shameless.

my etsy shop got a little make-over... so here i am promoting in on my blog. lol. check it out! --->
www.purushapeople.etsy.com

today, it was either this shameless self promotion, or a blog about my fascination with spiders and how i'm letting them all move in and live in our house. unfortunately, i will probably still write about spiders tomorrow.

have a beautiful day!! my east coast family and friends, so happy to hear everyone is safe! you've all been on my minds pretty mich 24/7. love you. xo!

give.

hi my dears! happy sunday! aaah, i love sundays. so peaceful. and i usually get to tend to things i can't during the week, so that's always fun!

i've been wanting to donate a proceed of my sales to a charity for a while now... just have been unsure about how much and to where? i think i am narrowing down my 'where' and 'how much'... yay!

i want to donate 3.5% of sales to a cause that helps the homeless in LA. los angeles has the most homeless people in america, about 84,000 people. most of them are living in 'skid row', a section of LA that the city has pretty much allowed the homeless to live without being hassled. i've driven through there once while getting lost in the fashion district, it borders the blocks of shops i buy my fabrics and supplies from downtown.

it. is. terrible. :( sooo sad. no one in america should be living like that, sleeping on the pavement with nothing to eat and no roof over their head. it's like these people have been forgotten. what makes me really scared too is, many of us are just a few paychecks away from being homeless ourselves. it's not that unimaginable. luckily, a lot of us have a family to fall back on, or an education to get another job. what if you didn't have these precious things? what if you didn't graduate high school and your family disowned you? where would you go? ugh. it's a frightening thought.

i feel like now, as a resident of los angeles, i owe some of myself to those that have less. i can't keep heading back to the fabric store and drive past these unfortunate folk and just ignore them. the only issue i'm having is, WHICH homeless help organization should i donate to? there are many! the one i've been feeling best about it called Chrysalis : changing lives through jobs. i particularly like this non-profit because it offers people a way out of homelessness. i totally understand homeless folk need food and shelter, but i like the idea of training and educating people to find a job so they can be self-sufficient and create their own food and shelter. Chrysalis' motto is 'a hand up rather than a hand out', which i really like.

so i want to ask YOU, have you ever donated to a charity? do you have any tips for me? would you feel good about a percentage of your money going to help the homeless in LA? what cha think?

many thanks! much love and gratitude sent your way! xoxo.

THIS IS AMAZING.

if you loved full house, you will love this. 

happy weekend! xo.

i'm sure we all think these things...

ya know... some days you just think a lot. too much maybe? i could almost understand how someone could lose their mind with all there is to think about and analyze. and then there are other days when  moments are silly and life is light, somewhat easy, shallow almost. i guess we need both kinds of days to balance each other out and not go crazy, huh?!

today, driving to the fashion district for supplies... i got to the thinking. and i know nothing i think is anything new, but when the ideas pass through my head i can't help but feel different and perhaps a little alone amongst all the cars and people. there are so many mixed emotions involved when contemplating humanity, the earth, and our future here. one second i feel really mad that we humans have turned the earth into something so unnatural; we carelessly destroy nature to prop ourselves up in our buildings hopefully for another century... without much of a thought for the next generation, or generations after that. then i feel extreme compassion for the homeless man on the side of the road in a wheel chair holding out a cup begging for something to hold him here in society a bit longer. and i want to rescue everyone that isn't loved and doesn't know a life of peace. i feel so helpless. :(

and i wonder... how much longer can we go on like this? the way humans live is not sustainable, we all know this. we don't play by nature's rules and don't have a lot of respect for the earth as a whole. it's interesting, individually we care... but in a big mass, we don't. we can't. or we couldn't keep living the way we do. buying our food shipped from across the world, eating meat from cruel factory farms, buying our clothing made in a sweatshop, driving our built-to-break cars running on finite resources that people die to get and much of the world's problems revolve around (our petroleum addiction could of course be an entire post in itself!), working SO hard everyday to barely get by as EVERYTHING is getting more and more expensive (and this will continue until we drop our dependency on oil), watching people all over the world live in poverty and abuse, and ignoring all these facts most of the time so that perhaps we can simply exist happily without worrying and spending our precious life in pain. there is so much trouble in the world... and there really isn't a thing we can do about it globally. only time and the absence of any other choice will allow change on a massive scale to happen.

