Baby Love Editorial Shot by Kelly Puleio

If you follow Evgenia Lingerie on social media, you'll likely know that I recently had a baby. Around the time I announced my pregnancy, I found out that my model, Deavon (who you'll know from the first and second Janus lookbooks, and the Floralia lookbook), was also pregnant and due just 10 days before I was! The opportunity couldn't be more perfect for a maternity editorial, and luckily, photog Kelly Puleio was down for another amazing collaboration.

I found a last-minute location at a neighbor's beautiful property here in Nicasio, and hair and makeup artist Sterling Andrews (from the Night Garden shoot) joined us again. We also were lucky enough to score some truly beautiful jewelry pieces from my friend Holly Bobisuthi - that starry crown is the stuff of magic.

My hope is that this little shoot will help to showcase the versatility of my pieces, that they work beautifully for a variety of body types and life stages. And if off-the-rack sizes don't work for you, remember that I do make custom-sized pieces. While I'm currently not sewing thanks to my new little one, I'll be resuming custom work sometime around the holidays.

I also hope you love these shots as much as I do!

Janus Bed Jacket (Jet), Janus Bralette (Jet), Janus Modern Knicker (Jet)

 Janus Bralette (Jet), Janus Thong (Jet), Janus Bed Jacket (Jet), Janus Modern Knicker (Jet)

Janus Bed Jacket (Alabaster), Janus Modern Knicker (Alabaster)

Janus Bed Jacket (Alabaster), Janus Modern Knicker (Alabaster)

Floralia Petal Chemise (Flora), Floralia Modern Knicker (Flora)

Floralia Petal Chemise (Flora), Floralia Modern Knicker (Flora)

Go Behind the Scenes of Floralia

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of Evgenia's beautiful photo shoots? I always love how dramatic our final images are (just take a peek below), and it's always a treat to be reminded of just how much fun we have when photog Kelly Puleio picks up her camera.

These final images are a far cry from the behind-the-scenes shots I captured on my phone, a few of which are below. Who would have guessed model Emmalee was wearing galoshes the majority of the time? And that the weather was absolutely freezing, even in June? And that we were smack dab in the middle of tick season? And that designer John James spent hours putting together that gorgeous ribbon tree? In the final shots, Deavon and Emmalee made it look oh-so-easy, when the production was undeniably fun, but complicated.

Videographer Tim Prestoza of Low Tek Studios captured the video below, showing the true spirit of the Floralia shoot, my favorite with Kelly so far. Enjoy!

A Night to Care Giveaway

I'm so excited to announce that Evgenia was asked to participate in A Night to Care, a fundraiser fashion event benefiting the DripDrop Foundation.

The November 5th event features four local female fashion designers' lines: Evgenia, Kajan Cake, Kaperett and Tokyo Gamine. The DripDrop Foundation's mission is to raise awareness and money to save lives and alleviate suffering from dehydration worldwide. A Night to Care will include a cocktail reception with a hosted bar, a fashion show and a silent auction, all in the glorious St. Regis Hotel's exquisite penthouse.

Each ticket purchase benefits the Foundation and all the good work they do worldwide. From now until October 25th, Evgenia fans and followers have an exclusive opportunity to win two (2) tickets to the event, a $500 value. Here's how:

• Join the Evgenia mailing list
• Comment below with just why you want to attend this event. Be sure to leave your email address!
• Follow @evgenialingerie on Instagram and repost this image. Tell us why you want to attend the event and be sure to include the hashtags #evgeniacares and #dripdropfoundation. (Your profile must be public in order for your entry to be considered)
• Follow Evgenia Lingerie on Facebook and repost this image. Tell us why you want to attend the event and be sure to include the hashtags #evgeniacares and #dripdropfoundation.
• Pick your favorite piece of Evgenia lingerie from the online boutique and post a picture of it on Instagram - be sure to tag @evgenialingerie and hashtag #evgeniacares

You may enter one time per method. The winner will be selected at random on October 26th. Best of luck and can't wait to see you there!

