This video explores the full process Dani of Dazey LA takes to design, manufacture, shoot, and release a collection. A true behind the scenes look into running and creating a fashion brand. Follow all the small business fun @dazey_la where we share BTS daily!

There is a lot that goes into the making of a clothing collection and this is my best shot at breaking down the process into five easy steps! I can only speak from my personal knowledge and attest to what works for me. Hope you find it helpful :)

We made a full video on the topic with the amazing Marissa Rascon of Reel Rad Films. Please check out the vid along with the steps broken down in words and images below!

Step 1: Find your theme and inspiration

It can seem daunting to design a whole collection! A great way to get started is to come up with a theme. For this collection I wanted a tropical look mixed with positive verbiage promoting self love. Once I had that established it was much easier to plan the designs to match.

I can pull inspiration from everywhere and anywhere. Once I go into "inspiration hunting mode" I find it in all sorts of places. Sometimes that means coming up with an idea while I'm walking around the street or as simple as scrolling through Pintrest. There's not some big secret to being hit by inspiration, you just have to look for it.

I jot down all of these ideas in my phone so when it comes time to design I have a good list to go off of. I write little descriptions for each idea, and then find a few inspiration photos to reference. I put those photos right next to the blank page I am designing on.The trick is pulling bits and pieces from each inspiration image to create something totally new. I do all of my designs in Adobe Illustrator using a drawing tablet and then texture in Photoshop. It's very important to me that each graphic has a hand drawn feel and vintage vibe to it.

Step 2: Merchandising

This is a super fun step! At this point I have all the designs created but no solid color story or idea the fashion bodies yet. I play with all sorts of options and colors and see what works best.

Coming up with colors has a lot to do with the season and feel of the collection theme! For the Summer of Self Love collection I wanted warm and fun colors that reminded people of a sunny day at the beach. I went for a playful pink and rich cognac to add that pop of color! There is even a splash of teal in two of the designs to add that tropical feel. I try to tie those colors into all of the graphics to make everything look cohesive. Good merchandising is all about making a collection that looks solid together! 

We have our classic tee as a staple but I usually design some special cut & sew bodies (term for the blank tee) to make the collection more unique. A lot of tee brands buy blanks from other companies and just print their design & logo on them. At Dazey we wanted to make everything custom just for us! Often times I use flat photos of tee bodies and manipulate them in photoshop to look like a brand new design. For example, the tanks you see below are just photos of the tees with the arms cropped off haha. If it's a totally new body I have to create it from scratch in Adobe Illustrator making a flat illustration. 

Once I have all the bodies and color story it's time to match the graphics to the tees! I line up all the bodies in photoshop and plop the graphics on top to get a visual. This process can take some time to get right. I do two color and body offerings per graphics so I try to make them different enough, yet still work on both bodies and color-ways! 

Step 3: Production

A necessary evil. Finding a great factory to work with is key. Luckily, I have an awesome production partner who is really great at bringing my ideas to life. We also get along famously and have such a fun time working together! We met though one of my freelance clients at a trade show, networking and putting yourself out there is so important.

My production partner is on board with my mission to make things locally to order. We do this in an effort to avoid waste and create the best quality garment. They sew small batches of the blank bodies and as the orders come in they will print the graphics via a screen printing process. The tricky thing with going about creating the clothing in this way is it takes time! Hence my adoption of the phrase, "Slow Fashion." 

I send the team over my mock up of the collection and they get to sampling. Once they have the first samples of the bodies I will try them on and make adjustments on fit and color. Once the bodies are approved they will do the prints and then deliver the full collection ready for the shoot! 

Step 4: Shooting the Collection

This is what really brings everything to life! I love putting the clothes on the models and seeing new Dazey in action.

I choose to do my own photography to keep everything cohesive and on brand for Dazey. Shooting graphic tees can be tricky so I'm extra careful about the models poses and hair placement. Plus I love taking pictures haha. 

