We don’t usually name our bags after women but you may have noticed that our new line of evening bags are named “Gigi” ... well that’s because they're named after my late grandmother Georgiana whose collection of handbags we based our new styles after. Gigi was an incredibly fashionable woman and a notorious entertainer, social butterfly, and lover of dancing— so it was only fitting to have some of our fanciest party bags named after her. 

Our latest HFS muse is female artist Francois Gilot. Have you heard of her? Probably not...

 Honestly, moms don't get enough credit. As a mother-daughter brand, we definitely couldn't miss this opportunity to put together some of our favorite gift ideas for new and experienced moms alike.  Here's our gift guide for stylish mamas on the go.

 

“Art is not about art. Art is about life, and that sums it up.”

 This week's muse is French-American artist and pioneer Louise Bourgeois. 

I'm so excited to share with you the latest in our 5 Things series with Rachel Saunders of Rachel Saunders Ceramics. 5 Things is a series of interviews where we talk with inspiring female leaders making waves in their industry. 

We’re so excited to share with you our latest interview in our 5 Things series where we chat with Maike Lüdenbach, founder of ethical and sustainable underwear line LÖV the label. Here we talk about how she got started, the importance of inclusivity and conscious production, growing up in Spain, and finding inspiration in friendships, real women, and the magical world of self care. 

Today marks the first of our new blog series called 5 THINGS, where we talk with female leaders doing cool things. The first in our series is Dechel Mckillian, a celebrity stylist originally from Los Angeles whose clients include Drake, Nicki Minaj, Fergie, and Lionel Richie. After traveling the world with music artists like the Black Eyed Peas and Lil Wayne, Dechel saw firsthand the negative impact fashion has on our people and planet. Dechel brings over a decade of fashion industry experience to GALERIE.LA and has worked with the world’s biggest retailers including GOOP, Clare V, Steven Alan and TopShop.

The holidays are one of our favorite times to support fellow sustainable and conscious-minded makers and artisans whose products we love. Here. Debra and I have chosen the twelve items on our wish list this year.

Even as a native Angeleno, Los Angeles continually surprises me. For a city that gets a bad reputation for being superficial, you'd be surprised to find that L.A. has a lot of depth hidden beneath the surface. There is no better example of this than the annual Mercado Sagrado, a two-day event (Nov. 4th + 5th) quietly tucked away in hills of Malibu Canyon that offers an array of workshops, lectures, and activities intended to inspire grounding, creativity, self work, and community. Workshops include everything from learning how to grow your own food, read tarot cards, tie dye with indigo, and activities like sound baths, breath work and meditation, and a kava ceremony. With speakers like Shiva Rose, Josh Siegel, and Olympia Auset, you can learn about love and numerology, biohacking, holistic living, clean beauty, and the intersection of spirituality and social justice. With so much going on, you hardly have time to explore all of the many unique and like-minded vendors in their marketplace.

Sedona is one of my favorite places on earth. My family goes twice a year and I'm lucky if I can make it with them once every three years. As a family, we've been going to Sedona for as long as I can remember. When I was little I used to wade through Oak Creek and watch, mesmerized by the life underwater, studying carefully the fish, tadpoles, and algae existing together in harmony, in between hopping on big red boulders placed carefully on the creek like little islands. I remember there was nothing as lovely as drying off in the sun on top of one of these warm, sun-soaked red rocks after coming up from the water.

I'm older now, yet my love for Sedona still remains. It's one of those places where time seems to stand still. In Sedona, everything is easy and life is peaceful, not to mention there's no escaping from the awe-inspiring beauty of its land, which, if you choose to remove your focus from even one second, makes itself known in other ways. The town itself is about as touristy as it gets, but with everything from cactus shot glasses to red rock jeep tours, to aura photos and crystal healing, it's well worth exploring for an afternoon. 

