Designer Interview - Natalia's Prestige

I have a thing or two for wanting to be different, for having things that only I have, for getting things custom made, hello etsy!

Here is where designers come in the picture, and I'm not talking about Balmain or Chanel, because I can't afford them. I mean girls that I know, and basically grew up with. People that have great creativity and create pieces that are unique and most of the time made specially for you, they fit your finger perfectly, or go precisely with that new outfit you just bought, you can have them make it all match, or not, however you desire.

Here I have one of them, Natalia Morales, jewelry designer She can be found in Facebook, and/or Myspace [I will all her contact information at the end of this post] you can browse through her collections, order something you like, or have something made specifically for you. I have to admit that I totally admire her for having her own style and being so creative with her talents. Did I mention she's from Puerto Rico?? Well YES! so don't worry Latinas, they speak Spanish, she is also in her twenties, studying and having a life. What's not to like?

I think it is very important to be your own person all the time. And being able to express who you are with pieces that nobody else has, is definitely something. Hasn't it happened to you, that after spending hours looking for that perfect accesory, 3 or 4 girls are wearing the same one? Doesn't that bother you? Because it sure bothers me!

Interview with designer Natalia Morales for her jewelry line Natalia's Prestige.

Since when have you been interested in creating/designing?

I started the line Natalia's Prestige on August 2005 and Girly Prestige on July 2008.

How (and where) did you learn to design?

I have always been interested in the arts. Being able to design jewelry was a gift I didn't know I had, but which has turned into my passion. I never took lessons, it was always really an inspiration.

Where do you find this inspiration?

I took advantage of the boom that bracelets with religious images provided and from there emerged what is now today Natalia's Prestige.

What materials do you use?

Semi precious stones, glass, swarovski, wire, acrylic, wood [for the ethnic pieces] and white clay.

Where do you want to go with this? How do you see yourself in the future?

Well thank God, at my young age I've been blessed with many achievements, 8 different fashion shows, TV presentations and spreads/editorials in fashion magazines. The creativity just like the opportunities are endless, so I hope I can reach higher everytime. For now my goals are Paris and New York.

[I love her so much]

Here are some of my favorite pieces:

[I have the bracelets, and the earrings too!

But mine are white]

[My mother owns this piece]

All her contact information.

And now, you have me wearing a bunch of her stuff. I looked trough most of my pics, and I found 22 different outfits on which I'm wearing Prestige! So let's see...

[See? I told you I had them]

[The matching earrings]

[At a fraternity mixer. This
was taken over a year ago.]

[The last time I hung out in PR]

[The bracelets]

Do you like these?? Do you??? I believe you love them. I smell a giveaway coming soon =). And here is what really took me forever to find, a descent picture of us. Not because we didn't look smoking hot in all of them, but because we didn't look sober presentable.

There you go, me and Natalia, one of my besties!

Love you to death girl!

XOXO

The Campfire Network - Anastasia Bee

First of all, did you vote on my poll already??? Ok, good!

The Campfire Network

You all know my friend Anastasia from Anastasia Bee, right? Well if you didn't, you will know her pretty well after this post. She found this campfire networky thingy and hit me up ASAP on Twitter to see if I was interested on swapping some questions. I couldn't resist. So the next few days we were searching for questions which was crazy, since I found so many crazy questions I couldn't really concentrate on good ones. Then came the answering, which was actually a harder task, I mean, childhood memories, WTH??

Here are the questions I came up with and of course her answers, I really liked this activity because it made me open up, and talk more about my personal life, which I don't do as much on my blog, and technically haven't since my answers are at her blog, but you know what I mean. And also, it made me closer to one of my favorite bloggy friends, since I feel like I know her better now.

Here's Anastasia's interview. Enjoy. [My comments are the ones that start like this -]

#1.What do you keep handy at your bedside table and why?

Chapstick! I’m addicted. For what ever reason I can’t go without 20 minutes of my Chap; I hate the feeling of dry lips. So when I wake up in the middle of the night, I apply before I fall asleep again. Lol. I need chap rehab.

- She must have a really tiny bedside table.

#2. How do you see yourself in 20 years?

If I’m single, I’ll probably be a cougar. I have a thing for younger boys. Lol, No really, hopefully I’ll be fabulous at 40, with a loving husband, 4 kids, 7 dogs and bazillion of dollars.

- Cougar...LMAO!! Hopefully we will still be friends, so I get to share some of those bazillion dollars, and please don't ask me to dogsit for you. *Wink*

#3. If you could change only one thing from your past, would you? And what would you change?

