RED VELVET BOUTIQUE - A BEAUTIFUL MESS

So, recently I headed back out to the Midwest for a little vacay in the Ozarks.

While I was out there I made sure to check out Red Velvet Boutique which is owned by Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess blog. It was located on a really cool street in Springfield, MO that almost looked like it was set back in time and the shop was way bigger than I expected. It was full of vintage dresses and accessories, antique furnishings, and the Red Velvet dress collection.

Elsie obviously does a really great job with her site, A Beautiful Mess, but I was really interested in learning a little more about her own dress collection.

She originally started Red Velvet as just a small arts and accessories shop, even though later she realized she wanted to design a dress line. At the time, the focus was really set on growing the boutique and Elsie began buying vintage pieces. As the shop progressed and after months of ideas and sketches piling up, she pulled the trigger and put everything in motion for her collection. It's a real example of having an idea in mind, putting it out there and having it come to life. Anyway, you can read her full story here.



In addition to everything else, there was a Sweet Shoppe - like I said this place was pretty huge. Cupcakes, old fashioned sodas and candy. Yum. I seriously love the way this was set up, the color combos are really visually inspiring.

Anyway, I had a good time and really enjoyed spending time looking at every little detail. Definitely make the stop in there if you're ever in that neighborhood. Also, shout out to Elsie and Emma for allowing me to stop in and snap a few photos.

CHALKBOARDS AND MIMOSAS

A few weekends ago I hopped on a plane and made a quick trip back home to Scottsdale.

My best friend Kendall is getting married later this year and of course I had to throw her a glorious bridal shower. The whole theme was based around using chalk. I collected tons of champagne and wine bottles and painted them with chalkboard spray paint - yeah, that exists.



These little painted bottles with each girls name written in chalk was a pretty big hit since it was not only a 'name card' ,but doubled as a vase to take home.







There were even random little pieces like serving trays and boards that I found in thrift shops, etc that were spray painted as well.







I was pretty excited to bust out the toilet paper wedding dress game. Each team had to design a wedding dress for Kendall using only toilet paper and pink tulle. Don't worry, I didn't participate - since I have a degree in Fashion Design I thought that would be a bit unfair.

Wedding Dress Models

I'm not exactly sure how I found the time to put on the shower (actually I am, my mom helped make sure it all fell into place perfectly) but it was a super fun creative outlet. And most importantly Ken was super happy. Look how stylish she looks in her lace dress - the perfect pick for her shower.

PARC BOUTIQUE

Last weekend I was in Minneapolis and stopped in at Parc Boutique off Hennepin Ave.

I'm really glad I made it in because not only were the clothes super cute and well merchandised, but the set up was really well done - we all know how much I love that.



I met Thao, the owner, and chatted with her for a bit. Just in the brief convo we had, I could tell how passionate she was about it all. The store has been around for about four years and they're pretty involved in the fashion community over there in Minneapolis. I was impressed to hear about how they support and sell local jewelery designers collections. Also, they have this summer event held weekly called 'Sip and Shop'. I wish I had popped in on Friday because it's totally up my alley - wine and shopping :)



The whole store set up was pretty awesome. So many cute little pieces that really added to the vibe. I loved seeing these floating light blub vases - been wanting to make some of these for my studio space for a while now.



Anyway, I had a blast exploring Minneapolis, checking out the fashion scene and grabbing a quick bite at Aster Cafe by the river.

Check out more about Parc Boutique here.

CA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (AND INSPIRATION)

When I was up north in San Fran I made it over to the California Academy of Sciences.

This place is pretty rad. There are a ton of things to check out. I mean, I'm pretty sure I didn't even see half of it - I later found out that there's an earthquake exhibit, which would have been awesome considering I have an odd obsession with quakes. But anyway, I did manage to see the Rainforest and Aquarium exhibits along with the infamous living roof.



There were so many colors, textures and patterns that caused my mind to start racing with various ideas for designs. I especially love the colors of these jellyfish and the coral reef. The whole place was filled with random inspiration.



Recently, I've been really inspired by fossils and their shapes, so naturally I was drawn to some of these skulls and dino bones.



As for the living roof, it was pretty awesome and such a creative idea to have the majority of the rooftop covered in plants and wildflowers. Would be a cool place for a photoshoot.

