MAMA FEATURE : Amber+Yellow

THIS MONTH’S MAMA FEATURE IS L.A BASED HAIRSTYLIST, AMBER KEKICH.

@AMBERKEKICH.STUDIO

MAMA TO A 4.5 YEAR OLD FIRECRACKER NAMED YELLOW BEAN.

YOU HAVE A PAST CAREER IN DESIGN + FASHION, AND USED TO OWN THE BRAND, ‘AGAIN’. TALK TO US A BIT ABOUT WHAT LED YOU TO YOUR CURRENTPASSION + CAREER AS A HAIR STYLIST.

I MOVED TO LA AT 18 TO ATTEND FIDM AND CHASE MY DREAM OF BECOMING A RUNWAY DESIGNER. AFTER DESIGNING FOR A FEW DENIM BRANDS, I LAUNCHED MY OWN CLOTHING LINE FOCUSING ON TEXTILES & TIMELESS PIECES PEOPLE WOULD WANT IN THEIR CLOSETS FOREVER.

I GREW UP THRIFTING WITH MY PARENTS OUT OF NECESSITY, BUT IT TAUGHT ME TO BE RESOURCEFUL & CREATIVE, AND ITS WHERE MY LOVE OF VINTAGE REALLY STARTED.

I HAD MY BRAND FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, BUT OVER TIME I FELL MORE INTO PHOTOGRAPHY AND CREATIVE DIRECTION. I WAS DRAWN TO CREATING VISUAL STORIES & WANTED TO CREATE FEELINGS INSTEAD OF OBJECTS.

WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, I FOUND OUT I WAS PREGNANT & EVERYTHING CHANGED. I LEANED HARD INTO MOTHERHOOD & WHEN I BECAME A SINGLE MOM, I KNEW I NEEDED A CAREER THAT GAVE ME STABILITY, FLEXIBILITY & A CREATIVE OUTLET. THAT LED ME TO HAIR. IT’S HANDS-ON, COLLABORATIVE & PERSONAL.

AFTER WORKING FULL-TIME & PUTTING MYSELF THROUGH SCHOOL, I NOW GET TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE, MAKE THEM FEEL LIKE THE BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES & STILL BE FULLY PRESENT FOR MY DAUGHTER. IT’S HONESTLY THE BEST MIX OF CREATIVITY & CONNECTION.

THESE DAYS I SPEND MORE TIME MAKING SURE YELLOW IS DRESSED TO THE NINES WHILE I’M THE HOMELESS-LOOKING WOMAN TRAILING BEHIND HER. BUT EVENTHOUGH I’VE TRADED TEXTILES FOR HAIR TOOLS, MY LOVE OF VINTAGE & STORYTELLING THROUGH STYLE IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE.

PATCHWORK OVERALLS FROM GUS+WAY

FAVORITE MEMORY WITH YOUR GIRL YELLOW?

EVERY PHASE WITH YELLOW BRINGS ALL THE EMOTIONS. I’M CONSTANTLY IN SOME STATE OF AWE, SURPRISE, NOSTALGIA, SOMETIMES OVERWHELMED THAT IT’S ALL GOING BY SO FAST, & YES MY PATIENCE IS TESTED DAILY.

SHE SAYS THE WILDEST THINGS THAT CATCH ME OFF GUARD & I ALWAYS FIND MYSELF THINKING “WHERE DID SHE EVER LEARN THAT?!”

IN A PAST LIFE, I BROUGHT MY CHIHUAHUA EVERYWHERE WITH ME BUT NOW SHE’S BEEN REPLACED BY A 30 LB. OPINIONATED, FEARLESS LITTLE HUMAN.

WE CAMP, WE SKI, WE FISH & BEACH.. SHE’S MY BUILT-IN ADVENTURE BUDDY. LIFE IS CHAOTIC IN A WHOLE NEW WAY AND WE’RE MAKING MEMORIES EVERY SINGLE DAY.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO YOU RAISING A DAUGHTER & HOW DO YOU HOPE TO INSPIRE HER?

I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SCARED TO HAVE A BABY IN THE CLIMATE WE WERE LIVING IN. I FOUND OUT I WAS PREGNANT JUST A COUPLE WEEKS INTO LOCKDOWN & UNTIL THEN I’D BEEN FEELING PRETTY HELPLESS ESPECIALLY WITH MOST OF MY CREATIVE OUTLETS ON PAUSE, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE.

BUT WHEN I FOUND OUT ABOUT YELLOW, SOMETHING SHIFTED. I THOUGHT MAYBE THIS IS HOW I CAN HELP.

MY FOCUS BECAME RAISING SOMEONE WHO IS KIND, AWARE & CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO LIVE LIFE ON HER OWN TERMS.

I TRY NOT TO PUSH MY OWN IDEAS ONTO HER, BUT INSTEAD GIVE HER SPACE TO DISCOVER WHO SHE REALLY IS. I WANT HER TO KNOW SHE CAN TAKE UP SPACE, SPEAK HER MIND & STILL BE SOFT.

I HOPE TO INSPIRE HER TO TRY AS MANY THINGS AS SHE WANTS AS LONG AS IT MAKES HER HAPPY. AND OF COURSE, TO BE A STAR-GAZING SOUL WHO ENJOYS ALL THAT THE EARTH HAS TO OFFER.

MY BIGGEST HOPE IS THAT SHE FEELS FREE TO BE EXACTLY WHO SHE IS.

