~ Sportin' Stripes ~

I love watching Devon kick it in her "Flying Tigers Ninja Wrap" I made her (must have been at least 6 months ago by now, and you can see it in the length) but I like it layered up anyway. Every time I put her in something I've made for her, I get an instant high (kinda like when I used to play with fashion plates as a kid only a million times better) and I swear she can somehow sense this. As soon as the outfit goes on, she starts to work it. She's the perfect little muse and she is what has inspired me to start designing again.

I have to admit, designing all that private label trash while I was in LA, made me jaded. A friend of mine (who is also a designer) called it "the corporate nightmare". And it's all true...LA is the "Starbucks" of the fashion industry. Designing has always been my form of expression, my creative outlet. In retrospect, I think I could have made it all work, if I had kept up on doing my own projects (after the grind of the day) but I was always so stressed out by the time I got home. After designing all that crap for Hot Topic and Forever 21, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home at night was design. So, I was stuck in this vicious cycle of hating what I do, jumping around from job to job, and becoming more and more bitter. I mean, I even hated shopping (it was all trend research for work) and that's when you know its REALLY bad.

But then (and I'm not really sure what I did to deserve this) I was blessed with this amazing surprise, this awesome little person that's totally rekindled that creative spark in me. Shes' made things fun for me again. Shes' given me something to strive for again. And shes' done all this without saying a word...Amazing!