Unique LA

This weekend December 5 & 6 11:00am-6:00pm
110 East 9th St. @ the California Market Center
$10 at the door!

What is Unique La?: Unique La is an independent design and gift show open to the public with 99% of products being made in the USA!

Why Attend: Events are an important part of meeting new people and building your network of relationships that may be helpful to you in the future. This is also a great way to spot fresh, new designers, see new trends and support your local community. Finals are right around the corner and you have been working hard...go get a fresh perspective.

Extras: The Green Room with Eco friendly designers with free gift wrapping. Admission includes access to both days and free tote designed by Shepard Fairey's company Studio No. 1. Free DIY workshops and seminars all day both days.


............... I hope this inspires you!!

Styling Event

Orange Door Studios Presents.....

Fashion Styling Seminar: Fashion Styling I

December 5, 2009, 12:00-5:00

This seminar will introduce students to print styling. In this seminar you will explore lifestyle styling, Industry do's and don'ts, set lingo and building a styling kit. In addition, team building, how to build your portfolio, and communication with photographers with an on set experience.

Experience: In groups you will style a look for a photo shoot. Orange Door Studios will supply hair stylists and make up artists, photographer, models, racks of clothing and accessories, background, lighting.

Cost: $125.00

Resources: handouts, CD with pictures from photo shoot.

Reserve your spot right away! Only 5 left.

Contact: Jeannie or Carlos

714- 206-6676

213-445-7462

orangedoorstudio@gmail.com
vallephoto@mac.com

Maybyrd Clothing

Mary Byrd is entering into the fashion industry desiring to do more than design clothing. Maybyrd is a new clothing company with an important purpose, showcasing talented designers with autism. Having people in her life that have this condition Mary has taken some important design considerations for autistic people into this line. All T-shirts are made of 100% cotton, without side seams and a tag, which are common irritants to people with Autism. Maybyrd's mission is to showcase these talented individuals, while generating awareness and information about Autism. Each designer receives 15% of sale proceeds from their design. Mary Byrd is a fashion merchandising and design student at California State University, Long Beach. Mary is also the design liaison coordinator in the student run fashion show, Campus Couture. For more information about Mary and her company visit maybyrd.com.

.............. I hope this inspires you!

Design Sponge

The value of staying current. Blogs are just one of many resources available to us that can help us stay up to date with industry trends as well as consumer behaviors. Blogs' niche as a resource come by way of their inherent ability to be published outside of the restrictions of more formal publication frameworks. While blogs exist without the formal credibility requirements of professional and industrial publications, they do provide value by being an up to the minute sources of editorial information.

A friend of mine has introduced me to Design Sponge. This blog, with its unique perspective is dedicated to home and product design and has quite a bit to offer in these fields.

Entrepreneurs-- Are you thinking of starting your own business? Visit the Biz ladies section where you can get many helpful tips from trademarking to doing your taxes as a small business.

DIY'ers-- For those who like to reinvent or recycle common household items visit the DIY section.

Travelers-- If you are planning a trip you might want to read the city guides which outline must stop shopping, sightseeing and tips on getting around the town.

Shoppers-- For those interested in theme driven shopping check out the product guide.

Foodies-- Visit the In the kitchen with section to get a new recipe for your next holiday get together.

Be inspired by others who want to share their point of view. Have fun soaking this one up!

.........I hope this inspires you!

Seed People's Market

Calling all handcrafters, members of the planet, sustainability driven, artisans, and those who crave community and creativity...the newest retail experience has arrived. The Seed People's Market at the Camp in Costa Mesa, California is now open.

Seed is a unique retailer who's finger is on the pulse of cause related, eco friendly and hand made products.

A few reasons to visit the Seed:

1. A truly unique variety of products with a purpose including: apparel, home furnishings, paper goods and much more.
   
2. Inexpensive classes from sewing pillows to raw cooking.
   
3. Free internet on in store computers
   
4. Movie room with fresh popcorn playing all day everyday.
5. Friendly staff
6. Events and live music on the weekends.
7. Recycled 'Indian' newspaper shopping bags that "provides education and shelter to street children."
   

My students and I had the opportunity to meet with manager Heather Trine who had some important insight for those showing interested in getting into the fashion industry. "Be humble presenting yourself to the industry. Be yourself and don't have an attitude." She continued, " If you are nice and work hard you will be successful. If you want to be invaluable never say no to any job including taking out the trash or cleaning the bathroom. " Heather has a creative background and is a recent graduate from CSULB with an architecture and fashion background. Commenting on what it means to be truly unique is one of Heather's passions, visit her blog at heathertrine.blogspot.com.

Take some time for a 'mental health trip' away from work and be inspired at the Seed People's Market: 2937 Bristol St, Ste C101 Costa Mesa, CA 92626

........... I hope this inspires you!

So you want to work for Vans?

Vans "Since 1966" is one of the most recognizable skate shoes in the world with a great product, skate parks, Vans Warped Tour, and clothing this is a hot company to work for in the action sports industry. With over 300 corporate employees running the Cypress, California based brand, where can you fit in? Here is some information that might help you get the job you really want.

Greatest opportunity for a job at Vans: In the future there may be a need for more financial planning analysts.

Least opportunity for a job at Vans: Marketing and PR are very saturated and highly competitive careers to get into.

Competition is high:

• In the next year there will be a lot of competition for jobs, with less jobs being available.
• They get aprox. 300-700 applications for one job.

