Q&A: Blooming Leopold Vintage
1. How did you get your start in designing woman’s wear?
2.What inspires you to create?
3. What do you love about working with different fabrics?Each fabric is an experience in itself, and when you begin to sew you can certainly tell the difference between high and low quality fabrics – after sewing with silk it’s hard to go back to polyester. I hate sewing with stretch fabrics, they have a mind of their own and even the expensive ones feel cheap to me – I’m not a fan. Recently I sewed with boiled wool for the first time and that was a joy.. it has this interesting structure to it that makes it incredibly easy to sew with. I try to sew with natural fabrics whenever I can, cottons and linens are standards for me. Just recently I ordered some bamboo fabric and I can’t wait to work with it.
4. Do you have a favorite piece you have made ?
5. Describe your style aesthetic. My style aesthetic is always changing, but there is a distinct mix of old and new in there. I’m always in search of balance between masculine and feminine, vintage and contemporary. I’ve been into 90s-era vintage for the last couple years. I love mid-length dresses, platform shoes, crop tops. Grunge. But I always enjoy juxtaposing the old pieces with modern shoes or accessories.
6. Any current obsessions you would like to share?
7.What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
8.What is the one fashion item you think is a “must-have” for every women?
9. Any advice you would like to give to aspiring designers?
10. Any exciting designing news for Blooming Leopold Vintage?
etsy du jour…
some of my favorite pieces from my etsy explorations as of late.
click images to connect to shops & information on how to buy.
enjoy.
I’m Loving: Waldrip
I’m Blog Loving: Rachel Martino
Rachel Martino is a beauty maven. She is my go-to-girl for everything make-up related! You have a mascara problem ? Or a lipstick issue? Rachel has you covered. Rachel runs a blog and youtube channel that gives advice to woman everywhere on all things beauty realted. And…as if all that wasn’t enough! Rachel is also fluent in French and has a youtube channel entirely in french as well! C’est très magnifique! Are you dying to learn more about Rachel? Check out my interview below to gain a closer look.
1. How did your interest in beauty get started?
I can’t remember exactly when it all started but I distinctly remember that when I was around 12 years old I used to sleep with a Benefit catalog in my bed! My mom doesn’t wear a lot of makeup but I used to love stealing her NARS Orgasm blush (still my favorite blush) and wondering about the name- but let’s not get off track! In high school I cultivated my love of beauty when I was in theatre productions. I took a Stage makeup course and my life was never the same!
2. When/why did you get started with using YouTube as a medium?
When I was working as an Online Intern for mark, my boss and mentor Annemarie asked me to research beauty trends on YouTube. I was stunned by the wealth of wonderful content from girls just like me creating beauty, hair and fashion looks. I decided to give a video a try when a friend at work asked me how to create my signature side braid chignon so I created this video. Now that was almost 3 years ago! A few months after I got my American YouTube channel started I launched my French YouTube channel to help me practice my French before studying abroad. I had no idea it would take off so quickly.
3. What drives you to highlight a certain trend or how-to in your videos?
I like to source my content from my users. When I get a lot of comments asking for similar styles or upcoming trends, I brainstorm how to make them into a video. I want to create videos that my users are interested in seeing. Apart from that I try to always stay cued in on what’s going on and stay true to my personal beauty and fashion esthetics. If I’m loving a look or I think it’s something I’m pretty good at- I’ll make content around that.
4. Describe who you think your typical viewer is ?
I have such an exciting and diverse audience! Most of my viewers are younger (still in high school) and want to know the basics about fashion and beauty. I like to keep my tutorials simple and easy to recreate. They are saavy shoppers like me and respond well to staying chic while on a budget.
5. What are some of your must-haves for the upcoming summer months?
I’m having a serious bright lipstick obsession. It just won’t stop. I love a bright coral-red like NARS Heat Wave or Estee Lauder Pure Color in Wild Fire. I also love a bright fuschia like NARS in Schiap or MAC in Show Orchid. Nothing brightens up a face quicker than a bolt of bright lips. I also love Origins VitaZing because it gives a hint of radiant sun-kissed color without the damaging effects the sun. I try to be extra cautious of this and use La Roche Posay SPF 60 on my face everyday!
