Have you heard of Tea Collection? (No, this is not something you drink.) I hadn’t before this month when I received an invitation to an Open Studio for their upcoming Fall collection of clothing. I took a look at their website and fell in love with the unique art on their clothing – I particularly love this beetle shirt and I knew Jack would want this lizard shirt (he’s obsessed with chameleons lately). He is pretty particular about what he wears these days and he tends to request things that are “kinda scary.” (He is still wearing his skeleton shirt from Halloween…)
So last night I attended the Tea Collection Open Studio. This company that I didn’t know existed is located less than a mile from my office! They provided tacos (YUM) and margaritas and introduced a group of local social media folks to their staff, designers, and upcoming Mexico-inspired line of clothing. I knew immediately upon seeing this Day of the Dead shirt that Jack would be ALL OVER IT:
I showed him the picture when I got home, and he wanted to see it bigger and BIGGER and then he wanted to know why it was a decorative skull, and then he wanted it for himself. It’s a good thing his birthday is coming up.
There was also some sort of contest. I honestly don’t even know what the winner gets – I just had fun dressing up a mannequin (they stay still, unlike real children). We were asked to take pieces from the Fall line and throw together an outfit. My ensemble is below:
I really think the sombrero makes the outfit, don’t you? You can’t quite see it in this picture (yeah, I suck with camera phones – my hands shake way too much) but there is orange in the polo underneath the Team Nahual shirt that matches the shoelaces on those sneakers. I can totally see Jack in this outfit. Also? I really like orange.
They also had a little something for the ladies. I am completely enraptured with this sweater:
I must buy it. MUST!! (It’s not available yet. Dang it!) I thought it was a scarf at first and still I wanted it but no! It’s a sweater! Even better! (I live in San Francisco, remember? I would wear a sweater every day if I could.)
I was really impressed by the friendliness of the company’s founders and the other employees I met. I loved learning about the details of how the designers go on trips (i.e. Mexico) and visit the markets and research the culture in order to bring the designs into their clothing line. There is a new culture/country every season. The designs are vibrant and a little off-beat, which is right up our alley.
We got a neat little gift bag on our way out – Jack is wearing a pair of Tea pants today and they fit perfectly according to the size chart! How often does THAT happen?? I’m also enjoying this lovely scarf that was inspired by Barcelona. Um, I need to go to Barcelona (how come you never take me there?).
By the way, I wasn’t asked to write about this in exchange for the gifts or anything. I just wanted to give this boutique company a shout out because I’m super impressed by how they run their company. Not only that, but they have having an awesome sale inspired by Facebook likes and I think my deal-loving readers out there will find it to be relevant! So, go check it out.
And here’s a picture of me in an sombrero. I *may* have written this whole thing just to show you guys how awesome I look in it. Only you can prevent forest fires! Or something.
– gender neutral, animals rocketing to the moon
– main character is a boy who loves stars
– main character is a boy who flies to space in an airplane and meets an alien
– this is gender neutral and multicultural, too! Super easy read.
– we don’t have this one yet, but I’m excited that it incorporates counting since Jack loves to count down to blast off.
– another one on the to-be-read list. I love Reading Railroad!
– This one is a tad wordy but has good pictures. The main character is a boy.
