Labelhorde Fashion

Last Day To Register!

2005-11-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

Today, Monday, November 7, 2005 is the last day for designers to register for the 3rd Annual LabelHorde Fashion Ball. If you want to be part of this event, please go to the LabelHorde homepage (www.labelhorde.com) and follow the link to the registration page.

The 3rd Annual LabelHorde Fashion Ball acts as the kick-off event to the very first ever, Phoenix Fashion Week. This is a historic moment for Phoenix.

Don't be left out. Register today!

TICKETS:
Tickets are currently available for purchase online (see LabelHorde homepage for registration/ticket info). These will be available until Friday, 12 noon. After that, the link will be disabled and tickets will be available at the door, the day of the event.

The LabelHorde Industry Professionals Forum

2005-10-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

LabelHorde's Industry Professionals Forum is a membership-based forum for professionals to interact and discuss fashion industry related topics.

Upon subscribing to a membership to LabelHorde ($15/month), which gets you a listing in our Directory as well as access to the Forum, you will receive information about registering to the Forum. If you are not an industury professional who would benefit from a directory listing, but a fashion enthusiast, looking to be part of the community through conversation and education on the Forum, you may subscribe for a monthly payment of $10.

http://www.labelhorde.com/services/member.php

The True Story of LabelHorde & the Arizona Fashion Foundation

2005-09-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

By Angela Johnson

Recent changes in our organization, along with our first negative write up, has compelled me to tell the entire history, truth and background behind LabelHorde Fashion/Arizona Fashion Foundation and how and why it was started. LabelHorde/AFF is essentially, a directory of Arizona Fashion Industry professionals with a public forum and events calendar. It was created for the community by members of the community.

I’d like to start out with the reason we wanted to create LabelHorde in the first place, which stems back to my background…so I think it is important to mention. I am starting from the beginning and giving a very in depth story about how this all happened because I want people to know the history behind it from here on out as we move forward. This is the same information that Joe Watson from the New Times interviewed me about and told me he was going to write and instead chose to take a lower road and write gossip. I expect that the usual nay Sayers will comment on the fact that I am including my history and accomplishments as self promotion and I acknowledge that. But at the same time, I hope that the majority of readers are capable of seeing the importance of including my background for credibility purposes. I’d also like to comment that if it weren’t for my ability to self promote, there wouldn’t be a LabelHorde in the first place. I also want to explain EVERY DETAIL of how and why LabelHorde exists because I do not want to have to continue to explain my intentions and hear gossip about people who are "anti-LabelHorde" because they are ignorant to its purpose. It is simply crazy to be "anti" something that was built to benefit YOU and I’m hoping that if I explain everything in simple words, everyone will understand it better. I also want to make sure I give everyone credit for their part in this whole process along the way. I always have given credit to everyone who has helped me further my career when I am interviewed for articles, and if it gets unpublished its because the publication chose not to publish it. This way, I can include everything I want to say. Now it’s my turn to say it in my words and clear up any gossip, assumptions and untruths and tell the real story behind LabelHorde and why it is so important to me and a few hundred other people involved in it.

I am not a writer, nor do I claim to be, so I will not attempt to write this in a manner that would normally be viewed as an acceptable format for an article and I will not put anyone through the torture of trying to edit such a long story. So bare with me and here goes…

LabelHorde was formed because I had acquired a lot of contacts with local designers, models, hair stylists, makeup artists, photographers, boutiques, and other fashion professionals and

• thought it would be selfish if I hogged all of the contacts up for just my own benefit

• thought that if all of these people had contact with each other they could benefit from that and grow their businesses easier and

• I was getting A LOT of opportunities offered to me to participate in various shows, write ups, and other things and many people were also asking me if I "knew of any designers who made…blah blah blah" or if "I knew of any models looking for work" or if "I knew of any boutiques that would carry local designers stuff", etc… I figured that if I created a directory, that everyone in the fashion industry in Arizona could be listed in, they could research the answers to these questions themselves and wouldn’t need to ask me anymore.

This is how it happened…

I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Scottsdale and graduated from NAU with a degree in Speech Communications. I then moved to LA and went to FIDM and graduated with honors in Fashion Design. I worked for the Beastie Boys label X-Large and Sonik Youth’s Label X-Girl as a cutter and quickly moved up to Assistant Design and then started doing Design and then eventually became the Production Manager. I also started a line called Monkeywench while working there with a friend from school and an actress named Christy Clark who played Carrie Brady on Days of Our Lives. We sold our line internationally and it was worn by several celebrities like Pam Anderson, Tommy Lee, Christina Applegate, Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tori Spelling, Leann Rimes, Nicki Cox, Jeremy London, Lisa Rinna, Kevin Connely, the entire cast of Days of Our Lives, and on TV shows Jesse, Beverly Hills 90210, Soul Train in Japan, the Pat Bullard Show and Days of Our Lives and featured in many publications like Seventeen, Warp, Girl's Life, Sportswear International, Vice, WWD, J-14, Electric Ink, Fresh and Tasty, Barracuda and on the cover of Fashion West. This was a mass produced clothing line. Now I make custom designs which I enjoy much more. So when the New Times story touched on the fact that the designers in Arizona only move here or stay here because we can’t make it in the real industry…or that you can’t make it here as a designer, it is untrue and, in fact, completely opposite. I, for one, left a successful career to come here to take care of my Grandfather after my Grandmother died. Now I’m trying to make lemonade out of lemons and use my experience in the "real" industry to help create some kind of fashion environment that people in the local "industry" can utilize to pursue or continue their fashion careers from here instead of having to move to LA or NY. That’s all. There’s no ulterior motive here. Just logical thinking and a passion to help other people and a willingness to share resources, knowledge, experience and PR.

In regard to my Grandparents, they are the reason I love fashion in the first place. I moved back to AZ in 1999 because my Grandmother passed away and my Grandfather needed someone to take care of him. My Grandparents and I were very close and were like parents to me. My Grandfather was U. S. Attorney stationed in the Panama Canal Zone and because of that, they used to be part of high society in Panama, attending Governor’s Balls and throwing important parties. I lived there in Panama with them for a short time when I was little. I’ve got the coolest photos of them jet setting all over the world with important political people. I’ve even got a photo of me dancing with an actual Prince, etc…. My Grandmother loved this lifestyle and used to throw huge parties that were often covered in the newspapers and attended by major politicians and other VIPs. I have newspaper clips from The Panama Canal, Arizona Republic, Maine and NY of my Grandparents parties at their homes in the 1950’s and 60’s. They were well known in town for throwing these awesome society type events when they returned from Panama. And because of her role as hostess of these parties, my Grandmother was very much into her image and what she wore. Fashion became a very big part of her life and she had a lot of clothing and jewelry custom made for her from all over the world. She had some crazy styles. She held on to most of it her entire life. She had 4 closets full and racks in her laundry room of clothes when she died. My mom, my sister and I lived in the same house with my Grandparents as I was growing up from age 5 to age 14. So, I had always been exposed to my Grandmother’s love for unique fashion and believe my love for it comes from her. It was in my blood. I just didn’t know I could have a career in it until later in life…after my first degree in communications. So, I attended FIDM in LA to realize my potential.

