Katie Nguyen is a local entrepreneur, having started a fashion line for kids called Kangacoo that was one of three children’s lines presented at OC Fashion Week. Billed as “where the runway meets the playground”, Kangacoo features fun and whimsical pieces that are also wearable and washable. Kangacoo is a national brand with show rooms in LA and Chicago. Nguyen also maintains a handmade/custom collection on Etsy.com. This week, Nguyen gives us her perspective as a busy mom and businesswoman in the OC fashion industry.
How long have you lived in Orange County?
I have lived in Orange County for 12 years. I moved from the SF Bay Area. My family still lives there so i go back often but Orange County feels like home to me now. It’s nice to live by a beach you can actually swim at. Nor Cal beaches are way too chilly!
What do you like best about living here.
I love the diversity. There are so many great restaurants and so many entreprenuers. There is always something exciting happening in Orange County.
Tell us about your family.
I met my husband the second day I moved here. I transferred with my company and he was my mentor in my new branch. It took us 8 years to marry and we had Marlise my daughter 3 years ago. We call her our little halfer because she is half vietnamese (father) and half caucasion (me). Our first baby was really Cleo, our hairless cat.
How did you get interested in fashion? Did you study it in school or was it a passion that ignited later?
My grandparents taught me to sew when I was about 7 or 8. But I stoped sewing in my early teens. When I was 3 months pregnant I was laid of from a high paying corporate job. I had climbed the corporate ladder and was done with it. I wanted to do something I loved so I took my sewing machine out of the closet dusted it off and started making baby blankets and outerwear. I had no schooling so i learned thorugh trial and error and studying garments i liked and reading online.
How did you start your business?
Really it started itself. I wasn’t sure how it would develop. I started selling on Etsy and a company in Japan found me and placed and order for 80 of my faux fur reversible ponchos. They are still my top client 3 years later. I started designing more clothes and grew more popular on Etsy and in Spring 2011 i signed with 2 showrooms in LA and Chicago. I now have my line in almost 50 retailers in addition to my Etsy Shop.
What are some of the unique aspects of running a fashion line from Orange County?
The huge plus is to be so close to LA. It’s awesome having all my fabric and notion resources 45 minutes away. Orange County also has quite a few unique boutiques that value and support small or new labels.
How do you balance work/family/play?
Um, not very well. But I am working on it in the new year. At the end of 2011 I ended the year burnt out and frustrated that I didn’t spend enough time with my family because I was working so many long hours. But you have to do that in your first years. I keep my eye on the prize. If I put in the hours to grow my business now I can hire more employees down the line to relieve some of my load.
What advice would you give to aspiring designers?
Read my blog The Fashion Business Mentor. I started it to help budding designers. This industry is very tight lipped and many people will take advantage of you if you don’t know what you are doing. My blog tells some of my experiences and I teach on topics that I know will help small businesses in this industry succeed. Also, unless you have a huge bank account of expendable funds then expect that you will spend 10% of your time designing and 90% of your time running the business in your first years. You have to be dedicated.
If you are interested in checking out Kangacoo’s adorable line, you can visit the sites below.
If you have school-aged kids, they probably aren’t quite ready to make it until midnight to ring in the New Year. However, if you are looking for a way to celebrate the New Year with your family, there are two great local events catering to families with young children.
First, the Discovery Science Center will be hosting a New Year’s Event for the whole family. Families can celebrate early (and without staying up past bedtime) with a count down and ginger ale toast at 12pm, and 2pm on December 31st. Guests can dress up with hats, beaded necklaces, and noisemakers to the ring in the New Year! Show up early for special fun like building a seltzer rocket and creating your own personalized party popper. Kids can learn the science of time zones as they count down New Years around the world.
Later in the day, Orange County’s Great Park will host an evening filled with live music and dance, food and fun for all ages in a safe, alcohol-free environment from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. A Great Park Family New Year’s Eve will count down to 2012 on East Coast time, culminating at 9:00 p.m. with the Great Park Balloon descending simultaneously with the Times Square ball drop in New York. The event will reflect music and images of each decade from the 1940s to the present. Local dance groups will perform dances from each era, and everyone can get down as a DJ plays tunes from the disco era in the Hangar 244 Lounge. Admission is free, and parking is $10.
If you can procure a babysitter and want to ring in the New Year without the kids, the OC Fair is hosting a New Year’s Eve Ball. that looks like a lot of fun. There will be five different stages with a tribute band at each playing the best music by the decade – from the ’60s to the ’90s. (I think I would spent my time at the 80’s stage, but that’s just me). They will also have karaoke, dj’s, and a demolition derby. And the best part – there will be over 50 gourmet food trucks to satisfy every appetite. If you haven’t had a change to sample some of Orange County’s food trucks, I highly recommend it.
