Yoooooo, I am SO stoked to announce this very special collab with my friend Derek over at Gecko Hawaii đŚâď¸Â I met Derek back in ...whoa, 2011ish? (wow, time flies when you're having fun!) At the time, I was the Design Director for ...
]]>I met Derek back in ...whoa, 2011ish? (wow, time flies when you're having fun!) At the time, I was the Design Director for this Men's Denim Company. I was designing mostly private label gear for Macy's, JC Penney, Kohl's, and off-price retailers like T.J. Maxx. I did all the denim and oversaw the cut n' sew programs ... and Derek was brought on to be the Director of the Graphics.
Working alongside Derek back in those daze was always awesome. He knew how to get stuff done - and have fun while doing it! We both abide by the "good vibes only" philosophy đđ¤đźÂ Fun fact: Derek is my birthday twinsie: pi-day baybees for the win! It's safe to say that gettin' along was written in our stars, lol. â¨đ
Fast forward a decade, Derek and I have found ourselves off on our own paths: he relaunched Gecko Hawaii and I have been truckin' along with WERKSHOP since my successful Kickstarter Campaign in 2014.
Late last year, I was heading down to San Diego to do a photoshoot and took a mini detour to hang with Derek. We were chillin' in a starbucks parking lot and got this stellar idea to do a WERKSHOP X Gecko Hawaii collab! The game plan was to take one of Gecko's most iconic/signature prints and make a capsule collection of athleisure leggings and a matching and reversible top! I am absolutely thrilled with how it turned out ...
Please join me as I (virtually) sit down with Derek for a little Q&A:
What 3 words best describe Gecko Hawaii?
We have a lot of athletes who like to wear our gear: Surfers, Skaters, Wakeboarders , BMX riders, Dancers, Entertainers and Models. And now we can add Yoga enthusiasts to the list because of this fun collaboration!
I had just graduated from college and was about to take an advertising job with Chiat Day. They were one of the best agencies at the time. They did the creative for Apple (The George Orwell 1984 campaign), Porshe, Pizza Hut, California Wine Coolers and many others. My professors told me how lucky I was to be getting a job with such a great agency. Matt invited me to the show and said I should check out what he did before taking the job.
As we walked the show, I was really digging the vibe! All of the biggest Surf and Skate brands were there! The biggest athletes were also there just hanging out. Some were signing posters and gear! All of the swim suit companies were also there. I was 23 and from Northern California. I have to say the models were everywhere and they were the prettiest girls I had ever seen in person. The whole experience was like being in a real surf movie or walking in to the pages of a magazine. The show made a big impression on me and I was starting to think I may want to turn down the advertising job and try the apparel business ...
We walked the whole show and finally got to the back. There was a little 10x10 booth with Vik and Jojo and their product. The booth was dead because of the horrible location. Matt introduced me to the Watumulls and we started talking about the success of the Run Wild line in Hawaii. They were both very interested in getting the product on the mainland to see how it would perform. Vik offered me the sales job and at the end of the show, he gave me the line to see if I could sell it. I also picked up another line called BA Surf Stuff. The Run Wild line was bright and fun and nothing like anything in the Nor Cal Surf and Skate shops. The BA line was also fun as it featured cartoon depictions of surf spots and beach lifestyle.
I threw both lines in my Honda Accord and started driving up and down the coast of California pitching these bright fun lines. The shops I went into were hard core surf and skate shops like Arrow Surf and Sport, Portola Surf Shop, Fiberglass Santa Cruz, Go Skate, Wise Surfboards in San Francisco and Marin Surf And Sport. At that time these Nor Cal shops were selling black wetsuits, white surfboards and black and white tee shirts. We were the first brand to bring the neon colors from Hawaii to California. All of the shops above and many others gave us a shot. Within weeks everyone reordered. The reorders were mostly for the Gecko Gear out of the Run Wild line. The whales and cockroaches were ok but the Geckos out sold everything. BA was also doing well! We expanded to many shops up and down the coast of California. The shop buyers were so happy with our product they began asking for new designs. When I asked Vik for new stuff he explained to me that his line in Hawaii was more of a tourist line. They had new people visiting Hawaii every week. When the people got off the plane and went into the stores ,everything looks new because most people had never been to Hawaii before. The tourist stores that Happy Shirts was selling just kept buying back on to the best selling tee designs and shorts as they continued to sell. Our customer base on the mainland was different. We had the same people going back into the core shops week after week. We needed to create new things for them or they would lose interest. We started creating designs just for the mainland. They were hand drawn by our artists in Hawaii so they had the same feel as our original stuff there was just a lot more of it and we changed the designs and styles out more frequently.
As the mainland line grew, we decided it was time to scale a bit. I sold the Gecko and BA brands to Nordstrom and Macys. Both brands were doing great in the department stores and we really started scaling. In 1988 we were trying to figure out how to do even more business. Mervyn's had a buying office in Hayward California. I found out who the tee shirt buyer was and made an appointment to show our Gecko Gear. BA informed me that they had no interest in Mervyn's as that channel was viewed as selling out. I was 25 years old and rolled into the Mervyns buying office on my skateboard. I was wearing a mint Oxford button down with pink cotton shorts and Nike hi-tops. Every other person was in a suit or a dress. I met with Sandy Lee. She was very nice but told me at the end of our meeting that she didn't think her customers would respond to Gecko and that it would never sell at Mervyn's. I wasn't ready for a no from them and I figured there had to be other buyers that bought tees. I went up to the receptionist, Mary Anne, and asked her if she could help me. She told me that the buyer I met with bought licensed and generic tees. There was another buyer Kurt Fisher who bought branded product like Op and Hobie. I figured I had to get Kurt to come out and meet with me. I got his extension and cold called him from the lobby. I talked him into coming out and seeing me. I shared all of the success we had at Core shops, Macys and Nordstrom. He said he liked the product and the story and wanted to give it a try. The only problem was since he was a branded buyer, we had to sell him our product with a label in it. We were selling to Surf Shops with the Run Wild Label and the tees were shipping with Hanes Beefy Tee Labels. I told Kurt we could do the Run Wild Label. He didn't like the way that sounded and asked me to come up with something else. I thought for a minute.... it's a Gecko it's from Hawaii... how about Gecko Hawaii! (That one came back to bite us later.)
We built the brand into a real power house at Mervyn's! Some of the highlights were strike points where we would move through 72,000 units of tee shirts within weeks. Our first boys tee order was for 120,000 units. There was a time in 1992 where we were doing 60,000 pairs of Beach Pants a week. We added new departments, like juniors, beach towels, and accessories. The Gecko brand was doing so well there that Mervyn's worked with us to create new product categories. But back to the name decision that came back to bite us ...
In 1992 we were sued by Gecko Trading Company for Trademark infringement. At that time, there were many Gecko products being sold on apparel. We were Gecko Hawaii but there was also Island Gecko Maui and Decko Gecko and many others. Gecko Trading Company shut down anyone using Gecko in their brand name. We ended up with a two year court battle. We argued that a Gecko was a generic like a dog and that anyone could use it. They argued that they owned the word as they had first use in commerce in 1979. It was a federal case and when it was over the judge ruled that they owned the name Gecko for all apparel and many other categories and Happy Shirts owned it's copywrited Gecko Character with sun glasses. The judge said that we could move forward with our Gecko character but would need to call it something else. They could use the word Gecko but would need to come up with a new character. I can remember getting the phone call from Vik like it was yesterday. I was on vacation in Cabo looking forward to a huge back to school business with Mervyn's. He explained what the judge had said. Right away I was thinking Green Lizard Hawaii, Hawaii Reptile. Nothing sounded good. There was a lot of momentum behind the brand and tons of back to school ads already in the works at Mervyn's. Reshooting ads cost a fortune and was not an option for us. We had to make a deal. We made a royalty deal with Tina and Julie from Gecko Trading Company and paid them substantial checks for the next 20 plus years. We expanded the brand to Sears, Kohls, and JCP and built Gecko Hawaii into a nationally distributed brand with little to no advertising buy us. Our retail partners took care of that component.
