1

it's the birthday boy!


oh my gosh, i just LOVE this boy. liam owns my heart. i can't believe he is 8 today, 8 years of absolute beautiful and easy complete love with him. i feel so lucky this doggie is ours! patrick and i were holding liam close last night before bed, noticing all of his little battle scars to prove his age. worn out elbows, rough skin on the paws, little fatty cyst lumps here and there, and of course his ever fading vision. but liam still contains all the joy and enthusiasm of a 6 month year old puppy. and with his age, liam has just grown so much more kind, selfless, compassionate, emotional, intuitive, and just all around sweet. sometimes i call him my little monk, he's just such a GOOD guy. with liam's vision going slowly from his PRA, i am amazed at how well he adapts and is as happy as ever. without full eye sight, liam can sense our body language more than before, recognizes tones in voice, knows hundreds of words (and learns new ones everyday!), can recognize the sound of the volvo coming home from about 1/2 a mile away, and just gets bonded to us more each year.  liam is the closest thing i've ever had to a son, and honestly i couldn't be more proud to call him that. he truly is an angel. my 8 year old angel boy. here's to at least 8 more birthdays with my bunny boy. happy birthday liam!!!

p.s. today's birthday plans! : we just went on a run (see above photo!). next we're going to the beach, petco for a new bone and frozen yogurt, and all day long liam will be eating his favorite meals! oatmeal and fruit, chicken and veggies, and hot dogs and salad for dinner! so fun! :)

0

some pieces.






just a few new pieces that are tickling my fancy :) coming to the shop tomorrow or monday! i hope that you are having a very merry and peaceful saturday. xoxo.

5

ethical fashion blogging.





leggings purusha, blouse minx shop, shoes bali elf, druzy ring + head piece lux divine, circle ring tracy sylvia, shrug thrifted, bracelets gifts.

hi guys!!! how are you?

returning from connecticut, i am just bursting with all these fresh new ideas for purusha! YES! one of my ideas is this post (and many more posts like this in the future!). so mainly more photos of me and how i wear purusha, while showcasing all the other ethical brands i think are fantastic! i hope you like :) it was so funny taking these photos with patrick, i felt like such a dork, but in a good way! i enjoy sharing with you all my personal style. in these photos above i am wearing some of my very favorite made in the USA indie brands from etsy! click the links below the photos if you want to learn more about these super cool products.

hope your day is really beautiful! i have much to do, but i'm excited to get back into it! muah! xo.

0

sunday spotlight : PUCCI.


so i never thought i'd become very interested in fashion, like high fashion, as in balenciaga, mainbocher, dolce & gabbana, pucci! (one of my favorites). but i suppose it's mostly because i never really tried to look into it. i just cast off runway fashion as something not for me, something extravagant and out of touch with my lifestyle and my brand.

last week i began buying a lot of books (thank you amazon prime!!) on branding and fashion design. i'm thinking, why not study all i can about my industry? i feel a little silly it's taken me this long to begin really researching fashion, but better late than never. and let me just say i am 100% inspired and fascinated with fashion houses, or salons as they called them. there is something so elegant and fulfilling about looking back at the very first clothing "designers". madeleine vionnet, hubert de givenchy, coco chanel, christian dior, missoni... they were some of the very first creators to drop the corset, shorten the skirt, use bright bold patterns, and celebrate the luxury of being as glamorous or as minimalist as you'd like to be. with fast fashion - F21, h&m, the gap, nike, etc etc - on the scene it's pretty refreshing to refer back to the times before the word 'sweatshop'  even existed.

i'm totally just a beginner here in the field of fashion, but already i enjoy how learning about these fashion houses has invoked in me new ideas for the future of purusha. i thought what better way to keep the designers i admire in my mind (and share their beauty with you!) than to blog about them?! sunday spotlight anyone?!

the designer i've enjoyed the most thoroughly so far is emilio pucci.

in the 1940's pucci began designing skiwear, and was one the first designers to use knit fabrics. (got me thinking of yoga pants!) stretchy materials allowed pucci to uncomplicate clothing - no need for darts and pleats. his designs were sleek with bold patterns. pucci even designed the dress marilyn monroe was buried in! i just love how fun, colorful, 60's, yet simple and worldly his designs were. take a look:








pucci today :





what do you think? do you like pucci's designs?

have a beautiful peaceful sunday! xo.

