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Western Fashion Editor and Creative Director, Andrea Thorp
140 Plays2 years ago
Join as Western stylist, Fashion Editor, and Creative Director Andrea Thorp shares her tips and tricks for Fall Western, rodeo, and Ag fashion featuring turquoise from Hippie Cowgirl Couture and hear where she got her styling expertise! For a full episode transcript, visit our website at https://www.justinboots.com/en/kick-your-boots-up.html.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:02
Speaker
You're listening to the Kick Your Boots Up podcast, where we swap stories of the West. Whether you're just waking up or getting in for the day, come on in and kick your boots up.
00:00:13
Speaker
Hi, and thanks for listening to the Kick Your Boots Up podcast. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and joining me this week on this episode of Fall Fashion and Styling Your Turquoise is the best guest to talk about this topic. She's one of my dear friends. Andrea, I admire you so much. This is Andrea Thorpe. She is a native Iowa cowgirl, so she has a really fun story of getting to Texas and working for several magazine publications in the industry, and then now works for Hippie Cowgirl Couture with Turquoise.
Andrea's Roles and Journey to Texas
00:00:41
Speaker
Um, you know, you're just so cool. And I love going to your house all the time because you're like, the host is what the most is that has, you can even see in the background, you're in your like coffee office space, a barista on the side. So Starbucks out there, if I don't know if you're hiring or if you need anyone to help, but if you ever need someone that loves turquoise and loves coffee, just as much Andrea is your girl. Andrea, thank you for being on the podcast today. This is going to be such a fun episode. Yes. Thanks. Thank you so much for having me, Taylor.
00:01:07
Speaker
And you know, I love, I love you so much for you. I'm very thankful to be one of your in your circle and same for you. Um, but I want you guys, I want you to get the chance to share with the world, everything about you and who you are and what makes you so special. Um, there's a lot of girls out there, believe it or not. There's a lot of girls out there that, um, consider you one of the original influencers and that's got to be so humbling too. So tell us a little bit about who Andrea is. So currently my role is a fashion editor at Calro magazine.
00:01:36
Speaker
And I'm also the marketing director for hippie cowgirl couture turquoise jewelry. So I have a very full plate, but it gives me a really great perspective of the entire industry. I get a full picture of what's going on. And I really love being a part of all aspects.
00:01:51
Speaker
And a little background about me, I grew up in Iowa, like you said, and I grew up just riding horses with my grandparents, and I got into barrel racing when I was 12. And I toured all around, you know, the country with my hauling partners, eventually got into college rodeo at Iowa State University. And I had three internships while I was in college.
00:02:14
Speaker
Sorry, rambling. I had three internships in college, so I kind of got my start into the industry that way. And it was more into the rodeo production side and media, so I was working kind of in the back end of the arena still. So not in fashion at all. I was in a completely different world.
00:02:33
Speaker
And then I got over into the fashion side around 2016 when I graduated college and I started my blog, which was kind of a whole experiment at the time because there was no Western fashion industry the way that we know it today.
From Media to Fashion
00:02:48
Speaker
It was a totally different world out there. So that really was the true intro into my career that bloomed into what it is today.
00:02:57
Speaker
Oh yeah and it's so inspiring to me to hear that coming from you, you know, starting on one side of the industry, and then flourishing and moving to the other side, but I'm curious to know, even though you said you started out not at all in the fashion world was fashion always like in the back burner though like where you always focused on what you looked like what outfits you put together.
00:03:16
Speaker
Absolutely. I mean, I think it's kind of a stereotype of barrel racers, but, you know, barrel racers love to coordinate their outfits with what their horse is wearing. And I was definitely one of those girls. I had a set of wraps that matched a shirt and a pair of jeans and I would spend
00:03:30
Speaker
actually my Halloween partner and I both were obsessed with, you know, we wanted to look good, feel good, ride good. We always believed in that. So we really put a lot of effort into that. And I don't think I would have ever thought it was going to be a career for me at that point. I was fully, I was fully focused on the media side. I wanted to be behind the shoes and that's what I always thought. And it really turned out differently, but I think it turned out for the best where I really got to do both. Um, but yeah, it really wasn't, um, at the forefront of my mind until
00:03:59
Speaker
my senior year and it was actually my advisor at the time in college had told me, have you ever thought about going into fashion like I think she actually told me she said I think you really need to be in a creative career you are, you know, very creatively minded. And so she said I think you should go out on your own and try it and we did.
