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.

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.

Stacia Spring '08 Debuts at Coterie

Stop by the Stacia booth 1315 on Pier 92 at New York City's Fashion Coterie, starting next Tuesday Sept. 18th thru the 20th. We'll be showcasing our new Spring '08 collection of Spacedye and Solid knitwear that will ship beginning next January to stores. Our first group, Eco-Spacedye, in 100% bamboo, features an update on the beach tunic classic, a gathered vee tunic, easy wrap dresses, our signature va va voom dress, and a chunkier swing cardi. The rich palette includes colors inspired by California's Big Sur, Ojai, Carmel, and Avalon. Spring II's 'Pretty' group of rayon spacedye (delivery in February) takes a sweeter approach with a girly palette inspired by the flowers Camelia, Lotus, Petunia, and Dahlia. The silhouettes are slightly more feminine with accents of delicate pointelle stitches. And our March delivery brings a sporty group of Sweatertees - the Surfrider group - in spacedye cotton colors inspired by my favorite surf spots, Santa Cruz, Carlsbad, La Jolla, and Hermosa. Hoodies, crochet tanks, t-shirt dresses, and washable 'après surf' sweatertees - perfect for late Spring. All three groups also come in an array of punchy solid colors too - great for merchandising back to your Spacedye on the selling floor. So come by our booth and check out the fabrics, colors, and styling up close! Randi of ESP Showroom will also have our new Stacia Baby collection of knits on hand - miniature versions of our womens collection (too cute for words!) See ya there!

Stacia Spring '08 Debuts at Coterie

Stop by the Stacia booth 1315 on Pier 92 at New York City's Fashion Coterie, starting next Tuesday Sept. 18th thru the 20th. We'll be showcasing our new Spring '08 collection of Spacedye and Solid knitwear that will ship beginning next January to stores. Our first group, Eco-Spacedye, in 100% bamboo, features an update on the beach tunic classic, a gathered vee tunic, easy wrap dresses, our signature va va voom dress, and a chunkier swing cardi. The rich palette includes colors inspired by California's Big Sur, Ojai, Carmel, and Avalon. Spring II's 'Pretty' group of rayon spacedye (delivery in February) takes a sweeter approach with a girly palette inspired by the flowers Camelia, Lotus, Petunia, and Dahlia. The silhouettes are slightly more feminine with accents of delicate pointelle stitches. And our March delivery brings a sporty group of Sweatertees - the Surfrider group - in spacedye cotton colors inspired by my favorite surf spots, Santa Cruz, Carlsbad, La Jolla, and Hermosa. Hoodies, crochet tanks, t-shirt dresses, and washable 'après surf' sweatertees - perfect for late Spring. All three groups also come in an array of punchy solid colors too - great for merchandising back to your Spacedye on the selling floor. So come by our booth and check out the fabrics, colors, and styling up close! Randi of ESP Showroom will also have our new Stacia Baby collection of knits on hand - miniature versions of our womens collection (too cute for words!) See ya there!

From the Sketchpad - New Colors!

Now that I just put to bed Spring '08, it's already time to think about next Fall (yikes!) I'm always one who likes to get ahead start on things, so I've just made my new Spacedye palette selection for next Summer and Fall. Lots of yummy colors coming your way soon! I've always found Fall to be a more challenging season to design for (even as a sweater designer - go figure!). I really enjoy using vibrant colors and the Fall season doesn't always lend itself to such. Customers expect the muted palette of Autumn (think browns, aubergines, burnt oranges), but my Spacedye is more eye-catching and special in vibrant non-traditional Fall colors. So my challenge this Fall was to punch up the color a bit and do some more unusual color combinations. And thanks to my artistic 3 1/2 year old son, Campbell, and his many beautiful hand paintings from school - I have a whole collection here thanks to him! You can see above some examples of his work and my interpretation of his color palette for some of my new Spacedye combinations.

