Sneak peek of java kai art show pics

       I cannot tell you how excited I am to have my photography up in a shop! This business has me doing so many different things that I didn't think of when I started. I've always had fun taking pictures, but this will be the first time my pics will be displayed in public. I enjoy the photo shoots almost as much as the bikini designing...such a pleasant surprise. There will be 11 photos total, and they are all being printed on canvas and enlarged. 


       The prints will go up in Java Kai in Kapaa on January 2nd and remain up for the month. The art walk will be on January 7th from 5 to 8pm. My girlfriend, Andrea is fire dancing, and my friend Zaq is going to DJ. The canvas prints will be for sale, but anything that is left over, i'll be more than happy to take home myself! We'll have hats, posters and calendars too. Would love for you to join us... 

I need a shot

      
      This was my first shoot with three girls and I kind of winged it...next time I'm going to have a plan of attack. As we drove closer and closer to the westside of Kauai, the sky got grayer and grayer- which, if you know Kauai at all, usually the further west you go the MORE sun there is! By the time we got to Polihale, it was totally overcast, it was chilly and the wind was blasting. Perfect for a bikini shoot right? We did have one thing going for us though: not a soul on the beach. 


       The girls arrived and I did everyone's make-up, got them accessorized and had them throw on bikinis. They were great- when we first got started, hair was flying everywhere, but we soon got the hang of it: always face the wind and try not to look cold! There would be little bursts of sun here and there and Tyler would be ready to grab any sunbeams he could with the reflector. Somehow, we got the shots. 


        Now here's the part where I wish I had a better plan of attack: it's really hard to get all three girls looking right at the same time. Sometimes two of them are looking great and one just isn't at the right angle or for whatever reason, isn't making the right face...or two are smiling and one isn't...or one is just rocking it and the other two just aren't at the moment. There were times when I wanted to tell one or two of the girls to step out of the shot for a moment, but didn't want there to be any hurt feelings, and tried to make the shot work anyway. A couple times, it did end up working out, but after going through nearly 700- yes, 700 shots- I need to learn how to get the shots I need sooner. Having modeled a little myself, I want to be careful about making the model think she was doing something wrong, or looked weird or something. I know I would have felt a tiny twang of "uh oh, was I making a funny face? What was she doing that I wasn't?" if I had been asked to step aside. Cuz let's face it, you have to be feeling good about yourself to be able to stand in front of a camera in an itty-bitty bikini...the last thing you need is someone telling you to get the hell out of the shot. No, no, no, we want the girls to feel very good about themselves so they feel comfortable and give us the shots we need! 


     Plan of attack for the next time I use more than one model? My friend Kristen actually suggested this to me, and I thought it was a great idea: Lay it all out for them at the start. Explain that while I'm shooting I may ask one or two to leave the shot for a moment, but not because you look bad or are doing anything wrong, but because I see something working and need to go with it. The other suggestion my friend had, was make sure I have someone helping me. I have to admit, it was pretty hard to keep track of under boob popping out, hair being in the right place, lighting being good and taking the actual photo. 


     All in all, I think everyone had fun, we worked with the elements and the photo shoot was a complete success. The girls were absolutely amazing to work with and I learned a lot.

Bikinis help in so many ways

       I love up-cycling or repurposing unwanted items. Especially when they come from such a great place. I found the dresses I used for these collections at Ho'omana, a local thrift store that has a youth program where kids are taught simple tasks such as sweeping, mopping and customer service skills. They are also taught the importance of positive attitudes, self-motivation and the ability to work with little or no supervision. For every hour participants volunteer, they earn "Makana Money" which can be used to purchase merchandise in the store. They took the program a step further in 2010 and implemented the Financial Literacy Skills program where participants open their own bank accounts and learn how to write checks and create a budget based on their "needs" not "wants".  Ho'omana is also a community partner with adult, teen, and drug courts enabling offenders to perform their required community service to complete their sentences. And as if all that isn't enough, they work with other community agencies to donate clothing and household items to people in need. 

       After learning all this I figure why limit myself to just dresses? Let's buy more from Ho'omana! How bout bikinis made from vintage silk shirts? Men's dress shirts? Anything is game. All I need is unique pattern and Im sold. 

      

Which collection do you like best? The Becca (mustard colored) or the Peacock...and what about it do you like?

