stitches.

hi friends! how are you?

today i want to tell you about stitches, sewing stitches.

recently at purusha we've had some issues with nylon pants seams coming undone. ugh. (if your pants EVER have issues, please let me know! we will repair them anytime for free!). nadya and i had a LONG talk the other day about seams. basically, serger seams are decent for most clothing, but every once in a while a pair of pants has defective seams. this is not ok. serger seams look like this :

this type of seam is in pretty much all clothing. check the shirt you are wearing in the inside. it's a fine seam for most clothing. but active wear/yoga pants are in its own category. you need something SUPER durable. ESPECIALLY if you are paying $100 for pants!!

this photo above is a flatlock seam. nadya and i agreed we need to buy a machine that does this. it is absolutely perfect for yoga clothing!! this seam looks the same on the inside of the garment and the outside. so we are excited!! always bettering the product!

the problem for now is nadya does not have enough space in her apartment for another machine. we only use industrial machines, and these babies are huge. they come with a giant table attached. lol. i asked nadya, "so can we buy the machine without a table? or a smaller table?" ha and nayda said, "NO. you need a big table to move around on and place the garment on." i followed her around the sewing machine store like an idiot, having no clue what brand to pick, what machine to pick out of the 100's of machines. i am SO grateful i have an amazing seamstress that knows more than me. you guys, nadya is awesome. she really takes pride in her work and it makes me so happy.

anyways, this talk of buying the 5 thread overlock machine got us talking more about space. soon purusha will need to move to its own location. this is exciting and scary at the same time! i've always worked out of my house, but the thought of working somewhere else is really thrilling. and it won't be any old place, it will be MY place. my place to make happy and safe for us all. we're beginning to look into finding a space to rent so i can hire another seamstress and have room to put a bunch of machines. oh my gosh, it purusha becoming, like, a real business?! AH!!!!!

but back to the present. everything good takes time, and there is no rush right now. until we have the space for the new machines, this is our plan to secure the serged seams. (a lot of our cotton spandex pants do have cover stitch on top already, but it's difficult on nylon fabrics). any seam that is sewn with the overlock (serger) will also have a cover stich or zig zag stitch on top, or a single needle stitch through the serged hem. like this :

or this :

zig zag on top of the seams!

and i'm just including the above photo to show what a cover stitch seam looks like. this is already on our cotton spandex pants.

so that's that! i want to say again that if you have any purusha pants that have had seam issues, please let us fix them! it would be our pleasure :). i'm just really happy we are making purusha even better!

sorry if this post bored the hell out of you. haha! but i just want you to know about our passion for high quality stitches, the backbone of our products! much love! xo.

a topanga day.

this is a typical weekend day for us in topanga. not too shabby! this trail always reminds me a little of connecticut. topanga is the best in the spring before the deathly heat rolls in. it's heavenly for now, and i'm trying to soak it up as best i can! don't mind me and the weird faces please. they for some reason make me laugh so hard, i am totally immature. ha! hope your day has been lovely and you feel spring in the air! xo.

lunch and beach in ventura.

this weekend was SO nice. i got to see my lil sister! yippee!!! we met up to ventura for lunch at mary's secret garden, the BEST vegan restaurant. even patrick likes it. i had a raw veggie tostada, which is WAY better than it sounds, patrick had a veggie burger which he shockingly loved, and kate got little tortillas and veggies. we all shared the most heavenly hibiscus iced tea. liam had some leftovers :). after lunch we headed to the beach! i haven't seen liam that wild in a long time! he charged into the water, came running out, and dove into the sand flipping over at high speeds. other people on the beach were pointing and laughing. he is so ridiculous. kate and i caught up on each other's lives and did a lot of hugging. my sister is the sweetest funniest girl. she laughs so loud. i love it. it was a day i hope to repeat many many times. the love and happiness i felt will be with me all week long. 'till next time sister. love you!

renewed on this first day of spring.

happy spring my dears!

today i feel exceptionally refreshed, reborn, and renewed. might be in part because it's a beautiful day, it's spring, i just did yoga asana, and i spurred a somewhat intense and interesting debate on the purusha facebook page.

