What We LOVE About Ghana…

Godpaul, the coconut seller. Fresh coconuts? ...Yes please!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waterfalls on the weekends.

Hello Della Fans — I hope everyone’s weekend was wonderful. Ours sure was. It just happened to be my birthday weekend, and while we weren’t having a massive dance party, or drumming around a bonfire, or eating delicious Ghanaian cuisine, we took a trip to the nearby and oh-so-beautiful Wli waterfall.

At 80 meters, the waterfall at Wli is the highest in west Africa, and sports a lively and large colony of bats who live clinging to surrounding cliffs. The water flowing over the falls actually begins its descent Togo and lands in the pool at the bottom in Ghana, as the falls marks the border between the two countries.

It was a shady and cool 45 minute long hike through the forest to the falls, a welcome respite from the blazing Ghana sun overhead. When we reached the end, we took a short swim, and then settled in to relax and enjoy our surroundings. At one point, hundreds of  bats woke up and flew about madly, and then just as quickly as they came, disappeared back into the folds of the rocks. What mysterious and exquisite creatures they are.

All in all, it was a terrific birthday and a wonderful weekend. I hope yours was, too.

Capers

The waterfall and a reveler.

Friendly bats say, "Hello."

What will you find, when you look inside?

 

of a bag? of yourself? of others?

 

Ghanaian Coffee…

Hello folks — Capers here. Nice to meet you all. Imagine that we’re shaking hands. Imagine that we’re giving high fives. Good. Now that we’re friends, let’s get to know one another a little better, yes? O.K. — I’ll start.

Like I said, my name is Capers. No, not like the food. Like the island.

Capers Island, South Carolina

I’m something of a wanderer — equal parts traveler, activist, and photographer. Last year, I was in South Sudan for the referendum, Egypt during the revolution, and I pedaled a bicycle through snowstorms in eastern Europe for weeks on end. Now, I’ve settled myself in sweltering Hohoe, Ghana, for the next six months, amongst the fine folks at Della, and I couldn’t be happier.

While I’m here, among other things, I’ll  be bringing to you daily the faces and voices of people in and around Hohoe. Each and every person here (and everywhere) is beautiful and unique, and their stories deserved to be told. So look hard and listen up! We’ve got so much to tell one another, so much to learn from each other.

We’ll kick off this inaugural “Photo of the Day” with a visit to Happy Kids Orphanage — It was the end of a long, hot, hard day and the whole Della team was very very tired. We needed a pick-me-up, and since there is no coffee here in Ghana, we decided on the next best (or way better) thing — A visit to Happy Kids! We arrived at their gates, and were immediately swarmed with little bodies. Soon enough we were all filled to overflowing with energy and hugs and laughter.

As some of you may know, Della organizes a sewing training program at Happy Kids. Each week, one of the Della seamstresses comes to the orphanage to teach some of  the older kids. They had recently completed their first project — school bags — and were so happy and proud to show them to us. The bags were really very good — they all had a dark blue lining, and some even had button closures.

After posing for the obligatory photos, we all stampeded onto the football (soccer) field, and ran around giggling hysterically for the next few hours. All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon, and when we finally left for home, we were properly exhausted – tired and smiling.

Look how great their bags look! They made them themselves!

I had forgotten just how fast kids can run...

Taking a break from all the running around to sit and rest.

A Perfect Summer Day in January

Happy New Year! Although I am not big on resolutions, I am extremely excited about all that 2012 has in store. The next month is going to be very busy for us here at Della. Within one month, I will travel between New York, Ghana and Las Vegas, all in the name of business.

The first few weeks of this year I have spent laying a good foundation for us, and preparing for our Spring & Summer seasons. The first step to doing this is: create our marketing campaigns and there’s no better way to start than with a photo-shoot on a hot winter’s day.

Model Amelia posing with our new "Vintage Coral" MacBook case.

In an attempt to bridge American style with African made products, we drove up to Bill Botts Baseball field in Culver City. This location is perched high on a hill, with lots of natural landscape and a radiant view of the city. Although it was the middle of January, the sun shone bright & we had a perfect view of the famous Hollywood sign.

Sequoia, our photographer really wanted us to take photos using a vintage car.  Luckily, it just so happens that my high school car was a beat up ’67 Mustang, and we revived it for the shoot.

1967 Mustang, my first love.

Yes, I know, I said “beat up ’67 Mustang.”  Well, once upon a time, this beauty had a weathered black top & faded off-white paint. It was my first love. Then, once I graduated to the adult world, and needed a more reliable mode of transportation, my dad and sister took care of the car, transforming her into what you now see.

