Made in Los Angeles

The other day I recorded my very first Instagram video and posted it to my feed earlier this week.  The video was of me sharing my excitement regarding the new zippers that are now going to be sewn into every bag and accessory I have made in Chicago.  If you haven’t seen the video, go watch it: Click Here.

I started K.Slade (originally K.slademade) 7 in a half years ago with a goal to have all of the raw materials made in the United States.  What I quickly found out is that the very best products I could source were not made in the U.S. and because I wasn’t willing to settle for anything but the best I continued to search for American made raw materials while still sourcing goods from other countries.  Over the years I have been fortunate to source all the raw materials for my designs from the U.S. except my zippers.  As of the last few months it finally happened, I now work with a zipper manufacturer in Los Angeles and they make the most beautiful zippers I have ever seen!

I am over the moon excited to share this news with you!  It has always been a desire of mine to source my raw goods in this country and even more so recently to know where the products I consume day to day come from.  As a maker it is my responsibility to create consciously and inform you, my consumer, about where your product is coming from.  Thank you for hanging with me and for playing a small role in making a big difference.

Carrry-All-Zipper-Blog-2

 

 If we each make little changes here and there we could all make a huge impact.

xx Kelsea Slade

 

 

Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
Posted in Fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

//TRAVEL// SAN FRANCISCO > MAUI

Southern Indiana has a hard time trying to figure out how the temperature should coordinate with the season.  In February it could be in the 20’s or it could be in the 70’s.  In any case two weeks ago while our little part of the world was freezing we were lucky enough to board a flight to warmer places.  We stopped in San Francisco for three nights and then to Maui for four nights.  As it turns out Southern Indiana decided it wanted to warm up into the 60’s while we were gone, go figure.

After way too many hours online looking for the best place to stay in San Francisco I decided on Hotel Zetta.  It is in the SOMA area where it was easy to walk to a lot of the spots we wanted to visit.  The hotel was super groovy.  The lobby has a 30 ft Plinko board that starts up in the “play room” and drops into the lobby.  If you are visiting the area it would be a cool place to stay.  I would not describe it as the most “luxurious” hotel but its fun, clever and seems to use the latest technology to make sure guests stay comfortable during their stay.  Check it: Hotel Zetta

Hunter spent some of his childhood living in San Francisco so it was fun to walk around the city and relive some of his old memories.  We have both been to San Francisco but never together.  He told me about walking across the Gold Gate Bridge for an elementary school field trip and getting food poisoning after eating on Pier 39, both sounded epic!

San Francisco was not warm but it was beautiful.  Also it turns out when you travel with one other person every picture of the two of you is a selfie, so there is that!

We arrived in Hawaii on Monday evening.  Only a few short years ago I would have taken every waking moment to sunbath.  I turned 31 last October and I realized that I need to be better to myself and my skin.  This trip was proof of my evolution, we spent maybe 2 total hours sitting in the sun the entire trip.  We spent most of our time driving around and finding cool places.  This colorful juice stand on wheels was off the highway serving fresh fruit smoothies.

We stayed at the Fairmont which is on the Western part of the island.  One of the cool things about this island is how easy it is to get from one end to the other.  We ended up driving from the top of the island to the bottom the week were there.  Maui is not huge but there is still so much to see.  You could spend all afternoon just taking a drive and looking at the landscape.

Thursday we took the road to Hana.  We had attempted this road two years ago and turned around about half way because I thought we were going to die and we were starving.  I get car sick really easily too so it was a risky move but we thought we needed to conquer this drive.  It was worth the trip, we felt incredibly accomplished.  You wouldn’t think driving 64.4 miles would make you feel accomplished but you try driving 20 miles an hour on the edge of a cliff with one lane and on coming traffic, you would feel accomplished too.

I only threw up once and we didn’t die, so all in all we will never do it again but we are glad that we can now check the “Road to Hana” off our bucket list.  This beautiful rainbow was waiting for us at the end of the trip.  

We bought coffee mugs in a park in Lahaina from the artist that made them (my favorite kind of souvenir).  Monkeypod’s completed us with their potstickers on more then one occasion.  We visited Hookipa Beach to see the turtles.  And Mama’s Fish House treated us to a delicious meal from that days catch.  We ate, we drank and we were merry!

Maui, I don’t know when we will see you again but thank you for being so kind to us, we enjoyed your very much!

xx Kelsea

 

Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
Posted in Art, Beauty, Food, Happenings, Life, Travel | 2 Comments

//A WEEKEND FOR THE BOOKS//

A weekend away at French Lick Resort is just what the doctor ordered!  We attended a dinner Friday night and on Saturday was the Annual Cornette Ball that the St. Mary’s Health Foundation puts on.  Both dresses are from Rent the Runway, I have included links to both of them below.

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful Fall weekend.  We get all  four seasons in Southern Indiana and I favor each one of them when they come around.  It’s 67◦ and sunny right now, talk about perfect weather.  I wore The Hearts Die Hard Dress by Asilio (pictured above) on Friday night, it hit me above my knee and had sleeves that helped with the cooler temperatures.  The Sweet Whimsy Dress by RED Valentino (pictured below) was beautifully detailed.  A sleeve and pockets go a long way in my book and this dress had both.

Black Dress / Hearts Die Hard Dress by Asilio , Gown / Sweet Whimsy Dress by RED Valentino , Black & White Brooklyn Foldover / Brooklyn Foldover

xx  Kelsea

Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
Posted in Fashion | Leave a comment

//SLADE BARN: BEFORE & AFTER//

A little over a year ago Hunter and I purchased our pole barn style home.  We had wanted some land and something we could renovate.  This home showed up for sale and we immediately had to drive out on a Sunday and look at it.  No one was living in it at the time so we walked around it and peeked in the windows.  There was a swing hanging on the front porch, we sat in it on that first visit to watch the sun go down.  We drove out to see it a few more times that same week and knew we had to have it.  Almost a year later we are settled and loving the space and land.

I cringe a bit looking at the original photos, I wonder “what were we thinking” and I still can’t believe we took this project on and completed it in 6 months.  I often share the “After” pictures on my instagram page but I also love taking a look back at where we started.

//EXTERIOR:

//KITCHEN & DINING ROOM:

//MASTER BEDROOM:

//MASTER BATHROOM:

 

//LIVING ROOM:

 

xx Kelsea

Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
Posted in Art, Happenings, Life, Style, Styled | Tagged , | 14 Comments