i have a lot of work to do today, dyeing and loads of etsy convos and emails to respond to, but i felt like i just had to get this off my chest before anything else could be done with productivity. i have to express my lingering thoughts on the lululemon thread i opened up. (if you don't know what i'm talking about, refer to the FB page, or maybe you'll understand from my comments below)!

i'd like to begin by saying once again a very sincere apology to anyone i offended. it was obviously not my intent to make anyone feel attacked, and the last thing i'd ever want to do is alienate my very own customers. i have a lot of friends that are lululemon ambassadors, and i totally get that lulu helps to promote and support yoga teachers. and of course that's a good thing. yesterday i just felt very frustrated with seeing lulu freakin' everywhere. on the news, on my fellow yogis in my news feed, on so many yogis in the studios i go to. i totally understand that according to a lot of people, they just make the best yoga pants. if someone else made better, they'd be buying from that someone else. and i was not attacking lulu yesterday because 'they were down' already from recalling a bunch of pants, and i'm not jealous and judgmental. though i suppose the harshness of my post made it appear that way.

honestly, i just have this huge passion for ethical treatment of employees in factories. maybe it's because my dad has had to work some really shitty jobs in my lifetime, and i've hated seeing how these jobs have broken his spirit. and these jobs he's worked are not even close in the slightest to the terror and disrespect people go through working in factories overseas. from documentaries i've watched, there is no oversight. many ceos have never even been to the factories. brands that do manufacture clothing overseas try to promote that they have ethical standards on their websites, but these countries have their own lack of standards that override any of this. children can work, women often are sexually harassed, and workers frequently work 70 hours a week! i could preach all day long about this, and really it's stuff we all already know. i don't need to tell you.

a commenter on the thread said something along the lines that is is very hard to escape china. where does fabric come from? where is it printed and woven? the world's economy truly makes it difficult to not buy in china. i asked patrick, who seems to know everything about the world (lol), 'what would happen if we really stopped buying clothing made in china? like everyone just boycotted?' patrick basically explained that the whole world economy would collapse. world demand for products would be down, and businesses worldwide would suffer for it. china could even redeem their american bonds, causing interest rates for borrowing money for us to skyrocket. so basically the world in 2013 goes round because of exploitation and underpaid work. my naivety in invisioning utopia was keeping me from understanding this sad truth. philosophy is simply philosophy, it may or may not be able to exist in the present real world.

the comments on that post really got me thinking. like one person said, more than any photo of a green smoothie or a beautiful sunset. yesterday i felt very very upset. i knew before posting that i was bringing up a topic that was risque and controversial, yet very close to a lot of people i know's lives. 'real yogis don't wear lululemon'. i posted this line kinda in jest and in haste, and considered for a moment making a t shirt that said it. a lot of people 'liked' the post, and a lot of people jumped on me for saying this. i went through my day yesterday very anxious and dreading checking the thread. patrick said to me, 'maybe you aren't cut out to stir up a little controversy. it's only a small FB post. imagine if you launched a whole anti-lulu campaign? you would die of stress.' he's right. i am really sensitive, and ha, not very tough. i'm a non-confrontational wimp.

patrick, liam, and i went on a walk together so i could literally walk away from this mess. we talked a lot about ethics, the world, and yoga people. for a dark moment i just wanted to quit purusha. silly huh. just quit, or stop making yoga clothes and make "regular" clothes instead. the world is run upon cheap labor, consumers often can't get around buying from made in china, and i've alienated my customers. ugh, those were my tough realizations. and i also felt overwhelmed with a sense of guilt for making anyone feel bad. i hate to make people feel bad, i rarely ever do it. i spoke of how i dislike in the yoga community when we critique something we are called judgmental. i seriously hate that. and how feeling negative and upset is un-yogic. no, judgment is how we survive and make decisions, and feeling bad is the over side of the coin of happiness. these processes are natural and should not be suppressed. i understand now that how i phrased my thread made people feel judged, but my intent really was to bring about awareness and judgment upon sweatshop labor marketing itself as yoga clothes for spiritual people.

