WEST ELM CELEBRATES LOCAL CRAFT AND COMMUNITY WITH SECOND ANNUAL ‘LOCAL SHOWCASE’ AND SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

The West Elm LOCAL program today celebrates its growth into 86+ stores with two initiatives dedicated to its support of local craft and building communities. West Elm will host its second annual “LOCAL Showcase” on June 8, calling upon local furniture makers and designers to submit their products for consideration in their store’s LOCAL assortment. West Elm also announced it will broaden its support of local artists to include musicians, singers and bands with its new concert series “Celebrate LOCAL”, bringing live music experiences to 12 West Elm locations across the U.S. beginning in June.

“West Elm LOCAL program sets out to celebrate local craft and build mutually beneficial relationships between our stores and local makers,” said Mo Mullen, director of West Elm LOCAL. “We are excited to bring LOCAL to life in a more impactful way with an expanded local furniture assortment and our live in-store concert series. Together, these local experiences allow us to connect shoppers with the artists behind the craft and grow our LOCAL network of more than 800 artisans and designers.”

The 2017 “LOCAL Showcase” will focus exclusively on discovering local furniture makers and designers to expand West Elm’s selection of locally produced furniture products such as side tables, benches, coffee tables and more. On June 8, West Elm locations will invite select makers from online submissions to share their stories and products for a chance to join the LOCAL assortment and participate in future pop-up events. A complete list of participating stores and event information is available at westelmLOCALshowcase.eventbrite.com. The inaugural “LOCAL Showcase” in 2016 drew in 200+ entries nationwide, resulting in the addition of 160 new makers and designers and 1,600 new products across multiple categories to the West Elm LOCAL assortment.

The “Celebrate LOCAL” concert series provides rising local musicians with a platform to share their craft and aims to create an environment for communities to connect with local musical talent. The local concerts will take place at West Elm stores in communities across the U.S from June through August, including:

• Birmingham, MI
• Boulder, CO
• Brooklyn, NY
• Charlotte, NC
• Edina, MN
• Seattle, WA

For more information on the Celebrate LOCAL concert series, including confirmed dates, location and talent, visit westelmcelebrateLOCAL.eventbrite.com. To participate in the 2017 “LOCAL Showcase” furniture makers submitted their work online via westelmLOCALshowcase.eventbrite.com. Makers and designers were then notified by their local West Elm store if they were selected to participate in the June 8 showcase. For more information about the West Elm LOCAL program or to discover stories about current LOCAL makers visit the Front + Main blog at blog.westelm.com.

About West Elm

Headquartered in Brooklyn, NY since 2002, West Elm opened its first store in DUMBO, the neighborhood it still proudly calls home. With a mission of harnessing the power of design and human connection to enrich lives, everything West Elm does is designed to make an impact in everyday life, from creating unique, affordable designs for modern living and commitment to Fair Trade Certified, from LOCAL and handcrafted products to community-driven collaborations and events. The brand operates 99 retail stores in the United States, Australia, Canada and the UK, ships internationally to customers around the world and operates stores in Mexico, the Middle East and Philippines through unaffiliated franchisees. In addition to home furnishings retail, West Elm operates West Elm Workspace in the commercial furnishings industry and announced its expansion into the travel and hospitality industry with the launch of West Elm HOTELS. West Elm publishes the blog Front+Main and is part of an active community on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube. West Elm is a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands.

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