From Way Out in the Design Zone

Bam. Crash. CA Boom. California’s annual trade fair of cutting-edge design--CA Boom V--is expected to make plenty of noise this month, attracting 10,000 people for its fifth anniversary. Nearly 150 exhibitors will fill Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hangar on March 14 to 16 for the burgeoning show. Impresario and founder Charles Trotter (no, not the chef) started CA Boom to fill the void he saw in the West Coast design community: “Designers here influence the world, but no one was really promoting their talent.” The fair features domestic and international fine-furniture manufacturers as well as local architects and designers. Furnishings range from 80-inch-high alligator headboards to octopus-motif wall decals. The show also offers visitors a chance to meet with up-and-coming designers and, unlike at many other trade shows, the public is welcome on Saturday and Sunday and to a trade-show party Friday night. “Forty percent of our audience is the design-savvy consumer,” Trotter says. -- One-day tickets, $20; trade-show party, $50. For more information, call (818) 735-8803 or go to www.caboomshow.com.