The Betty Blog » Betty Belts

Betty Belts Owner Donna von Hoesslin in Wall Street Journal Magazine

donna — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:42:34 +0000

I always wanted to be in Fast Company Magazine, and I’m pretty sure that will still happen one day.

But for now I’ll have to settle for the Wall Street Journal Magazine. Full page. Me. Surfing. With a big smile on my face.

Life is good.
Life needs a LIKE button.

Photo Copyright David Pu’u

Cause Collection – Four Surfers | Four Designs | Four Causes

donna — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:58:31 +0000

I have a beautiful new collection coming out shortly (check www.BettyBelts.com starting May 10th). I’ve been busy tying up all the loose ends to get it on the site and available to you. Meanwhile, my S.O. David Pu’u, who shot all the designs and the women behind them, Team Betty, wrote a beautiful piece on his blog, which is also a source for a sneak peek at the new Betty B. designs for 2010.

As a local yoga teacher always says: Come see!

Excerpt from David’s Blog:

My girlfriend, Donna Von Hoesslin, who heads up yet another globally connected small business that is based here (Betty B) told me that she was in desperate need of images for a new line of jewelry which is designed by members of Team Betty.

So we dropped in on the party at J’s, sat in the window booth and shot the girl’s designs there as Bobby and crew rocked. Typically we would do this away in some distant land, or somewhere on the coast. Definitely not associated with any particular business. (I actually have developed a penchant for Ventura night, street shoots) But deciding to both take care of Betty B’s business needs, and provide bodies, texture and a few extra dollars to the day’s till at J’s, allowed for an exponential increase of benefit for everyone involved.

Here is a video that explains in 4 minutes, the gist of Donna’s remarkable company. We did the piece for the Intuit Small Business United program. It helped Donna win a 5000 dollar grant from Intuit, which she used to help fund her Bali expedition.

On Bali last season, Hailey and Sierra Partridge, Jeanette Ortiz, Mary Osborne, and Donna, did a Betty B design trip. Each one of the girls worked with the local artisans who comprise a portion of Donna’s creative team, to produce collection pieces that exemplified themselves as ocean connected women. Each young woman then selected a cause or charity, whereby Betty B would donate a portion of the income from sales of each piece.

Donna’s company is a very active member of yet another organization, which was the brainchild of Ventura’s Chouinard family (Patagonia), which is called One Percent for the Planet. Through One Percent, Donna and other companies support David Booth’s fantastic Organization, the East Bali Poverty Project, which literally is changing the face of Bali, by educating the youth on their connection to the environment via the Arts and cultural action.

So with our country on the ropes, it all starts here. With me. With you. In our own back yard.

The answer is right there in your community: your dollars are a part of your voice. Now do something. Do it for yourself. Do it for your town. But more importantly: do it. By acting locally you affect Globally, as well as Nationally. Do it.

Visit David’s Blog to read more and, of course, see all the PICTURES!

What We Do.

donna — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:47:02 +0000

David Pu’u is, as you probably already know, a very gifted photographer of beautiful things. He and I are both blessed to work with some amazing people, including twins Hailey and Sierra Partridge. Here is his most recent blog about what that means…

Model Models

by David Pu’u

Recently, NYC based production company Silent Crow was in Ventura. Two writers with the company happened to have connected with Donna Von Hoesslin of Betty B and learning a little bit about her female inspired Eco Fashion line. They came up with an idea.

Producer Matt Bennett showed up to do a little bit of discovery work, and honed a reality show concept that deviated from the norm, in that it endeavors to look at the personalities and lives of the women in both my and Donna’s lives. Silent Crow named the show Bonafide.

Donna and I have long exchanged working relationships with people who we see as unique, and able to be involved in both the editorial market, and branding process, both for the model as a product, and for Betty B’s unique, ethics based, fashion accessories line.