When I moved back here, I tried to continue doing Monkeywench from here, but it was too difficult because it was mass produced which used to keep me running around the LA garment district almost every other day when I lived in LA and I couldn’t do that from here. It was also difficult to put in as much time as I was with a new baby….Sarkis, my son, was born in 1999. So, I made the decision to quit producing the line and looked for a job working in the fashion industry in AZ instead. It was difficult as I soon discovered there was no actual fashion industry to speak of and really no job opportunities designing or in production here.

But, I searched really hard. My grandfather had saved every newspaper article he could find on the local fashion industry and they were all about boutiques. There was only one that included a list of local designers. I called everyone on the list to see if they were hiring. Turned out, most of those were actually really boutique owners and not full time designers and didn’t have actual manufacturing facilities and didn’t need employees except for retail sales jobs. But, luckily one of them was an actual design trio called Forma. It was three guys. Two guys were the design team and the third guy named Robert Rossi, was the PR guy. I called and spoke to Robert. Turned out we both used to live in Silverlake in LA which is this really cool up and coming neighborhood where all the new artists, designers, musicians were moving too. It is like a cute little small town right outside of downtown L.A. It looked kind of like the hood when we first moved there because it was sort of a hidden secret and just starting to become an artsy, cool place to live. But it’s been so over publicized that now you can’t even get a two bedroom house there for under a million dollars. Robert and I totally hit it off because of this connection. So, he invited me down to their studio to talk. Turns out, Forma was too still too small to afford to hire anyone at the time, but they wanted to meet me and I thought it would be a great networking opportunity. We totally bonded and being a PR man, Robert would use my Monkeywench stuff whenever he needed clothing for shoots/shows/events that Forma didn’t work for. He had me on the News a few times and got my name out there a lot. It was awesome. He also introduced me to Dennita Sewell at the Phoenix Art Museum.

At this time, Dennita was having these events called Salon Saturdays at the Museum where anyone interested in Fashion could come to the museum to learn about different pieces in their collection. It attracted a lot of local designers who were sort of sitting dormant like I was. This is where I met Susan Di Staulo and Megan Finnerty from Yes. Dennita decided to organize a show at Monorchid to show the designs of all the local designers who wanted to participate. That’s where I met a bunch of other local designers and student designers.

At the same time, I had actually found a fashion job teaching fashion design at New School for the Arts and had been creating designs under my own name for fun. Megan Finnerty wrote a couple of stories on me and my designs in YES. One night I was at a restaurant opening that my PR friend Robert Rossi invited me to and I left my business cards (they were screen printed on hot pink fabric) there hoping that someone might end up picking them up. Turns out, someone did pick them up. It was a DJ named Mr. Peabody. He had been helping Robert Sentinnery of Java organize the Funk n Fashion events at SMoCA (which were similar to the SMoCA Nights runway shows that we do, but they didn’t have local designers. Instead, they showed clothes from boutiques and other stores.) and was just beginning to work with Leslie Oliver on the next event. Leslie had come up with the idea to showcase a local designer in the next one. The day after the restaurant opening, she was reading one of the newspaper articles that Megan wrote on me and was trying to figure out how to get a hold of me because it didn’t include my contact information in the article. At the same time, Mr. Peabody walked in to her office and handed her my business card. It was fate! So, that was the first SMoCA show that I did and it was all my own stuff…about 40 pieces.

After that show, the committee asked me if I wanted to continue to help with the other shows. The idea was thrown around that I do the next one, but it was so hard for me to come up with 40 pieces for that first show, that I didn’t think I could pull off creating another huge line in only a couple of months for the next one. So, we decided to include other designers and since I had recently met a lot of other designers, I offered to locate them and organize the next fashion show with pieces from my collection and their collection together. We decided to have 10 designers with each one doing 10 pieces. That is when I contacted Susan and the other designers I had in the first show. I met some of them through Dennita, some of them through work, and some of them through word of mouth and networking.

The show was a hit! It was covered by nearly every publication in town before and after and was attended by tons of people! After that show, designers and models started contacting me and the museum wanting to be in the next one. So, I started a waiting list. They sent me photos of their work and some were students and some were designers who were transplanted from major fashion capitals, but couldn’t make a living as a designer in AZ since there wasn’t an actual industry here. Some were newly graduated, some were retired, some made ball gowns and some made street wear, some were really talented and some were not. It was and still is a very mixed bunch. The list grew quickly. A few of the original designers in the first SMoCA decided to start doing more fashion shows since the SMoCA show was such a success. These shows started getting a lot of press too. So, my list grew even more. This is when I started to think what a shame it was that there were so many designers in town and no way for them to make a living doing what they loved due to the lack of manufacturing resources and the lack of something to unite everyone and put us all in touch with each other. There was no actual industry, but so many people who could work in one if there was. All of these people’s talents were going to waste doing other jobs to make a living when they all had skills in the fashion industry.

So, I came up with an idea. I wanted to open a boutique that could sell the designs of all of these designers. I approached Daisy Rast because she was a co-worker that I had been getting to know at the time and I was very impressed by her professionalism and drive. She had similar interests. Turns out, she had been thinking the same exact thing and was going to approach me about it too! So, we came up with the name LabelHorde and began looking for a space for the store. We wanted the store to be a place that showcased local designers with an unbiased eye and featured styles across the board…from contemporary women’s wear to deconstructed/reconstructed juniors; from men’s wear to kid’s clothes; from screened T-shirt companies to impeccably designed couture. We wanted to have a place that represented everything that Arizona designers did. We also wanted to have studio space in the store that was dedicated to the designers so that they could utilize it as their own. So many designers couldn’t afford to have their own studios and were arranging to meet their customers for fittings in their own homes or even at various public facilities like restaurants and coffee shops! Creating a public studio equipped with cutting table, sewing machines, pattern paper and pattern tools, and even a fashion library that could also be used for education, was the perfect way to help the local designers raise the bar. We were planning to pay for it with the sales from the clothing in the store. We also thought we could raise money through advertising sales by also printing a publication that would act as a directory uniting and listing all fashion oriented companies and professionals in AZ.

As we were in the process of finding a practical and affordable space for the studio/boutique, we found that someone else had already come up with the idea of opening a boutique that carried all local designers’ goods. Of course we were a little bummed out that someone else had thought of it first because we were really excited and had invested a lot of time planning and researching, but we quickly got over it because we realized that even though we weren’t going to be the ones who did it…at least someone was doing it and as long as it was happening it would benefit the community, no matter who did it. So we focused on creating the directory only… knowing that it would provide a way for all the designers, models, contractors, stylists, photographers and boutiques in town to contact each other and utilize each other’s services. We knew this would be helpful to all fashion professionals in AZ and those wishing to be fashion professionals in AZ.

