We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Summer Vega. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Summer below.

Hi Summer, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Since the beginning of my creative journey, I have always looked through the lens of story-telling. I’ve been collecting vintage since I was 17 which lead to a love for handmade and Artisan-crafted finds.

Both vintage and handmade pieces hold stories within them; stories of the hands that created them, the stories of their origin, the owners before, places they’ve been. I am so intrigued and fascinated by these elements and a part of me falls in love with each piece I find along the way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Well, I am a born + raised Southern Californian, I grew up going to the beach, vacationing in the Arizona desert + creating for as long as I can remember. Since I was a child, creativity has been a constant means of expression. I was an only child til I was 10 and I seemed to always have a little creative project I was working on. My Mother taught me to sew on her vintage Singer sewing machine at the age of 10, and it was as if I already knew what to do and I was hooked.

Since then, I have gone on to study fashion design, photography + visual arts. I had a huge life change at the age of 30 and decided to go back to school for my degree in Visual Communications. I’ve had some amazing opportunities and experiences in the design industry that have shaped who I am as a Designer and I am so grateful for all of them.

I started my brand, Summer Vega, in the summer of 2015, and opened my first shop at the CAMP in Costa Mesa, California in 2016. I then went on to join the Mojave Flea Family, participating in their Artist Market events and have now been in their flagship location in Palm Springs, California for almost 4 years! I am so grateful to be a part of their community and for all the incredible people I’ve met along the way. And this month, I just opened a new boutique + atelier in the Uptown Design District in Palm Springs, Summer Sol.

At the core of everything I create + offer in my Collections, you will see my love for vintage, handmade + travel. I’ve been collecting vintage for years and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon!

In all that I do, I truly believe it is essential to follow your own unique point of view. I don’t follow trends, or believe beautiful pieces ever go out of style. I also don’t believe in looking at sizes on clothing tags; if you like something, and it feels good on your body, then go for it! Sizes don’t matter, beautiful fabrics and timeless design do.

I believe in buying consciously, supporting small businesses, independent Designers + Brands. But most of all, I believe in sharing beauty, being kind + open-minded, and treating others with dignity and respect. For me, that is the only way to live life.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

This is a deeply personal experience but I feel it is important to share as I know so many women out there have probably had a similar experience happen in their lifetimes.

I made the decision to get married very young, I was 24. I knew it wasn’t right but went forward with it anyway. We had been together for 4 years and that’s what I thought you do next. I was deeply insecure and I was conditioned to believe you had to get married to be ‘successful.’ Come to find out, I was deeply wrong. It took me years to admit I was in an abusive marriage and finally after eight and a half years together, and many therapy sessions later, I finally found the strength to leave – I was 29.

I rebuilt my life, healed and got to re-know myself. I moved to LA which was always a dream of mine, I found my dream apartment, and went back to school. I worked 2 jobs, earned my degree, and had the time of my life.

I often look back on that chapter of my life and wonder where I would be today if I had stayed, if I hadn’t found the courage to leave, or had the ability to simply be honest with myself and DO something about it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Although my audience on social media isn’t profound, I had a really challenging time balancing all the elements of social media when I started my business.

My account was initially a personal account but when I started my business in my namesake, it organically became both personal + a business account. I really struggled finding the balance and found myself in unfamiliar territory. Some people were supportive, some were not. I received a lot of unwanted comments, judgment, and sometimes hate. I am a really sensitive person and for a long time I didn’t know if I was capable of showing up on social media in a healthy way.

After a lot healing, confronting the shadow parts of myself, trial and error, and just being honest with myself, even leaving social media then returning, I have finally arrived at a healthy place amongst it all.

For me it was really about remaining true to who I am as a Creator and Woman, sharing my unique point of view and standing by it. Ultimately, I realized, it is YOUR account, YOUR vision, a representation of who YOU are so at the end of the day, if you feel good about what you are sharing, others will either feel that and support you, or they won’t. We all have a choice how we show up for social media and it’s ok if it’s different than others point of view.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.summervega.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_summervega/
• Other: My new boutique website:

  https://summersolcalifornia.com/

Image Credits

I took all the photos myself.