El Dot Designs
November 3rd - 25th, 2012
Come celebrate at Fifth Floor Gallery with El Dot Designs as they debut their new “2X” furniture collection. This new collection as well as many of El Dot’s other furniture and accessory pieces will be for sale and displayed among a photo series showing the process of their mindfully designed hand-made pieces. Leo and Lishu Rodriguez are the husband and wife founders of El Dot. Their furniture is made both in the Pacific Northwest and in Nepal, where the designers lived for many years working with local artisans.
Their time in Kathmandu, Nepal, beginning in 2003, was a pivotal point in the development of the studio as they were exposed to the vast potential of bamboo and the needs of billions of people that live in poverty everyday while holding so much untapped resource potential. Utilizing Design as a catalyst for change, they focused their work in designing bamboo based products while providing skill development and employment opportunities to artisans of various skill levels. The result is an innovative approach for creating products that truly benefit all.
The studio returned to Seattle in 2007 and the economic crisis that followed made it evident that smart design with sustainable materials and practices that involved our global community can create a positive impact for all.