So, we started LabelHorde Magazine. The magazine was a directory broken up into four sections….Designers, Hair and Makeup Stylists, Boutiques and Miscellaneous (which contained models, photographers, fabric stores, contractors, schools, etc…) Each issue, we would write an article about one person or business from each directory section to help publicize their business and to fill up the magazine, making it different each issue so that it wouldn’t just be a directory. This way, we could pay for the printing of it with advertising money. We didn’t want to charge the people in the directory to be listed in it because 1) most people wouldn’t pay to be listed in a directory/magazine if they hadn’t ever seen it before and didn’t know if it would stay in business because it was new, and 2) many designers and other fashion professionals did not have the money to invest in a directory listing when they were struggling trying to keep a fashion business going in a state with no fashion industry and 3) if it was free to be listed, we could list big businesses like Joann Fabrics or Hancock Fabrics who might otherwise not be interested in paying for a listing in a local publication and we wanted to be sure to have EVERYONE and every business that had anything to do with fashion in there so it would actually be useful to everyone and 4) we thought we could sell enough advertising to pay for it. The printing bill was about $8000 an issue because we chose to use high quality paper and binding. This was also a calculated decision. We didn’t want to introduce the local fashion community to the rest of Arizona in a cheaply made, poor quality publication because we didn’t want readers to have the impression that our industry was poor quality. We wanted to impress because we thought it would attract more advertisers, the right audience and make a good impression. Yes, it was a grass roots effort, but it didn’t have to look that way. There are some very prestigious fashion businesses in town that we wanted to attract and we knew that we wouldn’t attract them on newsprint or in a staple bound publication. We also chose to make the publication a unique size in order to make it stand out on the news stands from all of the other local publications.

Unfortunately, we discovered that selling advertising was much, much, harder than we had ever expected and we struggled to print each issue. There were just too many other local publications asking for advertising dollars from the same businesses. And we weren’t able to successfully find an actual advertising sales rep to do the job, so we relied on individuals who did it as a favor, or did it on commission only. This was unsuccessful for us and we had to come up with another way to raise money in order to stay in business. Our printing bill was about $8000 an issue. In addition, we found out that operating a business of this magnitude was taking a lot more time and resources than we had ever expected. We were working on it way more than the usual 40 hours a week that is demanded by a regular full time job, but we weren’t getting paid.

So, we had to get creative. We decided to organize fashion shows as a way to bring in money. The SMoCA shows were so successful and the other shows that all of the local designers were having, were also getting a very good turn out, so we began to do the same. We organized a series of trunk shows at a funky little bar/hotspot/hangout in Scottsdale called Mickey’s Hangover. They already had a good quantity of regular traffic and their outside patio lent itself out perfectly for a mini trunk show style atmosphere. Jake Saady and Jenn Lafferty, two PR professionals, had already been organizing trunk shows there before we got involved and it had a good turnout, so we saw this as a great opportunity to get the local designers some sales and exposure and PR and to make some money to print the directory. We had an arrangement based on bar sales, so it was imperative that we had a good turn out each time in order for us to make any money. It was cool for a while and while not all designers would sell stuff, many of them ended up selling a lot of merchandise at these things. Designers would come and support other designers and the camaraderie was amazing! There was a real bonding going on with local designers who were supporting each other working together. It was a totally opposite atmosphere than what you hear about the competitive and catty fashion industries in other fashion capitals. We really felt a sense of accomplishment.

But, a trunk show didn’t offer the excitement that a runway show did and eventually many designers stopped coming to support each other and started to have their own runway shows on the same night as our event. This ended up affecting the attendance drastically and in turn, the bar sales went down dramatically. We were no longer making any money off of organizing these events, yet, we still had to put in the time and effort to arrange them. So we had to discontinue them. We were very disappointed and found it very disheartening that so many designers would rather have runway shows rather than trunk shows where they could actually sell their merchandise.

That’s when we had to come up with plan B. This time we chose to start organizing runway shows since those seemed to be the thing that people wanted to attend. So, we came up with a great way to support the designers and make money at the same time. We decided that we would organize a runway show for our featured designer of the month that was being covered in the magazine and we would charge a fee to get in which would pay for the show and the rest would go toward the printing and the business. By doing this, the designer would be getting free promotion for their show (from our vast and growing email list of 3500 people, our contacts with local magazines that were always asking us who and what was the next cool thing to cover in the local fashion world, our online calendar and our flyer distribution to over 300 locations in town).

By doing this, the designers would stop needing to have all of the numerous little bar shows because we were offering to give them their own huge individual showcase for their season lines to encourage them to stop producing random pieces and start producing season lines instead. Plus our shows were only in galleries and theaters. We also would cover the venue, the refreshments, the sound and lighting and DJ and runway/staging. The only thing the designer would have to worry about is their clothes and models. We even tried to have the featured stylist of the month be the one to do the hair and makeup at the show each time. We thought that it was a great opportunity for the designers, as it is pretty expensive to pay for a venue, promotion, staging, lighting, sound for your own show, and that the designers would be excited to come and support each other again and see what they could look forward to when it came time for their show. Unfortunately, this was not always the case. We had some very successful shows and we had some very unsuccessful shows. Our feelings were that if we always could count on the other designers, models, stylists, etc… to come to these shows, then they would all be successful, but this did not happen. And no matter how many times we stressed the importance of this, it didn’t seem to matter. Finally, after a couple of shows that cost us way more than we made at the door, we were forced to discontinue this too. People stopped showing up because there were still all kinds of other runway shows being organized all over the place for entertainment at bars and other venues and it really started to over saturate things. Designers were having show after show with the same pieces instead of creating an actual Fall line or a Spring line and having their own shows to feature their new lines each season (which was what we were trying to give to them for free). So, people didn’t see the need to attend our shows because it was so easy to just "see the next show" at the local bar. People didn’t realize the importance of the featured designer shows. (continued in next blog entry)

LabelHorde/AFF True Story continued

2005-09-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

continued

At this point, we were starting to wonder…did we really have the supportive, friendly, cohesive community that we had thought we had? We were beginning to hear stories of "other" local designers who purposefully chose not to be listed in LabelHorde and stories and gossip and strange opinions and uneducated guesses about what we were. We heard everything from "Oh, I’m anti-LabelHorde" or "LabelHorde designers are really snobby and cliquish" to "LabelHorde is for young artsy designers and not upscale enough for us" to "LabelHorde designers are too commercial and upscale and not underground and artsy enough" We didn’t understand how anyone could be "anti" something that was created just for them! Something that was for the entire community to use and was created without asking for anything in return except cooperation; something that was created from our hard work, sweat and tears for everyone’s benefit. The only thing we had to gain was the same thing everyone else had to gain from it….a functioning fashion community to work in. And we didn’t want people to think of us as "The LabelHorde Designers". We wanted to just be a directory where EVERYONE would list their info so we could all network with each other. It wasn’t supposed to be some kind of society or secret group of special people.

