Well I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July weekend last week. We pretty much laid low here. The weather was rainy the entire weekend. It did break around 9 pm on the 4th…just long enough for people around the neighborhood to set off their fireworks, but then promptly picked up raining again around 11 pm.

Just wanted to wish all the competitors good luck if you are competing this coming weekend around the Country.

A special shout out to Laurel M. who will be competing for a chance to get her PRO card!!

We are very excited and hope she gets 1st place – because we will be shooting her for TeenyB next week!!

Either way, we know she is a winner, and cannot wait to show off all of her hard work in our bikinis & photos!!

Whenever I meet new people, they always ask me how did TeenyB get started? What was the inspiration for the company?

There are several answers to this question, and some that are still evolving…I guess it all depends on the context of the discussion and whom I am speaking with. But the real underlying reason has to do with loving to design, and loving to accentuate a woman’s body and natural curve.

Before there was TeenyB, I was just a photographer. I still take photos to this day – but on a much lesser scale then before. My favorite subjects were always female models, and I especially love working with women who don’t have much experience. We always are testing new girls for TeenyB, because while we love to shoot models who know how to make our bikinis look great – we also like to shoot everyday girls who actually WEAR our bikinis!! Being able to see potential in a model, and spending time teaching her how to appreciate her body, her look, her face and angels is a big reward for me. There is a moment during the day when you are working with your subject and she finally “forgets” that she is modeling, and just let’s herself go. She falls into the moment – and doesn’t worry about her surroundings. These moments always result in the most interesting and natural feeling shots of the day.

An eternal problem I would run into though, was being distracted by what the model was wearing. I cannot tell you how many times (myself included) I have looked at a girl’s figure and thought it was beautiful. It wasn’t fat, it had curves and interest. But the girl would look at all the wrong things and just hate herself. She would pinch a nothing piece of skin on her body and complain about it. That frustrates me to no end. The truth is, clothes and bikinis can do a lot to make a girl look a lot WORSE than she really appears. Cut, fabric and color have a lot to do with it.

Being short (5′3″) with an athletic build – it is always difficult for me to find clothes with the perfect fit. I have always been involved in sports growing up, and have sprinters legs, natural boobs and will never have a rock hard abdomen unless I do some extreme dieting (at the loss of my boobs) which will never happen. Bikinis in regular stores came up too high on my waist and did NOTHING for my figure. And having a butt that did not need any extra ump-hf to it, the backs of the bikinis made my ass look HUGE. Tops, weren’t so bad, but there was such a difference with the bottoms, that no one was looking at my top anyway.

I decided to do a little research and put to use my desire for design. I had done it several times in my life before – creating my own prom dresses, even my wedding gown, but this was different. This was a bare bones approach to being able to accentuate and highlight a woman’s, ANY woman’s body.

I suppose this company was created for selfish reasons. So what if it failed, I would at least have bikinis that would fit MY body perfectly!

But it didn’t fail. In fact, I would test out the styles on different girls, and they looked great on everyone. Different styles obviously accentuate different assets, but the low cut designs, and elongating of the torso allows any woman to feel like a million bucks! For me, the less fabric I have on my body, the less I am worried about how it LOOKS on my body. The less I worry about ANYTHING, the better.

This is a new concept for many women because the thought of wearing less seems counter-intuitive to feeling good about their body. But the more I watched the reactions on girls who put the suits on, the more I saw, there was something much more to TeenyB than I had originally thought. Girls felt GOOD in the bikinis. They felt SEXY wearing them! Their faces lit up, they walked with more confidence and couldn’t stop looking at themselves in the mirror. They WANTED to put on the suit and be seen.
And thus, Less Fabrics – More Looks was born.

You may notice a sweet face on the site this month. Whether or not you can place where you know her FROM is a different story, but her name is Ally Rivera and she is just as wonderful IN person, that she is on camera!

Ally has done several television jobs, hosting a show on Telemundo and various events. She also has been seen, most recently on the magazine cover of Women’s Runner.

Not only is Ally gracing our front page of TeenyB this month, but she is also officially the FIRST TeenyB Girl!!
She will not be the last, but we always remember our first!

And what exactly IS a TeenyB Girl????

Well you will just have to go check it out and find out for yourself!!! Click on the image below to see Ally’s page directly!

This entire month we will update her page with NEW and exciting things. MORE PHOTOS, Screen Savers, Skins and much more. So take a look, but remember to come back too!

