I don't know about you, but this past month has brought miserable cold weather to the mid-west… and I'm over it! I am very ready for spring… and very excited to talk about the Rare Dirndl Spring/Summer 2014 photo shoot!
Photo Bomb!!
Inspired by camping and the beauty of calm nature… I did not want to have the photo shoot inside, so I had to finish sewing the samples asap, so we could have the shoot while it was still nice outside. Well… kinda nice… by the end of the day it wasn't "a little chilly in the shade" anymore, it was just cold. But our models were troopers! They both pretended that it was summer outside and smiled like they were having a great time.
I saved the best shot for last… the canoe! The final shots turned out great and I am very happy with how they turned out, but getting those shots were no easy feat.
* 1st it was cold and windy… the morning was actually really beautiful outside, but in the late afternoon on the lake, it was windy and chilly!
* 2nd there was the fact that they were on the water battling the wind and the waves and
* 3rd, my poor photographer/dad kept getting water inside his boots, and that water is real COLD!
brrrrr!!
All in all the look was accomplished! Calm, relaxing, and easy going
I'm really excited about this new look and I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes video from the Spring/Summer photo shoot.
The new Day at the Lake Collection will be arriving on our online store at the end of February and that little promise of spring can't get here soon enough!
Let's back track a little to New Year's Resolutions… can you say intimidating? I've never been good at New Year's resolutions and by never, I mean that I used to make a resolution and then forget what it was, so then I just stopped making them. However, this year I am going to make a resolution… keep practicing yoga! (In all honesty it is to reach my business goals and live each day to be the best me I can be… but I honestly feel that practicing yoga on a regular basis is really helping me do that, so I'm simplifying it). My sister introduced me to yoga in early November, when she started her teacher training, and now I'm hooked! In lieu of a Customer Spotlight this month, I'm going to tell her story!
The Most Awesome Sister Ever!
Want that dirndl? There is one left (http://bit.ly/19rTTwj)
Monika and I were always very close and when she moved up into the Jugendgruppe, we became even closer. Although high school and the Jugendgruppe were keeping her busy, she really wanted to have something else to do. Like me, sports weren't of interest, so when my cousin opened her business, Balance Healing Center, and joined forces with a yoga instructor… she became very intrigued.
She was officially introduced to yoga in 2005 and quickly found her
true passion. She bought herself The Big Book of
Yoga, and each night she went into her bedroom and practiced yoga. While I was sewing, working on college projects and collections, she was upstairs practicing Locust pose, Head Stands,Wheel and Mermaid pose. When our high school added a Yoga class that could be taken instead of gym, Monika was the first to sign up. Soon, she was assisting the teacher and even teaching the class on occasion!
College life took her away from her practice for a while. However, after graduation Monika stopped dancing with the jugendgruppe and she was working as the assistant manager of Buckle, but she really felt like there was something missing in her life. She was yearning for a community to be a part of again… and then she found CorePower Yoga in February 2013.
She instantly fell in love with Vinyasa flow and felt like she had found a wonderful community amongst her fellow CPY yogis. She realized that yoga was the missing piece! She quickly completed her 200hr Power Teacher Training in December 2013 and will soon be teaching, sharing her practice with others, her students (myself included!). She hopes to help her students discover their inner-awesomeness and take their yoga practice “off the mat” and into everyday life.
She is still my go-to girl for Rare Dirndl sales advice, trend forecasting, and accessorizing, but now since introducing me to yoga, she is also teaching me to be more peaceful, focused, and strong. I'm BEYOND proud of my little sister! She's my best friend and I am so happy that she has found her passion again. I also love that she continues to deepen her practice and combine her loves: family, yoga… and dirndls!
Check out Monika at work for Rare Dirndl during the Spring/Summer 2014 Photo Shoot
Want the headband that Monika is practicing yoga in? Get yours right here! This headband features the Rare Dirndl edelweiss logo with a soft knit elastic band to keep the headband in place. Perfect for exercising, dancing, or just keeping your hair out of your face.
