Metal + Smith is LA Bound

Los Angeles—Metal + Smith is officially a multi-city jewelry trade show.

The independent designer platform launched two years ago in New York City, branding itself as an event more intimate and less expensive than your average trade show.

Since then, the two-day showcase has taken place three times a year, even introducing a special consumer element in 2017 in which the general public could visit the show to shop during a specific time period.

Now, for the first time, Metal + Smith also will have a presence on the West Coast. It will host its first event in the region in Los Angeles on Oct. 9 and 10 at an as-of-yet undisclosed location in the Melrose Place neighborhood of West Hollywood.

“For a year now we have been asked incessantly by designers and members of the trade, when are you coming to the West Coast?” explained Senior Event Director Samantha Silverberg. “Given our size and commitment to putting on the best event possible we chose to get our footing in New York City, and then once we felt grounded, approach L.A.”

Silverberg said the Los Angeles edition will host a maximum of 40 brands, just like the New York version, and an estimated 250 to 300 invited members of the trade, as well as the same amount of pop-up visitors from neighboring Brentwood, Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles and Beverly Hills for the dedicated shopping element.

While playing host to retailers and buyers, Los Angeles also offers the opportunity to attract more celebrity stylists, bloggers and influencers.

“The markets (in New York City and Los Angeles) are so different, and it will be exciting to see the response and compare it to where it all started in New York City. The zip code might change, but the DNA of Metal + Smith will remain the same,” Silverberg said.

Silverberg is also optimistic about the caliber of local designers the jewelry trade show will attract as exhibitors. She cited a National Jeweler article from the 2017 State of the Majors annual report, which chronicled the bustling design scene in the city, as part of the inspiration to choose L.A. as Metal + Smith’s next home.

“As a platform solely focused on the empowerment and growth of true indie designers, we knew L.A. needed us and had to be the next stop on our radar,” she said.

“Unlike most traditional shows, Metal +