Grace Bonney, writer and editor of popular daily website Design*Sponge, will be leading a D*S Biz Ladies Series this month at the American Visionary Art Museum. If you have ever wondered about starting your own business, particularly within the realm of art and design, this is an opportunity you should not miss.

D*S Biz Ladies Series in Los Angeles.

The D*S Biz Ladies Series is part of a national series of networking events, hosted by Grace, that are intended to bring together local designers and offer free advice on the intricacies of running one’s own business. Topics include PR/marketing, wholesale/retail and business/legal issues.

Design*Sponge, which was started in 2004, is a website "dedicated to home and product design.” A Brooklyn-based writer and contributing editor to CRAFT magazine, Grace is a design guru with an incredible resume of experience as a freelancer for publications like Home and Garden, Everyday with Rachel Ray, and Food and Wine (to name a few). Read more about her here.

Next Thursday’s lineup will include local designer Kat Feuerstein of Gilah Press + Design, a custom letterpress stationary company. Kat is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and her designs have been featured in Style, Lucky, The Washington Post, as well as numerous other international publications. Recently, Gilah Press + Design collaborated with the design department at Anthropologie to create a series of hand pressed postcards that are currently being sold in 85 stores nationwide.

Megan Luther and Lesley Jennings of doubledutch Boutique in Hampden will also speak at the series. doubledutch won Best Women’s Clothing store in the City Paper’s 2006 and 2007 Best of Baltimore. The shop carries a funky collection of apparel and accessories from established and emerging brands including a healthy handful of local designers. doubledutch has been featured in Style, Paper Doll, and Baltimore Magazine.

Details about the evening:

Location: American Visionary Art Museum (click here for directions)
Date and Time: Thursday, July 31, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
RSVP (requested but not required): Send an email with the subject line 'Baltimore RSVP' to designsponge@gmail.com

Finally, these are pot-luck style meet-ups, so if you can, bring some goodies.

See you there!

{Special thanks to Rachel Bone and Sarah Allred of the Charm City Craft Mafia, and to Anne Ditmeyer of Pret a Voyager and Design*Sponge}