Where All of Our Ideas Incubate and Hatch Into Existence

Our design hatchery is located in a mid-size farming town on the southern coast of California; boasting mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine year-round. Our location makes for an idyllic environment for the incubation and realization of new product ideas.  

The hatchery was originally acquired in 2016 as a workspace to create and complete fashion school projects like designing and sewing collections for fashion shows. In 2017, after 10 years, I finally completed fashion school, received a degree, and decided to plant roots in Oxnard.

In and out of fashion programs over the last ten years is quite a bit of time to consider whether fashion design was the right path. During that time, I was able to witness the crazy growth and speed in clothing manufacturing and production, and consumption. Along with the overall degradation of artistry, craftmanship, and appreciation of garment making, which created tons of internal doubt and debate. I constantly questioned what it meant to be to be a fashion designer in an industry that has changed so dramatically and not for the better. In all efforts to avoid working in and for the fashion industry, I accepted any freelance work I could get: from designing and crafting party/wedding decor and favors, decorating room interiors, floral arrangements, creating and executing boutique coffee shop menus, making Halloween costumes for family members, stylizing wardrobes for a production set on a shoestring budget. to curating and crafting high-end gift baskets for charity auctions (sans the cellophane). In my mind, no job was too little. Anything to exercise my creative muscles and avoid eviction. 

The desire to eventually start a clothing line had always been an end goal, but seemed like the most far-fetched, extremely expensive but "no other choice" option. Fast-forward to 2023, with the unwavering support from family, after excessive thought, painstaking workarounds, many days of doubt, fear of failure, and a pandemic--we finally launch Luh♥︎duckie. Luh♥︎duckie is an infant-sized business, is female-owned, and family-operated.

The design hatchery is now a space where I house materials for Luh♥︎duckie products, cut, and sew samples and most importantly conceptualize and create future Luh♥︎duckie products. The hatchery is essentially my home away from home complete with a comfy couch for napping, a camping stove for cooking, and a fully stocked coffee bar.