Fitness Season is well under way and we always love to check up on the girls who are working hard!

We have always been a big fan of Jaime Baird since last year – you might remember she earned her Pro Card last year for her several show wins and is now competing Pro this year. We not only love that she came back another year to rock a TeenyB on stage, but she just keeps getting better and better!

We are especially excited to announce that we will be doing a PHOTO SHOOT with Jaime THIS WEEK!!!!
It is a long time coming, we have been wanting to get her in for a shoot – since she lives in Florida as well.

With fitness competition season just starting she has a lot of competitions to still do, but we think 2nd place and 3rd place on a Professional level is outstanding! Jaime & Bombshell Fitness were kind enough to let us post these photos to show just how great she looked on stage.

If you would like to read more about Bombshell Fitness, you can visit their website. http://bombshellfitness.com/

And we look forward to shooting Jaime soon!

Doing a bit of reflection today. Had a fantastic photo shoot last week (a mix of video and stills.) It was long day, filled with potential and I felt very excited about the product we had created. It took me a few days to recover actually, which I wasn’t expecting. But it is a testament to our productivity for sure.

I am especially excited to see how the videos turn out. We were lucky to be able to get an opportunity to work with a really talented artist named Jonathan Pears. He does a mix of all kinds of video, mainly focusing on Extreme Sports and Wake Boarding, but it expands to many different arenas. In any case, more to come on that later.

I guess it is a good sign, to always have a desire to keep trying new styles. Feeling like your work is getting stale or too repetitious. As I was reviewing my photos from the past few months, I have noticed part of an edge that I always liked in my photography was missing. I was taking great photos no doubt – but they had less feeling to me overall.

Next week, I am going to mix it up. And for me the best way to bring freshness into a photo shoot – is to explore other artists.

When I feel like I am in a rut – the easiest answer for me is that I have not been learning enough lately. And that – with modern technology is an easy fix! So work for me this weekend will include reading, reviewing and critical thinking.

But first….a good workout!

You’d think that for someone who has a lot of really great and interesting things going on, it would be MORE than enough to post about on the blog.

After all, this blog is simply a way for me to communicate my progress with the company, whats going on in my life, etc….
Yet, as I sit here trying to encourage myself to write something, I am instead distracted by reading my old posts.

I like to work, but sometimes I can be a total procrastinator!!!

As I have mentioned many times before – I never was one to keep a diary. Hahaha.

In a nutshell, what is new with us:

Sorting and Editing photos of the gorgeous Ally Rivera. You will see her on the front page of our site starting in May!

Finishing up the last of our photo shoots (next two weeks) including a new video project I am super stoked about.

Continuing to put up new products for the Spring!

Enjoying the nice warm weather.

Working hard on getting to 1000 FANS on our Facebook page!

Well we have a few more photo shoots to do in the coming week, we are SO excited!

Lots of prepping to do, but we know that the more prepared you are before, the more success you will have during!

Today we are driving out to see a few secluded beaches. It is a place I have wanted to shoot for years, and just never made the time to make the drive. Well on a beautiful day like this – we are giving ourselves no excuses.

So why go to such great lengths to shoot a totally unknown spot? when you have tons of great locations nearby?

Well – in this new round of shooting, we are going to be shooting a BRAND NEW PRODUCT! It is only proper that we have the official launch of this new style, a brand new location to be seen in!!

We cannot wait to see how they shoot. I know they are going to be a VERY popular style! (More details on that soon!)

Off we go….and THAT is no joke.

It is officially here! And yesterday couldn’t have been a more fantastic day – weather wise.

I got outside for some sunshine with my girlfriends at my house- the first time I have been out in the sun; in a bikini in quite some time. It felt good!
(I took a few photos, I will post them shortly…)

We are working hard and getting ready for our 2010 Spring Launch – (THIS WEEK!!)

We are so excited to show you the new colors, and trims. In the meantime, you may have noticed some changes to our site – they will continue to come, but we have been enlarging the photos for you to view our swimsuits.

Did you know you can shop by style in ANY department? Whenever you see the Style Icons to the right of the page, click on the style you want to purchase and it will break down the bikinis like that. It is a quick and easy way to see the pieces fast.

This month, we will preview our new styles and colors, some new models and in April a brand new bikini bottom style that is sure to be a hit!

We previewed a few NEW meshes on our Facebook Fan Page last week, so if you are itching to see what’s in store, be sure to drop by and check them out… While your there, leave us a message and say hi!

