Here’s a preview of some pieces from our latest collection: Psychedelic Beach S/S ’12
You can also check out our SS’12 lookbook on our website and become a fan of our facebook page to receive the latest updates about the line. We’ll have photos of the line from our beach photo shoot in a month or so.
All our SS’12 prints were designed and custom printed for the collection. What’s a spring and summer collection without vibrant floral prints? Pair our floral tops with our cool color blocked blue shorts or with this spotted purple high waisted skirt and you got yourself a dynamic mix-and-match splash look. All silhouettes are available in other prints as well.
If colors aren’t your thing, don’t worry! This sheer button down shirt with gray hexagons legging and our seagull romper will make you look chic and edgy without losing the summery feeling! They can be worn from day to night, from the city to the beach, if you feel like taking a long walk. And while you’re at it, you can mix it up with our sheer tank top and seagull shorts (shown below) if you feel like showing off more of your sun kissed skin.
ELECTION DAY OUTFITS
The presidental election is in Sept 2012! Put your stars and stripes gears on this summer to show off your USA pride! And what’s a better way to cheer on the candidates than to wear our USA inspired prints? These outfits will take you right from a rally to the voting booth and then a party or two after that. We have many U.S. prints to choose from that are perfect for the election, July 4th, or even for everyday wear. You can’t go wrong with some fun stripes and stars to pair with other pieces in your wardrobe.
Our bold kaleidoscope print appears on many different silhouettes in our SS’12 line: silk tanks, t-shirts, and dresses.
And don’t forget the palazzo pants! Comfortable yet chic at the same time. Perfect for an afternoon stroll in the park, the beach, the museum, or around the city. Add a statement belt to accentuate high-waist, a pair of evening shoes, some bold metallic jewelry, and you’re good to go for the evening too.
Thank you to everyone who made our SS’12 collection possible. For those of you who were able to attend we hope you enjoyed our NY fashion week show at The Skyroom.
Here’s a video of the show which also includes a track by Alexander Trust made specifically for our SS’12 Fashion Week Show:
This black shiny spandex dress is a fun twist on the “little black dress”. With black fringe on the bottom and black mesh with silver glitter polka dots gathered at the hem and sleeves. Cut in an a flattering silhouette with a low scoop back.
This shiny dress is sure to be a show stopper wherever you wear it! The combination of periwinkle and gold foil snakeskin printed spandex and cream stretch jersey with bronze glitter dots makes for a fun and chic pairing. Cut in a flattering silhouette with long sleeves, and a cut out detail on the back, this dress is comfortable and classy.
This black stretch velvet dress with red, purple, and silver glitter is a perfect dress for a cocktail party or night out around town. Cut in a flattering silhouette with long sleeves, and a low scoop back, this dress is comfortable and classy. Features three silkscreened silver foil triangles on both sleeves.
We decided to spend our spring break this year in Austin for SXSW, a week long festival featuring the hottest, newest, and best in music, film and interactive (aka technology). We had an awesome time meeting up with old friends, making some new ones, and getting our clothing to some musicians! We didn’t get a pass for SXSW official events, but there were so many shows going on, so many people to meet, so many free things to eat and see, we had plenty to do. Just to give you an idea of some of the shows we stumbled across while wandering around Austin: Rooney, Mr. Heavenly, Rye Rye, Foo Fighters, The Strokes…the list keeps going!
We got a proper Texan welcome right after arriving at the airport with some amazing steak!
Our first show we went to was Rye Rye!
Here’s a pic of Rye Rye performing at an event for Fast Company in a custom made NP Outfit! The top features our new triangles design from our Summer 2011 line.
The leggings had neon yellow mesh triangles on the sides. (a lot of work making them but sooo worth it!)
Check out these glowing ice cubes in our free drinks. Score!
And here’s a pic of Rye Rye and me after her set.
Here’s a pic of the leggings while they were being sewn together.
This was an amusing sight we came across while we were chilling in the park. Nothing like exercising with your pets!
This group reminded us a lot of Kraftwerk. They were definitely German and very talented!
Also managed to stumble across Mr. Heavenly, the new band with Michael Cera of Arrested Development and Nick Diamonds of Islands, as well as guys from Man Man and Modest Mouse. Let’s just say the girls were getting rowdy…
Here’s a pic of some Austin BBQ we had to gear up for some more shows! mmm meat…
And for some more hearthrobby goodness, we saw Rooney play an amazing show.
Here’s a pic of the lead singer Robert Schwartzman
And here’s a pic of myself with the bassist Brandon Schwartzel after I gave him NP shirts for the whole band. Nothing like some NP!
The last full day we were in Austin, we swung by Rachel Ray’s Greenhouse (yes as in foodnetwork…) to hang with our friends from Andrew Charles, Hilfiger’s awesome new line which focuses on branding through musicians. It officially debuts in fall 2011, so stay tuned!
We heard Alex Ebert perform with his new group, Alexander. He’s also in Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Ima Robot.
We gave him a shirt after the show and got a pic! He’s hiding but it’s him!