EVGENIA Fall/Winter 2015/16 Behind the Scenes

Ever wonder how a photo shoot comes together? Once again, videographer Tim Prestoza of Low Tek Studios was on hand back in December to capture all the magic that went into the Fall/Winter 2015/16 Tempest shoot. Photographer Kelly Puleio, model Frances Tomei, hair stylist Lauren Rynders and makeup artist Risa Robins Moloney braved what was called the Bay Area's "storm of the decade" for this magnificent project which was inspired by the Octavio Paz short story My Life with the Wave.

Kelly Puleio Photography

Kelly Puleio Photography

Even though both my inspiration and the weather were moody, it's easy to tell we still managed to have a wonderful time. Check out the video and outtakes, and shop first pieces from the Tempest collection now!

My Mom: A 70's Beauty

In celebration of Mother's Day, I felt it fitting to share some pictures of my very first style icon.

My mom made many of her own clothes and many of mine when I was a child. She was my first sewing teacher and always encouraged me in drawing and creating. She was (and still is) always dressed perfectly, knowing just what to wear for every occasion. All bias aside, I've always felt that my mom is an exceptionally beautiful woman - when I came across these photos back in middle school, though, I realized I hadn't seen anything yet. The hazy prints showed her and my dad frolicking on the beaches of New Jersey and preparing for nights out with friends - indeed, she told me she'd been to the exclusive Studio 54 during its heyday. My mom spent her 20's in the 1970's, an era I'm usually not all that into aesthetically. These photos, though, paint a beautiful dreamscape, and lucky for me, my dad loved taking pictures of my mother.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom, and to all the mothers out there that make our lives beautiful.

The FiSF pOpUp for Charity is TOMORROW!

One of the big benefits of being a Designer in Residence at the Fashion Incubator of San Francisco is the opportunity to host a big pop-up with your fellow designers. And for me, that time is tomorrow!

The annual FiSF pOpUp is tomorrow at the Incubator, 50 O'Farrell Street, from 12 - 6pm. Now's the perfect time to visit Union Square, as the entire area has been transformed into a beautiful park. All the construction is gone and benches and food trucks have been brought in for the holidays.

At the pOpUp, shop current collections with many pieces discounted for the occasion. Pre-sales on spring pieces will also be occurring - it's a wonderful opportunity to stock up for the holidays! My one-of-a-kind lingerie pieces will all be on super sale, and the current collection will also be discounted.

Participating designers include yours truly, Mansoor Scott, Michelle Byrnes, Min Edition, Sounthavong, Lia Larrea, WHICHKIM, Scarlett Smith and Sarah Liller. A portion of the day's proceeds will go to charity - all the more reason to do your holiday shopping with us!

RSVP here!

Evgenia at Dreamforce!

Dreamforce has arrived in San Francisco once again! While Dreamforce is primarily tech-focused and described as "the Superbowl of Cloud computing", this year, fashion is making quite the impression.

Just today, Jake of The Artful Gentleman and Bethany of Mansoor Scott participated in a panel discussing technology, community and fashion. Tomorrow, the FiSF presence at Dreamforce grows as The Artful Gentleman, Mansoor Scott, Michelle Byrnes and Evgenia open up our very own pop-up on the Campground floor. As a ramp-up to our pop-up, we shot a pretty incredible video with Major Diamond Productions which will be broadcast throughout the Dreamforce conference. Check it out below and come shop our collections at the Campground this week. See you there!

A Peek Behind the Scenes of Evgenia Spring/Summer 2015

Ever wanted to see what goes on behind the scenes of a lingerie shoot? Tim Prestoza of Low Tek Studios put together a glimpse into the world of my Spring/Summer 2015 Night Garden shoot. Photographer Kelly Puleio really knocked it out of the park, but not without help from an amazing team: Sterling Andrews (makeup), Lily Cicco (hair), John James (florals) and of course our magnificent model Sarah Simmons (JE Model).

Evgenia Designer Stephanie Bodnar Talks Style with Jill Siefert

Back in July I had the pleasure of connecting with local stylist and all-around fashion maven, Jill of On Style with Jill Siefert. Jill interviewed me for her awesome podcast which profiles local fashion professionals, covering current trends in fashion, fashion in tech and personal style. Last month was dedicated to the Fashion Incubator and lucky for me, I was featured in two episodes of the podcast.

