Q. Hi Leslie and Lex! Thanks so much for joining my Meet the Maker series! First off, can you tell us the story of how Blackberry Maverick got started?
A. Lex and I met through a mutual friend at a nightclub. We were supposed to be hanging with a crew, but instead we stayed in the corner smoking cigarettes and talking about the possibility of Blackberry Maverick until the lights came on:) we agreed to sketch some designs and meet back up in a couple weeks to see if our visions would mesh and ended up pulling out the same sketches. Knowing it was meant to be, in May 2013, Blackberry Maverick was born.
Q. Is there any meaning behind the name of your shop?
A. Blackberry: To us, this represents a nostalgic symbol of enduring struggle and pursuit of happiness.The quest for and enjoyment of the blackberry are symbols of the elusive force that drives us toward the sweet goal at the end of a perilous journey.
Mav·er·ick: Is an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party. We are not afraid to challenge the laws of conformity and believe in pursuing a dream with a free and fearless spirit. We are not afraid to be rebellious and define our own meaning of fashion.
Q. What does a typical "day in the life" in your studio look like?
A. A typical day, ay? I don't think that exists, haha. Lex is a day worker and I am a night owl and we overlap the hours in between. Each day there's the computer stuff, emails, social media, research, etc., then some sort of creativity depending on what we are inspired to work on. Lex is doing lots of custom stuff lately and I have been building our space. We like to put on tunes and see where the space will take us. If we have deadlines we put the metal down and take care of business. But mostly it is consistently a whirl of creativity and creation. A lot of times will work on projects together, giving each other advice and picking up where the other one left off. We do our best work when we're both working together but, sometimes that isn't possible as we have to go to our respective waitress jobs at the moment in order to make rent.
Q. What are your top two favorite pieces from your S/S 2015 Collection "Stormy Sweets"?
A. Leslie: Flash (double zip neckline, pencil dress) and Sugarcloud (jumper).
Lexi: Bolt (high waisted pedal pusher pants) and Strike (high waisted overall skirt) For our consumers I love Puff Pastry (kimono top pencil skirt dress) because it looks great on everyone!
Q. What time of day do you find you are most productive and inspired? Would you say you are an early bird or a night owl?
A. I'm totally a night owl. One of the biggest things about this move was making sure we found the right space where I can be up all night playing music loud and sewing clothing, not having to worry about bothering the neighbors. A lot of the time though it doesn't really matter the time of day its more how I feel. Like Lex can be in her groove and pulling out stuff and I'll see something that interests me and it will inspire me to start working too and vice versa. I Am so much more productive during the day, when the sun is shinning and the world is moving. I feel like I have a whole day of possibilities ahead of me.
Q. What is your favorite summertime drink and treat?
A. Well my nickname is meat, haha, for a lotta reasons but one reason being I love to eat it! Definitely BBQ for days, and a good burger with an egg on top is always awesome (even if its like at 11 in the morning for breakfast). Recently I've been into the day old bottle of wine, you know the one that you crack at like 8 at night and take a few sips from the bottle and then leave it? Then I finish it off in the evening the next day right as I'm getting into work mode:) Fruit is like one of the only things I crave when it is hot and I will go out of my way to find some good blackberries, lol it's the principle of the matter! Whiskey sours are my summer drink, I'm a whiskey girl in general but sours remind me of being back at lake Berryessa in California.
Q. You guys just relocated your shop from Colorado Springs to Denver. What are some of your favorite new hangouts or things to in Denver?
A. Besides designing, I live to eat! One of the most exciting things about being in Denver for me are the dining possibilities! I've become a regular at the Breakfast King. Jenny and Shelly are awesome and the kings omelette has been a staple at least a couple nights (morning's?) a week. I also have fallen in love with Euclid hall, the pad Thai pig ears are to die for! In terms of activities, I recently was given a "jammy pack", a fanny pack with a speaker system built in and have been rollerblading around, exploring the neighborhood while rockin out to some tunes:) I just found all the fun rockabilly/ swing bars on Broadway, specifically the Skylark. I love bars that can pull off excentric gritty diviness! I have two dogs so I spend alot of time walking around and exploring our awesome neighborhood. I am consistently awed by the Denver skyline, we are right by Elitches and seeing that at night evokes a really deep appreciation for this city and what it represents for our company's accomplishments.
Q.What other clothing shops or designers are you most inspired by?
A. Definitely Mary Katrantzou, her prints are epic, and I love the structure of her garments. Also, this chic from the UK, who goes by, "ByMisha". She creates collections based on fantasy worlds she is inspired by and uses super ingenuitive fabric combinations. I love all things vintage, doesn't matter the designer if it has a vintage flare I love it!
Q. Lastly, what is the very best part of your job?
A. Being in the zone creating a vision and making it tangible. Building something based off the energy of who its made for and then watching them get into it and feel confident and sexy and beautiful. Being around the most inspiring people I know and relishing in the joy of doing what I love to do more than anything. Same. Waking up every morning excited to be alive with a purpose in life. Being able to genuinely say that even on the hard days I am truly following my passion. In a smaller scale- buttons!!! lol. The best gift in the world to me is cool buttons!
Thank you so much to Lex and Leslie for giving us a behind the scenes peak into their amazing clothing line! And for those Colorado local readers, they are having a super fun grand opening party at their new Denver location on August 20th, which you can find the event details on their facebook page here!
Hope you all are having an awesome week so far!
xo Hannah
p.s. If you guys have any recommendations for what you would like to see in future Meet the Maker posts, please let me know! What questions would you like to ask your favorite makers or brands?!
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