Road Trip - Palm Springs

Just got back from a quick getaway to Palm Springs - a surprise birthday weekend for my hubbie. I must really love my husband to endure a weekend in the desert! I'm known to get ill inland and dread being land-locked, but to be honest, I've always been curious about Palm Springs. The image in my head is the cool, laid-back Rat Pack vibe of the mid 60's, lounging poolside with a cocktail - a true designer's inspiration. The trip was a success in that I didn't get ill inland and I came back chock full of ideas for Spring 2009. I've already fittingly named my first Spring group (in stores January '09) 'Palm Springs.' The new palette of bamboo spacedye colors will evoke the mid-century oasis of Palm Springs in its hay-day - color names will include Neutra, Eames, Pucci, Lilly (as in Lilly Pulitzer; I know she's more Palm Beach, but her preppy palette fits right in in Palm Springs), Rancho, and Palmas. My inspiration draws on the mid-century architecture that Palm Springs is famous for and what a gal would be wearing if she were lounging poolside at one of these grand indoor/outdoor living spaces. I'm promising lots of color - pops of multi-color hues (think Spacedye Pucci), preppy mixes of pinks and greens (Lilly gone Spacedye), and earthy yet vibrant hues of the desert (oranges, sky blues, citrus greens.) The ideas are just oozing out of my head. Gotta go sketch! Stay tuned for more Spring 2009 inspiration...

Stacia Trunk Show at Christie's Boutique

Just got back from a fabulous weekend getaway to sunny San Diego. My excuse for the weekend jaunt was for my very first trunk show. So I filled up my trunk of goodies - lots of colors and styles that my customers have never seen - and drove on down the coast to Christie's at 928 Fort Stockton Drive in Mission Hill. I've been selling to this little gem of a boutique ever since they opened in 2005. Tucked away in a charming neighborhood catering to the well-to-do, fashion-savvy Moms of Mission Hill. These are real women who work, play, and raise a family, and all in high heels. The shop girls, Christie, Kat, and Courtney, were great - talk about knowing their fashion and knowing their customer! These girls rock! I swear every single woman that walked into their store, they knew them on a first name basis and what they last purchased. Luckily the majority of these women are fans of Stacia knits and were tickled to meet "moi" and talk shop. Boy, do I miss my retail days at Stacia New York! I forgot how fun it is to interact with your customers, play around with displays, and dress up the women who venture in the dressing rooms. The owner, Christie and her top gal, Kat, were donning their best Stacia too - looking fabulous in their Santa Cruz and La Jolla crochet dresses. And the store was decked out in Stacia with great displays and racks of spacedye - it was like a Stacia shop within a shop. Everything in the boutique was 20% off for the day and if you spent over $250 on Stacia, you received one of our spacedye long skinny scarves in either Lotus, Petunia, or Camilia - what a steal! We had a great day with lots of traffic and lots of happy customers leaving with bags stocked with Stacia. Thank you to Christie, Kat, and Courtney for the wonderful support and opportunity, and to all the Mission Hill women who continue to look fabulous in their Stacia knits!

Khloe Kardashian Event in Vegas

Indulge a little and check out the Vegas launch party for Dash, Khloe Kardashian's chic Calabasas boutique, on Friday, April 11th. Yours truly is providing the goodie bags for this bash being held at the Body English nightclub at The Hard Rock in Vegas.

The E! reality stars, the fun-loving Kardashian clan, are both stylish on and off screen. Their fabulous Calabasas boutique, Dash, at 4774 Park Granada offers the best selection of LA and NY designer clothes we all crave (including Stacia!) A great star-studded boutique where you can either hope to catch a glimpse of the reality stars or at least aspire to dress like them. Fashionista's also flock to their adjoining kid's boutique, Smooch, for pint-size pizzazz for their stylish tots (Stacia baby hoodies have been spotted there!) FYI...Mom Kardashian, a.k.a Mrs.Bruce Jenner wore the Stacia signature vee dress in Morocco in last year's season finale of Keeping up with the Kardashian's on E!.

Unfortunately, the event is on my husband's birthday weekend and I'm planning a big surprise for him so I won't be able to attend (see future posts for the reveal!). But if you're looking for fun on the fly, jet down to Vegas for the weekend and check out the Dash bash. Free champagne for the gals before midnight and be sure to snag one of those goodie bags at the door to get your free Stacia!

Ria Ray Gallery

My good friend Ria Ray as finally opened her tropical hideaway to the public. Perfectly situated a stone's throw away from Santa Monica's trendy Montana Ave. at 734 12th Street. Her gallery and healing studio will now be an open door welcoming Montana Ave. strollers and the curious into her serene environment. All of her large and small scale paintings will be on display and available for purchase. In addition, smaller signature items, her famous mantra ties and her new luscious lip balm, Speak, are available for spontaneous purchases and gifts. And leave it to Ria to encompass it all - her healing work and consultation is still available by appointment only and now her husband, Jeremy Ray, brings us his unique style of personal one-on-one training - healing both the inside and outside of your self. So if the door is open, stop on by and take a look and lounge in the shade of banana trees and linger awhile...