We are headed off to New Orleans today. We’ve got our Mardi Gras bikinis in tow – some Saints bikinis (just in case we do an impromptu photo shoot (which is highly likely!!) T-shirts, beads and flyers.

Could this year be any crazier? We are about to find out!

SUPERBOWL WINNERS!!!!

I think my feet have FINALLY just begun to touch back down to the ground. That was by far one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had before. We had fantastic seats in the 2nd row, on the Saints bench side. Luckily most of the game was played right in front of us too!!!

Miami was a great as well. Had some fantastic meals, mingled on Ocean Drive with all the Who Dats and enjoyed the fairly warm weather! There were lots of girls wearing bikinis too!! I look forward to getting a chance to host a party in this city during the Spring and Summer months.

And what better way to start off Carnival season then with a Superbowl win! This will be by far the wildest Mardi Gras ever! We are lucky because TeenyB will be hosting a party on a balcony on Bourbon Street this weekend too. You know I will be updating with lots of photos. Don’t I do that every year?

If you are headed down to Mardi Gras, keep a look out for us. We should have a banner up!

Now – here are a few photos from the Superbowl trip. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!!!!

We went and had lunch one day at his restaurant…It was fantastic! We were lucky enough to see him too. He had just finished a radio interview I guess in the other room.

They wasted no time getting the papers to all the Saints fans. Now that is what I call – HOT off the press.
It was still warm! In fact, it ended up smudging a bit later…. oh well – I suppose I will survive.

I had to try and post this photo. I am not sure if it will show up as good as it looked. It’s a wide angle shot, so be sure to click and see the full image.

We hung around and second lined to the stadium from a nearby hotel. This is the crowd waiting for the band to arrive. No one parties like New Orleans – there is no doubt about it. I was sure to bring my umbrella too!!!

We always take a great interest in our customers who participate in Bikini Fitness Competitions, Body Building Competitions, and just Bikini Contests!!

When given enough time, we are more than happy to make special customizations for you, add special trims, or color combinations.

Recently, Keva – Who earned her Pro Card on her last competition, competed again!

She was kind enough to e-mail us an update and some photos. Hope you enjoy.

[Keva]
I just wanted to give you another update on my contest progress and the fabulous suit you made for me. I entered the National Bodybuilding Championships on November 20-21th in Hollywood, FL. I came in second place! The black suit once again was a huge hit and was complemented on by many of my fellow competitors.

I wanted to thank you again for making this beautiful suit. It has brought me lots of luck and made me feel beautiful!

These photos were taken at the Muscular Development Fitness/Bikini Contest. You can view all of the contest images at the following link:
Click Here to Visit MuscularDevelopment.com

We look forward to meeting Keva in person in the New Year and doing a photo shoot with her!! We will be sure to post the photos!

Wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

For those of you who will be traveling or staying home. Cooking or just eating. We are very grateful this year for many things. We have grown a lot as a company, and know we have plenty more to do.

There are many things on the horizon for us, and we look forward to really breaking thru next year.

We will be introducing many new things to the TeenyB Brand including a panty line, cover-up skirts and dresses. The newest colors for the spring and many Apps, Videos and other fun Wallpapers and such.

Have a great and safe weekend, and we look forward to a productive Holiday Season.

Happy Thanksgiving, from the TeenyB Staff.

Sigh – I have been slacking lately. Not in all areas, but mainly in Photo Editing.

Getting back into the swing of shooting has been very fun. Have shot close to 8 girls now, and really met some great people…but only half the work is done. I sort the photos, then never get around to editing them.

My next task for the coming days (besides enjoying some Turkey on Thursday, of course) will be editing all of these test shoots I have been doing. I am sure the girls will be happy to finally get their samples and of course I will be able to post them on the TeenyBikiniGirls website as well.

Wow, November is here! We hope you all had a great Halloween if you do anything special. For many of you, you may have already been feeling the Fall weather. For us in Florida, this is the first week it has actually been cool. It was crazy for a while because it felt like it was the middle of August. I love the heat, but its the humidity that really kills me. This year has flown by!!

You may have noticed that our offices are closed this week (Nov. 2 – 9th)
After a long and productive season we have taken a week off for vacation and lounging.

But there is no rest for the wicked.

Our trip to New York was fun and successful. Picked up a lot of great new fun printed fabric. Will be working on getting them made up so we can shot them for the storefront.

