I'm back, or trying to be

It has been some time since i've written anything at all for this blog and I would almost feel guilty if I had some kind of regular readership, but alas I believe that is not the case as I never post so nobody is really going to stumble onto my blog. That is all going to change! I think, or hope.

Where have i been?
As many aspiring entrepreneurs must do, I have been working a day job in order to pay for the business i so dearly want to succeed. So I work in a store in Beverly Hills. I was only working part time up until december (and when was my last post?) until I got promoted. To be clear I was not interested in being promoted. I was quite happy being an incredibly overqualified keyholder training people to work above me, but my boss convinced me it was the right move and I guess my eyes were filled with dollar signs, because I agreed. So now I am in charge of other people, and in charge of my line, and somehow I am supposed to be social, and involved in family obligations (a sisters wedding quickly approaching and a grandmother moving closer to be near the family), maintain a healthy active lifestyle, eat well, clean my house, and still have time to sleep. So long story short, this will be my outlet for the time being (meaning i plan to whine here a lot) and a place to muse about my current creative shortcomings, bounce ideas off of people who will hopefully some day one day read my blog and COMMENT on it, and perhaps work out the details of opening a Linden store in the (hopefully very) near future.

but so its not all just whining, here's a photo of linden stuff

saving the world vs looking good

ok so saving the world might be a little extreme, but as you know i've been seeking out more sustainable fabrics.  Yesterday I visited 2 vendors that tout eco-friendly materials and it is quite sad how little effort seems to go into creating them.  They tend to be bland and unexciting- of course the world is going to continue using toxic materials if nobody out there is going to take the effort to make the sustainable ones chic!

The first place I went to uses organic cottons and hemp and bamboo (which is actually not eco friendly at all) but still makes those fabrics with some polyester to keep the prices down.  On top of it the fabric isn't actually all that wonderful.  TRAGIC!

The second I went to is the only leather tannery in the country, perhaps the world, who has perfected a vegetable tanning process for more than just saddle quality hides.  The leathers were actually gorgeous and I will use them in the future for jackets and purses, BUT they're much too heavy for the leggings and dresses I make - I will look into this a bit more to see if there is a way I can work with it, but sadly I am stuck with lambskin again this time around until I get the samples from the fish leather tannery in iceland (still waiting!) The other issue I had with the tanner was that in a huge warehouse full of hides, they had maybe 2 shelves dedicated to the eco-friendly ones.  Granted they do take custom orders and I could request any number of colors or finishes, but it still irked me, especially because the regular hides come in so many different weights where the eco hides are only the one heavy weight.

The other problem I'm running into is that because my business is run on such a small scale, I am often at the will of whatever small quantities I can find.  On the plus side, I wind up buying ends and deadstock of already made materials, not generating more energy to create something that is already there, but I still want to know that if something of mine winds up in a landfill it will not leach harmful chemicals into the earth.  Still researching, but in the meantime continuing with the same materials I've been using.

Just Ask

I've spent almost 2 years now contacting strangers out of the blue trying to get them to help me in some way.  I contact businesses for textiles, notions, and other situations where I am the customer, and I get responses.  But more often than trying to buy things, I'm trying to sell them.  It is not always so easy to get a response, but once in a while...

Linden has added 2 stores in the last 2 weeks.  In September I went to Montreal and Quebec City with my family.  I walked into Boutique Mademoizelle Sefra in Quebec City with my sister after a day of touring.  It's a super chic boutique that, at the time, had a small rack of clothing and several jewelry cases.  The clothing was their own line, and the jewelry was theirs and some other independent designers.  We struck up a conversation with the two people working there who happened to be the co-owners.  They told us they'd recently opened and in addition to their jewelry and clothing lines, they are running a styling business for customers in need of some head to toe fashion guidance.  I'd taken a business card with me when we left, and one night when I was going through a huge stack of cards on my desk, i stumbled across it.  That night I emailed them, and later that night, I got a response.  Jean-Felix was, again, friendly and welcoming.  After some back and forth, he and his partner Sefra, decided to pick up a few pieces to test out and, voila! New stockist!

