Welcome back to the Confessional. This week we have all eyes on Malia Sias, Ecko fashion designer and founder of the Googly Eye Cru. From her unique sense of fashion and wacky sense of humour, there’s no forgetting this lovely lady. Her easy-going personality and infectious smile make her a standout of the bunch.
Malia and Syd (her B.F. for life!) are the brains behind the cutest pairs of eyes we’ve been seeing so much of lately… (or should I say being seen by?) The playfulness and humor felt through her Googly Eyes is somewhat a reflection of her own personality.
Read on and see for yourself!
Name and Age, please:
Malia Sias. Do you want to know how old I am or how old I act? I’m 33 but act like a preteen and have the sense of humor of an 80-year-old man.
Marital status:
Totally taken.
Where are you originally from?
Used to live in the Appalachian Mountains in PA then my parents played a cruel joke on me and moved to jerz…
How long have you lived in New York?
I used to come here when I was growing up in NJ but have been here for about 8 years now
What neighborhood in NY do you live in?
I’m kind of a gypsy right now. Usually Brooklyn or lower east side.
What are your favorite memories of New York since living here?
The nite me and my girl Syd rode around on our bikes til 5 am hanging up stickers. We got most of lower Manhattan that nite.
Did you go to design school, if so, where?
I went to the Art Institute of Seattle for fashion design. I was going to make a big “f” sticker in the same font as the name of the school and hang it up on the sign of the school so it would say the fart institute…I think that will be my next sticker project. Adding “f’s” to words that begin with Art.
When did you know you wanted to become a designer?
I’ve always liked sewing. I made stuff all the time when I was in highschool. Molly Ringwald style. Then I used to make dresses and sell them at grateful dead shows…then I just went to school for it. I love it.
Where and how did you get your first design job?
One of my first jobs was actually an internship at this bondage and leather fetish shop called Sin. It was in Seattle. I sewed their samples. Things like red latex nurses outfits…stuff like that. It was crazy. I remember this guy who sat next to me at this table and his job was to make all the leather goods. You know all those things that were props in the “basement scene” of Pulp Fiction. Like the leather muzzle with the ball in the mouth or the sex swings..and I’d think to myself. “Wow people really use these things.” It was a crazy introduction into the fashion industry…
How long have you been working for Ecko and what’s it like working for them?
I’ve been there for almost 9 years. I started with them back when they were this tiny company in Southriver NJ. I’ve seen a lot of faces come and go but somehow it’s a good place for me. I guess partially cause I’ve been there for so long I have this sense of loyalty to seeing all my years of hard work succeed but really I like all the people that I get to work with. It’s a company of young creatives and I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with so many talented artists in my 9 years there.
What is the Googly Eye Cru?
It something that me and my friend Syd started doing one nite just for fun. It started with our obsession and oversupply of those real googly eyes you know the ones that have the black ball inside that moves around?
How did you get the idea of making Googly Eyes?
Well the “eyedea” came from my huge collection of actual googly eyes. It all started when I was at fashion school and had this epiphany to create a collection that was had sewn mosaics of googly eyes. So my girl Tara took me to this doll supply wholesaler where I bought huge quantities of all different sizes of eyeballs for my art project. I ended up nixing the whole eyedea so I was stuck with all these eyes. So here I am 7-8 years later and being such a pack rat I still have all these eyes. So me and my girl Syd started going out and super gluing them to things. Like payphone receivers and such. But they’d always fall off after a couple days and no one really saw them. So I evolved our little art project into the stickers. And now we are hooked. There’s seriously nothing cuter then making a face out of a pipe or a garbage can. I freaking love it.
How many members are in the Cru?
Well its officially it’s me and Syd’s brainchild. We are the ones that started it. But we have a whole cru of our friends that are our little soldiers. We got Meegs in SF and Tara in AZ.
How many stickers have you stuck so far?
