Kristin Cofer - Design That Kills

When Mandie Bee of Heartbreaker Fashion agreed to do an interview for DTK, I was more than ecstatic!  She is the designer behind some of my favorite fashions, including my go-to photo shoot dress, the Super Spy Dress.  Not only does Mandie find time to run Heartbreaker Fashion with her mom, but she indulges in her musical passions as well, singing in her indie band, The Automatic Year.  Read on and be inspired by the fashionable and lovely, Mandie Bee.

“I do not associate myself with any one social scene.”

Name: Mandie Bee
Occupation: Business Owner/ Designer, Heartbreaker Fashion
Location: The adorable and hip Downtown of Fullerton, California

What is the history behind Heartbreaker fashion?
Through high school and the start of my college years, I was very much into vintage fashion- new reproduction and true vintage. If I ever came across a great find, I would often copy the basic design idea or even buy it to copy the pattern so that I could make my own rendition of that dress.
During my sophomore year in college in 2004, I would make myself a custom dress, wear it out on the weekend and then sell it on Ebay. Occasionally, my friends would take orders of the dress right off my body! I was able to sell each dress for about $50-75 on average, which for a poor college student was fantastic.

My mother, Teresa, is actually the one with the real background in fashion. She went to FIDM in 1974 and has worked in the fashion industry for more than 25 years. She has designed for lines carried in high end department stores, designed and manufactured her own clothing line in the mid 80’s, and has taught fashion at a number of trade schools in the area as well. As a skilled pattern maker and dress maker, she knows what’s up. My mother saw what I was up to and suggested that we try to turn it into an actual business.

Over the years, we have found that my greatest skill is in marketing and promotion. My mother takes care of making the patterns and the production end of it all. Together we design and cover all other aspects of the business. We call ourselves a well-oiled machine. I need her just as much as she needs me in order for Heartbreaker to be a success.

Favorite Heartbreaker pieces?
My favorite Heartbreaker pieces are: The Super Spy Dress, The Betty Bolero, The Trixie Top, and The Sabrina Dress.  All of our other pieces are great, too- I love the fit- but I wear these particular items out the most.

What inspires you?
My favorite thing to do is peruse old Vogue fashion magazines from the 1940’s-1960’s. We also flip through current fashion magazines to get ideas. We want to be able to sell a product that’s retro-looking enough for the rockabilly girl, but also hip enough for the modern girl.

Is it your full time job?
Yes it is! and I love it. My mom and I goof around a lot. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss since I was a kid, so I’m living my dream.

Tell me about your love of music and your band, the automatic year- It seems the sounds you create musically are very different than the mid century inspired fashions on Heartbreaker-

I am into all sorts of music. I grew up with the oldies station, in high school I got into jamaican ska and jazz standards, in college I fell in love with 60’s soul. I had a group of friends growing up that were and very much still are into the indie music scene and while I got hints of it here and there, I didn’t really involve myself until I joined my current band.

I’m a singer and I really don’t have much preference of what TYPE of music I’m involved with as long as I’m doing it. I’ve sung with a reggae band, I’ve jumped in on jazz jam sessions, I was in the gospel choir in high school, and I was the music director for our community theatre group for one production.

Writing songs and playing with my indie band (The Automatic Year) is my favorite thing to do. It’s all I ever want to do. And while I love my job, I really do look at Heartbreaker as my job, and music as my passion. I do not associate myself with any one social scene.

What are you listening to right now?
I’m listening to Ella Fitzgerald- Live at Newport. I love Ella.

Ten favorite things (anything)
In no real particular order:

1. Music
2. Pear Martinis from Table Ten in Fullerton
3. Astrology
4. Yogurt Land
5. Fondue
6. Riding bikes
7. My new forest green Peacoat
8. Shopping in Antique Stores and Vintage Clothing stores
9. Dancing
10. Playing with my band

Any favorite fashion/shoe/retail websites or blogs?
I have a few staples in what I like to call my “Beauty-is-your-duty” regimine.

E.C. Star is my favorite clothing line. Very hip and unique. Wonderful quality, too! Made in the USA.

Lush makes soaps and other cosmetics from natural ingredients. Here’s to the green movement!

Benefit Cosmetics. This is the only line of make up that will not make my skin break out. I LOVE all of their products and I swear by it. The packaging is adorable, too.

I am also a fan of Kaboodle.com- this helps me with my internet shopping.

Any advice to others pursuing the dream of having their own fashion line?
DREAM BIG! But take baby steps getting there and be realistic with your spending- you will not blow up over night!

Heartbreaker started in my parents back patio. We worked out of their home for 3 years before moving into our current work space. We started with 2 designs and a $50 investment- Now we have over 50 different patterns for dresses, tops and skirts.

I had to keep my other job for a long time- I could not expect Heartbreaker to take care of me, but we realized how much potential it had. My mother was not in a position to worry about money. Fashion and being a business owner is her passion, so this is ideal for her. They say that if you can make it past your first year without losing any money, you’re doing it right.