It was disappointing to us to hear gossip and although it is human nature and there will always be those who choose to hate rather than aspire to be understanding and helpful, giving human beings, it is still hard to accept when it is directed toward you personally. We had been working for over a year to simply provide a resource for anyone and everyone working in the local fashion industry to use to contact each other. How had it turned into something that anyone could find to gossip about or criticize or choose not to be a part of? We had reached out numerous times trying to explain our intentions and make public our obstacles in the hope that this honesty and policy of openness would help. Yet, things continued without change and human nature took over and more and more people were choosing to make drama out of something that was intended to be beneficial to everyone. We were getting pretty tired of the drama, gossip and uneducated assumptions about us and the directory we had created for EVERYONE.

This is when we made the decision to start charging people to be listed in the directory and to discontinue printing the physical magazine/directory and go fully online instead, in order to cut costs. We hadn’t been earning any salary or taking any profits from the business so far, and were starting to take offense to the above mentioned drama. This is when Daisy chose to discontinue her involvement and I was left to make the decision whether I should continue LabelHorde alone, sharing the contacts, resources and publicity that I had worked so hard to acquire or quit LabelHorde and go back to utilizing it to my own benefit and success like I had before LabelHorde. So I did some soul searching. And it just seemed so selfish to have all of these press contacts and contacts with stylists and models and other designers and not share them. That is why I started LabelHorde in the first place. I thought that even though we were experiencing some obstacles, we had seen way too much progress to let it all go. Designers who had once thought they had to give up their design careers when they moved to Arizona were now successfully creating, showing and selling their merchandise. Boutiques had begun to carry numerous local designers’ work. Student designers were interning for more experienced designers and feeling motivated and excited about a possibility of a fashion career even in a state with out a fashion industry per say. Designers, models, stylists, and boutiques were getting tons of press which was resulting in increased sales. And the coolest part… we were hearing literally hundreds of stories and testimonials from people who were continuously thanking us for providing them with these contacts and the information and resources that they needed to start or grow their business. The thought of quitting was just not an option. But the only way to raise the money that we needed to continue to stay in business was to charge people to be listed in the directory.

That is when Rhonda and Joanna generously joined the partnership and took on the responsibility of trying to keep the organization going. Both women had worked closely with us as part of the community and had taken on volunteer roles to help better the organization in the past. They each had great things to offer, a lot of drive and believed in the goals of the organization. Together, the three of us came up with an entirely new way to raise funds while still achieving the ultimate goals of the organization. First, we wanted to set up Arizona Fashion Foundation in hopes of achieving non-profit status and attracting donations. Unfortunately, this is something we are still struggling to achieve to this day, as it has been difficult to find the time, funds and correct information on registering properly. We need help with this badly.

Next, we knew we were going to have to charge membership fees to be listed in the directory in order to afford to continue. Although we were not going to have the expense of printing the magazine anymore, we still had the usual administration expenses of operating a business. We also thought that we could possibly take this organization to the next level if we did it right and maybe even raise enough money to actually pay ourselves a salary for the work that we would be doing. If we could get paid for our time, we could afford to quit our day jobs and dedicate even more time on making the business grow. So, we did some intense planning and wrote a very thorough business plan that included financial expense and income projections and what we would need to do to achieve them. We decided that we would offer different levels of memberships. This way, the cost of being included wouldn’t be a deterrent to those that financially struggled. We didn’t want anyone to suffer financially or this would defeat the entire purpose of the organization in the first place which was to help others make it in this business. So, we came up with a plan where we would offer different benefits with each membership. The memberships ranged from $50 for a simple name and contact information in the directory to $200 for name, contact info, photo of merchandise, inclusion in any highly publicized show we did, their own feature story on the website and in a partnering printed publication, discounts to events and more.

Last, we chose to offer many, many other services, hoping that these would be other ways that we could gain income. We had contacts with manufacturers and vendors for things like screen printing, labels, printing, web designers, and more. In addition, we offered our services for a fee. We had become recognized for organizing many of the valley’s largest and most impressive fashion shows and were constantly being approached by organizations who wanted us to collaborate on events with them. So, we decided to charge for event organization services, including promotion, coordination, runway rental and we even put a price on finding designers, models and stylists to participate with the intention of being able to pay participants in any show that we were contracted to organize. All of this would be supplemented with the income we were still hoping to get through advertising sales with the hope that businesses would be interested in advertising on our website.

Well….we worked hard to make this all happen. So hard that now not only was I working over 40 hours a week on this, now three of us were working that hard and often pulling 80 hour weeks. We reduced our hours at our regular jobs and even quit some jobs because it was too much to handle. But, we had confidence that LabelHorde would be able to sustain us and we were willing to dedicate as much effort and time as it took to make it happen. Even our friends and family and other volunteers and members of the community were working unbelievably hard. Many services were donated and discounted by various businesses and individuals who really believed in what we were doing to. These were the things that kept us going….The positive feed back and the growth of our community and the success of many of our goals in the business plan. But, we were still unsuccessful in selling advertising and all of the goals we had were just requiring more time in the day and effort than was physically possible. We were making ourselves sick, passing up life changing opportunities, ignoring our families and literally forgetting about sleep and our own physical and mental health by spending hours stressing on the business. And at the same time, as things were progressing and there were more and more people who were benefiting from what we were doing and were showing their appreciation and making sure we knew that we were doing the right thing, there was still that small percentage of the population that we kept hearing about who were unsatisfied with our efforts or who were still "anti-LabelHorde". And while we had always known that its just "par for the course", and "part of the territory" and "human nature" and that "you can’t please everyone" and that "not everyone’s going to like you", we still felt deeply saddened because we were trying so hard to do something good for others. We didn’t even have the satisfaction of it at least being financially worth while because we still had not been able to pay ourselves a salary. And the person who took the most of the criticism was me. I was the "face" of LabelHorde. Eventually, Joanna moved to New York where she is currently trying to get a footing in the industry as a fashion stylist.

Rhonda and I kept on trying though. We knew that it commonly takes 3-5 years for most businesses to turn a profit. Unfortunately, we simply were unable to financially continue the way we had. Our initial business plan had included the fact that we would sell advertising and be able to sell many more memberships than we had. And although we were proud of what we had built and had made amazing progress, getting well over 150 memberships, it was simply less than what we had planned for and much less than what we knew the potential could be. We didn’t know what was stopping those who had chosen not to get a membership from getting one. We knew there were hundreds more hair stylists, makeup artists, models, photographers, designers, seamstresses, bead stores, sewing machine repair shops, boutiques, designers and other fashion professionals out there, we just ran out of ways to help them understand the benefit of working together. And we were simply out of options to try to figure it out anymore. I was personally dipping into my own savings to pay the bills of staying in business. The only other option was to make a last ditch effort to ask everyone for help. So, that’s when we called the big meeting and told everyone that we either had to discontinue LabelHorde, or we needed to get creative and think of something else.