00:04:18
Speaker
What a good advisor, you know, to really invest in you. That's really cool too. But I feel like your journey is a little bit different than others in many ways. That being one of them, that's so cool to have that inspiration there. But then to be able to load up and eventually end up in Texas coming from Iowa. I just really quick, what was like the scariest part about making a move and uprooting yourself? Like I know obviously you had some connections in the industry, but not entirely a lot. And everyone says Texas is the land of opportunity. So what was it like making that move? Was it scary?
00:04:48
Speaker
It was, it's interesting because in some ways, and it's hard to know because the industry has just changed so much and become so much more connected with social media. You're much more able to just create those connections without as much work. But, you know, 10 years ago when I was in college I was trying to make those connections.
00:05:08
Speaker
As an Iowan, there's a rodeo industry in Iowa and it's growing and I'm really proud of the people that I know who are really doing their best to bring all of that industry there too. But at the time, I mean, it really was an outlier place. You can't ride year round. So everybody who was doing the industry work was in Texas or Oklahoma.
00:05:26
Speaker
And it was actually harder for me to make the connections before moving. I felt like I had already done a ton of work before I ever even made the move. And the move itself was the easy part because I just had to do all of that, like putting myself out there work. But I was already in front of the people I needed to be in front of. Whereas in Iowa, I was constantly reaching out, creating cold calls and meetings and trying to get into spaces where I really, really, they said, why do we need this girl?
00:05:56
Speaker
Why do we need somebody there? And I had to kind of argue my position of why they might need someone for social or might need someone for a backup for marketing. And it was kind of a proving ground before we came. But when we actually did move to Texas, it was
00:06:14
Speaker
It was really a wild card because my husband and I both came without jobs.
Entrepreneurial Journey with Marshall
00:06:18
Speaker
We just said, we're just going to go and we're going to figure it out. And that's what we did. And now it's turned out so well because we didn't come in with expectations of what it was supposed to be.
00:06:29
Speaker
I'm so glad that you brought your hubby into this. We've got to give a shout out to Marshall. Your guys' love story is so disgustingly cute. High school sweethearts. You got married super young. You made the move to Texas. You guys are flourishing now. Tell us a little bit of the spark note version because it's one of my favorite stories of your love story really quick. I know that's like off topic, but I know there's a lot of people out there that are looking for that encouragement or just want to know more about you.
00:06:53
Speaker
Yeah, we met. I have to do a little bit of math now we've been together that long. We met in 2011 through a mutual rodeo friend and funny enough you'd think that everyone in rodeo and Iowa would know each other, because there's just not that many of us it's, it's a limited group.
00:07:10
Speaker
Um, but it actually, it turns out that we were living in the same city. We both lived in the second biggest city in Iowa, Cedar Rapids, but he was from the north side and I was from the south side and he was in high school rodeo and I was doing the barrel rate, like the barrel bashes and, um, and BHA. So we didn't actually cross paths until my senior year. So we had no idea that each other existed. Um, but when we met, it was instant.
00:07:36
Speaker
just, I just knew he was my person right away and I would like to think it was mutual. And from that time forward, we really just started building. We've always had this vision for our life. We wanted to have land. He grew up on a farm, you know, he wanted to have the land and the horses and we wanted to raise our kids the way that we were raised because it's just such an idyllic childhood to run around with horses and animals and learn lessons that way.
00:08:05
Speaker
And we've built, we're both very entrepreneurial, so we've both built businesses and really supported each other through all those seasons that was really important to us. So it's really been a huge growth path for the both of us. We've moved nine times in almost nine years of marriage.
00:08:24
Speaker
And six of those times were after we moved to Texas so we've done quite a bit of moving since the beginning, but we're finally finding our footing where we are like, I think this is it. I think this is where we're going to end up and this is where we're happy.
00:08:41
Speaker
It's just a really comforting thing that he's been a constant through all of the changes. And without him, I don't know if I could have done all of the things that I've done and had that support even though we were constantly moving and there were so many risks involved.
00:08:57
Speaker
I'm so glad you mentioned that too, because I wanted to give Marshall a hard time and say that you're his better half. But I just can't even go there because you're exactly right. You guys support each other so well. And I think if you're listening out there and you're struggling with that, just know that there's hope and there's a person out there for you. And these two are living proof of that. I wish we could have Marshall on here. I didn't even think about that.