And in our most ambitious product placement schemes ever, we saw The Strokes play at Ladybird Lake Shore Stage in front of 30,000 people. I arrived super early for the show, made sure to be towards the front, and kept pushing through till I was at the front and center. Didn’t get shirts to The Strokes though because of a 10 ft gap between the crowd and stage, crazy crowd, and overzealous security. But we ended up RUNNING INTO TWO OF THEM, FABRIZIO AND NIKOLAI, LEAVING A BAR at 2 in the morning that same night!!! SUCCESS! Fabrizio was fighting with his girlfriend Binky (I liked him better with Drew!) but I gave Nikolai Fraiture the bassist a shirt! We didn’t manage to get a pic though, hopefully one turns up soon!
Our final meal of the trip before we went to the airport-Elevation Burger, the In n’Out esque chain of Austin!
It’s amazing how the last post on our blog was over 2 months ago! Where has the time gone?! However we’ve been so busy and have so much to tell you about.
First of all, as of 2011 and this EPIC post, the NP blog is going to be heading in a different direction….instead of only NP related news, we’re going to be blogging about interesting occurrences/revelations/inventions in the fashion and business worlds. The blog is also going to be an examination of the business of having a clothing company.
So why have we been so busy?! Natty Paint is going pro!
1)As of January 2011, Natty Paint has become Natty Paint LLC!
2)We’ve been working very hard on preparing to enter the clothing industry with our fall 2011 line, which is going to be the first line we are going to have manufactured professionally in factories! This is going to allow us to get our designs into more stores, so we can “natty-ify” many more people.
Here are some pics from sample creation from the fall 2011 line to get you as excited as we are!
What’s going on here? Free t-shirt goes to the best answer!
We’re now selling at Better Than Jam at 1095 Flushing Ave in Bushwick, Brooklyn! Stop by the store to check out our reworked vintage, spandex dresses, and tees and say hi to Karin, the shop owner!
I spy some NP from the co-op front window!
Karin loading up the rack with some NP fresh off the press! Looks like she’s moving very quickly…
Since moving to Brooklyn, it’s been difficult to find a routine with a very busy and chaotic schedule-balancing Natty Paint and a part-time MBA all while in a new city with so many exciting things going on. Two things that were constants in my life in Baltimore while Natty Paint was starting up were my diet and exercise:being vegan and Bikram Yoga.
I’ve decided after much deliberation, I don’t want to be vegan anymore. I like having many more food options available and miss things like eggs and greek yogurt. And now I can eat other things! Like goat cheese! The list keeps going… But milk will not happen, EVER. I hate milk.
I have also decided it’s time to pick up Bikram again, as it is the ultimate way to destress, relax, and clear my head. Today was my first day returning to practice Bikram Yoga. Luckily, there’s a studio super close by in Williamsburg! YES!
After getting back from class, I see I’m tagged in new pic on Facebook of a Bikram yoga instructor wearing a Natty Paint custom Bikram Yoga Hampden shirt, standing next to Bikram Choudhury himself! EPIC!
We’re going to work on getting Bikram his very own shirt to wear at teacher training. Bengal tiger strength, bulldog determination!
Since moving to Brooklyn, there’s been a lot in the works for Natty Paint. A lot of goals have been made for us for our first year in New York. It’s going to be a year of starting over again, making new contacts, making new designs, getting new exposure. This is all on a much different level from when we started out in Baltimore, because here in NY, everything is bigger and more intense! Natty Paint is evolving this year into a fashion label, while still maintaining it’s bold aesthetic and green roots. Instead of craft fairs, we plan to do trade shows to sell wholesale to buyers all over the US, focus on online sales and marketing, and gaining capital for expanding and outsourcing production through grants and investors. It’s going to be a lot of work!
I spent yesterday at the Strand Bookstore by Union Square, scouring the shelves for images for inspiration. First, I made a list of all the sources of inspiration I wanted to investigate: Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Pop Art, Mayan, Columbian, Native American, Weimar Republic, Bauhaus, Josef Albers, Greek & Roman Art. The conclusion of what draws me to these and ties all these together in my mind: geometry. All of these art styles feature shapes interacting with each other in bold colors with high contrast. I came across the title “The Geometric Period” while perusing the Greek vases section, and had an ahah moment. Stripes, checkers, zig zags, triangles, which a few representational objects, mostly animals. This is Natty Paint.
Note: black & white/cream, stripes & triangles…
Note: circles and stripes in the hair and the left side eyelash design…
Note: stripes in different directions, bending & warping.
This reminds me of the NP business card!!
I wish my house looked this like this.
Hmmm… Idea for an in-house NP photoshoot?
FYI. cadmium red + black + geometric shapes = ALWAYS IN.
cadmium red & navy + geometric shapes!
GEOMETRIC ANIMALS in cadmium red & black!
I’m planning to spend the next few weeks visiting libraries, museums, painting with black ink and white paper, and also of course, doing some investigations with Illustrator. I look forward to presenting you the next set of designs for Natty Paint. Stay tuned!
Carlos, our website designer, has entered a design contest for a Mimobot flash drive. Check out his entry, “Tony Blenderhead” and vote here! Voting ends July 30th!
