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!

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

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.

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.