If I weren’t going out of town this weekend, I would spend a good part of either Saturday or Sunday at Unique LA–that’s the truth. This two-day shopping extravaganza takes place downtown at the California Market Center penthouse (110 East Ninth Street), 11-7 Saturday and 11-5 Sunday. It’s $5 to get in, with 50% of ticket proceeds going to a local charity. I went to the first one, last year, holiday season, and it rocked. In my mind, it was the perfect combination of artists, crafters, and designers–plenty of the requisite glue-gunned felty things along with designer togs, screen prints, art glass, eco-whatnots, fun punk baby clothes, and all sorts of other things you didn’t even realize you needed. I’ve been to Felt Club and Bazaar Bizarre. This is better, methinks: more places to sit down, some natural light, a dj, complementary beverages, and some food vendors (last time I had a “poptart” from Cake Monkey that was just short of transcendent; this time MALO will have a “pop-up eatery” there). Go. You’ll thank me later.