All of my lookbook shoots are a huge collaborative effort. I invite other female entrepreneurs to join in so we can all benefit with killer content. We also benefit from cross promoting each other's brands in posts. I often work on a trade basis, like trading graphic designs or photos, so most of my shoots don't cost me a dime. For this shoot Marissa of Reel Rad Films approached me with the idea of making a video and hooked up the epic location though her friend Michelle of 6th and Detroit. We pulled in a jewelry designer to dress up the Dazey and the models even helped style with pieces from their clothing line, Monatazami Brand. A 4th generation lei maker contacted me via Instagram about collaborating and I knew it would just be perfect for the vibe :) These are just a few examples!

All the Dazey Ladies involved in this shoot and video:

Step 5: Going Live

Lastly, I have to get everything up on the site and make some serious commotion about the new collection! I use Shopify to host my website and it makes it pretty easy (yet sometimes time consuming) to upload products. I make sure to post photos showing off the garments from every angle. Descriptions are very important too for an online store since people can't see and feel the goods in person. Be as specific as possible naming fabrics and dimensions. On top of the technical stuff be sure to write a little story about the inspiration behind the piece and what it means to you. When it's all ready, go ahead and publish... ahhh!

Then you have to promote! Post everywhere and anywhere. I'm talking emails blasts, multiple Instagram posts, Insta story, Facebook, Pintrest- basically all the platforms you have. Have your fellow collaborators post that day too so you can really hype it up. Then all you have to do is watch the sales come in haha, though this can take time! 

Shop this full collection HERE :)

Dazey Lady Swimwear collaboration! 

Just in time for summer our swimsuit collab is HERE! Stoked to partner with fellow Lady Boss Sarah of Swim Like a Mermaid on these suits. We used a few of her best selling swim bodies combined with a custom pattern hand drawn by Dani Dazey. Each suit is handmade right here in Los Angeles with incredible fabrics fused with our original Dazey Design. Below you can see a video Dani made showing the process of designing the pattern in super fun fast motion! We love to give you guys a peak into the design process to show all the love and hard work we put into each product! 

I met Sarah in the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey and we have worked together on quite a few photoshoots and pop-up shops. I was beyond excited when she asked to design a suit with Dazey! Having spent most of my career in graphic tees, doing textile design is always a treat.

I was inspired by my childhood growing up in California. Each year my parents let me pick one swimsuit out and I always went for the quirkiest, most colorful 90s prints! I wanted to design a suit that gave me that sweet feeling of spending summers by the beach as a kid. It's playful, colorful, and quirky. I like to call them the "Sweet Suits"! Say hello to happy, tropical, tutti-frutti fun that'll give you all the summer feels :)

I met Nikia (aka @madmavenstyle) soon after starting Dazey and she has become a close friend and constant collaborator! Nikia is a well known LA fashion blogger and she has style for days! We shoot for Dazey a lot and I love the way she styles the tees in eclectic ways you would never expect! That's what really makes Mad Maven Style blog unique and a great source for inspiration.

On top of blogging, Nikia recently started making these ADORABLE pom-pom ball earrings that go amaze-balls with Dazey (oh yes, pun-intended). I figured it was long overdue to feature this inspirational Dazey Lady and good friend :) Creep below as Nikia make's pom-poms and talks blogging in our feature video. 

And of course in typical Dazey-fashion, we accompany our video along with an epic themed photoshoot! The inspiration for this shoot hit me as I was walking by my house in Hollywood. I noticed the funkiest old apartments that have a very 60s/70s Miami vibe and thought I'd change things up from my usual nature or downtown city photos. I immediately texted Nikia because I knew she would be the perfect model and stylist for the job! I loved the colorful clothing mixed with the bright walls and worn down textures of the buildings. This may just be one of my favorite shoots to date! So expect more of this funky vintage vibes coming your way ;)

Xx- Dani Dazey

THE NAME GAME 

Oh the daunting task of naming your business. People can get hung up on this for months, and it often causes delays in launching. I don't know if it's going to make or break your business, but it is so scary thinking this name can potentially always be attached to you.

Everyone approaches naming their business or brand differently. I find it helpful to hear how other people came up with theirs. Below we have stories on how 8 Dazey Ladies came up with their brand names, including ours!

If you have a fun story on how you named your business please leave it in the comments below, we would LOVE to hear!