The turnout for the meeting was quite sad. In a state with one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S., where there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of people and businesses that should be working together, who could be benefiting from having access to each other so easily from a simple directory, there were less than 50 people who attended the meeting.

And just when everything seemed to be at its lowest point, there was a light at the end of the tunnel….or what appeared to be. A writer from the New Times named Joe Watson contacted me and wanted to write a cover story on me and the local industry and on LabelHorde. He said he was always hearing so much about it and wanted to get the real scoop on things. He confessed that he had a preconceived idea of what he thought he would find when he met me. He expected me to have that stereo typical snobbish, fashionista attitude. And he admitted that he found just the opposite. He also admitted that my story and my personality and the feedback he got from the people he interviewed about me was all way to sweet for a New Times cover story. He wanted something more controversial. So, he told me that he was going to dig around and that I should just tell him anything negative that he might find. I didn’t mind this because I have nothing to hide. I have always been honest and had good intentions and any negative opinions about me have been drawn from people who don’t take the time to understand my intentions or my willingness and openness to share everything I have and my willingness and eagerness to work together. I figured he would just hear the gossip that so many other people already know….which is about that store that I mentioned earlier. The store had once carried my line along with the other designers in town and one day called me in and told me to take my merchandise back out of the store. I left in tears after trying to figure out why and pleading for them to reconsider. I tried numerous times to work with them, asked them to carry our directory, and even listed them in the directory for free, but no response. Ironically, I had even come to the store that faithful day, with the intention of featuring it as our first featured boutique in the first issue of LabelHorde.

So, this being the most "juicy" gossip I figured he would find, I welcomed the thought of having it finally uncovered and answered for me. I thought this would be the worst thing that he would find. I had also told him that we’ve heard of people that have been anti-LabelHorde. People that apparently don’t understand the benefit or purpose of what we are doing; who think we must have ulterior motives; who are drama queens and stand aside and judge us for "trying to make something out of nothing" and criticize our every move; even though they don’t have the ability, drive or guts to do it themselves. But that there are plenty of people who get it and have invested their time and effort along with us to making things happen. He told me he would investigate these stories and ask around and that he would get back to me on what he found. He said he would let me respond to what he found so I would have my say in the story too. I told him that there isn’t really anything that juicy and that the real story really lies in the struggles and the obstacles that we face to unite the disjointed fashion community in Arizona with no capital and with the barriers we often face from negative nay Sayers.

This writer led me to believe that this story would be truthful and unbiased and that it would include negative things that were found in his investigations, but that it would be balanced with my opinions, background, efforts, and struggles. To my dismay, this was not the case. Instead of letting the reader know that the opinions expressed in the article are actually the opinions that I had told him that I had heard other people say about me, like how I’m a self promoter, etc…, it is written in such a way that makes it seem like these negative qualities are actually his opinion from the research he found. When I asked him why it is so biased and why he didn’t let me have my say like he told me or at least give me some credibility by including my background or my awards, he told me that his editor took that stuff out because it was irrelevant! This surprised me because for some reason, they felt that covering a bar fashion show that I had nothing to do with, which wasn’t even a LabelHorde event, mentioning my "hippie parents" yet leaving out the history behind my grandparents and also mentioning my weight WERE relevant. Then to top it all off, when they received countless letters to the editor in support of me which greatly outnumbered the few letters from the negative nay Sayers who do not support me, they once again made an unbalanced representation of me by printing more negative letters than positive supportive ones. It seems that the writer and editor of the New Times found it more interesting to contribute to the unnecessary drama of the situation rather than to portray the real story worth telling.

Fortunately, during the time that the writer was doing his research, there was suddenly a lot of interest from the community to help keep LabelHorde going. Many people signed up for different committees to help take on the many responsibilities that Rhonda and I were already doing every day. (BTW, to sign up for a committee, please contact Angela@labelhorde.com) These committees included everything from writing stories for the site and the partner publication to coordinating events and helping with administration work as well as everything in between. We were really happy to see that, although the turnout at the meeting had been poor, there were still many more people willing to help by signing up for a committee. We are still in the learning curve for this and its going well but we could always use more people.

And at the same time as we started to have a more positive perspective on things with so many people beginning to show interest in helping to keep the organization alive, the New Times story was released. We had been excitedly anticipating its release in the hopes that the article would tell the real story behind the organization to encourage more people to join…The same story I have just repeated here….The same story I had told the writer over and over. Yet, what we found was that the writer had chosen to ignore everything we had told him, and instead chose to focus on one thing…. which was the fact that despite our intentions and hard work, there were people out there who were anti-LabelHorde and anti-Angela Johnson for one reason or another. He took this one idea and stretched it into a poorly written, controversial story because he needed to make it worth putting on the cover. He admitted that it was his first big promotion as staff writer and needed to impress. When we read that article, we were shocked, saddened, and totally disappointed to say the least. It seemed that we had finally made a step forward and this writer had no qualms in toying with our progress by portraying us in such a way that we feared would take us a step backward once again.

The article was full of false statements, unbalanced and biased opinions, slander, and just an overall negative portrayal of the Arizona fashion industry with LabelHorde to blame as the cause. It was like, (as one supporter wrote in) blaming Art Link for First Friday becoming an excuse for under age kids to get drunk and roam the streets of down town PHX till 4am. It took pot shots at me personally and the writer chose to make it appear as if he had a negative opinion on the entire industry and me as a person and as a business woman even though the he was telling me right before the article came out and after it came out that he really liked me and wanted to be friends. He even told my business partner he wanted to find a way to make the very show he was bashing in his article one of the events listed in the "Best Of" issue! And he wanted to buy an "Anti Joe Watson" shirt. So, while we were hearing how much he loved us from his own mouth, everyone else was reading what a poor opinion he had of us.

The fortunate part of the entire experience was that although the article was negative, it was so poorly written, and so pointless, that most people saw through it and we ended up getting an overwhelming response from both, people who had no idea there was even a fashion community here and were now excited to join in, to people who were already part of LabelHorde and are now feeling the need to band together and prove this article wrong.

