Meet Kelsea Olivia, the founder of the distinguished creative agency East Olivia.

She is known for creating whimsical yet bold, large scale floral installations that will transform any space into an IG ready centerpiece and quite literally make you stop and smell the roses (or peonies or pampas grass). Her blooming creations are truly what Dazey dreams are made of and we are thrilled to feature her on the Boss Blog today. 

One thing that immediately stands out about Kelsea is her genuine eagerness to create community and carry out the mantra “empowered women, empower women” in her work. After just a few DMs and a fun coffee date, this gal went from a being super cool floral artist on my screen to a true badass business woman pitching the idea for a Dazey x East Olivia collab at the Create & Cultivate Self Care Summit. I’m inspired by her hustle to live out the ideas she dreams up and to see this one come to life today too! 

To prep for the big install, we met at the Penthouse to snap some content! During our hang, I got to learn more about what the floral design industry is like and how Kelsea stands up for sustainable practices throughout her work. Watch the IGTV feature on this badass babe to learn all about her tricks and even how she is leaning into self care these days and learning to slow down. Follow along throughout the weekend to see our collab come to life at the Create & Cultivate Self Care Summit too! 

 Click here to watch the IGTV Q&A with Kelsea Olivia

How to Cultivate the Life of Your Dreams:

 

So often we believe that the life of our dreams can only be fulfilled when we attain certain societal standards. We tell ourselves stories like, "I'll be confident once I have that body, "I'll have no worries once I make six figures", or "I would be happier if my life looked like that". When we tell ourselves these stories repeatedly, we begin to believe that who we are and what we have today isn't good enough. These comparisons start to lessen our confidence and make us believe that in order to be successful, beautiful, and worthy, we've gotta look like the supermodel on IG and have the Pinterest perfect house, car, office and vacations too. Girl, let me tell ya. I know models who actually do have all of this and guess what? They aren't confident, worry free, or any happier than you. It's actually quite the opposite. They are stuck further in comparison traps and riddled with anxiety from the unrealistic expectations society puts on us. So how do we get out of this messy self consciousness and into strong self confidence? First, let's affirm that confidence isn't selfish or conceited. Self confidence is self empowerment. As our queen of confidence Lizzo says, "When I'm shinin' everybody's gonna shine!" And that's a fact babe! When you immerse yourself in self love and positivity, you radiate and spread that energy to others. Your self love helps others cultivate self love. So, let's get it girls. Let's cultivate that confidence mindset NOW. You don't have to wait on these "achievements" to validate your worth or your potential. You have the power to live the life of your dreams today by letting go of the limiting stories, choosing confidence, embracing yourself and just doing the damn dream. Long lasting confidence doesn't come overnight, but believe me, the more you practice a confidence mindset, the more you will come into the powerful, confident, and fierce person you are.

Below is our lookbook in celebration of CONFIDENCE! Shot at the beautiful Bend Goods studio! Huge shout out to this fellow small colorful biz for helping us out with this shoot. All the artwork and fabulous furniture shown is by them!

www.bendgoods.com

SHOP THE COLLECTION NOW

 

 

The Confidence Collection

The Confidence Collection is all about affirming your worth, your beauty, and the incredibly unique perceptive you bring to the table. These new Dazey sayings and graphics are here to hype you up in all you are so you can GET IT GIRL! This collection was made to encourage you do the damn dream, work that confidence and show up fully as the fierce female you are. Remember babe, confidence is a cultivated mindset. You've got to practice it and preach it to be it. At any given moment we have the choice to show up confidently in life rather than in fear of judgment, self doubt, or shame. But how? It's not easy, but girl, it's powerful AF. It's learning to choose self confidence over self consciousness. It's ditching comparison traps or “not good enough” mindsets and knowing that you can accomplish any damn thing you dream. It's learning to go against the grain and stand up for yourself. It's the ability to thrive in positive self affirmation and show up fully for yourself. Confidence is the ultimate glow up, queens. Let's bloom with confidence and show the world what a fierce glow up looks like.

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Self Confidence > Self Consciousness

Growing up, self consciousness consumed so much of my time. There was always a part of me worrying about what other people thought of me, what I looked like, if I was cool enough, etc. It was a debilitating process that stopped me from expressing myself and being fully me. As I became an adult, I observed that people aren't just confident naturally. Confidence was cultivated by choice. People become confident, powerful, and fierce by choosing that mindset and allowing that positive energy to carry them through work and life. So to get my confidence blooming, I did the same. I chose confidence over self consciousness, allowed my wacky ideas to shine, worked towards my dream, and stopped caring what everyone else thought. I allowed self assurance to guide me towards being less self absorbed by self doubt, and it's probably the most powerful & freeing thing I've ever done for myself.