but then... as i was driving home on the PCH and felt the salty ocean air touch my face, and i noticed the graceful palm tress swaying in the sunshine, i was reminded that life is beautiful. of course it is. and i say this all the time, but, i am SO lucky. it's not fair. yes, i struggle, but it's all relative. i am constantly surrounded by people that love me and encourage me, and i am working everyday to make my dream life a reality. i'm about to go for a run in the sun, and i don't have a whole lot to worry about. i live in california!! i am free to go where i please and if i make enough money, i can travel to other places in the world! that is pretty much miraculous! and in the bigger picture, i see that humans care. when there is trouble or an accident, i am always amazed at how many people come and want to help and offer their hearts. most of us don't ever want to see another human in pain, crying, or begging for life to be good to them. we innately want to look out for each other. and we all love to laugh, and most of the time are kind to strangers. we don't want to hurt each other. the smile or sweet gesture of a stranger can fully reinstate faith in humanity for that brief encounter. we all just wanted to be loved.

these contradicting thoughts danced through my mind today, and i understand this dance might go on all my life. i believe it is good to feel things deeply, and fully experience all the realms of this life. it surely is an interesting experience, isn't it?

hope your day is in harmony, and you allow your mind to do what comes naturally. much love fellow earthlings!

problems

hi friends!

today, i am having a hard time. this sounds so cliche, but i am beyond ready to take my business to the next level. however, i am overwhelmed with just HOW to do that. i've come across some predicaments and i'm having difficulty finding a solution. one of my main problems is... how do i sell my clothing wholesale? i know where i want to sell purusha, and i believe they would want me there too... but i am struggling with, how do i make money selling clothing at 50% off the price i sell it at? and to pay my seamstress and myself, and pay for fabric and supplies... then at the end i am just left with nothing. seems like a really shitty business plan to me. i watch a lot of shark tank (lol) and i know if i told them i was selling pants to a store for wholesale at $38 a pair, and i only made $8 off that, while the retailer made $39, they'd say "you're crazy", and "why not make your stuff in china?" UGH. frustrating.

i love selling online. i get to meet my customers and i've made an abundance of beautiful kind friends through etsy, facebook, and this blog. and i love that i can sell my clothing at a fair price, so i feel good about it and my customers do too. i fear with selling to retailers, i wouldn't feel so great. so i feel stuck. where do i go from here? how can i make selling wholesale a reality? or should i pick up another strategy? i know i will figure it out, but in the meantime, here i am. and i don't know where to go to grow. 

feel free to offer any suggestions to my issues. lol. or correct me if i'm wrong. maybe those profit margins are just reality.

eh. first world problems, i know. i will work out, i believe in purusha. just gotta find the plan...

namaste.

a little stroll in hollywood.

this weekend liam and i took a nice long walk in the hollywood hills. it was overcast, which is always kinda fun and cozy in california. however, it's been 3 days of clouds and light rain and now i'm missing my dose of sunshine. it will be back, i know! we are just trying to enjoying the change, and it was a lot of fun exploring the amazing neighborhoods around the hollywood sign on saturday. i kinda want to rent a home up there someday... a dream. enjoy!

i'd like your opinion!

good morning! how are you my dears?

today i awoke to a really beautiful and thought provoking comment on my most recent blog, 'winter 2012'. the comment sweetly and respectfully said, 'i love your message, your ethos... but it doesn't seem in line with the women in your photos. they have perfect bodies when your blog and your persona is mostly about acceptance, compassion, etc. wouldn't it be better, more yogic, to feature models of all sizes?'

when i first read this, to be honest, i felt a little defensive. i thought, my models are healthy and gorgeous and ha, i don't think they have "perfect" bodies, but rather they are fit and take care of themselves. i know for a fact they all practice yoga and live healthy lives. what is wrong with being healthy and trim?

i also understand i have a business to run, and a huge part of my personality is really business minded. i adore writing and creativity and kindness, but i also thrive on and get excited about business strategies, marketing, branding, and discovering what will make purusha a success. it might not show it here on my blog all the time, but i am really competitive when it comes to what i do. i have big dreams for purusha people and i want to always do what is best for my brand.