Get your foot in the door: Customer service and assistant buyer are two entry level positions that might get you into the company...show what you can do and you might have the career you really want ahead of you.

Skills that will set you apart:

• Good analytical skills, problem solving, being bilingual, good communication, strong business sense, and of course the passion for actions sports.
• Experience usually is more important than education but most entry level hires have a BA and at least an AA.
• HINT: They are known to promote from within. Start at their retail stores for 1-2 years and you might be the next assistant buyer.

Where to look for a job: They post some jobs at Malakye.com and Careerbuilder.com.

Preparing for the job:

1. Do your homework about the company and the position you are applying for.
2. Go to events put on by Vans and network.
3. Look at their website, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages for more information about what they are doing and for local events.
4. Market your self for the job.
5. HINT: See me for more information on how to tailor your resume and cover letter to really stand out!!

Once you get the job: Vans provides money to employees for continuing their education and they also have a training program.

Good Luck!

................I hope this inspires you!

Chocolate and Cheesecake

" Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."- Helen Keller

With a little help from your friends ...........(you fill in the blank)

• You feel more confident
• You stay focused
• You are inspired
• You laugh
• Your spirit lifts
• You accomplish great things

The power of friendship! You never know what may happen when you make time get together with a professional and trustworthy friend. With a little help from your friends you feel like you can accomplish almost anything. There is a sense of greater confidence you have with a friend. In your mind your ideas may seem overwhelming but with the help of another your task at hand is more feasible. Some of my best work and ideas have come from my time with my friends.

Today I met with a good friend of mine for homemade ice cream at our "special spot".......she always has some sort of chocolate and I always have raspberry cheesecake. It is our midweek ritual of sorts where we get caught up on life, family, work, where we get inspired, where we get things done, where we encourage each other and where new ideas are born. Within an hour we had done all of these things and more. We reflected on how each of us in one week had needed the help of a friend numerous times for both professional and personal things. Together we can do so much more!

With the hustle and bustle of busy life it is easy to leave friendships to Facebook, phone conversations, email or special occasions. Make time for your friends you can't afford not to. You miss out on all that comes with meeting for chocolate and cheesecake.

Her is a quick tip from my chocolate loving friend: If you want something, don't stop....you have to just keep going. Try another approach if your original approach didn't work out , don't give up. Hard work will pay off!

............ I hope this inspires you!

Design Values in Fashion from the New York Times

Read, Read, Read....what to read?!!

As fashion students you are encouraged by your teachers to read industry publications in order to keep up with the every changing fashion industry such as: Women's Wear Daily, California Apparel News, and fashion magazines like Vogue. While these will keep you up to date on a lot of important news, they should not be the only places you look to find fresh ideas, trend spotting and inspiration.

As part of this blog I will give you other recommendations on important articles, publications and blogs-- to read- internalize-- and use for inspiration!

Read: The newspaper! You will find important information from your local and national newspapers on companies in your area and nation wide.

Peruse this important article, "Sportswear Carries Urgency of the Moment on Fashion Week Runways", by Cathy Horyn from the New York Times.

Here are a couple quotes I thought was important and inspirational:

Quote 1: " Sportswear really feels more urgent. It springs from a need by many women to have clothes they can wear to work, clothes that are not merely basic but actually have clear design values."

Quote 2: "As glittery and fabulous as fashion seems to most people, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. In fact, it reflects a world of narrowing choices — the standardization of virtually everything from food products to travel to clothing."

..................I hope this inspires you!

Lunch with the Miss MOD Team!

It’s time to eat!

Last week I had the opportunity to catch up with the dynamic duo from Volcom’s Miss MOD swim line, Rene Heinz Baldwin and Suzanne Vallely at the trendy Costa Mesa restaurant, Eat Chow. I got to pick their brains as to what inspires them and how they produced a line from concept to delivery. I found out it takes a lot of hard work and collaboration to get the job done. These two have their hands in every piece of the pie. They are currently working on three different seasons as far ahead as 2011. While savoring the french fries glistening in truffle oil they began to enlighten me with a few insider tips.

A few key points from Heinz and Vallely were:

• Knowledge of construction and textiles is important to any job in fashion ranging from customer service to production.
• Analytics and critical thinking skills are critical to success in this industry.
• Know Excel backwards and forwards!
• Be able to write a clear business email with out slang, people you are working with in other countries take every word literally!
• Adobe Illustrator is not only for designers, merchandisers can greatly benefit from this tool and should be a part of your arsenal.
• Do what you love and it doesn't feel like a job!

I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with these two key women in action sports. Their information was invaluable.

…………… I hope this inspires you!

On Inspiration

"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action." Frank Tibolt

Inspiration is everywhere and can be anything to any one person.

It is up to each individual whether he or she will choose to be inspired by the world around them. Who or what inspires you? Will you let it change your life?

My inspiration for this blog comes from my hardworking friends in the fashion industry and my students who want to become industry professionals.

As a student I remember thinking …what do I want to do with my life? What is the next step? How do I get there? Life is short I want to Love what I do.

With the help of my family, friends, my husband, teachers and the help of my beloved mentor I can truly say I found a lifelong passion in helping others to reach their potential and find their passion. Upon my countless sources of inspiration, one of the most powerful, rewarding and life changing is that of building relationships with people.

As with inspiration people are everywhere will you take the time to be inspired by them?

……………….. I hope this inspires you!