ZELAYA DESIGN

Inspiration: Death Valley

Zelaya — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:09:45 +0000

I am back, fully inspired from my trip to Death Valley National Park. The combination of extreme heat and low elevations has naturally stripped away the land, showcasing very unique beauty. Here are some sights that caught my eye…

This is a salt flat at Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America…

Mesquite Sand Dunes…

This is what they call Artist Palette, where minerals show off their myriad of colors…

Mosaic Canyon and its compelling ondulations created by currents of water, once upon a time…

Layers of history…

It is always inspiring to find blossoming life that can endure such dry conditions…

Last but not least, our way back home was as beautiful as our stay at Death Valley. We went to several hot springs on our way back to the main highway, and drove through Sequoia National Park. California is indeed beautiful!

Mother’s Day & Earth Day GIVEAWAY

Zelaya — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:51:26 +0000

We are having a Mothers Day/Earth Day giveaway in appreciation for all the support from clients, friends, and family throughout the years! We are also thankful of our mothers, for all their unconditional love and support, and of the earth, for feeding us with endless beauty, oxygen, and tasty foods…

We will be giving away this pair of beautiful rosette earrings, made completely by hand, one petal at a time. We used a special raw, unbleached woven cotton fabric from El Salvador called Manta. They are one inch in diameter. These are perfect for your Mother, yourself, or any other woman you love in your life.

To enter our give away, all you need to do is go to our Facebook page, “like” us, and then leave a comment on this blog post to let us know! (If you already are a fan of Zelaya Design on Facebook, thank you! Just leave your comment below to be entered into the giveaway) The winner will be announced on Facebook on Earth Day, April 22nd. (They will be shipped in time for Mother’s Day)

Good luck! Buena Suerte!

Spring Cleaning Sale!

Zelaya — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:32:04 +0000

Here at Zelaya we are trying to get rid of the old to make room for the new with a Spring Cleaning Sale! Most of our organic tops now have a 15% -20% discount at our online shop. All prices are already marked down, take advantage!

Our Summer Home and Clothing Collections will be available in two weeks! We are also receiving a shipment of summer accessories that I designed with my mother in about two weeks, stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’m getting ready for my trip to Death Valley National Park! It is located east of the Sierra Nevada in the arid Great Basin of the United States. It contains the second lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, and it is the hottest and driest of national parks in the United States. At this time of the year, you can see the towering frosted peaks of the Sierras and all kinds of beautiful and interesting flora and structures! I’m very excited!

This last two are pictures I took almost 4 years ago, can’t wait to see what I catches my eye this time. I also can’t wait to have more time to read Hunger Games, I’m fascinated by it!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Inspiration: Flowers

Zelaya — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:29:53 +0000

Flowers flowers flowers, in my search for inspiration, flowers never fail me. Why is that? Colorful with beautiful scents and shapes, they are the great seducers of nature, they stand tall and proud. Flowers always remind me of grace, and how to face problems with elegance and wisdom. There is a lot to learn from them, and here are some to brighten your day…

Hope you have a great start of the week!

Inspiration: Caroline Wright and Miranda Scokzek

Zelaya — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:00:25 +0000

As I start the process of designing my home and summer collections, I stumbled upon two artists that I’m quite enamored with at the moment, Caroline Wright and Miranda Scokzek. I am appreciating the bright colors and gray/taupe backgrounds, they spell grace and vitality.

The first two pieces are by Caroline, and the rest are pieces by Miranda, enjoy!

Happy Friday everyone!

Zelaya Spring/Summer Accessories coming soon!

Zelaya — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:29:06 +0000

After working long hours to finish our Bridal line, we are finally getting ready to launch our Spring/Summer Accessories line! Most of our accessories are made with the historical fabric Manta. Manta is a fabric made out of raw, unbleached, and unprocessed cotton. It has a soft texture and a weave that allows high circulation of air. Manta has been widely used for more than a century in El Salvador, from the early indigenous groups that occupied the area to its modern inhabitants. These accessories are all made in collaboration with talented women artisans from the small town of Panchimalco, El Salvador.

Take a peek and tell us what you think!Women of Panchimalco are also known for creating beautiful flower arrangements for ceremonial events. Skills that are handed down from one generation to another. My mother and I are extremely proud to collaborate with such great artists and artisans!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

2012 Zelaya Bridal Line is now here!

Zelaya — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:30:49 +0000

After a week of learning all about raw photo files, our Zelaya Bridal Lookbook is now here! All these outfits are available on our online etsy shop. They are made with a beautiful organic cotton knit, and reverse appliqued and embroidered by hand. Extra embroidery and appliques can be added anywhere on the garment to cater to our clientele’s unique taste. Perfect for the modern conscious bride.

I would like to give a special thanks to my friend Michael Pace, who made these photographs happen, he is a wonderful yogini and photographer in his spare time.

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Inspiration: Art of Kirigami

Zelaya — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:07:10 +0000

I always thought Kirigami, the art of cutting and folding paper into shapes, was very similar to apparel design, specifically pattern making. There is a lot of information and inspiration we can get from Kirigami, and when translated into textiles, jewelry, furniture, etc….magic will definitely happen. I made a quick google image search and here are some images that caught my eye:

Hope this gets some creative juices flowing! Happy Thursday everyone!

Sneak Preview: Zelaya Bridal Line

Zelaya — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:43:26 +0000

I spent this last weekend with my friend Michael Pace working on a collaboration. He wanted to photograph a friend and I needed a photographer for my new bridal line, it worked wonderfully. Here is a sneak preview of what happened, this is one of our three wedding dresses, handmade with 100% organic cotton knit. They are all hand appliqued and embroidered as well. All three dresses will be available online starting next week!

Inspiration: Wedding Traditions

Zelaya — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:38:54 +0000

I just came back from spending several days in Oklahoma City, where one of my best friends got married over the weekend. She has been a beautiful, strong, and noble force in my life, and I am very thankful she has found the right person to share her life with. It was beautiful to witness their union in a traditional Muslim Indian ceremony, the way she had always wanted it to be.

Traditions can be a tricky subject, as ethical issues can be overlooked for the sake of doing what society deems as right, but if practiced mindfully, traditions can have an incredibly grounding effect, as it was the case for this wedding. There is something humbling and fulfilling about the slow finessing of ceremonial rituals and crafts, the coming together of family and friends, and the acknowledgement that there is something greater than our individual selves. This inspired me to research different wedding traditions, as I am working on a line of wedding dresses for this spring. I learned that in many Eastern cultures, the bride wears red, as a sign of good luck, auspiciousness, or sexual awakening. In traditional Arab, Turkish, Muslim, Hindu, and Jewish weddings, the bride’s hands and feet are decorated with henna in intricate patterns, also a sign of good luck and auspiciousness.

Bride in traditional Chinese wedding attire

Birdes at a mass Muslim wedding ceremony

Traditional henna decorations

Native American weddings are hard to categorize as they differ greatly from tribe to tribe. In Northern California traditions, the groom weaves the bride’s gown in symbolic colors: white for the east, blue for the south, yellow for the west, and black for the north. Jewelry is worn to prevent hunger and poverty.

Wishram Bride

In Meso American traditions, the bride wears a heavily embroidered huipil and a natural white cotton skirt, the groom wears an embroidered outfit as well. Family and friends wear simple natural white cotton outfits, and no shoes are worn to absorb the spiritual energy created by the ceremony.

Mayan Brides

The one thing in common that all these wedding traditions have is that they are performed to wish newlywed couples protection, health, auspiciousness, and abundance. Which is what I wish to my newlywed friend, and what I will be thinking of everytime I sit down to make a wedding dress.