This Week's Challenge: Our Guest of Honor for our Event, Korto Momolu

Photo provided by Korto Momolu.

How much do I love this designer?!  Korto Momolu has been a huge inspiration for me, because not only does she have the determination of a lioness, but she lives in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.  I wrote a short article about her in August of 2009 on what I call my "experimental blog," Arkansas Fashion.  Funny how things sometimes come full circle in life as Korto Momolu has agreed to make a special guest appearance at The Compassion Fashion Project's first event, Divas Dressing Darlings.  I knew that she was the perfect local celeb to ask to come, because of her past philanthropic efforts not to mention...she is FABULOUS!  She was born in Liberia, West Africa and immigrated to Canada with her family in 1990 where she eventually studied design at L'Academies des Couturiers Design Institute in Ottawa, Ontario.  After graduation she moved to Arkansas with her husband to live and raise their daughter, whom Momolu says is "a constant source of inspiration for her."  If you watch the above video, you will see her pull her daughter up on the stage with her at the end of her showing.  It is a sweet moment.

(Left) Tatyana Ali in spring 2011 jacket, (Right Top) Beverly Johnson in custom dress,
(Bottom Right) Vanessa Williams in custom necklace
Press Kit provided by Korto Momolu.

Obviously, Momolu is best known for her appearance on season 5 of Project Runway where she made it to the finals to show her collection at Bryant Park and inevitably won first-runner up.  Project Runway brought her back for a second show called the "All-Stars Edition" when the show made a switch from Bravo to Lifetime.  Many disputed the fact that she placed first-runner up for the second time and felt she deserved first place, but this is a constant controversy on this show amongst PR enthusiasts who do not agree with the judges decisions.

(Left) Atlanta Housewife Cynthia Bailey, cover, (Right) Lisa Raye McCoy in Today's Black Woman Magazine
Press Kit provided by Korto Momolu. 

In no way has Korto Momolu (pronounced Cut*Oh- Mo*Mo*Lu) let that one show define her as a designer nor otherwise as she continues her business and is a very popular stylist as well.  In fact, when I first reached out to Eljay Deshield, her PR manager, back in February of this year she was busy with her show at New York Fashion Week and has had success after success in the fashion industry.  She has formed a partnership with Dillard's where over 70 stores carry her line of handbags and jewelry.  Her jewelry line ",The Saba Collection," is a high end line created with eco-friendly wood.  Her humanitarian efforts go far beyond her ideas for sustainable design as she has been appointed the "Goodwill Ambassador" for the Tigerlily Foundation and supported the "Go Orange" campaign benefiting the New York Food Bank.  These are just a couple of her non-profit endeavours and now she is helping The Compassion Fashion Project provide aid to the 501(c)3 non-profit, Little Dresses for Africa.  Believe me when I say that this shows her genuine compassion for worthy causes, since we are still grass roots and were thrilled with her acceptance of our invitation.

(Top) Little Rock Family Magazine, (Bottom Left) ShopFlick, (Bottom Right )  Essence Magazine
Press Kit provided by Korto Momolu

So, in conclusion if you will be in the central Arkansas area on June 16, 2011, please come to our event and get your own chance to meet this unique fashion designer with a heart of gold.  We will be serving wine and refreshments, listening to LIVE music by Jessica Carder, and triumphing an amazing cause.  All we ask is that you bring in your new or gently used pillowcases and/or any unwanted sewing machines to benefit the orphans who need our help with clothing in Africa.  Not only does Little dresses for Africa supply dresses for girls and little britches for boys using the pillowcase donations, they also teach the women and older children in the villages to sew.  This is such a special event that you do not want to miss it!  See our "Event" page for more details.  Thank you so much, Korto, for your participation and for my favorite new quote from you:

"Love*Hope*Faith*Repeat*."~Korto Momolu

(Top Left)"The Saba Collection," (Top Right) Saba in Smithsonian Catalog,
(Bottom Left) Sanlori Stationary launch spring 2011, (Bottom Right) Young and the Restless cast wearing Saba
Press Kit provided by Korto Momolu.

EcoFab Fundraiser and Yoga Classes in Little Rock Area

My friend ,Karin Bara, with the 10/20 Project contacted me about a fundraiser this weekend that will benefit their non-profit.  Among the many projects they take on, during the winter months the 10/20 Project donates coats from their annual coat drive for us to deliver to our local women's shelters.  You can read about our participation last winter here.  If you are going to be out and about this weekend, please stop by EcoFab and make a purchase!

Bara is also wanting to notify the public of her yoga classes she will be teaching at Blue Yoga Nyla in North Little Rock.  Being the giving person that she is, she has also opted to teach yoga to the Our House Shelter in Little Rock to their residents FREE of charge.  Please find below a story that Our House allowed me to publish about one of their residents who overcame an abusive relationship.