In 2008 the mid tier retail landscape began to shift. We were doing a nice business at all of the mid tier retailers. Stores began to do more direct to retail licenses. When you walked on the floor at Kohl's you saw Hang Ten, Tony Hawk, Vera Wang, and Candies. These were all brands that Kohls licensed and paid a royalty to the brand owners. Since Kohls was having the product produced internally their margins were better. The floor space for smaller brands like Gecko began to shrink. The mid tier stores were dedicating most of their floor space to their own licensed brands and private label. Our long time retail partner Mervyns went out of business in 2009. We now had very few options for distribution for Gecko. The big stores that remained had very little space for us. The core stores didn't want us any more because we had been in the mid tier for 20 years. The writing was on the wall that things were slowing down. I shifted gears and began producing a lot of private label and retail owned licenses for all of my mid tier customers as well as Target and Walmart. Happy Shirts stayed very busy with their tourist business and producing and selling product at many big events in Hawaii like The Ironman, The Hula Bowl, The Honolulu Marathon and many others. We still had a small Gecko presence but it was mostly in Hawaii.
Then from 2013-2018 I was working as a Director of Graphic Apparel for another clothing brand. That is where I had the pleasure of meeting and working with you, Tina. I always admired your work ethic, design and technical skills, attention to detail, and your amazing organizational skills. When you left I was thinking someday we would probably work together again. Here we are doing a Gecko x Werkshop Collaboration!
Back to my long winded brand story :). So I was working with this Clothing Company but I really missed Gecko. It had been such a big part of my life for so long and I really wanted to do it again. I talked to my long time friend Vik about getting the band together. I had always worn many hats at Gecko but was not an owner. This time around if I was going to pour my time, heart and soul into it I had to have some ownership. I approached Tina and Julie from GTC and told them I really wanted to do Gecko again but had to have ownership in order to do so. We negotiated back and forth and I ended up mortgaging my house and buying the Gecko trademark from them. I rejoined forces with the Watumull family and put the character with the name under one roof where it belongs. Our company is now Gecko Hawaii LLC. It is owned 50% by Happy Shirts and 50% by me. I know this is a lot of info but it really is what has made Gecko what it is today.
Since we are the original guys who ran things, we know what is the best of the best from our archives. We are only bringing back the winners! So many times when a brand relaunches it is not done by the original team. The new group looks through the archives and picks the things they want to bring to market. Often times they are the wrong picks and not the original winners. We know what works because we were there the first time. We are having so much fun bringing our brand back!
When we first relaunched, we got in to Urban outfitters and a bunch of great core and boutique retailers. Our stuff was doing great and then COVID hit. We did a hard pivot to our own online Gecko Hawaii Website. During our pivot we were getting emails daily from all of these marketing agencies that wanted to spend ad money for us. We went through a couple that promised the world and gave us nothing. One day I was sifting through my many agency emails when I saw one from a familiar name. The email was from Mark Schwartz. I knew I recognized the name and looked it up on our customer list on Shopify. Mark was our number one customer. Since he was a true Gecko fan, I figured I would hear him out and take a call with him. Right away we hit it off. We are both from Walnut Creek in NorCal. Mark used to get his Gecko gear at the Walnut Creek Nordstrom when he was growing up. I asked Mark to tell me a bit about himself. He told me about digital campaigns he had done for Star Wars and that he had been Emmy nominated for a campaign for Gle. I was listening and saying to myself, "Wow, this guy is the real deal." I was very impressed with him but started to think we could never afford his services. When I asked what he charged I was right. After some discussion Mark agreed to a much lower sum to prove what he could do for us. He told me that Gecko had an oil well and he had the tools to dig into it. Since we had sold millions of garments in the 80s and 90s we had millions of people who wore and remember the brand. We just have to let them know that we are back. Since Mark started with us, the Gecko brand has been sky rocketing. He is great at getting the word out and we continue to keep bringing the best of the best! Mark is a huge part of our success and I hope he will be with us forever! We will be adding some brick and mortar stores that will carry Gecko later this summer. I can't say who they are yet as we are planning a fun launch with them!
The Valkyrie Squad is a four month long virtual fitness program founded by WERKSHOP Ambassador, Samantha Willens. It features 110 follow-along workouts that help you build balance, mobility, strength and confidence. Samantha was inspired to create the Valkyrie Squad workout program after reading A Court of Silver by Sarah J Maas ... and I was inspired to create this badass mini warrior capsule collection after participating in her program and feeling a surge of energy from playing with a styrofoam prop sword đÂ
Please join me as I (virtually) sit down with Sam for a little Q&A:
What inspired you to start the Valkyrie Squad?
I was inspired by the book series A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, specifically the most recent book, A Court of Silver Flames where Valkyries are introduced. The Valkyries go through an emotional and physical journey to connect the body and the mind and work on having a healthy relationship with themselves. While reading it I started to see a lot of parallels in my life from the books, along with the fact that these Valkyries were going through a training program teaching them the basics of working out, defending themselves, and even being able to wield a sword. My variety of certifications and lifetime in fitness led me to incorporate multiple styles of training into one program. I wanted to help others find awareness, a sense of self & confidence that they can handle anything, you just have to hone it. It started as a three-month program, which has grown into now 4 months and there's no stopping there.Â
What do you love most about the community you've built?
The community that has come together is incredible, they're always blowing me away. We have SO many people on the Discord server. They welcome new Valkyries in with open arms, lift them up when they are down, or cheer them. The community and friendships that are coming together from this program are more than just about workouts, but finding your âinner circleâ or chosen family. They are the ones who keep encouraging me to expand the program.
Do you have any advice for someone who is timid/shy and not sure how to embrace their inner warrior?
"Reach out your hand." This is a repeating theme in the books, it's something we stand by strongly in the program. If you're unsure, need help, encouragement or just a friend, reach out in Discord. The Valkyries are there for you.
What is on the horizon for you and the Valkyrie Squad?
Oh, I have so much in store! A 4-week mobility program is coming soon, which compliments our program nicely and is ideal for warriors to move safely and smoothly. I am also expanding the kickboxing portion of the program to include workouts with a punching bag and longer "Warrior Sets" our signature kickboxing and strength training workouts. Lastly, we'll be incorporating a new weapon into training, Mace. As I said, SO MUCH in store so stay tuned for when these are released!
What do you love about WERKSHOP Gear?
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Photographer credit:Â Erik Holmes @photo_fish08
]]>I donât say this to mean that I occasionally put things off. I mean I procrastinate on basically everything of importance in my life.
For everything else, you know the big things that Iâm super invested in like my yoga practice and studies, I will procrastinate all day long. When I finally lay my head down to sleep, Iâll shame myself and think that I must be the least dedicated practitioner in the world.
Itâs an exhausting cycle and has become a deeply entrenched habit that requires inward compassion and outward dedication to tip the scales in the other direction.
Iâve heard all the tips and tricks to inspire my practice and generally be a functioning adult, but sometimes it still feels like I canât cultivate the discipline to accomplish the things that I so desperately want to or make an active choice to spend my time doing something worthwhile vs. wasting it on my phone or computer.
Earlier this year my husband, who is also a serial procrastinator, was lying in bed scrolling articles and videos online (you know, procrastinating) when he googled, âwhy canât I stop procrastinating.âÂ
Before I knew it, he was sending me these long form articles from the website Wait But Why, specifically this series: Why Procrastinators Procrastinate.
My mind was blown.
If youâre also a professional procrastinator, do yourself a favor and pop over and read that first article but in summary: our rational selves that want to grow as humans and be responsible adults are being hijacked by the part of our brain that is conditioned to love instant gratification.