Catch both episodes on Stitcher: Part 1, Part 2. I hope you enjoy!

A Studio Visit with Photographer Sarah Deragon

A few years back I was privileged to be included in an awesome women's indie business group called The Success Squad. Sarah Deragon and Lisa Anderson Shaffer (Zelma Rose) invited me to join at a time where we were all making pretty big work transitions. Honey Cooler Handmade had just started and I found myself struggling to coax a fully-formed business from a mere concept. One of my biggest challenges was staying on task when working from home, and our monthly Success Squad meetings lit the fire that got me to push through my hangups. And here I am at the Fashion Incubator - certainly a large step! Sarah now runs the immensely successful Portraits to the People - she's so in demand these days that I was beyond flattered when she asked to come by to take some shots of my new space.

Check out her beautiful work below. And be sure to check out Sarah's amazing work on her website - she's the one responsible for my kickass headshot below. Sarah's also working on an incredible passion project, The Identity Project, for which she's gained international recognition.

Fashion on the Square This Sunday!

If you've been following me on social media, you may already know that I'm in the process of changing my business name from Honey Cooler Handmade to Evgenia. It's a big change and I'll go more into depth about it in my next FiSF Diary post, but for the time being the best way to see this new iteration of my lingerie line up close and personal is to come to Fashion on the Square this Sunday.

This is the first time I've ever been invited to show at this prestigious SF event and I'll be debuting three S/S 2015 looks at the 7pm runway show, looks that very few people have gotten to see yet. Please join me and the other talented designers privileged enough to show that evening!

Purchase tickets here. Hope to see you there!

FiSF Diary - All the Little Pieces

Even though I'm on-schedule with my collection (finished all my samples, thank you very much!), it's hard to sit back to admire one's handiwork when there's so much going on all at once. Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining. My collection is done, I'm headlining a fashion show at Supperclub tonight and my lookbook shoot is this Friday. But a finished collection is only a tiny fraction of the work in running a fashion business as any designer will quickly tell you.

A little detail preview from S/S 2015

In apparel design, the percentage of design to non-design work that comes up time and time again is about 10 to 90. So when you consider that the creative side is what most apparel designers prefer to do, 90% of the time spent on the nitty gritty of a small business seems like an awful lot of not-so-fun. That said to even have a shot to survive in a highly competitive industry, none of those tasks can be ignored. Even though I'm hardly what I would call business-minded, in that aforementioned not-so-fun, there are pretty awesome things. Like seeing your website or branding come to life, or making an unexpected online sale. Each little piece of the business is part of something at once immeasurably complicated and immeasurably awesome.

DIR Dahae works her tail off in high style

I have tunnel vision this week since my shoot is on Friday - it's all I can think about at the moment! Photographer Kelly Puleio is the brains behind the project and I'm really excited to work with her. Fittings with my model went so incredibly well - I can't express how illuminating it is to see a completed collection on a human and not a dress form! With photo shoots, there are so many minor things to consider, more little pieces that can make or break a project. My internal checklist goes on and on: get shoes, steam lingerie, choose jewelry, bring extra nail polish, locate props, stockings or no stockings?, grab a palette from Elizabeth Street Cosmetics for the makeup artist, update Pinterest inspiration board, decide on flowers with John James Designs, etc etc. Lingerie walks a fine line when it comes to styling which is definitely on my mind right now - there IS a such thing as too sexy and since lingerie is implicitly so, the model has to be made up just right. Too much and you enter vamp territory. I love to over-style, so I'm grateful to have Kelly on board. She's very much about measured styling and classic simplicity and she'll have no qualms editing my sometimes over-the-top sensibility.

I can't wait to share completed shots! For now, I'm looking forward to Friday and will be ready to kick back with a big glass of wine once it's all done.

FiSF Diary - Really, I Know What I'm Doing… Right?

It's been quite a while since I really took the time to sit down and write a blog post that's not just about upcoming events and new products. While I love writing those posts, there's much more going on in the world of HCH right now and I think it warrants a spotlight on the blog, so my plan is to update my readers once a month on what's going on for me at FiSF.