2

connecticut for a moment.


good morning! 

after a lovely merry day with my sweet patrick and liam, i leave today for a little visit to my other loves in connecticut. travelling, for me at least, is usually slightly jarring. in a good way. it's healthy to shake things up a bit, but it always makes me realize how much i end up loving the moments i'm in. just before i leave my home in topanga i am overwhelmed with my love for the canyon, the smells of california and our little cozy house, my job, and of course my love for my boys. but i'm merely hopping onto a plane into the arms of more people and places and scents i love. i just end up feeling so... attached. same thing happens when i leave connecticut too. it feels good to experience emotions fully and truly appreciate my surroundings. sitting on a plane though, that's my nemesis. sometimes i just get so nervous sitting there all cramped in with strangers all around me. i know i'm not the only one that thinks about having to die in a frightening way with people you don't know. i always size up the person next to me and wonder if they would hug me if the plane went down. what crazy thoughts huh?! i know planes are totally safe, i guess it's just natural to feel a little cautious while doing something as unnatural as taking flight. 

anyways, i best be getting to packing and preparing! anyone that is waiting for an order and has been waiting longer than the 4 week turnaround, you are my absolute top priority when i return next week. i hustled this past week and weekend to get out twice as many orders to cover my time away, but april was just so busy i am still behind. so i am sorry, but please know i'm doing the best i can!

much love to you all! xo.

1

the day of my man's birth.


oh what a beautiful day, the day my love patrick was born 28 years ago. above it a photo of us in the first few weeks we met in may 2007 most likely. he's playing the piano so wonderfully for me at this moment. patrick, we've been through so much together, and as cheesy as it sounds you've taught me what real love is. real love doesn't disappear when things get rough, it doesn't quit on you when your at your weakest. and love is at it's best when things are beautiful and sunny and life is good. like today. i can't wait to celebrate today with you, your day. i'm such a lucky woman to have found someone that loves me and holds me through all of life's weather, my angel man. someone that helps me face my fears, go after every little dream i've ever had, and always remain curious about life and the pursuit of knowledge. you make me feel more beautiful, bold, intelligent, and kind that i ever imagined i could be. in short, you make me feel like a natural woman. i should sing that you today on the piano shouldn't i? now that you've taught me how to play a little, one of the many things you've taught me. what a life that i get to spend it with you patrick, laughing and learning. and what a day we have to do just that. now where do you want to eat lunch at before we head to the beach and look at guitars? i love you more than i love myself my sweet baby pat. xoxo.

0

getting all professional ;).



you guys! i am so excited! after, like, 4 years of getting tags printed at staples and freakin' hand stamping the inner labels by hand (?!), i finally got my act together and had some real professional hang tags and labels made for the clothing! YAY! from now on nayda will be sewing in these babies and we'll be pinning the hang tags on the clothing after. so rad! have the most lovely day! xoxo.

1

your vessel.



"it's your vessel, you get to decide what you want to carry around in it." ~harshada wagner

this morning i meditated with harshada wagner on yogaglo.com. today i began the day with some worry, some nervousness, some jealousy. as ugly as that all is, i have to acknowledge it and face it. there is something so freeing and opening about stating the embarrassing and obvious truth about your body and mind in the moment. so i breathed and i breathed, and slowly let out some of that negative stuff. my body became hollow, just totally blank and empty. then i began to choose what i wanted to fill myself with. i focused on bringing in a light cerulean blue light until my whole body felt illuminated. i breathed and i breathed again, and slowly let in confidence, trust, and love. i allowed a strong peace to fill my vessel. beautiful. today i choose to carry my strong peaceful cerulean light with me wherever i go. namaste.

