Jackie O-Face Person Of Interest Interview: Bianca Benitez (Dear Creatures)

Jackie O-Face . The Person of Interest / Interrogation Interview Series:
Bianca Benitez / _ [ www.dearcreatures.com ] _

_ [ INTRODUCTION ] _

State your name and what you do.
Bianca Benitez, Owner/Creator of Dear Creatures Clothing.

Describe your current surroundings and your mood at the moment.
Content, sitting in my living room at our home in Los Angeles.

Which type of communication device are you responding to this interview with?
Laptop.

What are you listening to at the moment?
She & Him, Music Go Music, Twin Sister, XX, Surfer Blood, and Yacht to name a few..

_ [ LIFE ] _

Start us off with an interesting or funny story from when you were growing up in Orange.
I planned a bonfire party in Huntington Beach my Junior year of high school, made flyers and everything. The night of the party I got lost driving to the location! *These were the days before anyone had cell phones. Anyway, I missed the whole thing but heard it was fun though.

How about one from when you first moved up to Los Angeles from Orange?
I used to have a loft in Downtown LA that was on a street that was frequently being used to film movies and tv shows. It was always throwing me off because sometimes I would look out the window and think it was raining but it would actually be a scene in a movie where they had a sprinkler attached to the roof so that it would look like it was raining. Or it would be night time and they would set up bright lights outside so it looked like daytime. They filmed a scene for The Soloist with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx outside and they built a fake “skid row” with fake homeless people and tents everywhere which was scary to come home to. Another time I was walking outside and was not paying attention that I actually walked through a scene for the TV show 24 and I got freaked out because when I looked up, I saw a police man with a gun pointing at me! It took me a second to realize it was a scene for a show. I also got to watch a scene with Joseph Gordon Levitt in the movie 500 Days of Summer being filmed right below my loft window which was really fun.

There are many who feel that their financial worth defines their self-worth. What does money mean to you? Does it define you?
Money is helpful to get things done but it does not define me. It brings me more happiness that I get to go to work doing something I love doing and watch the business grow from it.

Are you pleased with your current position in life?
Yes, I have a lot of traveling to do this year that I’m looking forward to doing. I’m going to the World Expo in Shanghai, China in a few weeks!

What would you be doing if you were not involved in the fashion industry?
Inventing some gizmo to sell on Sky Mall.

Share with us aspects of life in Los Angeles that you like and dislike.
I like the weather for the most part, except when it’s excruciatingly hot in the summer. There is quite a handful or amazing vegetarian restaurants and good taco trucks. There’s always something to do in Los Angeles whether it’s a new restaurant, venue, store, gallery, etc. I dislike the traffic of course and the downtown crack heads.

First thoughts that come to mind when you here these two words: Orange County. Since you are from Orange County, share with our readers aspects of Orange County.
First thoughts: Blackened tofu mushroom burgers at Taco Loco, 55 Fwy, Chapman Ave., Felix’s Cuban Café in the Orange Circle, Savers Thrift store, Disneyland, and Koo’s Cafe.

What are other interests or hobbies do you have that friends and family may not be aware of?
Besides sadomasochism? Just kidding, hmm.. I am a sucker for bad reality television I guess.

Do you play poker? Any stories you’d like to share?
I play Uno?

_ [ FASHION / DESIGN ] _

Explain the process from conception to the completion of a line?
Rob and I spend about 1-2 months conceptualizing the season for both the Women’s and Men’s collection as well as pick out fabrics. We work with our team of pattern makers and sample sewers and go through several fittings until the sample garment is approved. Then we make multiple sample sets of the full collection for our sales reps and then they show the line in several national and regional trade shows as well as traveling around the country making in-store appointments to show the collection to buyers and take orders. After the sales season is over, we collect the orders and start production with our factories for the next 3-4 months and then ship the product to the stores after completion. Then we start the whole process all over again.

Why the name Dear Creatures?
We thought the name fit the aesthetic of the line, charming with a little whimsy.

Where do you draw inspiration from nowadays?
Anywhere from architecture, graphics, film, music, vintage fashion, people who fascinate us, traveling, or whatever we are into that particular season.

Best time to work?
Depends. If its creative work then I like to do that in the evening or on weekends when I’m not distracted. If it’s office or production work then during the day.

How important is internet presence (regardless of field/industry) in 2010?
I didn’t realize how important it is until we started Dear Creatures. I was surprised to see how many blogs there were about the line! It’s amazing to see actual feedback from real people, not just the editors in magazines. It motivates us every season to do better so that we won’t let our customers down. I’ve even started to get on the blogging bandwagon with our company blog: http://dearcreatures.com/news.html.

Describe your daily routine.
Usually answering a bunch of e-mails in the morning, going into the office and working there, visiting our factories and making sure everything is going smoothly and on schedule, there is sometimes a meeting I need to go to on some days, and then I come home and either go out or pass out.

Tell our readers about who the graphic designer for the line is.
It is actually my boyfriend/business partner, Rob Sinclair who does all the graphics and he also recently launched our new Dear Creatures Mens collection as well. Rob was also one of the creators of the late men’s clothing line Brown Sound.

How did Dear Creatures establish a relationship with Zooey Deschanel? Do you remember her role as Cat, in the Showtime series, Weeds?
We were introduced by one of my good friends/stylist, Shirley Kurata.
Yes I remember seeing her as Cat from Weeds!

Are there any projects you’d like to tease our readers with?
We’re in the process of developing a bag line.

_ CHOOSE [ ONE ] _

RiRi / YKK [ What’s RiRi? ]
Los Angeles / Orange County [ I have to say Los Angeles. Sorry Orange County! ]
Button Fly / Zipper [ Zipper ]
Mac / PC [ Mac all the way ]
Day Time / Night Time [ Night Time ]
Facebook / Myspace [ Facebook ]
Flaunt / i-D [ i-D ]

_ WORD [ ASSOCATION ] _

Money – helpful
The Fashion District – hustle
Tupac – alive?
Twitter – on blast
Bonfires – missing my party
Filipino Women – Lola
Twilight – Twerd
Technology – World Expo Shanghai

_ FILL [ IN ] _

My favorite style icon is: Audrey Hepburn.

My favorite web sites and blogs are: jackieo-face.com, DailyCandy.com, WhoWhatWearDaily.com, NotCot.org

Jackieo-face.com is: totally rad.

The most important things in life are: Friends, Family, Health.

My web site is: www.dearcreatures.com

Thank You!
- Jackie O-Face [ The T.E.A. ]

Dear Creatures Spring 2010 Collection is currently available online and in stores [ store locator ].

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