kaboom!

Saturday I went to the ca boom show in Santa Monica. Ca boom is your typical convention center type home show, but with a modernist and smart design twist. I wasn’t sure what to expect, because (oddly enough for a show geared toward designers) their website is completely illegible and unusable, but I went anyway. Vendors range from artists to architects, along with (modernist) home tours and lectures. I went in hopes of going on the Venice home tour, but I wasn’t prepared for the $75 price tag on top of the $20 admission fee (and the $10 parking). I’m sure it was worth it, but I just wasn’t in the mindspace for it. So I wandered the show floor. Interesting stuff. It struck me how overused the word “design” is – ca boom markets itself as a design show – which, as a graphic designer, is what first attracted me, but there was no graphic design represented (nor any reason for there to be) – interior design, space design, home design, yes. Does anyone out there not call themselves a “designer”? I caught a cool lecture, so I felt like I got to see more than just a trade-show floor; next year I’ll be prepared for the price of the tour. That would have made the experience worth every penny.