i’m still around!

Hello!  I got back from Vegas Sunday night with the beginnings of a raging cold.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were spent swilling Nyquil during those few conscious moments.  I’ll be back on Monday, with my article on the Evans Group!

gettin’ hitched

Today, the boy and I are running off to Vegas to elope. Be back soon…

(Yes, I’m serious.)

The boy and I on Day 5 of that epic 8-Day first date, April/May 2004.

Us, earlier this month.

my next projects

Okay, I know I said in my last post that I was going to relax this weekend, but who are we kidding? We all know I can’t sit still for very long. Three exciting things came my way recently and I’d like to share them with you. I will try to be good and start on Monday instead of right away. 😉

VC reader Karen has been quite the doll and 1. invited me to a local industry meetup, the next one which will be next month and 2. sent me this link about a non-profit looking for fashion designers for their next fundraiser. Basically, the designer creates a one of a kind piece made at least 50% out of random clothes donated to St. Vincent, and the proceeds from the silent auction will go directly to the organization. Click the link to find out more. I’m so excited about this. A chance to use my skills for the greater good? Hell yeah! I urge all Bay Area designers to participate! They raised $15,000 last year; let’s top that this year. Click the link above!!! Thanks, Karen!

Next up, I’ll be interviewing The Evans Group for a post for both VC and Fashion-Incubator. The Evans Group is a vertically integrated production facility based in L.A. that has small minimums for high end apparel. A team from The Evans Group is coming up to meet with Bay Area designers, by appointment, to discuss what they do, how they do it, and explore possible working relationships. They will be here Monday and Tuesday of next week (the 20th and 21st). If you’re interested, please contact them and set up an appointment with Julia. I am interviewing them on Monday, so that I can give you guys a better informed post on their company. I’m not endorsing them in any way until I get a chance to meet them, but first off, Julia was really nice and her follow-up very efficient. If you have a particular question you’d like me to ask, drop me a line in the comments thread.

By the way, I found out about The Evans Group through a different local fashion industry through meetup.com. They’re a very friendly, mellow group that gets together and discuss various industry goings on once a month. Check it out if you’re local, or hit one up in your area. Thanks to Grace, the fabulous blogger behind Design*Sponge for the link trail.

officially unemployed

You know what I say to anyone who asks me about my blog? Every single one of these conversations I insert, “I have the best readers. No trolls, only great people who support me, cheer me on when I’m down, ask intelligent, interesting questions, and know how to be respectful when disagreeing with me or another reader.”

It’s all true and I have never found it more true than the last few days. The wonderful comments and emails I have received from you readers have helped my mental and emotional well-being tremendously and I can’t thank you enough.

Long story short, I gave 2 week notice on Wednesday, and later that day I was told that my “resignation is accepted, effective immediately”. What’s done is done, but I sure wish I had those 2 weeks to prep my team for my departure. I told my assistant to buzz me if there was something she really needed from me. That’s the best I could do, under the circumstances. I think my team was more shocked about it all than I was.

I won’t lie; this sucks. I was editing my resume today, and just reading through my job history, it suddenly dawned on me why I got hit so hard. I’ve never really quit a job before (things just ended for different reasons) and I’ve never left a job under negative circumstances before. Disclaimer: I’m not saying I’m perfect. My last boss called me 2 years ago because she started a new company and wanted me on board. (Unfortunately, the position would have had me in China for large chunks out of the year and that didn’t appeal to me.) I was the head tutor for the Liberal Arts Dept. for almost the entire 4 years I was at school and left only because I was graduating school and seeking an industry gig. Internships and freelance contracts were extended. I’ve enjoyed good working relationships with lots of people and it frustrated me so much that I couldn’t get this situation resolved.

Honestly, I am pretty okay. My life otherwise is very good. I have wonderful relationships with the boy, amazing friends, and my family. My health is good. I have a very nice roof over my head and I have savings. And I have you guys! I had a good/bad? conversation with a friend today. His father is gravely ill and his new beau has an ulcer. Puts things in perspective, you know?

So I am taking Friday and the weekend to relax and I start hitting the pavement Monday. I’ll keep y’all posted!

looking for a new job

Dear readers, yes, I am looking for a new job. Any help you can offer is much appreciated. I’m still working where I am, but I am planning my exit, the sooner the better. Irreconcilable differences. Let’s just leave it at that. And no, I’m not going to reveal who I worked for and start talking smack once I leave. Not my style.

I started putting out my feelers on Thursday. One fish may have bitten, but I’ll know more next week. We shall see. Everything is up in the air. It’s 11pm, Sunday night here in SF, and the rain is falling gently on the roof. Maybe that means I’ll get my fresh start soon. *crosses fingers*

behnaz at my alma mater

Here’s a cool little bit of news.  Apparently designer Behnaz Sarafpour is doing a design project at my alma mater, Otis!  I know how hard the department chair, Rose Brantley, works to get good designers to come work with the students, so I think this is so cool that we got a shout-out on Fashion Week Daily.  Otis has a history of working with some great designers (Jeremy Scott, Bob Mackie, Richard Tyler, Cynthia Rowley, Nicole Miller, Todd Oldham, DKNY, Nike, Trina Turk, Isabel Toledo, Michelle Mason, BCBG, Rozae Nichols, to name a few…), and as a fan of Sarafpour’s work, I kind of wish I could go back to school to work on this project.  I say “kind of”, because as much as I loved school, working in the industry is heaps better.

happy blog birthday to me

Um, yeah, I guess the title is self explanatory. I’m one year old today.

On a more serious note, I’d like to thank all you readers for your support and attention. I’ve also noticed the number of hits I’ve been getting has doubled in the past month (who are you people? speak up!) and I’ve been getting more compliments on my portfolio pages of late (aw, shucks, thanks, guys!).

I would have posted this earlier today but I had a 7 HOUR merchandising and sales meeting with my team and a couple of my sales reps, STANDING UP IN HEELS ON CONCRETE, so when I got home, my brain was fried and my feet screaming at me to sit or lay down. Of course I promptly passed out when I got home and woke up only a couple of hours ago. (No, I didn’t know it was going to last 7 hours, nor did I know I’d be standing the entire time. I didn’t even know for sure my attendance would be necessary for the entire meeting.) I bring this up because today I reread my very first post, and had a “where did the time go?” moment. It seems so long ago that I so wanted this very position and now I’m here. Yes, work is hard and I have my moments where I stand in an empty bathroom stall and claw at my own hair, but I’m here and so thankful.

*note*  The WordPress clock is funky.  It’s still Nov. 3rd, which is my real blog birthday, but the post publish date is Nov. 4th.  Hrm.