. Lastly, my biggest purchase was two table lights with filament bulbs. They have touch sensors made of antique pocket watch innards and a sleeping fox. They were fairly expensive, but I love them and put them out immediately. read more

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! read more

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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 Bon 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 read more

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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. read more

Artisanal LA - This scone was more like a moist muffin, it was the best scone ever! (other scones I've had are usually dry & hard biscuits) - Pop-up Shops Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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 10th and Sunday, October 11th 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 Yelpers 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 2nd 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 Socialbooth.com was there with props and a camera. We Yelpers definitely had a nice relaxing time here, it wasn't overly crowded, and we even had a celeb sighting. Woo Hoo!!! Review 89 Yelp 100+ Challenge 2015 #thereef #craftfair #artisan #eventsinla #artisanalla read more

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Vendors, listen to Toni's review below. We did not have the best experience as a first time vendor in Pasadena on June 15th with the founder, Shawna. It was in an alley way with zero foot traffic, the spots and effort of the set up were mediocre. We all had to buy $52 dollar one day 'business licenses' through the city (** ahem * she should have covered that for the amount we paid for the booth fee and the foot traffic, which she said we were lucky we paid $350 because its 'normally double'). It started at 11am and after walking around around 2pm and talking to other vendors, because it was so slow... they were telling me that the founder, Shawna, had comped them for this event because her last event had zero foot traffic! Everyone was miserable and telling me what a negative experience they've had working with her. And then, she ended up comping everyone else AGAIN because this one was so slow. She walked around with an attitude defending herself to everyone saying she passed out 10,000 flyers in the area. She also said she didn't 'push' on all of her marketing channels because she didn't want to be overwhelmed because her last event brought '15,000' people. Please, overwhelm your vendors with sales, it's what markets are for haha! She made the vendors load-in from a parking lot that was far and ridiculous vs. blocking off the proper street area with cones from the city and having the load-in time earlier. After I told her that I'm going to load-in in an area that made sense, she said 'do not do that or you won't be invited back' and honestly, I'm never working with this woman again. Your vendors are what makes your market even exist so you treat them with respect and help to make their experience a positive one. Prior to the event, her 'team' which I'm assuming is her and one other person, repeatedly asked us to sign the contract and re-send numerous times and then ASKED US TO sign again in person? Unorganized, yes. The mediocre street signs (market on brown paper) and deflating balloons at each end of the street were the only outdoor decor to let foot traffic know there was a market going on, the music area where the singer was singing had zero shade, the overall ambiance of the event and market was non-existent. Save your time and money and do West Coast Craft or Urban Air Market! read more

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! read more

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I admit this Spring show's lineup wasn't as impressive as the Summer 2015 one, but here's why I still gave it 5 stars: Let me start out by saying from the time you enter the service is top notch. Even though most of the helpers say "volunteer" on their badge they don't act like community service workers. The Reed space is pretty crowd friendly and even the narrow aisles don't make you feel claustrophobic. The end aisles are much wider and there are actually places to rest if you need it. The mix of food and art booths are pretty equal. My guess is that the majority of people, myself included, prefer the food booths, but I understand it is more perishable so things like jewelry, cards and soaps make sense to have here too. It's all relative and to me Artisanal LA has take over where Unique LA started. Some of he vendors could be more friendly, but hey it's their business that suffers from being grumps. I feel like you can stay here for a while here and not get a headache. Street parking is plentiful if you're like me and hate paying to park. Also it just seems more organized. Kudos to the team for running a top notch show. I go to a decent amount of food-related shows and this is one of my favorites. read more

To quote my husband, "it's like you're walking around in Etsy". And that's exactly what it was like! Everything was so cute and so detailed. From the vendors decorated booths, to the greenery and paper flowers photo booth, down to the coloring book table runners! Soooooo cute! And in hindsight, not the best place for a double date, more like a girls date, but whatever, sorry husbands, we do action movies for you. There was a pretty good variety of Etsy-esque stuff: jewelry, beauty products, home goods, and of course, tons of food! Almost all the vendors were super friendly! They offered up samples of all kinds of yummy things like cookies, ice tea, brownies, and hot sauce and were passionate and excited about their products. We walked away with: green tea soap with loofah pieces, chimmichurri sauce, pear jam, and hot sauce. There were also activities every hour ranging from flower crown making, marshmallow making, coffee scrub making, you get the picture. All these activities had an additional fee. So why the 3 stars? I just find it ridiculous that this is a paid event. While it was very cute, trendy, and well organized, it was very similar to a farmer's market (with less produce) or something like the Abbott Kinney festival. I expected to get something in return for the ticket price, not just the privilege to walk around and buy stuff. I've seen almost all these vendors before at similar (free) events. If the ticket price included at least one workshop, I think that would've been more fair. Also, the whole thing could've been bigger. We walked through it all, stopping to talk to almost every vendor, in 1.5 hours. Overall, cute and fun, but I doubt I'd do it again. read more

I prepaid to be a vendor at Artisanal LA's Sunday Funday events scheduled on the 2nd Sunday's of most months. I arrive at the event on October 14 only to find the lot vacant. After several unanswered emails and phone calls , I get an email stating that all future events were canceled and that the vendors were notified in September...except I wasn't. I had a lot of customers show up as well which just looks bad. After being told my refund of $250 was mailed, it's been three weeks and still no check. This is simply unscrupulous and Shawna Dawson, Fran Linscott and their team should be embarrassed and are facing legal action. You canceled the event, return my deposit! read more

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. read more

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! read more

My best friend and I went during their holiday show, and just purchased tickets to go back in April. There are so many different things: crafts, food, gardening supplies...and the best part is that your purchases are helping out small, local businesses. We sampled so many delicious goodies (fruity tea-infused tequila, beer, and vodka; ramen crispy treats, chocolate, vegan "cheese", beef jerky, etc.). Some of the items offered are quite expensive, so I have to remember to budget. I also have to remember to bring a small lunch cooler. They had this really good cheese alternative, but I didn't get it since I had no way to store it for the ride back. Right now, you can get early bird pricing for tickets, otherwise it's $15 at the door-- cash only. Parking is, of course, not free so be sure to have some extra cash on-hand. read more