Live Boldly Blog — Local

Meet the woman behind the amazing illustrations on our lightweight base layers and new bags coming out this Fall. Hillary G. is based in Boulder, CO just down the street from the Krimson Klover office. Hillary has a natural talent when it comes to art and design. She has vast experience in apparel design starting with Diane von Furstenberg and ranging from Macy’s to Neve Designs and now Krimson Klover. I had the pleasure of meeting up with her to ask a few questions about her artwork and her lifestyle and how each influences the other.

When it comes to what inspires her artwork, her base layer designs are motivated by vintage ski posters and retro ski fashion ranging from the 1920’s through the 1970’s. She aims to modernize the vintage ski look into a new, fun, yet relatable image. For her folkloric prints, she focuses on different themes each season. Hillary explained, “If you stick with the same traditional Nordic motifs and patterns they tend to look a little repetitive and can be overdone. Each new collection is inspired by traditional art motifs from different cultures to keep it fresh and interesting.”

Some of her Fall ’18 inspiration came from the Ukrainian Psyanka designs (traditional Easter eggs) with intricate line work, whereas her upcoming Fall ’19 designs are influenced by Romanian embroidery motifs and Peruvian floral designs. She gives her vintage fashion girl designs a modern retro vibe in fun après ski scenes.  Adding bright pops of color makes this artwork come off as modernized and fresh pieces that are highly sought after.

North Star Base Layer

After touching on her inspiration from different places around the world, I wanted to know where she likes to travel and how much of an influence that has on her work. Immediately after asking her, she responded with “Everywhere inspires me”. Wherever Hillary goes she is searching for and aware of her surroundings that inspire her. “The more you travel, the more knowledge and inspiration you gather”, she told me, so she tries to travel any chance she can. Hillary went to Morocco last year and found herself drawn to the beautiful tile work, natural dye colors and architecture around her. On her honeymoon in Italy she was surrounded by gorgeous ceramics with ornate patterns and bright colors.  Just a few months ago she traveled throughout Scotland and was inspired by all the rich plaid tartans and elegant wool and cashmere knitwear.  Hillary is hoping to explore Peru next, and I’m sure many more places in the future.

Hillary started illustrating custom prints at Neve Designs in 2012.  Rhonda, founder of Krimson Klover, founded Neve designs back in 2010.  When she started designing at Krimson Klover, Hillary and Rhonda wanted to transition those dynamic prints into something a little more modern and fresh, and still reflect the retro flair of the European ski heritage.

Hillary was fascinated with art from the moment she was able to hold a crayon. Her mom saw the talent and potential that she possessed and signed her up for many art classes as she grew up. Hillary’s mom and sister are both designers as well, so the passion clearly runs in the family. She attended CSU for fashion design and was admitted into the competitive fashion program as a freshman where at the time only 25 students were accepted. As her apparel design career developed, “It was a nice surprise falling into print design”, she told me as she talked about her life after graduating from CSU. Hillary has designed prints in previous roles and learned how to design knitwear when she was hired as an Assistant Sweater Designer at Macy’s in New York.

With two offices, one at home and one on swanky Pearl Street in Boulder, Hillary likes to switch up her location of work to keep ideas flowing and fresh. “Staying in one place for too long creates a bit of a road-block for me, so I like to change up my surroundings.” She shares her office in Boulder with her older sister, Jillian, who works as a contract Art Director. The two are actually starting their own apparel brand called Glenn + Glenn, launching in the Spring of 2019. Glenn + Glenn will feature women’s woven contemporary apparel such as tanks, dresses, skirts, blouses and items of the sort. They are aiming to achieve a minimalistic, clean and modern look. “This line will be very different from what I currently design for other clients, but will still have that same modern, fresh look.  It has been a lot of work in the making, but we are very excited to create this together.” Be sure to look out for Glenn + Glenn coming out next spring!

