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.
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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: August 2011
“Old broads don’t need stuff”
I have never been one to fret about getting older—each year gets better and better, plus there’s the annual promise of ice cream and cake—but even I admit that 50 is looming out there like a big, shadowy question mark. … Continue reading
Posted in crafting, creating, writing
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Rethinking LA
What will LA look like 50 years from now? And how do we get there? Those are the questions poised by Rethink LA, a collective of creatives who create conversations, publications, and events about the future of LA. For their first … Continue reading
Posted in speaking, Street Walker, writing
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It’s a trip
You know that feeling the week after you get back from a great vacation? It’s like a whole new level of despair you thought previously unachievable. Post-partyum depression. You stare at the blank, soulless computer screen, trying to do your … Continue reading
Posted in riding, traveling
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Tomato tree
So we thought we’d grow some tomatoes this year. We bought a few varieties and stuck them in our planter box that we built last spring. But things didn’t go as planned. The plants either didn’t like the hot sun … Continue reading
Posted in building, crafting, eating, growing
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Paradise
Kauai? Bora Bora? No sir, this is just a little slice of the California coast, more specifically a slice of Julia Pfeiffer State Park. These are McWay Falls, which we came across in Big Sur, towards the end of our … Continue reading
Posted in traveling
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Saving the giants
I didn’t really understand until I saw them myself. But I would say that seeing the sequoia trees in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is one of those things that everyone needs to do. Imagine this. You stand in … Continue reading
Posted in growing, traveling, writing
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Google moves mountains [Updated]
I’ll get back to the photos of our trip in the next post, but first I wanted to recount an odd moment when I was looking up directions on my iPhone while we were in Yosemite. Anyone who knows the … Continue reading
Posted in traveling
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Don’t go chasing
We’re home! I’ve finally uploaded all the photos from our trip (part one; part two). And there’s one recurring theme… Misty rainbow-covered waterfall! Gorgeous green-tinted waterfall! Gushing ice-cold waterfall! Tucked away in the forest waterfall! Waterfall with so much spray … Continue reading
Posted in traveling, walking
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