Our rational selves may say, âAt 11am Iâm going to do a 30 minute asana practice followed by pranayama and meditation and itâs going to feel so good and Iâll feel so accomplished!â
But when 11 hits, our instant gratification selves rebuttal, âyeah you could do that but instead letâs scroll social media, then google an obscure question, and go down a YouTube rabbit hole!â
Then begins the internal battle of the rational self saying, âokay thatâs enough, go do something productive.â
And the instant gratification self responding with a very articulate, ânah.â
If this sounds like you, youâre not alone. Itâs a frustrating cycle.
The biggest reason I believe I personally procrastinate in my practice is because Iâm afraid to take a step towards something I really care about for fear of not being good enough.
Weâve been conditioned to see yoga as grandiose postures that push our physical limits, and although I know this is changing, itâs still engrained at least a little bit in a lot of us.
That fear and conditioning of not being good enough, not inspired enough, not strong or mobile enough, or too scattered brained and unfocused in meditation leads my rational self to give in to my instant gratification self often.
Because of this, I irrationally convince myself that procrastinating and not engaging in my asana, pranayama, or meditation practices is somehow safer for my ego.
Thus is the inspiration for this article. Iâm not perfect and I certainly havenât become the master of my time, but I work at it little by little, day by day.
As I continue to navigate my own procrastination and that little instant gratification self in my head, especially when it concerns my yoga practice, Iâve found there are a few things that help.
1. Put a large rug in the room where you spend most of your time at home.
This is the weirdest tip in the bunch but hear me out on this one.
As an active teenager who participated in yoga asana, tumbling, and cheer, I would often sit down on the rug in my family living room to stretch and do mini calisthenic exercises while watching TV, readying, or studying as a way to sneak in some extra training time.
I recently thought to myself, âwell if it worked for me then why donât I try that now!?â
To test this I put an 8x10 rug with a cushy pad underneath in my living room so itâs large enough to fill the space and still have extra room on the rug to sprawl out.
This simple change has increased the amount of time I spend on the floor stretching vs. slumped over on the couch. It gives me a small sense of accomplishment knowing I did something good for my body that day and sometimes even encourages me to take my practice off the rug and onto my mat for a longer session.
2. Set a timer when you practice at home.
Itâs essential that you set a realistic duration, not an idealistic one. I often roll out my mat or sit down for meditation and set the timer for anywhere between 3-10 minutes. Personally, if I was to set a timer for more than 10 minutes and I donât make it to that idealistically set time I feel like Iâm letting myself down. However, when I set a realistic amount of time and I complete it, I empower myself.
As a self described control freak, this puts the power in my hands. Once the timer goes off and I want to get on with my day I can with a sense of accomplishment. However, occasionally I may also feel inspired to set another timer right after to continue! I get to decide whatâs best for me that day.
If you sprinkle in movement and meditation while working like I do, I highly recommend the Pomodoro method. You set a timer to work for 20-30 minutes to stay focused on a particular task and once that timer goes off you get a 5-10 minute break to get up, get a snack, stretch, meditate, whatever! Itâs an easy way to sneak in a few intentional moments in between a busy work schedule.
3. Schedule your day the night before and pencil in your practices.
If you find yourself procrastinating in your practice because you lack a schedule or routine this will be extremely helpful.
I left a job in early 2021 that consumed my entire life schedule. Afterwards, I had no idea how to fill my time or what to do. Per recommendation from my husband, I began planning out my day the night before in my phone calendar, a journal, or simply on a post-it note. My preferred method is using my phone calendar because it will send me reminders but also writing everything out bullet journal style.
I mostly put in an overview for what my day will generally look like and include events like teaching, climbing, training, and time blocks for writing as well as reminders for things to do and when Iâll dedicate time to practicing.
Rarely does it look exactly like how I planned, but that process of planning offers in itself a sense of routine and stability which has been a lifesaver when my brain starts to get distracted. Just knowing that Iâve carved out the time to get on my mat and practice, whatever it looks like that day, affirms that the time is there and need not be created, only used.
4. Let go of perfection and expectation of what your practices should look like.
This is the most important tip I have to share and itâs also the hardest one to follow through with.
There will be times when you donât want to practice asana and when meditation sounds like a chore, even after youâve set a realistic timer.
Give yourself permission to allow your practice to look and feel different that day. For example, Iâll often immerse myself in one of the many books on my shelf.
Yoga is so much more than physical practices. Like a multi-faceted jewel, it has many faces and itâs so much more than the shapes we make or the classical view of meditation.
5. Write about your practices.
You may get on your mat or the cushion and get frustrated because you feel stiff in your body or over-stimulated in your head making your practices difficult.
I believe there is a delicate balance between working through these things and simply letting them go and moving on with your day. I canât tell you where to draw that line, but I can recommend writing down your experience when this happens.
Ask yourself how you feel physically and why. Mentally and why. Emotionally and why. I learned this tip from Rod Stryker and although I donât always do it, itâs helpful when I do.
On this same note, donât just write about the times when you struggle. Write about your successes in your practices and when your body feels good and your mind feels clear. Donât be afraid to celebrate the little things!
6. Sit into grace.
We all procrastinate to some extent and occasionally no matter how good our best intentions are, we still may be hijacked by our instant gratification selves.
Extend to yourself the same amount of grace you would to someone else who is struggling to stay focused or dedicate time to something they care deeply about. You wouldnât shame them, youâd hold space for them with compassion and listen to them share their experience and thoughts. Why treat yourself with anything less than the same amount of love?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rebekah Boatrite is a yoga teacher, writer, outdoor enthusiast, and travel buff based in Colorado. To find out more about her, go to: www.RebekahBoatrite.com
Please share this post if you believe in supporting Independent Artists, Small Businesses and products that are Ethically Made in USA.
Ahhhhh, well, what can I say? I wish I was writing you with better news âŚÂ
]]>Please share this post if you believe in supporting Independent Artists, Small Businesses and products that are Ethically Made in USA:
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Ahhhhh, well, what can I say? I wish I was writing you with better news ⌠news about rainbows and unicorns and all the things that make the world a happy place. But alas, its a pretty grim day here in the Land of Rocking Eagles. You see, there is this âcompanyâ called Lotus Leggings ( I use the term company loosely because âcriminalsâ would much better suffice what they actually are ) that decided that they would steal my artwork to make cheap replicas of my leggings in China. Then, to make matters worse, they had the audacity to market their knockoffs to their 1Million + social media audience (often using my photographs) ... thinking that they are above the law and any realm of human decency.
If you go to their website, you will see that it is riddled with fake/counterfeit merchandise, including 6 of my best selling designs. They are so blatant with their theft that it would be easy to assume that theyâve licensed the use of such iconic figures as DCâs Wonder Woman and Disneyâs Beauty and the Beast; however I can assure you that that is not the case. If they had the rights to use such artwork, then they wouldnât have renamed the styles âAmazon Womanâ and âOnce upon a Timeâ leggings ⌠and they absolutely have no permission to use my PIRATE GIRL, OCTOPUS, SEAHORSES, TENTACLES, SUGARSKULL or BUTTERFLIES, no matter how they chose to rename them.
Now, I could go on for days about how devastating this whole ordeal has been ⌠about how my heart hit the floor the moment I saw my artwork pinned to the top of their âverifiedâ Facebook page ⌠about how Lotus Leggings immediately deleted every single comment and blocked every person who called them out for stealing from me ( I managed to snap +/- 50 screenshots, btw. click here to see them )  ⌠about how I was able to get the âfake WERKSHOPâ removed from their website only to have them immediately file a counter claim against me ⌠about how I spoke to seven different attorneys between California, New York and Beijing and was told repeatedly that any legal action would be incredibly expensive and/or hopeless because âthese Chinese counterfeiters are out of your jurisdiction and do not respect USA copyright laws.â âŚ
⌠but instead, I want to share with you the best advice I was given during my frantic two week search to find legal counsel :
Focus and invest in âAppealing to the court of Public Opinionâ ⌠Educate your customers. Let people know what Lotus Leggings is doing and do your best to keep moving forward.
