This year’s CA Boom show took place in the Modern style, former Robinsons Department Store in Beverly Hills. (With its large areas of fake gold decoration conspicuously out of keeping with the exterior, which was added when the building served as a casino set.)

The great setting provided a lot of room for the burgeoning show.  Entering the building you encountered what looked like a huge, six-petaled mechanical flower – the newly formed Public Urban Mobile Art Project ’s (P.U.M.A.) screen printing press – printing designs created especially for the event. A few artists’ work was featured in that area but the one that attracted the most attention was Kelly Coats’ Epic. A circular zoetrope design featuring Michael Jackson, whose recent passing no doubt contributed to the piece’s popularity.

A few feet away was perhaps the most eye catching piece of the show, Alberto Frias’ ‘Transport’. An alien pod, temperature-controlled water-bed, complete with hidden speakers and lights that changed colors – extremely comfortable. Everyone wanted a picture in it. Yet it didn’t seemed like anything someone would actually purchase for their homes, rather something that would find work in some super-swanky club.

A lot of the design I preferred would not be in many private homes, but rather in the Hospitality industry. Such a piece was an extraordinary tree trunk that kept me wondering – was it real or artificial? Created by Naturemaker, and obviously very expensive, my next thought was – is there really such a huge demand for it?  Maybe for theme parks,  but not residential. Or maybe I’m just too poor and can’t think in those terms. Which brings me to Mogul.

Mogul is a seductive collection in basic black and white. It exudes sex, with flyers peppered with hot half-naked models. Aimed at James Bond, or at least James Bond wannabes, it looks like it would look at home in either porn or gothic horror.

CAustin’s beautiful and intricate screens manufacture process may have only been vaguely understood. But one thing is certain — they kick ass!

Seeming a little paranoid when it comes to dealing with the press, Beth Weintraub didn’t give me a press package, since I didn’t have a card with me (I expected my press credentials would have spoken for itself).  However to give credit where credit is due, I truly liked her work – strong colored silhouettes against a textured background -  a style we’ve seen before, but one she does really well. (Can’t show it since I have no pictures, so check her site for a look.)

Besides exhibits there were a slew of panels and book signings such as the “Mobile Design for Today” panel (everything’s becoming portable, there is a huge trend to make buildings more portable and thus more useful). The current interest in Brazilian art and design found expression in author, Alan Hess’ talk, “Oscar Niemeyer: the Sensuous Modernist”, followed by him signing his book, Oscar Niemeyer Buildings which features photographs by Alan Weintraub. Other panels and book signings included the panel on “Sustainable and Green Design” and a book signing by Ezequiel Farca, and another by legendary Disney Imagineers.

From the start the show has included home tours. This year the number of homes were way down from previous years but the tour to the Stahl house was so popular more had to be added.

Beginning to feel hungry, for the first time I noticed, two food trucks in the courtyard. (Street food may be all the rage but at this location, sans a permanent eatery in the building, it was really the only way to go.) Border Grill was serving up dinner, while Coolhaus served up desert; homemade ice cream with architecturally inspired names in edible wrapping paper. Cool!

It was past 6pm and the show, only open to the trades, was now open to the public and it was beginning to get crowded. With the new crowd the mood was changing. By 7pm the bar opened up and later DJ Rider took to the stage to entertain the crowd. It was time to celebrate the end of opening day. I was assured though that this was not the opening night party.  That was scheduled for Saturday at the new Trader Vic’s – then shouldn’t it be called a Belated Opening Night party?

Lots of changes to this year’s show, including this being the first time it was held outside of Santa Monica and instead of March, (as its been for the last three years) its in June. June 26-28^th to be exact. If those dates sound familiar its because they’re the same ones the Dwell on Design exhibition and conference occurred. Were these two major design shows ‘ready to rummbbble’?

This date brought the two shows into direct competition forcing the community to take sides. Some exhibitors like Alberto Frias and American Range were at both events, but many had to choose, one or the other. Who won – who lost?

Posted figures for Dwell are, 15,200 attendees and 175 exhibitors and there’s no doubt that CA Boom will also give grand totals as well. What’s clear are the losers; exhibitors and attendees who were forced to choose between two such great shows.

Started by Charles Trotter in 2004, CA Boom’s focus is Californian design hence the title. With the recent, CA Boom EAST, the exhibition made its first foray into new territory while keeping its focus on local design. Dwell on Design by comparison seems to include everything ”and the kitchen sink” – Wacom even had a booth there this year. And aside from the exhibition there’s the conference, seminars, loads of houses on the tours, etc. etc. – the Siggraph of design shows. With so much going on, and a decidedly younger crowd, there is inherently, a lot more excitement.

An exhibitor I spoke to at CA Boom said there was low trade attendance (possibly due to the recession.) In an online comment to a Dwell show article, an attendee expressed remorse at having gone to CA Boom rather than Dwell. Would all this hype over the Dwell show cause people to switch sides – give them a try them next year?

All photos are courtesy of CA Boom and Sunil Rampersad.