Kickstarter

here. is a lifestyle brand based on the concept that we create as a basic instinct. As a writer, having completed and published two e-books, I realized the isolation that is a direct result of such a digitized world. Because of this I am eager to meet and collaborate with fellow creatives. here. is not only a brand featuring high quality, conscious craftsmanship, it is also a way to showcase the person and the heart behind the product.

MISSION STATEMENT:
As an extension of the ideals (home, family, coming-of-age) that my writing conveys, I have created a brand that combines vintage, new, one-of-a-kind, and collaboration with a handful of artisans, designers & jewelers to create an intimate line of items that evoke the element of story. It will feature various limited edition bracelets, soaps, bags, sweaters- items that combine the artistry of our crafts based on each individual's interpretation of the word "here." A new kind of collaboration to foster and emotional connection with the ADD Millennial. 

As I sat in a classroom on the island of Paros two years ago, amidst a debate about why we make art, my teacher informed the class that when the Holocaust had ended, anthropologists found quiet sketches engraved on the walls of holding rooms and gas chambers. The solemn and inspiring lesson was to remind us that on our most basic level, our instinct is to make marks, create symbols of time and place for those around us and for people who will come long after we have gone. We turn our lights down and we create as a way to tell whoever is listening- I was here.

This is an effort to find and connect with likeminded artists, designers, artisans, bakers, potters, authors- anyone from anywhere who makes marks as a way to make sense. People with a similar mindset of doing what you know, what you love, with a lot of integrity, a a hint of nostalgia, and a mutual appreciation for where things come from.

Already in Process:
-Vintage ceramics revamped with one of a kind art
-Gracelette collaboration
-Spring/Summer collection of Limited edition "summer sweaters"/scarves
-LoveMert handbag collaboration
-Soap Cartel collaboration

Short Term Goal:
-acquire and launch the first round of products
-meet with each designer/artist/person to make short films about their process

Mid-Long Term:

-produce/acquire Fall/Winter collection of products

-build a series of here. events that function somewhere between an art installation/author reading/garage sale to showcase the products as well as the words

- build safe/collaborative studio spaces for continued participation and fostering the importance of the arts and conscious craftsmanship in the next generation of artists/designers/creators

-create a network and bridge the gap between "makers" from all walks of life

Funds Go Toward:
-high quality fabric/material sourcing
-production fees
-printing 
-collaboration fees (meeting minimum order standards design fees, etc.)

BACKGROUND:

As a child, instead of seasons, I charted time by which lines of clothing were in the works. My mother designed and manufactured artful women’s clothes a few miles from all of our homes, and on my favorite days, I got to go with her. I dressed up in oversized sample garments and built forts out of cardboard boxes and scraps of fabric while the hum of 45 sewing machines played as my soundtrack. She started off with a dream, a basement, two sewing machines, a handful of prototypes, and one hell of an attitude.

On September 11th everyone knew someone who knew someone who cried, or helped or flew, or died, and it changed the way Americans bought and sold and talked about business. And the years that followed consisted of picking up the pieces. Most companies chose to swim by outsourcing, but my mom refused to compromise the integrity of what she had built. She rallied for a while and on every item of clothing in the last line she designed there was a line that read “nottamadeinchina”. And after 21 years, when I was a junior in highschool, she closed the doors- moved on. She left our last house, took us with her, driving the family of seven to live in a ghost town in the high desert of Mexico, where we all readjusted and reluctantly adopted her chameleon attitude.

It’s been five years and since then, and at 22 I’ve dropped out of college, accidentally written a book about what made me, and found my way back to the idea of clothing as it is something I have grown up knowing.

*Song featured in the above video is "Man on Fire" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros