From the moment I pulled up and started towards Joy Li’s store, I suddenly felt relaxed. Li’s storefront is very bright and inviting to the public and a store I would immediately go into if I were walking past. When I walked into the store, I was extremely happy to see Li standing in her store re-organizing a rack of clothes. Li has started recently re-creating her store and has expanded to add more clothes and move clothes around to move her new collection to the front, but not only does expanding and re-organizing the store add something special, the store itself is incredible. The store is very spacious and you can walk around easily from one section to another, due to the recent store expansion. The details are incredible, from the bamboo flooring all the way to the light fixtures that really showcase her designs. Li really plays in the natural light in her store to keep it very raw and to keep it very calm and relaxing. In the middle of her store, Li has put two spacious dressing rooms. On the outside of the dressing rooms she has two full size mirrors to look at the designs once tried on. Li showcases her jewelry in a glass case that is back lit with glass and marble.
In the back of Li’s store, I spotted her Spring 2012 collection, which I was able to see go down the runway at Phoenix Fashion Week 2011. (photos below). Li’s inspiration for the Spring 2012 collection was all about the elegance and the New York City girl. Her designs can go from day to night easily, just paired with different accessories, such as throwing on one of her colorful faux fur shoulder wraps to really transform to evening wear. Li played with a lot of color in her collection and paired beautiful color mixtures such as a deep red and a dark, royal purple that when paired together creates something so magical. All her fabrics are one of a kind and the materials and fabrics are from all over the world, from the flea markets in Florence to LA. You can really tell her fabrics are one of a kind, because you do not see them from any other designer’s.
Li doesn’t only have her designs in her store, but also showcases other designers from all over the world. Li likes to have other designers in her store as well because she wants her customers to be able to mix and match to create their own style with not just one designer. When I was talking with Li, I started to think about her inspiring video she had at Phoenix Fashion Week and I learned that she made that video for project runway and she found out from the last minute that she needed a video for the Phoenix Fashion Week. The video was very inspiring and she really connected with the audience in the video and she poured her heart out and it was very raw and true. I asked Li what really drew her to designing; her answer was simple like any designer’s would be, but I saw it with passion and the love. She started at a young age; she always loved art and the arts growing up. It was an escape for her, to be herself and who she really was when she was younger before she could express herself in reality. Her parents were not accepting of the arts and designing and the path she wanted to take, but Li took the risk and followed what her heart and soul told her to do. Well, I am very happy she did take the designing path and I know many other people around the world are as well!
Visit her at:http://www.joyli.net/
Email her at:
info@joyli.net
Visit her store at:
7144 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85251
Pictures will be up soon!