that brings me to another sad reality someone brought up. the yoga industry is no different than any other big business. we live in a monetary world, and money is power. everyone wants a piece of the power. even yogis. even me. lululemon is just cooperating in the global economy as best it can. perhaps the founder of lulu intended on having everything be made in canada, but shareholder interest and investors' money overpowered it all. i have no idea. maybe the ceos of big business think they can affect the world better if they have lots of money for philanthropy. it's not as black and white as i saw it yesterday morning before i posted.

i am by no means saying i would manufacture in sweatshops ever. that hasn't changed. but i understand that keeping things positive with my business is better for me. if i can't handle this very tiny negative response right now, there's no way i can handle it on a bigger scale. i will be open to where purusha leads me. this discussion has even brought me around to considering manufacturing overseas with some sort of fair trade exchange. i hate to say it, but china can make some good stuff. (lululemon clothes are high quality!) imagine if i found a way to better a community by creating a fair working environment? and documented the whole thing for everyone to see? that would be pretty cool. someone also said on the post that lululemon will let you visit its factories. this just made me laugh out loud. any company that practices fair trade working environments with its overseas employees would spotlight the shit out of it. there would be photos, videos, interviews with employees all over the place. but there isn't. fair trade is a market advantage that any business would be smart and proud to hype up. if purusha ever does it, i will share it all. or if purusha stays in america i will share it. either way, i want transparency to be clear in all the production.

what i've learned here is this. to be myself, keep things positive, and constantly adapt my vision. my purusha path will unfold before me, i trust myself to make the right decisions. and i trust you guys. i trust in your feedback and i truly value it. thank you as always for reading, responding, and being involved in this business with me. namaste. 

purusha perfume.

i don't know if you remember but.... i used to talk about making a purusha perfume. i experimented with mixtures and never really found something i was satisfied with. until now! woohoo! the idea is not dead!

so what i'm thinking is this. once i finalized the perfume oil, i'm going to give each customer a little sample vial with their order. that way you can try it out and give me some feedback. not bad huh?!

the oil is organic jojoba oil based, jojoba from california. it will be a roll on perfume, and the delicious scents are a combination of my very favorite aromas (it was god awful hard to narrow this down, let me tell you! so many amazing smells out there!!). and they are : sandalwood, white sage, chamomile, neroli, and rose absolute. i'm wearing it right now and i feel like i'm in heaven. i can't wait for you all to try it!!! weeee!

anywho, hope you're having a happy monday. love love love you my friends! xo.

fashion for freedom.

ok you guys. i know there have been a lot of somewhat serious topic posts this week. i guess that's where my head's been at. today i had a revelation.

i'm starting a non-profit that works with purusha. it's going to be called fashion for freedom. basically it's going to be an organization that raises money for the health, well being, and ethical treatment of employees in clothing factories, as well as spreading education about sweatshops to consumers, supporting brands that support fair trade, and just an increased overall awareness to everyone involved that we need to care about where our clothing comes from.

i've said this probably like 10 times on my blog already, but i think buying clothing made ethically should be right up there with buying organic food. we are ready for this change. the exploitation of humans and our planet for the fast fashion of my generation is not acceptable.

i'm going to begin with making a collection of t shirts with phrases on them that go along with fashion for freedom's mission. and we'll take it from there. the wheels are turning. i think this is going to be amazing!

if you have any ideas for me that would be awesome too! i'd love some feedback.

thank you! have a beautiful freedom filled weekend! xo.

all you need is less.

i posted this quote on the purusha fb page today, and i've really been feeling it recently.

every 2 weeks i go to the fashion district in downtown LA. i buy fabrics and supplies and meet up with nadya. we exchange finished orders for the next 2 weeks' orders and supplies. and this makes me feel really good! every week i give nadya more and more work, we are happy working together, and more and more people are wearing purusha! yes! moving forward!

i love shopping around at all the different fabric stores. it's really fun to immerse yourself in colors, textures, ideas... but then there's this whole other part of the fashion district which i honestly kinda hate. just past all the fabric shops are the cheap clothing/shoe/accessory stores. they pretty much sell all the same things: leggings, trendy tops, heels, sunglasses, knock offs of designer things... stuff that is going to break or come apart at the seams in a few months. (not to mention made in terrible conditions overseas, most likely.) as you can see from the photos above, everything is dirt cheap. and, there's obviously a huge demand for it.

