16th COLONY : MYSTIC SPIRIT

I'm beyond excited to announce the release of my latest collection, Mystic Spirit.

It's been a long time in the making and it's always so hard for me to keep the new collections under wraps before the release date. I just get really excited, but it's finally here. Every season I'm really amazed by the feeling of seeing my designs come to life. The intense hours that go into a season is indescribable but in the end, so worth it. Admittedly, there are some stressful moments but even during those times I literally think to myself that, I'm so happy I took the risk two years ago and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, doing anything differently.

Mystic Spirit really channels a mysterious and moody vibe and the pieces are designed to reflect a certain artistic expression. I used fabrics and trims that are bold, yet soft to the touch. If you want to see the entire lookbook, check it out at the 16th Colony site.

FASHION ACCELERATOR 360

Recently, I had a great opportunity to take a FA360 course.

So, here's a little rundown, Fashion Accelerator 360 is a site that offers online courses for the fashion and lifestyle industries and are all instructed by established experts. There's several 4-week classes to pick from like 'Social Media 101', 'The Business of Blogging' and 'Branding A-Z', just to name a few. I chose to take 'Launch Your Line' taught by Lisa Deyrmenjian.

I graduated from FIDM with a major in Fashion Design and it was a great school in terms of learning the fundamentals of design. But I've learned a lot since completing college and immersing myself in the industry and because of that, I really believe that you can never stop perfecting your craft - especially if you're looking to grow and move forward within your field.

So I was really grateful when I was offered to take a course with FA360 and in fact, it came at the perfect time for me. With the steady growth of 16th Colony I've been needing to scale things up a bit with sourcing and manufacturing. In my previous jobs, my role was to solely focus on designing while other steps of production were already taken care of. So when it came time to start finding my own factories and stuff, you can probably imagine how daunting that all seemed. I wasn't really sure where to start.



The Launch Your Line course was really interesting and informative. There were also a lot of things discussed throughout the 4 weeks that I was already implementing in my brand. A few things that we covered, I'd learned previously, but I'd decided to go against the grain in some ways purposely since the beginning of 16th Colony. But there were truly a lot of details I needed to learn in order to overcome some of the hurdles I was experiencing while growing my business. Hands down Liza knows her stuff, inside and out - she knows this business so incredibly well, is full of ideas and a wealth of industry knowledge. She has the experience to back it up too - Liza started her first factory at the age of 19 and produced a line of her own.

This course in particular, focuses heavily on what it takes to start a line - things like sourcing fabrics and contractors, design, costing and planning your line and marketing/selling to stockists. And like I mentioned, they have several other fashion related courses that are great for not only designers but bloggers, publicists and entrepreneurs as well.

The next 'Launch Your Line' class starting in late September. Feel free to wander on over to the FA360 site and check it out for yourself.

CATCHING UP

Hey, hey. I know that usually I do a post the first of each month with 'Iphone Only Photos', but this time I decided to give an entire briefing of the month of July since things have been crazier than ever. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to blog everything in individual posts.

But I'm going to fill you in - so, here goes. The new 16th Colony collection, Mystic Spirit, is releasing in just a few days. I've been working on all the finishing touches to this - cutting, making sure production is in place, tagging garments, you name it.

The new Rumours Poncho





We're also going to be carried in more stores! The growth of 16C is really amping up, which means I'm constantly figuring out ways to keep up with that and it's been super exciting.

Fox and Moon, Long Beach

Also, 16th Colony will be showing at Unique LA again this Summer. This time it's held Downtown Los Angeles and I'll be sharing a booth with my girl Bri, designer of Briana Rene. It's coming up next weekend, so if you're in the area come by, check it out and say hi.



I've been taking a lot of meetings, and luckily at some pretty awesome spots. Anyway, it's been for everything from production, collaborations to client meetings. All during a month of banning coffee. Yikes.

Gypsy Den, Costa Mesa

Urth Cafe, East LA

Lemonade, Venice Beach

Then, of course I hit up Agenda as usual but I also attended a really great event for Entrepreneurial Women, which was hosted by General Assembly and No Subject located at One Santa Fe in LA. It was basically a panel of women who are kicking ass at their businesses and they shared their stories.

Agenda, Long Beach - Duh

Women In Business Event

Oh yeah, and I also had the honor of guest speaking at Saddleback College. I was invited to talk about my journey and how I starated 16th Colony from the ground up. I basically hit topics and points that have inspired me along the way and have kept me moving forward. It was really great to be able to share some of those experiences with students.

In fact, I'm actually really excited because I'll be doing some more guest speaking later this month in Las Vegas. But I'll get more into that later - stay tuned.



I spent a lot of time filming last month for clients like Willow & Clay and Search for Sanity. One of the locations was out in Joshua Tree, which I'm absolutely in love with. Anyway, I'll share the vids once they're released.



I snuck in an extra mini photoshoot for 16th Colony as well...