You can see all of her beautiful fashions at heartbreakerfashion.com (my current fashion crush is the Molly Dress) and listen to her band, The Automatic Year here!

these ladies are making my heart melt! how can one be born so creative and fashionable?! i’d like to do a house tour and or a closet raid with any of them!

oh loulou with your red hair, what a great idea on how to freshen up a winter coat and i have a crush on your tote!

marie this entire ensemble is perfect and a black heart purse? how did i not know about this? why am i afraid to go into h&m?

nubby always a girl of my heart, this outfit is perfect and i want your stockings!

other honorable mentions: these jeffrey campbell pumps are calling my name, this siouxsie inspired photo shoot is amazing, i want to sleep in these satin sheets, and i can’t stop staring at this sweet little baby deer. (you really can die from being too precious.)

another note, today’s musical treat comes from the simple minds, a scottish rock band, that have a few amazing albums pre this hit that i am about to link- but i do love this song, and i hope you to, i’ve been car dancing to, “don’t you (forget about me)”- and now you can too!

Howdy, readers! Meet Hang Jones–a storyteller for the proletariat in the vein of Springsteen and Cash, a wandering troubadour in the vein of Van Zandt and Dylan, a soft-centered scoundrel in the vein of Han Solo. You may already know Hang as Stephen Grillos, frontman for San Francisico outlaw rock’n’roll band, Del Bombers. But now he’s mounted his steel horse with his six-guns at his sides, ready to set forth on a solitary adventure into the territory of the concept album. And this ain’t no tumbleweed of a record—The Ballad of Carlsbad County, set in 1887 New Mexico amidst a three-way battle of the hearts, is classic Americana driven by tales of humankind’s two greatest forces—love and death.

The album and its first conceptual video will be available on October 22 via the Hang Jones website. If you’re in the San Francisco area, be sure to catch Hang playing live on October 1 at El Rio, on October 11 at Café International, and then once again on October 21 at Hotel Utah.

RW:  First off…Hang Jones: one man or a band? Or both?

HJ: When I began writing the album it was a solo project. I had spent over 10 years in a band (Del Bombers), and I really wanted to try music on my own. However, I didn’t want to go by “Stephen Grillos” as there are so many singer/songwriters out there these days. I wanted a name that could be for either an individual or a group. If I am up on stage performing solo people will think I am hang Jones, but if I have the entire band up their, then we must be Hang Jones. It is ambiguous, and that is by design.

While I consider Matt and Mayumi (Matt Cunitz: bass, piano, pump organ. Mayumi Orgino: fiddle, backing vocals) very much a part of the band, they are both very busy with other groups. So live shows will be the group at times, me solo others, and sit in players here and there. Should make each show unique in it’s own way.

All that said, as I get deeper and deeper into the characters of the story, I am digging taking on the identity of the minstrel Hang Jones.

RW: I don’t claim to know much about San Francisco, having only been there once, but my impression of the music scene there has been cultivated from listening to bands like VSS, Pleasure Forever, Vue–bands that I would consider to possess a much flashier and more urban sound and image. With that in mind, I found your music and your image to be quite out of the ordinary. Do you feel like you’re a loner in your local underground music scene? And if so, do you think that has any impact on the music you write considering that it conveys a sense of the old west and the solitary cowboy life?

HJ: I think like any urban center, San Francisco attracts them in all shapes and sizes. And while I wouldn’t say roots music is the dominant scene in San Francisco, it certainly has a long tradition in this city. Since the 60s, San Francisco has been famous for its Bluegrass and Folk artists, and the musicians here are serious about keeping that heritage alive. So thankfully I am not coming out of left field being a San Francisco artist that sings Americana music. As for the solitary sound of the songs, I think a lot of that comes from the fact that I holed up in my apartment for around a year and a half writing this record. For the first time I didn’t have a band to bounce everything off of, although my wife played that role well. Also, I had moved around a lot, and hadn’t been in the SF music scene for a number of years. So yeah, I definitely feel like not many people around here know who the hell I am.

RW: Your songs are sung in first-person and so it seems that you have taken on this character of Jacob Powell (NOTE: Jacob Powell is the bad guy, the hero is William Bishop).. Was that a conscious decision? What made you decide to tell this particular story from the point of view of someone who’s living your lyrics? Why not some omniscient third-person observer?

HJ: I like to think of my role here as the storyteller - like I am traveling back east from the Wild West with tall tales of murder, tragedy, and romance. But you’re right, these songs are all sung in the first person, so that line got blurred somewhere along the road.
I will say that, in writing this album, I became very attached to all these characters. I had some major issues to work through, especially with William. He begins the record getting mixed up in a gunfight and killing someone, then later beats a guy to death, but he is supposed to be the hero of the story. Trying to make him a strong yet sympathetic character took a lot of time to flush out and lead to a really deep understanding of him and his motivations. I guess after going through all that I found it easier to sing the songs from their perspective. I think it makes the songs that more personal, and haunting.