And with that, let me tell you a little about what makes Eagle Rock WERKSHOPÂŽ special and what sets us apart from these con-artists:
When I started Eagle Rock WERKSHOPŽ, I was working full time as a Design Director for a Men's Denim Company. Taking on such an intense "passion project" was all consuming. I would work for 8-10 hours during the day, drive an hour to get home and then continue working alone for another 8-10 hours every night. Weekends were my favorite because I was able to dedicate a solid 25-30 hours to WERKSHOP without interruption. It was excessive and resulted in the sacrifice of my entire social life, but I was a one-woman-show determined to turn my dream into a reality. In January of 2013, all of my hard work came to fruition when my initial kickstarter campaign came to a close: funding just over $94K and becoming the second most-successful womenswear campaign to be on the platform at the time of completion.
It took almost a year before I was able to properly move Eagle Rock WERKSHOPŽ out of my living room and into a legit design studio ... and then another six months before I set up payroll and officially hired my first employee. Now, after three years, Eagle Rock WERKSHOPŽ has grown into the company that I had always envisioned. It would be a dramatic understatement to say that my heart breaks every time I see an anonymous thief from the other side of the world steal something that I have worked SO hard for.
... and it pains me to have to say that Lotus Leggings is not the only "brand" stealing my artwork. We have found countless other "knock off" sellers on eBay, Amazon, TaoBoa, Alibaba and AliExpress. More often than not, they use my product images on their listings .. other times, they photoshop the product images like the examples below. ('cause it doesn't look weird at all when they face/swap my model, eh?).
The internet has become a dangerous place for consumers. Places like Amazon, eBay and Wal-Mart's third party marketplace have become virtual counterfeit swap-meets. You never really know what you're going to get.Â
There are absolutely NO Authorized Eagle Rock WERKSHOPÂŽ sellers on Amazon (or) eBay. All listings (whether they use my webshop/product images or not) are fake. Here is an example of fake WERKSHOP leggings that we found on Amazon:Â
The quickest way to spot a "fake" is to look at the waistband - most of the counterfeiters converted my one piece waistband into two. If you look closely at the images above, you can see that they've added a fake side seam on the waistband and airbrushed the one at center back away.
I first learned of "fake" WERKSHOP circulating in China just over a year ago, but didn't want to talk about it because I had just recovered from two serious blows that almost knocked me out of business while I was still operating out of my living room in Eagle Rock (see: A Love Letter to #TEAMWERKSHOP and Business is Business is Business) ... simply put, I didn't want to post another sad blog post. But time has passed and this whole situation is getting completely out of hand. Now that the counterfeit leggings have creeped into the USA market, I figured it was time to let the cat out of the bag.
I sincerely want to thank you for taking the time to read about all the stuff n' things goin' down over here in the Land of Rocking Eagles. While the news at hand is less than awesome, I can promise you that we will continue to move forward with optimism and hope for a brighter tomorrow. We have SO many exciting things on queue for 2017 and beyond and hope you join us for the ride!
And please, feel free to comment below and/or drop us a line anytime. We are always so happy to hear from members of #teamWERKSHOP.
With much love and gratitude,
xoxoo
Chriztina Marie (Tina Z) and the Eagle Rock WERKSHOPÂŽ Family (pictured below)
pictured above from right to left: JJ // Customer Service Guru. Alfredo // Production Manager. HUCK! // Fluffy Company Mascot and Best Friend. Me (Tina Z) // Owner/Founder/CEO/Designer, etc. Eric // Miscellaneous Helper Bay // Social Media Guru. Harold // Graphics |
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September 2019 UPDATE: Eagle Rock WERKSHOP currently sells on Amazon for the same prices available on werkshop.com - There are no other authorized WERKSHOP sellers on Amazon.
Also! Word on how horrible Lotus Leggings is has been spreading around. For more insight, peep this post by our friend Alex over at Schimiggy:  https://schimiggy.
âĽď¸ Much love! Tina Z
disclaimer: the title of this blog, THE IMITATION GAME, was inspired the Academy Award winning movie presented by the Weinstein Company and directed by Morten Tyldum. Such a great movie! - if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend giving it a go. =) xoxoo, T
With each pair of Huck and Stella  leggings sold, I will be donating 10% of the profit to the Love Leo Rescue here in Los Angeles. Love Leoâs mission is to rehabilitate abused, injured, abandoned and forgotten dogs. In addition to rescue work, Love Leo hosts free/low cost spay and neuter programs. Their work is so important and I hope that my collab with these leggings will make a difference for puppers who need a second chance at finding their furrrever homes. Just like Stella.
Love Leo is a non-profit, foster-based canine rescue organization located in Los Angeles. They are dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abused, injured, abandoned, and forgotten dogs, providing medical care, training, and other services to these animals to make them ready for adoption into forever homes. Love Leo has a soft spot for dogs that needs special medical care in order to make it out of the shelter. They know most adopters will not be able to adopt a dog from the shelter that needs a costly orthopedic surgery, or a puppy that is stricken with parvo. Love Leo believes these dogs deserve a second chance.
In addition to their rescue work, Love Leo hosts a free/low cost spay and neuter program for low income communities in the LA area. Rescuing one dog at a time is important and heartwarming work, but the real way to make a difference in the pet overpopulation crisis is by providing spay and neuter services to those who need it. In addition to improving the quality of life for these animals and the people that love them, it is also the most effective way to reduce the number of stray and unwanted animals. To date, Love Leo has spayed and neutered over 500 dogs and cats locally and over 100 animals at single day events in Tijuana.
1. What inspired you to start the Love Leo Rescue?
Love Leo is founded in honor of my late, great pitbull Leo. I rescued him when I was in law school and knew nothing about the breed - or about how to train a dog. Through trial and error - he taught me everything. He sadly passed away far too young from lymphoma - he was only 6 years old. It took me a few years to take the plunge and file for our non-profit status but I did it. That was nearly 4 years ago and hundreds of dogs have been saved since then. I can say that every dog we save gets their second chance thanks to Leo.Â
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2. You share touching before and after stories showing the pups you've helped when they were first rescued and then with their furrrrever families. What's the most touching before and after story you've watched unfold?
It's so hard to pick just one. Every dog we rescue makes a transformation - either physically or emotionally or both. It's incredible to see them blossom, lose their fear and regain their joy. Recently we rescued a dog named Petunia. She is an American Bully who spent 6 long weeks at one of the highest kill shelters in Southern CA. She was so scared when we first rescued her - she trembled in the corner and would not walk on her leash. Now - she's is a goofy, happy playful dog. You would never know she had such a sad past.
3. Tell us a little about Leo, your organization's namesake...
Leo taught so many people about pitbulls. When I first brought him home - my dad asked my why I picked that breed. He was only familiar with what the media portrayed. It was not long before they became fast friends. He was a loyal, loving and brave dog and changed a lot of peoples perceptions about pitbulls. Love Leo
4. What's the biggest lesson you've learned from working in the rescue field?
Ive learned so much but one of the biggest lessons I've learned - as corny as it may sound - is to treat everyone with respect and pay it forward. From the clerks at the animals shelters to the vet techs - to the folks that spend their weekend volunteering and the invaluable fosters, members of the public through our free and low cost spay and neuter program or -- even helping another rescue. Every time I am able to do something kind for someone else - it seems to come back to Love Leo tenfold. Being kind is cool.
LEARN MORE ABOUT LOVE LEO
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For this blog, I wanted to have a little Q&A with Miesha:
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?
I wanted to be a veterinarian until I realized Iâd have to see animals die, then I decided I wanted to be an astronaut.
What is your biggest motivator // What inspires you?
Well, itâs changed. It used to be not getting my butt kicked inside the cage, and obviously to be the best in the world at MMA. After I accomplished that and retired Iâd say my number one motivation has translated to being the best Mommy I can be!Â
What is one bit of advice you would give to someone looking to follow in your footsteps?