What Matt discovered is that each one of these women is a story unto themselves. Tricky thing to formulate a show upon. I just saw the teaser reel that Silent Crow Produced, and that I contributed footage and stills to. I think they get it. Not an easy thing to do, getting something that is a world unto itself… (continue reading and see more gorgeous shots)

Betty Belts in the Media: Donna’s a Cover Girl!

donna — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:06:55 +0000

Wow, I’m blown away!

I’m a “Cover Girl” today!

Check out this inspiring article below from this week’s VC Reporter…

Betty Belts Owner/Designer Donna von Hoesslin graces the cover of the VC Reporter with one of her all time favorite quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Commerce, Compassion and Community

by Claudia Pardo McFayden

The sweet scent of African freesia wafting through the store and onto the street entices visitors into the carefully decorated eclectic space that is Betty Belts. Cradled in a corner just off the beaten path in Downtown Ventura, the cozy yet vibrant ocean-inspired accessories shop, owned and run by Donna Von Hoesslin, is replete with beautiful and unique jewelry and accessories — ceramic necklaces, metal pendants, leather cuffs, colorful scarves, elaborate belts, cute beanies, intricate hairpins and more. It’s a delightful bazaar of one-of-a-kind, handmade treasures.

Established as an online store back in 2003, Betty Belts, also known as Betty B., is older than its current brick and mortar location. It began as a wholesale and online brand of belts in Santa Cruz, with a later addition of jewelry. “The brand existed before I opened the store,” says Von Hoesslin. Operating out of a warehouse on the basis of win-win — people, environment efficiency and women’s surfing, Betty B.’s promise has been to show up in the community while offering a unique and accessible product.

A surfer herself for more than 10 years, Von Hoesslin finds her inspiration in the beach and in her time spent out in the ocean. It was her passion for surfing that caused her trepidation about opening a retail store. “I didn’t originally want a physical location,” she admits. “I was afraid I would not have time to surf, have a life.” Her boyfriend and biggest supporter, David Pu’u, Santa Barbara native and celebrated photographer and filmmaker, encouraged her to get the space. Von Hoesslin took her board out to sea and found her answer in the place that inspired it all to begin with. She opened Betty Belts in 2007. “It was the best decision I ever made.”

Since then, Betty B. has become a hub of connectedness in the community. Offering an array of uniquely designed jewelry by local artists and artisans from Bali, it remains true to its original promise: to contribute to the community and build relationship through a unique product. Work by local artists including that of the skillful Hands of Stone, a group of women who make eco-friendly ceramic necklaces with ocean-influenced elements, Kathleen Fitzgerald’s one-of-a-kind, exquisitely crafted, hand-made earrings; Guy Q. Goods’ metal jewelry for men and women; Lise Solvang’s cozy alpaca and bamboo knits; Tiki Tony ceramic tiki necklaces; and David Pu’u’s attention-demanding prints that serve as the main wall décor in the shop.

Women are especially responsive to Von Hoesslin’s enriching collaboration with the artists, not only the female patrons but all the women who become interconnected through Betty Belts. There is a tangible female bond that begins with Von Hoesslin as the connector and is often sparked by chance meetings at Betty Belts. “I introduce women who come to the shop to each other, and cool things happen,” she says. One particular connection is mothers and daughters.

“They wear the same jewelry. I dig it,” she says. Often she will find the mothers coming back to the store to purchase a new piece because their daughters are wearing theirs. The common faux-pas of being caught wearing the same accessory is instead a thrilling commonality among her female customers.

A recent collaboration between Von Hoesslin and what is affectionately knows as Team Betty, a group of female surfers who have become essential in the promotion and marketing of Betty Belts, resulted in the personal design of a piece of jewelry by each of four local sufers: Mary Osborne, Jeannette Ortiz, Hailey Partridge and Sierra Partridge.

Together with Von Hoesslin and Pu’u, they traveled to Bali, where they worked and executed this creative project.

In addition to working with local artists, Von Hoesslin employs several artisans from Bali, where most of the pieces are made. Having worked for close to seven years with the same artisans, Donna has established a work ethic based on fairness, skill, good quality and, most important for her, community…

Continue reading here:

http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/commerce_compassion_and_community/7661/

P.S.

