CLOSED. cocovintages Interview and GIVEAWAY!

 This giveaway is now closed.  Stay tuned for the winner later today (Monday) and our next giveaway, starting tomorrow, from a gorgeous Etsy shop with a cool name.


We were thrilled with our first giveaway, and now we're addicting to sharing some of our favorite stuff with all of you! Of course, the fact that we love vintage is something that should be blatantly obvious. And we really love this new vintage Etsy shop, cocovintages.

So let's get to know Kate, the owner and curator.

--What does your life outside of Etsy look like?

When I was little my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I said “shashion.” Assuming I

meant fashion I guess I knew from a young age clothing was something special to me, even if at the time the only  “shashion” I knew  was a t-shirt with a picture of a cartoon corn cob that said “corny but cute.” Luckily my taste has changed over the years but has always included combining old and new styles.

I currently live in San Francisco with my three very talented and artistic roommates. Not only have  they been incredibly supportive and encouraging they pretty much let me take over our amazing living room  and turn it into my dream closet/boutique, where I am lucky enough to be spending my days working on projects. I have an amazing family and a boyfriend I am madly in love with - life is good!

--Describe your style in three words.

Simple - 70’s - Summer

--Fall piece you can’t live without?

I’m definitely a summer person but a pair if brown boots and a scarf make me look forward to fall. Those two will always be a necessity but if I have to pick one I would go with the boots!

--Most recent fashion-related purchase?

I recently purchased the fall piece I cannot live without and they are amazing! A pair of Costume National boots in a beautiful chocolaty brown leather.  Something that makes them even more amazing to me is the fact that I found them in a thrift store!

A fashion trend you wish would disappear?

I am so surprised that girls are still wearing Lycra tube top dresses. I see groups of girls traveling in packs all wearing the exact same uniform consisting of a pastel piece of spandex the size of a hand towel and open toe strap-y platforms. (Average temp in San Francisco is in the fifties.... year round.)

--Your go-to outfit?

A great pair of fitted jeans, t-shirt with the neckline cut off so it hangs slightly off the shoulder and always with a necklace my mom made.  For some reason cutting the neckline off the t-shirt and adding a necklace totally disguises that fact that you are only wearing a t-shirt and jeans.  If you’re going out at night just add heals. Easy-Breezy.

--Any pet peeves?

I live with three guys, where do I begin?

--Your most endearing qualities?

Hmmmm, let me go ask one of those three guys. I’m a little scared to get their answer...  

Ok, that wasn’t too bad. When they were finally done making jokes apparently my endearing qualities are cooking and dancing.

--Bad habits?

In regards to clothing I will work on something all day then the next day I think I have a better idea so I start something completely new. The past month has been all about vintage but the other night I pulled out my original stuff and realized I have about 10 things that could be finished within an hour... but then a new idea came to me. Now I have 11.

--Desert-island food?

Ice Cream,  any kind.

--Three bands/singers you can’t get enough of?

I listen to music, podcast, movies, etc... for about 12 hours a day while I’m working on projects and the three I never get sick of are DTek, Passion Pit and De Phazz.

--Another blog you follow regularly (link us!):

 Miskabelle is my first! I created a Twitter account just so I could follow... As soon as I finished setting up cocovintages I was planning on being all about the networking/blogging sights and I’m only now getting started but I am proud to say you're my first!

--What made you decide to start a shop?

The first time I heard about Etsy was when my mom opened her shop. She makes amazing, cool and sometimes vintage inspired jewelry. Two years later, with her encouragement and constant support I wanted to give it a try.

I had been working on my own designs with the intention of opening an Etsy handmade shop. Everything I was making was out of vintage fabric and in the process of hunting for material I had accumulated a lot more then just fabric. So for the past couple months my attention has shifted to vintage and I have put my handmade items on hold. I hope to have an Etsy handmade shop open soon but in the meantime I am going to be adding a new cocovintages shop section and listing a few of my own things.

--Significance of your shop name?

I knew I wanted to have vintages in the name to set it apart from the handmade store I hope open one day. I also wanted to make it personal but not something that wouldn’t make sense. Coco is short for coconut and to me is a cute way to represent the places I’ve been. I grew up on the central coast of California and after high school I moved a lot, including six months in Mexico and two years in Hawaii. There was constant change but the beach, ocean and palm trees were always there. I am extremely happy to have settled in San Francisco - the city by the bay! It doesn’t hurt that Coco Chanel is the epitome  of timeless fashion.

--Favorite item in your shop right now?

If cocovintages had cheerleaders or a mascot, I would make this little number the uniform.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56784458/1970s-the-palm-tree-day-dress-original

Kate is the coolest chick.   So of course she has a cool shop.  Wouldn't it be awesome to get some of the great vintage from her shop for free?

Well, now you can!  Kate is sharing a $50 gift certificate giveaway with our readers!!!

$50 is a lot of vintage cash.  Here's how you can win:

1.  Become a follower of our blog and let us know in a comment below (if you're already a follower, skip to the next step). 

2.  Visit the cocovintages shop, and link to your favorite item in a comment below. 

For additional entries:

3. Follow us on twitter @miskabelle. (Let us know in the comments.)

4. Retweet this giveawayonce we tweet it.

5. Link this giveaway through your blog or Facebook page (and let us know in the comments too!).

This contest will run until October 25th--one week!  The winner will be chosen through a random number generator.

If I won, here are some things I would get (I am ineligible since I am running the giveaway, but a girl can dream, can't she?):

 

Good luck!

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