00:09:16
Speaker
If anyone follows Andrea on social, which we'll get to at the end, you know, you can learn where she's at. You'll get to know their love story and them as people and you can't help but fall in love. I know Tyler, my husband and I love hanging out with them and that's really, they're just really cool genuine people. And I know personally, we're both from Oklahoma, my husband and I. And so it's really cool to get together with you and a couple of our other friends that are what we call misfits, you know, not from Texas, but we get to hang out in Texas. And one thing that I admired too about you guys is that you invite others that
00:09:45
Speaker
have just moved to Texas, you really open your arms and your house to them. So keep being the people that you are. That's clearly the reason why you've gotten where you are today, both of you. But kind of talking a little bit more about you, I want to jump ahead a little bit and talk about all your time at Cowgirl magazine.
Role at Cowgirl Magazine
00:10:01
Speaker
One thing for you and one thing that I've always been inspired by you
00:10:05
Speaker
Is your drive and your work and your dedication like your work ethic is killer. I don't think there's anyone out there that can outwork you in a room, especially watching you do your thing. It's incredible. I'll use cowboy Christmas at NFR as a perfect example. There were a few times we got to cross paths and the big huge convention center and you're like, you know, I'm going here and then I'm doing this and.
00:10:24
Speaker
Uh, just, that's just, that just shows volumes and speaks about who you are as a person, but you truly are an example of working your way to the top. I know originally, I mean, tell us your story, how you got started with cowgirl, but I think you originally just started writing pieces for them, which then led to now getting to be the fashion editor. Is that right? Yeah. So a little background on that when I was still blogging, um, that was, I had a dream board, you know, that was the.
00:10:48
Speaker
That was the thing. It still is, but I had this great dream board and I had all of the Western magazines on that dream board because I really had no idea. How do you become an editor for a magazine? I didn't know, but I just decided that would be the ultimate end goal because I love my blog. But at the end of the day, I really wanted to do something with more reach. I wanted to be able to promote small business. That was always really important to me.
00:11:12
Speaker
is promoting small businesses that need the coverage and also being able to just put my own interpretation on fashion and being able to share that in a big way, you know, that relates to multiple kinds of people and different audiences. So that was why I kind of moved in that direction. And when I came to Texas, I actually my first fashion job was with Cowboys and Indians magazine. And I was the fashion editor there for two years. That was my first
00:11:40
Speaker
real job in Texas where I was really in my career and I got the experience there. And then when I had moved on to Hippie Cowgirl and I moved more into a marketing role, I had lost some of that writing and kind of editorial. We do a lot of photo shoots and fun things at Hippie, but it's not exactly the same kind of work. So I reached out to a friend at Cowgirl and asked, hey, you know, do you guys ever need writers and
00:12:05
Speaker
Actually, it was basically the same week they had called me and said, well, how do you feel about just doing all of it? Do you wanna do all of the fashion content? You know, it was an opportunity I didn't expect, but I mean, how can you turn that down? I said, that must've just been like divine timing for me to be able to walk right into that role. And I love the team there. The team is amazing and makes my job so much easier and they really believe in me. And I just absolutely love it.
00:12:32
Speaker
Oh, yeah, you have a dream job for a lot of people out there. And I think it's really cool that you get to live it every day and you get to see the fun while still having your marketing side, you know, with Hippie and getting to work with the turquoise, which I know is another passion of yours. But what do you think is the overall favorite part of your job at Cowgirl? Because you get to just I mean, it's a new day every day. So what's your favorite part about it?
Western Fashion Evolution
00:12:53
Speaker
Absolutely. The photo shoots are really my bread and butter in terms of creativity and fun. And I love the unlimited creativity that comes with it. I feel like our industry, especially the Western fashion has really evolved. And we've started to embrace some of the more mainstream fashion aspects into our industry. We're starting to embrace the fact that mainstream kind of likes us, you know, the runaways are liking our stuff. And
00:13:18
Speaker
instead of kind of you know balling up and not letting them into our circle and saying this is ours, we've not opened up and we're saying we want everybody to experience this. And so the the opportunities to really create something new have come so far in the last especially five years and therefore the creativity is limitless. You can do just about anything you can think of and put a western spin on it and get people to start styling their their classic items in new ways and also maybe embrace something that they never have before
00:13:47
Speaker
And I just love that I have the team, truly it's the team that makes it work, but I have the team that believes in my vision and they've let me go with it and make it what it is.