Amanda from Our House with her daughter, Alynnea.  Photo provided by  Our House.  

Amanda Simpson and her 1-year-old daughter Alynnea have lived at the Our House Shelter for one year. Amanda’s story of how she came to Our House is unfortunately not a unique one; she got out of an abusive relationship with her daughter's father, moved into a battered women’s shelter, and eventually ended up at the Our House Shelter. She was first a resident in the dorms, sharing a room with forty other women, while trying to figure out how to be a new, young mother.

One month ago things changed for the better for Amanda and Alynnea with the opening of the Family Housing unit on the Our House campus. The Family Housing Unit, which has 14 units in two buildings, has allowed Amanda to gain more independence and prepare for the real world. She is able to go grocery shopping for her family on her own and get a sense of what it will be like to live in an apartment in the real world.

"It definitely puts more structure into your life and prepares you for the real world," Amanda says. All residents do their own chores and share responsibility for the common kitchen and living room.

The most important aspect of the family housing for Amanda is being able to get the much needed quality time with her daughter, thanks to the private family rooms.

"I can see a change in my daughter’s attitude already. Our bond has gotten stronger since we have been on our own. I have been able to take what I’ve learned from the parenting classes taught here and apply it at home without other women interfering with how I parent," Amanda says.

She looks forward to the day she moves out and has aspirations of becoming a surgical technician, but for now she is just taking it one day at a time, enjoying her new apartment in the family housing unit and rebuilding her life with Alynnea.

"The family housing unit has inspired me a lot; it’s made me more independent and has given me good structure in my life. I would recommend it for any young homeless mothers."

Go support Karin Bara and get your yoga on!

After publishing this post, Jessica from Our House informed me of an additional event happening in conjunction with My Favorite Thrift Store to benefit residents of the shelter.  

Come check out "My Favorite Thrift Store."

Five locations to drop off your items for this amazing cause!  If you are in the Central Arkansas area, please choose one of these locations to bequeath your "spring cleaning" items for worthy recipients.  We can all do something. 

Drop off your loot or pick up a little something for yourself.

Jessica from Our House added this:

May 21st, from 10am to 2pm, Our House, in partnership with our thrift store, My Favorite Thrift Store, will be collecting items with a multi-site donation drop off event.  All donations will be used to benefit Our House.  My Favorite Thrift Store raises funds for Our House programs providing over $80,000 to Our House each year.  We are specifically looking for furniture, household items, home décor, jewelry, and clothing accessories.  At the Our House location, the children who live at the shelter, will be selling baked goods to support their program.  I have attached a flyer for more information about this event.  If you would like to help Our House by bringing your donations, that would be great! 

Armoire Apparel Goes Brick and Mortar in Malaysia

Armoire Acrylic Dress, purchase now!  

I am so proud of my friend, Evon Tan, whose style and genuine nature makes her one of my favorite people...not to mention she is brilliant!  Her line, Armoire Apparel, exudes "Happiness, Freedom, Love, and Sophistication." These are her words, but it is undeniably true even from an outsider's standpoint.  Her wears are for the woman who is confident in her own skin, holds class in every fiber of her being and awakens her soul when she is ready to get dolled up.

Seventeen Magazine Singapore, May 2011 issue...there's my girl's dress circled!

I met Evon on Fashion Industry Network and I could tell right away that not only does she have a keen sense of what is going on in fashion, but her passion for humanity and what is right (and wrong) in the world plays a key role in the people she chooses to support and connect with.  Case in point...she is one of The Compassion Fashion Project's biggest supporters.  She jumped on board right away by "liking" our Facebook page a regularly commenting on the links and posts we make on there.  For me, this is a huge deal, because it shows me that she is someone that stands up for what she believes in even if it may seem a taboo subject to some.  I am proud to call her my friend and even prouder that she has planned her launch party for the opening of her "brick and mortar" shop in Malaysia.  I wish I could be there, but I am hoping that someone who is able to make it that reads this post will be there on behalf of The Compassion Fashion Project and shop til' they drop!

Armoire has been featured in Liberating Style Magazine – Mini Issue #2

Evon does her own sketches as seen here.

Armoire's tag line is "Engineering the Perfect Dress."  No wonder, because as I got to know Evon I found out that she is an educated chemical engineer.  Go girl!  So, now she uses her knowledge in this field to propel her designs into a well oiled machine for her clients...I love it.

As her website states, "The whimsical idea was inspired from trips ranging from the Far East to Milan. Scouring the vintage markets in Sydney and Melbourne for inspiring pieces. Sinking into the variety of fabric, the collections are coming together to contain show stopping dresses, a selection of daywear, signature dresses, using only exclusive imported fabric."