Tell me: how do YOU feel about New Year’s Eve? Do you have any big plans? Do they include your kids or will you be celebrating kid-free?
Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park’s popular them park attraction, has transformed into Knott’s Merry Farm this holiday season. It’s a great place to celebrate the holiday spirit with small children, especially as the park presents “A Charlie Brown Christmas”: a park-wide Christmas experience including holiday shows, , festive decorations, and a colorful Christmas parade.
Some of the highlights of holiday season at Knott’s Berry Farm include A Peanuts’ Holiday Parade featuring the Peanuts Gang and accompanied by students from Orange County Song and Dance Company. The parade will run Nov. 24-27, Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17-23, 26-30 & Jan 1. Also in the spirit of the season, Knott’s Merry Farm features the ice spectacular, “It’s Christmas, Snoopy!” The show, performed in the 2,100-seat Charles M. Schulz Theatre, is hosted by the famous skating Beagle and features Knott’s ensemble skaters, dazzling sets, colorful costumes and plenty of surprises. The plays A Christmas Carol and The Gift of the Magi are also featured during the holiday season, in rotation at the Birdcage Theatre. All shows are included with regular park admission.
Even the food goes festive at Knott’s Merry Farm. Guests can indulge in the ultimate comfort foods with holiday treats like fresh-baked pies, cakes, cookies, muffins and gingerbread men, as well as daily specials and the legendary cooking at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. For an all you can eat buffet, try Joe Cool’s Backyard BBQ Holiday Style. You can partake of a holiday feast that includes Mrs. Knott’s famous fried chicken, roast turkey, vegetarian lasagna, roast beef, mashed potatoes, and boysenberry pie.
Elf Mountain Christmas is also back. The world famous Timber Mountain Log Ride has once again been transformed this holiday season giving guests an up-close and-personal view into the world of Santa’s Elves. And Snoopy’s Christmas Light Spectacular is the perfect way to end the day at Knott’s, as hundreds of thousands of twinkling white and multicolored lights accompanied by a festive soundtrack merrily light up the nighttime sky in Camp Snoopy from dusk to park closing.
Always wanted to take your kids to the ballet, but not sure if they would sit still the whole time? The Irvine Barclay Theatre has a solution. They are hosting two nights designated just for families. The family nights feature tickets at only $30 each when purchasing four or more tickets. But taking your kids on family night also means less stress, since there are bound to be other young kids in the audience, alleviating some of the tension when your own kids get squirmy. It’s a fantastic opportunity for families to enjoy the beauty and pageantry of Festival Ballet Theatre’s annual production of the beloved seasonal show.
This full-length, traditional production is choreographed and directed by Festival Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director Salwa Rizkalla, and features a cast of professional dancers along with more than 200 Southern California children. My daughter and I had a chance to see it last year. At only four years old, my daughter was mesmerized with the dancing and the costumes, while I was impressed with the professionalism that this company brought to a time-honored ballet.
Family nights for The Nutcracker are December 10 and 16 at 7 p.m. Additional performances are as follows:
For the past thirty years, Heritage Hill Historical Park has held an annual Victorian Christmas that celebrates the season with a fun dose of history as well. This year’s festivities will be held Saturday. December 3rd. Highlghts will include holiday decor on the historical buildings, strolling carolers singing Christmas tunes, old-fashioned candy dipping, and storytelling in the old schoolhouse. Children can visit Santa, make Victorian Christmas poppers, and tour the historical buildings. There will also be local craft vendors and festive food available for purchase.
Festivities start at 11 a.m. and go until 3 p.m. The park is at 25151 Serrano Road. Cost is $4 for adults and $3 for children.
In a season marked by giving, I love the idea of giving back to our community and our planet. A few years ago, my family decided to forego gifts for the adults, and give donations in each person’s name instead. It’s been so fun thinking of each family member and finding ways to honor each of them with a unique donation.
Here are some great ways you can do your Christmas shopping and give back at the same time – and all of these companies are based in Orange County!
