and i have a special announcement for you! tune in today at 3pm for a LIVE fashion show that will be taking place here at the home office – see our favorite looks from the e-catalog modeled by our very own fp girls :) we will be broadcasting on facebook, twitter and right here on the blog. don’t miss it!!
and look for the e-catalog online very soon ;)
our featured artist for june happens to be a personal favorite of mine: heyoka leather. long before we worked with photographer alexandra velenti on our july catalog, i was following her work on tumblr, and through her work i discovered heyoka leather (she has shot their lookbooks).
heyoka leather started unofficially and quite by accident in venice beach CA by leslie crow when she began making dream catchers for friends. word spread and demand grew, and she branched out into accessories like hand-beaded medicine bags and purses, using traditional skills learned from her grandmother. leslie teamed up with her longtime friends rachel avraham and angela bruyere to create heyoka leather. using carefully sourced leather and the finest quality brass, silver and bone, heyoka’s accessories are modern-day american heirlooms that pay homage to the designers’ roots in traditional native american ceremony, hollywood nightlife mystique and outlaw biker culture.
always and forever 100% handmade, their mission statement is to leave no footprints behind their moccasins.
read on for an interview with the beautiful leslie crow and to see some of her personal photos and inspiration!
where did you draw inspiration for the particular pieces we are carrying?
the spotted eagle and the turquoise warrior necklaces were greatly influenced by my growing up going to powwows. watching the dancers, i always felt like the regalia and the spiritual energy acquired by donning it and entering the circle gave the dancer a feeling of graceful strength and beauty which i humbly attempt to translate, or alchemize into an everyday modern american talisman while paying respect to the traditional native roots.
i love the lookbooks you shoot with alexandra valenti, and we just worked with her on our july catalog shoot, how did that relationship come about?
i met alexandra and the sisters of the black moon through my boyfriend caleb. he’s from texas and kept telling me i was going to love his girlfriends from austin, and then i saw alexandra’s photography and i was blown away, so we started talking and planning a heyoka photoshoot. we met in LA and the rest is history! that was about a year ago. we’ve been dear friends ever since and work together every chance we get.
how would you describe your personal style?
“redneck desert chic”. i pretty much live in a vintage harley tank, wrangler cut-offs and cowboy boots, heyoka bag and mountains of turquoise jewelry. however when i dress up i love to go all 60’s bohemian gypsy and experiment with far out thrift store finds.
who are your style icons?
rita coolidge, anita pallenburg, and my good friend and longtime heyoka muse, joy bryant.
what do you like to do when you’re not working?
i love riding horses and motorcycles, hiking and camping…..goin’ out into the desert and shooting guns, traveling, going on roadtrips, practicing yoga, prowling through thrift stores and swap meets. lately i been trying to teach myself the banjo and learning how to silversmith. but i really love to work. i’m always coming up with new designs and inspirations and being creative is my biggest passion.
favorite city or place?
right now i’m living in tucson, arizona, and really loving the sonoran desert, but my all time favorite places to go are mexico, costa rica, northern ontario and anywhere back home in the blue ridge mountains.
what music are you listening to right now?
charlie daniels band, bill monroe, marshall tucker band, waylon jennings, the deserters and of course my boyfriend caleb coy and his band headdress.
favorite book?
hell’s angels by hunter s thompson, moonchild by alestair crowley, vintage easyrider magazines and louis l’amour westerns. i’m currently reading desert solitare by edward abbey.
when are you happiest?
i’m happiest when spending time with family and friends….having a backyard BBQ, sitting around the bonfire, listening to caleb play guitar and chillin’ with my dog, bluegrass.
what’s next for heyoka leather? anything you can tell us about what you’re currently working on?
there’s a lot of creative visions taking shape right now for heyoka leather. we’re currently working on some very exciting top secret collaborations with bandit brand and sisters of the black moon. we just recently finished our online store which should be up and running any day now and we have some really cool new designs in the works for our fall collection!
shop our heyoka leather pieces here, and check out the full june e-catalog in which they are featured online!
photos by alexandra valenti and via leslie crow. thanks so much leslie!
to get you guys in the mood for our e-catalog release (on monday) here are some behind the scenes images that capture the spirit of the shoot! we shot day one in our web studio with martha hunt and day two with andreea diaconu here at the navy yard in philly, where unexpected wilderness is just outside our office…
the e-catalog launches online on monday! we can’t wait!
