unique los angeles, you never fail to treat me well.

i’m gonna say it and nothing’s gonna stop me: my booth had the best helpers on the whole penthouse floor of the CMC. out of the fourteen hours i spent at unique LA in the past two days, there wasn’t a moment when a friend wasn’t there to keep me company, help out customers, and make the whole weekend feel like a party instead of work. i don’t know how i was blessed with so many selfless and kindhearted people in my life, but never-ending thank you’s and indefinite gratitude for them allowing me to live out my dream.

on the note of making this whole “steppie” adventure possible, a huge panda bear hug goes out to sonja and the unique los angeles crew for opening up a platform for everyday people, like me, to put our silly items on display for the public. it’s the closest experience i get to dipping my feet in how it would feel to have my own physical storefront… and the best part about it? meeting my little ninjas face-to-face and finding new people who want to join the club. for every single person that added a new ninja tee or panda hat to their wardrobe, asked me about how i got started, or even just walked by my booth and smiled, laughed, or pointed at one of my designs… your coolness factor is A+. you are the people that inspire me to do what i’m doing, and the people that keep me in a place to continue to do what i’m doing.

to you… it might just be a $20 bill you dropped on a t-shirt you plan to wear when you’re feeling awesome. to me… this is my life, my passion, and (because of you) my reality.

so, not to sound like a broken record, but thank you.

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100+ PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW ARE POSTED ON MY FB FAN PAGE: VIEW ALBUM!

high-fives to shosh for a few photos i stole for this post, and to anthony for a potential, coming-to-you-soon video… perhaps, maybe, hopefully?! (hint-hint, wink-wink)

with unique los angeles over and done with, i’ve got a day to finish packing up my life from diamond bar, and then i’m off to san diego for UCSD’s vendor fair and back up for UCI’s vendor fair the week after (rsvp to my ‘mini so cal tour’ just for kicks, teehee). life’s pretty crazy and hectic right now… but i’m loving every minute of it. 3am, and i’m still running off my highs from this weekend… and with that, g’night.

say hello to my new baby:

olympus pen e-pl1.

for someone that’s been a loyal point-and-shoot user, this is a big step for me. i’ve always been fascinated with photography — don’t worry i won’t be jumping on the bandwagon on seeing it as more than just a hobby — but i’m definitely going to have a lot of fun with this one. the e-pl1, a micro 4/3rds camera (which won’t mean much to most of you), is a nice medium between the quality and abilities of a dslr but with the ease, dumbed-down language, portability and affordability of a point-and-shoot. it get’s the job done. thanks shosh for the recommendation!

can’t wait to bring this baby to future shows so i can snap new photos of the booth and, well… of you! on that note, the “shows and events” page has been updated! check out the new show dates, and hope to see you there!

i’ll be heading off soon for a very eventful, and anticipated, night of reckless fun and defending of titles (sounds serious… it kinda is), but really wanted to make a quick post for a few updates before i left.

things in the steppie world have been really insane, but more on a personal level than a business level. so much i’ve actually had to put a few business things on hold… like my etsy shop. i rarely put my shop on vacation, and when i do – i hate to do it, but this time it’s necessary. i’m currently in the middle of moving. on top of that, i’ve got two weeks coming up of back-to-back shows. i think this will be the most intense show-crazy i’ll ever be thusfar, so it should be interesting.

regardless, i’m excited because i’ll have a few new exciting things i’ll be launching at the shows (summer tanks, anyone?), so come through:

UNIQUE LOS ANGELES
april 24-25, 2010
california market center, los angeles @ 11am – 6pm
more info

UC SAN DIEGO
april 28-30, 2010
uc san diego, la jolla @ 10am – 5pm
more info

UC IRVINE
may 3-7, 2010
uc irvine, ring road @ 10am – 5pm
more info

in other good news, conan is home at last! if you haven’t been following on twitter, conan’s been gone for the past three days for routine shots and check-ups to get her lady parts removed (no babies for coco!). last night, i finally got to pick her up post-surgery… she’s doing well, a little weak, but healthy and happy.