I would say be sure of yourself. If youâre following a true passion you are never wrong regardless of the many people who will tell you otherwise.
I think it's badass that your nickname is "cupcake" ... did you chose that name or did it chose you? What does it say about you?
I would say neither; I simply embraced it. No one called me cupcake directly but it was a persona created from many people labeling me as too âsoft/sweet/girlyâ to be any âgoodâ at a sport as tough as MMA. I took offense at first, but found ultimate motivation to prove them wrong! With continued success I embraced the scoffs and âCupcakeâ Tate was born!
What is your favorite kind of cupcake?
Vanilla! I used to pick vanilla when my mom would take me to 31 Flavors also. I guess I was always weird! *laughs*
What first sparked your interest in Eagle Rock WERKSHOP // What do you love about WERKSHOP?
Someone sent me three pairs of leggings but I never knew who sent them or how I got them even. I wore the same 3 pairs for years before I thought to look up the company of the leggings I adored so much! I found @werkshop on Instagram and felt like such a dork that I didnât think to do that sooner!!
Better late than never though! Tina is one of the nicest, most passionate people Iâve ever met and we had the chance to collaborate on a line of my own cupcake inspired leggings!!
You can learn more about Miesha on her website and/or follow her on instagram.
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]]>I had set some pretty ambitious goals for myself. I had about six months to illustrate/design every print, perfect the cut/fit of the leggings, test multiple fabric qualities, design my website, try to gain an audience on social media, prepare all the content for kickstarter and get all my future production ducks-in-a-row so that it would be smoooooooth sailing post-campaign ... all within the budget of my fancy eighteen-month no-interest credit card. wheeeeeewwwww it was a TON of stress (and werk!). I remember those daze like they were yesterday: I was living in a state of constant delirium. My only method of telling time was realizing when my Spotify playlist had looped itself. Oh snap... it's Rhianna again... I should probably try to get some sleep, eep!
At any given time, I was werking on at least three different illustrations ... either rough sketches by hand (or) perfecting the edits in photoshop. I would toggle back and forth as inspiration would strike and often look at other artists for reference/inspiration. ('cause that's what artists do >> they get inspired by and borrow from each other. and I will speak firm and clear when I say there is NOTHING wrong with being inspired by a fellow artists' work ... maliciously xerox'ing and/or counterfeiting it, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. I'm looking at YOU, Lotus Leggings. grrrrrrr.)
Anywhoo, yea! So a good example of finding images online for reference/inspiration would be King Tut ... I wouldn't have been able to illustrate King Tut from memory (ummmm, hello, I was born in '83. as in 1983.); so I absolutely took it to the googles! I had at least a dozen images of King Tuts' tomb saved on my desktop while I was werking on that art. Another example of scouring the interwebs for references/inspiration brings me to the OG Sugar Skull. (and that is the whole reason for this blog post and design collaboration to begin with!)Â
... so I really wanted to make a sugar skull design (mostly 'cause my friend, Eutimio, was like, "yo, you should make a sugar skull design" and I was like, "yooooooo, dooood. I *should* make a sugar skull design!") ... but truth-be-told, skulls scare me. always have. always will. So I thought it would be awesome to take a more delicate/feminine approach to my sugar skull and illustrate a girl wearing Dia De Los Muertos makeup vs drawing an actual skull (though if skulls don't scare you, check our gothica collection or spooky season). I spent a lot of time looking at reference images online for inspiration and there was one digital painting in particular that really had an affect me.
and that is where this story begins ...
I remember when I first started illustrating the OG Sugar Skull, I stumbled onto this digital painting that totally took my breathe away. I will 100% fully admit to referencing it while rough-sketching the first draft of what was soon to become one of my flagship designs. By the time I took the pencil sketch into photoshop to digitally remaster and color it, I was no longer looking at the reference art ... but man, that digital painting made SUCH a huge impression on me that I somehow managed to accidentally/unconsciously use virtually the exact same color-scheme within the details I had "borrowed"! Bananas!! ... and I didn't realize it until AFTER my kickstarter campaign ended! I realized my mistake when I was cleaning up old files from my desktop and ... holy hell ... my heart. hit. the. floor.Â
I felt HORRIBLE when I realized what I had done!! (just ask my friends Erica and Taylor ... they talked me off the ledge more than once. oof!) My residual Catholic Guilt went into overdrive. I lost sooo much sleep and spent countless hours trying to find the original artist for the reference painting. At the time, I had no clue it was Alix's work ... I had originally found the art on a Lotus-Leggings-Style website that was selling counterfeit mousepads and misc goods. There was no artists' credit published anywhere. I tried everything I could think of to find the name of the artist; including a reverse-google-image-search to no avail. Since I wasn't able to apologize to anyone for my mistake, I did the next best thing I could think of: DISCONTINUE the style ... and never make it again.Â
Here is Alix's original artwork side-by-side with my OG Sugar Skull >>
Now, while no where near an exact replica, you can *totally* spot the bits and pieces that I borrowed ... and it was definitely enough to make me feel like a turbo douche. I let a few months go by after canceling the OG Sugarskull before I went back to try my luck at editing her into a new (and guilt-free) version of herself. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how REMIX was born. That's right! REMIX is the "remixed" version of the OG Sugar Skull: the version that I could be proud of.
And then came her edgy sister, Dark Sugar ... in Athleisure Collection.
I felt SO much better once I removed all the bits and pieces that looked tooooo similar to the original reference painting ... and just when I thought I had moved on from the ever-so-epic Sugar Skull Saga of 2014, an awesome member of #teamWERKSHOP tagged me in a facebook post to let me know that Lotus Leggings was stealing from me. They were apparently running an ad with my OG Sugar Skull and claiming my art as their own! Blasphemy!
I tried to contact them to see if they would remove post ... but all they did was delete my comments/messages and then block me. Matter of fact, they deleted and blocked EVERY person who tried to defend me. It didn't take me long to realize that Lotus Leggings were counterfeiting asshat con-artists with absolutely no regard for human decency. (they've repeatedly continued to steal my artwork since then). I tried so hard to get the fake leggings removed from their site, but truth-be-told, there is little-to-nothing a small business can do to combat the sh!t. It's nearly impossible for even the big-budget brands to fight untraceable ghost-like factories in Mainland China let alone an intimate little team of 6 peeps chillin' in Monrovia, CA. After speaking to a handful of attorneys, the best advice I received was to write a blog about what was happening and try to spread awareness.
So that's what I did. I wrote a blog post about the theft ... and then shared it as much as I possibly could. As The Imitation Game tumbled it's way through the interwebs, it somehow managed to find it's way to Alix's Branwyn's browser ... and let's just say that while she clicked on the blog in symphathy for a fellow artists' getting their work jacked, she ended up realizing that she, too, was unknowingly a part of the story. She immediately noticed the similarities between my OG Sugar Skull and a digital painting that she was commissioned to make by a former employer.
Soon after the blog was published, I received an email from Alix on facebook that basically called me out for copying her. She had never heard of WERKSHOP before and didn't know that I discontinued making the OG Sugar Skull immediately after kickstarter campaign. She also didn't know that I had already changed the Sugar Skull artwork out of regret for accidentally referencing her art too much. Crazy, right!? ... and I was SO stoked to have received a message from the very person who I tried so hard to find a few years earlier. It is a very small world out there, folks ...
Once I explained to Alix what had happened and how SORRY I was to have accidentally offended her, we got to chatting and realized that we had a lot in common! It's AMAZING how a little bit of communication and understanding can open doors ... and through all the weird twists of fate, I made a new friend! YAY! It didn't take long for me to invite Alix to be a Featured/Guest Artist for Eagle Rock WERKSHOPŽ ... I am obviously a HUGE fan of her work and couldn't wait to share her talents with the rest of my WERKSHOP Famdizzle!
