Misa Jewelry - Organic by Design

We local girls need to stick together, even if one of them is a true haole (that would be me, of course.) I've been lucky enough to befriend a talented new jewelry designer and fellow Island girl, Misa Hamamoto, the designer and owner of Misa Jewelry. Through the lost art of wax casting, she hand sculpts each piece into a unique organic form that mimics the natural world around her. Her latest series of gold and silver metal cuffs, dangly earrings, bold rings, and layered chains are all inspired by the Hawaiian coral and reefs from her island upbringing. She also infuses precious and semi-precious gemstones for colors inspired by nature and her worldly travels through Micronesia. I'm especially in awe of the large oval rings in her collection (gotta get me one!) I've always been a big fan of a bold, single ring on a woman's hand - a little artsy, confident, and always making a statement. Her beautiful designs are now available at Firefly on Abbot Kinney, Market in Brentwood (check out your Stacia here too!), Uzu in Manhattan Beach, and Wicati in Westwood. I highly recommend snagging one of her jewels sooner than later, because I can assure you, her line is going to be hot and everywhere and you'll be wishing you were the first to discover it. Stay tuned for more Misa Jewelry at www.misajewelry.com!

Step Up Ladies!

This past Sunday Stacia was part of a Summer fashion and networking event for the Los Angeles chapter Step Up Women's Network at Hidden on Main Street in Santa Monica. The event, featuring a "Fun in the Sun" fashion show, was a private shindig for Set Up Network members and close friends to help raise funds for this fabulous women's charity organization. Set Up is a women's network that brings women and young girls together to help nurture and inspire each other, and especially to strengthen the community resources for women and girls. This national non-profit organization is dedicated to empower women and teens, many underserved girls, so that they have the tools they need to create a better future and succeed in their dreams. How could you not love that?! As a fellow woman and entrepreneur, I was honored to help out and donate some Stacia Summer goodies to their fashion show and silent auction. And it was fun to just be there and hang with some inspiring women! The beach-themed fashion show also included the chicest swimsuit line out there, Salt swimwear, and my new favorite jewelry designer, Misa jewelry. It was like a Vogue Summer look-book with Stacia space-dyed beach tunics and hoodies paired with sun-splashed colored Salt bikinis, and shimmering gold coral-inspired jewelry. And all modeled by 'real' women, not models, and these gals looked beautiful strutting their stuff with confidence! The event was a great success, inspiring new members, introducing three fabulous fashion lines, and enjoying each other's company, and off course, cooling off from the record heat by sipping chilled Sangrias.

Suited Up for Summer

To christen the first day of Summer, I greased up and poured myself into my full wetsuit to challenge the boogie boarding waves at El Porto. I know it's officially Summer, but the 65 degree California water was way too cold for my thin Hawaiian blood, therefore a wetsuit is a must. My 4-year old son and 19-month old daughter didn't have it much easier, pulling on their little tight Xcel onesies and complaining of pinching. It made me wonder why after all the technology out there, someone can't make a wetsuit comfortable. There's nothing like feeling choked at the neck when you zip up your wetsuit. Surfing is challenging enough as it is, and to then have less movement of your arms and shoulders and feel like something's strangling you on top of it. And is there really a graceful way to remove your wetsuit without looking like a bumblingly idiot in the process?

Although I do think Hawaiian-based Xcel wetsuits are by far the best out there, I am still wondering why the technology and style are at a stand still. When I look out onto the waters of El Porto (or any beach for that matter), why is the sea scattered with black sticks bobbing up and down in the waves? The boards are more colorful and innovative than the wetsuits. Why hasn't someone designed a full-on colored wet suit or some cool patterns (other than your lame aloha print florals, a.k.a the Roxy look)? Come on Xcel and Quiksilver, give me a call! Let's design some Stacia-inspired space-dyed wetsuits! Now that would be cool to look out onto the water and see an array of color that does the airbrushed surfboards justice. Maybe men prefer to be decked out in non-conforming black suits (it's all about the sport really and not fashion.) But I'm sorry guys, us women want a little fashion, even out on the water. And I'm not talking about the Gidget wannabes that buy Roxy junior apparel and floral printed rashguards. Women spend hundreds of dollars on swimsuits each year for the latest prints, fabrics, and detailing, so why wouldn't we want our wetsuits to be just as fashionable? I would think they could maintain the technology of keeping us warm and somewhat comfortable, yet give us a little color, print, and high fashion in the process.

