Just in time for holiday gift giving, Union Los Angeles as directed by Chris Gibbs has restocked a Sonos SL smart speaker featuring a Harlem Toile designed by artist and designer Sheila Bridges. The speaker was first released by Union Los Angeles back in 2019.
Addressing what’s changed since the speaker was first released, Bridges explained, “The world is starting to acknowledge culture in a different way. And I think it makes people happy to see themselves reflected. When I first did it, a lot of people didn’t understand. I think we now have a better understanding of why it’s important.”
A longtime fan of French toile, Sheila Bridges was 15 years into her design career when she realized there were no toile patterns that spoke to her culturally. She explained, “I looked at hundreds of them but couldn’t find one that had people of color.” Bridges decided to create a Harlem toile, a imitative that eventually landed her work in the permanent collection for Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.
Priced $249 USD, the speaker is now available at Union Los Angeles and sheilabridges.com.