If there’s one thing Free People employees know how to do … it’s accessories. Everyone had on the best little details today, so I just had to get up close and personal.
As if the shoes weren’t cool enough on their own – she takes layering to the next level with crocheted socks.
Probably the coolest vintage bag I’ve seen…ever?
I’m a huge fan of layering on tons of cool necklaces. These ladies paired the look with awesome textures in their clothes for an even cooler vibe.
So subtle and beautiful!
This woman wears where she grew up on her hand (middle finger). A friend made her a ring depicting the street.
Basics pop with the addition of unique statement necklaces.
june is the one month each year when we do not shoot a catalog, but this year we decided to do something a little bit different… and the result is our first ever interactive e-catalog, “call of the wild”! launching monday june 6 on our website, there will be 17 interactive online pages for you to explore complete with behind the scenes footage, hair and makeup tutorials, how-to style videos, mood board and more!
the e-book was shot right here at our home office in philadelphia’s navy yard by our senior photographer, featuring martha hunt and andreea diaconu. be sure to check out freepeople.com on monday for the full experience, it will blow your mind!
i am so excited to tell you guys about something special we’re doing to celebrate our july catalog! you may remember that i was down in austin a couple of months ago, where we shot the book with local band the happen-ins. well we had such a blast that we decided to go back and throw a party to celebrate the catalog release! And what better way to do it than with some live music from the happen-ins?! if you aren’t familiar with these guys yet, you will be soon… their music – a blend of r&b, americana and classic rock – is intoxicating. not to mention, we love their style :) check them out on facebook here.
the event will take place friday june 17th at 5-8PM
at austin’s mohawk room– where we shot part of our july book!
located at 912 red river st– a strip of austin’s hottest live music venues.
come hang out with us while enjoying live music from the happen-ins, a special viewing of our catalog video before anyone has seen it, and enter your name in a raffle for a chance to win a $500 or $50 gift card to FP!
we’ll also hand out fliers for a 15% off discount that you can use at our austin store locations – downtown and at the domain.
***this is an all ages event!***
i’m so excited to go back to austin! i hope to see lots of you there!
in honor of stevie nicks‘ birthday, here is our adorable web studio intern channeling the gold dust woman :)
happy birthday stevie! you inspire us every day.
xoxo
We had some beautiful sunshine today, which made us all poppy and dotty!
Neon pops was a trend that was carried through the office in small dosages.
Retro polka dots were also seen in vintage dresses and vintage skirts. Color pops and polka dots is the style phase today!
a new vintage loves vignette went up today! this one is called animal instincts and i think its pretty apparent why :) i found a bunch of great vintage photos of ladies rocking the leopard print that i wanted to share, maybe they’ll provide some inspiration!
i love this more modern vintage take- jeans and converse kicks go with everything! here are some of the vintage pieces we’re carrying that i have my eye on…
i’m sad that this is the last batch of behind the scenes images from hawaii! i loved the photos so much (taken by the talented thomas northcut). the pics of elsa hosk and tallulah morton frolicking in the surf are making me SO ready for memorial day weekend!
i’m sure some of you may have been curious as to what ROAM hawaii is when brooke mentioned it in her post- i was too and checked out the website, and i got completely lost going through their photos. ROAM is a “mobile marketplace” from which brooke and a few of her friends sell handmade and one of a kind pieces from its traveling van (their “tiger mobile”!) that roams around the island. how cool is that?! do you ladies have room for one more? ;)
check them out on tumblr here and etsy here.