00:13:59
Speaker
And Andrea, that is so inspiring. I naturally, I'm creative, but not like, I can't look at something and see where something needs to go. Even your house, I feel like is a set from any kind of movie, any kind of magazine. You could literally just come in, take pictures and have it as a backup if you need it, which is really cool. But I think it's most important. And the reason why I wanted to get you on the podcast is you do a lot of stuff behind the scenes. I mean, photo shoots take a lot of prep work, grunt work, hard work, like I mentioned before.
00:14:25
Speaker
So I'm glad that you're taking the time to step into the limelight just a little bit. Sorry, but talk us through what you do on the photo shoots, how you prepare. Obviously, it's not just you wake up one day, you have a photo shoot, and you move on with your life. There's a lot that goes into it.
00:14:42
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. An editorial fashion shoots. I found, I had a really great mentor at Cowboys and Indians who taught me how to, cause I'm a creative mind. So I'm not necessarily organized by default. I really had to.
00:14:56
Speaker
learn how to get those processes in and have the discipline to stick to them. But the process that I use now is typically about a five-week process from the creation of the idea all the way to picking the final images. Actually, it's more probably six weeks by the time we pick the final images for the print. So it starts with, you know, you create your theme
00:15:19
Speaker
I actually go through, usually I go through the runways and the Fashion Week images and I see, okay, what is trending? What are we going to see? And then I think about how is it going to transfer into our industry? How are we going to see that show up in lines of boots or
00:15:34
Speaker
apparel or hats? How are people going to incorporate? What are the big things? And I have to kind of use my intuition on that. And then I go in and create a theme and a mood board of what that's going to look like that I send out to all of the companies that we're going to put in that photo shoot. And from that point, I'm basically collecting submissions for a month. So I give them a month to
00:15:55
Speaker
get me the selects that they want me to see or the line sheets for the following season because we want it to be fresh. So I'm going in and choosing the products and I pre-style everything. So I have like a master board of everything that I have sent so I can go through and start piecing things together, especially for on location photo shoots where not everything's coming to me. I need to know what's there before I get there. So it's really, before you're even actually handling the clothes, you already know, or I already know,
00:16:25
Speaker
what those outfits are going to look like. I already have the vision in my head before I get to that point. And then once everything's there, I usually have maybe five days before the shoot when everything is there and I'm able to work with it. So I style everything, I categorize it, I make sure that everyone who is invited and submitted is represented. And then we do all of the prep work of the actual steaming the garments, making sure that the boot bottoms are taped so we don't damage anything, making sure that turquoise jewelry is showing up
00:16:53
Speaker
underneath the coat or however that the styling really works. And then we shoot everything and it's all about highlighting those products. So we want them to be shown in their best light. It's really my job on set is to let the photographer do their thing and be creative and I need to step back and make sure the earrings turn the right way and that the jacket is flowing and that everything fits. I need to make sure that it's tailored.
00:17:17
Speaker
So it's a very involved process. And then the final images that we pick are pretty much all of those elements combined. Is it creative? Is it highlighting the products well? Is the lighting good? Is the composition of the photo good? And we lay all of that out so it's a journey in print. And it's a very involved and almost emotional process.
00:17:41
Speaker
By the end of it, we're very invested in the piece, that it really looks the way that we envisioned it and that it came out correctly. But that's what makes it magic. And then people open it and they love it. And they may only spend 10 minutes with it, but I've spent 60 hours with it from the beginning to the end.
00:18:00
Speaker
Yeah, or more. And it's become like your brainchild, your baby. And I can, I can tell your passion. I mean, it bleeds through anyone who picks up the magazine can see the thought and the attention to detail, which I admire so much because it's important when people invest in believing in your magazine, they want to have that quality there. So.
00:18:18
Speaker
I just commend you for that. That's so inspiring. I'm in awe, even getting to be your friend and sit at your table. I'm like, this is incredible. But one thing I am going to point out to you that I think is like awesome for you. You kind of have like the best setup is you kind of get to work it from both angles. So your involvement with hippie with the turquoise. Now I get it. You don't want to feature it, you know, the hippie cowgirl every time, but
00:18:39
Speaker
It does help because you're able to handpick those pieces and so whenever you think about a hippie shoot, you're able to think with your creative editor mindset. And so what's it like balancing the two worlds? I know they work so well together. So what's that like?
00:18:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely, in terms of pulling hippie product into cowgirl, it's definitely kind of a process because you're right. We need to make sure that everyone is included. But the funny thing is when you work in jewelry, for maybe the outside eye, it looks like, oh, it's all turquoise. Everybody has turquoise. But to me, I can pull out and say, I know who that is. I know who sells that. I know those pieces are unique to this dealer or this artist, and they have it.
