Archive for the ‘Fashion’ Category
Summertime Clothes by Brooke Reidt
Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes (Dam-Funk Remix) (you can dance around to this in your summertime clothes)
Still working on the painting for my friend Durek and too shy to share details yet, soon soon promise!
But here’s something you can lay your eyes on now, either here in this post or in real life, on your body all summer long!
Element Eden’s Summer collection is currently available and there’s four pieces I created in this line. I wanted to share the details on how these things travel from my imagination into your hands.
I also think it’s a little serendipitous that the designers traveled to India last year and said a lot of the inspiration for the summer collection came from the textiles, colors and prints they saw on their trip. Almost simultaneously, I was in Indonesia for a few months where I was inspired by the colors and textiles there. I drew all of these drawings during my stay and even painted one on the side of a friend’s cafe. Now they are available for you to wear on super soft oversized organic tees.
First I take my imagination to paper. I use tracing paper so I can redraw parts a million times over and over until it’s super perfect just like us virgo’s like it. I use colored pencils to keep track of updated sketches.
Finally I re draw everything one more time and then finish them in ink so the lines are clean and clear. Then I scan these drawings and either color them digitally or send them over for Esther (the graphics wizard) at Element Eden to color up and place on Tee’s.
Seriously did I say wizard? Esther Kim is my favorite graphic designer that I’ve ever worked with! This is my favorite part when she sends me back this magical stuff! She works closely with me doing revisions on color and layout to help my imagination + mixed with her awesome visions = come ALIVE. Aren’t these collaborations the best? I think so! XOXOXOXOXOXO I LOVE YOU ESTHER KIM YOU ARE SOoooooo SUPER AMAZING!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO Even just doing this post I get so excited at this point in the process, more than the actual tee’s.
And then elves in a workshop mix up some potions and VOILA! Super soft organic Tee’s for you to live and dance in all summer long!
Click here to go get some now!
Seeking wellness…
Many of our fave pieces from the LLG Collection: Inspired by Amy Purdy, are now available at Swell! In celebration, we’ve teamed with the Swell crew to giveaway one of our favorite outfits from the collection!
The contest has already taken off with some amazing shots, inspired by the pursuit of wellness!
Join in on the pursuit and enter to win:
1) Post your photo on Instagram showing how you seek wellness!
2) Caption of post must include: #ElementLLG @ElementEden and @SwellDotCom
Can’t wait?
OR
The inspiration behind our Spring 2012 Live Learn Grow Collection…
“It’s vital to be aware of what we take and what we give, physically, mentally and in awareness of others.” -Eden Advocate Amy Purdy
Styled out beats…
Hether, past Eden designer, had knowledge of underground music like a true tuned in beats junkie. Just as quick as she’d get together a design tech pack of the most beautiful bag you’d have eyes on, she’d throw out song names, the root of their compilation and depth of meaning behind each word, cord and back rhythm.
Well, good news, she decided to build a blog around the fruits of her knowledge and pair the two creatives of fashion and music into a beautiful encyclopedia of eye candy for the ears. Yes, yes, now we can all rest in the fact we will soon be firing off band trivia with the perfect poise of a three piece short suit (yes, short suit, get in one… you’ll thank us this summer).
Behind The Seams interview with Director: Amber B Dianda
The weekly Behind The Seams series continues!!
Today, releasing the clip we’ve all been on the edge of our seats waiting for, as we go behind the lens of Advocate Amber B Dianda on the creation of “Eden”!
The film itself was co-directed by Amber B and Kirk Dianda, who documented all the products and personalities behind the brand. Amber is also the hand behind the stop-motion animations featured throughout the film, cutting out each piece individually and positioning them one by one for each frame! While I could describe to you the steps taken in making the film, it is much better explained by Amber herself, so without further ado, a Q&A with our dear dear friend…
Alex: Describe what entails stop-motion animation.