The worst part of it for me personally was much of this was at my expense personally. In the following two issues of the New Times, the editor, Rick Barrs, chose to include more letters from people bashing me and the local fashion scene than from people supporting me and the local fashion scene even though he received a significantly larger number of letters supporting me. Once again, the New Times chose to take the lower road and reported their findings in an unbalanced manner. And the letters they chose to print were very upsetting to me personally. They chose to take shots at me personally and physically. The writers, Toby Zealous, Lua Rae, Tilda Matheson and Nat Tobias in particular had never even met me or worked with me personally and probably don’t even know the true reason I started the organization. Yet, they chose to publicly humiliate and make fun of my physical characteristics and personality without any consideration for the feelings of another human being. Tilda goes so far as to call me a fat ass that was beat by the ugly stick. And a statement like that, (which is actually kind of clever…I do have a sense of humor, but it was so mean and unprovoked) which does not pertain to fashion or my professional abilities is obviously directed out of anger. I actually feel bad that I have angered someone so much and want to reach out and offer my friendship to them. I do not deserve this much of anyone’s emotional time. And all I’ve ever wanted to do is offer a resource for people like Tilda to use to find other contacts which will make her business grow. How that deserves a bashing like she gave me, I’m not sure. I’m not testing on animals or releasing hazardous waste into the atmosphere. I simply want a common directory for all of us to use so we can all find each other and use each other’s services. I was also told that a local designer named Galina, who I have always admired, respected, spoken highly of and defended when others have spoken negatively of her, and have gone out of my way to include in SMoCA shows and other events even called the writer to thank him for writing that article. And my mentor Dennita, couldn’t think of one nice thing to say about. When cornered, she said "she sure does get a lot of press". Yet, I have done as much as I possibly could to gain her respect and admiration. And Lua who criticizes me for not being as meticulous of a seamstress as her teacher (who should be ashamed that a student of his would represent him in such an unprofessional way) by saying that her teacher has made clothes for first ladies and can knock off a pattern perfectly, doesn’t understand the basics about Target Markets and the different types of markets there are out there. I wouldn’t make clothing for first ladies because it is not my target market. And I feel really sorry for Lua because she is not getting the information that she needs to be a well rounded fashion student and is also apparently being spoon fed negative things about other designers instead of learning the benefits of networking, which is the first thing they teach you in design school. These things are all things that can be solved if everyone chose to work together instead of acting like the stereo typical, catty, fashion professionals that most people think of when they think of fashion. Students like Lua can get a better education so they know what they are talking about, nay Sayers like Tilda, Nat and Toby won’t feel so much hostility toward other people in their own industry and will learn to see the benefits of working side by side and helping each other out and all of us can get our jobs done easier with access to a directory. I don’t think I should be the one to hog up all the resources and contacts. I have contact information for hundreds of fashion professionals in town and I just want to share it with everyone. I don’t see how that deserves such a bashing.

I don’t think fashion professionals need to be catty and dramatic to succeed in fashion. I have built this organization on the same qualities and ideas that I was raised to believe in… and that is to

∑ help other people,
∑ always be kind to others,
∑ share the wealth and success
∑ be honest and
∑ treat everyone equal.

And everything about this organization is based on those ideals. And any person that can live with themselves after treating a fellow human being the way that the writers of those letters to the editors or the gossipers in town have treated me, needs to take another look in the mirror and re-evaluate their own choices and values in life. This has nothing to do with fashion… but, when you are forced to look back on your life and the way you treated others one day, are you going to be happy with what you see?

I make an effort to be a giving person who is also forgiving. I am also willing to work harder and longer than anyone around me to achieve my own goals and I am more than willing and I am always excited to help others achieve theirs if they want to join in. I love to share the opportunities that come my way with anyone who wants to join in…And the more the merrier. I am asking for the friendship and partnership of the Toby’s, Lua’s, Tilda’s and Nat’s, or those who have formed a negative opinion about me or LabelHorde without meeting me or trying to understanding my intentions and the goals of the organization, and anyone who has decided not to join us and get a listing because of an ego issue. I know the saying goes "you can’t please everyone", but I don’t understand why you can’t. How can anyone be displeased with a simple directory?...A simple, common, friendly place that can be utilized by everyone to make it easier for all of us to do our jobs? If everyone working in fashion in Arizona decided from this point on that they would put aside egos, opinions, assumptions and expectations and just work together, our community would grow faster and we would all benefit from the added resources this would create.

So, that is my story…in all it’s truth and honesty. The point to the story is that you can love me or hate me or think I’m a horrible designer or a good one. You can call me a self promoter or a loud mouth, but you can not criticize me or LabelHorde for trying to simply make it easier to work in Fashion jobs in Arizona. There isn’t anything negative or controversial about that. There is now no reason to be "anti-LabelHorde". And if you know someone who is, please do the rest of us a favor and refer them to this article. We have created a directory and that’s as simple as it gets. It’s for EVERYONE to use and for everyone’s benefit so we all don’t always have to turn to L.A. or NY to do our jobs. And if you can accept the concept of the directory, and are willing to move on to the next step of working together and helping and supporting each other, we’ll be here. Come to the forum and say Hi.

Changes and Updates at LabelHorde

2005-08-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

With a change of a new season comes plenty of changes here at LabelHorde. If you've been keeping up on the goings ons around here, you already know that we've formed committees and are in the process of restructuring the company itself, and along with that, the LabelHorde and Arizona Fashion Foundation websites.

So, what do these changes mean for you?

Well, if you're a member, you can expect more in depth members only information and articles, features for your directory listing, and exclusive members only forums.

If you're not a member, but are thinking of becoming one, you can take advantage of our new monthly payment structure which makes being a LabelHorde member more affordable to you, and gives you benefits that can help grow your business.

But we're not all about changes, we'll still have our calendar available, as well as our features, profiling different LabelHorde members, and our popular forums.

All this and more is coming to the new LabelHorde, so check back often to see what's new and happening!

~Crystal

Spring Cleaning

2005-04-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

With spring comes fresh, new ideas, a restored motivation to start something new, or build up/re-examine an existing project. For the Arizona Fashion Foundation and LabelHorde, that includes the release of our Annual Printed Directory. No one knew what a huge undertaking this publication would be, especially when we first decided to launch it in January of every year. Who were we kidding. That would mean we'd need to be in production from October-December, which also happens to be the busiest time of the year for us, with planning shows (including the biggest fashion event of the year, the Annual Fashion Ball which happens in November and takes half a year to plan). So, as time passed and the Directory was no closer to being complete, we decided to re-think our strategy. From now on, the printed Directory will be released in April of each year, allowing us time to prepare it at the beginning of the year, after all the shows and holidays have calmed down, and will also give us a chance to release something new and fresh in Spring, which seems so fitting. We will also be having a release party, allowing us to have a small event, during this lull time. So, please stay tuned to our News section and Calendar for release party details.

We've also started planning "Spotlight" our annual Model Search, which will take place late August 2005. This show was a hit last year and the winner received a contract with FORD/RBA Agency! Robert Black of FORD also surprised us all when he gave away contracts to 3 other contestants, so you never know what may happen! If you are an aspiring model, this is definitely an event you do not want to miss. Look for a story on last years winner, and all the contract winners, to be posted to the LabelHorde homepage very soon. We'll catch up with the winners and find out how their lives and careers have changed since last years "Spotlight."

It looks like we're on for Wearable Art Auction 2005. We're currently in beginning planning stages of this wildly successful show and will be bring you details as this event unfolds. If you'd like to be involved, keep an eye out for the posting of the application to the LabelHorde homepage.

