Alexandra Teklak’s bottled water speaks. The labels read: “I am Loved,” “I am Lucky” and “I am Healthy.”
“It’s about you bonding with the water and the message,” she said.
Aquamantra Inc., based in Dana Point, gets its water from Mount Palomar in San Diego.
Teklak’s aim is to sell the water, which goes for $2.50 for a liter and $3 for 33 ounces, in specialty shops and national chains.
Who would buy bottled water at $3 a pop?
Her target market: the “cultural creatives,” the kinds who are into the arts and who might shop at The Lab in Costa Mesa.
A guide who gives Trabuco Canyon tours in a Hummer has bought the water. California Greetings in Huntington Beach is selling it. Teklak’s hoping to sell it in gyms, spas, salons, yoga stores as well as the big chains, Wild Oats and Bristol Farms.
Teklak got the idea after watching “What the Bleep Do We Know!?”,a movie that suggests thoughts affect molecules. Water is made up of molecules.
Teklak reasoned that water with affirming messages on the label would give her water an edge.
By now, some of you surely are rolling your eyes. But there could be a market out there, especially in Orange County (I’m betting this stuff would never sell in Minnesota).
After all, there are diamond dog bowls and jeans that sell for $400 here. So why not water that loves you?
“I am Loved” sells the most of the three, Teklak said.
She said she has been sponsoring events such as tennis tournaments and rugby to get her water in the public eye.
“Ours is all about the experience,” Teklak said.
Local artists design the bottle labels. Three cents of every bottle sold goes to charity, she said.
“This is a company of pure passion,” Teklak said.
Old Is New
Buffalo Exchange is opening a 3,300-square-foot store in Fullerton next month at 215 N. Harbor Blvd. The store buys used clothes and resells them. Tucson-based Buffalo Exchange now has two stores in OC. The other is in The Lab.
Cookies and Cakes
Donna B’s Gourmet Cookies & Cakes has opened its second OC store at the Irvine Spectrum Center. Owner Donna Bielke Billman opened her first in 1993 in Laguna Niguel.
Nine Star Kaleidoscope
Nine Star, which sells surf and skate inspired clothes, opened a store at Kaleidoscope in Mission Viejo. The store carries all the usual brands,RVCA, Rip Curl, Element. Its original store is in Los Angeles.
Running Water
Faucets Galore plans to open its first 1,900-square-foot store at Huntington Beach’s Bella Terra in October. President Steve Viens said he plans to open five more stores in OC. Faucets Galore sells designer bathroom and kitchen fixtures for the middle market,in between cheap and luxury.
The Scoop
Former Daily Pilot writer Greer Wylder has started a shopping, fashion and dining newsletter, “Greer’s OC.” She blasts out the newsletter to e-mail subscribers and is online at greersoc.com. Her latest issue has mini-features on Huntington Surf and Sport and Sprinkles Cupcakes, which just opened in Corona del Mar.
Strap In
Santa Ana-based Harveys Industries Inc., which makes handbags out of seatbelts, is getting into the stores game. The company named Joe Citizen (yeah, that’s his name) as head of its stores. The first boutique is set to open in Santa Ana next spring.
The bags are made from seatbelts woven like a wicker handbag. They come in various colors. The company is run by husband and wife Dana and Melanie Harvey out of a 12,000-square-foot facility on Broadway in Santa Ana.
Tory Debut
New York’s Tory Burch has opened at South Coast Plaza. It is the fifth store for the designer. The 2,043-square-foot boutique is similar to the company’s four other stores.
Auto Charity
A who’s who of auto folk is set to be on hand for the seventh annual Cruisin’ For a Cure show at the Orange County fairgrounds on Sept. 23. Show proceeds go to prostate cancer research.
Companies on hand include: Irvine’s Meguiar’s Inc., Costa Mesa’s NADA Guides, Chip Foose Design of Huntington Beach, Connell Chevrolet in Costa Mesa, Tustin Hummer, Orange County Harley Davidson in Irvine and Nabers Cadillac in Costa Mesa. Debbie Baker of Lake Forest is founding chair of the event. Her husband survived prostate cancer.
Sharapova at Rover
Tennis star Maria Sharapova is Land Rover’s new brand representative. Irvine-based Land Rover is sponsoring the 2006 Open.
Web Traffic
Irvine’s Kelley Blue Book said it hit a record in July for visitors to its auto research Web site. Kelley said summer incentives from domestic automakers are helping to drive consumers to the site.
