This week, the team at Stacy McCain Event Planning decided to have some fun and indulge our fashion forward, party loving, girlish selves a bit. We reached out to Kelly Edmonson, Director of Marketing at ban.do, to update us on all the fabulous ban.do pieces that brides and socialites alike are enjoying this year. We have to admit we’re a little jealous that Kelly’s day-to-day involves playing with feathers, sequins, confetti and glitter!
Photo by Max Wanger
Q: First, tell us a little bit about ban.do and how it all started.
A: ban.do is an LA based design house specializing in accessories that really pack a punch! It all started in 2008 by two stylists, who’d both created similar headpieces for different occasions. They then thought, “Hey, these are awesome! Other people would love these… we should sell them!” In the beginning, ban.do was purely one-of-a kind couture pieces made out of vintage flowers, lace, ribbons, and other pretty things. The problem with this philosophy was that once these beautiful one-of-a kind pieces were sold, they were gone forever. As demand for the product began to grow, we started to make pieces that we could duplicate multiple times, and now we design pieces that we are able to produce on a grander scale. ban.dos for everyone!
The ban.do girls! Photo by Collin Hughes
Q: How would you describe the typical ban.do girl?
A: The ban.do gal is fun and definitely loves a good party. She loves all things that shimmer, sparkle & shine. She is strong & silly and also cool & quirky. She stands out in a crowd, and she always keeps you on your toes. The ban.do gal likes to sip champagne cocktails, dance under disco balls, and toss handfuls of confetti.
Photo by Max Wanger
Q: Tell us about ban.do’s range of products.
A: We do it all these days! ban.do products range from our signature ban.do mini heart, mini pom pom flower, or flash bobbi sets (which start at $10) all the way up to black label pieces (priced at $350) and everything in between. Our new motto is “all day every day”; we firmly believe that there is an appropriate ban.do piece to wear to any occasion ~ big or small ~ at any time of the day or night. ban.do = all day every day!
ban.do Heart
Mini Poms
Flash Bobbi Set
Q: We absolutely love your bridal and black label collections and think they’d be perfect for the bride who wants something different and unique for her wedding. How did you go about designing these collections, and where do you find inspiration?
A: It’s all about vintage party dresses and starry Hollywood nights. As far as where we go to gather inspiration, there are lots of trips to the flea markets and nowadays, hours and hours spent on pinterest (we are totally obsessed!). After we gather our inspiration, we create a mood board and start to piece together a collection. In all honesty, it usually never turns out like we planned, but the end product is so much better than we could have ever dreamed.
Empress Tiara from the bridal collection
Love Struck from the black label collection
Bridal Rose Halo from the bridal collection
Good Time Blast Riot Comb from the black label collection
Q: Which colors, styles and products in your collection have been the most popular in 2013?
A: This year, pink and red are staple colors in our world… and gold, we are big on gold! Women absolutely love the flash bobbi sets and buy them in every color. The sparkle and shine sets are fabulous, the twist scarfs are a dream, and the ladies go crazy for our headbands! Of course the signature ban.do heart, and pom pom flowers are always hot sellers too. We are launching our new line very soon, so there will be lots more (and other awesome stuff) where that came from!
Sparkle & Shine Bobbi Set
Sequin Scarf
Metallic Scarf
The Big Shot Sparkle Headband
Sparkle Headband
Q: What’s the most unique or over the top use of a ban.do product in a wedding that you’ve ever seen?
A: The brides who wear black label are always a little more over the top, but generally our brides tend to find the piece that truly fits their personality and helps them shine on their wedding day. We love to see brides wearing ban.dos! It’s like adding sprinkles to your very favorite ice cream.
Photo by Max Wanger
Q: What is your all time favorite piece for bridal attire?
A: Hands down, the crystal swirl bobbi. This is such a stunner!
Crystal Swirl Bobbi
Q: Which ban.do products do you think would make for good bridesmaids gifts?
A: We have so many options for bridesmaids gifts… there are way too many fabulous choices! I would say it is a toss up between the ban.do iphone case or our mini hearts.
ban.do iPhone Case
Mini Hearts
Q: Do you ever work with brides to create custom pieces? How does that process work?
A: In the past we’ve created custom pieces for brides and absolutely loved collaborating with them, but we’ve taken a break from this for the time being… there are not enough hours in the day! We hope to bring back custom pieces in the future.
Photo by Max Wanger
Q: Finally, which ban.do piece would you wear in your own wedding?
A: Ha! Well if that ever happens, I think I would wear one of our super fab black label combs.
Tropic Thunder from the black label collection
Flora Bunda from the black label collection
Cake Eater from the bridal collection
A big thank you from all of us at SMEP goes out to Kelly for providing us with our weekly fashion fix!
Be sure to check out the following adorable ‘how to’ video that the girls at ban.do put together featuring their fabulous pom poms. After all, a girl can never have too many poms!
Stacy McCain Event Planning 