Fashionably sweet

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Melody Kulp designed her Sweetees fall line in styles that are clean and simple, with more focus on jewel tones, such as fuchsia and plum.

Designer and native Malibuite Melody Kulp draws inspiration from her worldwide travels for her line of clothing, Sweetees.

By Lisa Kestenbaum / Special to The Malibu Times

For designer Melody Kulp, molding passion into profession came naturally. Her artful appreciation of nature, finesse for fashion and keen sense of wanderlust contributed to the creation of Kulp’s clothing line, Sweetees. Now settled in the Pacific Palisades with her husband David Reinstein and a newborn son, this Malibu native still enjoys small-town pleasures, such as her neighborhood book club.

Kulp met her husband during “Semester at Sea,” a collegiate program that takes students from various universities around the world to study in more than a dozen different countries. Inspired by the exotic colors, patterns and materials she saw while traveling, Kulp—with her husband’s help on the business side-decided to try her hand at designing. Her first in vogue venture was with Mellie’s Sparkles, a line of hair jewel accessories under Kulp’s childhood nickname. Although the product is no longer manufactured, Kulp said people still call the office looking for them.

The popularity of Mellie’s Sparkles allowed Kulp and Reinstein to plunge into another adventure: creating a full line of T-shirts, dresses, blouses and skirts. The duo now has a Sweetees office in Santa Monica, which boasts 25 employees, as well as another location for shipping.

Kulp describes the Sweetees look as “very happy,” noting that the company has fun with color and embellishments.

“When we design, we always have in mind creating something that makes someone feel special,” she said.

Kulp continues to draw inspiration from her worldwide travels.

“I always go sourcing when I travel,” she said, explaining the process of finding vendors and goods such as certain fabrics, materials and designs. “In everything I do, I collaborate different things I’ve seen. I’ll be inspired by colors in Mexico, or embroidery in the South of France.”

Among her extensive travels, Kulp said she does not have one favorite place for design inspiration. Instead, the designer noted, it is more of a space concept.

“I’m very into the water. I used to live right over the ocean, so I love being by it, it clears my head” she said.

The designer also loves exploring the different pockets of downtown Los Angeles. “I’ll go to Olvera Street, Little Tokyo … there’s even Little India,” she said, adding that she usually pulls fabrics from the shops in each place.

Kulp already had her spring looks in mind while she was just putting together the fall collection, which she designed to “feel like fall-something warm, but not too warm because we’re still here in California,” she explained, adding that the styles are still clean and simple, with more focus on jewel tones, like fuchsia and plum. The spring looks will be very bohemian and natural, featuring brighter colors and floral prints.

When asked what she would find herself doing if not designing clothes, Kulp initially paused, then laughed and explained that her major at UCLA was political science, with a focus on international relations. “Maybe I would be making documentaries, or possibly working for the United Nations,” she said, adding that she would still find a way to use her creative side doing business overseas.

Kulp’s global awareness motivated her to support the Mona Foundation, a grassroots organization aimed at supporting educational initiatives and raising the status of women and girls around the world. “It’s a great organization because every penny goes to building the schools, and it’s grassroots, so they work together with the people living in the particular country,” Kulp explained.

When she is not designing, Kulp is busy with her newborn son. “Right now it’s all about the baby. I bring him to work,” she said, adding that future collections may include baby clothes.

Sweetees is available online at www.revolveclothing.com and at retailers such as Bloomingdales and Macy’s.