Sample making and inspiration at FiSF

My acceptance to the Fashion Incubator Program at Macy's still shocks me to my core, even after my third month in residency. When I first got my acceptance letter, I called my husband and sobbed through the phone "I can't be ready for this. Doesn't the board realize that?" Being a perfectionist has the unfortunate downside of me seeing flaws in every step I take. After almost 3 years in business, I didn't feel like I was far enough along for an opportunity like the Fashion Incubator, even though I was the one who pursued it. But the truth is, I WAS ready. I AM ready. Among my stockists, I'm selling in two of San Francisco's most famous lingerie boutiques. My pieces are in a boutique in Bern, Switzerland and they're selling so well that the proprietress has decided to hold onto them longer than originally planned. I've sent my lingerie to Dita Von Teese and have been invited to headline a fashion show at Supperclub this month. I've been mentioned in blogs, magazines and all sorts of publications the world over. So why the crippling doubt? I don't know about you, but for me, doubt is my safety net - if I fail, I can say "I saw it coming". But more than that, doubt is the ultimate editor. It can lead to beautifully realized, perfectly edited design, and I see it every day from the designers in residence at FiSF. This bizarre thought process is the one that helps to make the tough design decisions and create a truly beautiful collection that tells a cohesive, engrossing story.

Fabric's here!

My doubts were still in high gear when I got my fabric last month for my Spring/Summer 2015 collection, but the second I saw my first new Deco Cami sewn up, I was hooked on it. At the moment, the Designers in Residence are working on assembling our physical collection samples and doing our fittings. It's funny - no matter how much those aforementioned pesky doubts creep in, every time I start a new pattern I think "This is going to be a slam dunk and I'll nail the pattern on the first try." Wrong. My poor fit model will have had to come in three times for one piece - a romper that is proving to be more of a pain than I expected. I've gone through six samples of it so far and I'm hoping that my third fitting on Thursday goes well so I can move forward with final fabrications. With each fitting, though, this piece becomes more and more adorable, more and more realized, and I am so glad I'm putting the extra time and effort into it.

Collections aside, we've spent a lot of time working on bookkeeping, branding and business plans here - the nitty gritty, if you will. These are the parts of business I don't do well by nature, but they must be dealt with. Bit by bit, my business plan is beginning to take shape and my branding will see a totally new direction come August, so stay tuned for more.

Designers in Residence, past and present

What's more, it's been so enlightening to talk to previous years' Designers in Residence as well. Michelle Byrnes has been a wonderful mentor to us, helping us wade through our social media plans, and always with a smile on her face and a positive mindset. Master tailor Jake Wall of The Artful Gentleman came in to offer a critique and class covering elevator pitches. His energy and enthusiasm paired with an honest and very real look at the fashion industry made for an empowering conversation. His business has grown by leaps and bounds since his residency last year, and we all look up to him here. The other previous Designers in Residence have been so supportive and wonderful - I feel grateful for such a close-knit community.

Every time my friends and family ask me how my experience with the Incubator is going, I don't think I can adequately answer. I'm overjoyed, humbled and validated to be here. Empowered, overwhelmed by the camaraderie of the community and excited about the huge leaps that I've already begun to take. That said, frankly… I'm also tired, working more than I ever have in my life. I'm juggling what feels like a thousand tasks, writing constant lists and running a ten-woman show with a one-woman staff. I thought I worked hard before, but that was nothing. My time here feels more real than ever - a year I want and need to make count, and I am more grateful than I can say, more excited than I can express.

Bralettes & Bow Ties: A Valentine's Day Party with Zelma Rose and Rue Magazine

Valentine's Day is a lingerie designer's time to amp things up a bit and with the launch of the new collection, I really wanted this year to be a special one. When HCH PR maven Camille and I started brainstorming party ideas way back before the holidays, we had only an inkling of how awesome the final outcome would be. Lucky for me, Lisa of Zelma Rose was totally on board to team up as my co-headliner for Bralettes & Bow Ties! Lisa's handmade bow ties and pocket squares are pretty incredible and undeniably dapper - not to mention she makes bright, beautiful and expertly handcrafted cross-stitch jewelry! Rue Magazine co-hosted Bralettes & Bow Ties and a week after our special night, I'm still delighted with the outcome.