this post relates in a way to my previous post. why do we think things should be a bargain? i know we are in a recession, but not having money makes me personally feel like i should be getting by with less. and not less as in i don't have what i need, but less as in i only have a few high quality items instead of lots of crap. ya know?

i was just talking to patrick about how the world basically goes around because of the exploitation of people and animals. most businesses do whatever they can to maximize profit, at the expense of the customer and the employee. wtf?! and it's pretty easy to ignore this as a customer, at first. 'oh these leggings are $10?! they have a pretty label on them and they're in a pretty store where cool music is playing? k. i'll buy them.' and it's hard to avoid buying stuff made my slaves. the computer i'm typing on, the phone i talk on- made in china, by poorly paid slaves. ugh!!!!!! it's such a bummer.

i blame the businesses, but we as consumers have to be educated as well. if there isn't a demand for cheap shit, it won't be manufactured anymore. i know in my generation already there is a movement for change. a lot of people want to buy special things, products that are made in america by people that are passionate about their work. handcrafted products with a story behind them are cool. when i think of the woman i'd like to be, i imagine someone that values quality over quantity, living a lifestyle that reflects her core values. it's definitely not easy with all the mass produced garbage out there, but i'm going to do the best i can.

whenever i pull onto topanga canyon blvd after visiting the fashion district, i just feel, aaah. open space, mountains, birds singing. then stepping in our front door and not being bombarded by useless items (there's only so much you can fit in a studio apartment! so that helps!) is a relief. little by little we find we don't need as much as we thought.

i want to find a way for this minimalist mentality to transfer into my brand, into purusha. i don't want you to buy too much purusha. lol. that might be a weird thing to say business-wise. but i do want you in the highest quality forms of purusha! or your wardrobe is only purusha, that would work. haha just kidding... kinda. well, it's a journey. i'll keep travelling towards my vision. i am so glad, because you must be reading this, that you are travelling with me.

thank you, and namaste.

coupon websites.

let me start off by saying this photo has nothing to do with my blog post. i just like it. hehe. it's on my street. i thought it would brighten up this topic below!

coupon websites. do you use them? you know, sites like groupon, living social, fab, scout mob... i know a lot of people that do use them, i can't remember if i ever have? i don't think so though.

anyways, i've been getting requests to sell purusha on a few sites at marked down prices. and i feel really torn about it. because : why mark down perfectly amazing stuff? do i want customers that are bargain hunters? why do we always feel like we need a bargain in order to buy something? will selling purusha at discount prices cheapen my brand? or will i get lots of new customers that come back again (not just for the deals)? and why not give deals to the beautiful loyal customers i already have, like through my own site?

as you can see, i have a lot of questions! part of me sees a purchase order and wants to just go for it! but then another part of me knows to be very careful about every choice i make with my business.

so i thought, why not ask you? i would really appreciate any feedback. if you are a small business that's sold on a coupon site, how did it go? do you shop on coupon sites? what do you think of brands on these sites? are you a returning customer, or just stick around for the deal? really anything, any information you can give me is mega huge. big thank you!!!!! xoxo.

respect yourself.

my meditation this morning :

RESPECT YOURSELF. respect yourself enough to...

> do what you say you're going to do.

> get your work done.

> not procrastinate.

> not put up walls around yourself to excuse yourself from going stuff you don't want to do.

> set goals for yourself and follow through with them.

> not waste time.

> treat yourself as well as you treat the most beloved person in your life.

it's all about loving yourself, we know this. but what about respecting yourself? what about putting yourself in a position even higher than you thought? the self that deserves to be worked hard for, and that deserves to not suffer through another day of habitual responses. today is the day. to change it up. why not try, for one day, just today, to truly respect yourself? do the work you need to do and take enough time to nurture yourself. it's funny, the things we really want and idealize, we often don't do. it's easy to lecture to someone else to do these things, but when they day arrives to live your words, i think... maybe tomorrow, maybe next week i'll have more time for that. ugh. such nonsense. 

this morning i vow to respect myself enough to live the life i imagine. i'm awake, breathing, and healthy, so i absolutely deserve to be fought for. it's not easy. but we have to fight for the self that requires our utmost respect and devotion today and everyday. 

namaste.