00:19:21
Speaker
And therefore, I don't really see as much competition between the different turquoise sellers in print because it's styled in the way that I see that seller putting it together. The pieces that they send in are uniquely theirs. It's a signature item.
00:19:37
Speaker
So it's really fun to balance all of those elements together and really make sure that it's not just the politics of, well, everybody needs a place, but also that everybody is highlighted equally and well, and that they all comes together to make this beautiful image. And I think that also speaks to styling people individually, that you don't have to, you can mix and match. You don't have to stick to one style. You can put different tribes of jewelry, which I can get into that, but you know, different styles and different colors and,
00:20:06
Speaker
even stack, you know, items you can kind of see I do that, but you can stack items. However, it's really all down to personal preference and individual style. And I really think that all of that meshes so well, but it's it kind of makes my job easy in that way.
00:20:22
Speaker
Oh, yeah. And I love, I'm going to go back to what you said originally about seeing the different makers and recognizing that that alone is so valuable. There's so much art to that because I know me personally, I could not tell you the difference. A lot of people out there, just like you said, could not tell you the difference, but I love the attention to detail and the passion that you have. One of my favorite stories to hear is actually our friend Katie Lucas was telling us, telling me about it.
00:20:46
Speaker
how the different colors of turquoise, you know, mean different things. And so let's kind of talk about that a little bit. The things that people maybe don't know about turquoise, because I find it nerding, nerdily, very interesting. Yes. So hold on, let me go.
00:21:04
Speaker
Okay, here we go. Okay, so the first thing that I think is important is understanding how important it is to support Native American authentic jewelry.
Turquoise Collections and Investment
00:21:14
Speaker
And this is a conversation we have in the industry a lot. But I feel like sometimes we don't get all of the reasons. People just say, you know, don't buy fake things. And then the people, the girls who are at the beginning of their collection journey just say, I can't
00:21:27
Speaker
afford to get into that I'm going to buy the cheap I'm going to buy the $20 piece because I want to be part of this too and I want to you know enjoy it and I just want to encourage them to say I was that girl too you know at one point I would be this was back in the day this was like 2012 I would go on eBay and I would go look at $50 rings and I'd try to find the cheapest possible things with real stones and I'd stack them so I'd have
00:21:55
Speaker
you know, four or five rings that I collected over a year and I put them all on one hand and I feel like I was wearing this one thing, you know, it would all add up to the same amount to me.
00:22:04
Speaker
And eventually I traded my way up from those pieces, you know, I would, I would actually sell them and eventually I got to like a $400 vintage squash blossom. And that was like a major moment for me. I got a squash blossom and it was real. And the fun thing is at the end of the day, when you do graduate and you get to go to the higher levels of turquoise collecting, you, those, those pieces are still worth something. You can, you can sell those.
00:22:28
Speaker
And the thing about the plastic is they're not America made. They don't support artists and they're not worth anything after you buy them. That's the bottom line.
00:22:38
Speaker
And I would encourage girls starting out to not be ashamed of starting small because you're still supporting somebody. You're still supporting somebody's business, somebody's art, and you're starting your collection and you can either trade those out or you can keep them and talk about, hey, this was my first piece ever. This is so cool after seeing what I was able to build.
00:23:00
Speaker
Oh yeah. And I love that you brought that up too, because if you go to any barrel race, any roping, any rodeo, anything in the Western industry or even elsewhere, and you see a squash blossom or you see a piece of turquoise, that could be as simple as a small earring. If you hear the stories of things that women say, like, oh yeah, I sold a horse to help pay for this or whatever.
00:23:19
Speaker
You just hear the craziest stories. So I love that you bring that up, you know, that you can keep your, you save up for your first piece. You have that awesome story and then yeah, you build from there. That's so inspiring too. But I think one of the misconceptions that you brought up earlier too is that you don't have to wear, like you don't have to buy a matching set at one time. You don't have to wear the same color of turquoise, which is admittedly, that's what I thought originally. Like I have a coral ring.
