Hanger Shortage

1.17.2014

16th COLONY FEATURE - LOCALE MAGAZINE

So far, 2014 is off to a pretty great start.

I'm beyond honored to be named 'Top Four Trending Designers' by Locale Magazine in their latest issue. The piece was shot in my design studio back in October and I was also asked a bunch of questions about 16th Colony and my design strategy.

Sometimes it blows my mind to think that I started 16th Colony just over a year ago. When I'm deep in the everyday 'stuff', I don't think about how far along things have come - I usually just have my head down, working on the next thing. But it really wakes me up when stuff like this happens and I evaluate my path and where I'm going.

Anyway, if you get a chance, pick up a copy of the mag. They're scattered throughout Orange County at local venues + shops. But if you can't get your hands on one, then feel free to check out the piece online, here.

Huge thanks to Locale for this feature. Again, so stoked to be included in this article, along with my friend Rachel Anne Rainwater and other talented designers.

1.13.2014

LAGUNA BEACH TRUNK SHOW

Friday night's event was a blast and I'm just now recovering from it and all the prep work that went into it.

I loved teaming up with Michelle, the woman behind the Sourced Collective space, for this event. She was amazing in helping me organize it all so well. I switched things up a bit for this Trunk Show and in addition to showing the 16th Colony collection, I also wanted to highlight the fact that I redesigned all of Hanger Shortage. We projected all the Style Interview Videos in a loop on a wall outside of the space - it was sort of magical.

There are always a ton of great elements to events like this but I think my favorite part of hosting these things is meeting new people. It's such an energizing feeling connecting with like-minded individuals and talking to them about their passions.

I'm also pretty excited that some ponchos were able to find new homes!

Waitin' for the fun to start!

So all in all, it was a success and we had a great turnout. All types of people, friends, press and even dogs :) Thanks to everyone who made it down to Laguna Beach.

Special thanks to Jennifer from the OC Register for coming out to the event.

1.06.2014

T.G.I.F

Guess what - I've made your Friday night plans for you already.

I'm hosting an event from 7-10 at Sourced Collective in Laguna Beach on Jan. 10th. So definitely make your way over so we can hang out and share a glass of wine together. I'll be showing my latest 16th Colony collection 'American Sonoran'. I'm also really excited to announce the re-design of Hanger Shortage and celebrate that accomplishment with all of you. I've completely revamped the homepage and added in some extra pages to help bring all of the work I've done the last couple years to the surface. A lot of great posts, videos and shop + designer profiles get 'lost' in the blog so I decided it was important to make a home for all of those things.

So, I'll see you Friday and in the meantime, go ahead and browse the rest of the new Hanger Shortage site.

1.03.2014

SOURCED - A CALIFORNIA COLLECTIVE

Leave it to the creatives to hone in on the perfect work space environment.

Michelle Mercado nailed it with her recent endeavor, Sourced - A California Collective. It's a carefully curated space in Laguna Beach that houses a variety small businesses.

Michelle relocated to Laguna Beach from San Francisco where she came from the world of event planning and design. When collaborating with the vendors she worked with, she always wanted to know more about the in's and out's of their trades - florals, stationary, photography, etc. When she gained a better understanding of these fields it helped her succeed and made her planning more efficient. Sourced Collective takes this concept one step further and is a space where Michelle and other creative small businesses can work together side by side.

When a quaint cottage in Laguna Beach became available, Michelle knew instantly that it was the perfect spot to make her idea of collaborating with other designers in close proximity a reality. In August 2013, Sourced Collective opened and became the home to several businesses including, Allison Kate Stationery, Rebecca Judy Photography, Floral Fete, The Bloomin' Gypsy, Macalistaire Vintage and ReDeux & CCH Design.

The goal is that everyone acts on their own but they also all come together and are a part of something larger. It essentially allows for all of them to have an understanding of each other's work and makes them all more well rounded.

Not only does Sourced have a well curated handful of creatives working out of the space but Michelle also found value in opening up part of the cottage for people to rent out and host workshops and events.

In fact, I'll be hosting a Trunk Show for my clothing line 16th Colony, on Friday, Jan. 10th. If you feel like killing two birds with one stone, come check out both, the inspiring Sourced Collective space, along with a rack full of Ponchos. There will be wine too so that's always a plus.

Here's a full list of all the creative people working out of Sourced - you're welcome :)

Allison Kate Stationery, Rebecca Judy Photography, Floral Fête, The Bloomin' Gypsy, Macalistaire Vintage, ReDeux & CCH Design

1.02.2014

CAREFREE

Now that it's the New Year, I'm back at it.

I've been hiding out in Arizona for the holidays. This time I didn't bring any work back with me, which in all honesty made me a little antsy but at the same time just hanging out at home was a good way to unwind the year. I spent the week watching my mom cook (since I don't), taking photos with my dad (we both got new cameras last month) and hanging out with my best friends playing Cards Against Humanity.

Now that there's a clean slate with the New Year, I'm seriously ready to take it on. I typically don't do a lot of 'nothing', so in a way since being in Arizona I've stored up a ton of pent up energy and creativity and I am beyond ready to release it.

I'm not really one to talk about the things I'm going to do, I really just rather do it. So, I won't necessarily go into the details of what I anticipate the year to bring but I will say that for the last few months I've been listing out all my goals and ideas and now I have a timeline for it all.