The Artisanal LA brand was conceived right here in Los Angeles and everything we do is still entirely curated, managed, produced and promoted in house by our team. We love and understand this market in a way that only locals can, and we couldn't be more passionate about supporting our local businesses and fellow entrepreneurs.
““Artisanal LA’s events are by far the largest contribution to increased business, foot traffic and general awareness for marketing Old Pasadena as a destination for consumers who strive to shop local, small and independent. By afternoon we’d beat all of our sales records in the last decade! This is my absolute favorite event and we love what they bring to the area.”
Our Founder
Shawna Dawson is a native Angeleno, USC grad and a brand, marketing, PR, social and viral media maven with more than two decades of experience doing business in more than a dozen countries, from the US to Romania and Japan. An avid believer in the power of community, she was blogging in her spare time when she took the reins as Director of Marketing at Yelp, spearheading development of the LA market by cultivating a loyal following alongside countless sponsorships, cross promotions and memorable events that more than quadrupled the market in a few short months.
At the helm of the boutique marketing and PR firm Sauce LA she founded in 2009, Shawna and her team consult clients, including many of the city’s top chefs and award-winning restaurants, on the virtues of grassroots, social and viral media alongside traditional PR. Shawna and her team have launched more than sixty projects of their clients’ and their own from downtown’s Lazy Ox and Lindy & Grundy to Bill Chait’s Sprout Group restaurants from Test Kitchen, Sotto and Picca to Short Order, Short Cake and Playa, to Bestia, Petty Cash, Vibiana and Republique, creating one of the city’s most prolific press machines. The team currently works with a client roster of talent that ranges from top chefs and boutique brands to some of the city’s most iconic, historic restaurants.
She’s also dreamt up and developed her own lifestyle brands including the historic crowd drawing LA Food Fest™ and trendsetting Artisanal LA™, incubating and showcasing the best independent and sustainable makers that’s evolved into a growing brand with regular pop-ups and events with partners like Coachella, West Elm, Nederlander, Caruso, Whole Foods and Tesla/SpaceX. Both brands and their events are going strong in their ninth and tenth years and are still curated, managed and produced entirely in-house. This year she's launching a new lifestyle brand – Clean Made™ – merging winning brand formulas with a strong editorial voice on the latest trends in health, wellness, sustainability and clean eating.
She’s passionate about supporting and creating marketing opportunities for other small business owners helping them get from idea to execution and to that end has worked to help incubate countless budding brands. Shawna, her brands and clients have been featured in numerous publications from the Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly to Bon Appétit and New York Magazine and she’s been recognized by the Mayor’s Office of the City of Los Angeles for her work supporting fellow entrepreneurs through Artisanal LA. She’s partnered with the city’s brightest luminaries on a number of community projects including a bid for the Greek Theatre with Nederlander/AEG and Artisanal LA Holiday Markets partnered with the City of Pasadena and City of Arcadia. She gives her time to speak to various groups about marketing and branding, is a Kiva Trustee, an active Chamber member, a proud board member of a number of local groups and associations, the creator of a thriving local community group called Beautiful Altadena, a foster parent, and warm lap to a host of rescued fur babies.
Our mission is to reduce barriers to market for indie makers through education, opportunity & awareness.
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