Saturday, July 9, 2011

Corazon Swimwear fundraising for Guatemalan Education!



Hey guys! My name is Rachel, I'm an independent designer and senior at Moore College in Philadelphia. Today is my first day interning at Arcadia Boutique, and I could not have chosen a more congenial environment to learn in. I am currently in the Rittenhouse store, where I am learning about the various sustainable and independent designer labels that are carried here.

I recently arrived back from a 10-day vending adventure to Dallas and Austin, TX. This roadtrip was funded by my school through a fellowship award program, which enables students to apply for grants through a proposal process. With the money I recieved from my school I bought fabric, rented a minivan, and after many sleepless nights of sewing...I was on my way with 5 close friends. Our mission was to raise as much money as we could by selling handmade swimwear, fair-trade Guatemalan bags, and up-cycled denim shorts I hand-dyed and distressed. Whatever money Corazon Swimwear raises by the end of this summer will then be donated to a young man or woman in Guatemala who is in need of college funding. By supporting Guatemala in this endeavor I hope to promote their local textile production which is sadly falling out of practice.


These are some of Corazon's hand dyed and distressed shorts



Somewhere in Tennessee captured by John Note at 6AM after 16 hours of driving:
This is Cathleen Beer in rocket pop shorts and a tube top with Guatemalan fabric on the front


Cathleen with Mary Gomez in a swimsuit cover up with Guatemalan woven back
                   Mary Gomez in "The Mabsie" cover up which was in the fellowship gallery exhibit at Moore.



This is our stand that was set up outside of my friend Emma's house in Austin, TX on July 2nd. She was kind enough to host a trunk show for us while we were in town. During the trunk show my brother Cade and his Austin based band Foe Destroyer played a set.

During our time vending we raised over $1,000, but learned a lot in the process. It was well worth the experience, and it will be worth the reward in the end. I will be visiting Guatemala in August to learn more about the weavers and their families, and hopefully meet a deserving student who can benefit from Corazon's sales.

I will be interning at Arcadia throughout the rest of the summer so hopefully I can keep you up to date with what's going on here at Arcadia, and Corazon's fundraiser.

Corazon will be vending at the Piazza tomorrow from noon-7pm. If you have time come check out our stuff! To donate or for other updates visit www.corazonswimwear.com

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