For Summer' 08 I'm doing a 'Botanical' group of rayon/spandex brightly-hued dresses and sporty tops in colors Mimosa, Eden, Tulip, Waterlily, Hibiscus, and Marigold (will debut in January at Intermezzo and ship to stores in April.) In June I'll ship stores my island-inspired 'Town & Country' group (think Honolulu city meets the North Shore country) of bamboo/cotton Sweatertess in colors Seagrass, Haiku, Lantern, and Banyan. Come August in the height of Fall fashion, I'll be showcasing my 'Mission' group of 100% bamboo knits in colors Mesa, Adobe, Juniper, and Eucalyptus. And just when the temperature starts to drop, my 100% merino wool Spacedye will keep you toasty in a new vibrant color story inspired by California's 'Canyons' - Laurel, Rustic, Temescul, Coldwater, and Topanga. Can't wait to start designing into these fabrics! Got the juices flowing now (thinking of cocoon shapes, bell sleeves, more crochet but in merino, and more fit-to-the-body shapes.)

Stay tuned for more 'From the Sketchpad'...

From the Sketchpad - New Colors!

Now that I just put to bed Spring '08, it's already time to think about next Fall (yikes!) I'm always one who likes to get ahead start on things, so I've just made my new Spacedye palette selection for next Summer and Fall. Lots of yummy colors coming your way soon! I've always found Fall to be a more challenging season to design for (even as a sweater designer - go figure!). I really enjoy using vibrant colors and the Fall season doesn't always lend itself to such. Customers expect the muted palette of Autumn (think browns, aubergines, burnt oranges), but my Spacedye is more eye-catching and special in vibrant non-traditional Fall colors. So my challenge this Fall was to punch up the color a bit and do some more unusual color combinations. And thanks to my artistic 3 1/2 year old son, Campbell, and his many beautiful hand paintings from school - I have a whole collection here thanks to him! You can see above some examples of his work and my interpretation of his color palette for some of my new Spacedye combinations.

For Summer' 08 I'm doing a 'Botanical' group of rayon/spandex brightly-hued dresses and sporty tops in colors Mimosa, Eden, Tulip, Waterlily, Hibiscus, and Marigold (will debut in January at Intermezzo and ship to stores in April.) In June I'll ship stores my island-inspired 'Town & Country' group (think Honolulu city meets the North Shore country) of bamboo/cotton Sweatertess in colors Seagrass, Haiku, Lantern, and Banyan. Come August in the height of Fall fashion, I'll be showcasing my 'Mission' group of 100% bamboo knits in colors Mesa, Adobe, Juniper, and Eucalyptus. And just when the temperature starts to drop, my 100% merino wool Spacedye will keep you toasty in a new vibrant color story inspired by California's 'Canyons' - Laurel, Rustic, Temescul, Coldwater, and Topanga. Can't wait to start designing into these fabrics! Got the juices flowing now (thinking of cocoon shapes, bell sleeves, more crochet but in merino, and more fit-to-the-body shapes.)

Stay tuned for more 'From the Sketchpad'...

Behind the Scenes - 'Surfrider' Photoshoot

Next Spring you'll be sportin' my spacedye in a super-soft, comfy cotton jersey. It's the perfect weight for Spring - 'Sweatertees' as I like to call them are light as a tee, but have the fine finishings of a true sweater. So put away those disposable tees and try a Sweatertee instead. These puppies are washable too. I introduced this quality in solids for my first collection in 2005 and I'm still wearing those hoodies today. They're the perfect "ball up and throw in your beach bag" kind of sweaters. And now they're available in these cool surf-inspired beach colors - La Jolla, Santa Cruz, Carlsbad, and Hermosa (fave surf spots if you haven't guessed!) The ultimate beach hoodie is back with 3/4 sleeves with solid elbow patches and a ribbed hem. A best seller at last week's Project show in Vegas was our crochet tank with drawstring detail (lovin' it in La Jolla!) And for the girly side of surfing, there's the Hermosa sweethart top with an eyelet pointelle stitch, oversized buttons, and a slightly shorter length for those higher-waisted pants and skirts that are makin' a comeback (remember it's all about the waist again.) My favorite color is Carlsbad with its beach-hued combination of coral, chambray, and mellow-yellow, and in the T-shirt dress it's a must. I'm definitely sportin' this one over a bikini for my spontaneous beach outings (super comfy and cute over pants too!) And like the other Spring groups, I'm offering all these cute styles in solids too. Our Surfrider solids are Foam, Chambray, Whitewash, and Wildflower. Check out the Wildflower number above - the cutest of cute crochet 'throw-on and go' dresses for Spring. I like to think this group is very 'après surf' and the ultimate beach-girl's uniform.