The Seaesta Surf Zine - July 6th
Our Surf & Sand Shop with our favorite summer accessories, a Q&A with artist and mom, Kelsie Dayna & a bunch of summer recipes
Happy Sunday! This week we launched a little refresh on our Surf & Sand Shop for summer! Its a little round-up of some fun little summer accessories.
A few favorites: Bask Sunscreen bundle / hooded kids towel / cute sun print towel (stay tuned for a fun collab next season) / paddle ball set in a pastel print or navy & white stripes / beach blanket / floral print beach tote / terrazzo glass water bottle / San O straw hat that matches everything / glass lidded bowl that’s perfect for beach snacks
Today we have a little Q&A with artist and mom, Kelsie Dayna.
Shop our Seaesta x Kelsie Dayna Collab (featuring her hand-drawn Hawaiian flowers) here.
Can you tell me a bit about your background and what inspired you to start creating art?
I am a local girl, born and raised on Oahu. Growing up I was always the creative kid, but never seriously considered a career in art. After losing my corporate job during the pandemic, I turned to art to cope with all the changes happening in my life. And what was once a hobby, slowly blossomed into a full-time career. And I couldn’t be more grateful that everything unfolded the way it did.
How did growing up in Hawaii influence your creative process?
Growing up in Hawaii influences everything about my creative process. As a kid, I never realized how lucky I was to call this place home and the older I get, the more I want to keep those unique parts of our culture alive through my art.
How does motherhood shape your creative process?
Becoming a mother has allowed me to really see how kids view the world. Their perspective is innocent, it's straight forward, and it's extremely refreshing when the stress of the real world can be overwhelming. And so it’s something I definitely think about when creating art, especially when it comes to tougher, more complex ideas or subject matters.
What are some of your favorite Hawaiian elements—colors, symbols, places—that show up in your artwork?
I love to use bright, bold colors in my artwork and a lot of that is influenced by both my grandmothers. They were seamstresses, so I grew up around a lot of bright, colorful vintage fabrics from the 60s and 70s. I think color is so influential in changing moods and evoking emotion.
What does a typical day look like for you? How do you fit in time to be creative between all the duties of parenting?
Juggling motherhood and career has not been easy. When I first embarked on my art journey, both my kids were not in school due to the pandemic. So a lot of my creative time was done while they were asleep and even still today. Though there are tough days, being a freelancer has allowed me so much flexibility and time to spend with my kids that I otherwise would not have had if I still worked at my desk job. So I’m extremely grateful for that.
What are your favorite beach snacks?
This is an easy one: musubis! We don't go to the beach without them. They are a crowd pleaser every single time.
Musubi card rom Kelsie’s shop!
Shop Kelsie’s books and cards here // Follow Kelsie’s Instagram here
What I’m cooking
What To Cook’s Extremely Comprehensive Grilling Guide! Love the #girlswhogrill trend!! (Also love What’s Gaby Cooking Grilling Cookbook)
A salad with potato chips as croutons! Also, someone in the comments said to try salt & vinegar chips and I can’t wait to try that.
For our July 4th hang with friends, I made the following:
Alison Roman’s Zucchini Scallion Pasta Salad. I actually watched the YouTube version of the recipe a few years ago and recommend it because you can see her zucchini-cooking strategy for this salad and its helpful!
NYT Vegan Caesar Salad but instead of making the dressing, I used the Trader Joe’s vegan Caesar dressing because the ingredients are very similar and no preservatives or weird ingredients.
The strawberry cake, of course.
ugh I love summer cooking!
What I’m Buying
I have this Pistola tee and love it and its 50% off right now - perf for summer!
I got this cute beverage tub a few years ago for Seaesta events and its on sale right now too!
Can’t remember if I shared these but I got these Z Supply sweats and have been loving them.