6. Favorite beauty product and why?
Hardest question of all time! I think for me it is blush. I could never leave the house without blush. Well, it’s extraordinarily rare if I leave the house without makeup in general but my love affair with blush transcends all! My favorite are NARS in Orgasm (of course!) and Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pale Pink.
7. Share three new products you are currently obsessing over?
2. Origins Brighter by Nature Serum- a must-have for dark spots!
3. Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color in Old Hollywood- the best red I’ve EVER found. Obsessed.
4. My new BonLook Glasses in La Marquise- the perfect fun cat-eye glasses
8. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
My dad always encouraged my to pay attention and take notes wherever you are. You can learn so much if you truly listen. And always, always, be nice. That’s something I really believe in.
9. What are you looking forward too – professionally or personally?
I’m very excited to see where my career takes me. Right now I work in Social Media for a beauty brand, which I love! Having graduated less than a year ago I feel I’m well on my way to a successful career. I’m also excited to see where my YouTube channel and blog will take me in the next few years.
10. Advice for aspiring beauty youtubers?
I think it’s important to think about your goals before you get started. Creating video content can be challenging and time consuming so you have to be in it for the right reasons. It took my over a year to see a lot of success on my channel. It’s also important to keep your priorities straight and keep a work-life balance.
Being Elliott + Bomisch
I have a HUGE thing for vintage decor. So when I found a vintage milk bottle from a little shop called Bomisch I had to get the scoop ! I talked to the creator of Bomisch ,Morgan Fender, to learn more about her amazing online shop. Enjoy the interview below!
Also, be sure to check out Bomisch on their facebook, pinterest, and blog.
1. How did Bomisch get its start?
Bömisch started with the desire to integrate my passion for creativity, love of quality, unique goods and accounting background into one. The name came about after tossing words back and forth between my mom and I. Words that described the feel of the shop that I had dreamed of and planned for years. The word bohemian stood out to me. Bohemian, by its definition, is a person, as an artist or writer, who lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules and practices. This is the type of shop I wanted to have. A place that had its own unique charm, distant from mainstream culture, where people could not only shop but be inspired by the space they were in. bömisch is my version of the German word for bohemian. My heritage is German and I loved the way the umlauts rested over the “o”.
2. What inspires you to sell home and garden products?
Inspiration for me has always come from flea markets, thrift stores and local farmer’s markets. I love hunting for a product. The journey to find the item is as special as the good itself. Markets bring their community together, allow people to explore, mingle with others and spark creative ideas. I wanted these attributes to fit online shopping as well. I wanted my customers to be inspired and feel as if they were discovering the products on their own.
3. Where/how do you acquire your pieces?
bömisch has three main categories of goods: Market, Found and Made. All of which feature unique home goods, gifts and items for the individual. Market items are new goods that are acquired through home and gift trade shows where vendors from all over the world come together. Found items are discovered through thrifting during my travels. I search for one-of-a-kind items that I think can fit into modern day homes and lives. Made items are handmade by independent artisans that I have met in my travels, locally here in Durham or by the creative people that were already a part of my life.
4. Do you have a favorite piece in your shop currently?
Right now I really love the Barr-Co. Pure Vegetable Hand Soap we have in our apothecary collection. The soap is packaged in a lovely glass bottle that can be used again and again. The scent is so natural and pleasing with hints of milk, oatmeal, vanilla and vetivert. Barr-Co.’s products are vegan and made in the USA.
5. Describe the Bomisch aesthetic.
bömisch is a place where bohemian goods from past and present eras are curated to create a one-of-a-kind decor for the home and gifts for your life. We strive to have a local shop vibe, online.
6. Any current obsessions you would like to share?
I recently started a collection of vintage, crocheted throws. They add a bright pop of color and softness to my industrial loft space. I may need to start collecting them for bömisch instead so that I don’t become the girl who lived in her crocheted blankets.
7. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
If you’re not happy, change it. Find a way to fit your passions into your daily life because tomorrow is not promised. Liking what you do is happiness.
