Think of Le Book as the little black book of the creative industry—a who's who of exceptional stylists, photographers, illustrators, and designers at your fingertips.

The limited-edition, super stylish volume is the brainchild of Veronique Kolasa, who compiled the original resource in 1982 as a tool for her creative friends to use in the name of collaboration. In 2005, Le Book launched CONNECTIONS—a "tradeshow" mounted in such glamorous global destinations as Paris, Berlin, and Chicago—that brings back the prized face-to-face interactions that have fallen by the digital wayside. Last week, CONNECTIONS put on its first San Francisco event at THE NWBLK. Le Book director Michael Kazam gives us the inside scoop on the chichi mixer.


First, fill in the blank: Le Book is the _______________ of style.



Le Book is a daily source of style. Through the print, online and event platforms, Le Book offers constant access to international creatives through a collectible print edition that reaches the who’s who of advertising.
 


CONNECTIONS has taken place in NY, London, Paris, Berlin, and Los Angeles. Why so late to jump on the SF bandwagon?



Yes. This was our first in San Francisco. I wouldn’t say we are late, but just in time. San Francisco has always been an important market when it comes to advertising, but with the recent expansion of such local brands as Sephora, Levi’s, and Gap, Inc., we saw the time as being perfect.
 


What makes the SF creative industry unique? 


SF is unique today because it is a crossroads of many types of international creatives who are at the top of their game and who aren't afraid of new experiences. There is also this feeling of great opportunity in SF. If we use the startup culture as inspiration, anything seems possible.
 


How did the CONNECTIONS tradeshow start? 



CONNECTIONS started in 2005 in Paris. With face time becoming rarer and rarer, we saw the need to bring it back. So we introduced CONNECTIONS, and it was an instant success. We have now hosted over 20 CONNECTIONS in the world's most stylish and creative hubs: New York, Paris, London, Berlin, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hamburg, San Francisco, and Moscow.



What boldface names were in attendance? 



The vibe was excellent. There was a great mix from tech, fashion, beauty, advertising, and media. We were very pleased to have a number of great national creatives in attendance from the global creative director of Levi's and the creative director of Wired.
 


Tips for people trying to make connections at CONNECTIONS?



A splash of Chanel No.5 usually helps, in addition to just being open to having engaging conversations. That’s the beauty of CONNECTIONS—you never know who you will connect with and the spark it might create.