The LabelHorde Boutique is about to open! We're currently working on the product photoshoot, and will have the items posted within the next 2 weeks. This is a very exciting addition to our community, especially after so many boutiques closed their doors in the Phoenix area over the past few months. We are happy to be able to provide a place where Arizona designers can sell their creations.

Another exciting addition to the site will be the photo gallery. We will attempt to post photos from every show we can. This will not be limited to only LabelHorde shows, but will cover any/every fashion event. A perk for our Tuxedo members will be the ability to post to the gallery. They will be able to have their own album and can direct clients, friends, etc. to their personal album, which will also be another great marketing tool since the LabelHorde site is currently receiving a quarter of a million hits a month!! We're being visited by 47 different countries, and have even garnered enough recognition for the New Times to "threaten" us. There was a little write-up in a recent article about a charity fashion event in which major designer pieces were to be shown, and the opening line read "Keepers of LabelHorde, watch your back..." This means we have name recognition, and we're a big enough of a group to throw jabs at, even up against major designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Valentino and Givenchy. We're doing it, guys!

Happy spring,
Rhonda Zayas

Sunshine Fashion Rock 'n Roll

2005-03-09T22:41:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, March 3, was another installment of SMoCA Nights at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Again, tickets for the event sold out early that day, turning away many who definitely missed out on the wonderful dance performances, creative artwork, tasty food, and an extra "Chill" runway show produced by LabelHorde featuring designs by Lisa Jacobs, Valentine Ramirez and Kali Lambson, Chelsey Totten, Bonita Arnold, Alex Ozers and the finale piece by Angela Johnson and myself. When will you people learn? Buy your tickets in advance! This show always sells out. SMoCA Nights was voted "Best of Phoenix" by the New Times, and the show continues to go strong, streamlining each time around and brining new wonders to the Valley. A must-attend.

Friday night, March 4, was the Tsunami Relief Music and Fashion show at Alice Cooper's Town, the brainchild of model Daynalyn Wain. What a success and what fun. I think the show was extra special because we all knew that our efforts were not in vain, this was for something much bigger than all of us. Eerily enough, the heavens opened up and dumped down on us while the second to the last designer took to the runway. Music equipment was brought inside to the extremely cool "Dungeon" where the final band performed acoustically, and models casually passed through the crowd. Over $1000 was raised and Jennyvi's gown, which was donated to the silent auction, sold. Rumor has it that a show with the same formula, and done for charity, will happen again in Sept. or Oct. Stay tuned.

This Friday, March 11, will kick off the Scottsdale Arts Festival, a three-day, juried event. We are honored to be presenting a runway show at 2pm each day featuring designers Angela Johnson, Rhonda Zayas (that's me), Jennyvi Dizon, Satori Fire Glass by Stephanie Tantillo, Tiffe Fermaint, Sommer Biddison, Christy Fisher, Lillian Langford, Monica Russ, Irina Bremmon, LaZazA by Tiffany Regacho and Susan Di Staulo. Hair and makeup provided by Ethan Murray of Urban Hair, Robert Saenz. The festival takes place in downtown Scottdsdale on the beautifully sculptured gardens of the Scottsdale Civic Center. This time, there's no excuse not to attend, as this show will run for 3 days, 2pm each day is the start time of our runway event. Now is the absolute perfect time to be outside in Arizona. The grass is green, sun is shining, and models will be walking in the hottest designs that will hit boutiques within the next few months.

Hope to see a lot of new faces this weekend!

-Rhonda Zayas

Let the Good Times Roll

2004-11-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

We have all survived the Fashion Ball frenzy and now attempt to put our lives back to “normal,” but that’s not going to be easy considering Thanksgiving is next week, the Downtown Tempe show is December 10th, and Winter Holidays are fast approaching!

While reviewing my Martha Stewart Thanksgiving Planner, I realized I was way behind. I have not yet ordered my fresh turkey from the local butcher as I was supposed to do early November, I have not made my leaf-shaped napkin holders that double as place setting cards, nor have I decided which linens to set my Thanksgiving table in, and started ironing them. I’d love to have time to gather different colored bunches of grapes, complimentary scented candles and fall leaves from every tree around town for my Thanksgiving Day center piece, but I simply cannot fit it into my day. (Do people really do this?!)

I may be behind in the Holiday Prep and Décor Department, but here’s what’s been going on in my world. Phosphor’s photos from the Fashion Ball are now available for purchase on our site. Please go to the official info page for instruction on ordering. Zeh Design’s photos will be posted this weekend and you’ll be able to purchase, following the same instructions. Phosphor shot beautiful stills after models and designers came off the runway while Zeh Design captured the runway action.

I am currently working on the DTC holiday show marketing pieces. Posters will be displayed along Mill Ave., and info will be on our December monthly postcard/flyer. Please check our Calendar for full details.

We are working on putting together a LabelHorde Holiday party and will get you more information on that as it comes together.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Fashion Ball, whether you were a designer, model, stylist, sponsor or audience participant, you made the night the immense success that it was and we grow stronger by the day because of you.

Best,
Rhonda Zayas

Labelhorde on Sonoran Living...

2004-11-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

This morning, Monday, November 15th, Labelhorde's own Cristina and Quinn modeled for designer Christa Hilda on Sonoran Living. Along with Cristina and Quinn, Angela Johnson, Lillian Langford and Monica Russ also made an appearance to promote Labelhorde.

FASHION BALL TONIGHT!

2004-11-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

Tonight's the night we've all worked so hard for! Countless sleepless nights have all worked up to tonight's show that's sure to be astonishing. I'm sure there are designers who are still putting finishing touches on that one special piece that will take it's stroll down the runway tonight. Planes are still landing, bringing in relatives, friends, or curious spectators who will all bare witness to the amazing talent of Phoenix. My family arrived from Chicago on Friday morning and they have been a tremendous help with all the final details that I'm finishing up on.

I received the DVD, overnighted from Montreal, of the short film that will play 1/2 hour before the runway show starts. Nick Fox-Geig is the filmmaker, a fellow CalArts alumni, and we are so honored to be showing his piece.
Julia Manganaro, sister of LabelHorde's Joanna Manganaro, will be singing at the opening of the show. She will be arriving from New Mexico later on today. From what I've heard, she will take your breath away.
Good luck to all of you who are participating in the show, I can't wait to see everything that has been designed for this evening!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all our volunteers, sponsors, designers, friends and family. We could not pull an event like this off without you!!

-Rhonda Zayas

Let the countdown begin!

2004-11-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

4 days until the 2^nd Annual fashion Ball!

I’ll attempt to take you in the wild rid that is LabelHorde as we come into the final stretch, and final days of preparation before our biggest event of the year.

Tomorrow we will know the winners of the Platinum Stitch Awards, as votes are being tallied today. I’m so excited to see the results! This will be a historical winner group, as they are the first in Arizona to be recognized on this level. Winners will be announced right after the runway show at the Fashion Ball, so stick around.