WHAT
COME CELEBRATE WITH ARMOIRE ON THE LAUNCH OF OUR FIRST FLAGSHIP STORE IN MALAYSIA.

WHEN
SATURDAY . MAY 28 . 2011 . 2 P.M. – 6 P.M.

WHERE
76 JALAN PERMAS 10 (NEAR PERMAS JUSCO) . JOHOR BAHRU . MALAYSIA .

FACEBOOK DOT COM/ARMOIREAPPAREL FOR ANY FURTHER NEWS AND UPDATES.

(E) ARMOIREAPPAREL@GMAIL.COM TO RSVP FOR THE EVENT

Beautiful Armoire sketches...excited yet?

Vote for Gabby!

Gabby Hale is a true talent and one of our wonderful "Contributing Fashion Illustrators" for our online boutique.  As a thank you for her many shoe illustration contributions, I sent her a package not too long ago with some goodies, a t-shirt, a framed shoe illustration, and a couple of drawings that my two daughters had done of their own shoe designs.  I was catching up on my blog reading not too long after that when I went to Gabby's blog and found that my two little darlings' designs had been the inspiration for her latest post and shoe illustration.  I was a proud mother, of course, and Cherysh, my oldest daughter, was ecstatic!  She came home from school and I showed her Gabby's post and she just went wild.  She thought that was the coolest thing ever.  When Gabby offered this latest edition for our boutique, I was thrilled, because not only was it adorable, but it held a special place in my heart.

Purchase Gabby Hale's designs today!

Gabby is currently in a shoe design contest and with her recent shoe illustration contribution coupled with this contest that I want to help her win, I thought it was about time we followed up with her.  Below you will find an exclusive interview with our lovely, Gabby Hale...

Moms, you can buy one for your daughter, too!

Q.  Tell us a little personal background about yourself?


A.  I'm from Singapore, now living in Texas. I'm married to a wonderful man who is my biggest fan of my shoe designs.

Q. What made you decide to start designing shoes?


A.  This is not a childhood dream for sure. I started taking an interest in shoe designing a few years back. I love shoes and just couldn't find enough interesting designs on the market. That was when I wished I could have my own designs.

Q.  Where do you get your inspiration from in your design process?


A.  I get my inspiration from many different things...from things that I see, things that I like and things that I imagine.

Q.  What shoe designer do you admire most and why?


A.  I love Manolo Blahnik. I find his shoes very timeless, classy and wearable.

Q.  What are some of your future goals as a shoe designer and otherwise?


A.  Well, I am a shoe designer wanna be. Right now I'm just a shoe designer virtually on my blog. If I can ever really become a shoe designer, my goal is to be as successful as Monolo Blahnik where every shoe lover would want to own a pair of my shoes. It doesn't matter if I'm working for a label or for my own, I am just loving the designing process. Can't wait for the time where my designs will be produced.

"Breaking Free" can be found in our online boutique as well.

Q.  What are you favorite materials to use for your illustrations (paper, paints, pencils...etc.)?


A.  I love the old fashion way. Only paper and markers are used for my illustrations. 

With all of these fabulous illustrations that Gabby donated to The CFP, won't you go vote for her today?

Q.  What advice do you have for your fellow shoe designers?


A.  I'm not qualified enough to call myself a shoe designer yet as I'm not formally employed as one. But I would tell all fellow shoe designer wanna be's to start sketching your designs so that you don't lose them in your many thoughts and believe in yourself.

Here is my eight year old daughter, Cherysh's shoe design we sent to Gabby.

Q.   Do you study art/design?  Where and what has been your most valuable lesson you have learned?


A.  Right now, I am studying fashion design at HCC. My school does not teach shoe designing but I am making the best of what is available to me to get closer to my goal.

My three year old daughter, Adia's shoe design...lol!

Q.  Tell us about the shoe you created using my daughters', Cherysh and Adia's, drawings?

A.  When I did that post, I had already set the theme to incorporate their drawings into the designs. I tried to draw like I was nine years old. It was challenging, but I'm happy that they are happy with the design at the end of the day. I have achieved my goal.

Here is the design Gabby came up with from Cherysh and Adia's  designs as inspiration.

Q.  Explain this contest you have entered and how can people help?

A.  I have entered three shoe designs to the shoe design contest organized by Vince Camuto and Lucky Magazine. The winning design will be produced by Vince Camuto and the winner will be featured in Lucky's September issue. I will need every vote from all of you from now till May 25, 2011 in order to stand a chance to win and take a step closer to becoming a shoe designer.

Let's help Gabby by voting for her designs in this Lucky Magazine contest! 

  Click here now to vote for Gabby Hale's entries in the Vince Camuto Shoe Design Contest and let's help her WIN!