It’s a big week for us! We’re together in Austin, with a few samples of our debut piece, a model, and a whole bunch of awesome photo shoot sets planned. We’ve been waiting for this for so long, and it’s crazy-exciting to finally be doing the fun stuff.

Kristin and I are not immune from feelings of want — and desires for convenience. It would be nice to walk into a mall and get what we want, instead of thrifting for hours to find some winter boots or a good pair of gloves. Our shift towards consuming differently hasn’t been an easy process.

Last week, Kristin and I happened to both be in San Francisco for a few days. It was unexpected, unplanned and happened to work out perfectly for a collective sigh of relief. One thing we did, that we haven’t done since living together in Australia, was go shopping. I suppose the word “shopping” is somewhat misleading — “consignment sifting” is probably more appropriate.

Shannon and I had coffee in San Francisco recently. We didn’t work on {r}, we worked on us. How we can be better at what we do, manage our lives and our business better, and generally get back that inspired feeling we’ve both lost a little bit of.

Shannon and I had a semi-secret meeting in San Francisco last week. We were both there, doing separate things, and happened to be in town on the same day. It’s a pretty special thing, since we don’t just get to meet for coffee all that often. We g-chat every day, but hanging out in person is rare, living several states apart. So we went to coffee in the Haight. No computers, no agenda.

Kickstarter time is coming. Albeit slowly, but it’s coming. We’re sending in our first application this week to propose our project for fundraising. Fingers crossed! And preparing for this has forced us to think about money– which we try not to do a lot of around here.

In about a month, we’re going to launch our Kickstarter campaign to start raising capital for {r}evolution apparel. In the past, a start-up was forced to pitch its business plan around to potential investors, we now have the option to “crowd-source” amongst our network

A few weeks ago, we wrote a guest post for Kelsey Timmerman (author of, “Where Am I Wearing”) and gave our picks of apparel companies we would proudly support. But neither of us have bought new clothes in the past year (aside from undies). We’re pretty minimalist about our wardrobes, and paring down is always the goal.

Our friend Dave had this idea three years ago. He knew he had to pursue it. He quit his job, and later started writing a book, “Lead Without Followers” that launches today. His story is impressive in many ways; his determination to just do it being one of the most remarkable.

Everyone who knows me knows that I’m a big proponent of doing cool things, working hard for something you love, and living a non-traditional life.

But I have to admit, there are days when I believe in these things more than others.

Last week, we had a comment from my friend Kathy, who asked us a really important question: Isn’t it ironic to create a ‘sustainable’ travel clothing line, when travel itself is such an unsustainable activity? I hadn’t thought about it in a long time, but she’s totally right.

You’ve had an idea in the back of your head for some time now. As hard as you try, you can’t seem to stop thinking about it. While at work, you mull over the possibilities. Over dinner, you envision how your life would change. And then one day, you decide you’re not going to wait any longer.

Thanks to your comments and suggestions, we’ve gone through several more sets of revisions and finally have a finished mockup of the coming-soon {r}evolution apparel website.

Thinking back, this summer was a little boring with {r}evolution apparel. And then, WHAM. All of a sudden, it got exciting again. I think our new plan to start with a flagship piece (the scarf) has really renewed our motivation. There were definitely a few weeks when we were starting to wonder what we had signed up for (er… signed ourselves up for).

Today, we’re celebrating the one year anniversary of our blog. That’s right, exactly one year ago today we first launched a ‘website’ with very little knowledge of social media, SEO or even WordPress.

About a month ago, I signed up to go to MAGIC — the States’ bi-yearly fashion trade show, with designers and textiles and shoes and pretty much anything under the fashion umbrella. Shannon had conflicting travel plans, so I went to Vegas solo. And this is the result.

I’ve been in Vegas this week, and the biggest fashion trade show in America. It’s called MAGIC. And it’s insanely huge. I still have a few days here in the city, so until I can write a proper post, here are a few photos of the madness.

Things are pretty weird at {r}evolution apparel right now. Maybe it’s just summertime, or maybe it’s just us, but our lofty business goals have begun to weigh heavy on our minds as time goes by.

My friend and I were talking the other day about how crazy it is that life changes so quickly. Not even three months ago, I was in college, wondering what I was going to do with my life. Graduation was quickly approaching and nothing “career-wise” was interesting to me anymore. As cliche as it may sound, I wanted to do something that would help the world.

We follow a lot of travel bloggers. And our favorites are the adventurous women who make a run for it, take risks, and share their awesome insights with the world. When we designed our 10 pieces, we designed for those women. We knew exactly what kind of person would wear our clothes, and we kept her curious spirit in mind every step of the way.

I found Emily Snape by chance, browsing through other ethical fashion sites one day. She runs a blog called Style & Grit that originally started as a platform to feature designers, up and coming styles and trends, and all other things fashion-related in her home of Birmingham, England.

Anyone with an inkling of an entrepreneurial spirit knows that getting a job is like walking into a burning, fiery hell. It’s like caging a bird in a box and only letting him out at lunchtime. It takes you away from what you truly want to be doing: working on your own project, on your own time, to be totally responsible for your own results.

One of the most important parts of building a small business is spreading your story. We’ve been working hard to do that through various social media outlets, but also by guest posting on other entrepreneurs’ blogs. This week we collaborated with Amanda Oakes of Kind Over Matter, where she featured a “Spin Your Story” post we wrote for her readers.

I slid the heavy curtain to the right and hung all seven pieces on the hook. I turned shirts and skirts inside out to find the labels. I double checked the size, looked to see if I was supporting American-made products, and I ruled out the items with difficult washing instructions.

As many artists know, the act of creation is very personal. You create what you love, and hope that others love it, too. But everyone pleases themselves first — no artist enjoys sharing something that they aren’t proud of.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, we’re in the process of designing the {r}evolution apparel website. It has involved several weeks of back-and-forth email correspondences between Kristin and I — totaling no less than 10 times per day.

Most people think that fashion design comes from studios and garment districts in New York and LA. And much of it does – but a lot of it comes from home workshops and finished basements in the space between those fashion giants. Last weekend, I took some fabric to Betsy’s, tried on a rough draft of our versatile camisole, and snapped some photos of Betsy’s work space – where the magic happens.

In the past couple weeks, you’ve heard a lot about us, the people who inspire us, and the things that keep us going. At the end of the day, though, this blog is about the clothes, the business, and the change we’re trying to make on the fashion industry. So, as we approach the middle of July, where do we stand?

Don’t get us wrong — we love all entrepreneurs. But there’s a special place in our hearts for other women who are pursuing passions, making beautiful things, and creating successful businesses in the process.

On Tuesday, Kristin introduced you to her life in Denver and the little things that get her going every day. Today, it’s my turn. I moved to Austin, TX in January, and although I suffer from restless wanderlust now and then, I feel like this city was made for me.