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
- @souris @ljoliet So cute! I think we've come around to possibly investing in Tolix!
- @LangeAlexandra So cute! (and not wrong at all!)
- Pretty sure I need these Marimekko Chuck Taylors for all my walking needs http://t.co/RXPABleX cc @LangeAlexandra
- @souris @ljoliet I think Tolix are a little too "French bistro" for us. Or maybe I'm just saying that because we can't afford them!
- Looking for metal (powder-coated?) chairs for our new outdoor dining table. Can be old or new. Any ideas where to buy in LA? @Ljoliet?
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.
Category Archives: greening
Eat My Words: Creatively Engaged
As you know, I’ve been spending some time with the GOOD people lately. And you know what? They really are good people. So I was thrilled to write a little design-year-in-review for their annual State of the Planet issue. “Creatively … Continue reading
How I move through Los Angeles
Awesome decking of halls, something I never would have noticed if I wasn’t walking on a random street near Beverly and Vermont Last night was another incredible evening of GOOD December as transportation activists and foodies (really, one in the … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, building, Good, greening, riding, speaking, walking
View Comments
Bus advertising
You may have seen the strikingly simple ads for Metro around LA: Problem/Solution; Villain/Hero; Stress/Relief; Bitter/Sweet (watch them pop up on the Metro homepage). I wrote about Metro’s new design-centric operations for Fast Company and reported on it for DnA … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, creating, greening, riding, walking
View Comments
Smoke gets in your eyes
With Los Angeles ringed by fire, people want to know, besides the permeating mist of Real Campfire Scent®, besides your clothes smelling like the cheap incense your hippie neighbor insisted on burning illegally in the dorms, besides the ash on … Continue reading
Posted in greening, growing, watching
View Comments
Tour de Farmers’ Market
Sure, it was no 25K mountain climb, but the quick SOAR race last Sunday through the agricultural basin of Moorpark was like a high-speed harvest preview. We parked in a walnut grove, where the loud craaaaacks underfoot were actually perfect … Continue reading
Posted in eating, greening, growing, walking
View Comments
Sweetness in Seattle
In Seattle this week for a speaking gig, where I always seem to find myself at the Olympic Sculpture Park, quite possibly one of my favorite places on the planet. The team at Weiss/Manfredi designed huge swaths of grass and … Continue reading
Birds of Hollywood
I don’t know about you, but this is what I wake up to every morning. It starts at 7am in a nearby eucalyptus tree, swells to a fever pitch an hour later and then fades to a random chirp by … Continue reading
Posted in creating, greening
View Comments
Eat My Words: Thinking outside the wine in a box
It’s been awhile since I did one of these so I’m a little behind in my articles; forgive me, please. But this piece on wine packaging in the June issue of Fast Company was one of my favorites to write. … Continue reading
Posted in creating, eating, Fast Company, greening, growing
View Comments
