Alumni

Alumna Sarah Grace Smith Launches Her First Collection at Roxy

Early in her career, as an intern at Quiksilver, FIDM Merchandise Product Development Grad Sarah Grace Smith attended a surfing event in Hawaii where she saw her icon, surf legend Kelly Slater, in person for the first time. It was captured on video which went viral. “After about 3 minutes of hardcore balling my eyes out, I watched him surf the biggest waves I’ve ever seen and screamed my head off cheering for him!” This past year Sarah Grace transitioned from Roxy Product Manager to Regional Apparel Designer whose first collection, “A Splash of Love,” launched this week. She is our guest blogger today, sharing her story about her design journey at Roxy.

It’s been a whirlwind of a work year. A lot of growth has taken place and I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve been given. I believe it was about February of last year that I was given the opportunity to create an exclusive collection for Roxy.com. It just launched this week and I’m still on cloud nine! 

Initial Design Meeting
Going back to that initial meeting where we discussed ideas, themes, and what this collection would look like, I literally had no idea what I was getting into. And I definitely didn’t realize that it wouldn’t be the last collection of mine to launch in 2020. I remember sitting in my boss's office, bouncing off ideas, color palettes, silhouettes, all of it. And I remember her looking at me and she said, “SG, you got this?” In my mind I remember thinking, “Are you literally insane…? I can’t do this on my own, I’m not ready!” Instead, I responded, “Oh yeah, you know I can do it!” The truth is, she knew I could do it, but I didn’t. It’s safe to say, this first collection was the birth of my design career.

Design Inspiration
Since the launch of “A Splash Of Love,” I’ve received the same question over and over. A question that has always made me feel so uncomfortable, a question that I used to dread. “Where does your inspiration come from?” I feel like when someone asks that, they’re really looking for some wildly incredible answer. Something like, “Ahh yes, I was doing a solo hike up Mt. Everest. All I had eaten was one granola bar in four days. When I made it to the top, I saw a baby eagle hatch from it’s nest and I immediately saw a new collection in my mind…” LIKE WHAT?! I mean that would be a rad story to tell, but it will never be my story.

First off, I’m too out of shape to hike Mt. Everest. Second, I love tacos way too much to live off a granola bar. Third, do they even have baby eagles at the top of Mt. Everest? I guess I’ll never know…

For so long I looked at other people and always thought, “Wow, I want to be like them. I want to be as cool as Kelly Slater, I want the mind of Vera Wang, but maybe I’m actually not meant to be a designer at all…I’m not even good enough for that.” But at some point early on in 2019, I realized I have more than what it takes and that my inspiration for anything I design comes from my own life. I saw that the simple moments were the ones that brought me the most joy. And, that when I was full of happiness, my work was at its best.

Whether it’s coming home from the beach and playing air guitar in my blue jean shorts and bathing suit, screaming Beatles songs at the top of my lungs with sunburnt skin and salty hair, or going to the street fair every Tuesday after work to buy chip dip from a guy who always, without fail, gives me a fist bump at the end of each chip dip purchase, and as I walk away yells out, “BEST SALE OF THE NIGHT!” pointing his finger towards me…these simple moments are what keeps me filled with happiness, leaving me full of inspiration. 

I’ve found that beach bonfires filled with laughter and s’mores, quick trips up north to go camping at the hot springs near Yosemite, coming home from the grocery store every Sunday testing out new recipes I’ve found on Pinterest and having friends over for supper, going to a service at Hillsong over in Santa Ana, having a sunrise surf session before work with my coworker—these are the things that fill my heart. I’ve learned that my happy, beautiful, busy, goofy life is what gives me inspiration. 

Finding That Work/Life Balance
Another huge thing I’ve learned as my work life has become much more fast-paced, is that I have to remember to find the balance. I go into work every single day, 100% full of inspiration and I leave every single day 100% empty and tired. It’s all too easy to get caught up in work and life, leaving yourself spread too thin. This is something I’m learning to work on. It’s hard to say “no” to friends and family, but it’s also important to learn to say “yes” to yourself when you need a night in to binge Netflix in your favorite sweatshirt. 

In 2020, I’m really putting focus into self-care. For example, in a couple of hours, I’ll cruise 10 minutes down the street from my apartment and check into The Hyatt for a mini staycation and massage at the spa. I haven’t had any down time for months and I can tell that it’s affecting me in a negative way. So, I’m using this weekend to pump the breaks, relax and give myself a minute to find happiness for myself and no one else. 

Designing Her Fourth Collection
I’m currently in the middle of designing the fourth Roxy.com collection to launch in 2020, so I want to make sure I’m well rested, happy, and ready to rock when Monday rolls around. 

It’s so important to me that I put all my love, happiness, and joy into these collections and everything that I design. I want the consumer to see and feel the love I’ve put into each piece. I want them to wear these pieces when they’re hosting friends for supper, playing air guitar in their bathing suits and buying chip dip at the local market. 

My hope is that each garment purchased gets to play a part in the special memories we make as human beings on this beautiful planet Earth that we get to call home. That’s all I could ever ask for.

A Day in the Life as a Roxy Designer
As far as a day in the life of a designer for Roxy goes, my day starts pretty early. I typically wake up at about 5:45am. If the waves are good, I’ll load up my board, a change of clothes and head to Bolsa Chica to surf before I head into work. If the surf isn’t ideal, I’ll do a bit of meditating, make a cup of coffee and walk down to the beach. I like to start my mornings off with the ocean. So if it’s a beach walk versus a quick surf, I’ll take my coffee down the street with a bag and spend a little time picking up trash out of the shorebreak. I get to start my day off with the ocean and help clean the planet. It’s a win/win, surf or no surf!

From there, I get into the office around 8:45am and start reading through emails as I check my calendar for the week. I typically have anywhere from 2-4 meetings a day, so it’s important that I plan out the week as soon as I come in on Monday. 

Next, I usually start reviewing and commenting on any submits I’ve gotten. Whether it’s protos, lab dips or new fabrications. Once lunch rolls around, I either break and eat with my coworkers or I’m chowing down at my desk trying to get through my projects. I work on 3-4 seasons at a time so I really have to focus on time management. By 2:00pm, I’m deep in designs. I really only get a handful of hours to actually work each day so again, time management is huge. 

Fellow FIDM Alumna
By 4:00pm, the girl I sit beside (who is also a FIDM alumna, we actually had classes together and didn’t realize it until we were reunited at Roxy) starts spitting off these random Harry Potter jokes. She makes herself laugh so hard that I can’t help but start belly laughing with her! The best part is, I’ve never even seen Harry Potter so I literally have no idea what she’s talking about, but laughter is contagious (our brains are usually fried by this point and we’re ready to go home, so anything could make us laugh our butts off at 4:00pm). Around 4:30pm, I can typically be found in our conference room doing fittings with my teammates. And by 5:30pm, I’m running out the door to go home! I love my job, but I love when 5:00pm rolls around, too :).

Overall, it’s safe to say that my life has evolved into one of busy weeks and mellow weekends, and that I find inspiration in happiness. I’m fortunate enough to say that I’ve got plenty of it! 

Going Forward
I’m really proud of the collections I’ve got launching in 2020 on Roxy.com and I truly hope all of you love them as much as I do! So stay tuned—myself as an individual and Roxy as a brand have a lot of neat things happening and we can’t wait to share them with the world! 

To view Sarah Grace’s new Roxy collection, “A Splash of Love,” visit roxy.com.

Categories:  Fashion Design Merchandise Product Development Alumni