Checking In <3 message from Bear - February 2021

Hello old friends,

Almost an entire year since our last check in and Bear (along with myself) has naturally evolved. But instead of giving you guys a peek into what’s to come, I thought I’d spend some time today on backstory :) I’ve tried keeping Bear universal and less about one individual in an effort to not focus the brand too much on myself but I do find you guys are super receptive when I do share, so here goes nothing!

You all got a brief intro as to who I am from our lovely interview with the Really Real Talk podcast back in 2019, but today I bring you the story of my moving to Los Angeles...~

I had let my parents know of the fashion school in LA I wanted to attend back in my 13th year of life, in turn they let me know a vocational school was not the path to a “real” career. We all spent the next 5 years entertaining different universities and majors (sororities even) in New Mexico until my parents finally agreed my original plan was the one we’d have the most success with. Toward the end of my education I knew I needed to begin interning yet had been told by my assigned advisor that I was not really who the school would prefer as an ambassador. I wasn’t sure what that meant, nor did I care. I appealed her decision to the dean of my college while simultaneously emailing a recent grad I knew worked at my dream label in Los Angeles. During my final year of school I actually had a class where we were required to present portfolios to our dream clients; I chose one of the pitches to be for Wildfox who, at the time, was the leader in all things femme, fantasy, and most of all ~*LA gIRl* culture~. The professor of this class (whom I still keep in contact with to this day, bless her heart) connected me with one of her most recent grads who had already secured my dream job, thinking it was cute I was so passionate about a brand— little did she know, Wildfox’s editorials and look books that accompanied every collection were one of the reasons I moved to Los Angeles. To this day I still reference Wildfox sets when moodboarding (that can be seen in the photo set I've peppered in below). At the time Wildfox (a brand built on luxe basics and novelty sweaters averaging $250/unit as their core product) was famous for having sample sales downtown that would wrap around several blocks downtown, and everyone who was anyone would be seen there. I knew this because I am, at my core, a product snob but could never afford the patience required to sit outside in the cold for an upwards of 4 hours just to purchase something that wasn’t even my size. However I would love to DONATE that time to work for some gear and thus my working these sample sales in exchange for any item I wanted began-- though honestly just to have had admission to the showroom was enough payment for a young creative.