Designer and co-owner of L&D15, Lopeti Etu, created not only the chandeliers and table centerpieces for the event's main floor banquet, but he also designed and made several of the attendees' clothing - all out of paper.
Etu designed and sewed a total of five custom paper items - a man's tuxedo jacket, a paneled bustier, a sixties-era women's jacket, a dazzling Roaring Twenties style flapper dress in gold and red, and a black Italian crepe paper strapless ball gown.
Etu worked most of May on these items, starting the Monday after the store's Kentucky Derby party. Etu is on the Figge Art Museum Gala committee, and volunteered to create both the centerpieces and suspended chandeliers for the event. The geometric chandeliers were made from recycled cardboard boxes, while the flowers sitting on each of the banquet tables were made from a lighter paper, then individually hand dipped.
L&D15 is a new kind of retail for the Quad Cities, featuring artists and designers from the area, as well as from other parts of the country. In addition, owners David Balluff and Lopeti Etu use part of the shop as a workspace, hand making custom hats, silkscreening t-shirts and designing clothing.
L&D15 is open daily, from 10am - 7pm, and is located at 520 West 2nd St. between Scott and Western in downtown Davenport. For more information, visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/ landd15 or at landd15.com
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