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ANGELENO ART WARS
Los Angeles is always battling New York for the title of America's art capital, and this week is a good time to sample what Angeleno creators (and dealers) have to offer. The Los Angeles Art Show runs this weekend, along with the International Fine Print Dealers Association. Then another fair – the upstart Art Los Angeles Contemporary – launches with a VIP event on Thursday. It'll be a week of shows, parties and afterparties. www.laartshow.com

James Pfaff

Berlin's Michelberger Hotel is a textbook boutique hostel.

BERLIN IS HOSTEL TERRITORY
So-called “boutique hostels” are multiplying in Europe, catering to travellers who want on-the-edge design and cheap accommodations. Located in Europe's capital of cheap chic, the Michelberger Hotel is a faultlessly cool example. The decor has lots of rough edges – there are walls made of wire and secondhand books – but the furniture is custom-made, the service is three-star legit, and it's cheap. www.michelbergerhotel.com.

Lamps by Tamara Rushlow, part of Radiant Dark.

TORONTO BY DESIGN
This weekend, Toronto is humming with design-themed events. Aside from the massive Interior Design Show, a series of smaller exhibitions are coming together this year under the umbrella of the Toronto International Design Festival. The highlight is Radiant Dark, which collects the best design from across the country; this year it's moving to King and Bay, the centre of corporate Canada, to take over the lobby of office tower Commerce Court. The exhibitors include textile designer Bev Hisey, Vancouver's Propellor Design and Tamara Rushlow, whose Puzzle Lamps, above, are beautiful and sturdy without wasting an ounce of steel. tidf.ca; www.madedesign.ca/radiantdark.