just say no to procrastinating.

This past weekend instead of laying out in the sun by the pool or at the beach, I spent the free time I had packing my place up with my husband. Fun, right?

In two weeks, we move into our new work/live space (exciting!). And since we got tons to do with this move - plus our biggest de*nada shipment arriving next week, plus planning for jelly bean, plus I am moving more and more like a turtle each and everyday (I'm 16 weeks and counting) - my husband and I both agreed that "procrastinating" is from now on a big no no. It's not like we liked procrastinating or anything like that beforehand. But when you got tons to do each day and very little time to do them all, it's hard not to put things off to very end. And so to reduce our stress levels and reduce any chances of feeling overwhelmed x 100, we decided to dedicate a few hours per weekend to pack a room or two until our move out day. Set goals, and plan ahead is our motto.

So far, our plan is working out brilliantly. Living room - done! Bedroom - done! Laundry room & bathroom- 99% done! Honestly, we could have continued on and packed more rooms - or at least I could have. Being an organized freak, packing and sorting can be addictive, and knowing that 1/3 of it is already done is such a great feeling!

But weekends can't be all work. And so my husband and I went over to my sister's place in the suburbs for a BBQ. There I truly enjoyed my memorial day weekend by eating a ton of BBQ chicken and ribs (eating is my thing nowadays), drinking a few "virgin" margaritas, playing "Just Dance" on wii (well, sort of), and of course enjoying the laughter & conversations with my family (*smiles).

Hope you had a great and relaxing weekend!!

Much love,

Virginia Blanca Arrisueño (owner & designer)

friday: playlist no. 11

Hi everyone!

Happy Friday! It's been such a busy week as we have been working on de*nada's upcoming lookbook. It has been such an exciting week, considering that the shoot for it took place this past Sunday. For today's playlist, I thought I would create a list of songs that are much different from our previous Friday playlists. Today's playlist consists of music from the 1990s hip-hop genre. Though I was young when a lot of these songs came out, they have managed to have a permanent place in my ipod.




Always,
Mara (intern)

change is a great thing!

Quoted from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katiekirk/4014965105/

At the start of this year, I must be honest and admit that I had a strong intuition that great things & changes were about to occur in my life and with my business.

Earlier this year, I got married - yay! After two years engaged, my husband and I tied the knot. It was a beautiful evening set in an intimate and elegant environment. We were surrounded by close friends and family as my husband and I read (or rather, I sobbed) our vows and said our "I do's" to each other.

After trade show season this past February, de*nada has been growing increasingly landing several great new accounts for fall & winter 2011! Announcements of new retailers will be made shortly in the next few weeks. Along with preparing for our biggest shipment arriving in a few weeks, my wonderful assistants and I have been working hard on many new & great things planned for the debut of de*nada's fall & winter collection!

And now I am happy and very excited to announce that my husband and I have some big news - we are going to have a little mini us in mid November! I've been sitting on this secret for the past 15 weeks, and I'm surprised that I didn't crack earlier. But my husband and I thought it best to wait until we passed the first trimester to spill the beans. So now that we are in our second trimester, I am very proud to share the news with all of you! I can not express to you all the excitement we feel for the arrival of "jelly bean" (*smiles)!

And addition to my growing business and belly, we are also busy getting ready for our move mid next month! Our space, though comfy, is not big enough for our growing family, businesses, and two dogs. And so, we are excited to move into a live in work space loft just a few blocks away from us.

So needless to say, life is pretty busy right now. And I predict things won't calm down until ... ... ... well, do they ever calm down? But like my mommy always said to me: "It's always better to be super busy than not busy at all." And so, I am pumped up and looking forward to the next several months!!

Hope you are looking forward to exciting changes in your life as well!!

Much love,

Virginia Blanca Arrisueño (owner & designer)

de*nada on twitter!

Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/denadadesign to get instant updates on what's happening here at de*nada. Be sure to tweet back to @denadadesign to let us know what's on your mind, too!

Always,

behind the scenes: de*nada 2011 lookbook shoot.

Though there was chaos navigating through the city, the possibility of rain, and cases of morning sleepiness, all were present and prepared to shoot de*nada's lookbook for the upcoming autumn & winter 2011 collection. The crew and models arrived promptly at 8:30 this past Sunday morning, ready for work. Before any photos were taken, clothes and accessories were handpicked and prepared for each of the three models in the shoot by Carla of TPWP Guide. Our make-up artist and hairstylist, Akemi, single handedly worked on each model's "look" before being photographed. After all the preparations were completed, the day consisted of photographs being taken in different rooms within the location by Marshall of TPWP Guide. As lunch time came and went, our pace of work did not slow down, as we all immediately picked up from where we left off. All in all, it was an extremely productive day for de*nada!

We would like to give a huge thank you to our photographer and stylist (Marshall and Carla of TPWP Guide), make-up artist/hairstylist (Akemi Kanazaki), models (Mason, Stephanie, and Marina), assistants (Aly and Mara), and friends, Kelly and Massod (who graciously volunteered their time to help out).