The other store was a different kind of contact, one I've always had but never made the effort to cross the line from friend to business.  My friend Grace, one of the few people I stayed in touch with post art school, and the ONLY one from the fashion department, opened a boutique in her hometown of Glenview IL called Stella + Grace.  I visited a couple years ago and this boutique is ADORABLE.  She carries some more mainstream lines, and some small unknown designers, hand picking everything herself.  She knows her customer well.  The same night I got in touch with Mademoizelle Sefra, I emailed Grace.  I asked if we could test some of my stock with her customers on consignment (meaning she doesn't order from me, but I send her stock and she pays me as she sells).  She got the first box 5 days ago, and has already sold several pieces, requesting a replenishment already!

It was great to get some encouragement after so many attempts to contact boutiques with no response.  While there might be a lot of "NO", every "YES" seems that much greater and reminds me that even if most people say no, all I have to do is ask and sometimes I'll get a yes!

Research

pretty

Sustainability

I have always been interested in sustainability, and recently I've had that interest renewed.  I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject lately, but I don't promise to be an expert on this concept, so dont hate me if I'm a little bit off on some of this..i'm still learning.

 Sustainability is a tough concept to describe in relation to fashion, but the best way I can put it is producing a product with limited energy consumption that can either maintain its usefulness over time, or return to the earth without added harm to the environment.  I started Linden with this in mind, but at the time I was more concerned with simply producing a 10 look collection so i mainly focused on producing locally as my effort in sustainability.  I have since begun researching how to keep my aesthetic while using materials that are more sustainable.

In my searching I have discovered some interesting things:

1. many "revolutionary" textiles on the market are often the result of excellent marketing - for example, polyester derived from recycled PET bottles is merely prolonging the inevitable of being another  harmful item in a landfill.  It is unlikely that the recycled fabric will be repurposed in the future, and in its textile state it is more difficult to break down again to reuse.  These textiles have been brilliantly marketed as keeping plastics out of the landfills and oceans, but the best way to stop plastic from hurting our environment is to find a less harmful alternative so plastic production slows down.

2. natural "environmentally friendly" materials, while bio-degradable, can still be polluting.  Cotton requires a great deal of pesticides and energy to produce - organic cotton is significantly better though, but still consumes a sizable amount of energy to harvest.  Often the natural substance has a flaw, especially with regards to mass production, that keeps it from being truly sustainable.  That said, because it is biodegradable, it is still superior to plastics.

3. Leather, my guiltiest design pleasure, while natural and using the whole animal, is usually treated chemically and as a result is quite harmful to the environment.  There are leathers tanned with natural substances that are not harmful, but their uses are more limited.  I have however, excitingly come across fish leather.  Again it is natural, and uses the part of the animal which is usually just discarded, but it simply requires hot water and not chemicals.  The source I have found uses a natural hot spring instead of powering water heaters, and the only drawback I have found so far is that I would need to ship it from Iceland, but I think I can live with that since most of the leather I use is not tanned locally (looking into that as well) and is also shipped to the states.

So what i've learned so far is that I cannot produce a product that is completely sustainable, but I can, at the very least, reduce the amount of polluting waste my line produces as much as possible.  I mean, even sparing some bottles from the landfill temporarily gives us all a bit more time to find another way to repurpose those plastics.

I will continue to share my findings here!

So what should I wear?

I am certain those of you out there who are also in the fashion industry experience this, I am regularly asked by new acquaintances where to shop and how to dress.  It's a question that amuses me because half the time I never know what to wear myself.  I've probably never dressed "right" for a job interview, or a date, or a nice restaurant, and I constantly harass my best friend and my mom for approval once i've settled on something to wear (and let me tell you they are both brutally honest - which i desperately need).

The thing is, I've always felt there is no "right way" to dress.  Because I studied costume design, I look at my wardrobe to hold some representation of who I am.  I have quite a few personalities according to my closet, but the understanding of what I am looking for comes from the creative side within me, and is about who I am, which is why it perplexes me when people ask for my advice, especially people I don't know well.  They ask, "What should I wear?", and I can't help but reply with, "Whatever you want to wear!"  They often look at me confused, as if I am meant to be their fashion sage and guide them through the difficult world of shopping.  How should I know what ideal image they are trying to fit so I can suggest the right attire for them?  There are so many different ways to dress, for all shapes and sizes, and there is no longer one right way to dress.

I shop all over the spectrum, from places like Forever 21, PacSun, and H & M to Bloomingdales, Saks, Neimans, etc.  I mix cheap with designer constantly - and usually the outfits I get the most positive reactions on are the less expensive ones.  But the one thing that is a constant is that when I actually make an effort to look a certain way, something I am wearing has to channel the ridiculous or the absurd - but that's my thing.

How do you find yours?  I'm not sure, but if its a matter of "how do I dress for my body type?" - either start with the magazines that have cornered the market of telling you what to wear, or look up people who have the same shape as you.  See what they get away with and then go shopping - ANYWHERE - and try things on, figure out how to make that look your own.  Show your personality in what you wear whether its a bright color or a mismatched print, or shoes that dont necessarily make sense -- all that matters is you love what you wear and you wear it with confidence.  There is no sense in walking out the door without feeling amazing about yourself - there is a look out there for you, but you have to find it yourself.

My only real advice - it's best not to longingly look at the stylings of someone who is your opposite in shape, size, lifestyle etc.  I know a lot of people who say "I wish i could dress like ..." - try it, but if it's not for you move onto something else and don't look back wishing you were anything but who you are.

Beginning of Hope/Craigslist is a wonderful thing

A few months ago I got bored and started searching the creative gigs on craigslist.  This was certainly not the first time I've done so, and not the first time I wound up making great contacts as a result.

The first paid design job I ever had thanks to Dee.
A motorola campaign with Danica Patrick and "her dog"

The first time I found success, I found a listing by stylist Dee Anderson.  She turned out to be the stylist for one of my all time favorite bands, Green Day.  I cannot even begin to explain the many MANY things I learned in the several months I worked for Dee.  She's an amazingly talented stylist and was such a great influence on me.  So many of the great things I have done were a result of knowing Dee.

the poor Dresden Dolls
fan I had the pleasure of
dressing on set

The second time, I worked on a Dresden Dolls music video assisting Katie Kay as the stylist.  Not only was it just a super fun video, knowing Katie resulted in Linden being sold at her fantastic boutique Gather and her being my sales rep, getting the line out  into the world.  Yet another incredible contact via CL.






The third time, I found an internship with Park Showroom owner Kristen Aguilera, and without her I would never have gained enough knowledge of the fashion industry to start my own line.

Four and Five were within a week of each other.  I met up and coming stylist Corina Garcia through her CL ad where we teamed up to shoot the spring 2011 photos on www.Lindenca.com AND I found the Elite fashion academy posting that led to my very first Linden fashion show.  Just check the website and past posts to see the results of those efforts.

And now here I am, several months later with yet another successful contact made.  I replied to an ad early in the year regarding a charity fashion show event in San Diego.  Stacey Blanchet, of Blanchet Designs, has coordinated a wonderful event, titled "Beginning of Hope", benefiting two charities dedicated to foster youth.  The event will take place this coming Wednesday in San Diego (May 18th, 2011) and will feature 3 designers showing, some local artisans vending, wine tasting, food, a silent auction, and a raffle, all to benefit these charities.  I haven't shared the information about this show until now because I only finally met Stacey a day ago, and finally started to feel more involved in the whole thing.  I have cast my models, and cannot wait to be a part of this show.  I know most of you reading this are in Los Angeles, but should anyone find themselves in San Diego wednesday, here's how you can attend this wonderful event.  http://www.blanchetdesigns.com/news.html


Photos WILL be posted asap!