Check out our Facebook Page and become a fan!

A New Year of Appreciation

donna — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:11:40 +0000

The beautiful Balinese people who I have been working with for six years now on the production of Betty Belts and Betty B. can teach us a lot about generosity, love and appreciation. One thing I have never seen among the Balinese is a sense of entitlement. They practice gratitude every day with their daily ritual of offerings and frequent ceremonies. It’s mind-boggling for a westerner to see how much of their productivity is spent (not wasted!) on offerings, but eventually you understand that it is what makes them who they are and it would be a terrible thing if that should ever change. As a society, they have a balance that is enviable for the rest of us. It’s why we are so enchanted with Bali.

So I’d like to offer up a post about Appreciation in the New Year because I know it will enrich our lives to practice more of it. There is so much to appreciate. Always look for it.

Tell people you appreciate them.
Tell God you appreciate him and what he has given/created.
Look around you and appreciate what you have, because there is always someone out there who has less to appreciate than you do.
It might not be an easy habit to develop, but it will benefit so many that the benefits will be innumerable.

I appreciate you.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for enjoying.
Thank you for keeping the Betty Brand pulsing in these unsteady times.

I’m wishing you a new year (a lifetime!) of love, sweetness, joy and most of all, appreciation!

Smiles from Ventura,

Donna von Hoesslin

Owner/Designer at Betty Belts/Betty B., Member Team Betty

P.S. For more frequent updates than I offer on this blog (plus great insider specials), please become a fan of Betty Belts on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

New Designs!

donna — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:29:20 +0000

Our sweetest new designs are ready for you!In time for your holiday giving and wishing.

Here’s a taste, click on any to go see the rest!

With lots of love from your favorite Betty!

Come see my new sea glass designs and why beach glass is such a cherished ocean gem for the most unique jewelry!

Come see the new Karma jewelry.

And my beautiful new “Shawn” leather cuff named after the wonder woman Shawn Alladion of famed K38 Rescue and Team Betty!

More at www.bettybelts.com

PS Use the code FRIEND at checkout for 10% off your order!

Partridge Twins Featured in Good Times, Santa Cruz

donna — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:48:30 +0000

Sierra and Hailey Partridge on their way to a surf session at their home break Steamer Lane. Copyright David Pu'u

Read about Sierra and Hailey Partridge of Team Betty in this great article on the Good Times Blog.

More Than Meets The Eye

by Kelly Vander Kaay

The Partridge twins prove powerful role models
Despite the packed schedule that comes with being in demand, or perhaps in order to give thanks for the associated good fortune, Sierra and Hailey Partridge generously donate their time to numerous charities. To watch the twins execute exquisite carves off the lip of an overhead wave or see them smiling sweetly from their window ads at the O’Neill Surf Shop on 41st Avenue in Capitola, you wouldn’t know that these local surfers-turned-models were… (read rest of article on the Good Times Blog)

A Distinctive Style Magazine Interview

donna — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:51:34 +0000

http://adistinctivestyle.com/

This is an awesome online magazine, complete with soundtracks and short videos to go with the stories, a very hip must-read (See Kate Hudson on the cover). It’s the Vanity Fair of the sustainability movement. And even better, there’s an interview with me in it where I got a chance to talk about some of the cool things happening with Betty Belts and Betty B.. Just click through to page 86-87 to check it out!

Bali!

donna — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:23:25 +0000

An amazing trip is being planned. A journey with a gaggle of the bright lights which make up a good part of the Betty Belts Surf team: Mary Osborne, Jeanette Ortiz and Twins Sierra and Hailey Partridge.
David Pu’u will be directing and shooting this ambitious project about designing and contributing, grace and cultural respect, spirituality and sustainability, and of course some surfing. He is often better able to express what exactly I do in Bali when I go there to work with the Artisans who hand make all Betty Belts products. So I’m very excited about this!

To follow this journey, follow me on twitter
http://www.twitter.com/bettybelts