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Dance Parties Create Confidence

Think back to your first school dance. You probably were nervous at some point thinking, Am I really about to dance in front of everybody right now? Do I even know any dance moves? Ugh, this is so embarrassing. People are going to laugh at me. Trust me, we've all been there. To be honest, at my first middle school dance I was so awkward! I didn't know what to do with my limbs or how to start moving my body. I kept thinking of how I wasn't girly enough and how I felt like such a boy as a late bloomer. I was just standing there so nervous, too stunned by my own negative thoughts to actually let go and have fun. This is probably true for a lot of us. Dance parties can be nerve wrecking and make us socially anxious, especially now with all the new internet trolls & insta storying opportunities. But you know, once you get comfortable with yourself and start to let go of what other people think, that's when the party actually starts. You can live, let go and move confidently. You can start to embrace yourself in your quirks, wackiness and all. You can be bizarre, be who you are and laugh it all off. Coming into confidence at a dance party is a powerful thing because once you start moving, there's no holding back. Now I'm notoriously first on the dance floor and bust out my wacky white girl moves with pride LOL! So when Naohmi came up with the dance party theme for this collection, I knew it'd be perfect. Dancing is the ultimate form of self expression and takes true confidence to actually take part of. When planning this lookbook, I added a few bottles of champagne to our set list because I thought all us gals would need a little confidence booster, but to be honestly the energy and excitement in this amazing group of gals was intoxicating enough! If you followed along on our stories, you already know we did not even need a sip of it start the Dazey dance party. Seriously, every gal showed up and beamed with confidence from the get go. It was the most freeing and fun thing!  I am so proud to have connected with truly confident babes for this collection and spread their radiating self love & confidence back to you. Who's ready for the next Dazey dance party?! *cue Juice by Lizzo"*

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CREW OF QUEENS

Special Thanks to all our models: Natasha Ward, Sydney Louise Williams, Alexa Phelece, Olivia Cupp, Carly Compton, Oby Grace, Champagne, Grace Peters, Kennedy Slocum and Cloe. Huge thanks to our Dazey dude Phillip & our cinematographer Michael Greenwood, who is currently working on our fun Dazey dance party video soon to be released!

Thanks again Bend Goods for graciously letting us have a dance party in your gorgeous space! (follow them HERE!)

And of course biggest shout out to our Dazey Content Queen (official title) Naohmi Monroe for coming up with the idea, casting the most marvelous crew, shooting the whole thing, and truly putting all this together! 

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SHOP THE COLLECTION NOW

Last week, Palm Springs was beaming with energy, inspiration, and GIRL POWER as Alt Summit hosted their 10th anniversary conference filled with panels, roundtables, speeches, and fashion shows celebrating women and their passions around creativity, business and entrepreneurship. Dani crushed her speech at the Parker, which went over what it means to truly OWN your phone and Dazey even pulled together a last minute fashion show that turned out to be a HIT! We ran into so many amazing Dazey ladies throughout the summit and honestly just felt so free being there. Alt was truly a magical space void of judgement and negativity, and overflowing with pure sisterhood, overwhelming support, and inspiring spirits. After a week chalk full of education, collaboration, and fun we’ve put together 5 major boss babe hacks and takeaways we got from our newly dubbed Dazey work retreat, Alt Summit:

1. OWN Your Phone 

This NECESSARY hack every boss babe should start now is taken directly from Dani’s speech Own Your Phone that was presented on the first day of Alt at the Parker. It’s available to view on IG stories too if you want to take a peek at that! In sum: Your phone is your #1 tool and if you haven’t already, it’s time you create healthy boundaries and optimize your relationship with your digital space. This means diving into your social media space with MINDFULNESS > MINDLESSNESS, reflecting what you want your digital space to do for you and CURATE that, blocking or muting whatever doesn’t inform, inspire, or empower you, and learning to post for LOVE and not for likes. Once you’re able to stop the scroll, block the bullshit, and really FOCUS on creating a digital space that serves you, you’ll see your relationship with your digital space transform into one that you OWN rather it owning you.