Amber B: Stop-motion (also known as stop action) is the process of shooting one picture at a time, and moving an object individually between frames, creating the illusion of a moving image when played back. Stop-motion animation has a long history in the film world, and helped define movies as we know them today.
Alex: Why did you choose to partner stop-motion animation in the creation of the Eden film?
AB: I’m a huge fan of Tim Burton and old school Disney animations, and I’ve always wanted to try my hand at creating my own stop-motion. So when Kirk and I first started talking about this project, we knew we wanted it to keep it short, but still treat it like a story as opposed to a documentary. With that in mind, we needed something to carry the story along, and the animations and voice-overs created the perfect thread to tie it all together. The animations also captured the quirky and creative aspect of Element Eden, so it was a perfect fit.
Alex: How many paper pieces did you cut out by hand for the entire film?
AB: Too many to count, but I took over 2000 individual pictures to create the entire animation!
Alex: About how long did that take?
AB: We worked on and off on this project for over a year, but not a year straight of work… We’d shoot a few days here, and then not touch the project for weeks. I had a lot of other projects going at the same time, so in between those, I would carve out small scenes, one at a time. I would maybe spend an entire day cutting paper out one time, and then other times I’d focus and shoot all day (and night).
Alex: What was the most challenging aspect in the creation of the film?
AB: Trying to cram all the amazing people and things about Element Eden into a piece under 5 minutes. We literally have hours of awesome footage that we shot over the period of the last few years.
Alex: You and your husband Kirk do quite a few projects together as creative minds… Was this one any different?
AB: No, it wasn’t different. Each project we do, we approach it with fresh eyes and strive to capture the idea of the project as best we can. We both work very differently when it comes to creating things, so I think we teach other something different with every project. I usually shoot still photography and his specialty is film, but our rolls changed and blurred on this project. I always love learning and mastering new things, and feel very lucky to be able to share that with the most special person in the whole wide world, my husband.
Alex: What is your favorite part of the stop-motion animation within the film? Why?
AB: I think the words section that describes what it is to be an Eden girl is my favorite scene. I have worked with Element Eden for about ten years, and have met so many amazing and inspiring woman associated with the brand. At first I wasn’t sure how to capture that until I came up with the words that describe an Eden girl… It became a manifesto, and I love how each word grows to reveal the next.
Alex: Looking back, what is one word you would use to sum up the entire film and why?
AB: Feminine. It’s beautiful and nurtures all the traits that Eden stands for.
Alex: In the many personalities featured and interviewed, which sticks out in your mind and why?
AB: Shooting Miya Ando in her studio in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Miya Ando is the sweetest woman you will ever meet. She’s tiny and delicate but has this amazing studio that is full of heavy duty metal working tools like hammers and blow torches. It was such a contrast to the intricate workmanship of her pieces. She’s incredible, and I will remember that day we spent with her forever.
SEEK
I love this photo so much! I shot it of Amy Purdy in Idaho earlier this year for the LIVE LEARN GROW shoot and when i look at it it makes me feel so peaceful and full of love. It’s like she’s opening her heart to the world.
Here is a quote from Amy that I think fits this photo beautifully. “Seek what makes you feel at peace, and open to discovery, then share that knowledge and inspire others along the way. Live. Learn. Grow.” ~ Amy Purdy
Check out Amy’s website to learn more about how amazing she is, here.
See more of my photography at amberbcreate.com/photography.
Behind the Scenes: Eden Designers
Here are some behind the scenes photos from the day Kirk and I interviewed the Eden Designers for the film; “Eden: The Story of Element Eden”. All the girls were lots of fun to interview and full of mischief! If you haven’t already seen it, check out the film here.
The beautiful girl above is Miss Filipa Dasilva. You can watch a little “Behind the Seams” clip form the interview with Filipa here.
Wendy Choi is our lovely Eden Design Director.
Hether Cook is one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world and a very talented designer and stylist.
Brooke Reidt is one of our Eden Advocate and responsible for some of our favorite T-shirt designs in the Eden range.
