This document summarizes interviews with two entrepreneurs: 1) Rebecca Minkoff, a handbag designer from San Diego who found success with her Morning After bag and is now launching an apparel line. She discussed her inspirations and what buyers can expect from her second apparel collection. 2) Michael Leaf, a 25-year-old artist from Chula Vista who creates gallery-quality artwork from sheet metal scraps. He discussed finding inspiration in nature and dreams and his goal to motivate people to think differently with his unconventional art.

1. FRONT PAGES
Success, in the Bag
AS IF THERE WERE not enough reasons to adore the well-kept Mission Hills
community, native Rebecca Minkoff is the icing on the cake. Her Morning Af-
ter Bag (custom-designed for actress Jenna Elfman) thrust her handbag col-
lection into the spotlight and onto the arms of Sarah Jessica Parker, Leighton
Meester, Blake Lively, model Agyness Deyn and other notable fashionistas.
Now in her fifth year of making bags, the New York–based celebrity designer
is launching her eponymous apparel collection (rebeccaminkoff.com). We
caught up with the name behind the handbag empire as she prepped for her
much-anticipated apparel debut. continued ❯❯
sandiegomagazine.com l SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE 23

2. FRONT PAGES EDITED BY JULIA BEESON POLLORENO
At what moment
did you realize you
had made a name
Who are some for yourself in the
of your greatest industry?
design inspirations? When I was doing an in-
Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, store appearance and a
Alexander Wang and my woman ran over from the
friends. length of a football field
away, yelling my name
and pumping her arms to
get an autograph.
metal
CANVAS
T
he spidery limbs of two trees perched on a rocky coastline tangle against a
cloudy, three-dimensional sky. The medium for this piece of mural art——
sheet metal——is as unconventional as the artist behind it. Tucked in the
corner of a Chula Vista scrap-metal yard, 25-year-old Michael Leaf creates
What can buyers gallery-quality artwork from sheet-metal scraps.
expect to see in “I want my art to motivate people to think differently, to see things in a new
the second season way,” says Leaf, whose family has owned and operated Leaf Sales for three genera-
of your apparel tions. Leaf has been commissioned to make public art installations (San Diego Ur-
collection?
ban Trees), business signage (Wit’s End, Spa Gregories) and furniture, and his work
I got a lot of inspiration hangs in local galleries, including Trios Gallery and Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach’s
How did your life in from Tim Burton and Cedros Design District.
San Diego play a role Edward Scissorhands,
in your career path? Inspired by dreams, metaphysics, the natural environment and life surround-
but mixed it with femi-
ing him, Leaf approaches his art——which is zero-waste——with a passion matched
I think of my childhood as nine touches and
only by his inherent curiosity and creative spirit. In his workshop, smaller abstract
idyllic. By the age of 8, I was a throwback to the
movie Clueless. I like pieces sit beside a 4-by-10-foot rendering of The Last Supper. Leaf’s art is generally
sewing and playing dress-up.
the combination of priced from $300 to $1,500, but some pieces have netted up to $8,000. And some
I was still able to play in our
neighborhood streets without pretty and tough. he simply gives away. Remarkably, he’s been creating art for just over a year.
adult supervision. I think this In his gallery space, The Metal Hut, which he recently added adjacent
freedom played a part in my to the workshop, Leaf is busy working on a “revolutionary piece” he’s keeping tight-
artistic expression. lipped about. But his excitement is no secret as he says, beaming, “It’s going to be
——ANDREA EBBING my Sistine Chapel.” More information: 619-240-4300 or themetalhut.com.
——JULIA BEESON POLLORENO
RAEN MAKER
Justin Heit has always been fascinated with eyewear. Which might explain why
he owns 400 pairs of glasses. “It’s the most important accessory,” says Heit.
“You can tell a lot about an individual’s personality by their eyewear.” Last year
he co-founded Raen Optics, an Encinitas-based line that fuses vintage, classic
MICHAEL LEAF, JUSTIN HEIT: BREVIN BLACH
style with modern design.
“We wanted to stay away from trends or fads and create a collection
that’s timeless,” says Heit, who has worked for 12 years in product design and
marketing geared toward the action-sports demographic. His brother, former
pro surfer Jeremy Heit, heads up marketing and sales.
Totally handmade of European acetate and the highest quality lenses, the
glasses come in 10 designs and are priced between $85 and $149. See
raenoptics.com. ——J.B.P.
24 SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE l DECEMBER 2009