2. Pinterest Is Underrated! Use it To Drive Your Business & Brand! (Tips Below)

Okay, we knew Pinterest was amazing for moodboards and endless inspo, but we didn’t realize all the STRATEGY you can do on the backend to drive your business and brand?! We’ve totally got Instagram down, but Pinterest is a whole new game for us! If you’re creating content in any capacity for your business, THIS IS FOR YOU! The #1 actionable tip we got from the Pinterest guru Anstasia Casey of the Identite Collective is name your files before you pin! It’s an easy way to OPTIMIZE and make all of your content instantly SEARCHABLE on Pinterest and Google! 

Example: Instead of keeping the file name that comes in camera like 0P439585.jpg, change it to DazeyLA-brave-babe-graphic-tee.jpg. This allows your content to automatically pop up when these words are searched on Pinterest or Google! She recommends keeping a consistent naming routine such as, brand-style-item.jpg, too!

4. Prioritize IRL Connection

Yes, we are all for digital communities but sometimes it’s important to stop the scroll and find connection IRL. Ending every day with genuine connection, insightful conversation, and dance parties was probably one of our favorite things of Alt. When you can lean into likeminded people, laugh about the ups and downs of life and HYPE each other up in real life, everything just gets a little bit brighter. It’s things like spending time in IRL that fill our cups back up after long work days. 

Looking for opportunity to connect IRL? Check out this upcoming Dazey LA / Biz Babez event! 

3. Be a HYPE Woman

In the office, on the street, at the store, and any other space you may be YOU have the opportunity to radiate positive energy and HYPE people up. At Dazey’s runway show we were blessed with tons of hype ladies who, in the end, made the experience WAY more fun and gave models the confidence to WERK the runway. If you don’t practice it already, a little “YASSSS QUEEN” here and there can go a long way and create positive IMPACT and instant community. As our ultimate hype bae Lizzo says, “If I’m shining, everybody gonna SHINE!”. Let’s spread those hype affirmations babes!

5. Create Systems to Strengthen Your Workflow! (FREEBIE ALERT!)

Running a business, brand, and being a working woman in general is tough work to balance, ESPECIALLY when you have a creative mind and don’t quite operate on a systematic level. Luckily, we sat down with the organization masters Katy Krupnik and Jessica Litman at the How To Stay Organized When You Have A Creative Mind roundtable and brought back an amazing, simple freebie all of you can try! A quick and effective hack to get your files, priorities, and endless to-do lists ORGANIZED once and for all is desktop organizer backgrounds!! Has anyone tried these?! Personally, my desktop always looks like a wreck and I’m so ready to change that and tidy up my digital life! Click here to get a download! 

HIGHLIGHT REAL, NOT HIGHLIGHT REEL

A collection designed to celebrate the REAL things in an ever increasing digital world. Whether it be spending more time IRL or being more transparent online, we are HERE for it. As women, we are constantly bombarded with unrealistic ideas of perfection and #goals through never-ending “highlight reels” in media. We're done with that. We are ready to highlight REAL moments, emotions, and conversations that matter and can better our human connections with others and ourselves. We are ready to transform the negative effects of a highlight reel by highlighting REAL life as much as we can. Who's with us?!

 

How we are Highlighting REAL

The Highlight Real lookbook is a dreamy portrayal of what media does everyday. We're here to show you, just like every one else, models done up, retouched, and in gorgeous spaces caught in moments of beauty. But we're also here to show you that this isn't real. Here are photos of our models, Morgan, Rachel, and Claire, before and after the shoot. They're still insanely gorgeous before, just not Photoshopped to "perfection". You see, perfection isn't real, the highlight reel isn't real. What is real is the amazing human behind it all, and that's what we're here to celebrate. We choose to be highly transparent about this whole process in the name of keeping it REAL. We recorded the process of creating this entire production just to show you how much work and people go into making images like this. We are lifting the veil on the highlight reel photos and showing you what's actually REAL. It's time to embrace the other side, once and for all.

 

The Highlight Real collection was inspired to create conversation on how we can better our mental health, human connections, and overall image of self by stepping away from the filters, reassessing our valued #goals, and getting real with one another. When you cut the b.s. and share the BTS on life, work, love, and all that good stuff, you build strong bridges for human connection. There is power in that courage to let others in. 

 

Along with a new collection of graphics and styles, we're launching a new YOUTUBE channel dedicated to giving you all the BTS behind the brand. Check out our first video filled with what it takes to launch a collection, create a lookbook, and what actually goes on behind the brand day-to-day. Get a real look at the day in the life of the Dazey team as we get fully transparent on the highs and lows, the creations and frustrations, and show you the full process unmasked. 