Credit: Portraits to the People

Bralettes & Bow Ties was the perfect opportunity for me to sew up a full size run in all the new pieces from my Deco and Cotillion collections, get a bunch of friends and colleagues together, talk shop, try some lingerie and bow ties and drink some cocktails. Photographers Sarah from Portraits to the People and Cristal Veronica really elevated the whole experience with their gorgeous shots. Thanks a million to the dashing Borden Ornelaz for his expertly crafted cocktails, Rebecca Taff for hair and makeup, Camille Schmidt for her PR know-how, Marianne and Richelle for modeling my lingerie and Morgan for being the evening's go-to girl. For more images, be sure to check out both photographers' galleries here and here.

Credit: Cristal Veronica

Sad you missed it? Not to worry - many more HCH events are in the cards for the year, so stay tuned to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to be the first to know about them.

Credit: Cristal Veronica

Credit: Portraits to the People

Credit: Cristal Veronica

Credit: Portraits to the People

Credit: Cristal Veronica

Credit: Cristal Veronica

Credit: Portraits to the People

Ready-to-Ship for Your Valentine's Day Gifting Pleasure!

I've been a busy bee - working diligently to have more pieces ready to ship for Valentine's Day than I've ever had before. I'm proud to say that almost everything from the first official HCH collection is ready to ship in all sizes, so if you've been eyeing anything particular, now's the time to snap it up for yourself or your sweetie. If you missed my last roundup of ready-to-ship pieces, check it out here!

Make sure to double-check item listings carefully, because stock availability changes quickly during the V-Day season - each of these items is available on Etsy and BigCartel.

Left: Pink Deco Bralette, Pink Deco Garter Belt, Black/Red Brocade Ribbon Corset,

Pink Deco Knickers Right: Black Deco Bralette, Black Deco Garter Belt,

Black/White Brocade Ribbon Corset, Black Deco Knickers

(Photography by Her Lovely Bones)

Left: Black Deco Camisole, Black Deco Garter Belt Center: Ivory Deco Chemise,

Ivory Deco Garter Belt Right: Black Deco Chemise, Black Deco Garter Belt

Black Deco Sleep Mask, Deco Skull Camisole, Black Deco Knickers, Black Deco Garter Belt

Left: Ivory Deco Tap Shorts, Ivory Deco Garter Belt, Right: Black Deco Tap Shorts, Black Deco Garter Belt

Photography by Vixen Pin-Up Photography featuring Ruby Mae Collins

When I loan garments out for photo shoots I'm frequently impressed with the results, but once in a while I'm rendered speechless by the final product. Enter the gorgeous Ruby Mae Collins, a singer, hair stylist and model based in San Francisco. We met through my friend Kelsey of Rose La Mer Headpieces for whom she modeled some lovely fascinators last year. When Ruby told me she was going to be doing a few shoots in LA and that my lingerie would fit the bill, I jumped at the chance to clothe this raven-haired stunner. And I'm so very glad I did. The first shots from her shoot with Vixen Pin-Up Photography are in, and… well… take a look for yourselves!

Ruby brings a whole new sensibility to the Cotillion Crop Top, Cotillion Bloomers and Brocade Ribbon Corset in a way that is undeniably pin-up and completely and utterly enticing.

Smitten? Check out more about Ruby on her website and Facebook page!

Photography by November Light

I'm absolutely in love with these shots of my Moonshine Chemises on model HollyElysa Miller from the talented Tom of November Light Photography. I shoot most of my one-of-a-kind pieces on plain white backgrounds, so it's just lovely to see these brought to life! Enjoy!

Zella Moonshine Chemise

Jessamine Moonshine Chemise, Lovina Knickers

Rox Moonshine Chemise

Tillie Moonshine Chemise

Hermione Moonshine Chemise

Jessamine Moonshine Chemise