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Post Labor Day, it always feels a little like we in the design world are heading back to school, with reunions happening at gallery openings, showroom launches, and markets across the country. For his dispatch this month, AD’s West Coast editor Mayer Rus taps into the idea of reunion, spotlighting David Wiseman’s outpost in Frogtown that has welcomed creatives of all ilk for evenings of conversation. Hey David, if you’re reading this—mind saving us a seat by the fire? —Lila Allen
Wiseman’s Wonderland
Those who know me know that I’m really not a kumbaya, hands-across-the-water kind of guy. The idea of communing with my fellow man—especially in any professional or quasi-professional space—frankly fills me with dread. Which is why I’m so astonished to find myself eagerly anticipating any chance to visit David Wiseman’s studio in the scrappy neighborhood of Frogtown, hard by the LA River. Whether it’s for a vernissage of new work, a quinceañera, a Passover seder, or a fireside performance with the maestro on guitar, an invitation to the artist’s sprawling compound has become one of the hottest tickets in town. The place is a world of wonder—equal parts Santa’s workshop, Willy Wonka–style fantasyland, and bohemian drum circle, set against the backdrop of kilns, cauldrons, foundries, and workbenches, where highly skilled artisans bring Wiseman’s extraordinary creations to life.
Wiseman has been cultivating his dream factory for the better of a decade, building production spaces, showroom facilities, gardens, and areas for alfresco entertaining. But the keystone of the whole operation arrived only recently in the form of a freestanding, sculptural, open-mouth fireplace set in the central courtyard. Wiseman’s hearth—originally a castoff from one of his private commissions—beckons all manner of design connoisseurs, hipsters, fellow artists, collectors, and random seekers of arcane delights, all telling stories, catching up, and creating memories painted in a flame-licked glow that softens details and hard lines and highlights the warmth, camaraderie, and sparkling intimacy of moments when fire and jokes crack together.