such a cutie. she’s so calm and quiet… unlike herself. but i’m sure once she’s fully healed, she’ll be driving me crazy again.

so, i guess the point of this post was to explain why my shop is down, and give a little insight in how things are going in my life currently. i can’t wait ’til the moving is all done, things become more settled, and life is back to routine. ’til then, i leave you with these awesome photos:

thanks for the find, kenneth!

spy the ninja running the cap10k race:

thanks for sharing the photos with me, jenny!

upload your fan photos here.

i think my feet are still recovering from this past saturday,
but, man, was vending at world of dance an experience!

(photo via melly lee)

being part of the hip hop dance circuit for a split second, i never actually competed (or attended) world of dance. i’ve always heard about it though… well, just about its craziness. it’s definitely a change of pace from the regular so cal circuit, whether that’s your cup of tea or not. regardless though, as a vendor, i couldn’t complain. the masses were there, and they were ready to update their closets.

i’m not even gonna front, when i rolled in through the pomona fairplex at 11am though, i immediately felt intimidated. if you’ve seen my stuff, it’s pretty obvious my style doesn’t exactly fit in the “urban/hiphop” mold… so rolling in my pandas and pastels in a sea of oversized graphics and hype galore, i felt slightly out of place. but once the doors opened at 3pm, and the dancers and spectators were flooding the floors, i was welcomed by open arms and worries no longer! no joke though, i’ve had my share of really bad and really good shows… but my 13-hour day at world of dance was, by far, the best show i’ve ever done. i wasn’t sure how the hip hop scene would receive my brand, but after this weekend, have no doubt that i’ll be around! pandas, ninjas, and cuteness about to penetrate the circuit – are you ready? hahaha.

ah, and then there’s my dream team. last week i put out an update on twitter and facebook that i was looking for a few helpers for saturday (thanks to all of you who offered, btw), and was blessed with three amazing individuals: nahgooyin, janice, and addie. i taught them the ropes of how i go about things, and within minutes, they were acting like they had been doing it forever. i really wouldn’t have survived that day without them. there were times when the booth was madness, and four transactions going on at the same time… and other times, i just needed them to get me through the long hours and blasting music coming from different sides of the arena.

janice, addie, nahgooyin

speaking of music, i nearly lost my voice (and sanity) because it was so loud. i’d be talking to customers 5 inches from me, and pretty much had to scream at the top of my lungs and repeat myself several times. thank you to all the new faces i met yesterday — i really wish the conditions allowed me to chitty-chat with you guys more, but your enthusiasm and amazingness made my day. seriously. if you’re reading this, don’t be a stranger! leave a comment and frequent my blog and fan page!

feng (quest crew) having a celebrity meet-and-greet in front my booth… LOL

(photo via melly lee)

(photo via melly lee)

EDIT: more photos now posted on the fan page!

by the end of the day, i was pretty much a mess. razzled and beat, but still coming off a high from how amazing the day was. again, thank you to my dream team for their amazing assistance, melly lee for snapping a couple shots, and all the new faces i got to meet! hope to see you at the next event!

and i’m out. \\//

tomorrow is the big day! i’m been preparing all week for a 12+ hour work day and seeing some lovely faces in the hip hop community again tomorrow at the world of dance hip hop competition held in the pomona fairplex! it’ll be my first time vending, but with a team consisting of some of my favorite CADC alums, i’m ready to have some fun!

hope to see your faces there! i’ll be there all day until midnight, so grab some tees or just come and hang out! i’ve got some new surprises in terms of my display (minimal ones, but they make me happy), and if not for me, come for the never-ending list of performers. and for all you ABDC heads (or OG hip hop circuit peeps), just got word from WOD that jabbawockees have just confirmed they’ll be performing live tomorrow.

WORLD OF DANCE: HIP HOP COMPETITION
april 10, 2010
pomona fairplex, pomona @ 3pm
more info