8. What is the one household item you think is a “must-have” for every home?
Every home must have a piece of vintage. It will add character and can be paired with every style of decor. Vintage items tell a story and you are saving it from being lost and wasted. If you are unsure of how to bring vintage into your home, start with something small. An old bottle with fresh flowers from your local market is a great way to begin and it saves the energy that would have been used for creating a new one!
9. Any advice you would like to give to aspiring shop owners?
Save money, plan and know that it’s going to take lot of hard work. Stick to your style and customer demographic once you decide what that is. Your customers need to get a feel for what you offer and know that those types of items will always be available.
10. Any exciting plans for Bomisch in 2013?
This year I want to discover new markets, goods and cultures through traveling and bring a taste of each of them back to bömisch. A trip that I look forward to each year is at the end of summer. My family drives from Michigan and I drive from North Carolina to meet in Upstate New York for a long weekend of vintage thrifting. We stay in an old home that was renovated into a bed and breakfast, take away some great finds and wonderful memories.
Q&A: Bonkuk Koo
1. How did you get your start with designing?
I want to be honest about my story. The year was 1999, and I felt out of place all the time and I did not know I was going to be a designer. Actually, I wanted to be a Pharmacist like my mother, but then I found out that people can study fashion in college…which was a surprise to me. It seemed pretty fun to study fashion because I liked wearing nice clothes and styling just like the rest of my friends. That is how I stepped into the world of fashion. Many things have happened to me in the past 13 years, but now I believe fashion is something I want to do for the rest of my life.
2. What inspires you to create?
Textile techniques, shades of colors, surfaces of objects and volumes of movement. However, there is something more than that. Having non-stop conversations with Jason Kim (my friend from FIT and a great helping hand in P.R and overall management of my collection) has become sort of a third designer who I can turn to for anything from trend analysis to subtle story telling that’s needed in delivering the targeted imagery or mood onto the runway and lookbook.
3. What do you love about working with textiles?
I love developing new techniques by using fabric… that’s what I spend most of my time on when beginning a new collection, and also what I feel most comfortable with. Every designer wants to create something new, that is the fundamental worth of this kind of job. When I come up with a new technique of fabric, I feel like I know exactly where I should go about designing. It is one of the most exciting steps for me.
4. Do you have a favorite piece you have made?
In this season there are two coats (Goldenrod cashmere with Crimson wool silk mohair with machine embroidery, Black cashmere with black dutch satin origami weaving). The two coats have the same silhouette but each one has a different way of expression.The goldenrod and crimson coat has color expression. I used to avoid yellow and red color mix. However, when I put together the goldenrod and crimson, it gave me much more of a bright feeling which is sweet and little bit of sour, if I had to compare to taste. The end result was a charming mix of color with a soft edge. My woman wants to wear that kind of basic silhouette. The black color exaggerates the silhouette of the coat. I added unexpected details at the sleeve and coat hem. It makes it different from other, considering that she doesn’t want to show anything in a direct manner or wearing detail on the face.
5. Describe your style aesthetic.
I used to think the women I designed for were very strict style-wise. Because of this, I tried to keep my silhouettes basic and gave my fabric 3- dimensional illusion. But recently, I realized my old way confines me and my women in a cage. How sad and foolish that I restrict myself in limited design! After I changed my mind, Magically, I got so much more excited about new possibilities in my design. I cannot wait to start my 14’ S/S collection! Next season you will see more colors with silhouettes as well as unique fabric techniques, which will be always be my fundamental aesthetic.
6. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Dream as if you will live forever, Live as if you will die today.” (James Dean)
7. What is the one fashion item you think is a “must-have” for every woman?
Shoes and bags are “must must have.” Another must-have is an all-purpose scarf. I started a new scarf line from this season and I am planning more various styles for the upcoming seasons. Regardless of any seasonal needs scarves are the most useful style tool you can imagine. Scarves can spice up any look by adding more texture and color. Scarves can easily go with office looks, daytime looks and indoor/outdoor evening gowns.
8. Any exciting designing plans for 2013?
I have some collaborations with accessories brands coming up. Last season I had a collaboration with Slone (an accessory company out of Korea) We are planning to work with Slone in the next season too. We are also working on an upcoming collaboration with an eyewear company.
To learn more about Bonkuk Koo visit their facebook.