 

 

 

So here it is, both the highlight reel and the REAL of our newest Dazey collection. See the months of planning, long hours of creating, and the full progression of this production unmasked. When you see everything as a whole, you realize how perfection is really just a fictional reality we've been conditioned with. It's time to block that bullshit and embrace the realness. Use the hashtag #highlight real to follow along on this season of unfiltered realness and share your own stories.

Special thanks to the wonderful team who helped this amazing shoot come to life!

Photographer: Champagne
Dazey team: Dani, Phillip, Megan, Naohmi
Models: Rachel, Morgan, Claire
Hair and Makeup: Amber and Maura
Set Design: Tess (florals) and Paper Moon Shoppe
Accessories: Santa Venetia Clogs, Sigfus, The Little Avocado Shop, Dear Survivor, and I'm With the Band Headbands

 

 

Two questions I get ALL the time are: How do you edit your IG photos?! and How should I style my Dazey tee?! As you may know, I am all about funk, flare, and adding bold personality to pretty much every element of my life, ha! I love to keep things fun and somewhat unexpected. Translating that into my wardrobe has been a routine that keeps me inspired and excited to get my day started. Dressing for myself (and no one else) has been SO POWERFUL because when I dress bold, I feel bold. Are you with me?!  Here are three style hacks to help you find your flare and up-style your Dazey tee from an everyday t-shirt and jeans look to a one that will make you feel your very best.

1. White Denim + Statement Outerwear

Don't get me wrong, I love wearing a t-shirt and jeans! What I don't like is that it can feel too repetitive or too blah. When I want to go for a dressed up but casual jeans and tee look, white denim always saves the day! It's an easy hack that elevates any tee and feels more intentional that just your everyday denim. Pair that with a statement outwear piece and you've got yourself a look that is far more fun! **TIP** Playing with colors and textures with classic cuts and pieces is an easy way to start building new fun staples to your wardrobe!

 2. Layer Your Look

Layering turtlenecks under Dazey tees has been a go-to style for me all winter long! It's a great way to add pattern and color that doesn't take away from the graphic tee. For layering turtlenecks, I like coordinating colors with the same base color as the tee or graphic so it's not too distracting. BUT I do like to have fun with the patterns! Stripes, shimmer, you name it, I'm here for it in the turtleneck version!

3. Mix and Match Textures 

Textures are key to going the extra mile in embellishing your looks. Working in a range of textural elements into an outfit automatically elevates its interest and adds tons of depth. Taking the time to play with your fabrics is really what can transform your personal style and allow you to dress up or down any look. Have fun in this one and let your personality flare!

 Elevate Your Digital Style with Dazey Dreamsets!

Now that you're stepping up your style why not level up your editing?! For us, a well-edited photo is just as important as getting the photo! It enhances the vibe and really allows details to shine through. These days we are all about keeping our digital style DREAMY and vintage inspired with a subtle moody edge. Since the new collection is shifting to more muted tones, we're having fun switching up the mood of our feed too. 

Streamline your edits and strengthen your digital style with Dazey Dreamsets now! You can download these babies on our site and start editing on Lightroom instantly! Check out the before & afters below to see how much a good edit can transform your photos and feed. **TIP** Using Dazey presets will help you get reposts from us and also gives ambassadors a higher chance of winning top secret contests! Don't forget to tag #dazeypresets and @dazey_la so we can see your posts!

 

Charleston: What to Do, See, Eat, Drink, and Shoot

While these aren’t always my most popular posts I love having them as an excuse to travel and get inspired! Shooting in new locations is always a fresh breath of air and keeps our content creative and unique. I was invited to Charleston to speak at a conference about social media called SMAD-CON. Public speaking is something I'm working on getting better at so it seemed like the perfect excuse to check out a new city at the same time! Despite my initial reservations about visiting not so liberal states and the biases that come along with them, I had always heard it was a really beautiful city with a lot of history. Below is a post from when I was there about the panel I was on and a bit of what I talked about:

 

