DONNI
Alyssa Wasko and I met our first year of college at University of Arizona as Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sisters. We shared the same major, Retailing and Consumer Sciences; the same home, KKG; and the same classes. She always sat in the back, I sat in the front; she highly creative and me falling more on the logical side. We were parallels on paper and I always had a love and respect for Alyssa.Another profound thing we shared was losing a loved one; Alyssa lost her father and me, my mother. Alyssa began making scarves in 2009 to cope with the death of her father Donald. Her friends began asking for them, and soon enough her fellow peers were selling the scarves on campuses across the country. The creative outlet grew into a full-fledged business, and she named it DONNI, after her father, who always called her his lucky charm. Each piece is adorned with an angel wing to take on the aspirations of its owner.One of my first pieces of DONNI was during college. “Sweet Home Kappa Gamma” was the theme of our sorority's first day of recruitment. In the hot days of August in Tucson, Arizona, we needed something to spunk up our plain white tank tops, jean shorts, and cowboy boots. Alyssa came up with a genius idea: red and gray gingham, lightweight scarves. Just enough to give the outfit a complete look, but not too much as we were in Arizona! Alyssa had a creative side to her that always excelled when we needed it the most. Needless to say, our recruitment was stellar that year and we got all the girls we wanted. (I like to think it was our adorable outfits that helped.)
Alyssa, far left, then me wearing my first DONNI Charm scarf.
Over the years I have sat back and watched her business boom, so impressed that I usually brag about being her sorority sister. Her creations have graced the pages of many major magazines, celebrities don her scarves, and bloggers model her pieces. Of course, my favorite model of hers is her dog Olive.
So, lucky me, when Elizabeth asked for help to find some new accessories to bring to the stores, I immediately reached out to Alyssa to get some line sheets and, as they say, the rest is history.DONNI brings a sophistication and simplicity that can be hard to find in accessories. Always functional in more than one way, the quality, design, and style are always on trend. Look how many cute ways you can style the Coco!
Come check out the newest collection of DONNI at The Hive and we promise you will want a Chiquita scrunchie when you see how cute it is in your hair! (And yes, scrunchies are back.)