PS - This is what it looks like when you're short and stand in for your model to get a test shot.

I also made a solo road trip out to Arizona for a few days to visit my family and, of course, my best friend. While I was there, I was really crossing my fingers for a major Monsoon and it happened. It was such a crazy, incredible storm. I sat out on the back patio for a while playing with slow exposure on my camera and hoping for a shot of lightening.

Got it.

Chillin' in a beautiful Flynn Skye top.

Okay and finally, I've also been filming a bunch for Hanger Shortage as well - so get ready. I shot Style Interviews with Haley Solar, the designer of Junim and with Amber Farr, designer of Flynn Skye. They're both such talented women and I'm looking forward to launching those videos within the next couple months. I also shot a little behind-the-scenes video for OC Style Report, which I'll have on the blog sometime soon.

On location at the Junim Design Studio.

On location at Amber Farr's home.

Filming a photoshoot with the girls of OC Style Report.



Anyway, now you're in the know and I'll keep it that way by posting more soon.

HANGER SHORTAGE X JENAVIEVE X RAEN GIVEAWAY

Earlier this week the newest Hanger Shortage Style Interview Video released, featuring fashion photographer Jenavieve Belair.

Just like all of subjects of the Hanger Shortage videos, this girl is incredibly talented and inspiring. If you want to hear her story in how she started out as a photographer, definitely wander on over to her page.

Jenavieve and I actually teamed up with Raen Optics, one of the brands that she shoots for. Together we're giving away one an 8" x 10" print of Jenavieve's photography and a pair of rad sunnies by Raen. So after you watched her vid, enter the contest form for a chance to win these goodies.

STAY SPONTANEOUS

As you may already know, a couple weekends ago, I made a last minute decision to hit up Palm Springs.

On another spontaneous note, I released this crop top on my brand's site - 16thColony.com. Besides ponchos, I design so much of my regular clothes and had been thinking about putting some of those designs out into the wild. So I just went for it. They're a super limited edition, one-off design and it doesn't belong to a specific collection, but that's the beauty of not having to follow the rules.



I love that it's light, flowy and perfect for Summer days. I chose to name it the 'Monsoon' for that reason. Growing up in Arizona, my favorite part about Summer was the Monsoon thunderstorms. I'd sit on my patio and watch the lightening and the storm with my friends.



Anyway, I stayed at the Alcazar boutique hotel, aka - my favorite place. It was the perfect last minute getaway and ever since I got back I've been working non-stop, so I'm actually already daydreaming about getting back there soon. Fingers crossed.



Crop Top - 16th Colony, Shorts - Thrifted

16TH COLONY - TRUNK SHOW AT ISLA

Happy Hump Day!

Are you starting to nail down your weekend plans? Because on Friday I'm hosting a trunk show at Isla Boutique in Laguna Beach. Everyone's invited to come hang out, sip on some wine and sneak in some dessert. Obviously, a whole display of ponchos will be at the event. I'm actually giving a little sneak peek of one of our new Fall styles though - so be prepared to see some newness!

THE LAND BEFORE TIME

Whoa, I've been meaning to post these photos for the last week. Oops.

Anyway, on the way to Palm Springs I made a little detour to finally check out the Dinos in Cabazon. I spent my college years driving back and forth to Arizona super often to see my friends and family. Every time, I'd be on the 10 and would pass by these gigantic dinosaurs and think how fun it'd be to stop off.



This time it happened and the excitement of going to Palm Springs on a whim made it all that much better. The mood was light and it felt like vacation. I had the camera in my hand most of the trip and was inspired to capture the feeling.

I took this guy home. Had to.

More Palm Springs pics to come soon. Side note, a lot of my outfit was thrifted: the shorts, hat and sunnies. Although, the lace off the shoulder top was designed by yours truly.

Also, Kings of Leon was played a lot during the trip, so I found it only appropriate to post.

SUMMER TIME SANGRIA

It was decided last minute that Palm Springs was in order last weekend.

So, naturally first thing that came to mind was making some homemade sangria to take with and sip on by the pool.

I've yet to blog a cooking type post (not that making sangria qualifies as cooking). This is probably because I don't really cook. And trust me, my mom isn't that thrilled about my lack of knowledge around the kitchen. But hey, I'm busy - I stick to the basics: salads, smoothies, sangria.



Anyway, here's the recipe I used to make this fine white wine cocktail.

1 Bottle of white wine

1 1/2 ounces triple sec

1 1/2 cups Kerns Nectar juice (I chose Mango)

Just a bunch of fruit - I cut up oranges, strawberries and pineapple

Throw all that fruit in a pitcher with your drink concoction. Let it sit in the fridge over night so that everything soaks together all nicely.



To be honest, I didn't even know how to cut a pineapple correctly - I had to google it. Yikes.

It was all worth it though - this was the perfect, most refreshing drink to have in the 100 degree heat that Palm Springs had to offer.



Top - c/o Black Swan Clothing