by Noella Noelophile®
“How was it?” asked a reporter.
“Awesome!” said the young model.
It was Saturday evening, April 30, 2016. Yes4arts’ second annual Spring Fashion Show benefit had just wrapped up, in the Toyota Meeting Hall of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center.
But “fashion show” barely describes the event.
This was a celebration of creativity, complete with musical performances and indie crafts vendors. It was also a joyful re-imagining of traditional needle arts.
Nonprofit yes4arts, founded by designer Paula Bennett, is an organization dedicated to preserving the arts of crochet, knitting and sewing. In her free classes, Paula teaches all three of these to the next generation. Her only is requirement that her students pass on what they’ve learned, by teaching others.
But, yes4arts’ projects aren’t what people traditionally associate with the needle arts.
Prom dresses and wedding gowns are among the items Paula designs, as she empowers her students to make their own clothes.
(Paula herself first became interested in crochet as a girl in her native Belize. Her home-economics teacher saw her aptitude and assigned her her first project: a baby sweater. “From there on, I never stopped crocheting,” Paula says. You’ll find some of her original crochet patterns offered through her company, Paula Crochet Fashion Designs.)
And, yes4arts is laying the foundation for some future fashion careers.
Yes4arts’ Spring show featured the work of four designers: three student designers and Paula herself.Paula’s creations opened the show, with a line of crocheted wedding dresses.
In addition to the more traditional white, there was this silver-gray dress, and several black wedding ensembles.
Not to mention some flirty summer outfits.
Last year’s premiere yes4arts Spring fashion show had a vibrant, yet plucky, tone. (Emcees Caitlin Catt and Kari Martin had stepped in at the last minute when the 2015 emcee cancelled, and the event was happening in a first-time venue).
This year, the vibrancy remained–but everyone had found their groove. The result was a smooth, polished and very enjoyable night.
Caitlin and Kari appeared to have as much fun with the 2016 show as their audience did.
So did over-the top comedian David Rosenberg, who joined them several times onstage
His commentary on some of the goings-on, particularly the handcrafted sock monkeys for sale, was hilarious!
This year’s yes4arts show was punctuated with five eclectic, and very professional, performances. From an R&B singer’s original song to spectacularly-talented girls’ performance company “Titanium”, from Rolling Hills-based Elite Dance Studio, everything onstage was top-notch. There were even belly dancers! 
A high-energy highlight was The Dance Lounge dance team’s swing performance. 
They won a 2015 City of Torrance Excellence in Arts award–and the reasons were obvious!
But the true stars of the evening were the three new designers showcasing their work. Each had her own distinctive look.
Armani Dolby, of Armani Nejor Designs, creates sleek formal wear that, as she says, “my future self would wear”. 
Armani, who is only fifteen, has been sewing and creating her fashions since she was six. She is both an entrepreneur (since the age of eight!) and an MWDBE Couture Fashion Designer.
Asked by Caitlin how she first started sewing, Armani explained that she had begun by making a pincushion–but things grew from there.
“Didn’t you even make a potholder in between (making a pincushion and designing dresses)?” Caitlin wanted to know.
“No,” was the gifted young designer’s response.
Equally talented, with a very different style, was new designer Erika Acuna.
Erika creates bright spring florals which look comfortable, festive–and slinky.
“I’ve kind of developed (my designs) by finding different clothing styles that I like, and then tweaking them, adding different elements,” Erika said.
Erika says she has been sewing since the age of five, and then rediscovered sewing in her twenties. While the yes4arts show was a first-of-its-kind experience for her, she says she’s grown as a designer since beginning to design for it.
“When I started off, (my) designs were a lot simpler,” Erika said. “Then, I made a few more dresses and was (happier) with how I developed (as a designer) within a short period of time…months.”
Meanwhile, designer Cherokee Cooper’s work had a distinctive (and very fun) African flavor. Twenty-six-year-old Cherokee calls her style an “urban Afro look”.
“It’s all about making (a style) your own,” Cherokee said.
While this is her debut with yes4arts, Cherokee is looking towards the future. “(I’d love to) see some celebrities wearing my stuff. That would be awesome!” she said.
In the spirit of yes4arts’ goal of sharing the needle arts, Cherokee offered her advice for the next generation of designers, whom she might influence in the future.
“Design what you have passion for….don’t let (anyone else) influence you, and go with your gut,” she said.
Some definite pluses, in an already-amazing night, were the independent artists who offered their creations for sale.
Linda Curry, of One of a Kind Machine Quilting, was onsite, with even-more-gorgeous quilts than when we spoke last year. With her was fellow quilt artist Debra Knox. And the ladies were offering some pretty irresistible scented soaps, in addition to their beautiful quilt patterns! (Yes, I can personally recommend their rose-scented glycerine soap. Purely in the interest of journalistic research, of course.)
Eileen Karrigan, of Eileen’s Beaded Jewelry, is also a favorite. I always try to resist buying another pair of earrings from her, but temptation tends to be overwhelming. (Witness the cute flowers with purple crystals that wound up going home with me this time!)
Further on, more “Irresistible” was available. 
Let’s hope Tamiza Teja, of Tamiza’s Treats, remembered to take the calories out of her handcrafted rocky road and caramel popcorn!
And the silent auction was enough to tempt anyone! 
Diane Lain, of all-volunteer Global Gifts UNICEF shop, did the honors. If you didn’t get to see this at the show itself, they’ll be open at CRAFTED this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The evening’s seamless soundtrack was courtesy of DJ Steven Padilla, whose competence and cheerful sounds (again) managed to complement the onstage action, without overwhelming it. (And left a couple of us humming “Cheerleader” by OMI!)
Prior to the show, we’d had a chance to get a quick photo of model manager and coach Daniel Lazareno DeDios. He looked as sharp as his models–and quite justifiably proud of them.
Daniel says he’s been teaching photographic and runway modeling since he was fifteen, and began “really getting into it” four years ago. In addition to his work with Spanish television channel Univision, Daniel offers classes in both Downey and Los Angeles. 2016 was his first time working with yes4arts.
In his classes, Daniel teaches runway modeling, self-confidence and posing for the camera.
“A lot of the girls that come to me, come with low self-esteem,” he said in an earlier interview. “I always tell the girls to be confident, to not let themselves down, and (I always tell them), sell the product that you have on…just do it and do your best.”
Everyone’s best shone through this second yes4arts benefit show–and will be translated into empowerment for the next generation of makers.
At the end of the evening, Paula thanked her team for their work–and shared an exciting preview. Yes4arts will be hosting a first-time benefit event–its first winter “Holiday Fair”, complete with free crafts classes–in November! We’ll be telling you more as we get more information.
(Who knows, they might even have sock monkeys again. “This is going to scare my niece,” David commented.)
Yes4arts is currently in the planning stages for their first winter “Holiday Fair”, on Sunday, November 13th, at Torrance Cultural Arts Center. This will be a free event, and a benefit for yes4arts, with free fiber-arts classes. You’ll find more information here.