Hey there! My name is Alissa. I’m a writer, a gelato-eater, and a walker in LA.
You can learn more about who I am, what I write, why I walk, and even see where I live and work. Last year I was honored to be named as an USC/Annenberg Getty Arts Journalism fellow. You also might like this talk I gave about how to do the work you love.
Welcome to Gelatobaby
Follow me at @gelatobaby
- @jamorefield 11-13!
- @samkap Not speaking, just listening!
- @charmgirl Thanks! Keep writing!
- @chillychoons Nice!
- @morganfahey It's true, sunsets are very dangerous.
Come say hello
- GOOD Design for Cities
A new event series hosted by Alissa and supported in part by ArtPlace is coming to Portland and St. Louis. Here's how creatives can apply to be part of it.
- GOOD Design for Cities
Check out our next de LaB
- Design East of La Brea is a monthly party I co-host with Haily Zaki, Marissa Gluck and Erin Cullerton. Almost always east of La Brea. Learn more about past de Labs and sign up for our monthly newsletter.
-
Click on some recent posts
Read my articles elsewhere
You can find my writing most days at GOOD, or at Fast Company's new design site, Co.Design, or over at Dwell. You can also read about my 13 favorite stories from 2010.
- Waaaaay Back to the Future
Fast Company, August 2011
Nike's 23-year journey to make Marty McFly's AirMag shoes real. - Meet the Makers
Details, July 2011
Profile of Saul Griffith, an engineer and inventor who could change the way we make... everything. - Sasaki's Heartbeat
Dwell, June 2011
A studio visit with the Japanese-born artist Sasaki, who has been drawing people's heartbeats for 15 years. - Is LA's Public Transit a Joke? This Comedian Sure Hopes So
GOOD, June 2011
For comedian Kristina Wong, living car-free isn't just an act. - Middle School Students Tell LAUSD: No More Styrofoam
GOOD, April 2011
A group of sixth graders mounts a campaign to rid their school of the evil white foam. - The Future of Reading Online [Video]
Fast Company, March 2011
At SXSW, I interviewed designer Khoi Vinh about tablets, pay walls, and browsers. - How LA's "Farmers Field" Could Boost Urban Agriculture
GOOD, February 2011
Let's turn the city's new football stadium into the world's biggest urban farm. - BOOM! Palm Springs Plans a Wacky Old Folks Community
Fast Company, February 2011
10 architects have collaborated on a very unique new kind of retirement home for gays. - The Design Difference
GOOD, January 2011
How can design help create change in the underserved community of Brownsville, New York? A three-part series. - Why We Don't Need Any More Anonymous Critics
GOOD, January 2011
Let's stop the dining in disguise and make food critics powerful, public voices for real social change. - The Rise of the Bus-Riding Celebrity
GOOD, October 2010
Why don't more eco-minded celebrities in LA take public transit? - Can Design Save the World?
Fast Company, October 2010
Profiles of superstar emerging designers Candy Chang and Bobby C. Martin, Jr. - Where My Ladies At?
GOOD, August 2010
Why aren't there more women in industrial design? - At Home with Ed Begley, Jr.
Dwell, June 2010
I visited LA's greenest celebrity to talk about gardening, solar panels and riding the bus. - Why I Write About Design Now
GOOD, May 2010
How we need to cover the design industry: Without a chair in the world. - Here's Why the Banksy Movie is a Banksy Prank
Fast Company, April 2010
The world's most famous street artist makes a documentary? I'm not buying it. - If You Lived Here, You'd Be Urban By Now
GOOD, Spring 2010
The case against fake "walkable urbanism" developments which are neither walkable or urban. - Why Can't the World's Best Architects Build Better Websites?
Fast Company, March 2010
Loading... - The Fake Freeway Sign that Became a Real Public Service
GOOD, January 2010
Artist Richard Ankrom's act of guerrilla public service improved the commuter experience.
- Waaaaay Back to the Future
View my photos
Try some gelato
- Catch up on my latest gelato adventures, or find gelato using my Gelatobaby GeLAtomap.
Monthly Archives: November 2010
Art class
We’ve been inside a lot of artist studios this week, but I have to say some of the most exciting and innovative work I’ve seen was not created in a studio at all. It did not originate in Chinatown or … Continue reading
Posted in building, creating, designing, USC/Annenberg Getty
View Comments
Cold shoulder
I know the biggest question you probably have about this fellowship: Are they feeding me enough gelato? You’ll be happy to hear that not only am I receiving my recommended daily allowance of cool, creamy treats procured from all over … Continue reading
Posted in gelatoing, USC/Annenberg Getty
View Comments
On another note
Meet my new alarm clock. I’m pretty sure it’s the best one I’ve ever had. More about the USC/Annenberg Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship. More photos here.
Posted in building, creating, USC/Annenberg Getty
View Comments
The perpetual nowness of then
Los Angeles is not very good at remembering. The problem is something that art critic and writer Hunter Drohojowska-Philp called “perpetual nowness”—in our constant quest for the hottest, newest, trendiest, sexiest, we suffer from a collective cultural amnesia about what … Continue reading
Posted in creating, designing, USC/Annenberg Getty
View Comments
A jolly good fellow
I’m sitting in a hotel room in rainy downtown Los Angeles, about to embark upon the first full day of my USC/Annenberg Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to start anything in my life, … Continue reading
Posted in building, designing, eating, USC/Annenberg Getty
View Comments
‘Tis of thee
I haven’t properly visited DC in years, and as I arrived last week for the Open Cities conference I was once again charmed by its comfortably-scaled, vaguely-European downtown streets just made for exploring. Although, as I was kindly reminded by … Continue reading
Stumble upon
I was thrilled to spend so much time this past week with my fellow city nerds, both in Brownsville, Brooklyn with the Japan Society Innovators Network and at Next American City’s Open Cities conference in DC. A topic that came … Continue reading
Posted in speaking, Street Walker, traveling
View Comments
Turning Japanese
I’m in New York this week participating in the very exciting Innovators Network for the Japan Society (then heading to DC for the Open Cities conference, then embarking upon my USC/Annenberg Getty fellowship…all in one week!). After spending the first … Continue reading
Posted in gelatoing, traveling
View Comments