I don’t think I can really change anything from my past. As many times I have cringed over my stupid mistakes, I’ve learned from each and every one of them. Some times it took me 3 mistakes to figure out that I’m doing something wrong, but I’ve evolved into the person I am thanks to my stupidity.

- Words of wisdom.

#4. Would you ever consider marrying someone from a VERY different culture? As in, somebody who didn't even speak the same language?

If he didn’t speak a lick English but looked like he came off a Calvin Klein billboard I might consider it. Lol, I really don’t mind where a person comes from; however I don’t think a relationship would develop if there were big language barrier. And when it comes to culture, if the person doesn’t push his beliefs on me and accepts me for where I came from, then I’m fine. Love doesn’t come in colors.

- Exactly my point, as long as he is DAMN hot. No, really she makes a point, "LOVE DOESN'T COME IN COLORS".

#5. What is the thing/moment/anecdote that would embarrass you the most if your parents found out about it??

Oh man, first I’d like to say that what I am about to tell you is purely factual. There is NO EXAGGERATION for entertaining purposes…it’s all TRUE!
I had just finished working out when my sister called me to pick her up from the mall. When I work out, I drink A LOT of water! I probably drank more than 32oz that particular day. I get in the car all sweaty and exhausted, which is never pleasant when you can’t use the AC because the car would over heat.

So imagine a sticky and humid uncomfortable environment and suddenly you get a message from your brain saying “YOU NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM NOW!!!” Ok, no problem. The mall is only 20 mins, I can hold it. WRONG! There was traffic and what should have been 20 minutes, really turned into an hour. I was fuming; I was hot, sweaty, and in pain, FML.

I didn’t want to pull over because the streets were so small and the cars were so close, everyone would see my blinding white ass. At one point, I looked over to my purse and actually contemplated of taking a nice piss in it, but unfortunately the purse I had was all cotton so I knew that wouldn’t help.

I grabbed a plastic Wal Mart and accepted that this is what my life had to come to. Peeing in a shopping bag. The only problem was that there was a hole at the bottom. For whatever reason, my mind wasn’t thinking very clearly. I was too desperate to logically conclude that the best way for this to work was to tie know at the bottom. Instead, I believed that if I put napkins at the bottom, the napkins was slow down the leaking process and there would be a less of a spillage in the passenger seat (which by the way was the scene of the crime). Of course, the napkins didn’t help and everything went ALL over the seat. I was so PISSED!

To this day, my parents think I spilled juice. Oh, and we gave that car to my cousin. LOL.

- OMG, I'm reaaaally grateful I'm not your cousin.

#6. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, which 5 books, movies, people and foods would you take along?

Books: “The Secret”, Chelsea Handler’s “Are you there, Vodka? It’s me, Chelsea” and “My Horizontal Life: A Collection of one-night stands”, “Sextrology” (an awesome astrology book), “No Life Guard On Duty” by Janice Dickinson. She may seem wacko, but her life is truly inspiring.

- I'm gonna have to read all of those. Although I did read half of The Secret.

Movies: I know these aren’t movies but the only thing I can watch repeatedly is the TV show “Will and Grace”. So I’d have to bring 5 seasons of that or one season with 5 discs. I can never get enough!

- LOL, I only watched it when they where right after Friends and I was too lazy to change the channel [cause, you know touching the remote takes SO.MUCH.WORK] and of course it is hilarious.

People: My mom, dad, sister, Will Smith and Adrian Grenier. We can act out some scenes together: Boy loves girl. Girl has secret relationship with Boy. Girl is already in a relationship with other boy. Other boy finds out but forgives her with make up sex. Repeat Scene.

- LMAO...btw you didn't bring your dog??? Shame on you!!!

Food: Brownies, craisins, bread, arroz con gandules, and platanos maduros.

- Bread.. you must be my lost twin. Arroz con gandules y platanos??? Where the hell are you from?? I love those, and my arroz con gandules is a must-try, it tastes amazing. [For all of you that have no idea what that is, is rice mixed with green beans and plantains].

#7.What are the three happiest memories of your life so far?

1. My College Graduation. Seeing my father, who never had the opportunity to go to college, standing on of his chair with pride, made every stupid stressed out night worth it.

- Tear. I will do this, I will do this...

2. When my mom came home from the hospital after spending the whole summer in rehab after her accident.

- I'm so glad she made it back. YAY!

3. When I got my dog, Tiny Jig. I was living in my own apartment in NY at the time and I was going through a really hard time. I felt like I had nobody but TJ made my last few months in NY so much easier. I love her so much!

- I need a dog. Period.

#8. If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be?

Girl Misunderstood: What’s behind the hot pink polka dots.