Adrenaline Base Layer

Lots of artists and designers have a ritual or routine they do before getting into their work. Hillary likes to take a couple of days after she gets her design brief to begin looking for inspirations and motivations. She likes to go through her daily routine with the idea in the back of her mind, seeing what might pop out to her. Like most of us creatives, she likes to look through Pinterest, magazines, and books to spark ideas. “Inspiration takes the longest time, for sure, but it is the most fun”, Hillary said while talking about the process. “Once you know what your client is looking for, it’s helpful to keep that idea rolling around in the back of your head for even several weeks before putting anything on paper.” On that note, I was curious to see if she found herself creating several drafts before presenting her final idea. Since she takes her time curating the idea in her head, she is able to come up with several options once she begins her sketches to present. Rarely does she completely throw away an idea, rather just narrows down and makes changes when presenting them to her clients.

Hillary’s favorite thing about illustrating is seeing her sketches evolve into actual garments. Usually the initial print idea and the final product evolve quite a bit along the way as tiny details emerge in the design, so she loves to see how the final design compares to her original vision. “Seeing my rough black and white sketch turn into colored vector art on the base layers is a really fun experience. Typically, the original design ideas are done in pen and ink because the color palette has not been finalized yet.  “This makes the process very exciting as the design kind of jumps to life when we add in the color,” she told me when talking about her sketches. If she ever gets stuck on a design or idea, she tries to switch gears, work on something else and then goes back to it. It usually just takes reworking the design until it flows– whether it’s moving motifs around or re-doing spatial patterns. Attached at the end are a few examples of her sketches moving through the process.

North Star Base Layer

When it comes to working with Krimson Klover, Hillary likes the fact that we are easy and fun to work with. “Rhonda gives me a lot of creative leeway, which is nice because it allows me to add in my personal creativity and come up with a few different ideas that maybe weren’t initially included on the design brief.” She said that Rhonda likes to push the envelope as much as she can with ideas and imagination, which creates a productive working environment. “Rhonda is so great to work with because she can look at my initial designs and can see the vision and potential. After working together for several seasons, we both have an understanding in the process.  Rhonda shows confidence in my initial ideas and they usually turn out better than we originally expected. It makes it a lot easier to work with someone who is creative in that way and can see my vision from the beginning.” Hillary also mentioned how important Krimson Klover’s new “slow-fashion” movement is and how Rhonda really stands by that. “Rhonda understands that creating detailed prints takes time. She wants to get it right for the customer and doesn’t rush the process which is very helpful for a designer.” Something Hillary really notices about Rhonda is that she is very in-tune with the Krimson Klover customers; “If there is a piece they really loved from last season, we will be sure to include a new update in the next season to serve those customers wants and needs.”

Back Country Base Layer

Hillary has a few people that really inspire her and that she would love to do a co-lab with if she ever got the chance. “Print-wise, Diane von Furstenberg has always really inspired me because I was able to go behind the scenes of their design process.  Every print is done in house and created by their designers. They also resurrect a lot of DVF’s classic vintage prints and rework them in a fresh way.  Mara Hoffman is another fabulous designer I would love to do a co-lab with. Her use of color and variation of print work is always exciting to look at.”

When it comes to how Hillary Lives Boldly, she is very active and loves to take advantage of living so close to the mountains and being outside as much as she can. “I love to snowboard and travel.  That is the benefit from being a contractor – you can work from almost anywhere!”  Tennis is a big love of hers and she also attempts to keep up with her husband mountain biking. Whenever she has the extra time, Hillary loves to be a part of the community and participate in any social events happening in the Denver and Boulder area.

Submitted by:  Emma Feeney, Krimson Klover Intern

We have a new member of our KK team to welcome – Ellen DeLisio, our new product project manager. Replacing Andrea, who is settling down in LA as we speak getting ready for the next chapter in her life, Ellen will be taking over the product development arena. We are sad to see Andrea go, but we are lucky to have Ellen as part of the team now! Ellen grew up in a small town near Boston and actually went to school out there as well at a small arts college to study fashion design.

Curious to know how she got into the apparel industry and where her passion stems from, we asked when she got into the fashion world and how she knew it was what she wanted to do after school. Ellen told us that she started sewing in high school while participating in her town’s youth service club called Keep It Wild. This club had annual fashion shows that Ellen took part in for two years and during her senior year she created a collection based on Alice in Wonderland with her best friend. After being a part of those events, Ellen knew right away that fashion was her calling and she decided to go to school to study fashion design so she could confidently go into the industry afterwards.

