PHOTOSHOOT!
our campaign shoot was AH-MAZE-ING. we had such a great time shooting in the Margaret River region of Western Australia and once again our whole team made the week so easy and enjoyable. this year we had the “Faces of Kooey” Emily Cattermole and James O’Halloran back again and joining them was Miss Universe Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs and spunky WA model Adam Erceg. To make the shoot a bit more fun we came up with a “behind the scenes” concept of a snow white type fairytale where Scherri was snow white, james prince charming, emily the evil queen and adam the huntsman. it had us all in giggles across the week and allowed us to get some awesome shots.

after the Kooey shoot we had the West Surfing shoot where we flew over Tegan Martin – 2nd runner up to Scherri Lee in Miss Universe Australia. We got some great shots on the first day locally and the 2nd day headed back to Margaret River region this time out on a Ferretti boat for the wetsuit shots. We had the West Surfing Team on board and got some really cool surf shots thanks to our fearless photographer Russell Ord. Head to www.westsurfing.com for a peak at some of the shots.

so finally we wound down for Christmas and my husband Michael and I headed to Europe for a much needed holiday. We hit up London, Paris and the French Alps – we tried to get some skiing in but only managed one full day due to the weather – Yes it can snow too much when you are skiing!

the start of Jan then saw the beginning of the Miss Universe WA fittings for their Kooey Swimwear and then onto the first parade at Armadale Shopping City. i am really excited this year for the WA leg of Miss Universe – the girls are SUPER hot this year. i will be very surprised if there isnt another WA winner this year – saying that i havent seen the other states yet! However i think due to the increased hype around the competition the calibre of entrants coming from Australia is on the up and will be a high contender at this years international final – i am excited to find out where it will be this year!

The next few weeks are going to be crazy here with our Summer 2012/13 collection orders coming in from the stores – the sales staff are set for no sleep i think!!

i have more exciting news that we will be releasing very shortly so i will post again soon. im also getting our General Manager Charlene to put some posts up also!!

stay safe in the sun

Nikki X

For those who don’t already know, I  became involved with Kooey in early 2008 and since then have taken the reigns of the business and the design (along with my trusty side kick Charlene) and have showed our collections at Perth Fashion Festival, Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (now Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week) and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami. We have also become heavily involved with the Miss Universe Pageants in both Australia and the USA and I have been lucky enough to have travelled halfway around the world many times doing what I love.

Its been a long and busy road and to add to it we recently purchased West Surfing Products, an iconic Western Australian surf label, and we now have both brands operating under a new company Brandwest Group. There are so many exciting things on the radar for both brands that I can’t wait to share with you. I can only imagine the many long days ahead for the entire Brandwest team, especially if the past few weeks are anything to judge by!

The last few months have seen the Kooey team travel to the USA for Miami SwimShow and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim then on to the Bahamas for the Miss Teen USA pageant. Followed by a trip to Melbourne to launch our National Costume for Miss Universe Australia and then to Brazil to support Scherri-Lee Biggs, Miss Universe Australia 2011, on her quest for the Miss Universe crown – after finishing in the top 10 we were so proud of Scherri but still think she was robbed! However Leila Lopez (Miss Angola) is a fitting substitute and we do love her accent! We are looking forward to working with her in the near future.

After Brazil the West team headed off to China for some important sampling meetings with the factories. I’m not sure what you all think about the Chinese factories but I can tell you they are simply amazing. They are so well organsied and hi-tech. It’s no wonder they can produce such high quality product in a short time. They understand systems so much better than us Aussies and they stick to them. I mean how many of us start a regime and it lasts only a few days or weeks? I know I only ever last a few days on anything! However the people we met over three know how to stick them and make it work!

After China it was back to the USA to meet with the Kooey and West teams based in California between LA and San Diego. It’s a very cool place with such a laid back atmosphere. Perfect for that surf and summer culture to fester in the teams creative bones! We had some exciting meetings while we were there… details to come

But now here we are back in sunny Perth, busily working on the 2012/13 summer collections for both Kooey and West. I’m really excited for everyone to see this Kooey collection and honestly believe its our best yet.

We have our photo shoot in 2 weeks in the Margaret River region of southwest Western Australia. We are excited to be shooting again with the ‘Faces of Kooey’ – Emily Cattermole and James O’Halloran and to introduce our new brand ambassadors Scherri Lee Biggs and Adam Erceg. This new collection has a much more comprehensive men’s range that has a real European flair to it. Think sexy swim shorts and beach pants!

Now I’m heading into a board meeting in our new boardroom at our awesome new premises. I’ll keep you all updated on how everything is coming together and get some sneaky pics from the shoot to post here!

x

Nikki

ps. SO EXCITED THAT ITS FINALLY SUMMER TOMORROW!!!!