Little Designers in the Making

I've been wanting to volunteer at my son's preschool in an arts n' crafts project with the kids. Since my studio is chock full of fabrics, buttons, sequins, beads, ric rac, and other preschool-friendly trim, I thought it only appropriate to do a Fashion Design project with them. My son and I did a little "run through" the night before to test that my project would be foul-proof and keep his attention. I had pre-cut with a template a bunch of little t-shirts, pants, and dresses in various fabrics (denim, ultra-suede, aloha prints, and cotton shirting fabrics) - sort of like paper dolls. Then it was just up to the kids to customize and decorate the tops, bottoms, and dresses with their choice of trims using fabric glue. For the real run-through, the kids had a blast gluing, appliqueing, and creating their own one-of-a-kind little designs. And let me tell you, these kids love their glue! At ages 3 and 4 years-old, they haven't quite mastered the art of gluing. Some actually went overkill on the glue and it became a decoration in itself! Both the boys and girls equally enjoyed the task of "designing" their miniature outfits. The boys especially enjoyed using the "cowboy" trim (a brown ultra-suede fringe) and the girls without a doubt piled on the sequins and flower appliques (little Tommy Hilfigers and Cynthia Rowley's in the making!) When all the outfits were complete, we mounted them on colored construction paper to display their unique designs. I was so proud to see their beautiful work, all done without any thought what so ever. Talk about spontaneous design! These preschoolers had a natural knack for design - there were no rules, self-doubt, or worries of copy-right infringement on their minds! For real designers you're always confronted with over-thinking your designs, worried about trends and what's going on in the market, or self-doubting your creations. But these little designers with all their innocence, were free to create without any baggage. God Bless them! If only all the Marc Jacobs, Nanette Lepores, and Philip Lims of the design world could be so free to design and create without outside influences (and this includes myself as a designer for sure!!) Stay tuned for a video of the Angel Room kids at work on their little masterpieces!

Free Shipping and a Summer Sale @ Stacia!

Alas, Summer is over, but Fall is in the air at shopstacia.com. And for a limited time only, we're offering Free Shipping on all orders. Whoopie! There's some deals to be had in the Sale Item page and all of our Summer goodies are on sale too. Now's the time to snag that Riviera hoodie and Capri crochet beach tunic at 25% off for your next tropical getaway this Winter. Stock up on our scrumptious merino wool sweaters before the Winter chill hits. And don't forget, you can always email me directly at info@shopstacia.com if you ever have any questions about sizing, fit, color, etc. and I'm quick to respond. I love to interact with my customers. It makes me a better designer to hear what's on your mind - what you love, need, or want in knitwear will greatly influence my future collections. Happy Fall shopping!!
xoxo
Stacy

Space Dye Merino Wool - in Stores Now!

This month we're shipping our full-on Stacia Winter collection of merino wool space dyed sweaters to stores across the country. Now with our new New York showroom and our increasing list of East Coast boutiques, Stacia has expanded into other fibers, merino wool to be specific, to keep our Northeastern customers warm and stylish in Stacia. Although the bulk of my collection is made in transitional year-around fabrics (think rayon, cotton, and bamboo), I can't ignore my Colorado and Nor'easterner's request for cozy wool versions of my spacedye sweaters. But my experience at retail has shown me that there are a lot of people out there who can't wear wool and don't want to pay for cashmere prices, but still want to cure that Winter chill with a cozy sweater. My solution was to "plait" my merino wool with rayon to give it a softer hand feel on the inside (itch-proof) and create a drapier hand for my wool dresses. Genius! So don't be afraid of wool (no more prickly skin!) and forget that $300 plus soon-to-pill cashmere sweater at Barney's. My spacedye merino wool (with rayon backing) will surely fit the bill for price, comfort, and warmth come this Winter. The "Alyeska" group (a favorite ski spot of mine in Alaska) consists of three winter-worthy colors - Cabin, Lake, and Lodge. I kept it a tight group of just four must-have Winter shapes - a belted chunky cardicoat, a flirty swing cardi, my signature hoodie, and a mod-inspired ribbed mini dress. All these goodies will be in a store near you this month, and of course, always online at shopstacia.com.

Coastal Cleanup - El Porto

Yesterday was my first volunteering experience with Heal the Bay's Coastal Cleanup Day. And this year my son, Campbell, was old enough to participate (well, sort of) and learn about the importance of cleaning up our beloved beaches. We headed out to El Porto, one of our regular hang-outs, bright and early to meet up with a volunteer team from Heal the Bay. We were given latex gloves, blue and green trash bags for trash and recyclables, and a score card for the trash we're to pick up (that's how they get their statistics for the 4,281,104 cigarette butts found on the beaches since 1985 when the first Coastal Cleanup began.) My son was psyched about our 'treasure hunt' for trash on the beach and was quick to point out every cigarette butt (and there were many!). We were instructed to focus on the smaller trash particles (the ones that do the most harm for sea animals), like small pieces of Styrofoam, plastic, and of course the infamous cig butts. I could easily assess that 99.9% of the trash we picked up was small particles of Styrofoam and cigarette butts. If there was an effective band on beach smoking and Styrofoam use in restaurants our trash bags would have been empty!

Overall it was a great introduction to our 3-year old on the importance of picking up after ourselves to keep our beaches pristine and we all felt we did our part, however small, to help clean up the environment - literally one cigarette butt at a time. My family and I were especially excited about cleaning up El Porto, our favorite family/surfing beach in the South Bay area. The gentle waves are perfect for toddlers, the waves are usually friendly for beginner surfers like myself (and if not, the waves are great for body boarding), and we LOVE the smoothies and breakfast burritos at the beach snack bar (highly recommended!!)

So next year, try to do your part and get involved with your local Coastal Cleanup event. They're all over the country now (and in 91 countries around the world), and not just at beaches anymore. This year was the first big effort for Heal the Bay to create awareness inland and get the trash from the source before it hits the ocean (via storm drains) with cleanup outposts at inland spots (e.g. Compton Creek)

My only criticism of the event was the lack of awareness. I only really knew about the event because I'm a member of Heal the Bay, but the word of mouth and advertisement of the event could use a little more oomph. One surfer on the beach was totally clueless of the event and asked us what we were looking for when we were scavengering along the beach. Hello! Ever heard of Coastal Cleanup Day? Apparently not. So let's hope next year we'll have an even bigger turnout and more people (surfers and inland dwellers alike) will know about this universal event and take part to preserve our oceans.

Stacia Spring '08 Debuts at Coterie

Stop by the Stacia booth 1315 on Pier 92 at New York City's Fashion Coterie, starting next Tuesday Sept. 18th thru the 20th. We'll be showcasing our new Spring '08 collection of Spacedye and Solid knitwear that will ship beginning next January to stores. Our first group, Eco-Spacedye, in 100% bamboo, features an update on the beach tunic classic, a gathered vee tunic, easy wrap dresses, our signature va va voom dress, and a chunkier swing cardi. The rich palette includes colors inspired by California's Big Sur, Ojai, Carmel, and Avalon. Spring II's 'Pretty' group of rayon spacedye (delivery in February) takes a sweeter approach with a girly palette inspired by the flowers Camelia, Lotus, Petunia, and Dahlia. The silhouettes are slightly more feminine with accents of delicate pointelle stitches. And our March delivery brings a sporty group of Sweatertees - the Surfrider group - in spacedye cotton colors inspired by my favorite surf spots, Santa Cruz, Carlsbad, La Jolla, and Hermosa. Hoodies, crochet tanks, t-shirt dresses, and washable 'après surf' sweatertees - perfect for late Spring. All three groups also come in an array of punchy solid colors too - great for merchandising back to your Spacedye on the selling floor. So come by our booth and check out the fabrics, colors, and styling up close! Randi of ESP Showroom will also have our new Stacia Baby collection of knits on hand - miniature versions of our womens collection (too cute for words!) See ya there!

From the Sketchpad - New Colors!

Now that I just put to bed Spring '08, it's already time to think about next Fall (yikes!) I'm always one who likes to get ahead start on things, so I've just made my new Spacedye palette selection for next Summer and Fall. Lots of yummy colors coming your way soon! I've always found Fall to be a more challenging season to design for (even as a sweater designer - go figure!). I really enjoy using vibrant colors and the Fall season doesn't always lend itself to such. Customers expect the muted palette of Autumn (think browns, aubergines, burnt oranges), but my Spacedye is more eye-catching and special in vibrant non-traditional Fall colors. So my challenge this Fall was to punch up the color a bit and do some more unusual color combinations. And thanks to my artistic 3 1/2 year old son, Campbell, and his many beautiful hand paintings from school - I have a whole collection here thanks to him! You can see above some examples of his work and my interpretation of his color palette for some of my new Spacedye combinations.