      

Master Delegator

         Both my grandmothers and my mother sewed their whole lives, but for whatever reason, I never learned how. My Grandma Millie taught me how to crochet rugs, but that's the closest I ever came. Even though I ended up teaching myself how to sew, I always knew in the back of my mind, it was in my blood. Unfortunately, or fortunately- depending on how you look at it- there is a lot more to the bikini business than sewing. 
         The more I get into this business, the more learning there is to do. It started with learning how to make A (as in one) bikini, then it was how to make 50 at a time...then 100. Building inventory to open an online store and learning how to use and manage it. I did photo shoots for the inventory I wanted to sell, wrote descriptions for each one, figured out shipping rates and got a system in place for orders, refunds and exchanges.
         Then there's the photo shoots. You can't have a bikini company without the photo shoots. These I really enjoy. Lately, photo shoots are the only reason I get to go to the beach, so I'm quite happy to have a reason to get out of the sewing room. I'm learning, by doing, about how to be photographer, and what lighting works best and when, getting the models ready: making sure the suits fit, getting the right sizes. I do their make-up, and use earrings and bracelets and necklaces from my own collection to accessorize. After that, there's the photo editing. Seeing as I'm still in the process of learning how to get the shot I need, I end up taking a shit ton of pictures. So needless to say, there's a lot to go thru. It's a lot of work and there's a lot of time involved but the end product is totally worth it.
        We can't forget the little shows on the side: I've got the runway show coming up in a few weeks- I know it's going to be fun, but it's my first one, so I know there will be some challenges too. I've also got a show for my photography starting January 1st at the Java Kai in Kapaa. I need to blow up prints and fill the space for the whole month and possibly into February. I'm pretty excited about it. 
       I also drive around island to all 6 of my retail stores, checking inventory and dropping off more. I get along well with all of the shop owners so this is usually pretty fun too.
      The problem I'm having with all this, is that I love it. I really truly like each part of it. There's parts I like more than others, but for the most part, I really like it all. BUT- I can't do it all. Right now Im able to, but I know that if I want my business to grow, I'm going to have to train someone and delegate out some of my favorite things. What I need to do first is train people to do the bulk of the sewing. (My inner voice just screamed out: "but no one can do it like I do! It won't be the same!") Will they still be MY suits if someone else is doing it?!? Yes. I suppose. This is something i'm going to have to get over. 
      So what does all this mean?!? I need to become a Master Delegator. I am a horrible delegator by the way. I prefer and try to do everything myself, (usually because I enjoy it) and I hate asking people to do things...especially things for me. My Dad on the other hand is THE Master Delegator. The name plate on his desk says "BOSS MAN". Well, right next to it, he should have another one that says "MASTER DELEGATOR". I was not taught this skill, but it's definitely something I'm going to have to teach myself. It will be challenging, and I'm sure I won't be good at it as first, but in the back of my mind, I'll know it's in my blood.  

Sneak Peak

Here's a couple sneak peaks from the most recent photo shoot...

 *Lalo* String Bikini Bottoms with braided Rasta ties

4- in-1 Halter tops in matching red, yellow and green

Gold 4-in-1 Halter Top and Hawaiian Floral *Okole* Bottoms

A whole lotta

Is it possible to be overwhelmed by too many good things happening at once? Yes, if only for a moment...
In the last two days I met the wonderful girl who runs LeavenLifestyle.com who wants to feature one of my suits on her site, I spoke with the owner of The Bikini Room who wants me to manufacture her own line of suits for her store and signed me up to do a small runway show in few weeks (for which I need to provide models, suits, hats and posters)  AND I was invited to be a merchant on ShopLately.com. All of this is fantastic news! To get all this news all at once? A little overwhelming...
So for about 15 minutes my mind raced thinking about all the things I need to do to get ready for these new opportunities combined with my current need-to-do list and I almost, repeat, almost got scared. Can I do all of this? Will I have the time? What if I can't? I don't want to disappoint anyone! STOP. No more of that kind of talk.
Then I started thinking about how this is exactly what I want to happen and how amazing it is that I'm being recognized for my work and how lucky I am to be offered these kind of opportunities so early in my business...and you know what? I CAN DO THIS. This is my passion. This is what motivates me. I am creating. I'm jumping in, I'm moving forward, I am thankful.  I love this. This is all part of it, part of succeeding, part of putting myself out into the world...and I can do this. Overwhelming? yeah, maybe...but only for a moment.