Brooke Reidt, Wendy Choi and Filipa Dasilva working on the current Eden range.
Be sure to check back at elementeden.com/us/our-story for a new “Behind the Seams” feature every week.
Muse
Amy Purdy is my muse. I’ve had the chance to shoot Amy a lot over the past few years and I have to say, every time I come out of it feeling so inspired. Amy lives her life with so much purpose and passion that it is infectious.
Here are a couple of images from a shoot that we did in Idaho, earlier this year for her Live Learn Grow garment line.
Check out Amy’s website to learn more about how amazing she is, here.
See more of my photography at amberbcreate.com/photography.
America’s Next Top Job Opportunity!
Hi, I’m Asha K, I’m one of the ladies lucky enough to be an Element Eden advocate. I am originally from Australia, and have been living in LA the past 4 years as a TV and Web Host, and I love blogging, writing etc.
I have been working in TV for roughly 8 years now, the reason why I moved from Sydney to Los Angeles. When I was asked to write a blog about my experience on ANTM, I was in the middle of filming cycle 18 (!) and now that I am wrapped I have a few key things I wanted to share. I didn’t just want this to be a post about working on the show, etc.
I thought I would start with how I got the job…
Early in 2011 I was hosting and writing my own music web series “This Week in Music”, as well as a travel series for Mahalo.com, and hosting and blogging about reality TV shows like ‘The X Factor’, ‘American Idol’ etc for Myspace.com. Within the space of a month, all these freelance gigs ended for different reasons. I’m sure most of you read or heard about Myspace being sold to Specific Media LLC.
So I was at a quandry and started to worry about finances, as i’m sure a lot of us have these past few years. I can say I am a child of the modern day recession and it has hit some of us very hard. One of my best friends from Australia, Andrew Patterson, whom I had previously worked with before on TV jobs here and there as a PA, met up with some friends and me on a night out and he broke the news to me that he was offered the job as Photo Shoot Producer on America’s Next Top Model. I was so stoked for him! He had been through the same struggles that I had job-wise. During this time, Joey and I looked at our bank account and realized we were not going to be able to make rent the following month (which was May, in a few days). I was sharing what I had been through with Andrew and he was very comforting and sympathetic.
The next day I received a call from Andrew asking if I wanted a job. He had hired a friend of his as his assistant but it didn’t end up working out with her, so he immediately thought of me. I was taken aback but immediately knew my answer, “YES!”. “Good”, he said, “You start on Monday at 9am, Tyra is in the office at 10am and we have a creative meeting with her.”
The following week I started at the office in West Los Angeles. I was quickly introduced to everyone, and then we started work. I learned a lot, and fast! This is a very intense show, we filmed the whole season in 9 weeks. The crew is very large, and a lot of them have been there since cycle 1. They are also a hell of a lot of fun to work with!
Every season the show travels to an abroad location, and if you have been watching this season, you will know they went to Greece. I unfortunately didn’t get to go there because I was only an assistant, but I was able to work on all 8 of the domestic episodes, producing all the photo shoots with the models and the celebrities we worked with. While the rest of the team went to Greece, my boss/friend Andrew decided to send me to New York for a week to network at an advertising and creative event called Le Book in Soho, that was such a great experience for me and I really felt like for the first time in a fe years, I was part of something really special and valued every experience in this job.
In case you aren’t too familiar with the show, each episode is broken down into a few categories, as it is a competition after all. There is a “Tyra Teach” segment, where she imparts her wisdom and knowledge of the modeling world in some way, they have the “reality” aspect which can range from doing a challenge with a celebrity, the girls being filmed out and about or simply what they are doing back in the cast house. They then have a Photo Shoot, which is what I am involved in. Essentially this is the most important aspect of each episode for the models, as it is what they are judged on, and also what they need to know how to master the most if they want a modeling career.
Lastly, they have judging each episode where one girl is eliminated until the winner remains.
