Troy Hanson and Megan Reilly, former heads of the AD Home Show, have announced plans to launch westedge, a premier contemporary design fair that will take place Oct. 3-6, 2013 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.

The inaugural show is set to feature approximately 200 leading national and international brands in a sophisticated, accessible environment. Trade and consumer seminars, culinary demonstrations and samplings, wine tastings, thought-provoking feature exhibitions, and special events round out the fair’s offerings.

Collectively, Hanson and Reilly have over 25 years of experience managing and producing residential and commercial design fairs in the U.S., including the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and NeoCon (Chicago) and NeoCon West (Los Angeles).

“For years, our clients and partners have encouraged us to expand to the West Coast," said Hanson. "Given the

demand for such an event, coupled with Los Angeles’ reputation as a premier design hub, we felt the time was right to pursue the opportunity."

According to Reilly, “Our careers have afforded us the opportunity to work in key regional markets. Having previously collaborated with the Los Angeles A&D community, we are excited to offer a platform that builds upon both new and existing relationships and further highlights the strong talent pool and great design coming out of California. We are involving multiple media partners, cultural institutions, national trade associations, etc. And, we’re excited that Veronika Miller, Founder of Modenus, is bringing BlogTour to LA to coincide with westedge. The overwhelming response from our partners to date continues to emphasize the enthusiasm that surrounds the West Coast market place. ”

Westedge will cater to the architecture and design trade, and target design-savvy consumers of Southern California, as well as the broader western United States.