Xx- Dani Dazey

Dani of Dazey LA art apaprel

I wanted a simple name that evoked a feeling more than specifically mean something. After a week of back and forth with my sister, she just said the name ‘Dazey’ and it stuck. It had that California ’70s vibe that the clothing line is inspired by. As a made-up word, it didn’t carry any preconceived meaning—it could define itself. Important things to consider as well: if the trademark is open, and if domain names and social media handles are available. If you’re having a hard time coming up with a name, just use a placeholder you like. Don’t let that stop you from getting your company going. People will forgive you if you change it early on.

Kelly of Electric West fashion label

For me, picking a name, went from being an easy task, to a daunting chore of intense over thinking. I got so hung up on the permanency and importance of a brand name, that i ended up grasping for something that i thought would appeal to the masses, instead of what really reflected me. I finally had to step back and think… what was the story I was trying to tell and how did i want it to make people feel? Most importantly, how did it encompass me? I’m an avid traveler and love being on the road. Dusty desert towns and dive bars are kinda "my thing". Whenever i can i’m heading out to Joshua Tree or driving up to the mountains to go camping. I really just wanted to create a line of t-shirts that would encapsulate my travels throughout the West Coast and Southwest. The name Electric West, just kinda clicked. At this point, the name has become more than just a brand to people. It’s a story of travel and wanderlust (with a touch of vintage Americana). It’s cool to see how the name Electric West translates to each person and resonates with them in their own travels. 

Heather of The Westside Collective boutique and consulting

I came up with the name The Westside Collective after I had already started my company Westside Consulting.  I lived on the Westside of LA and thought this was fitting for the consulting company. When I started the boutique I wanted the companies to be related, hence using Westside again.  Also my plan was to do pop up event on the Westside which we have been doing for the last year.  Collective came because I wanted to bring in a range of different designers and artisans and for us to collectively do events for the community.The name has been confused by marijuana lovers as a dispensary which I had never thought of! Regarding the logo, I wanted it to be clean but have some meaning.  The W is formed from 2 upside down tipis (since I have my dog tipi company Growler Goods).  I have the logo on my Tahoe and people tell me all the time they've heard of me or seen my logo so I'm happy that it's working!  

Dominique of Stone and Spirit jewelry 

I just recently rebranded my company and had to go through the daunting task of choosing a new name for it. I think the best way to think of a name is to have a good old fashioned brainstorming session, and enlist someone to help you bounce ideas around. I had another jewelry maker friend help me, and we started off by listing off random words that were related to my business. (My company is jewelry that is mostly crystal and gemstone focused) I tried out names of crystals that I like and use often, and went from there. Opal, angel aura, spirit quartz, druzy, etc. Then tried to tie those in. I even tried out puns, my wonderful boyfriend suggested I name my company "Opal Winfrey", which had me dying of laughter. Don't let it be a stressful process and don't take yourself too seriously when you're just brainstorming! Finding who you are selling to and narrowing it down can really help you focus on a good name. I eventually thought of Sun & Stone, as a play on sunstone. But a quick google search dashed my dreams, since it was already taken! Sad day. But after that I decided I really liked the & in the name, as well as the word stone. My final business name landed on "Stone & Spirit". Both because, one of my favorite crystals to work with are called spirit quartz, and I felt it would really relate to the market I had cornered (the hippie/gypsy/free spirit type who feel energy and healing properties from their crystals). To sum up my business naming advice: 1. Know your market and think of what they would respond positively to 2. Think not only about the product you are selling, but also the emotions it may invoke 3. And finally to just have fun with it! 

Blogger Nikia of Mad Maven Style

I always get so excited when people ask me how I named my blog. It all started with a passion for style and a book called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. In this book, he kept defining a Maven as being someone who is an expert or connoisseur, a fashion maven if you will. These mavens were always first to know about the coolest trends and the first to set these trends wild for everyone to know about. I loved the word maven so much, that it stuck, I began referring to myself as a maven. The mad part came from the madness behind my styling, like it was an art or a special technique, which it is. And style was what sealed the deal with what I wanted people to know my blog was about. Not fashion, but style. Now days I go by The Mad Maven usually when people address me or write about me, but my blog will always remain Mad Maven Style.