Being from Boston and going to school there, we weren’t too surprised on her decision to come out to Colorado but still wanted to know why. “Colorado is what made me come here. Just the mountains being right where you are and going from a small city to a mountain town within steps is amazing to me”.  That being said, we wanted to know what she loves most about being in Colorado now that she has settled in, and she said that the mountains will never get old for her. Ellen climbs and had started climbing right before she came to Boulder.  Now that she is able to go and do the real thing, she is very grateful.

Though she loves being in Colorado and takes advantage of everything it has to offer, Ellen also loves to travel. Her favorite place to go is South America, specifically Guatemala. “The culture is so interesting and colorful there. They also have amazing mountains”, Ellen said explaining her love for the destination. She is inspired by places she goes and people she surrounds herself with but, specifically, she is inspired by her mom. Ellen’s mom is hard working and made Ellen into the focused and driven woman she is today. Her mom is also a traveling connoisseur, she is a flight attendant, so they share that special love together. “She is pretty classic. It’s funny because she claims that she isn’t trendy or on top of what is the new thing, but she is usually the first one to come out with the trends. She seems to be really hitting the trends before anyone else is, which always inspires and impresses me”, Ellen said about her mother.

On the other hand, when it comes to people that Ellen hopes to inspire herself, she doesn’t have anyone too specific. She hopes to be able to inspire and be a role model for younger women everywhere. She wants to be able to show that your path doesn’t always end up how you imagined it and wherever you are now, is where you’re supposed to be. Ellen really hopes to get that message across in things she does and is confident saying that whatever happens will happen for a reason and that you just need to go with the flow sometimes, as hard as that can be.

All of that aside, the most important thing we needed to know was what her superpower would be if she could choose any. “I would have to say flying; I have flown in my dreams before and it is so thrilling and I want to feel that in real life” Good choice Ellen; we approve. Besides someday being able to fly, Ellen has a passion for ultimate Frisbee and plays with a group on a weekly basis. Of course I had to ask her to explain the sport to me a bit, but it’s just like football and sounds like a heck of a good time (and workout). She also loves to cook and try new recipes whenever she can. She makes her own almond milk and has just recently started making her own kombucha as well; definitely the signs of a creative and motivated mind. Ellen hiking Maroon Bells

On that note, we wanted to dive into what she is most excited about when it comes to working for Krimson Klover and being a part of the team. “I’m super excited about knits. I see so many interesting pieces being designed for Spring ’19 and some interesting [knit] techniques as well. The possibilities with the colors, materials and unique designs are getting me very excited”.

I had to ask Ellen how she lives up to Krimson Klover’s motto, “Live Boldly”. Ellen lives boldly by having strong opinions about her ways of life, decisions that she makes and lifestyles she chooses to live. “I stay true to how I choose to think and go about my life and don’t see myself ever changing those opinions”. Strong women are who we at Krimson Klover aim to inspire and create with; Ellen is going to fit in great here and we can’t wait to start creating with the new addition to our KK family.

Submitted by: Emma Feeney, Intern

2018 is "Year of the Dog" in the Chinese Zodiak.  The year starts on Chinese New Year which falls on February 16 this year.

The dog is the eleventh of all the Chinese zodiac animals.  Evidently, the way the myth goes...the order of the animals is said to be decided by the order in which the animals arrived to the Jade Emporer's party.  The Monkey, Rooster, and Dog were in another country helping God defeat evil spirits.  After defeating the evilspirits they headed off to the party.  The Monkey, Rooster, and Dog all arrived to the party at the same time -- so the Jade Emperor went by the order they met the god in the other country.

Rhonda, our founder with her dog River.

People born in Dog years (1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 and 2018) are honest and loyal.  Dogs are the truest friends and most reliable partner.  A Dog's most defining characteristic is their loyalty.  They will never abandon their friends, family or work.  Dog's are honest and true, amiable, kind, cautious and prudent.  Born with good natures, and find communicating their thoughts to others difficult.

