LAIO Pop Up Shop

A lively crowd recently joined New York-based activist designer Tatiana Pagés, an activist designer who transforms trash into "artwear" to kick off and celebrate her unique and socially conscious public art project that will be running as a pop up gallery through the end of today.

LAIO is a handcrafted collection of sustainable jewelry from recycled materials to encourage social and environmental responsibility through design.

Sixty percent of proceeds from jewelry sales from LAIO will be donated to AID FOR AIDS, a non-profit organization committed to empowering communities at risk of HIV and the population at large by developing their abilities and capacities in comprehensive prevention through access to treatment, advocacy, education and training to improve their quality of life and reduce stigma and discrimination.

The panel during the event featured Tsipi Ben-Haim, the Executive and Creative Director of CITYarts. Inc. which has been serving NYC children for over 30 years’, Bliss Lau, designer and Adjunct Professor at Parsons The New School; Karen Bachman, jewelry designer and Professor at Pratt and FIT; Tatiana Pagés, activist designer and founder of the Origomu Project & CEO of Greencard Creative. They spoke about collaborating on future projects and agreed that artists and designers bear a responsibility for transforming the world into a more sustainable and harmonious place. 

Photo credit: Michelle Cassis