So What Exactly Is A Lalipourie Anyway?
I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. My dad is originally from LA and my mom is from Panama. As a child, many winter breaks and summer vacations were spent lazing about in hammocks, trying to communicate with an endless amount of cousins in broken Spanish, hand signals and gigling, visiting beaches and family farms, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and spending entire days at my grandmother’s home eating in my mom’s hometown of La Concepcion, Chiriqui. The contrast between home and visiting Panama was always pretty drastic. When I’d get back from our visits I’d recount to my friends of the extreme rain, giant bugs and strange noises in the night! But what I often remembered and ached for when we had been away too long, were those comforting smells of fabric softener, the roosters crowing in the morning, huge family get togethers and the feeling that not matter how long we’d been gone we were always welcomed back with open arms. As a child I’d always secretly wished I had grown up here in Panama.
After years of rambling my praises of the wonders of Panama, it is no wonder that a college research project turned into an in depth plan of how I could move my life here. In my senior year at UC Davis I took on several projects, piling on to my already busy final year in the Design Major. I applied for a research grant and was in an undergraduate research program for my interest in learning more about the national folk dress of Panama called La Pollera. I spent a summer in Panama, traveling around the entire country and researching my topic, taking notes, recording interviews with craftswomen and Panamanian folklore experts. It was a life changing experience. By the time the summer was over, I’d improved my Spanish greatly, made deeper connections with family and friends, and developed a true desire to return here to live for an extended period of time. My research on La Pollera developed into a fashion line and collaboration on an article for The Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion (to come out in May 2010).
About a month after graduation I filled four suitcases and moved to Panama City. Fast forward two years and seven months latter, I am still here but now speaking fluent Spanish, working as a Clothing Designer for Ocean Pacific, and designing in my free time my own brand called Lalipourie Designs. My brand name is a compilation of my two childhood nicknames: Lali (my name in Hawaiian) and Laurie Pourie. I’ve been working on my brand since 2006, and I’ve produced jewelry, clothing, accessories and home accessories selling at local boutiques and markets in both California, Panama and online. Currently I am focusing on my jewelry using my favorite materials, which are recycled telephone wire and beads. I was first introduced to telephone wire for art projects at my very hippie parent-coop elementary school called Charquin Alternative Program in Hayward. Since then I’ve perfected my technique and have yet to get bored of working with this colorful and eco-friendly material. I have always been interested in recycling and being resourceful when it comes to my designs and try my best to be a sustainable designer. I still make clothes, but currently mostly for my own wardrobe.
Besides maintaining my own blog and web store on Etsy it is also important for me to have my designs available on a local bases. Most recently I worked on some new designs for a photoshoot with the very young and talented photographer, Levi Walton. A coworker introduced me to the 17-year-old’s work on facebook and I instantly wanted to have a try at styling using my own jewelry and clothing. My roommate and I modeled my wares on a very sunny Sunday morning all around my favorite neighborhood locations on and around Via Argentina. It was an exhausting day but lots of fun and I am very happy with the final pictures.
My goals for Lalipourie in 2010 are continuing with jewelry designs and expanding to include more accessories like purses and belts incorporating more local materials such as tagua, coconut shell and sea sells. I plan on being more active at selling at local venues, offering more at my online shop, and expanding my blog readership.
For more information about Laurie Harris and to buy Lalipourie Designs:
Contact here personally:
Lalipourie@aol.com
Lalipourie Designs in Panama:
Available at Entre Pulgas diagonal La Casa Gongora, about 1 and 1/2 blocks from the Plaza Catedral
Online shop:
Design Portfolio:
Blog:
Lalipourie.blogspot.com
Facebook fanpage:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=lf#/pages/Lalipourie-Designs/218904213627?ref=ts
Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: http://www.bergpublishers.com/?tabid=4820
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