Speaking of Dogs, here in the Krimson Klover office, we couldn't agree more...we have an office full of (actual) dogs and they are all the most loyal and true friends we could ask for.  Every day is a dog day, and they make our days brighter.

We've got River, the Austrailian Shepard.  He'll talk to you if you aren't paying attention to him.  River will also roll on his back for a belly rub if he sees you've got hands.

Josie is the only girl dog in the office.  She's the sweetest border collie you ever did meet.  Josie was rescued recently from the Boulder Humane Society.

Oscar, the black lab, he speaks with a British accent and he's got a very discriminating palette, he's super picky about the treats he'll eat.  But he'll jump up and down and wag his tail when he's excited to see you.  Oscar's nemesis is the tiniest of the dogs, Koa.

Koa is a long haired chihuahua rescued from the Colorado Corrections program.  Koa swiffers-up all of the crumbs and will guilt you with his puppy eyes for as much lunch or treats as you can part with.

We have two corgies Kezi and Calvin that don't come to the office everday but we get to hang with them when they join us on hikes, these two have a lot of energy and the secretly want to join a pack of deer to live out their days in the wild.

Our #wcw this week is a Dynamic Duo, here in Boulder, CO.  They organize and execute Recycled Runway put on by the Common Threads Creative Lab.  If you've not heard of Recycled Runway, Project Runway meets Boulder tweens and outfits made entirely of recycled materials.  Watch the video from last year here. Participants design, troubleshoot & create original garments from found materials, as well as present them in a professional runway show & competition at the Boulder Theater.  In addition, they both are able to use their creative talents and love for fashion at Common Threads Boulder.

Common Threads is a unique boutique founded in 2007 that combines higher end consignment, new garments and the creative lab.

Rachel Lubanowski

What is your day job? I am the store manager & social media designer at Common Threads in Boulder.

Favorite Hobby/Sports: I love to keep a balance of active & chill: Hiking, dancing, seeing live music, seeking out natural hot springs, organizing (nerd alert!) & creating in my studio for my side project, grey tangerine.

Who has inspired you lately? why? Lately, a few of my close, dear girlfriends have been *extra* inspiring. They're fellow artists with very different paths & I am in absolute awe of their creativity, honesty (with themselves & their art), strength, experiences & friendship!

Who do you hope to inspire? Anyone! If I inspire one person, that will make me incredibly happy.

How do you #liveboldly? I live boldly by being confident in my decisions & for what I believe in, supporting other artisans (I LOVE to support other makers & small business owners!) & getting out to explore this stunning world (& state) we live in!

What are you most excited for in 2018? I am most excited for a few (secret) artistic projects that I have in the works, potentially a bit of travel & the oh-so-evident change. I love how each year is so different & full of growth!

Tanja Leonard

What is your day job? Teaching sewing/knitting and book keeping

Favorite Hobby: Anything to do with making things, sewing, knitting, weaving, spinning, cross stitch.

Who has inspired you lately? why? I am abundantly inspired by both of my daughters; Samantha (22 yrs) in med school and Audrey (19 yrs) at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Both girls have been very focused on their goals and are diligently working towards achieving those goals.

Who do you hope to inspire? I hope to inspire today's young people to put away their media gadgets and get creative with their hands and their minds. While we can use technology to make projects and our lives easier, I strongly believe in the benefits of being creative with our hands.

How do you #liveboldly? I jump into new opportunities and I don't hold back! What are you most excited for in 2018? I am excted to have the opportunity to again work with so many young people, be it through teaching sewing and Recycled Runway or through volunteering with Blue Sky Bridge and teaching kids about body safety and trusting their instincts. We all have the opportunity to make our world better, one person at a time.

Follow these fashion mavens, on the following social channels:

Common Threads Boulder: Web, Insta, Facebook

Recycled Runway: Web, Instagram,

Facebook (Tanja's Day Job) Common Threads Creative Lab: Web

(Rachel's Side Hustle) Grey Tangerine: Web, Instagram, Facebook