So HERE IT IS!! Introducing the first ever Eagle Rock WERKSHOPÂŽ Featured Design Collab - HEXEN.
CLICK HEREÂ TO SHOP THE COLLECTION, YAY!
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In celebration of this very special collab, I wanted to take a moment to properly introduce you to Alix through this little mini interview. I hope you enjoy learning about the design process, etc. And I cannot wait to hear what you think of the collection!! Please feel free to comment on this blog post... I'm sure I speak for both Alix and myself when I say we would love to hear from you! Ciaoooooo for meow. xoxoo, Tina Z // aka // Chriztina Marie.
Q & A with Alix Branwyn
1. What is the inspiration behind each piece in the Hexen Series?
The inspiration for the Hexen series as a whole has to do with my lifelong fascination with the occult (more as an interesting subject matter with aesthetics I appreciate, since Iâm a nonÂbeliever) and my interest in what human beings are capable of doing to one another out of a fear of the âotherâ.
The piece Temptation in inspired by the biblical story of Eve and the serpent, as this was often used as a reason why women were the more likely sex to fall to the temptation of witchcraft. In the piece Iâve placed a few allusions to the story: the apple motif in her earring, the skeletal figures in the background and the skull in the snakeâs scales to represent the start of death as a result of original sin. The snake whispers into her ear and her gaze is that of TV static, like an interrupted signal as she listens to his words.
Memento Mori, which literally means âremember that you dieâ, was inspired by the various methods of execution used on witches throughout time. The noose is probably the most apparent, the flames for the burning at the stake, and the blue halo around her head with the wave pattern represents drowning, though this method of death was the result of a âwitchâ passing the test to prove her innocence  if the devil did not come to her aid to make her float then she was not a witch, but she was certainly still dead.
Of the Fox is a collection of imagery from Japanese witchcraft lore, largely based around the death curse that receives a mention in the Kwaidan story âOf a Mirror and a Bellâ. The idea of the curse is based around the concept of substituting one thing for another, so an effigy of a man nailed into a tree in a grove under an ox moon may result in his death. The practitioner is described as a woman with her hair let down, dressed in white
and wearing a crown of three candles that is made from an iron pot holder. Throughout the piece there are several nods to the story woven in: a hammer motif in the background interspersed with the straw effigies, the ox skull to represent the ox moon, a ring of nails around the central halo, and chrysanthemums and a skull hidden in the smoke to represent death. The fox serves as the more common familiar that witches employ in Japanese folklore.
2. Have you always been an artist? When did you first embrace your gift?
I feel like the answer is the same for most artists that I know, but Iâve been an artist for as long as I can remember (or could start forming memories, at least.) Iâm not even sure that itâs a âgiftâ to be embraced as much as it is the passion and encouragement to put in the time to develop over the years. In my case, my parents were a huge help, my mother especially. I had a lot of support from them when it came to trying out new mediums (and dealing with the messes I often left behind in their wake) and their encouragement was a great motivator for viewing art as a viable path forward.
3. What's your favorite art medium? Digital, Oils, etc?
I honestly prefer digital, but I think traditional media like oils helps to mentally supplement the digital work in a way I hadnât fully appreciated until recently. I had taken a period of about 10 years away from working traditionally with paints (Iâve always sketched over the years on paper, but paint is a different animal) and picked them up again maybe only about 3 years ago or so. The way that you apply the strokes and the level of âdoneâ that you have to accept when you donât have the ability to zoom in like in digital really helps to translate back into working in the computer on a tablet. Thereâs a danger of touching something too much, over rendering it, and I think the traditional work peppered in helps remind me to fight that urge.
4. Your imagery is so nuanced and detailed ... how long does it usually take you create a piece from concept to finished work?
On average it takes about 20 to 25 hours to complete an image from start to finish. I start by sketching out thumbnails, then I move on to finding or taking reference material that matches the ideas I put down on paper to make life a bit easier when moving on to drawing and painting. Good reference is really essential for getting all the little details down well. After I piece together my sketch in the full size Iâll be working at I get the colors down. This can often be pretty time consuming, with a lot of adjustment layers tweaking the way the colors play together until I feel like there is some good harmony going on as a base. After that itâs down to rendering and pushing and pulling areas along until they feel finished. I often jump around the piece a lot at this point and touch all the different things to keep from getting too bored handling only one texture for too long. At the end, I always try to set the piece aside and come back to it a day later to judge with fresh eyes if I feel like itâs really âdoneâ, just to be sure.
5. How do you hope your art impacts your audience?
In general, I want to try to create pieces that people can spend a lot of time staring at, picking up new things within the image the longer they view it. I like to incorporate lots of little details and hidden elements to not only tell a story, but give the viewer a reason to spend more time looking. I always hope that even if people donât have a particular interest in the stories behind the subject matter that it is still visually appealing enough for them to give it some time regardless.
7. Who was been your greatest creative influence growing up?
Hexen: Temptation Â
Temptation in inspired by the biblical story of Eve and the serpent, as this was often used as a reason why women were the more likely sex to fall to the temptation of witchcraft. In the design there are allusions to the story: the apple motif in her earring, the skeletal figures in the background and the skull in the snakeâs scales to represent the start of death as a result of original sin. The snake whispers into her ear and her gaze is that of TV static, like an interrupted signal as she listens to his words.
Hexen: Memento Mori Â
Memento Mori, which literally means âremember that you dieâ, was inspired by the various methods of execution used on witches throughout time. The noose is probably the most apparent, the flames for the burning at the stake, and the blue halo around her head with the wave pattern represents drowning, though this method of death was the result of a âwitchâ passing the test to prove her innocence  if the devil did not come to her aid to make her float then she was not a witch, but she was certainly still dead.
Hexen: Of the Fox
Of the Fox is a collection of imagery from Japanese witchcraft lore, largely based around the death curse that receives a mention in the Kwaidan story âOf a Mirror and a Bellâ. The idea of the curse is based around the concept of substituting one thing for another, so an effigy of a man nailed into a tree in a grove under an ox moon may result in his death. There are little touches of motifs that call back to the story placed around the design, as well as the fox, which is a common witchâs familar in Japanese lore.
See more of Alix's work HERE
Hey HEY Rocking Eagles!!
Life can be tricky sometimes. Full of stress, unpredictability, and uncertainty. We move quickly through our day, rarely taking time to pause, breathe, and appreciate our surroundings.
]]>Life can be tricky sometimes. Full of stress, unpredictability, and uncertainty. We move quickly through our day, rarely taking time to pause, breathe, and appreciate our surroundings. In other words, we fail to practice mindfulness in our daily routine. Given that we all could benefit from a lilâ more mindfulness in our lives, we decided to team up with Splendid Spoon this March during their âMindful Movementâ project for a super dope giveaway.
The Mindful Movement project is designed to reorganize the popular perception that mindfulness is limited to sitting in meditation for 30 minutes every day. Mindfulness (having good health benefits) can take many forms, movement being one of the most powerful. Whether it is focusing on your breath during a yoga class, being aware and grateful of nature when taking a brisk walk outside, or even staying present while doing burpees - we always can find something in the current moment to focus on. And since WERKSHOP pants are made for movement, this union of awesomesauce was too groovy to deny!