For Summer' 08 I'm doing a 'Botanical' group of rayon/spandex brightly-hued dresses and sporty tops in colors Mimosa, Eden, Tulip, Waterlily, Hibiscus, and Marigold (will debut in January at Intermezzo and ship to stores in April.) In June I'll ship stores my island-inspired 'Town & Country' group (think Honolulu city meets the North Shore country) of bamboo/cotton Sweatertess in colors Seagrass, Haiku, Lantern, and Banyan. Come August in the height of Fall fashion, I'll be showcasing my 'Mission' group of 100% bamboo knits in colors Mesa, Adobe, Juniper, and Eucalyptus. And just when the temperature starts to drop, my 100% merino wool Spacedye will keep you toasty in a new vibrant color story inspired by California's 'Canyons' - Laurel, Rustic, Temescul, Coldwater, and Topanga. Can't wait to start designing into these fabrics! Got the juices flowing now (thinking of cocoon shapes, bell sleeves, more crochet but in merino, and more fit-to-the-body shapes.)

Stay tuned for more 'From the Sketchpad'...

Behind the Scenes - 'Surfrider' Photoshoot

Next Spring you'll be sportin' my spacedye in a super-soft, comfy cotton jersey. It's the perfect weight for Spring - 'Sweatertees' as I like to call them are light as a tee, but have the fine finishings of a true sweater. So put away those disposable tees and try a Sweatertee instead. These puppies are washable too. I introduced this quality in solids for my first collection in 2005 and I'm still wearing those hoodies today. They're the perfect "ball up and throw in your beach bag" kind of sweaters. And now they're available in these cool surf-inspired beach colors - La Jolla, Santa Cruz, Carlsbad, and Hermosa (fave surf spots if you haven't guessed!) The ultimate beach hoodie is back with 3/4 sleeves with solid elbow patches and a ribbed hem. A best seller at last week's Project show in Vegas was our crochet tank with drawstring detail (lovin' it in La Jolla!) And for the girly side of surfing, there's the Hermosa sweethart top with an eyelet pointelle stitch, oversized buttons, and a slightly shorter length for those higher-waisted pants and skirts that are makin' a comeback (remember it's all about the waist again.) My favorite color is Carlsbad with its beach-hued combination of coral, chambray, and mellow-yellow, and in the T-shirt dress it's a must. I'm definitely sportin' this one over a bikini for my spontaneous beach outings (super comfy and cute over pants too!) And like the other Spring groups, I'm offering all these cute styles in solids too. Our Surfrider solids are Foam, Chambray, Whitewash, and Wildflower. Check out the Wildflower number above - the cutest of cute crochet 'throw-on and go' dresses for Spring. I like to think this group is very 'après surf' and the ultimate beach-girl's uniform.

Behind the Scenes -'Pretty Pointelle' Photoshoot

I liked to call myself "Jack of all trades" here at Stacia - designer, UPS packer/shipper, bookkeeper, stylist, and now photographer. Or maybe I'm just cheap! Yes, I like to do everything myself. This way I have full control (it's the Leo in me!) Just wrapped up another photoshoot with Judy today for Spring II and III groups for 2008. Everything looked fabulous on her as usual and it was great to see my vision come to life finally (sampling has taken over 4 months!) So here's some favorite looks from the 'Pretty' group of rayon pointelle spacedye ultra-feminine tops and dresses. The colors just lend themselves to such girly silhouettes - Lotus, Camilia, Petunia, and Dahlia - all infused with black with touches of pretty pinks, lavenders, and teals. Each style is accented with a delicate pointelle stitch reminiscent of antique lace. I'm lovin' the princess wrap dress with its flirty peplum and fuller skirt (finally the waist is back!) My fave is the sexy vee top with pointelle flared sleeves and it looks smashing with the long skinny scarf - very Parisian! I also brought back an old Stacia staple from my Brooklyn boutique days - the sweethart top with bow belt. It was a huge seller in cotton/rayon (especially in black) and I think it will have a repeat performance in spacedye. Finally, the all-over pointelle cardicoat will be an essential next Spring for the beach (throw over a bikini and go!) Oh, and let me not forget, all these goodies will be coming in solids too. Still waiting on those samples, but I assure you, you'll be wanting these great shapes in Jade, Karma, Black, Tapa, and Calalily too! Stay tuned for more 'behind the scenes.'

Moms Gone Surfin'

I've never been a big fan of surfing alone, and now with two small children I find it even harder to get to the beach with my board. Low and behold, I came across the perfect solution - a surf Moms group on the Westside. I'm not a big believer in organized play dates and Mommy & Me groups (boring...), but I am all for a play date for Mommy! What's better than meeting up with fellow Mom surfers on the beach with your kids? I have no interest in sitting around chatting about spit up, poopy diapers, and baby music classes. I want to get out in those waves and bond with my fellow Moms on another level. Junior can stay on the beach and play with his buddies, while Mommy plays in the surf. I was so fortunate to come across an article in our local Santa Monica Daily Press paper about a group of Moms that have been getting together in Santa Monica at local beaches to surf. Just what I've been looking for! So yesterday, I ventured out with my daughter, Kai, in the Baby Bjorn and my board under my arm to Bay St. (Tower 22) - armed and ready to have fun. The other Moms ranged from advanced to beginner surfers so I felt comfortable fitting in (I'm neither good nor bad, just extremely rusty!) We all got pummeled in the dumping waves, but ended up having a blast in the whitewater practicing our wave riding. All the while our kids frolicked in the sand (the rule is you take turns surfing and watching each other's kids.) What a work out! In no time that baby weight will be off and Mommy will finally be getting her weekly surfin' fix. Can't wait till next week for another outing with the Westside Surf Moms!

