Leather words and sentences

Back when I lived with Brian in the West Village, we flew out to San Francisco to visit Paul and Kelly and go snowboarding in Tahoe -- can you tell we are "West Coast Kids" we dragged our snowboards across the entire country to snowboard, when Vermont and other east coast snow spots were just hours away! Anyway, back to my story, so Brian leads me to his all time favorite boutique, ever, AB Fits, which is right near Union Square in SF. Granted we lived in the West Village steps away from Bleecker Street, SOHO and just a couple of subway stops away from Fifth Ave and Madison Ave. But no, Bri-Bri felt the need to splurge in California, and I wasn't going to stop him.

The girl at AB Fits was very snotty and I was determined to not give them any of my business. But then I melted when I tried on a distressed leather jacket with a hood by Mike and Chris. It was very rock and roll and the fact that it had a hoodie was beyond amazing. I whipped out my credit card and I did not look back, and ever since I have been drawn to little, leather jackets.

Fashion is a form of expression, and someone at Parsons once mentioned that clothes are merely external words and sentences...so even though I already own one great leather jacket, oh wait, make that three, I am looking for a few more words and sentences for the fall!

Vision

Making mood and vision boards were practically a part of almost every class I attended at Parsons. And for good reason, it is an essential tool that communicates ideas, concepts, inspiration and vision in the fashion industry. I put together many boards while at Oscar de la Renta, American Eagle, and other private label firms.

Vision boards are not limited to only fashion either. Bob Wilkinson and I spent an entire Saturday covering a rather large piece of particle board with images from Dwell, Architectural Digest and other design magazines in order for me to show him what I wanted done to my "Beadle Box" remodel.

So last week when both Ashley Bugg and Alexandra Evjen suggested I create a mood board to help with my brand and latest collection, I WAS all about it. They had attended Promise Tangeman's "Show It" marketing and branding conference and Promise was talking about creating vision boards there. I figured it would be a great exercise for Tracey Martin and I.

Making mood boards ranks up with there with one of my favorite activities!

The Colors Of My Imagination

I am sitting at Hava Java doing a bit of brainstorming. This truly is my bliss. There is nothing I love to do more than drink good coffee, stick in my headphones and let iTunes take me away so I can zero in- focus and then CREATE. Creativity is my crack...

I brought my prisma colored pencils, markers and fashion illustration book from Parsons. I have a ton of ideas and a lot of them have nothing to do with headbands. It is time to evolve and push myself behind just hair accessories...this brings me back to Parson days. I love it!

100% Sure

People are constantly asking me if I miss New York City, and if I am happy with my decision to move back home to Arizona. I can say with 100% certainty that I made the right decision to move home. I am soo happy right now, I feel like I am in my element and things are falling into place like I would have never imagined.

I have grappled with the issue of East Coast/West Coast since the day I arrived in New York 4 years ago. New York was an adventure that I always wanted to experience, but it was never home. I am a south-west girl through and through and that never changed while living in Manhattan.

Parsons, working in the fashion industry, the thrill of living in the West Village, my fabulous roomates and celebrity friends was all an absolutely incredible ride. However, deep down inside I knew it would someday need to wrap up because I missed the calm and wholesomeness of Arizona and my old life too much. The four years of living in New York, I never lost touch with my Arizona friends and of course family -- and I constantly felt like I had put my life on "Pause" to experience New York and I was aching to hit "Resume" on my old life.

Earlier this year, as well as a year ago, I wanted to move home, but than I changed my mind and decided to stay in New York because I felt I still had things to accomplish in the big apple, but this time things are different. This time I am no longer on the fence and I have no qualms about leaving the vibrant, sparkling city for something slower paced and not quite as frantic.

Yes, Blake Emery, my adorable niece is a huge factor as to why I moved home. Spending time with her and my wonderful sister is priceless and all the success and splendor of New York could never make up for that. But Arizona also affords a lifestyle that New York could never give me.

I had a lot of email exchanges with my friend Ryan Hyland, as the issue of moving back west started to weigh heavily on my heart. Ryan said something about just having the Faith to follow my heart and to see what unfolded if I just made the leap. And then one of my now fashion mentors, Tracey Martin (Baby Butter Clothing) told me "The Business Is You! Not where you reside!"

Those two ideas stuck in my head. And I am seeing how absolutely true they both are! My business is taking off in ways I could never have imagined and it does not matter where I am, because I am the business, not the city I reside in. And God is faithful when you are faithful to Him. I am surrounded by super creative people and artistic projects ( in the past I was leary of moving home because I was afraid of living a "Vanilla-White-Rice" life as compared to what I had in NYC). And now that is anything but true....God has laced my life with creativity and fantastic people who I couldn't be more happy to collaborate and surround myself with.

I am so happy, so certain and so excited to be back home :-) I'll always remember New York, but the sun has set on that chapter...and of course the sun is still shining in Arizona...as is Blake Emery...

Things Have Come Full Circle

I started to reflect on my own "fashion-history-time-line", thinking about where things began and how far a long they have come. 

