MEI VINTAGE BLOG

Few weeks ago I was super excited to have my good friend Hillary perform another photo magic for me.  This time, it's for the Fall 2012 collection and the photo shoot was taken in her hometown Santa Monica.   Hillary and I met when we attended college in Hawaii and within a short time, we've become great friends and the best roommate anyone could ask for!  It was there that we learned a lot of what shaped the people we'd become later in life.  We learned about hard work, assimilating to a new environment and making friends in an international community.  Ironic enough,  we were both from LA and moved to Hawaii for college and now we are back home creating a new career path.  I am so thankful for her friendship, support and helping me since the inception of Mei Vintage.  All of the pictures on my website was taken by Hillary and what a talented photographer she is.  Some of Hillary's photographs and editorials were featured in Surfer's Jo...

I love unplanned weekend where spontaneous suggestion from a friend turned out to be a fun filled visit to an art gallery.  Last weekend a good friend invited me to check out a new artwork Exhibit at Know Gallery in LA.  I've been there before, but this show in particular was so much fun!  The exhibit took me back to my childhood where I use to watch Sesame Street with my brother and learned ABC and sang along with Elmo!  The show did such a great job at merging childhood nostalgia with street art.  There were over 40 works of art and artists from all over the world.  Thanks to my good friend, the exhibit brought a huge smile to my face! Below are some pictures I took.  Enjoy! Check out this cute video I stumble upon.... Fiest singing 1234 on Sesame Street!

We are excited to be part of the upcoming Urban Air Market where over 150 sustainable designers will be showcasing their own unique designs held in San Francisco on 5/6/2012 @ Hayes Valley Park.  It's an outdoor event that happens only twice a year!  We will be there showcasing our current collection as well giving you a sneak peak of our new designs that we've been working hard on!  Here's a list of designers that will be at this event.  Look for us at booth #57B.  The weather should be nice, so all you SF peeps, please stop by and say hello and support sustainable designs and products made in the USA! See you there!

It's a bit chilly here this morning in Cali,  so I've decided to stay home today and work on some of my new designs while chilling out to music by  Kimbra !  I can't wait to see her live tonight at Bardot .

via here I had a déjà vu moment today when I woke up and checked my inbox.  I came across this inspirational article from Ecouterre .  The topic was about upcycling tips for emerging designers.  This particular article was a great reminder that upcycling as a method for creative fashion design can still be achieved and admired. I started Mei Vintage with the vision of turning the old into something new.  The focal point of my design was to incorporate vintage kimonos and turn it into a unique collection of earthy timeless handbags .  At first it sounded like a simple idea, but the process turned out to be not so simple.  It was a challenge to find unwanted materials and keeping production methods as cost effective and sustainable as possible.  With a lot of research and determination, I finally had a clear vision.  The result was to use a combination of new, recycled and organic materials while keeping all production locally.  During...

Last week I attended the largest fashion tradeshow in Vegas called Magic !   There were wonderful leather handbag s to be seen. We were there to showcase our new collection at the POOLTRADESHOW that focused on art and design driven brands.  It was a jammed packed three day show filled with fashion, entertainment and lots of selling.  Here's a behind the scene look: Setting up our booth at Mandalay Bay Convention Center: Sharing a booth with Kori, a talanted hat designer of Flipside Hats based in Oregon. Me and Kyla from Flipside Hats showing off our trend at Style Stalker Studio A snapshot of the giant fashion marketplace at POOLTRADESHOW !  Check out the displays, fashion, entertainment and art! After a successful show at Magic, I had a free day to relax and unwind!  We spent a day walking around Vegas strip.  2012 is the year of the dragon and Bellagio created this amazing Chinese themed flower garden surrounded by dragons!  ...

It has been a busy month for me preparing for POOLTRADESHOW.  I caught a terrible cold the week before Vegas so I forgot to mention about my exciting giveaway with EcoStiletto.   Click here to enter. Today is the last day, but you still have a chance to win one of our most popular Hermosa leather Clutches .  It's a great Spring/Summer leather purse especially if you are planning on taking a vacation.  It's really lightweight and holds most of your essentials.  I will announce the winner next week.  I am excited to be back home from a long week in Vegas.  I will tell you more about my Vegas tradeshow in my upcoming blog.  There were lots of exciting new products and fashion trends at the show that I can't wait to share.  The weather is so pretty in Cali so I can't wait to relax and enjoy my weekend!  Have a great Presidents weekend everyone!