Reusable Bags are All the Rage

I recently made a personal commitment to myself, my children, and my environment to forgo the plastic bags and start toting my reusable shopping bags at Ralphs, Riteaid, etc. No more trips to Ralphs taking home 16 plastic bags with only 3 contents of groceries per bag (God forbid if they should fill them up!) And no more trips to Riteaid for one tube of toothpaste in a plastic bag that will end up in either the ocean or a landfill for the next 25 years. I'm jumping on the reusable shopping bag bandwagon and going full force to do so in style. I just came across the most stylish reusable bags that even my husband might be seen toting - it's the Envirosax bags which come in an assorted set of 5 retro prints; easy to roll up and keep in the car for those spontaneous trips to CVS. Another fave and classic is the mesh shopper that you can just throw in your everyday bag and always have on hand. They're a staple for a true organic farmer's market kind of gal, but I remember my Mom using these back in the 70's so they're a classic. Unless you've been under a rock the last few months, we've all heard of the Anya Hindmarch "This is Not a Plastic Bag" bag phenomenon - sold out in seconds at Whole Foods in NYC for $15 and future promotions in Asia canceled for fear of trampling. Crazy! My model even bought one on Ebay recently where they're fetching for up to $300 (nice markup!) I actually just snagged one myself on Ebay for 50 bucks (my first time bidding on Ebay- yippee!) I think the hype is less about helping the environment and more about snagging a designer bag for under $500. I know that's why I bought it. I have no intentions of ruining my new designer tote bag by putting raw food in it! I'd much rather tote it on my next beach excursion or trip to yoga. I'll save the grocery hauling for my $1.99 reusable Green Whole Foods bags - just bought 6 for my next trip to Ralphs!

There's Something in the Air at Topanga

One of my fave spots in LA is Topanga Beach. It's easy to access and a great place to plop down and watch the waves and sunset. This afternoon I took my son and daughter down there for a pleasant beach dinner picnic and to enjoy the last days of Summer. The perfect spot perched on a mini dune right at the foot of the water with waveriders right out in front - aaahh, what bliss! The light just right, the sun going down behind Malibu mountains, and long riding 'rights' for those lucky surfers (dang, didn't bring my board!)

Now that I've set the mood, I can begin my rant. What is up with Los Angeles County beaches? Could the bathrooms at this beach be anymore disgusting? Could I possibly smell more human stench in the air? I was completely appalled to take my newly potty-trained son to the restrooms at Topanga. One out of four toilets were functioning. One was non-stop flushing and I could see the trail of polluting water trickling down to the water - lovely! How hard is it for the county of LA to get it's (excuse my French!) shit together and maintain these beach restrooms so that our ocean doesn't get polluted in the process? I know for a fact that this tiny beach does not get nearly as much traffic as Will Rodgers (with its sparkling new bathrooms), yet the restrooms look like they haven't seen a janitor in months. Why did I pay $7 for parking? You'd think that and my tax dollars would help pay for some toilet paper and a mop. And that's not the end of it. When we got back to our car in the parking lot, the stench in the air was almost toxic. There was a huge pool of raw waste water sewage sitting in the center of the parking lot. I have no idea where it came from and it wasn't there an hour earlier. I'm so happy I paid 7 bucks to smell that.

Yes, I know this blog is suppose to be about fashion and other frivolous things, but I also like to include my favorite causes, one being our Oceans. Enough of my ranting, it's time to get to my final point. I want to remind everybody that Heal the Bay's Coastal Cleanup Day is just around the corner - Saturday, September 15th to be exact. I plan to be down at Topanga with my family to help clean up one of our favorite beach spots. We all can't count on the city or our politicians to maintain our beaches so I guess it's up to us - all the beachgoers, surfers, and sunset watchers, we all need to pitch in and keep our beaches clean so our oceans have a fighting chance. Let's hope the city will send out a crew to clean up those non-functioning toilets too! Learn more about Heal the Bay's Coastal Cleanup Day at their web site, www.healthebay.org.

Now back to more light-hearted fashion-related topics...