0

behind the scenes.



check out our fun little video of purusha's most recent shoot here in topanga. patrick and i made it! enjoy! xo.

0

how eco-friendly is your fabric?





in purusha's never ending quest to become more sustainable and earth and people friendly, i am always researching fabrics and the effects of producing these fibers.

the crazy thing i've learned is there is no such thing as a 100% green solution at this moment. {this will most definitely change over time.} whenever something is created, something is destroyed. it's just the way of life, and we can't produce anything, especially clothing, without an effect on the environment. but of course many methods are better than others, and whatever small steps we take towards a more sustainable future are better than nothing at all. organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, tencel, and recycled cotton/ P.E.T. are all a thousand times better than conventional cotton and polyester.

i like to read up on this stuff, but i'm no expert and i've never seen the process of manufacturing fibers into fabric. so i'm trying to do the best i can. it's interesting to watch the debates and conversations surrounding 'how eco-friendly is your fabric?'

for example, today i headed over to one of my favorite sites - www.ecouterre.com, and read an article about bamboo by patagonia, titled 'how eco-friendly is bamboo really?' after reading the article, i was having second thoughts about using bamboo in my clothing line.

but know what i often love reading even more than the article itself? the comments. frequently people in the comments know more than the writer of the article does!

i'm going to post one particularly knowledgeable commentator's thoughts here below on the concept of bamboo, fabrics, and their eco-friendliness {it's long, but a worthwhile read if you're interested} :

I think there is a lot of misinformation in this article. First – bamboo viscose is not made from bamboo eaten by pandas or from bamboo grown on panda habitat. Good grief… Bamboo Viscous is made from a timber bamboo called “Moso.” Pandas eat a smaller “Grass” bamboo that grows in different regions. Second yes chemicals are used to get cellulose (viscose) from bamboo, but by far the principle chemical used is sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide is one of the most widely used chemicals in the world and has no negative effect on the environment or the health of humans. Sodium hydroxide is routinely used in the processing of cotton into fiber, including transitional and organic cottons. Sodium hydroxide is approved for use on textiles by the Global Organic Textile Standards (www.global-standard.org) and the Soil Association (www.soilassociation.org). Sodium hydroxide does not remain as a residue on clothing as it easily washes away. It can also be readily neutralized to harmless and non-toxic sodium sulphate (salt); Sodium hydroxide is also used in food production and soap making. And finally, how is reasonable to claim that it would be better to use much slower growing eucalyptus trees, FSC certified or not, to produce viscose for fabric production when bamboo is so renewable. That makes no sense… The bamboo used for apparel production is the fastest growing plant known to man, growing up to 4 feet (122 cm) per day, and rapidly reaching heights over 40 feet. Because of this rapid growth rate and the amount of vertical biomass created, bamboo is able to deliver far more usable raw material per acre than any other alternative, which makes it today’s most renewable resource.

Please source your contention that modern bamboo viscose production uses carbon disulfide. Have you seen the production process? I find it interesting when critics of bamboo viscose speak with authority on the process, when very few people have seen the proprietary system used for producing viscose from bamboo. I have to wonder where the information comes from? Will following the money lead to organic cotton suppliers? If so, it represents a sad state of affairs for the environmentally conscious segment of the apparel industry.

It is my contention that all apparel suppliers trying to do right by the planet should be supporting each other’s efforts, no matter which fabrics each has chosen to work with. Those companies looking for environmentally friendly solutions in apparel production are fighting the same fight!

Today, there are no fabrics that are 100% “green;” organic and transitional cottons require large amounts of land and water; recycled P.E.T. (polyethylene terephthalate) is still a chemically driven, petroleum-based material; and many hemp and bamboo fabrics require a pulping process.