Our team for the shoot included Sequoia {the photographer} Amelia {the model} and Raquel {the intern}

Sequoia was our photographer for our Fall collection last August, and is now working with us for our Spring & Summer lines. Her vision & style are exactly what we need to express who a Della girl is. She is extremely creative, stylized & committed to helping us create a strong brand identity. The night before the shoot, she came over & we brainstormed until the wee hours of the night. I love the creative process!

Raquel was a natural. The scarf captures the essence of a good old fashioned road trip.

Raquel is one of our senior interns. She has been working with us for the past six months. She is not only an amazing help but she’s also Greek, so naturally, I’m biased. At one point we convinced Raquel to join the photoshoot as a model. Although she has no professional experience, she was a natural.

I have no idea why Amelia didn't want to pose in the bush.

Near the end of the day we were all exhausted. The sun was setting and we were hustling to get one more “perfect” shot. This included having a little adventure and wandering into some bush. However, Amelia, our model was afraid of the wildlife, so we made a few jokes & called it a day.

New York, I think I love you.

Day 1

Twelve hours after COEUR Trade Show ended I was on a flight to New York City.  This was pretty exciting, being my first official business trip to the east coast. The 60-hour visit was jam-packed full of meetings, friends, and, of course, food.

I arrived about 8pm in the evening and was greeted by my beautiful cousin Stephanie & her boyfriend Robert at their first floor apartment inside a stoic old brownstone. We immediately went out for pizza and reveled in sharing idle family gossip.

My beautiful cousin Stephanie {right) and I, after a filling pizza dinner in Brooklyn.

The next morning, I had a 9am meeting with the accessory buyer for Free People. Keep in mind that I was still on west coast time and that 9am meeting was really a 6am meeting for me.  In spite of my sleep deprivation, the appointment was a success.  I enjoyed meeting the buyer for the first time & grew excited as we discussed ideas for Spring ’12.

Next, I went to a sales meeting with a new store called Treasure & Bond, located in SoHo.  It’s a  do-good retailer, dreamed up by Nordstom, where they strive to offer “something different in retail & philanthropy: 100% of profits benefit children in NYC.” Treasure and Bond is a retail heaven in my eyes and I am happy to announce that this meeting resulted in Della’s partnering with T & B!  We are currently featured on their homepage as a Holiday present pick! {www.treasureandbond.com}

Treasure & Bond

The rest of the day was filled with similar business-like meetings, Starbucks with an old friend who now works in PR, and lunch at Mario Batali’s “Eataly” with a gorgeous Ghanaian supermodel. In between all that, I quite literally bumped into an old friend on the street. Small world.

My friend Afua is a native of Ghana. She lives in New York and has a successful modeling career. Believe it or not, we met on facebook.

Thankfully most restaurants in NY have extra phone chargers.  When I met fellow designer Maxwell for drinks & dinner at Lucky Strike my phone had just died.  Although I have easily navigated my way through New York City on past trips, I felt like a lost puppy when my iphone died during this most important business adventure.  The maître d’ was happy to give my phone a charge, especially once he saw I was dining with a regular patron.

My friend Maxwell. Our business meeting turned into a night of art, wine & new friends.

Luckily I had enough juice left in my phone to navigate back to my cousin’s apartment in Brooklyn.

Gratuitous self-portrait at a SoHo art gallery.

Time flies…

Well, I had every intention to maintain this blog on a weekly basis, however, clearly, I have been negligent since my last post was almost two months ago. In a New Year’s attempt to start fresh, I want to share some of our most recent successes and begin 2012 with a “resolution” to write more often.

First, let’s flash back to October 2011– a very exciting month for us here at Della. Not only were we busy prepping all of our Holiday orders but we also participated in our first bona-fide Fashion Accessory Trade Show.

 

Della's promotional flyer for Coeur Trade Show, October 2011

For those who work in the fashion industry, this is a big deal.  Participating in a trade show adds legitimacy to your business & gives you the opportunity to be seen by various store buyers and press.

Assortment of Della bags hanging from our booth at COEUR Trade Show. Trade shows like COEUR are the perfect place for fashion lines to display next season's products and network within the industry.

COEUR took place at the Cooper Building in Downtown Los Angeles.  There were over 80 independent designers participating in the 3 day event.  For the Della team, the show was a success: we opened several new accounts, made connections  with buyers, vendors and media outlets.  I am excited to see what else lies ahead as we participate in more shows next year.