Designers’ Digs: Sonja Rasula’s L.A. Studio

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It’s artisan crafts month here at Westphoria and we’re celebrating all that’s local and handmade, with a spotlight on the craftspeople behind it. We asked some of our favorites to take us behind the scenes at their studios and workshops.

Today: Sonja Rasula’s office in the heart of downtown L.A.’s burgeoning Arts District. Sonja is a designer and the brains behind State of Unique, the enormous two-day marketplaces that take place in San Francisco, L.A., and New York and only sell American-made products. State of Unique’s Mission? To stimulate and nurture L.A.’s local economy, especially within the art and design communities. With Unique LA, Sonja is proving that the Angeleno economy offers more than movies: “I love downtown L.A.; I believe in it,” she says.

Sonja’s not the only one—she works among some 40 other artists, designers, and crafters in the Cooper Design Space, an 85-year-old warehouse turned creative hub for the Arts District. “Part of what I love about working here is that we are surrounded by creative people making interesting products,” she says. “Community is really important to me.”

The interior of her office is very raw, Sonja says, with the original 1927 warehouse floors, lots of exposed brick and beautiful wooden beams.

Previously: A peek inside illustrator Kate Bingaman-Burt’s Portland studio.