Carbon Disulfide may have been used in early rayon production, but as far as my research and the visual inspection of the process by people I trust is concerned, modern bamboo viscose production does not use it. Rather bamboo viscose production uses a closed loop process that relies on Sodium hydroxide as the solvent, which again is approved for use on textiles by the Global Organic Textile Standards (www.global-standard.org).

Unfortunately, it has been my experience that a few companies supplying or heavily reliant on organic cotton are propagating misinformation about bamboo-based fabrics. Maybe they feel threatened by the compelling combination of benefits provided by bamboo-based fabrics. Who knows? I have found most of their critiques to be unfounded and un-sourced. I beg you not to join the bandwagon, we’re all in this together.

For me, when looking at the current options for environmentally “friendlier” fabrics, I find that bamboo provides the best blend of ecological and performance benefits. Bamboo-based fabrics are a resource that I’ve come to see as today’s most promising alternative. If organic cotton and recycled PET continue to be you’re fabrics of choice – then good on ya!!


I would also like to reiterate in response to your assault on Sodium hydroxide (lye), despite it being approved by the Global Organic Textile Standards and the Soil Association (Source:http://www.apparelsearch.com), that it is routinely used when turning cotton into fiber during the wet processing. This includes ORGANIC COTTON, which I presume you support.

Is it not hypocritical to bash bamboo viscose because it is produced using lye – when one of your chosen fibers uses lye in its production process as well?

I also have to ask – If we are going to have a discussion about the use of chemicals, should we not discuss the list of chemicals used to produce P.E.T?

Note: recycling may keep a small portion of P.E.T. (polyethylene terephthalate) out of landfills, but I suggest that we should instead look for natural alternatives and work toward halting our use of petroleum-based products all together.

Does recycling a small portion of the P.E.T. produced justify its continued production? Does it provide cover for the Petroleum Industry to just keep pushing their products into our lives? Is it cool now because it can be recycled???

                                                                                                                                        ~ RTMC

no fabric is "good" for the environment. humans are in fact really bad for the planet. we've had to exploit and kill to survive throughout the whole history of our species. we once had to kill animals for their pelts to wear for clothing to keep warm. i'll take plants over that any day. so we do the best we can. i do the best i can to find the highest quality, kindest fabrics, and cool yet timeless designs in hopes that your clothing will be with you for life. i only want to create what you will love and treasure.

what fabrics do you like best? what clothing styles would you like to see yourself wearing for years and years? i appreciate any feedback, like i said frequently the comments speak more than the article! so i'd be happy to hear your thoughts. thank you and namaste!

1

long time.


you guys! i can't believe i went a week without blogging! so sad! i've missed you!

i've just been SO busy. too busy. i'm lucky, i keep reminding myself... but running your own business is f-in' hard!! it's just non-stop, no end in sight. ever. haha. this week i've been working on 35 orders! i know (and hope) someday i'll look back and think... oh, only 35 orders?! but i suppose for now it seems daunting because it's still just lil ol' me and nadya. 

i try to keep things in perspective though, like being busy is a trillion times better than struggling and not having any business at all. i'm super blessed, that's for sure. just tired. just tired and in need of perhaps a sleep in day, a long lazy meal, and some time to work in the garden. {our amazingly kind and sweet landlord tomi is sharing her garden beds with us! lots of planting is scheduled for tomorrow!}

anywho, my brain is fried. hence the no writing in a week. my head has been in order mode for the past 5 days. not much else to say! lol!

what keeps me going, so hard, is all of your loving support. when i feel exhausted, i just look to your feedback and kind words from my beautiful customers. i started a page on my website called 'love letters'. i've compiled a few of my favorite messages from you angel gals, they mean so much to me. i hope you don't mind i posted. if you want me to remove your name or entire comment or anything, please please let me know! and if you have anything you'd like to contribute i would be SO STOKED! it makes my week. feel free to post on the purusha facebook page or here on the blog and i will paste the comment to the love letters. thank you with all my heart!

hope you all have a glorious weekend! sending you so much goodness and light! xo.

 

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