Do you want to be the next Rare Dirndl Customer Spotlight? As the winner you will recieve a $50 Coupon Code for any online purchase, a feature on the Rare Dirndl website and blog, and a gift package worth approx $100!! Click here to get all the details!
Ever wonder what dirndl style you are? Take our dirndl quiz and find out! Simply type in your email here
This time of year, wearing a dirndl becomes tricky (at least for me) Why? Because I'm always cold… and there is nothing more frustrating than getting all dolled up in my best dirndl and then having to cover it up with a sweater, however I have a solution.
I also recommend the Open Gloves! I love these because I can still to most daily tasks (well, not washing dishes, but most things) without getting cold hands. These gloves are perfect for texting too! Check them out and all the new winter accessories on the Rare Dirndl website!
Ever wonder what dirndl style you are? Take our dirndl quiz and find out! Simply type in your email here
From the well-known song, to it's iconic and unique beauty, the Edelweiss flower is regarded in Switzerland as a national symbol and a common theme on Bavarian and Austrian trachten. This wonderful flower has a unique history.
Edelweiss is not really a flower as such, but a set of 500 to a thousand tiny florets grouped in several heads (between 2 and 10 of them) surrounded by 5 to 15 white velvety leaves, that's fertilized by flies.
"The Edelweiss was adopted as a national symbol in the 19th century to give back some lustre to a nation that was looking a bit washed out,” says Didier Roguet, project head and keeper of the Botanical Garden in Geneva “but no-one knew that this little silvery and hairy flower would become a real alpine celebrity.”
Over the years the edelweiss has been used to decorate a large number of products made in Switzerland, from postcards to chocolate bars, from folk costumes to sun lotions, and from penknives to purses.
The original home of the Edelweiss is in the high plateau of the Himalayas and Siberia, but somehow my grandfather learned to grow the beautiful flower in his garden!
The plant "migrated" to Europe during the Quaternary ice ages. Today it is found in the alpine region of Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Spain, and the Balkans at an altitude between 1,500 and 3,000 metros.
"It can no longer be regarded as an endangered species, seeing as it has been cultivated in Valais since the 90s. But it is protected in almost all the countries where it grows," explains Roguet.
"The star of the snows” as the Edelweiss is sometimes called, is also a reminder of a dark past. "The Edelweiss was the favorite flower of Adolf Hitler. For that reason it was used as a symbol by the Nazis," says the curator of the "Edelweiss - Myths and Paradoxes" national exhibition, which was on display in 2011 in Geneva.
In 1935, the German Wehrmacht formed an alpine unit which used the flower as part of the insignia on its uniforms. Towards the end of the Second World War, however, the Edelweiss became the symbol of the German resistance against Nazism.
The “Edelweiss pirates” were groups of young workers who had turned against Nazism and were active as a kind of urban guerrillas against the regime. For English-speaking people, the famous “Edelweiss” song in The Sound of Music is also associated with patriotic resistance to Nazism.
Today the image of the Edelweiss continues to adorn many items to represent, Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany. It is the logo for many trachten companies in Germany and it's our icon too! The Rare Dirndl Edelweiss icon is a unique design taking the traditional shape of the flower and giving it a fresh, edgy street look.
The Rare Dirndl Edelweiss Icon
(designed by Sydney Musselman)
I've also created fun and unique Edelweiss clips that can be put in your hair, on your jacket, on your bag… wherever! Its a great little item and has a felt center that has the look and feel of a real Edelweiss!
The Edelweiss Clip on one of our Loose Knit Scarves!
Do you love the Edelweiss flower as much as I do?
Be sure to follow Rare Dirndl @raredirndl on Instagram and on Facebook because all this week I'll be posting all the fun items with the Edelweiss on it that is either in my own apartment or in the Rare Dirndl Design Studio. I'd love for you to comment back via social media of all your Edelweiss things using #raredirndl and #myedelweiss! Maybe it'll turn out to be a battle of the Edelweisses!!!
I saved the best shot for last… the canoe! The final shots turned out great and I am very happy with how they turned out, but getting those shots were no easy feat.