-...and The Tiny Dog With The Polka Dots As Well, would be a nice sequel.

#9. If you knew that you were going to die tomorrow, how would you spend your day?

I hate death. It scares me and I sometimes think about it too much. If I knew I was going to die, I’d probably cry until I had a headache. But then I’d have to force myself to get over it and enjoy my time with my family. And I’d probably call my friends and thank them for being in my life.

- OK, let me know when you're gonna die, so I can send you some excedrin and save you some time. OMG I sound so cruel. May God Bless you forever!!!!

#10. Out of all the relationships you have right now, if you had to choose one, who would it be, and why?

This is a really hard question because I have 3 very important people in my life and it's hard to choose just one. But for the sake of this question, I'd have to say my mom. We have such a strong bond and I know I can always count on her support. I could spend any time of the day with her and I'll never mind. I hope when I have children that they have the relationship I have with her.

- I don't know if I could answer this question, but I beleive you have chosen wisely. I also want to have a great relationship with my kids, something like Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore Girls, except I would be married to Luke, LOL.


**As told**

Now, you can go see her questions and MY ANSWERS on her blog. Love you all!!!

PS: I'm hooked, so if you're interested in doing this, just send me a lovely e-mail [ambarblah@gmail.com].

Designer Interview - eNTROPY

Interview with designer Guillermo Cummings for the line eNTROPY.

I love finding new designers, and seeing what they're creating and learning how they're getting inspired. That's why we now have Designer Interview. I will be interviewing amateur designers and giving YOU the scoop on what they're doing and what's new. Here we have Guillermo Cummings for the line eNTROPY.

Since when have you been interested in creating/designing?

Well to be honest I never saw myself as a designer till a few months ago. I was always interested in illustration, comic book art and storyboarding. One day out of the blue I put up a random design for my fraternity and sister sorority. Suddenly almost everyone wanted a shirt out of it. I then started doing some small designs for other fraternities and sororities, usually the basics: the 3 Greek letters in the front and a catchy logo in the back. Eventually I got tired of that and inspired by modern t-shirts usually seen from Volcom, Quicksilver, Billabong etc. I decided to try something new and designed a modern looking design for my fraternity, after that people suggested I try my own designs. After a stressing search for a logo and name I decided on Entropy, and the rest is history.

How (and where) did you learn to design?

Well once again, I was always more intro illustration than actual design, so credit I guess has to go to my late uncle Amadeo Pino. He was an arquitect here in Puerto Rico, and he taught me the basic elements of drawing, and also my years at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale where I learned how to work with composition and color theory.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I usually just put up the blank canvas and just free style it but once in a while usually when it comes to fraternity and sorority designs I use what I know of the organizations, and manipulate somethings to make them work. Usually colors or symbols they are known for. Also good friends who give me some critiques help a lot, as I usually see it one way, and others see it another.

Where do you want to go with this?

I would love for Entropy to become a top clothing line in the future, and mentioned in the same breath as Volcom, Quicksilver, Billabong, etc. Especially coming out of Puerto Rico, because we have such a strong surfing, and skating culture that is really untapped when it comes to local clothing lines. Globally it would take sometime but for now becoming well known locally is my main goal. I'd also love for people to see the designs as art just as they see it as fashion. Deep down I'm an artist not a fashion guy, this is all new to me and it came out of the blue. Also, while I may be starting out with shirts, the plan is to further down the line (soon but when possible) expand to pants, swimsuits, dresses, caps, hoodies, jackets and every apparel you can imagine.

Have you had any challenges while pursuing your goals so far?

Oh of course, just like with any venture there will be hurdles. The first one was the automatic fear if the designs were good, especially the female ones but luckily they all got 90% good feedback. Another one, especially in the economic crisis we are dealing with it is capital but slowly that is fading away. But the major challenge is the unknown, what will happen when this hits the streets, will it become profitable? Will it just be a one hit wonder? Will I be able to adapt to the ever changing styles? It's a risk but life is boring if you don't take those risks.

Do you have any advice for aspiring designers out there?

Ask for critiques, some artist hate having the work criticized especially from people who aren't artists but when you ask the people you're marketing too, its always good to get some feedback. While you may not agree, always remember we see the art/design/piece differently than anyone else does and usually a second opinion let's you see things you normally wouldn't. In the end though trust your instincts, we where born with them for a reason.
As told to Ambar for Ambar's Thoughts.

Here are some of my favorite designs from eNTROPY.

I particularly love this cute tank top.

 

Guillermo Cummings

Find me on Twitter: entropypr

email: guillephmzmg@gmail.com