RW: You and I have only conversed briefly and so I know little about you. One thing I do know is that you have lived all over the country. This may also tie in with questions 2 and 3, but do you think your roaming past has allowed you to identify with such ‘western’ characters?

HJ: I think a lot of the fixation with Western characters comes from my upbringing. I’ve always had a fixation with the Wild West. I grew up watching Spaghetti Westerns with my Dad, and have read a bunch of books on the subject. But you’re right, I think moving around a lot has influenced my songwriting greatly. I only lived in Texas for a short time, but it happened early enough in my music career to have a huge impact on my writing style. Two of my biggest heroes came out of Texas (Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt).

Also, as far as traveling around goes, a lot of isolation comes with it. When you spend a lot
of time in strange places where you don’t know a single soul you get in a lot of conversations with yourself. Having a guitar helped keep me from going crazy a lot of the time.

RW: In the ‘Legend’ section of your website, you refer to the songs you’ve just finished as chapters. Do you plan to write your future albums in the same manner, or even as subsequent volumes of this story? Does this make it, in a sense, a ‘concept album’?

HJ: The original plan for release was to have a song and a video for each chapter, so listeners could learn the story as it evolves through a cool visual medium. As an indie artist I quickly learned that would not be possible. I just don’t have the budget. So the Legend page can fill that need.

Also, I was going to release song at a time, but I got so many emails from people that wanted to buy the CD I decided to hurry up already and release it. So the album is coming out next month, and I’ve got two videos finished, but I will continue on with releasing Legends for each song so people can get into the characters and learn more about them. I am also trying to get together the cash to complete the video series, but that will end up being 5 chapters, not 12. So the videos will focus on the William - Caroline - Jacob triangle of love and murder, while the legend and album fills in the back story of those three characters.

RW: Lastly…Han Solo: perhaps the ultimate cowboy?
HJ: I am a huge Star Wars geek, so for my money there is no “perhaps” about it. Han Solo is my biggest hero (sorry Townes). On the surface he is selfish and arrogant, but when the chips are down and you need someone watching your back he’s the best friend a man could have. I wouldn’t leave him alone in a room with my wife though.

all photo and flyer design by lisa marie grillos

More Hang Jones:
http://www.hangjones.com
http://www.myspace.com/hangjones
http://www.youtube.com/hangjones

yesterday i received a phone call from my old sacramento friends, agent ribbons, asking if i could update a poster i designed for them a year ago for their upcoming UK tour-

before they had an official record design- natalie and lauren used to create individual album covers by hand- which is why i designed their materials using a similar collage style-

i wish the girls luck and look forward to a new, updated agent ribbons photo shoot when they arrive back home this fall!

in my 9-5 world we are deep in holiday wonderland, so i have been more than a busy design doll- but i have not forgotten about you, electronic darlings-

photo by parker day

i have recently found myself meeting and working with some really talented san francisco musicians. currently my ears can’t stop listening to veil veil vanish, all six songs on their album just flow together like one long beautiful storybook.

last week i designed a poster for a small san francisco independent label, tricycle records and my friend alex’s band, the red verse, who soon will be releasing a new piece of musical art. i am excited for this event.

jessica-m is just an amazing artist and inspires me every day, italian vogue is my new favorite eye candy, a friend showed me that the cure greatest hits dvd has SECRET videos, including this one, which is one of my favorite cure videos ever- robert smith, palm trees, polar bears, and snow?  love.

i decided to invest love in san francisco, i think it needs me. the sun has been shining, the moon full, i have been wearing little scarves, designing, plotting photo shoots, wearing high heels, dancing, meeting new fantastic faces, and being happy.  how are you?

my favorite, nick cave, interviews on NPR-

and i’m in love.

nick cave’s electronic space

i stepped out and fell in love, please listen to the magick daggers, described as, “…A haunting resonance that embodies a diabolical merge of 1920s Weimar Cabaret influences contrasted by horror film shrieks and ether static sung through a wall of reverb.”

yum!

since i have the spring fever, this week’s mix is all about the dirty disco lust dance dance dance! nine songs that are good to play loud in the bedroom, or wherever you like to roll around- the living room? car? in a park? it’s up to you, bite, scream, sigh and enjoy.

listen to the dirty disco here

music is so important to me: i am always with headphones, finding new bands, reading pitchfork, daydreaming about shows, making mixes-

imagine my delight when i discovered muxtape.com a free online site where one can upload twelve song mp3 mixes for all hearing pleasure. (do it.)

for your wednesday delight, listen to ear candies

it begins slow with an underlying beat, mysterious- we are getting to know each other, saying hellos, having those nervous first moments- then we dive into the fun part of our story: dancing, talking, laughing, dirty guitar distortions, making art, rolling on the ground and living- and then as we near the end of our little twelve song adventure, the beat decrescendos and fades away into a delicious lingering silence- enjoy!

the father of disco, how i love you…thank you for making my night with your beautiful dark synthtastic drum machine ways…

and to dance and download, my favorite, from 1975, knights in white satin

yum.

giorgio’s official website