For those of you wondering, Tyra Banks is a very sweet, charismatic, down to earth, kooky, creative fun-loving chick! I love working for her, and while she isn’t on set or in the office every day due to her busy celebri-schedule, it’s great seeing this life-sized barbie doll when I get the chance 
As an assistant on set most of my duties were running around, getting lunch orders for our team, making sure all the hair, makeup and wardrobe team were situated and knew where to set up, making sure all the photographers, their assistants and anyone physically on set had signed confidentialities etc, helping out with the cast (models) during the shoot so we stayed on schedule, and anything else my boss needed.
Each photo shoot had a specific theme and reason. Cycle 17 was the “All Stars” season, which meant all the models had been on a cycle previously. Because they were brought back, this time around there was a heavy emphasis on branding, and being a supermodel personality, rather than just breaking into the biz.
This meant all the celebrities we worked with were also involved in their own branding in some way, and were able to teach the girls a little about what it is like to create your own brand.
So after the season had wrapped and everyone was overseas, I was trying to network with a few contacts from another TV show to see if I could continue with my momentum. I really really wanted to work on The X Factor as their online correspondent. I had made an audition tape, sent it to (spammed it to!) everyone at Fox, Fremantle Media, Sony Music and Syco Entertainment who I knew were part of the show. Simon Cowell’s global head of media saw my tape and immediately sent it to Simon who also loved it!
I was the frontrunner to be picked for the online job because I was so keen and shoved myself in front of these people because I love the show. At the last minute, the 2 exec producers of the show decided to pick a youtube “personality” for the online position. To say I was gutted was an understatement, especially since I ran my own “campaign” and it made its way all the way to the top (Simon Cowell). Unfortunately he doesn’t have a lot of power in the everyday decisions of the show, that was a network decision.
So now it is toward the end of August and I don’t know what to do. I was so sure I would be working on The X Factor. I wrote to my friend Andrew again and asked if there was any office work I could help him out with, making phone calls that kind of thing.
He immediately wrote back to me offering me a job on cycle 18 of ANTM, this time with a promotion! He asked if I would like to be the Photo Shoot Coordinator as the previous girl was now working on another TV show. He told me the pay rate, and I immediately said yes! Not because of the pay, but because I realized in that moment, everything happens for a reason, and some things DON’T happen for a reason.
Andrew is one of my best friends, and the best boss I could ask for. He really looks after me on this job, and entrusts me with a lot. So in September I started work on America’s Next Top Model cycle 18, and have just wrapped as I write this today, December 5th. I cannot write details of the show, or any locations as there is strict confidentiality on this show. If we keep everything a secret, the more the public will want to watch when it goes to air. The more views = more ratings = more jobs. And I am all for that
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post, although I know it was rather long. I didn’t just want to share about my job, but I wanted to share from my heart about the struggles us young women experience in the arts and entertainment industry. I wanted to share because I know I am not the only one who has been through this and it is very hard. I am a career-oriented Type A personality over achiever! Not the best combination for a recession! But throughout it all, my learning to let go, have faith and just be thankful for my experiences and opportunities (yes, even the bad times) allowed me to see the bigger picture and breathe a sigh of relief.
I am currently working on a TV pitch idea, aimed at inspiring women between the ages of 18-35, and posting on my new blog centered around this theme www.girltalktv.tumblr.com. If you have any thoughts, ideas, questions, comments, suggestions, feel free to tweet me @thisisashak, or facebook me www.facebook.com/ashakofficial.
Here are some photos of the shoots I worked on, on America’s Next Top Model: All Stars, taken from the CW website.
Until next time, keep dreaming, keep believing, keep persisting and keep loving.
Asha K
Bundle up with Brooke…
“Be present while embracing every experience, reflect, and use your experiences as tools to improve the life of others and yourself!” -Brooke Reidt
Win Element Eden Advocate and artist Brooke Reidt’s favorite coat for the holiday season, the sherpa lined Chesapeake wrap coat. Adventure out and explore nature in full embrace!
Love it too much to wait? SHOP FOR THE CHESAPEAKE COAT