Peace out California ✌️☀️ @danidazey has offcially left the sunshine state (sun included) and is in rainy but beautiful Charleston SC speaking at @smad_con 🎙 It’s all about social media, SMAD literally stands for “Social Media ALL DAY” lol. Instagrammers are know for sharing their “highlight reel”, a collection of perfectly curated moments made to look like their life is flawless. With self care being the theme of our new collection we’ve been unpacking how social media and comparison can effect your mental health. Dani will be speaking about a topic not often brought up in the insta-world, authenticity 👊 Dazey is all about sharing the highlight REAL. Life is full of ups and down for everyone, so why shouldn’t our digital self’s share that too?! We’ve been inspired by the recent vulnerability movement going around on the gram and all the brave babes leading it 🙌 As women we have been told softness and vulnerability is a weakness, but we believe it’s a strength to create change and connection 💪 Our company and tees encourage women to create real conversation both on the internet and IRL. Connection and community is so much more than the perfect photo ✨ Join the REAL talk below and let us know how social media has effected you, good or bad👇 #highlightREAL #dazeydialogue #danidazey #createconversation #selfcaresummer #vulnerabilityisstrength

A post shared by Dazey LA - Brand & Boss Blog (@dazey_la) on Jul 19, 2018 at 9:38am PDT

 

Here you'll find my best comprehensive guide to the city in the five days we were there. I got so many wonderful recommendations from both Instagram and people we met on our trip. Five days was great to get the vibe, yet we feel like we hardly scratched the surface of this foodie, picturesque town. We have a roundup of all the places we went below along with photos!

 SHOP: Cannon-borough Collective

An adorable shop co-founded by my amazing new friend, @charlestonweekender. She hosted the SMAD-con after party where we met and found we had so much in common! She's the one who gave us a laundry list of places we had to see! Her store is a collection of gorgeous goods made by local artists, mostly women too! Dazey can certainly get behind that :) The photos below are from the event. I also got to meet a bunch of amazing ambassababes at the conference shown below too! 

SHOOT: Rainbow Row

Probably one of the best known Instagram spots! Rows and rows of classic style houses line this block and are painted all sorts of different bright colors. As you'll see in one of my posts below there is no shortage of fun backdrops, but this is certainly the most magnificent and concentrated area. I was lucky enough to speak at SMAD-CON alongside some rad friends, @mvandersluis & @lisahomsy. They were sweet enough to model some new summer styles with me in this iconic area! 

EAT: Basic Kitchen:

Basic was started by two interior designers, which is easy to believe when you're there. Interiors are apart of the experience in my opinion so I always appreciate that! This place is mostly vegan/veggie with some fish options, yay! They had a ton of juices as well as a full bar. We went for lunch but I imagine it would be good for any time of day! The tacos with the peace sauce were a savory sweet dream. And don't miss out on the buffalo cauliflower.

See the City by Bike 

Charleston is a very beautiful city and you will want to explore it all. An awesome way to do that is by bike! Throughout the city they have bike stations where you can borrow bikes all day for only $12 per person. You can pick them up and drop them off as you go. I highly recommend them by the bay and pier downtown, gorgeous! Don't forget to ride through the neighborhoods as they are as beautiful as the main streets in downtown. The bikes are super cute and an awesome way to really see all Charleston has to offer.

EAT: Dabs

Easy American with a fun atmosphere and really good food. Maybe one of my favorite daytime meals we had! An order-at-the-counter spot with cozy booth window seating. We had brunch here and just kept adding mimosas as we went. A Dazey Lady happened to be working there and she was so cool, @beergirlmeetsworld, she's pictured below :) 

EAT: Felix

A new French spot by Cannon-borough with sophisticated decor and delicious snacks. We got our drink on with some killer cocktails and enjoyed a dinner with the surprisingly large petite entrees. The owner was super nice and came to chat for a bit. We also have a very kind and attentive server, Nixon, who knew the menu like the back of his hand! Great spot for a fancy night out with your SO or gal pals.

 

CAFFEINATE: Brown's Court

A local fav, this bakery and coffee shop gave us all the cozy cabin feels. So many of the shops and spots were homes converted to businesses and this is a perfect example. The croissants melt in your mouth and the coffee was great too. We posted up in their upstairs little attic area to get some work done. They also have a cute patio on the top! 

DO: Beach Day at Sullivan Island:

Across the bridge from downtown there's a sleepy little town called Sullivan Island. You will find a small street lined with little shops and restaurants as quaint as can be. Just beyond that is a walkway through a marsh that takes you to the beach! The water is warm and the waves are mellow. We spent hours playing in the ocean and it was amazing! 

EAT: Obstinant Daughter

Seafood as fresh as can be, literally right next to the sea! They also have a ton of options for the seafood prone, aka yours truly. They are great for lunch, dinner, and brunch. With a gorgeous ambiance, amazing decor, and hidden feel in up the trees. The food was AMAZING, we were not surprised this one was of our top recommended locations. 

