Archive for the Inspirational Category

Reveal Your Colors!

Some of you know my story…for those who don’t, I worked in the corporate world for 16 years before deciding to follow my heart.  So many amazing things have happened along the way because of that crazy, but necessary move in my life.  I have traveled to places I never thought possible, and most recently got back from a trip to Italy where I was sourcing the finest leathers available for our next launch in the Spring of 2014.

When I dreamed of the company Consuela, there were many things that went into it.  In particular, Consuela is two things to me. First, it’s my nickname, and alter ego, so all of the things I wanted to do but never dared, Consuela could do! And second, it is based on the word in Spanish consolar, which means to give comfort or make feel better, and it is a personal mission for me through our company to give hope and comfort to others.  By stepping outside of myself I have been able to begin to see these things I dream of happen.

On this trip, I not only got to check out the most amazing sources, I was also able to vacation in Italy where I have never been, with my best friend of 25 years.  Such a gift!  The food, the wine, the landscape, all breath taking.  I can not stop thinking about it and being energized by it.

I hope that you all take a chance and chase a dream that you hold dear, if you see it and put the energy around it in motion, you can make it happen!  Reveal your Colors!!

Here’s some pics of our trip:

In Florence I ate donuts like little clouds (I love sweets! )

Florence

donut

We visited the Tuscan wine country in the Chianti region and we opened, decanted, and drank a bottle from my birth year, 1968!! Amazing.

GroupatWinery

1968bottle

Then we finished the trip with a visit to Ravello on the Amalfi Coast, like nothing I have ever seen! I relaxed, designed, and gazed with awe and appreciation. The attention to detail, in the service, food, even cocktail garnishes reminded me why I love to put detail in Consuela products.  These are things that make people feel special.

RavelloMtnView

TerraceView

PearCucumberMartini

creating

With love and gratitude,

Conni

Happy Earth Day Peeps

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Appreciating the world we live in is so important but we often take it for granted. Toan Lam of Go Inspire Go has the right idea. Today  this  link was circulated around the office. The message just happens to be so timely for Earth Day. Take a minute to check it out. You might just start to notice and appreciate the world around you a little bit more.

Art of the Unmatched Giveaway!

Embracing style can be so empowering because it’s endless, subjective and most definitely a gift. At Consuela, we believe beauty and style are in the eye of the beholder. We pride ourselves on the individual style of each member of our Consuela family. The Art of the Unmatched is just one way the Consuela chicks like to rock their inner goddess.

The Art of the Unmatched is pairing unlikely patterns and colors together that flow seamlessly…playing with textures and shapes to create something different, but unique to your personal style. You end up getting much more variety out of your clothes. It’s also fun and no outfit has to ever be the same. We each have our own version of the Art of the Unmatched. That’s what fashion is all about. It’s personal and relatable to how you express yourself on a daily basis.

We encourage you to dig deep and find the inner Consuela to master the Art of the Unmatched. Above are some great examples of how you can take staple items from your closet and create fun outfits that can go seamlessly from day to night.

It’s giveaway time!!  We want you to be inspired….to enter our contest, create a Polyvore set inspired by this blog post about the Art of the Unmatched and you could win a Consuela Pearl Tote!

Details on how to enter:

1st…Like our Consuela Facebook Page.

2nd…Use Polyvore to create a set showing us your favorite Consuela inspired unmatched outfit.  It’s easy, you just create a set and start dragging in tops, jeans, shorts, handbags, accessories…whatever moves you, to create a fabulous Consuela inspired outfit.  Here is an example to get you started.  (hint, hint, you can include any of your favorite Consuela products in your set using the Polyvore clipper).

3rd…Publish your Polyvore set and email it to us at [email protected]

You will be entered to win a Classic Pearl Tote!  We will be posting some of our favie submissions on our Facebook page.  The last day to submit your set is August 17th. One submission per person.  The winner will be announced on our Facebook page on August 20th.  Best of luck and start creating!

 

Be The Change

This beautiful Friday we take a moment to celebrate an astounding quote by Gandhi.  This quote is celebrated by many; we hope you embody the phrase “be the change” as if it is unobtainable. We have the opportunity to change this world everyday!

Changing the world is possible for all of us—it means you follow your bliss by giving your greatest strengths to the world moment by moment. Maybe that means being present for your family, rockin’ a project at work, exercising to make yourself feel great…endless possibilities for doing what you are doing and being with joy and presence.  When you do this, others do everything in their power to help you succeed because they are magnetically drawn to you. This means that you inspire everyone you know to do the same, as they want the same feeling for themselves. Then these folks embrace their own paths and draw people to them. All of this equates to affecting countless people in one tremendous ripple and together we change the world.

We hope you can take something personal away from this quote and practice it daily.  It’s truly astonishing what one person can accomplish with the right mind set and confidence that they are great and good.  Here’s to making the world around you a better place one day at a time.  Viva Consuela!

Just Breathe.

“Laugh Easy” is an essential part of our Consuela covenant.  We’ve taken some lessons from one of our collective favy books—Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.  It is a must read for all newbies in our company and we strongly advocate it for anyone thinking about the “soul” of a company.  One of the biggest teachings we’ve integrated is the belief that if we get the culture of our company right…everything else will happen naturally as a result of happy people doing things they love.

We want to build relationships where we treat each other like family.  We make it a point to take time to play together (after working very hard). For example, one day we took a boat out and cruised Town Lake in Austin for a couple hours at the end of a busy week.  With delicious snacks and libations on hand, Clay served as our Captain O’ Captain and eased us down the river at the ripping speed of 1mph. We shared, joked, laughed, and breathed in the springtime air together.

As Hsieh writes so poignantly in his book, the bottom line is “about teamwork and having fun and not taking ourselves too seriously.  It’s about growth, both personal and professional.  It’s about achieving the impossible.  It’s about openness, taking risks, and not being afraid to make mistakes. But most of all, it’s about having faith that if we do the right thing for each other, then in the long run we will succeed and build something great.”

Enjoy the journey of creating your culture!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Friday all!  We want to wish a very blessed Mother’s Day weekend to all of you special women. Mothering is the ultimate selfless act, and we celebrate you for cultivating so much love.

To honor you all, we wanted to share with you an uplifting video from DiscoverHope, one of the philanthropic organizations we support.  DiscoverHope provides an opportunity for women in poverty to create their own prosperity through microcredit, entrepreneurship, and training.  By gaining access to capital and education, women who are historically denied credit and education build support to create their own businesses, lift their families out of poverty, and shape their own destinies.

We’ll keep you posted about our proud sponsorship of DiscoverHope’s upcoming Band Together for Hope concert featuring Del Castillo on June 15 in Austin. Enjoy the footage of over 200 mothers rejoicing; we hope you do the same!

Be Weird.

When was the last time you celebrated yourself? Inside of you is abundance just longing to be accessed and there is no better time than now to tap into that power.  So give yourself credit and rejoice in your purpose by answering these questions about how you lift the world!

  • What do people like about spending time with me?
  • How do I help people (family, friends, clients or co-workers)?
  • What do people say when they recommend me to a friend?
  • What are my talents and passions?
Happy Monday, everyone!

Multitudes.

We adore this Walt Whitman quote– and there’s a reason the bag tag on our Couture tote declares the following:  Celebrate you. Multi-faceted. Festive. Saturated. Fun. Curious. Feminine. Confident. Vivid. Textured. Hued. Unique. Inspired.  The Consuela woman is every woman, everywhere, dynamic and vibrant in her heart and her life.  We are a spectrum of amazement and celebrate our prerogative to change and reinvent all throughout our lives.  So shine on in all your multitudes!