00:23:42
Speaker
that I thought I could only wear with coral jewelry for the long so for the longest time I was like okay well I can't ever wear this ring because it doesn't match turquoise um and so kind of talk about some of the misconceptions there too if you don't mind. Of course truly and this is something I've really learned since working with the hippie cowgirl style and and the way that they put it together is that there is no wrong way. I know there are some traditionalists out there who believe that you can only mix certain stones with other certain stones and I understand
00:24:10
Speaker
But I really don't think that I think that's limiting. That's a limiting belief to me in terms of how I'm able to style my jewelry or anybody, you know, you can mix however you want. I love colored stones. I love spiny oyster and coral and I mix those with regular turquoise all the time. I have
00:24:27
Speaker
one Squash Blossom, which I know you've seen, that you've worn actually. And it's a very long piece and it's got every color. It has three colors of spiny oyster, probably two colors of turquoise in it, and it's my favorite. I absolutely love it. And I think that's just a testament that there's pieces for anyone out there. Don't ever be afraid to mix and match how you like. I think that's the joy of it. That's the fun of it.
00:24:50
Speaker
And since we're talking about mixing and matching, we've got a mention it's fall. Um, it's cold weather. It's warm season. We're getting cozy. And a lot of people believe that, um, you can only wear your turquoise to summer events and summer things. So I guess briefly let's talk about how to style your turquoise for the different fall seasons, how you can dress it up, dress it down. You're the best person to ask. So I'm just going to ask you, how do you do it?
00:25:13
Speaker
Well, and again, I'm going to cop out a little bit and say that there is no runway. You know, you can wear some girls just like a classic look. They like one ring, a pair of earrings and maybe a squash blossom or one set of Navajo pearls. And that's totally fine. That's very classic, timeless way to wear it.
00:25:29
Speaker
But I, for the winter time, you know, we put on furs, we start putting on big coats and scarves and layers, and it's a lot more intricate styling. So I like to pull out my bigger pieces. And if you don't have bigger pieces, like I said, there's no shame in that. Maybe think about how can I wear, and maybe you only have three or four pieces at a time, wear all of it, you know, stack up your Navajo pearls and put on. I have just a small stack on today, but you can kind of see I've got a three strand and I've got some
00:25:58
Speaker
some little nugget turquoise pieces and you know it looks a lot bigger than it is when you start pulling it kind of together as a stack. We call it a necklace stack. But that's what I would suggest is put either pile smaller pieces on or bring out your bigger pieces. Bigger stones like this look amazing when you're wearing a big fur coat. Though that's really my main thing is just really pile it all on. If you're looking for maybe something to invest in for your fall or winter wardrobe,
00:26:27
Speaker
Spiny oyster, which is the red and purple stones that you see. We don't really see coral anymore. New coral, because it's not legal to harvest anymore. But spiny oyster is beautiful with fall color palettes. And also some green turquoise. There's, without being too technical, there's some turquoise mines that are starting to pull darker stones right now. So we're starting to see more of these.
00:26:54
Speaker
teal stones come out and I some people don't like that they like the really light colors but for me I think it's beautiful and will go really well with a fall wardrobe and then also you cannot go go wrong with any Navajo pearls ever they will always be in style I love the handmade pearls that are just
00:27:14
Speaker
really large and statement piece. If you are in the market for something like that and you think, you know, what can I buy? That's just a timeless item. Definitely large Navajo pearls. They aren't making them like they used to. They're going to be limited at some point. So definitely get your hands on that. And of course, squash blossoms always, always in style. So I'm always in the market for squash blossoms, honestly.
00:27:39
Speaker
Yeah, I love that you mentioned that there's more rare stones or gems, you know, coming from the mines, kind of touch on that a little bit because that was something that was eyeopening to me when Katie was trying to explain it. I guess, selfishly, I just always thought that the resources would be limitless. There would be, you know, endless things. And interestingly enough, that's not true. So kind of talk about that.
00:28:03
Speaker
Sure, I think the rareness of stones is a huge reason to invest into turquoise pieces.
00:28:10
Speaker
I have Marshall halfway, well, actually fully convinced at this point that turquoise is literally an investment. It's something that I put money in in order to sell it at a future point because not only are the stones rare or become more rare over time, but also the silver goes up in price. So you can actually watch that investment go up. If you bought turquoise between five and 10 years ago, you know what you could sell it for now and it's definitely higher.
00:28:36
Speaker
But the stones are really interesting because yes, you would think that a mine would be able to, you'd be able to mine that for a very long time. And you can to a point, but some of those mines are starting to change color and also kind of run out of the stones that we're used to seeing. And eventually they will be dry. We have a lot of mines, so turquoise as a whole is not going to go away anytime soon. But some of those most sought after stones right now are from mines that are starting to change.