Before getting into the giveaway deets, weâd love to share a little more with you about Splendid Spoon and how this collaboration came to be (plus a rockstar interview with their founder and CEO). Splendid Spoon is a company dedicated to making life less stressful and more mindful through easy breezy (and deeeelicious) soup based nutritional swaps. Believe it or not, the CEO and owner of WERKSHOP, Tina Z, stumbled across this unique company while pursuing her own personal interest in mindfulness and was so blown away by the positive changes she experienced while Souping that it seemed like a no-brainer to collaborate with this group of nutrition imagineers.Â
Splendid Spoon aims to make mindfulness accessible to everyone. Their flagship program is a weekly delivery of 5 soups (so you can swap a soup with one meal each day of the week) plus a soup cleanse day full of drinkable soups to take advantage of the benefits of intermittent fasting (click here to read even more about the program!). As a sneaky bonus, they include a mindful meditation practice in each delivery for you to try! Their soups are vegan, gluten free, and delivered nationwide. Given that this SOUPâed up company has had a really positive impact on the WERKSHOP fam (I too have jumped on soup bandwagon!) we wanted to learn a little more about the story behind the spoon and connected with the CEO and founder Nicole Centeno for a Rocking Eagle Interview. Peep below to see what Nicole has to say about mindfulness, being a girl boss, and the origin of Splendid Spoon:Â
1) Mindfulness seems to be a very large component of the Splendid Spoon culture, what inspired you to connect souping with mindfulness when you originally started the company?
 I have always been super in love with food and how it grows and connects us to one another around a table. I studied nutrition in college and went to The French Culinary Institute to become a chef. In spite of all this know-how I struggled with finding the right balance of nutrition and convenience. When I became pregnant with my first son, it seemed critical that I figure this out, and I created our Soup Cleanse program to create not just the âwhatâ of eating, but the âhow.â I found the simple act of being mindful during my lunch breaks to be truly transformative. Mindful lunches became the foundation for a more peaceful and stress-free life, and I credit this little bit of meditative action to keeping me centered through running a business, writing a book, and being a single mom to two young boys. Food and mealtime rituals are pretty magical opportunities to invite more peace into your life.
2) What is your favorite advice to give to someone looking to add more mindful activity into their daily routine?
Pick an unavoidable daily activity that lasts 20 minutes or longer. For example, your commute or a lunch break. No matter what, this activity will be there every day. Itâs not like a yoga class or a tea ritual - you may love these activities but they can get kicked aside due to higher priority things like a last-minute request from your boss. Mundane activities like an âannoyingâ commute or âboringâ lunch break are perfect as mindful activities. Once you have selected your unavoidable daily activity, turn your phone onto airplane mode, shut the computer, and eliminate any other distractions that distract you from this core activity. Set a timer for 20 minutes and tell yourself all you have to do is focus on this one activity. When your attention wanders (and it always will, this is totally normal and healthy!) simply guide it back to the activity. You can also have a number that helps you stay present. Any time your mind wanders, count up to your number, then repeat.
3) Are the soups your original recipes or is it a team effort? Also, were you a big soup maker before launching the brand? Â
Most of the recipes are mine - many come from the 75 recipes in my Soup Cleanse Cookbook! Creating rich, flavorful experiences that are also clean and dense with nutrition is a really fun part of my job. Thereâs a big team effort to decide how to add more interest and excitement to the mealtime experience. These days we call in support from a few chef friends as well as several nutrition experts to make sure we are always improving.
4) Which pair of WERKSHOP pants do you connect with most and why?
Galaxy!! As a kid one of my greatest fears was space. It may sound silly but a lot of my childhood fears manifested in anxiety-related problems like migraines and asthma. When I learned to be more present I found that my fears were all in my head...and the anxiety-related problems disappeared. I look at the galaxy and space as a reminder of facing my fears.
5) Like Splendid Spoon, Eagle Rock WERKSHOP is a girl-boss owned company, what nugget of wisdom would you offer to young women looking to start their own company?
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Ayyy arenât those some super DOPE and thoughtful answers? We sure think so! Nicole really has such a great perspective on life, food, and how they can work together to create perfect harmony...no wonder her program works so well!Â
Now, for the EXTRA fun part: our GIVEAWAY! Starting TODAY and going through Monday April 3rd, WERKSHOP and Splendid Spoon are holding a joint giveaway on instagram! Make sure to check both accounts (@werkshop and @splendidspoonny) to see all the deets. *HINT* one lucky hOMie from each account is gonna win a pair of fancy pants AND a week of free souping. Sounds too good to be true? Donât worry, you arenât dreaming =P
One of the many things WERKSHOP and Splendid Spoon have in common is our desire to spread love and happiness in anyway we can, so giving out product that will help you both move mindfully (helloooo fancy pants) and eat mindfully (soup soup soup!) seemed like a gosh darn good idea to us! TALLY HO :)Â
P.S. You may also like our collections:
Cherry Blossom and Parrot
Ciao for now and much love,
Bay
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"It all started in 2014 when I teamed up with Masumi G to design a collection of Fruits + Veggies leggings with intention to donate a portion of the proceeds to St Jude Research Center. The following year, I designed a pair of PINK pants in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness and donated a portion of the proceeds to the Susan G Komen Foundation. ... In keeping with the tradition, this year, I decided to design a collection of UNDER THE SEA themed leggings in hopes to make a difference in protecting our Oceans. The collection has been a phenomenal success and has resulted in my largest charitable donation to-date! (eep!!) I would like to sincerely thank each and every person who has supported WERKSHOP since my kickstarter launch 3 years ago. Just know that with every purchase you make: you are supporting an ethical/socially responsible small business dedicated to giving back as much as it can. Much Love." - Tina Z |
We did a lot of research to find what we felt was not only a strong and reputable foundation, but also one that fell in line with the values we uphold here at Eagle Rock WERKSHOPÂŽ. Thatâs why when we came across Mission Blue: Sylvia Earle Alliance we knew we had found the perfect organization to work with. Thanks to all of your support for Under the Sea, Eagle Rock WERKSHOPÂŽ will be donating $5,000 to this amazing organization. And to make it even better, every dollar donated is going to be matched by Mission Blue. This means that a grand total of $10,000 will be put towards igniting awareness for ocean conservation and the support of Hope Spots!
.... What is a Hope spot? Good question ;) Hope Spots are special locations across the globe that are critical to the health and survival of the ocean. The concept was first proposed by world renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle in her galvanizing 2009 TED talk, which lead to the launch Mission Blue soon after.Â
The basic idea behind Hope Spots is to create for the sea what so many National Parks have done for land conservation. Currently about 12% of the land around the world is under some kind of protection but less than 4% of the sea receives a similar level of protection. Through the creation of Hope Spots and expeditions to support them, Mission Blue strives to create a global movement to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.
One of the reasons we connected with Mission Blue so much is that their campaign is very accessible and realistic. Anyone  can nominate a Hope Spot // click here for details about hope spots and how to nominate your own! // and they can either be new areas that are not yet protected or existing Marine Protection Areas that need more support. For example, one of my favorite Hope Spots is the âWhite Shark Cafeâ -- a shared offshore foraging area in the Pacific ocean believed to be a critical breeding ground for Great White Sharks. Sharks are my favorite animal and are so critical to the balance of life in the ocean, so anything protecting them gets a round of applause and support from me (and #teamWERKSHOP)! Through donations like ours, Mission Blue is able to increase the visibility of Hope Spots like the White Shark Cafe and provide resources to help coordinate research expeditions, get legal support for the protection of the Hope Spot, and also connect you with organizations relevant to maintaining your Hope Spot.
Hope Spots now span 27 million square miles, and Mission Blue has over 300 nominations in 75 countries. Mission Blue is currently the only organization that provides a global platform for nominating unique places in the marine world that need protection. These special places recognize, empower, and support individuals and communities to keep our ocean safe and healthy. They allow us to plan for the future, and look beyond current marine protected areas. Thanks to YOUR support for our Under the Sea collection, our donation to Mission Blue is helping to fulfill Dr Earle's wish: "to protect and restore the ocean- the blue heart of the planet."Â
To learn more about Mission Blue, Hope Spots, and how you can get involved visit https://www.mission-blue.org/ , check out their amaaazing insta @mission_blue , and follow them on Facebook  and Twitter!
And if you are fans of documentaries like we are, definately take a dive into their Emmy Award Winning film on NETFLIX: âMission Blueâ :)
P.S. See other sea themed collections:
Scales and Medusa
Ciao for meow and thanks a MILLION!!