As many of you know, DJ RADAR will be playing at the Ball, and though I have not seen him play live yet, I’ve heard some of his recordings, and have been briefed as to the details of his performance on Friday and I cannot wait, it’s sure to be quite an experience. DJ RADAR will be spinning, accompanied by a string section. It’s crossing boundaries and is something; I personally, do not want to miss.

Another one of the exciting details that has been added to the show is short films, by Cal Arts alumni, that will play 1/2 hour before and after the runway show. The work is brilliant and I am thrilled to have some of my alma mater join me in this celebration.

I checked the site stats last night and found that 2 new countries are visiting our site, bringing the count to 25. On this same note, our Marketing and Corporate Sponsorship President, Joanna Manganaro, got a call from a photographer in New York, who is doing a shoot this weekend in Phoenix and is looking for a stylist. He found Joanna’s listing in the online Directory and offered her the job! Unfortunately, she cannot make it due to it clashing with a little event we like to call the Fashion Ball. But, this just proved to us that not only are all these people from around the globe visiting our site, they are actually using it!

Our deadline is fast approaching for the printed Annual Directory. If you haven’t already been listed in our Directory, the time is now.

It's SMoCA Time!

2004-11-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

Busy season has commenced!

The lazy days of summer have passed and even Indian summer has gone
out of season as we roll full steam into fall and the crazed holidays.
Tonight, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art will host SMoCA Nights, as they do every few months. "Epic" will showcase martial-arts inspired dance performed by Capoeira Brasil, followed by the garage-band sound of The MadCaPs. Ballet Arizona will perform to the music of DJ Maji and M2.

And, as always, the evening will conclude with a runway show featuring the designs of some of Arizona's most talented designers: Lacie Bug Designs by Lacie Murphy, Kiki and Belle's Func by Tara Louise Pitts and Krissi Early, SommerChristine Designs by Sommer, Rio Dae 2am Rio Grantham, Jade Lily by Lillian Langford, Soldierleisure by Andy Brown, Rippstyle Clothing by Kenyata Baraka, Coleccion by Alma Primero, and a finale piece by LabelHorde's own Angela Johnson and Rhonda Zayas.

Next Friday, November 12, is our 2nd Annual Fashion Ball. This show is getting bigger by the day. More and more people are jumping on board as sponsors, donating to the VIP gift bag(these bags alone are worth well over the $100 VIP ticket price!), signing up as volunteers, passing out flyers and sending out email blasts, basically doing anything in their power to make this event the success that it should be. For that, we are so grateful. This is not a "LabelHorde event," this is an industry effort, everyone doing their part for what they believe in. It's truly awesome.Some of the little special touches of the night will include a media backdrop, just like you see at the Hollywood premieres. Feel free to step up and pose, you just may end up in print the next day.
As I mentioned earlier, the VIP gift bags are turning into an event all their own. Many designers have donated handmade pieces, boutiques have donated coupons and small items, cosmetic companies have donated products, etc. I'm not going to give you the whole list, there's got to be some surprise involved! If you'd like to purchase a VIP runway seat, which puts you right in the center action, and gets you one of these gift bags, click here. For General tickets, and General Seating, click here.

December will bring about the Downtown Tempe/LabelHorde event. We will be posting more information about this project as it nears. For now, I best be on my way. I still need to design and print the program for SMoCA Nights; yes you did read correctly, the show is tonight…the story of my life.

Best,
Rhonda Zayas
Drop me a line

Happy Birthday Labelhorde!

2004-11-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Today marks the launch of the Labelhorde Anniversary Issue – one year from the launch of Labelhorde itself. We've come so far from the print magazine and few local designers to being such a mecca for Arizona fashion, with a full fledged online magazine!

We're so proud to annouce the launch of the anniversary issue, and along with that, the annoucement of the Fashion Event of the year: the Second Annual Labelhorde Fashion Ball.

Enjoy this latest issue of Labelhorde, and please, don't forget to leave feedback in the forums.

Welcome to another round of LabelHorde.com design upgrades!

2004-11-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

V1.1 — When this site started, a year ago this month, it was simply a basic info page to compliment the print magazine. There were no features or columns. No news and very little in regards to imagery. The Forum and Calendar started here and have held strong throughout our design revamps, providing a launch pad for our open and communicative community.

V2.1 — As we evolved from print to strictly an online entity, the design was changed to reflect our new company direction. Moving away from print allowed us to focus on really building this industry, instead of putting every ounce of energy into ad sales in attempts to generate enough revenue just to continue printing. We took a step back and refocused. The E-Magazine was born. Full of color and large images, many feature stories and fun columns. The Forum and Calendar stayed in place, acting as the ultimate resource to interact with fellow colleagues and stay apprised of future events.

V3.1 — Little did we know, at that time, just how fast we’d grow. V2.1 was launched in July, and as of October, we’ve already outgrown our web hosting space! I knew this would happen eventually, but never would I have dreamed that it’d happen so fast.

Our hits have doubled each month, 356,000 in October alone, and as of yesterday when I checked our stats, we are being visited by 23 different countries! Our printed publication could never have reached these heights; we are now, dare I say, international?!

Our new design will take us to the next level. More text on the homepage makes us even easier to find when people search out fashion sites. Smaller images allow the homepage to load faster for friends visiting on a dial up network. We’re archiving all old stories so that the information is always there to refer back to. We’re creating slideshows that will be up shortly after our events. Streamlining these processes will allow us to give more to our viewers. We’re going to pack this sucker with information, and it’ll change daily.

We’re doing it, guys! We’re putting Phoenix on the map, and not just the United States map, we’re global. This is history we’re creating. Every time any one of us designers creates a new piece, or participates in another show, it joins the fact sheet, making us stronger, and making people take notice, we’re not joking around.

This is a unique and amazing time we’re living in. I came to Phoenix knowing what was possible. I saw this cocoon ready to hatch, something buzzing like crazy inside. I knew I had to be part of it. There is no major metropolitan city like this. If you dream it, you can do it. Come fly with me little butterflies! (…sorry, a little carried away…)

Best,
Rhonda Zayas

* Have a News bit for us? Email me!

This week at Labelhorde.com

2004-11-02T23:12:00.000-08:00

This week is certainly the big week of changes and uploads as we take Labelhorde into it's second year. With the launch of the new website, new features and info will be added throughout the week - so be sure to check often! We're getting ready for the ball, so be sure to buy your tickets in advance to the night that will make fashion history here in Arizona.
Give us your feedback in the forums.
Thanks!

Susan DiStaulo Featured in YES!

2004-11-02T22:48:00.000-08:00

Our very own fashionista, Susan DiStaulo was featured in the YES! Section of the Arizona Republic. Check out her profile here: Fashion Feature: Susan DiStaulo
Congrats, Suze!

Welcome!

2004-11-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the official Labelhorde blog! Stay on top of Arizona's Fashion Authority in this frequently updated blog. This will be your main source for news, upcoming Labelhorde event information, as well as the widely anticipated Labelhorde Editor's blog! Check back here often!