 

EAT: Indaco

A Charleston classic. Good Italian bites and nice spot. Definitely enjoyed it but wasn't our favorite. Both our dishes were good, but one was a bit too salty and one too dry. A lot of people mentioned this place so we're thinking maybe it was an off night or we ordered the wrong things? Either way a decent spot if you're craving Italian and want to hit some bars up after. 

 

CAFFEINATE: Second State Coffee

We like to switch up our coffee spots when on vacation but ended up going here twice because we liked it so much! Not to mention it's a great spot to hunker down and get some work done. The work never ends when you're running a small biz! We sat at the window and felt inspired looking out on the streets as we typed away!

 

Wall hunting - EVERYWHERE YOU GO

Backdrops everywhere you look, perfectly painted to match those colorful Dazey vibes! Walking around Charleston feels sometimes felt like we were in some quirky European town or perhaps even Amsterdam. There is no end to the amazing doors, facades, and perfectly painted walls. We stopped at SO many just to snap pics because there's nothing like it in LA.

CAFFEINATE: Kudu Coffee

Got tons of recs for this place and I see why. Relaxed vibes, fun location, good coffee, and a pretty courtyard to enjoy it in. They also serve food and beer if you're looking for a quick and easy meal. Solid place for a good latte before hitting the city!

EXPLORE: The Downtown Market

Okay yes, this is undoubtably a tourist spot. Nevertheless it's fun to see and shows a little bit of Charleston's history. Located in the middle of the French Quarter it's a multi-building massively long hall filled with gift shops and local artists. They also have a bunch of traditional basket weavers making and selling their woven art, a big part of the history of the city. A bunch of those horse drawn carriages are around here too. I don't find them ethical towards the animals, but they do give you a feeling of what this area may have looked like back in the day. This town is all about history, both the good and bad.

EAT: Millers All Day

Cutest food spot in the whole city!! Feels like a 50's diner perfectly modernized and hipster-ed out. We got some mimosas, pancakes, and enjoyed the break from the humid east coast summer day. Great for a midday pick me up or brunch vibes. Or to get that super cool gram of course!

Go Far By Car

Charleston is a small city, but it can be a bit spread out. We loved being able to borrow this car from Toyota and really get a locals feel for the town. A car was a great way to go back and forth from the beach to downtown. It was also cool to just take a drive to find cool neighborhoods we hadn't seen when biking or walking around. This cute and colorful C-HR Toyota was a match made in heaven for Charleston.

SHOP: Candy Vinatge

Right down the street from Cannon-Borough collective is an adorable vintage shop called Candy! It's a dreamy curated collection or your grandmas most glam and funky jewelry and accessories. Everything from the outside to the wallpaper is perfection. I'm a sucker for sparkles and glitz so I had a lot of fun shopping here.

EAT: Stella

HOLY MOLY. We were transported from the east coast to the Mediterranean in this lively location. This gem was actually found via Yelp, with hundreds of reviews and five stars - a rare feat. We sat at the bar that wrapped around most of the restaurant where we could see all the action from drink making to kitchen flames. We ordered the Santorini drink to start, made of muddled blueberries, vodka, ginger, and lemon. I think this was the best drink I've ever had in my life, we each ordered two! Then we did some shared plates that turned out to be massive and filled with flavor. This is such a fun spot and I really can't say enough good things!

 

Celebrating and Empowering Women Globally

After months of planning and sharing snippets of behind the scenes our collaboration with Known Supply is here! This is our very first collaboration with a Dazey Dude, Kohl, but he is a man who wholeheartedly believes in empowering women and shining a light on what they are doing. In fact it's the whole mission behind his brand, sharing the stories and faces of the women who make your clothing. They operate their own facilities in Peru, Africa, and India. These are places where garment workers are often paid pennies and forced to work in terrible conditions. Known Supply provides them with great wages, good working conditions, and actually empowers them as the artisans and makers they are.