Kailee of I'm With The Band headbands

The name of my company was really important to me. I wanted it to be playful and lighthearted and fully embody what I do and what I love. It also needed to make perfect sense, evoke emotion and a sense of belonging. Last, but certainly not least, I wanted it to tie in my rock and roll roots and undying love for music. When I tell people the name of my company is I'm With The Band and I make headbands they invariably giggle, as it clicks for them. It's awesome to get such a positive response and put a smile on someone's face just by telling them the name of my brand.

Debbie of brows. eyebrow salon

The name "brows." came about out of simplicity. We wanted a name that took the mystique out of the process. We wanted it to appear easy, almost so easy that it left little to the imagination as to what we do. However in saying that, there was a lot of thought in how we would convey the name. We chose a small "b" and a (.) dot at the end to make it a full statement. The small "b" was important because it signified a demure response to our approach. Our designer, Sam Eaton came up with our amazing logo and last year made a case for adding a few detail changes, and he was right. It's perfect for us and our product line. We researched many names for our (flagship) spot, all the while keeping in mind that we wanted a name that was easy to franchise. We noticed that most brow artists were interested in incorporating their names into the mix. There were plenty of places with the word "brow" in the name, mostly with the name of the brow artist. Again we wanted the diminutive "b" to step back - almost like a whisper. "brows." is a collaborative effort, and one where we focus on the client. That is very important to us. It's not about the ego of the artist, but rather focusing on the client. brows is a half-hour individual experience where clients can get a simple clean-up, a re-shaped eyebrow, an eyebrow growth program, or an editorial eyebrow. brows. speaks eyebrows, 6 days a week. It's what we've studied and what we are passionate about.

 Wardrobe stylist Maureen of The LA Look

The•LA•Look was created out of divine intervention. The end of 2009 found me out of my very prominent, high-profile buying position in a well-known Los Angeles store ; into starting a freelance buying office at the beginning of the crash of retail. I needed a strong concept. I had confidence going into my business that I would and could provide for a multitude of stores the knowledge and dare I say talent that I’d acquired in my previous position. I would offer them a different and dedicated eye in the marketplace. I would offer them collections and ideas they might not otherwise be privy to.  I would offer a dialed in perspective they might not otherwise have access to. I would know and obtain the celebrity styles and latest trends coming out of the west coast. I would offer to their store, to any store, anywhere, an LA touch. So, by defining my business I created my name. I was offering these clients quite literally, The LA Look.  And, the domain was available :) Now, as my business has developed and evolved, the name continues to define almost instantaneously who my business is.  And as I grow in to consulting and take on more marketing, and adamantly persue my biggest passion, styling; and as Los Angeles continues to grow into a fashion-centric definer of style - I am happy to help define what is The•LA•Look

Quick design with Dani

Hey all, Dani Dazey here! I'm always sharing how I create Dazey's designs on the insta story and now I'm brining them to the Zine in fun & new ways. I decided to create a time lapse of me illustrating a design for Dazey. A lot of time and love goes into each design and I am so excited to share how they are made. My goal is for everyone to feel so involved in the design process it's almost like they are apart of it too!

I have added an audio tutorial along with the video to give you an idea of my thoughts and design process so be sure your sound is on too. For those who are curious I work in adobe Illustrator and photoshop. I also draw using a Waccom Intous medium sized drawing tablet to give me designs that true hand drawn feel.

The "Local Female Powerhouse" tee should be released in the next few months along with the rest of the "March On" collection inspired by the incredible Women's March that took place January 21st. I used to always get in trouble posting designs before release when I worked at corporate companies, even to the extreme of getting fired for it. But when you run your own business you can do whatever you want! I love being overly transparent with Dazey. It's all about sharing and helping fellow female here :)

Xx- Dani Dazey

THE FAMOUS DAZEY FLAY LAY

I've always loved flat lays, but they are often overused and look the same. They are a great way to show product details, so I knew From the beginning I needed to make Dazey's lays special. I began to arrange flowers around the tees for photos and people loved the posts! Now it's something I try to do every few weeks to keep things fresh and cohesive in my Instagram feed. It may seem like a simple thing to do, but there is a method to the arrangement and taking of the photos! Follow along below to see how I do it :)

SHOP THE TOPS HERE

SETP 1) FIND THE FLOWERS

Doing flat lays like this can be costly, so I go to the wholesale flower district in Downtown Los Angeles. This is where the florists get all their flowers and crazy low prices!