We believe in hands free happiness, the joy of less, ethical manufacturing, innovative materials that don't harm the planet or contribute to climate change, and knowing exactly who made our bags and where. So excited to show you our newest video taken behind the scenes of our latest lookbook photoshoot. 

The song is "sit still" by one of our new favorite artists, mossy. 

Check out more of his songs on his soundcloud here. 

So excited to announce the launch of our new, sustainable vintage collection! Our most sustainable belt bags yet, these babies are made with 100% upcycled, vintage denim and organic cotton lining, and of course, they're made locally right here in Los Angeles. What's upcycling and why does it matter? Well, let's talk facts. 

Megan Sette of M Collaborative, Hali Borenstein of Reformation, Bianca Moran of Susi Studio, and Debra Denniston of Hipsters for Sisters 

on the Sustainable Fashion Panel at Love Goodly's Do Good Be Green Conference*

People are finally starting to “get it” and not a moment too soon. Statistics show that 64% of Americans understand that human activity is causing climate change and are concerned. Climate change is not only real, but is happening faster than scientists originally thought possible, with devastating results that are already affecting many of us. Some scientists even believe that we are already beyond the point of no return and what we need now is immediate action to salvage what we can and reduce green house gases right now. Unfortunately, the United States is a major polluter of our environment and that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon. Although “many people” are expressing hope in tenuous reports that Ivanka Trump has taken interest in climate change (Thanks, Leo), the President-Elect, himself, continues to choose people for his cabinet who are card-carrying members of the Climate Change Deniers Club. In fact, Reince Priebus has told reporters that climate denial will be the official policy of Trump’s administration and the Koch brothers, and Big oil are already shaping Trump’s climate-denying environmental agenda. So, what can we, as individuals, do? 

Yay! We just adore Elizabeth Banks and how much she loves her Hipsters for Sisters belt bag. Here she is exploring Copacabana beach in her HFS Black Pocket Bum Bag.

Still from Pretty Woman, Touchstone Pictures (sourced here)

"Everything changes when you start to emit your own frequency rather than absorbing the frequencies of those around you, when you start imprinting your intent on the universe rather than receiving an imprint from existence." 

In the internet age, it's so easy to get caught up in passively consuming information fed to you (we're looking at you Facebook). Remember that you are the creator of your existence and reality. Choose to fill your life with only exactly what you want. 

Photo: "Trois Formes," 1960 by Jean (Hans) Arp 

Celebrity Elizabeth Banks wearing her Hipsters for Sisters Black Pocket Bum Bag. 

Photo: Jorge Barrera for the National All-Girls Chess Tournament

Photo: Katie Pruett of Fashion Just Case 

Fashion is increasingly being viewed as an immense waste of natural resources, with an environmental footprint large enough to doom the planet for eternity within just a few, short years. The consumer's voracious desire for cheap "fast fashion" has created an industry not healthy for children, the planet and most other living things. The good news is there are fashion pioneers working hard to balance the equation. These are mostly small companies, like our own, intentionally creating quality products, not only built to last, but also built with great consideration of our natural resources, respect for the people actually making them and our environment. The problem is finding them. In a fashion world run by mega corporations with mega dollars to spend on advertising and PR, these small startups can get lost. Their only hope for survival is the ever increasing array of conscious magazines and fashion bloggers willing to do the research to find these small, ethical brands and share them with their own conscious audiences. While even the large, mainstream publications are beginning to occasionally feature a page devoted to sustainability (usually around Earth Day), the burden of saving the planet falls on the shoulders of those pioneering mavericks set out to make a difference. 

 

Convertible Belt Bag in Gold Cork

Rainforests are perhaps the most important natural resource on Earth. They safely store billions of tons of carbon annually, helping to keep the earth’s atmosphere in balance and warding off climate change-- an estimated 30% of our carbon emissions currently come from the burning of our rainforests. As if that wasn't enough, the rainforest is our single most important, untapped resource for scientific and medical discoveries and home to thousands of unique animals that depend on it for survival.