For reals thousands I guess. I don’t even keep count anymore but I know we’ve done over 8000 for sure if not more.
Congrats on your 5-page writeup in RE:UP this month. What other attention has G.E.C been getting lately?
Well we made pillows that are featured in this months XLR8R mag this month too. Besides the pillows we have some new things in the works that are updates to our stickers. Eye’m sure you’ll see them soon.
We’ve heard that there’s been lots of G.E.C sightings in Tokyo not too long ago. What was that about?
Yeah, I went to Japan and of course put up stickers. It was the perfect place for it cause everything there is so animated already that our eyes just looked cute on everything I put them on. My favorite was this garbage can that looked like an alligator.
(Googly Eyes in Japan. Click on images to enlarge.)
What’s next for you?
Well like I said we have some new projects in the work. They are pretty cute. I don’t want to give anything away. We also have a merch site www.merchline.com/reup where we are going to sell our pillows, stickers and tees. We are also working on a website.
What would be your ideal creative collaboration?
I don’t know if I have one right now. I’m just happy to collab with anyone as long as the end result is cute I’m all for it.
Got a long term plan?
Nah not really. My plan is to just have fun and let it evolve by itself. Of course I’m constantly being inspired to do more with it all the time but really I just take it day by day.
Do you have much free time? And what do you do when you’re not working?
Nah I don’t feel like I have a lot of freetime. When I’m not working at Ecko I’m out doing googly eye stuff or just hangin out with my friends. But I’ve been hibernating with this cold weather I always do more in the city when it’s summer out.
Who are your favorite designers and artists?
Built by Wendy is one of my favorite lines. She is a perfect balance of vintage, casual, dressy and humor. I also have been reading up on Vivienne Westwood and went to see her exhibit in SF. She is so eccentric and was so ahead of her time. And Jean Paul Gaultier always blows me away. I can’t say I have one favorite designer. I’m more intrigued and inspired by individual finds. I love shopping in Hong Kong there seems to be an unlimited supply of animal print. My favorite artist..hm this is a hard one. Definitely Bigfoot. Also this kid Legend. He is one of the most talented artists I’ve ever met. He finds things on the ground like rusty pipes and sprockets and then nails them to wood and paints around them. They are so amazing. Oh yah did I mention he is only 16 and started doing this at like age 13. I bought one of his pieces, it’s this owl and it’s so sick!
How would you describe your personal style?
Animal prints. Animal prints and Animal prints. Denim and boots.
What’s your favorite accessory you own?
Wow this is a really hard one cause I’m all about accessories. I guess if I had to narrow it down it would be my tiger striped enamel ring. It’s the second best thing to the real Cartier de Panther ring I really want…
Where do you like to shop?
Hong Kong hands down is where I load up on all my clothes. Mong Kok is a shoppers paradise. I usually have to buy an extra suitcase when I’m there just to bring home all the clothes, shoes and bags I bought for myself. I also love shopping in London. Topshop & Portabello market. I love all things vintage. My favorite vintage shopping is in Arizona…shit is so cheap again everytime I go there I have to buy a separate suitcase to bring home all the stuff I find.
Do you go out much? Got any favorite bars, lounges, clubs?
Well I love Nice Guy Eddie’s cause of the jukebox there. I has all my favorite rock music. I usually end up wasted and jamming out to Bonjovi or Kiss. Also, nothing beats Palais Royale on Friday happy hours. 2 for 1 drinks.
Name your top 3 fave restaurants in NY and your favorite dish there.
Curly’s on 14th… I like the tostada salad with beef.
Kates Joint. I always get the unturkey club.
Organic Grill. Anything with tempeh I love.
What music have you been listening to lately?
Bonjovi, Heart, Accept oh and yah…Justin Timberlake
Do you plan on living in NY forever?
No I’m going to buy an A-frame in the woods someday.
Name one New York woman that you would nominate to our Hail Mary! list.
My girl Syd she’s the other half of the G.E.C. of course!
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