00:29:06
Speaker
So every mine has its own kind of matrix and colors and it's very recognizable for turquoise collectors and those those stones are limited at some point. So we're starting to see where as some of those start to dry up or change.
00:29:23
Speaker
Those stones are really going up in value and eventually you'll be able to say I have a piece that was made during this time and it's special because they don't make those anymore. You know, those are one time I was talking to the owner of hippie cowgirl JJ and I was on the fence about a piece.
00:29:41
Speaker
And I said, it was a big piece, big expensive piece. And I said, well, how rare is this stone? She said, well, they're not gonna make any more for probably, I don't know, 10 million years. So that's how long it's probably gonna take to make a new batch. And that was the point I said, okay, well, once it's gone, it is gone. So it's important to kind of do your research if you're a new collector and figure out what stones do I like? What do I want in my collection? And then that's where I would put my money.
00:30:10
Speaker
into those pieces that really complement you and your natural features and that you love and you're able to pass down. Actually, my grandma had a squash blossom. She was a lifelong collector. She collected for 65 years. And for those girls who are concerned about if they'll ever get to that point where they're able to collect big, she collected probably 50 of those 60 years in small things, small things. They went to Cheyenne Frontier Days every year, and she'd get little things. And then she got one squash blossom.
00:30:39
Speaker
only one in her collection and she absolutely loved it. But it's a vintage squash blossom that you're not going to see again. And now I get to have it and it's something that I'm gonna pass down through my family too. So it's kind of this beautiful thing that it's heirloom jewelry. It's something that you're going to be able to keep in your family and pass down to the women in your life in the future. And I think that's just a really good reason to invest.
00:31:05
Speaker
If you're listening out there, you just heard multiple ways of investing that isn't buying a house and flipping it. I love that. Also, husbands, boyfriends, significant others out there, if you're listening, you could never go wrong with anything turquoise guaranteed, even if your significant other doesn't know about turquoise, because yeah, that's so big. I'm glad you touched on the importance of that. I know one of my dear friends, Peyton, she found
00:31:29
Speaker
something you know it was a pass down heirloom as well and all the other family had gone after the diamonds and this and all the golden silver and all that and she was left with this turquoise squash blossom and i was like that is better than diamonds that's better than like what you have what you're sitting on is truly priceless and so i love that you're going to continue that legacy and pass it down to your kids one day and and in hopes that they'll do the same that that's truly iconic and
00:31:53
Speaker
Hopefully we can all get there one day. I know that's a goal of mine, but I don't have a squash yet, just a bunch of rings. So maybe we can combine the rings and get a necklace out there. But I, um, one thing too, there was a lot to talk about not one, um, response that you had because JJ, I actually have never gotten the chance to meet her, even though she's one of those people that I feel like I know her just from social media. She's so fun and vibrant. And I'm just genuinely curious then what's, what's it like working
00:32:16
Speaker
with her and kind of getting mentored by her too, because she seems to be so knowledgeable about it. And I feel like any purchase you make with her, she helps, she helps you along the way. She, she informs you about what you're buying and just kind of goes the extra mile. So what's it like there? I hippie cowgirl couture with JJ.
00:32:32
Speaker
Well, your intuition is absolutely right. She is one of a kind and that's why people love her. And we've actually told her because we work with a lot of models and different things. She said, well, why didn't this picture do as well as this one with me in it? And I said, well, it's because they like you. You are the reason they're here. She really does share knowledge and make friends of her clients. And it's the same with our staff. We're a very small staff. There's only
00:32:56
Speaker
five of us total. And we do the whole thing, just the little team. And we have so much fun. And JJ is really a creative, open-ended person. She's always full of ideas and full of things that she wants to do. And she's very driven in the business.
00:33:12
Speaker
And it helps us to not only make great work for her, but also her knowledge that she gives to us is kind of part of the deal. You know, we get to ask questions and sometimes she pulls out her collection, her personal collection, and we can ask questions about, I've never seen the stone before, where did this come from? Or she has taught us all about different artists that we currently get pieces from and kind of their background. And it's really interesting
00:33:37
Speaker
um to get little nuggets from her and I feel like my not only um my turquoise knowledge has gone up but she's also like I said very very creative and she has the same heart as me in terms of the you know really stepping outside the box and pushing the limits of what western is and we have so much fun putting all of this jewelry in into shoots and on models and on
00:34:00
Speaker
uh us each other um and watching it come to life in new ways and she is like just the queen of teaching me there is no rule you can do it however you want you know that's how she she does it and she's just as fun in person as she is on the internet which is you know that's a rare compliment these days is that you are um 100 the same both ways but that's exactly it
Collaboration with Hippie Cowgirl Couture
00:34:22
Speaker
Wow. And I can't help, as you're talking more about her, I can't help but thinking she's like the turquoise dolly. So maybe marketing director, there's something there, turquoise dolly. Oh, that's so cool. I love, I love everything about her. And so that's really good to hear. It is incredibly rare. And if you're curious to know more about JJ or follow along with who she is as a person and the business that she stands for and represents, where can everyone find you on social media? I know, but tell the people.
