Los Angeles brand Sun Child launches pop-up to showcase one-of-a-kind designs

For Sun Child’s one-of-a-kind pieces, which are made from recycled materials, providing its customers with the opportunity to have an in-person experience the look and feel of its designs is imperative to grow the brand. For the brand, the best way to do that is through the form of a pop-up shop.

The brand announced that its pop-up shop with Venice brand and retail store The Piece Collective for the month of June. The pop-up shop will be utilized to further introduce Sun Child’s pieces, which range from 125 USD to 650 USD to customers old and new.

Currently Sun Child is available in specialty boutiques in Los Angeles and New York and on its own website, but founder and creative director Elissa Kravetz hopes this pop-up will give the brand’s customers a personalized experience with the products.

Below, FashionUnited spoke with Kravetz on Sun Child’s the brand, its pop-up with The Piece Collective and more.

Tell us about your brand, and how you came to create the pieces you're offering.

A passion for travel brought me on a trip throughout Asia and while on a yoga retreat in Goa, I met a family who sources vintage and new silk saris. My desire to help this family, paired with my passion for fashion, led to a working relationship nearly immediately. Within six months, I returned to Goa. Not even a monsoon could stop me from creating 100 dresses with the family. With my suitcase filled, I flew back to the states to sell to my friends and family.

With the dresses selling faster than I could have ever imagined and the demand for more daily, Sun Child was born. I returned to India, creating my next collection, expanding from dresses to jackets, jumpsuits, pants and tank tops. The current collection has 6 key bodies in a variety of prints and colors, with no two pieces being alike.

Sun Child provides jobs to people throughout a small village in Goa, employing individual artisans rather than large factories. Each silk is blessed, hand-sewn and curated with love.

The pieces we are offering during our pop-up with The Piece Collective is a carefully curated group of dresses, kimonos & jumpsuit sets selected specifically for the Abbot Kinney customer! We are thrilled to be able to have such a presence on this street. I was living in Venice when I started the brand & to have a pop-up shop feels full circle & magical!

Since these pieces are made from recycled materials, how do you confront the limited quantities and small batches (if there are any) for your brand?

We’re four years in and it hasn’t been a challenge yet. Our clients love the fact that each piece is one of a kind. Sometimes a dress will have a “twin” since each sari can cut two dresses. We are lucky that we work with people oversees who source an abundance of the best fabric from all around India.

Why did you decide to partner with The Piece Collective for your pop-up shop?

It’s a beautiful story of kismet. I used to walk into The Piece Collective years ago when I lived in Venice, dreaming to have some pieces in their stores. I received an email from Leron the co-owner mid-April and I didn’t respond right away because it was the day before my sweet dog Lillee passed away and I was being with her all day. I responded a few weeks later and then went to Palm Springs to grieve and spread some of Lillee’s fur. I was supposed to leave the desert on a Friday and last minute I extended my trip for one more night. I just felt that I was supposed to be there another night. On Saturday I was at the pool talking to a couple from LA. And it was Leron and Marine, The owners of The Piece Collective!! It was serendipitous. We talked non stop for almost 6 hours and felt as though we’ve known each other for years. Within a week we were curating the pop-up together!

You currently sell your clothing online. How do you think a pop-up shopping experience will benefit you and your customers?

In addition to selling online and in several incredible boutiques around the country, we also have a showroom in Topanga Canyon. That’s how we started the brand. Giving customers the opportunity to have a private one on one shopping experience in the showroom. This pop-up gives customers a chance to experience the world of Sun Child if they can’t make it up to Topanga. When you come into the Topanga cabin it’s an experience. We talk & learn about our clients, we often sit and have tea together. There’s an altar where I personally sit and meditate each morning. We recreated all of this at the pop-up in Venice.

What is the overall goal you have in mind for this month-long pop-up?

The overall goal is to share the brand and experience of the silks with as many people as possible. I started this company years ago with my deep desire to help a family in South India. I’ve watched them evolve and grow. I’ve collected hundreds of emails, messages and photos from women around the world in their Sun Child dress, how it makes them feel...this gives me such joy & fuel to grow!

Do you have plans to sell in other retail stores after the pop-up closes?

Yes! We will continue with the retailers that have been supporting us from the beginning!

Images: Courtesy of Sun Child