Failure Arrives in Los Angeles

DSC_0397.JPG

Corporate flops on Display in LA

The Museum of Failure is a celebration of history’s failed products & services and the lessons learned from them.

“LA is perfect for the Museum of Failure because the people there might be just crazy enough to appreciate the exhibit,” says Dr. Samuel West, psychologist and innovation researcher who first displayed his collection of over 100 failures, in Sweden, as part of his research on corporate success and innovation.

Dr. Samuel West explains different corporate failures at his recently opened Museum of Failure in Downtown Los Angeles' Art District.

Dr. Samuel West explains different corporate failures at his recently opened Museum of Failure in Downtown Los Angeles’ Art District.

“LA ranks high on innovation. Innovation and progress are impossible without failure. LA has an energetic start-up scene, innovation is not just something that happens in San Francisco,” West added. 

Exhibited at the A+ D Architecture and Design Museum in the Los Angeles Arts District, the Museum of Failure welcomes visitors to a shrine of history’s epic fails by some of the world’s best known companies. Marketing catastrophe that was Bic for Her? Yup.

The two-wheeled, self-balancing transport innovation, Segway? Better believe it.

These, along with artifacts spanning from the 17th century right up to the present day, including the frozen beef lasagna by Colgate, demonstrate the types of failures the museum is exhibiting.

Other highlights include the hula chair (just envision it), one of Apple’s few unsuccessful devices, the Newton, and even President Donald Trump’s version of Monopoly from 1989 made the cut.

With surprise Instagram moments all around, the museum is a family affair with failures for everyone from nine to 90.

When he discovered that 80-90% of industries’ projects fail, West felt the untold stories of failures and the lessons within them did not get their deserved attention.

DSC_0391.JPG

“The message I want to convey is that we need to accept failure, own up to it and start learning from it,” says West. “While the museum focuses on product failure the message is just as relevant for us on a personal level, as partners, parents, friends etc.  I want people to walk out of the museum with a smile (since I hope they find it fun and interesting) and with a new appreciation for failure.”

The Museum of Failure will be on exhibit in Los Angeles starting December 1 to February 4, 2018. For more information on the Museum of Failure and to purchase tickets, visit: www.failuremuseum.com

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

We won't blow up your inbox. We promise. But we will send an occasional newsletter with must-do Los Angeles events & information.