00:34:49
Speaker
Sure Okay, so for my did you want my social media all of the above yeah let's start with cowgirl and then yeah let's go to you and cowgirl we want everyone to be able to plug up however they can. Okay, so for JJ the website is hippie cowgirl couture.
00:35:03
Speaker
dot com that's our website we have over 2500 pieces right now we have an insane inventory if you guys could ever um really you could see it probably on the instagram but if you ever see it um it's just a massive warehouse that's in a living room essentially
00:35:20
Speaker
um but it we have just about anything you could ever want on the website and then all of our socials are the same it's just at hippie cowgirl couture on tiktok instagram facebook we do live sales um we're everywhere so definitely follow us and plug in on all the different socials because you get something different everywhere
00:35:41
Speaker
That's awesome. And let's talk a little bit about cowgirl then too. I know cowgirl magazine is a subscription. So, um, if people don't subscribe to that, they're definitely going to want to, how can they sign up to subscribe? Where can they follow on social media to see all the fun stories coming up in terms of cowgirl magazine?
Accessing Fashion Content and Social Media
00:35:56
Speaker
Of course, so on cowgirlmagazine.com, I also write online there. So you can see some of the blog posts. I write blog posts every week. So if you're interested in seeing some of the fashion content, opinion pieces of different trends and boot releases, new releases, whatever I write there. And then also you can subscribe to the magazine there too. There is a subscribe tab in the menu there. So you can get your hands on that, which I highly recommend.
00:36:25
Speaker
Oh yeah. And I, one thing I love doing is I subscribe to the emails as well from the website and the emails showing up into your inbox kind of keep you informed of the know of what's happening in the fashion industry. I know right now it's fall time. We're starting to shop for an FR things, if not, if we haven't already. And, um, it kind of helps you shop for things in the future. Christmas gifts, um, anything that the content there just keeps you engaged and informed about that. So thank you for doing everything that you do there. I know it's you and the entire team there too. Um, Ken, shout out, Ken, we love Ken.
00:36:54
Speaker
Um, and then Andrea, for you, uh, I know that you're the, the rodeo misses, but I want you to just plug yourself there too, because listen, y'all, if there's any Instagram account you want to follow, it's Andrea's she's real. She's fun. You get to see her behind the scenes shoot stuff that you wouldn't really get to see. So plug yourself away. Andrea, where can we find you? Sure. Honestly, the best place is Instagram. Um, so it's just the underscore rodeo underscore MRS. That's how we used to do it back in the day.
00:37:22
Speaker
That's my Instagram. I love to definitely, like you said, post a lot of stories. And at some point, I really like to engage more and hear what my followers would like to know about the industry. So maybe I'll start doing that over there as well. But yeah, that's the best place to connect with me and maybe get a little sneak peek of what's going on in the upcoming issue before anyone else sees it.
00:37:46
Speaker
Oh yeah that's what I always love too because I'm like okay she just showed this back behind the scenes picture of something and then like right now currently I'm still waiting to see the outcome and so it's like keeping me ready you know like every time I get on Instagram I'm like okay is it up um so yeah those are some cool places to find Andrea she has a lot going on wears many crowns and um I'm just thankful that you took the time to talk with us today Andrea it's been really cool to get for the rest of the world to hear your story I've known your story and I'm obsessed with it um
00:38:14
Speaker
But thank you for being the person that you are and paving the way in the industry. I'm inspired. So many people are inspired. And I just want you to continue being the person that you are and driving us down the road of the Western fashion and being the innovator that you are there. So thanks for everything, Andrea. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. This is great.
00:38:34
Speaker
Thanks for joining us on Kick Your Boots Up. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and we can't wait to share the next story of the West. Until then, feel free to like, subscribe, and leave us a review. Follow us on social media at Justin Boots to keep up with our next episode, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.