Folky Polky

I am very inspired by Mexican folk art for a number of reasons. But the most predominate of reasons are the colors used, the symbolism, and the history behind the art. Being that I am mostly English, I am not sure exactly what drew me to the Mexican culture as a whole. But I believe it was the lack of culture in my own family that lead me to explore the art and the culture of my neighbors to the south. I find a lot of Mexican Folk art has a romantic or passionate undertone. Mexican Folk art inspires me to remember the most basic things in life, which are love, life, death, and family, oh and don’t forget the fiesta!

Peace, Love & Folk Art

Elisabeth

Her name is Frida

Mexican painter Frida Kahlo born in 1907 created striking, often shocking, images that reflected her turbulent life. She became an inspiration of mine just last year when I discovered her works of art in my Contemporary Arts text book. She is not only an amazing talent when it comes to painting portraits of herself, she is also an amazing role model for young woman. She overcame so many obstacles from surviving polio at the age of 15. To surviving a near fatal bus accident which resulted in her being unable to bare children at the age of 18. Although Frida was in chronic pain the remaining years of her life after the bus accident. She did not let it slow her down. Frida Kahlo is the snap shot image of a woman with determination. Looking at her artwork which portrays her turbulent life grounds me and keeps me counting my blessings.

Click here for more Frida!

Peace, Love & Frida
Elisabeth

The Name Game

Kate Moss creates a clothing line and we are supposed to be excited. Frankly being a marketing student I am not falling for it. This article written by Mark Holgate talks about Kate Moss’ new line for Longchamp. He goes on to talk about how the calobo went down. Basically Kate has been the face of Longchamp for years and even during her scandal the Moss/Longchamp relationship stood strong. Longchamp loves Moss so much they offered her the design reigns and reportedly Moss created a collection inspired by her love for vintage thrift store finds. If you ask me that seems a little fishy; seeing that the trend this fall is to look sheik while being thrifty at the same time. I believe this is just another marketing ploy to keep people shopping designer even in this down swirling economy.

Peace, Love, and Marketing at it's best
Elisabeth

E-commerce Economy

This past April many bloggers, column writers, and fashion journalists, wrote about the economic downturn and how it might affect the fashion industry as a whole. Donna Wood wrote for W magazine “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping – and get superwily at covering their spending tracks.” (pg. 98, W magazine, April 2010, D Wood.) Donna’s take on this down swirling economy is a positive one as far as the fashion industry is concerned.

She breaks it down in her article saying that a true shopper will work their budget around the things that may not be a complete necessity. She goes on to say that most women that plan to keep splurging throughout the recession will just be using different shopping techniques to bag those must have items.

One example of a stealth splurge technique is, instead of going out on a Sunday shopping spree and coming home with a handful of non-essentials; the loot lover will shop online and have their latest splurges shipped to their place of work. Or simply have it shipped to their homes while their hubbies are away. Author Donna Wood is blowing the stealth splurgers cover, but at the same time giving hope to all e-commerce retailers out there. Because in reality how many husband or boyfriends are really going to read her article? Therefore, e-commerce is the retailer’s survival tool throughout this recession.

Peace, Love, & Splurging
Elisabeth

Sacrificial Symbolism

   Being an American is very inspiring on so many levels. I can often get caught up in the politics of our freedom. But what I keep reminding myself is that I wake up every morning in a warm bed with a roof over my head. I am proud to be from a military family that takes pride in serving our country. I am also very grateful and proud of my English heritage, as well as my American roots.
   My grandmother made her way from her home land England, over to the U.S.A. with my Grandfather and their 3 month old baby girl (my aunt Joanie) in 1950. My Grandfather who had been stationed in England after WWII had met my grandmother at a fine drinking establishment (a bar) and had fallen in love. They made the move back to the U.S. where the family continued to grow.
   From what I can re-call off the top of my head, the Williams family lived on both the east and west coast. Having their next child (my uncle Bob) in Oakland, CA. My mom came after that (the middle child) was born here in San Diego, CA at the navy hospital. Then it was off to Illinois where their forth child was born (my aunt Susan) and back to San Diego, CA Navy hospital for their 5th child (my Uncle Patrick.)
   I have always been so humbled by the sacrifices my grandfather made for his family and his country. Being stationed away from his home and family, it was a sure sacrifice for all. Growing up I learned of these sacrifices and also what an intelligent man my grandfather is. I always walked tall knowing that not only my grandfather but great grandfather, Uncle and Cousin have served our country proudly. With that said, this is why I a am so proud to be an American.
   I have always been inspired by the American flag and the colors within it. I feel not only is it a symbol of our country but I find it a prominent symbol within my family. The symbolism behind the flag is so powerful and says so much about our country’s values. With the stripes representing the 13 original colonies and the red stripes representing the blood shed of our military men and women, white representing courage, and the 50 stars representing each state, what's not to be inspired by!

Peace, Love, and Sacrifice
Elisabeth