WHAT TO CHOOSE?

I like to find a green of some sort to add volume and color to the background. There are some examples above of some awesome green leaves perfect for accenting your florals. I went with a green with small white flowers throughout.

Then your going to need your main flower, I chose to use this bright yellow because it matches my logo and will really stand out! Sometimes I add a second color that matches like a red or pink, but this time I decided succulents would add a nice touch! 

STEP 2) PLACE BACKGROUND GREENS

Find an area with lots of natural light to take the photo. Pick a simple or natural background like wood or plain white paper. First off lay down whatever it is your shooting nice and straight. You'll be surprised at how many wrinkles the camera can pick up. If you can't get it totally perfect that is ok, I'll show you a quick photoshop trick to edit out lines at the end.

Then start to place the greens. I like to do a half or full circle to really frame the tee. Otherwise it looks a little awkward just on the sides. Layer the pieces on top of each other and make it as lush as possible, no naked areas! Make sure it is as even as possible on both sides.

STEP 3) ADD MAIN FLOWER

Now you add the main flower. I usually start with a 2 bunches on each side. I place them in the middle and top of the crest. I made them nice and even again.

Keep them grouped if they are and cut off the bottom of the stems where it's sparse. Then you tuck the bottom stems inside the background green so they don't show! The bottom photo shows what it should look like after this step is done.

STEP 4) FILL IT IN

At this point there are still parts missing the main flower. I go in and cut the entire stem off of the flower and place them face up throughout. This way you can see the flower really nicely and put it wherever it's missing color. I also cover up some of the ugly stems still showing with the little flowers.

I also added my accent succulents. I staggered them for a more asymmetric natural look. You don't have to place the flowers as even as the last two steps either. This is where you go in making it fun and different! Add as many as you have, the more epic the arrangement the better!

STEP 5) TAKING THE PHOTO

Now here comes the fun part! Time to take the photo. I always stand on a chair or directly above the flat lay to get an areal angle. You can very easily take this on your phone, in fact I prefer to over my SLR camera since it's easier to see the screen. I like to center the image as much as possible using the grid feature.

Take a ton, you never know which ones are going to be blurry or off center. Check them in-between and see how the arrangement is looking, I often shift things around while I shoot. I also try and get a few angles after I get the main shot so I have a few options to post.

STEP 6) EDIT OUT WRINKLES

I use the pattern stamp tool on Adobe photoshop to edit out the wrinkles. You can see a screen shot below and arrow pointing to the tool. What this tool does is select and area when you click alt over it and then will move that area over to where ever you click next. I go back and forth from picking up area with "alt" and then putting them over the wrinkles. 

Another trick is to use paint brush and paint dropper a color and on a low opacity and just brush over the wrinkles. Make sure to be subtle with this trick because it can look fake really fast. Adding a grain at the end will also help it look more natural. 

FIN! 

And there you have it, how to make a Dazey flatlay! I know it might seem a little self explaintory, but hope this was helpful in some way. If you do any flay lays inspired by this tutorial please use the hashtag #dazeyflatlay. We would love to check it out :)

Also you can see some more flat lay fun by checking #dazeyflatlay 

 Hey Dazey Ladies! So as many of you know I do mini design tutorials on the @dazey_la Instagram story all the time. I've been getting a lot of people asking to save them or put them on the blog since they disappear after 24 hours. When I started one yesterday I took some screen shots and decided to save and re-upload it. I know the video is super choppy and portrait style, so I decided to go more in depth below. I hope you find this helpful and never hesitate to ask questions. Previous knowledge of adobe illustrator is helpful.

This will be for my "march on" collection based on signage I saw at the women's march. I'll be working on designs all week and should be released in the next month or so!

Xx-Dani Dazey

1) Open a fresh adobe illustrator file. I always find 3-4 images that inspire me. Weather it's the colors, fonts, or design elements. I keep them on the side of the frame to reference. The goal is not to copy any of them, but take bits and pieces you like to create something new! 