Kelly and I used to go to French Connection at Keirland Commons in Scottsdale all the time in search of the perfect party dress or outfit for  Axis Radius. Nicole, the manager of French Connection, had graduated from PRATT and was a trained fashion designer. We would always chat about fashion and New York City. 

I was wanting to do something more creative with my career and I was toying with the idea of design school. Nicole suggested I take some of the fashion illustration classes she taught at Mesa Community College. That truly was the beginning of this current adventure. 

The first night of Nicole's class, I met Evonne Bowling, the director of the fashion program at MCC. Evonne was handing out flyers promoting the New York Fashion Trip she does every May. She takes a group of students on a tour of the fashion industry -- you meet with designers, photographers, stylists, journalists. You name it, Evonne covers it. But mostly Evonne just shows you "Fashion" is not a pie in the sky/Hollywood dream. It is very attainable if you work hard enough and apply yourself. 

And that is what I did. I applied to Parsons Fashion Marketing Program, all the while taking fashion classes at MCC. I took a history of fashion class, color theory, visual merchandising and 2D design. I met some incredible people a long on the way, one of whom is my current intern, Katie. Katie and I instantly hit it off, when we realized we would laugh at the same crazy things that seemed to be unfolding during class.  One of these days Katie and I are going to write a book about all the "Characters" we seem to bump into, especially those in fashion. 

One of our projects was to create a window display. My brand was "Juicy Couture". I bought a case of styrofoam cups from Costco and I had labels made with the Juicy logo. Then I got pink straws and tons of pink tulle. I stuck the cups to the wall, and lined the ceiling and the floor with the pink tulle and I made a poster that proclaimed "Juicy Couture quenches your thirst for fashion".  Evonne suggested I look into visual merchandising, and I actually got paid to "dress" a window on Mill Ave in Tempe. 

I did not go into visual merchandising, but in a way I guess I did. Creating and designing headbands is creating a visual for a live person versus a display. 

Tomorrow is the start of Henri Bendel's Hair Atrium. I still can't get over the fact that I am selling at Henri Bendel. When I set out to do all this, Bendel's was a goal, but it seemed like the golden dream to actually get in! And that I got in, and now my merchandise is going to be on display!!!! In the 5th Ave window no less! It is all pretty amazing to me. All those trips to Keirland Commons, all those shopping sprees, well they paid off! I just wish I could get in a few more trips to Keirland Commons with Kelly, I hate that we are on exact opposite coasts. Dreams really do take you to far away places...

A Nice Package

I got my haircut on Friday at Toni and Guy. And of course, as usual, I wasn't able to resist picking up a few products. And when I got home I realized what a collection I already have -- not to mention the two other TIGI flat irons Jaime has given me over the years! * One is a super skinny flat iron and one is really thick, just to defend myself a little!

Sure the products are nice.  I love the smell and right after having your hair styled I am a sucker for buying whatever the stylist puts in my hair. But do the products really work better than what I could get at Duane Reade? NO! However I am totally drawn in by the packaging. It is eye candy and then with the pretty fragrance -- well it's over for me ;-)

I even used Toni and Guy's packaging design as a topic in my Parsons application essay. In my essay I talked about packaging design, and how I admit to purchasing products more for their clever design than for what the product can actually do for me. I am fascinated by brands and packaging design is a key element in building a brand. Sometimes the aesthetics are worth more than the actual makeup of the product. 

If I was ever to go back to school, it would be for packaging design or communication arts. I could eat this stuff up! As evidenced by my large collection of hair products, MAC makeup containers and cool water bottles like Voss -- although I am thinking of making the investment in a Sigg water bottle -- more green, but also just a really cool design!

Music and Art

In a design class at Parsons we were told to pick out a song.  After really listening to the song we were instructed to draw 9 fashion croquis (the French word for sketch -- it is used to refer to any elongated fashion figure).  Eventually we created an entire collection based off that one song. I choose Cascada's "Every Time We Touch", and I had an absolute ball working on that collection. I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning listening to Cascada as I put the finishing touches on my sketches. 

I often think about that project and the relationship between music and art, and how one sparks something in the other. I love having music on as I work. I am a total I-tunes junkie and I find I am in constant need of new music. 

In fact if I get to the bottom of the stairs and realize I left my phone at home, I take it as a blessing and keep going, but if I forget my IPOD I'll climb back up the four flights of stairs so that I can have my music. 

I really like my latest selection of downloads. They include:

1) Kings of Leon "Only By The Night"

2) Lily Allen "It's Not Me, It's You"

3) Slum Dog Millionaire soundtrack -- LOVE M.I.A. Paper Planes and Dreams on Fire

4)Erin McCarley "Love, Save the Empty"

5)MGMT "Oracular Spectacular" -- playing "Kids" over and over again!

--  I probably shouldn't admit these downloads, but I do like them...

6) Lady Gaga

7)Kelly Clarkson

8) The Fray

9)Taylor Swift

10) Pussy Cat Dolls 

-- and then some older ones, but love them none the less

11) The Killers "Human"

12) Pink's entire "Funhouse" album

13) Katy Perry "Hot and Cold"

14) Lights "Last Thing On Your Mind"