but then there is this other side of me that totally gets what this commentary is saying. most of my youth was spent yearning for a long and lean body, and i do partly blame the media for it. i know i am also to blame for lacking in self esteem to realize my own beauty, but reading seventeen magazine and watching saved by the bell and MTV sure didn't help! i truly thought there was only one standard of beauty. the thing is... i've changed my mind. the advertisements haven't changed, TV is still the same, and yet i obviously don't feel this internal struggle anymore to look a certain way. i look at models in magazines now and don't feel any desire to look like that. i've grown older and don't really give a shit about models, haha. i love myself (most of the time) and really feel like so much beauty is from within.

this comment has got me thinking though. should i be using a more wide variety of body types in my photos? would you buy something modeled by a bigger woman, perhaps without such a "perfect body"? do fit models make you feel inspired or inferior? do you think my clothing would sell as well if modeled by women with more unique bodies?

i would really love your opinion. i am realizing more and more with what i do that, often, what i want doesn't matter. i might love one pair of pants, but if customers aren't digging it, that's the decision. and some clothing, eh, i am not super pumped about and people love, well then i make more of like that. so it's up to you. i value your thoughts on this subject so highly!!!

thank you with all my heart. may your weekend be peaceful and merry! namaste.

winter 2012

mmmmm... these photos of purusha people's winter 2012 collection fill me with so much peace and happiness. a few weeks ago, i had a little shoot with the amazingly talented photographer katie adelsberger, and with three sister models from dana point. everything came together SO beautifully, and i am beyond stoked on how the photos came out! a few of the items are now for sale on etsy and on my website, and i'll be adding more over the next couple weeks. so sit back, soak in the rays of venice, california, and feel the calm and ease these comfy colorful clothes invoke... xo.

all photos c/o katie adelsberger

happy.

this weekend was SO nice. lots of time to get out and enjoy california. i really have plenty of work to do, but we have to make that time to get out in the fresh air and sunshine and explore our beautiful planet. patrick, liam, and i went to tuna canyon in malibu and frolicked merrily.

how was your weekend? isn't fall the best? xo.

good intentions

photo c/o katie adelsberger

the other day i read a really though provoking and truthful statement on a friend's facebook wall.

she said:

"Please don't allow life to intimidate you...please do not allow others to intimidate you. Know that your actions are based on certain intentions. Focus on those things. Focus on where your energy is stemming from. Is it from a place of compassion, good will, serenity, well being...or is it stemming from fear, defense, hatred, unhappiness? Focus on these things...focus on YOURSELF...breathe into yourself, know yourself...then the whole universe will celebrate with you, no matter what appears to be 'happening' on the outside."

this resonated with me so much... to not worry about what my actions look like or how i appear to others, but to know all is well and right if my intentions are good and coming from a place of love and kindness, is a huge reminder to stop caring about what others think of me. not that i don't care about others, but those that are in sync with the universe and loving without judgment or fear will recognize those very same things in me. so there's nothing to worry about, no one to feel intimidated by. as long as i continue on my journey with an open heart and the benefit of all beings in mind, i can't go wrong. phew!

thank you with all my heart for the reminder my fb friend. ;)

à la carte yoga pants

good afternoon! hope you've had a beautiful and happy day :) .

look out, i think i have a great idea!! it popped into my head (i just typed pooped instead of popped, that would work too perhaps?!) while hiking red rock canyon in topanga the other day. there are so many times when customers want to change up certain things about pants- like make them leggings, a different color, a different screen print... so i thought why not offer à la carte yoga pants?!

what i mean by à la carte is, you, the customer, are the designer. you pick and choose what color pants you like, what cut- boot cut, big flare, leggings, or skinny fit, what screen print, what style waistband, and whatever extras you want on top... and voilà!, (i'm really working the letter 'à' today) your very own yoga pants you've been dreaming of that no one else has! isn't this exciting!?!? i want some!

tomorrow i'm going to be putting up a very special listing on etsy, and another on my website that walks you through the whole process of designing pants. i can't wait to see what you brilliant creative people come up with!

love you, see you tomorrow!

new clothes!

yesterday was SO fun. we shot some photos of purusha's spring/summer 2013 collection! i had the honor of working with 4 amazing women. i am pretty lucky. and to shoot in venice?! unreal! here are a few sneak peaks...