Ever/After is a casual lifestyle clothing brand for kids and adults. They’ve paired simple, modern design with super-soft premium fabrics. My kids love their t-shirts and cozy leggings and yoga pants. Best of all, the company will donate 25% of the net profit from each garment you buy to the cause of your choice. We’ve partnered with charities that share our vision of creating powerful & sustaining change in the lives of children in need. We believe helping others can extend to all areas of our lives, even the clothing we buy. Every garment comes with a change the story card that holds the value of this donation. A huge aspect of ever/after is to get the children involved in giving back. Our goal is that children wearing our brand realize that helping others can extend to all areas of our lives, even the clothing we buy. So when you are entering your scratch off code online, take your daughter, son, niece, nephew, and cousin, whoever it might be, take them with you. Have them enter the code online, and show them how they are helping to change the story.
Krochet Kids
I am so in love with Krochet Kids. Not just because their hats are perfect for hiding my unwashed hair at school drop-off. And not just because my friend Sarah and her husband Blake are pioneering their program in Peru. What I love about Krochet Kids is that it’s a company that is empowering impoverished people to earn an income for themselves. Krochet Kids offers 3 year programs to women living in poverty. In this program, the women learn to krochet hats to earn an income and be able to fully support themselves for the first time in their lives. Based in Uganda and Peru, the hats are sold in the US, on their website and at most Nordstroms.
31 Bits
In addition to being cute and fashion-forward, 31 Bits Jewelry is made out of 100% recycled paper, posters, and magazines by internally displaced women in Northern Uganda. Each piece of jewelry is unique and hand-crafted by a woman in the community of Gulu, Uganda
Kiara makes homemade whipped body and hair butters as a fundraiser for their next adoption. Not only is it a great cause, but the body butters are a product you will probably order again and again. These butters are homemade with organic, unrefined ingredients, for maximum nourishment for skin and hair. They are wonderful for all skin types, but especially for children of color with dry skin or eczema. We use these lotions exclusively for our kids, and they also work nicely to keep African hair moisturized. My boys are partial to the chocolate peppermint scent.
Give Prints is a for profit company working to give financially to various non profits (501c). Just as one values the beauty of a print, Give Prints values the beauty of lives changed, and gives 50% of their profits to help love people around the world.
The heart of Give Prints is to help people send love to others through the purchasing of ohoto prints. It was born out of a photographer’s desire to help fellow photographers publicize their work while helping worthy organizations that are already reaching out to people all over the world. The photographers showcased on the site gave their talents to give to their charities.
CW-Collaborative World is a for-profit apparel company that exists to support the non-profit organization. We call it a “Co-Profit”. We are founded on Extraordinary Giving and donate 50% of the overall profit from the sale of our clothing to Partners already doing good in the world. We exist to Amplify their efforts. Our Mission is to actively pursue new and more extraordinary ways to Give, while encouraging others to do the same. GIVING is the brand.
Punjammies are sari-inspired pajamas. Each pair of Punjammies are created in an after-care facility for women who have been rescued, released or escaped from a life of forced prostitution. Holistic aftercare involves quality medical care, emotional safety, education and the tools to create a new way of life for herself.
Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Why not bring the family to a charitable event where you can give back to the community at the same time?
On Saturday, MICA Community Development Center will host their 8th Annual C3 Basketball Tournament and Community Fair from 11am to 3pm at the Downtown Recreation Center of Costa Mesa. The event will feature games for kids, raffles, food, game truck, bounce houses, fire truck and police vehicles. This event has a small-town feel featuring authentic Hispanic and North American food. Food will be available to purchase from Mika’s neighborhoods as well as from the Fire and Police Association. Proceeds will support community projects in Mika’s neighborhoods.
On Sunday, South Coast Plaza will host the the 20th Annual Pumpkins and Pancakes Halloween Extravaganza from 8am to 11am. This event will benefit CASA Orange County, CHOC Children’s Foundation and Orangewood Children’s Foundation. – three organizations that bring life-changing assistance to children in need here in Orange County. Your family can enjoy a gourmet pancake breakfast from Plum’s Cafe, along with music, dancing, face painting, balloon artists, hair feather artists, surprise characters and much, much more! Tickets can be purchased online here or at the door, and the proceeds will benefit the organization of your choice.
Are you a Martha Stewart fan? Join Martha Stewart and Sarah Carey, Editor-in-Chief of Everyday Food, this Thursday evening at 6 as they prepare a menu from Martha’s newest book, Martha’s Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations,and host a very special cooking demonstration using Martha’s new collection of cookware. You can reserve your seat for this coking demonstration with the purchase of Martha’s Entertaining, or with a $75 purchase from the Martha Stewart Collection Professional Cookware. While seating is limited to 200 customers who reserve and make the qualifying purchase, all customers are welcome to watch the event.
