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Contests | Jun 3, 2016 |
West Elm seeks local designers in new initiative
Boh staff
By Staff

Now seeking local designers and makers, West Elm’s inaugural LOCAL Showcase is inviting artisans to present their products to their closest West Elm location. An open call for submissions is running online until June 12, and all of the brand’s 70-plus North American stores, including Puerto Rico, will host a LOCAL Showcase.

“By hosting this event in our stores, we are meeting local makers, artists and designers where they are in their own communities,” says Mo Mullen, director of West Elm LOCAL. “We are excited to continue to open up a new avenue of discovery for local talent and enable these makers and designers to pursue their craft professionally by connecting them with new customers.”


Print—​Forms Set by Austin, Texas–based West Elm collaborator Alyson Fox

West Elm shopkeepers will judge online submissions, deciding who will participate in their store’s showcases. Those selected will share their stories and products with West Elm, and each store will eventually select the products added to their LOCAL inventory as well as future pop-up events.

Products will be accepted across nine categories, including Giftable, Home Textiles, Kitchen Goods, Garden, Personal Care, Personal Items, Furniture, Decor and Food. Both the product and the maker’s story will factor in to the store’s decision-making process.

The initiative is part of the West Elm’s Communities Across America campaign, which launched online in 2013 and connects customers with local designers and makers. It also links makers to an online advice series called “Maker Tool Kit.” The program can now be found in all of the brand’s North American stores, and features over 4,500 products from 500 makers and designers across the country.

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