Attention Billabong: you've recently bought the coolest wetsuit maker around, Xcel, so don't mess it up. And meanwhile, challenge the surf industry and focus on real women (not girls) who like to surf and bodyboard in 65 degree water, but want to look chic and be warm doing it. For now, my daughter and I will have to sacrifice style for function and don our lovely black and yellow color-blocked Xcel wetsuits and at least try to perfect our form until some fashion saves us. Believe me, even if I suck at surfing, I want to at least look good doing it!

Young Artists in the Making

Last night I took my kids to the Every Monday Matters charity event at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. The event, hosted by my friend and artist Ria Ray and the author of Every Monday Matters, Matthew Emerzian, was to raise money for the arts in public schools, specifically Roosevelt Elementary. Yes, even in lovely Santa Monica, the prestigious (and actually very good) public schools are lacking in the arts just like every other public school in America. Yikes, I really dread starting the process next year picking a school worthy of my kindergarten son. Just watching a bunch of 2nd graders go at blank canvases with bowls of paint was so inspirational. Kids have the most natural instincts for form, shape, color, without the slightest bit of hesitation or doubt in their creations. If only we all could be so free! Just shows you how important art is to our children. It allows them the freedom to create and explore, something our schools are clearly lacking.

It was so much fun to watch my two kids, a four year-old (with definitely more control of the brush) and my 19 month-old daughter (who actually enjoyed painting with her feet and hands!) go at it. Ta da! Instant father's day gifts! I bought the two canvases my children made at the auction to help raise funds for Roosevelt's art program and I can't wait to hang them on my walls! After this event, I'm also anxious to read the host's new book, Every Monday Matters, which is a brilliant concept. It takes 52 Mondays and 52 simple things that ordinary people can do each Monday to make a difference in the world. Whether it's picking up a single piece of trash, mentoring a child, or changing a lightbulb, if we all did one simple task to better our environment every Monday, our world would certainly be a better place. Check out their web site and stay tuned for upcoming events in your area!

Road Trip - Ventura

I've always been curious about Ventura with a sort of grandiose perception of Ventura as the ideal surf town. Ever since I read that Coastal Living article about the uber cool architects and lawyers who surfed their Ventura break at sunrise, put in a good days work, then lolled around their fabulous California bungalows at sunset. The perfect little surf town with its eclectic Main Street, surfboard-on-bike-with-dog-in tow-kind-of-town, and quaint little bungalows blocks from the surf. Finally, we ventured up to Ventura (no pun intended!) and were immediately charmed by its hillside Main Street. The retail, although charming from the outside, was little to be desired. There was a strange array of antique stores, junk shops, second-hand apparel shops, and yes, even, a porn/bookstore right next to the cute hippie gift shop. If you're looking for high-end retail you'll be out of luck. But I did come across a few finds - the cool gift shop Ciao Bella, the contemporary boutique Link, the local surf shop Wetsand, and of course, the landmark Patagonia store. I guess I should embrace the eclectic collection of antique shops and Mom and Pop stores, because I'm sure soon enough Main Street will eventually become like Santa Barbara's State Street and become over-run with chain stores and lose its true character. But I did see one too many tattoo parlors, porn shops, and smoke shops (Pipeline Smoke Shop you have to admit is a pretty cool surf-inspired name for a smoke shop!)

There was a definite rough edge to Ventura (lots of bikers and tattoos), but in contrast there was definitely an old-school surf vibe going on. One of the best breaks I've ever seen in Southern California so far (and not even crowded!) was right of the pier with lots of Diamond Head quality long-boarding breaks for miles (room for everyone.) I swear every surfer I saw was literally over 60 and with a huge long-board tucked under their wetsuited arm. I'm talking about some REAL surf dudes, not the hotdoggers you see at Huntington, but old-school surfers who toe the nose with true grace. I even saw a surfing dog toeing the nose - pretty cool and exactly what I would expect from Ventura (see pictured above.) I would love to explore more of Ventura as I'm sure I only saw a tip of the iceberg. But for now at least, I've satisfied my curiosity and idealized perception of Ventura and saw both an edgier dark side to Ventura as well as the cool surf vibe I imagined.