Bay and the Eagle Rock WERKSHOPÂŽ Famdizzle. xoxoo
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cover image Š Kip Evans for Mission Blue
story images Š Lee Cherry for Eagle Rock WERKSHOPŽ - Featuring Taylor Swantek, Erica Broderick and Eric Muùoz
]]>Given that the one year anniversary of this dopetastic collab is fast approaching, we wanted to give you all an idea of how totally awesome Anna is and why it has been such a pleasure to work with her. If you donât know (and it is totally cool if you donât, we still love ya!) Anna is kiiiiiind of a big deal on the YouTubez. Her brand of comedy is truly unique as she expertly manages to dance the line between truth bombs and light hearted good fun. She is a cat lover (to put it lightly) with a clean and sparkly personality that you canât help but be drawn to, and then stick around for a binge watching session of her channel (#guiltyascharged).Â
Peep one of our FAVORITE Anna videos here =)
So, now that I have given you a lilâ bit of backstory to her awesomeness, it is time to get into the super rad stuff.. The interview! I recently had the chance to ask this amazing gal a few questions, and man did she answer them with fiyyyaaaa! So without further ado.. I give you âAn Interview with AnnaâÂ
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 1) How has yoga impacted the quality of your life and what keeps you coming back to the mat?  Yoga has helped me manage my stress so much. It's hard to have a moment to slow down and really find your breath, but yoga is a constant reminder that it's all gonna be okay haha.
2) If you were to get lost inside Netflix, where would we eventually find you? Black Mirror, most likely!
3) I'd love to hear the story behind your collaboration with WERKSHOP! What inspired the Catstronaut / Galaxy pants and why did you pick WERKSHOP as a brand to collaborate with? It's a funny story. I found Werkshop at a very douchey party at Vidcon. The place literally had women decorated as objects like chandeliers and lamps. They'd hired midgets to go around as oompa loompas. Candy walls you had to lick. Pretty gross, decadent stuff. Chriztina was tucked in a back room where she had sample leggings and my boyfriend snagged me a pair. I fell in love with the quality and the feel of her work and reached out to her. We like to joke that the only decent thing to come out of that party is our partnership.
4) What inspired you to start your Youtube channel and what part of the journey so far has changed you the most? I was doing stand up at the time and frustrated with my anxiety and stage fright. I liked the idea of being able to create from home. The constant grind has changed me a lot; it's given me discipline, but also has forced me to stretch myself artistically to be more creative.
5) If there were a movie made about your life, who would you want to play you and why? I think I'd want Ellen Wong to play me. I loved her in Scott Pilgrim.
6) What top 3 pieces of advice would you give to someone who wanted to start a Youtube channel? Stay consistent, ignore the numbers, and try to challenge yourself.
7) If you were a nail polish, what would be your crazy color name? Twerk-quoise
8) Wild card: if you could answer any question in an interview, what would it be? ....and what would your answer be? Hahaha what a cheat question. I guess it'd be something about cats, cause I love talking about cats. And my answer would be to go adopt two.
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So there you have it! A peek into the turbo awesomesauce that is Anna Akana! Personally, I will never forget #twerkquoise..will you? *lols for real* Anna can be found on youtube (with 1.6 million subscribers, hollerrrrrr) twitter, facebook, and insta. Now, go get yoâself some catstronaut pants⌠cuz everyone deserves an intergalactic booty ;)
P.S. Love big cats or galaxy? Check our collections:
Leopard and Galactic Vibes
Ciao for meow,
Bay (like eBay)
Both leggings are available on Anna's website @ www.ghostandstars.com xo
]]>.... and then there's the Garment Business.
After 12+ years in this industry, I really shouldn't be surprised by the never-ending games of snakes and ladders that commence on the day to day. That said, the last few months have been nothing shy of shocking.Â
]]>After 12+ years in this industry, I really shouldn't be surprised by the never-ending games of snakes and ladders that commence on the day to day. That said, the last few months have been nothing shy of shocking. As many of you read in my last blog post, A Loveletter to #TEAMWERKSHOP, I have had a bit of bad luck trying to get a steady stream of inventory flowing into the webshop. At the time I wrote that post, I had a partnership pending with a phenomenal production facility and everything was on it's way to becoming rainbows and unicorns.Â
Unfortunately, I am sorry to have to let everyone know that the partnership has fallen through. In short, the owner of the factory and I just weren't able to find common ground to build the business on. And while I wish I could continue working with them, I've now found myself back @ square one and I am looking for new avenues to bring the sexy stretchy magic to you. (don't worry ... I've already got some dope prospects in the werks!)
So what does this mean ?
And thats not all ... I've got some bad-news-turned-good-news to share :
While hunting for a printer to replace the guys I wrote about in my last post (back to the Loveletter), I decided to test a printing facility here in LA that initially looked to be aces. Unfortunately, Eagle Rock WERKSHOPŽ turned out to be a bit too complicated for them and they accidentally misprinted about 80% of the PALMS and AQUA leggings that were set to be released with the Dominican Theme (oof!) The misprints are SUPER slight (check the pic below for deets) and the overall fabric/sewing quality is still turbo amazeballs, so I have decided to turn lemons into lemonade by offering these leggings up for a virtual sample sale as well as sponsoring a series amazing giveaways and challenges ! (woot!!)
The sample sale will be @ 9am PST on Monday, September 15th and all of the giveaways/challenges will start immediately. Be sure to follow @werkshop on the insta and play along for your chance to win. It's the least I could do to THANK YOU ALL for supporting me through this topsy turvy time in my life.
One day, when all of this is a distant memory, I will write a biography to share all of the insane dramarama with you. Tentative title : '#TEAMWERKSHOPFOREVERRRRRR : The Ridiculous Tale One Hard-Working Girl with an iPhone Who Refused to Take No For an Answer. Grrrrrrr.' ... It's already looking to become a comedy, hahaa. ;)Â
xo
Tina Z
(above you can see @fitqueenirene (check her), @etheyogi and @noctemflos in the "misprinted" PALMS and AQUA leggings from the Dominican Theme. they just look a teeny bit faded compared to the original sneak that I posted on insta a few weeks back ... me thinkith that this has potential to be the best sample sale in the history of e-v-e-r ! Who's stoked !? Let me know by dropping a comment below)
P.S. If you like this palms, feel free to check our parrot collection.
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I am reminded that Eagle Rock WERKSHOP⢠is more than just a brand. It is the foundation of something much greater. #TEAMWERKSHOP is a family; WE ARE A FAMILY. We practice together. We laugh together. We cry together. We support each other. We inspire each other. We take small breaks throughout the day to connect with each other from around the world. We are beautiful. Also, you can be sure that every single "like" and/or comment you receive from @werkshop is 100% genuine and filled with my sincere gratitude.
That said, I hope that you stand by me over these next few weeks as my stock remains idle and I restructure my business. I am incredibly proud and excited to announce that I am now partnering with a phenomenal production facility here in Los Angeles that specializes solely in the highest quality activewear. Not only do they share my philosophy and pride themselves on being a place of integrity, but they have also been in business for 35 years! Together, we are planning very big things for the future of Eagle Rock WERKSHOPâ˘. I can promise you, without a doubt, that once our new studio is fully operational, #TEAMWERKSHOP will be unstoppable!
In short, I see this temporary setback as nothing more than an opportunity to connect with you, my virtual family. While (this brand that shall remain nameless) thought that they could steal you away from me, I say we let them bring us closer together ... I would love for you to reach out and share your story with me; tell me what you love about Eagle Rock WERKSHOPâ˘. Tell me what you think I could do better. Let me know what you'd like to see from me in the future ... or, if you'd like, just drop a note to customercare@werkshop.com (or below) and say hello. You are both the reason that I am able to do what I do and the reason that I do it ... without you, there would be no TEAM in #TEAMWERKSHOP. I will never forget that.
xoxoo,
Tina Z
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