Each shirt has a patch inside with the signature of the woman who made it. It adds such a personal touch and humanizes an industry that all too often tries to hide the people behind it. @danidazey and @kohlgreyson are also so excited to share the entire journey of their collaboration in documentary called @newbreedmovie. It's all about young entrepreneurs running their companies with social good in mind. We all got together at Biz Babez awhile back and began planning. We wanted a design that celebrated the hands that would touch and wear the tee, all over the world, and  Kohl came up with the amazing verbiage "She is We." It reminds us that even if we are worlds away, we are are human, all equal, and all connected. I drew this design by hand and documented the whole process on our story that you can see HERE. I wanted it to represent women from all over the world and center around the idea of unity. The design in a single line drawing, meaning everything is connected and made by a single line. It was also done in the shape of a globe. These two details really bring home the idea of connection and togetherness. I also love that this design was hand drawn in LA by a woman and the shirt was hand sewn in Peru, like a collaboration directly with the maker! We wanted to take the Unite Women Globally concept one step further and found a wonderful female screen printer, Deluxe, to fuse the art with fabric. The shirt I'm wearing as I type this is made and signed by Frida, designed by Dani, and printed by Elsie. 

10% of Proceeds to be Donated to Women's Refugee Commission

Originally Kohl and I talked about donating a portion of the proceeds to a charity but decided against it since there was already so much to explain about the design and our collaboration,  we didn't want to water down the message or confuse anyone. But given our current state of affairs in America with families being separated at our borders it felt wrong not to donate. This design represents equality and unity across borders and backgrounds. We believe everyone is equal and everyone deserves a chance to live a good life. Sadly in so many places this is not the case and people, women and children in particular, need our help. We've decided from now until our event on July 1st to donate 10% of the proceeds to the Women's Refugee Commission, an organization dedicated to improving the lives and giving a voice to  displaced women and children. Right now they are actively doing all they can at the Mexican border to provide relief to the mothers and children who desperately need it. 

Shirts are in super limited supply so grab yours now! We also hope you can join us at our big collaboration event, which also doubles as the Dazey two year anniversary party! All the details are below and we are so excited to meet and connect with the people who support our brands.

 

SHOP AND SUPPORT HERE

 

The Shoot

Below is a photoshoot I did with gorgeous model Kelsey! We shot the new tees along with some other new Dazey items in beautiful Chinatown LA. I loved the juxtaposition of cultures in the shoot. It is really celebrating all cultures and backgrounds with color, life, and compassion!  

 

 

Introducing our Self Care Summer Line

This is the Self Care Summer Collection. So often we are told that success will bring you happiness and this collection challenges that. With social media that pressure has only become greater. We scroll through our feeds and see people that appear to be wildly successful, traveling the world, and have the perfect happy family. We all know deep down this is the highlight reel and not the REAL. But at the same time it can be so easy to get lost in daydreaming about that greener grass. These designs serve as little reminders that success is not what brings happiness. Enjoying where you are and consciously going a little easier on yourself. Choosing to be grateful about every thing you do have. Learning what is worth your time and energy and funneling more of those precious resources into yourself. 

I’ve always been driven to a fault and sometimes will work myself until I’m sick. I set large goals and daydream about how different and more fulfilled I will feel once I reach them. Then once I do I’m onto the next, not even taking a second to enjoy my accomplishments. Sound familiar!? I hear the same story over and over again from my peers. Even accomplished women who I admire and aspire to be like often talk about being unhappy. I’ve noticed this is especially true for female entrepreneurs, trying to balance everything and be super women. Desperately wanting to prove that we can and will have it all, yet losing ourselves in the process. Society tells us over and over again success is happiness. Even in the small successes I have had I’ve come to realize that’s just not true. Working yourself to the bone will only burn you out, it’s simply not sustainable. I was doing everything I loved for a living, but somehow still started to feel tired. When I began to feel the burn out coming I started working with our Biz Babez community manager Kasey Dreier. She is a self care coach for boss babes. I have been learning so many things about how to better take care of myself, and in turn take care of my company. As a self proclaimed "Yes Girl" I'm learning to say "NO" more and conserve my energy. Spend more time doing the things that make me feel relaxed and sane. Happiness can be found in the little things. It’s about hustling smarter, not harder, surrendering what doesn’t serve you, and finding magic in the mundane. These are just a few of the lessons I’m leaning and phrases on our new tees! I designed this collection amidst the most stressful and busy month of my life and really poured by heart into it. I put a lot of thought into each design and personally found solace in the messages. Inspired by the laid back lifestyle and gorgeous design aesthetic of Palm Springs, our new home away from home @dazey_desert_house. We hope they make you feel like YOU ARE ENOUGH and that life can be pretty darn great when you slow down enough to enjoy it :)

A little about the collection:

We are so excited so be launching our very first Dazey brand non-graphic Cut & Sew pieces alongside the tees! For those that don’t know Cut & Sew is just an industry term for fully custom made garments. If you follow Dazey on instagram you know @danidazey is obsessed with overalls and jumpsuits so of course we had to include these with our first full line drop! Each piece has been small batch made in LA, garment dyed to match the tees, and enzyme washed to have a soft weathered feel. They were designed to be versatile and worn with or without our tops. The straps on the jumpsuit and romper are designed to tie up top, giving you supreme adjustability and options when wearing. They are intentionally made fit the waist slightly loose and hang from the straps to accommodate different body types. Our wrap dress is adjustable with a tie as well, and can also be worn open as a duster! It's a total twofer and looks amazing layered with our graphics! They are made from a rayon twill that is soft, slightly heavy, and wrinkle resistant. These are all super limited pre-order runs so order now :)

We are also stoked to announce our collaboration pants print with girl boss owned and Australian based brand @flarestreet. The velvet bells came just in time for launch, literally the same day as the photoshoot haha. We used our beloved Frida Flora hand drawn pattern for the print. Available in the classic pink and a fun new blue, orange, and yellow print I like to call POP. They come in two different fits as well, a regular flare bell bottom and a wide leg pant. Flare Street is a sustainably made brand that created all of their pieces in small batches in Australia. Dani met the boss babe, Nik, randomly at a coffee shop while she was visiting LA and they immediately started talking about a collaboration. She runs an amazing company and we love brining or two brands together.

And lastly as always we are adding new and amazing items to our Dazey Lady Shop, a section of our website dedicated to selling goods made by other female entrepreneurs. Some of the new items include Miracle Eye bells, The Little Avocado Shop earrings, and some amazing shoes from new lady-ran label Free Reign. Hand picked by @danidazey herself and all paired perfectly with out new pieces.

You can literally shop ALL you see in our lookbook! Since the collection was inspired by Palm Springs of course we had to do the shoot there. Lucky for us we had the perfect location, @dazey_desert_house ;) You can even find our little mid century home on one of the new graphics. The feel of this collection embodies that classic Palm Springs vintage vibe. A touch of color, quirk, and style. 

Models:

@heidiijane & @_gypseaa

Photography/styling:

@danidazey

Hair/Makeup:

@breezeblowouts

Location:

@dazey_desert_house & @calientetropicsresort

SHOP HERE 

 

 

 

 

 

Can’t seem to escape the desert these days, but hey, I’m not complaining! The weekend after Coachella we headed to Joshua Tree to celebrate the 30th birthday of a very special human, Quigley! This gal is one of the sweetest and most radiant people I know. Thirty has seriously never looked better! Quigley has become a very close friend and a huge help with Dazey ever since the beginning. She planned the most epic overnight trip with a bunch of our friends, and even got Anthropologie to help her plan it all for a post on their blog. Yeah, Quigley’s THAT fabulous haha. 

The party was held at Joshua Tree Acres, an amazing five acre camp sight complete with six airstream trailers! There’s a center house that has a full indoor and outdoor kitchen, a stage, a hot tub, a fire pit, and a gorgeous table underneath hundreds of string lights. Yes dreamy indeed! Before we shot the main event Phillip and I snuck some Dazey pics in around the campsite ;) it was too cute not to make a post about! Below you can see the mini lookbook along with some photos we got for the big Anthro shoot. HAPPY BDAY QUIGS, love ya!! 



 

 

 

 

 

Coachella 2018 Round Up

The Event:

So excited to host our very first event for Coachella. I have been attending the festival and/or events surrounding it for years and have always wanted to get Dazey involved. Luckily this year I had the perfect venue for a pop up, The Desert House! It is right off the road on your way into Palm Springs so we figured it was a good place to drop in on the way into town. You can take a break from the crazy traffic to grab a drink, snap some photos, and get some clothes! We got the keys literally the week before and worked hard to get it ready in time. It was madness to say the least, but we pulled it off! The backyard was feeling festive and decked out in amazing goodies like pool floats, umbrellas, and pinatas from Sunny Life. Some amazing ethically made brands popped up alongside Dazey including Solstice Intimates, Revice Denim, and Wolven Threads. We had an awesome time and got to meet some rad business babes I admire as well as some Dazey Ambassadors! 

The Weekend:

The rest of the weekend we got to hang with some of our favorite people and attend all sorts of events. My girls @officiallyquilgey, @aldensteimle, and @champangeunicorns joined in on the fun along with their S.O.'s! Luckily the Joybird couches were all pull out beds and we were able to house four couples in our little two bedroom :) We shot photos all around the house plus I got a more compact camera so I could take it along the journey and take photos on the go. Check out the photos below to see all the fun!