Our website is live!
A new home for our design practice, the questions that shape our work, our obsession with viewfinders, and the joy we build.
More to see, more to share, more to make together.
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handbuiltstudio.com
Our website is live!
A new home for our evolving practice, the intersections that shape our work, our obsession with Pantone 805, and the fuel for our fire.
More to see, more to share, more to make together.
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handbuiltstudio.com
Wednesday, April 22, 5:30pm ET (Zoom, DM for link)
Popular Music Books in Process Series
Conversation between authors Wadada Leo Smith and Nina Sun Eidsheim, and, interlocutor, Juliette Bellocq, who is a graphic designer who collaborated with Nina to design Smith’s and Eidsheim’s coauthored book, In Search of Light.
We met in 1999, decades before we formed the idea of writing a book together. Our conversations have taken place in hallways, classrooms, cars, cafes, restaurants, parking lots, and public stages; in person, and by phone and on Zoom. Since 2017, when we agreed on writing this book together, we started documenting most of our exchanges. The dialogue shared in our book is assembled from direct quotes from conversations and correspondence, recollected exchanges, and newly written reflections on the many themes we are concerned with. On the obvious level, this book is a meditation on the music and philosophy of Wadada Leo Smith. Beyond that, this book is about paying attention and about the ways in which our personal archives and the people in our lives are part of every meaning making moment.
We would love to invite you to a conversation about the process of working in collaborative narrative experimental forms, about the question of how to live a creative life in times of peril, and about the friendships that are not only necessary but which make that endeavor possible.
The book has been formed from conversations, rehearsals, dinners, car rides, phone calls, postcards, emails, text messages, and recorded and transcribed formal interviews. Nina culled from this material to create a shape and worked intensely with the designer Juliette Bellocq to realize the communication not only in words and images, but also in the ways they were presented on the page and in the physical object of a book. We have created a mock up, the book is under review.
As we settle into 2026, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the year behind us. It was a year shaped by care and collaboration. In a time marked by formidable challenges for Los Angeles, we were reminded repeatedly why we do this work.
We contributed to 24 architectural projects with @nacarchitecture and completed 12 graphic design projects, including branding for educational and cultural organizations, exhibition graphics, publications, social media campaigns, printed matter, and websites.
Sustainability and resiliency guided our decisions, alongside playfulness, curiosity, and a willingness to try bold ideas. When things felt heavy, making became a way forward.
This year, we’re excited to deepen collaborations with artists and cultural institutions, continue enriching learning environments, grow our wayfinding and signage planning work, and experiment with new fabrication methods. Above all, we’re looking forward to surprising each other through care, curiosity, and making together.
#handbuiltstudio
Thank you, @calartsgd , for featuring our 2008 book Pae White: Lisa, Bright & Dark, in Yesterday + Today + Tomorrow this past weekend. Paging through the archive with alumni and students was such a treat.
Commissioned by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with Curator Cassandra Coblentz and Artist Pae White, the book looks at White’s work contextualized within her personal environment. We constructed a visual narrative through an assembly of personal stories, photographs, and references to the teachings of Corita Kent.
Selected spreads were printed using a split fountain. Three different fluorescent and metallic inks were used on the same press roll, mixing over time, resulting in various gradients.
Recent work for @makcenter - Exhibit Furniture for Agnes Denes: The Future is Fragile. Exhibit components from a prior show were repurposed into a new leg system with printed plywood with supergraphics designed by Juliette from @handbuiltstudio
Installation view of Agnes Denes: The Future Is Fragile, MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House, Saturday, October 18, 2025 – Sunday, January 18, 2026. Photography by @joshschaedel
What an honor to collaborate with @grandpark_la & @musiccenterla on their Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos celebration.
Each year, the park transforms into a vibrant space for Los Angeles to honor loved ones through community. Our design for this year’s program draws inspiration from the park itself, with layered steps standing as an altar for the city, blooms shining in celebration, and roots and glowing light guiding us between day and night, life and death.
We’re proud to support 𝘌𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘴, a vibrant civic space that continues to bring Los Angeles together through art, culture, and care. Thank you to the fierce Gloria Molina Grand Park’s team for trusting us with this meaningful collaboration. We are in awe of your commitment to the vibrancy of public spaces. We hope to see everyone there.
Opening Celebration: Oct 25, 11am–4pm
Noche de los Muertos: Nov 2, 3–7pm
Gloria Molina Grand Park, Downtown Los Angeles
Free + Open to All
#GrandParkLA #DiaDeLosMuertos #NocheDeLosMuertos #ElParqueParaTodos #HandbuiltStudio
Congratulations to @makcenter on the opening of “The Future is Fragile,” an exhibition of work by Agnes Denes, at the Schindler House.
Handbuilt collaborated with their amazing team on the design of graphics for the exhibition. This was a very special experience for which we are incredibly grateful.
MAK Center for Art and Architecture | Schindler House
October 18, 2025–January 18, 2026
Opening Reception: October 18, 7–9 PM
What a dream to collaborate with @grandpark_la powered by the @musiccenterla on graphics for Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Sunday Sessions—a celebration of house music and community in the heart of downtown LA.
We created a joyful mix of social, web, and print materials: Instagram carousels, animations, ID badges, posters, and wayfinding signage. We gathered all our ingredients—plant shapes, ambient photographs, textures, colors—from the park itself.
The design builds like a beat: layered, rhythmic, and full of movement. Our goal? To stop you mid-scroll and invite you into the energy of this special place.
Catch the next Sunday Sessions on August 17, 3–8pm. Free & All Ages. Hope to see you on the dance floor.
#handbuiltstudio #housemusic #sundaysessionsdtla
We’re excited to share that CalArts has been awarded Gold in the @caseadvance Circle of Excellence Awards for their new website.
Huge congratulations and thanks to the brilliant @calarts team for trusting us with a site that explores sonic translation, porosity, and exuberance in the digital space. Grateful for the collaboration, and so proud to see this work recognized.
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@calarts
#caseawards #calarts #webdesign
Hiya, Brooke here. I am excited to invite you to join us for a workshop where you can make your own colorful paper chandelier to take home with you. Your donation for the event supports youth impacted by the Eaton Fire.
To attend, RSVP at the link in bio. You will be asked to donate $60 or more per person directly to Five Acres or Altadena Girls.
We will gather at our office in Chinatown and learn how to create pajaki, guided by a few copies of Karolina Merska”s gorgeous book, Making Mobiles.
No experience necessary. All supplies are included. Can’t wait to see you there!
Link to register in bio.
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@nacarchitecture@altadenagirls@fiveacresorg
#pajaki #artfundraiser
