Road Trip - Ojai

Just got back from a quick road trip up to Ojai. There's nothing better for design inspiration than to get out of Dodge and clear your head for new ideas. I've been wanting to explore Ojai (pronounced O-hi) for some time, and I've already named one of my bamboo spacedye colors 'Ojai' for Spring '08. Ojai, a small town tucked away in a valley east of Ventura, is the Shangri-la of California - always sunny, breezy, and no rain, and rolling hills for miles. It also has a hippy-dippy vibe similar to Kihei, Maui, but I wanted to see for myself. Ojai is actually more polished than I expected. Yes, it's beautiful and remote (and I did see a woman cycling topless with only star pasties on!), but everything was so pristine - the adobe architecture, shops, parks, and arcade plaza. Some great little shops I discovered were Two Sisters (racks of Calypso and Lily McNeal), Hattie's (a cute, little free-standing bungalow carrying clean designs by Theory and Velvet), and the world's best outdoor used bookstore, Bart's Books. Live banjo music at the farmer's market and the fresh strawberries and apricot pies (oh, and the anti-war parade and the dreadlock bongo players) were just enough to get you in the Ojai mood. All said, it was a great little getaway to see inside another world, a Shangri-la of sorts, and to get my juices flowing for Spring 2008. The eco-friendly bamboo yarn I'm using for next Spring will be perfect for one of my new colorways, Ojai. Can't wait to wear my new Stacia tunic dress in Ojai on my next visit to Shangri-la, California!