Stay tuned for de*nada's upcoming lookbook photos debuting soon online!

inspiration: beautycrush

Here at de*nada we get our inspiration from a number of sources. Inspiration can come from different cultures, our roots, art, or even from other people. A person that we admire is Samantha Marie, also known as beautycrush on Youtube. Though a fashion student in London, England, Samantha is involved with make-up tutorials on Youtube and maintains her own fashion blog. With her versatile style, we can relate to how she mixes high end with affordable pieces and street style with high fashion. We love that she never fails to incorporate accessories with all of her outfits. The pieces she uses always brings an edge to each of her looks.



Borrowed from: http://www.beauty-crush.com/

Until next time,
Mara (intern)

obsession: iphone apps (mobilerss).

I don't want to sound like I am an addict, but when it comes to my iphone I am rarely without it for more than just a few minutes. Not having it wouldn't necessarily kill me. But it would definitely stress me out. The paranoia of missing an email/phone call or not being able to update my important documents could potentially add a few more wrinkles here and there across my face (*frown).

Being a small business woman, I sacrifice a lot of my free time to work on my brand, de*nada. I am constantly multi-tasking, making sure that the overall administrative to do's are being completed efficiently so that my business runs smoothly everyday. Without my iphone, I would be chained to my office permanently. Having my iphone is like having a mini computer. With all the apps that they offer, I am able to operate my business where ever I am (except internationally unless I want to spend mucho money). Being freed from my office also enables me to focus on my personal life as well. Spending quality time with my husband and two dogs are very important to me, and having my mini computer with me 24/7 alleviates the stress of not being at my office all the time.

On my iphone, I have many of the common apps that a lot of you use already to stay up to date with your own business and personal life, such as echofon, facebook, yelp, idisk, google etc. But there are few other applications, which I use daily that I found to be very helpful.

One app that I can not live without is MobileRSS, a fully-featured Google Reader client (and free) for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. With Google Reader, you can keep a list of all the blogs you love to follow in one convenient place. It's like a personalized inbox for the entire web. Since a lot of my inspiration for de*nada comes from fashion blogs, I need to stay up to date with what is going on with bloggers, etc. Having MobileRSS is very easy to use, and I would definitely recommend this app to those who do not have it on their phones. Let me know what you think!

Much love,

Virginia Blanca Arrisueño (owner & designer)

de*nada on tumblr!

de*nada is now on tumblr! Get to know us better as we post about the latest happenings at de*nada, our interests, and inspirations!

Follow us at http://denadadesign.tumblr.com/

Always,

inspiration: lookbook for f/w 2011.

de*nada's autumn + winter 2011 collection is complete! It's absolutely lovely! Tons of new styles for the ladies, and introducing many new styles for the gents. I look forward to debuting it in the later months!

Until then, we're working hard to produce our new lookbook for this upcoming collection. What is a lookbook? I get this question a lot, and I figured I'll take sometime right now to quickly clarify the term to the best of my knowledge for those who do not know. A lookbook - to me - is a collection of photographs compiled to highlight a designer's collection. Unlike product photos - where products are shot straightforward on a mannequin or model with usually a solid background - a lookbook is the opposite. With the use of location, styling, and photography effects, the mood and vibe of the collection can be expressed fully to the viewer. Since I went to school for fine art, producing a lookbook is one of my favorite things to do.

Planning a lookbook shoot involves weeks of preparation. For me, I like to start off the planning process by compiling various images that inspire me from magazines, books, and from the web. I like to gather images that give me ideas on how to convey the mood and theme of my collection through photography. From the photos I see, I like to look at the model's pose or facial expression, the lighting effect and colorization that was used, and I also like to look at where the photographs were taken and what type of props were used. Not only does images help with direction of the shoot, but when describing to your team of stylists, photographer and models what you want for the lookbook, it is so much easier to explain to them with images rather than with just words.

Below are a few images I grabbed from vi.sualize that inspire me. As you know, I have mentioned vi.sualize a gazillion times on my blog. And I recommend that site if you ever need to find photos that inspire you! From the photos I selected below, I love how each photo conveys a bit of beauty, elegance, and mystery. And I love the pose and facial expression of the models.

Stay tuned to de*nada's autumn + winter collection 2011 debuting later this year!

Lots of love,

Virginia Blanca Arrisueño (owner & designer)

de*nada on facebook!

Don't forget to follow us on facebook to get info on products, sales, events, and all things de*nada!

Check us out at http://www.facebook.com/denadadesign

Always,

inspiration: alexa chung.

Borrowed from: http://disgrasian.com

Borrowed from: http://foxxycleopatra.tumblr.com/

Alexa Chung is very active in the fashion world. She has previously hosted a television show on MTV, modeled, and has taken part in British Vogue. Here, at de*nada, we love Alexa Chung simply because her style can be low-key, yet chic. A majority of the time, her style tends to go towards the "boyfriend" style, channeling both boyish and feminine elements. In essence, Alexa Chung is one of our fashion inspirations because her style is all her own.

Until next time,

Mara (intern)

happy mother's day!

From everyone here at de*nada, we wish you a Happy Mother's Day! We hope you get to enjoy this time with all of your loved ones.

de*nada on twitter!

Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/denadadesign to get instant updates on what's happening here at de*nada. Be sure to tweet back to @denadadesign to let us know what's on your mind, too!

Always,