PATCHWORK - INDIE ARTS FEST

A couple weekends ago I was over in Long Beach for Patchwork.

It was pretty fun checking out all of the local vendors and their handmade goods. Everything was there from jewelry and art to clothing and home accessories.



Some designers had really great booth displays and set ups. I really take notice and appreciate when someone takes the time to brand themselves in a way that makes sense and then executes it well - it goes a long way.

This jewelry designer Nikki Montoya not only had a fun display, but the collection she was showing was super cute. Her jewelry was inspired by a tribal theme and I pretty much wanted to take every piece home with me.

Nikki Montoya Jewelry

There were some random knick knacky stuff and some cute things for around the house. I thought the idea of putting the stamps in the cupcake pan was pretty adorable.



Anyway, definitely some super cool stuff to check out and get inspired by. I'm pretty sure there's another one going on later this month in Culver City.

HSH x LUMI

The creative juices were flowing the other day...

I decided to bust out the Lumi Inkodye. We got this stuff a few months backs and since then I've been waiting for the perfect project to use it on.

Lumi is a light sensitive dye created by this cool chick, Jesse Genet, who just wanted to come up with a unique tool for transferring images onto fabric. The dye is clear as it is applied to your object, but once it's exposed to the sun, it changes color and appears within minutes - pretty awesome.

Anyway, I really wanted to design a super fun top to wear to the beach this summer. After putting the shirt together, I designed a funky little tribal inspired pattern to be painted on the front.

Check it out for yourself.

SCRAP

So, I heard about Scrap a while ago and have been dying to check it out in person.

It's this crazy little creative center in the Bay Area that sells re-useable materials. It's like a garage sale on crack. There's tons of different fabrics, buttons and other trims - super cheap too.

I was roaming around for so long looking at every little thing since there's such a random assortment of stuff. It was definitely fun letting my mind run wild thinking of all of the things I could create with some of these weird things.

This pretty much sums it up.

I walked out of there with 2 bags of stuff - can't wait to put it to use in some of my upcoming projects.

SAN FRAN PART I

I had such a blast up north in San Fran last weekend.

There was a ton to cover in just a few short days, but I'm pretty sure most of the important stuff was checked off the list. Of course popping into boutiques and art galleries, eating too much food and taking tons of pics were taken care of.

Annabella's

I have to admit that finding this random candy shop, Z'Cioccolato, pretty much made my day. I didn't hesitate to grab a handful of Smarties and a Ring Pop.

There was no agenda for the trip and I really liked it that way - it made room for little detours down back alleys to admire some graffiti art and get inspired on a whim.

Don't sweat it - there's more San Fran coverage to come.

SPOTTED MOTH

So I went back to Spotted Moth the other day.

When I was in Downtown Orange a couple weeks ago I stopped by this boutique to check it out and I was super impressed with the build out, vibe and the clothes. Everything was so perfectly thought out. Although, I pretty much expected that since their website is just as great.

I wanted to head back over so I could chat it up with Christina, the boutique manager. I really enjoyed hearing her story about how Spotted Moth began and we talked about how their branding and merchandising for the store all sort of came together.

I seriously love all the attention to detail - check out these cute hang tags.

Scored this rust/cream leopard print dress

Anyway, I think you get the point - if you're looking to score some super cute stuff head over to Orange Circle. Oh, and don't forget to grab a cookie at the Blue Frog Bakery over there - I hear they're pretty tasty.

DOWNTOWN ORANGE

Last weekend I spent the day over in Downtown Orange.

Started off at Filling Station and grabbed some brunch. That brunch goes down in the books - such amazing cinnamon french toast - yum.

Afterward, I roamed around and snapped a few photos.Downtown Orange is super cute and there are tons of random places to shop and little bakeries, etc.

Also, I was happy to bust out these cut-off denim shorts I designed last year.

I popped in one of the antique shops. I'm sort of into antique shopping since about a year ago when I found a vintage 1930's ice cream shop chair. It has a white (rustic) paint job with a wooden seat. I love it. Except, I'm told I shouldn't use it as my computer chair (ergonomics, pssh). My argument is that it's cute and worth it.

Anyway, there were some vintage fashion sketches, magazines and pattern books that were pretty fun to check out.

More to come from Downtown Orange later. I had a lot of fun at one boutique in particular... you'll see!