Start with a base font, something you like that has a similar vibe to the end goal. This will however be totally changed so don't fuss too much :) 

2) Separate the font as a new text box on each line. Then select the first and apply the "warp" effect like shown below. There is a lot of fun options to re-shape the text! Some of my favorites are arc and flag. Here I have applied a different warp to each line as you can see. I like to adjust the fonts to blend in with each other. 

3) From here you select the font, go to "object" and click expand. This will make the font editable. Once it is outlined you can use the pen tool to re-trace these lines. Make sure you have the letters selected when editing. 

4) Here I am about halfway through. Just take it nice and slow one letter at a time. Keep the edit stokes close to the original or it will create a new line instead of re-shaping the current one. Here you can see I'm going for a more funky text and almost melting the letters into one another!

5) Now that I'm finished with the letters I am going to add a text shadow. Not your average "drop shadow", this trick works better :) Duplicate the font and add a thick "stroke" to the bottom one, I have it at 10 points here. Then I took the top layer and made the "fill" white and added a 2 point stroke. Then you just place the top font on the bottom one.

6) As you can see Below I decided to take the bottom shadow and expand it, merged using pathfinder, and then added a black stroke with yellow fill. Then I took the pen tool (better at making straight lines then the pencil tool) and I used to to create the background "beams" by just clicking at each point. All I needed to do was 1/4th of the background and then duplicate it. Then I grouped the background and used the warp tool again to add the "twist"!

7) I then selected the whole design and change the stroke to have a "rough" line by using the "brush definition" tool (you can see it next to where it says "uniform"). This particular stroke option is very thick so I have changed the stoke to 0.25. I have also changed the colors, which I will do 10 more time before print I'm sure haha. 

8) To add a distress I bring my files into photoshop by copy and pasting to a new design file. Then I paste a downloaded "distress" layer on top. This layer is literally just a speckled transparent .tiff file that matches the background. You can download them off of the internet! I usually go in using the pattern stamp tool to define and add even more distress.

9) To get a preview on a tee all you do is find a semi large photo of a blank tee and place the graphic on top. On the right side above layers you can select where it says "normal" and change it to "multiply" on a light tee, or "screen" on a darker tee. This takes away the white box and makes it look like it's printed on the tee.

And here you have it! The finished product :) Hope you enjoyed my first little tutorial post. I do them a lot on the Insta story but this is the first time I've done a big blog tutorial! I plan on doing more along with more legit videos and not the quick phone story ones haha.

Dani (@danidazey) and Rachel of Process/Progress (@processprogress) continue to talk about the journey of starting an running their small businesses. This episode we talk about building your dream job. We go over establishing your company, logistics, and costs. Physical actions you need to take to get started! Details include deciding your name, designing a logo, website, and how you will finance it. Girl boss life is within your reach :) Subscribe to see more and follow @dazey_la on instagram!

 We're back at it! Again bear with us as we figure out what on earth we are doing haha, still filming on an iphone and realize theres a weird background noise lol :)

Episode 2 is all about how to design your dream job. We go over things like how you can combine ALL your passions to create a SUPER JOB! We go over what skills and expertise you might have to lend your business. And finally how you can delegate and trade the not so favorite parts! Theres are all things to consider when creating your dream job checklist. Positive or gentle constructive feedback welcome. Hope you enjoy!

When I started Dazey LA all I really wanted was to FINALLY have full creative freedom on a project I could call my own. I was not expecting it to create a community of like-minded creative ladies who share this same passions! Weather it's fellow girl bosses I've met along the way or aspiring ones who have been following my adventures. Connecting with, supporting, and inspiring people has been the cherry on top of this creative journey. I had no idea I would have such a passion for it :)

I wanted to go a little more in-depth than the 10-second Instagram stories so I decided to start a Dazey LA youtube channel! I teamed up with my friend Rachel of process/progress to do a little series on the inner thoughts and workings of starting a small business. We literally just filmed on my iphone in my living room with no planning and all in one take, so bear with us. I asked you guys what you wanted to see on the new Dazey channel and "how did you take the leap?" was the top runner by far. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to subscribe. I will also be doing design & photography tutorials, fashion videos, interviews, and more!