I WANT TO KEEP MY OWN EXPECTATIONS OUT OF THE WAY AND FOCUS ON HELPING HER BECOME HER TRUEST SELF - SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HER WORTH, STANDS HER GROUND, LIVES BOLDLY AND OF COURSE LOOKS GOOD DOING IT.

PATCHWORK OVERALLS BY GUS+WAY

CONSIDERING YOUR PAST IN FASHION + HAVING BEEN A SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER OF YOUR OWN CLOTHING BRAND, HOW DO YOU NOW APPROACH SUSTAINABILITY & MINDFUL CONSUMPTION AS A MAMA?

WHEN I HAD MY BRAND, I REALLY VALUED QUALITY, I USED ALOT OF HANDMADE, NATURAL FABRICS & WANTED TO MAKE THINGS PEOPLE WOULDN’T TOSS AFTER A SEASON.

BUT WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING A SMALL BUSINESS, IT BECOMES CLEAR HOW HARD IT IS TO STAY ETHICAL & SUSTAINABLE WHILE ALSO TRYING TO STAY AFLOAT.

I’VE GROWN PRETTY DISILLUSIONED WITH OVERCONSUMPTION IN GENERAL. THAT SAID, I’M ALSO A WORKING MOM AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND THE APPEAL OF CONVENIENCE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR TIME IS LIMITED.

BUT I STILL LEAN ON VINTAGE & SECONDHAND PIECES WHENEVER I CAN.

THERE’S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT FINDING PIECES THAT ALREADY HAVE A STROY.

I AM FROM COLORADO, WHERE WE SPENT ALOT OF TIME ON OPEN LAND, ENJOYING NATURE AND RESPECTING ALL LIMITATIONS ON IT. AS A MOTHER, I HOPE MY GRANDCHILDREN AND THEIRS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IT THE WAY I AM ABLE TO.

SO BEING A PART OF THIS FEATURE FEELS FULL-CIRCLE FOR ME.

IT HITS THAT SWEET SPOT BETWEEN CREATIVITY, SUSTAINABILITY & MAKING THINGS THAT ACTUALLY MATTER.

COURTESY OF YELLOW!

mama feature : michelle + CY

I’VE KNOWN MICHELLE VAWER FOR OVER 12 YEARS, FIRST THROUGH MUTUAL CREATIVE WORK AND THEN AS A FRIEND.

A MODEL (@MICHVAW90) AND DESIGNER, IT HAS BEEN SO SPECIAL TO WATCH HER STEP INTO THIS NEW MOMENT OF MOTHERHOOD, WELCOMING HER SON CYPRESS LESS THAN A YEAR AGO.

CY’S OUTFIT FROM OUR SHOP @GUSANDWAY

WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST SURPRISING AS A NEW MAMA?

THE DEPTH OF LOVE. LIKE NOTHING I HAD EVER KNOWN.

THE JOY OF EVERYDAY MOMENTS.

AND ON A PRACTICAL LEVEL, HOW MUCH I WOULD LEARN TO DO WITH ONE HAND.

ALSO JUST HOW MUCH MY EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE AND MINDSET HAS CHANGED. SO MUCH OF MY BANDWIDTH GOES TOWARDS THINKING ABOUT MY BABY AND FAMILY, SO I’VE HAD TO GET BETTER AT SAYING NO TO OTHER THINGS. IT’S REALLY CLARIFIED AND SOLIDIFIED WHAT’S TRULY IMPORTANT TO ME. AND SIMULTANEOUSLY FORCED ME TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR MY OWN LITTLE RITUALS THAT CALM & GROUND ME. IT GETS SO CHAOTIC FEELING SOMETIMES SO THOSE PRACTICES NOW FEEL VERY NECESSARY.

ON VINTAGE

I DON’T THINK I WILL EVER NOT FREAK OUT OVER FINDING SOMETHING SPECIAL IN A VINTAGE SHOP OR RECEIVING SOMETHING SPECIAL THAT WAS PRE-LOVED.

THESE OVERALLS WE GOT FROM YOU @GUSANDWAY IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT ON A RUSH OF NOSTALGIA FROM THE OVERALLS I WORE AS A KID AND JUST FELT SO SPECIAL WITH HIS NICKNAME ‘CY’ EMBROIDERED ON THE POCKET.

I PLAN TO HOLD ONTO THEM FOREVER.

MEANING BEHIND HIS NAME, CYPRESS OPUA

HIS DAD CHOSE CYPRESS. ARI AND I MET IN CALIFORNIA. WE HAD BEEN ON THE CENTRAL COAST NOT TOO LONG BEFORE CY WAS BORN AND THE MONTEREY CYPRESS THERE ARE SO BEAUTIFUL. NOW WE LIVE IN FLORIDA, CY WAS BORN HERE, AND THERE’S ALL THE FLORIDA CYPRESS TREES HERE.

CY TWOMBLY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PAINTERS SO WHEN ARI SUGGESTED THE NAME I IMMEDIATELY LOVED IT!

I CHOSE HIS MIDDLE NAME. I LOVE CLOUDS AND I WANTED HIM TO KNOW HE HAD A BIT OF HAWAII IN HIS HEART. OPUA IS A SHORTENED SLANG VERSION OF BIG FLUFFY CLOUDS IN HAWAIIAN.

PHOTOS @ITISCHAD

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