LA Premier Makes Its Debut in West Hollywood

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Imagine a traditional, Victorian style mirror in a frame of cobalt blue instead of gilt, and ottomans and chairs in classic shapes, re-imagined with unorthodox fabrics and finishes. Above, a crystal chandelier has been given a humorously macabre make-over with a thick coat of melting black rubber that drips like stalactites.

These are just a few of the surprising sights and delights a visitor will find when they enter LA Premier. The brainchild of two young designers, Jay Michael and Joe Balanzar, LA Premier opened on August 21, 2011 as a showcase for the dynamic duo’s unique and sometimes challenging design vision.

Everything in the showroom demands a second look. Blending elements of cyberpunk, Japanese anime, re-imagined Victorian, and the urban brutalism of designers like Frank Gehry with the colorful spirit of Modernist Kelly Wearstler, Joe Balanzar and Jay Michael have created and curated a collection of furniture that expresses their irreverent artistic vision.


Balanzar and Michael, partners in life as well as business, happily subvert all expectations by re-purposing factory and military artifacts and subjecting traditional pieces of furniture to extreme industrial methods and techniques, including the use of high-gloss automobile paint, and occasionally, blow torches. Metallic finishes, both polished and painted are an important part of their hard-edged and hyper-masculine style. They share an unfiltered aesthetic that is unfettered by design convention.

Inspired by the diverse and ever-changing cityscape of Los Angeles, LA Premier, at the intersection of La Cienega and Santa Monica Boulevards, is also at the intersection of noir and screwball comedy, dark glamor and sparkling wit.

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