When you look at Hazy Sunshine’s website, you’ll see cushions for patio furniture and fringed umbrellas in retro, floral patterns with carefree, sun-soaked vintage vibes. But in sitting down to meet Hazy Sunshine (albeit over the phone), Alexandra (Alex) Hardin-Gonzalez and Julianna (Jules) Berg, we found there’s so much more to know about this bespoke company committed to custom, handmade and American-sourced business practices.
It all started when Jules, who has a background in sewing, couldn’t find an outdoor umbrella she liked for her home. So she made one herself and posted it on a Facebook Mid Century Modern furniture group where Alex was an admin. Alex has always loved interior design and beautiful things, but she’d followed a corporate marketing career path. She saw Jules’ umbrella, loved it and saw its business potential. From there, the two began collaborating, and a friendship and business was born last September.
I sat down over the phone with Jules and Alex to get to know more about them and Hazy Sunshine. Jules and Alex spoke to me amidst piles of fabric from their workshop in Keota, Iowa.
Atomic Ranch: Where did the name Hazy Sunshine come from?
Alex: Honestly, I’ve been working in marketing, and business’ origin stories were my profession. I got a taste of entrepreneurship, and learned I had a knack for it. When Jules and I were planning to launch, I don’t remember what the first name I’d come up with was, but I didn’t like it. I was driving in my car and heard the weather forecast one day for “hazy sunshine,” and that was it.
AR: What made each of you decide to take the plunge on going into business together?
Jules: It wasn’t necessarily intentional. It morphed from “Hi, what’s your opinion on this?” to working together on ideas. Then we were talking about Alex moving to Iowa. I have a farm, husband and three kids here, which I can’t leave, so we knew Alex would have to come to me.
Thank goodness Alex likes it here. It’s a total lifestyle change and culture shock. In a city, you can go to the grocery store for whatever you need that day, whereas I have a pantry that can last for a year!
Alex: Yes, it’s totally different from where I’m from (Ft. Lauderdale originally and Cincinnati most recently). This is a different lifestyle, but there’s a peace I’ve never experienced before. I’m sad being away from my dog who lives with my ex in Cincinnati, and family is far, but Jules has pretty much taken me in as part of the family. I’m loving my auntie role.
Jules has kids 3, 5, and 7. They are sassy as anything and hilarious!
Jules: Yeah, it was actually Alex who wanted to name the umbrellas after the kids.
AR: How would you describe your style?
Alex: Maximalism, moody with a dash of vintage. I love wood, vintage, Lucite, Pyrex. Probably my favorite pieces are the Brasilia Broyhill collection and Eames Lounge Chair.
Jules: I’d say unique and cool retro light fixtures and lamps. I love wallpaper with every fiber of my being! I also love art in different mediums; really just anything that strikes my fancy. My style leans pretty heavily mid century and retro. My favorite colors are chartreuse and orange. Everything would be those colors if it was up to me!
AR: How does your creative back and forth work with overlapping but different styles?
Alex: We make a great team. Where I’m weak, she is strong, and vice versa.
Jules: When ideas come to us, we present them to each other. She’ll say, “I love this” or “Hm, not so good.” Then we’ll discuss what we’re envisioning for our next collection. I might say, “I’m really into terracotta lately,” and then we’ll go and look at patterns with terracotta.
Alex: I think more in textures and colors. Jules is the one good at narrowing thoughts down.
Jules: We just kinda interpret each other.
Alex: We’ll come to each other with an idea and say, “Let it marinate.” We rarely say a hard no to the other’s idea.
Jules: Alex probably hears no from me most often because it’s usually for a mechanical reason. But I’ll come back and say, “What if we do it this way?” For example, we’re talking about making robes or a house dress. How can you make it as customizable as possible and feasible in general?
AR: Jules, how does living on a farm inspire your creative work?
A few years ago, I would have said no correlation, but now I think it has a huge influence. Something we may use on a farm may transfer to something for Hazy Sunshine. For example, I may reupholster a tractor seat. There’s also learning how things work and the intangibles of the business side, how you’re selling things, leveraging the people around you.
Also, probably one of my greatest strengths is problem solving. It comes with the territory of farming and being rural. You have to become resourceful and use what’s around. I’m also managing children and livestock and volunteer coaching a volleyball team, so you just solve the problem at hand, and here comes the next problem.
AR: What’s the number one thing you want readers to know about Hazy Sunshine?
Jules: We truly want to connect and share this with people. I want to make exactly what you want. If you want to make as close a match to the original HomeCrest cushion, we’ll do it. I’ll recover your lamp shade if that’s what seems like the best thing to do!
Mass production is the antithesis of who we are. Everything is handmade and made in US. That takes more time, but it’s what we want.
Alex: We offer so much more than what is on the website. We’re a bespoke service, and this can be however personal you want it to be. We update customers on the process, and if you want to text us, you can!
AR: Can you tell me more how your custom upholstery service works?
Alex: I have a friend, Lauren, with a Restoration Hardware outdoor sofa and lounge chairs. She looked all over and couldn’t find replacement cushions. She mailed up a box to us with one chaise lounge cushion and one sofa cushion. We tweaked a pattern from our pattern library a bit. Jules then sews the cushions with the pattern by hand with fabric sourced in the US.
The process usually takes a couple of weeks. It’s sustainable upcycling.
AR: Tell me more about your forthcoming fall collection.
Alex: It’s called Mum’s the Word. It’s very period-appropriate with orange florals. It’s loud, but there’s also muted orange, burnt orange, rust warmth for the fall. It will include egg chair cushions.
AR: Any other thoughts?
Jules: We like to have fun with it. We want to be so accessible to people. Don’t limit yourself to what you see on the website. There’s no such thing as a stupid question. I’m always prefacing what I’m saying with “Hear me out.”
We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re light, airy, fun.
Alex: Our vibe is very lax and approachable. We just really want to connect with our customers and provide a hands-on experience.
To see more about Hazy Sunshine, visit hazy-sunshine.com.
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