Our backyard is finally in working order….well, for now anyway. Our pool has been resurfaced, our landscaping and such is complete. Just a few minor additions like furniture and props, but that will always be a work in progress.

We are booking for test shoots for November and December so if you are interested, (even if you HAVE already sent in a model request) send another. We have a lot of new bikinis we are anxious to get on girls. We also have a couple new cover-up skirts too! We are eager to get them on too.
Our panties line has hit a minor snag – but we are still trying to move forward with that as best we can.

Needless to say, we are happy to be relaxing away from the offices this week, but by no means are taking a break from work!

We do test shoots for many reasons.

First and foremost, we are always looking for models for our storefront and catalog shoots.
Many times, the models want the opportunity to meet us, to be able to wear our bikinis, and of course to take one home with them. Of course, many of the models that are local(ish) we love to invite them to our events and parties.

But, certainly there are a lot more pictures that we take that never get to make the storefront. We can only use SOO many photos of the same suit right? Wrong!

#1, we LOVE to put as many girls in our suits as possible, because everybody has different bodies. The more people we see in them, the better we can determine how they are fitting, if we need to make adjustments, or even create a new style!

Just today I fitting a model in a brand new cover-up skirt. It is not finished, but if I do say so myself, it is totally hot!!!

I digress… Just because not every model makes it on the TeenyB Storefront site, does not mean they aren’t special and deserving of a little love and attention.

Did you know, we have a sister site that is DEVOTED to Teeny Bikini Girls!! You, me and every girl who knows how to rock a bikini, and embrace the TeenyB lifestyle is a TeenyBikiniGirl!!! We also have photos of some of our events and parties up there too!

Have you shot with us before, and want to see your edited photos? Check out TeenyBikiniGirls.com. If you still don’t see them, email me and I will locate them, and let you know when they will be updated on the site.

It won’t be for long, just the rest of this month. We will be resuming our shooting schedule starting the 2nd week of November.

We have decided, since we are knee deep in our yard renovations (and I know we have some trips coming up…) we might as well get the pool resurfaced too! It seems like, once you do one thing – you look around the yard and realize you need to do another. It never ends.

But still in good spirits. Like mentioned before, we have a bunch of trips coming up in October anyway, including a NYC trip which I am always excited about!! Get to go to the fashion district and go shopping for fabrics, trims and anything else that looks like fun!!

Halloween is a really fun time in the Tampa area too! People love to dress up, go out and have a fun night. Normally we throw big parties for Halloween, but since we will be in NYC the week before, we have decided to just go out to a club. Not a normal club, a Russian club! They are always the most entertaining for big events like this!

Not positive I will be posting pictures from this event, even though I will have friends and model-friends coming…a girls’ gotta have a FEW things to herself right?

Leaving you with a few photos we most recently shot…before we closed our “set” for the end of the month! Hope you enjoy!!!

The models name is Adrianna and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. I look forward to booking her again soon!

Adrianna shows off her own personal style by pairing her Peacock Print w.Mora Triangle Top (from B.Couture) with a solid Brazillian Bottom in Turandot. (B.Luxe with Swarovski Crystal Squares) (This bottom is not available for direct purchase online, so if you are interested in purchasing this Brazilian Cut Solid, please email with your inquiry.)

While this afternoon shoot was not filled with tons of fun outfits, we were just shooting some product shots, we did take some time and model a new Mesh bikini. (We expect this product to be up on the website for sale next week.)

Leah loved this new bikini – Tropical Leaf Mesh w.Peacock Solid because of the bright colors and the playful feel. It of course looked stunning on her.

Funny thing is, we loved how her blonde hair and fun makeup looked, we hardly took any pics of the bikini. Instead we focused on her face, which is just as beautiful.

Leah brought her own friend, and makeup artist to the shoot just to hang out and do her makeup. While we didn’t pay her friend for her services, we were happy to give her some of the photos taken. We loved her work so much, we definitely plan on seeing what else she can do. In the next month we are scheduling test photo shoots twice a week. Our next test shoot will be Friday (Sept. 18th). If you want to test shoot for TeenyB, email us at model@teenybikini.com. Include photos and your availability.

Test Shoots are not paid, but we will TFP and also gift a bikini.

A few final shots of what we were so mesmerized with.

It has been a productive, busy and exciting week.
Stretched in various directions with TeenyB, now that the Summer is over, we ramp up other stages of our business, and this is always an exciting time.

Being a small company still – we do not always have a staff working on every department. We have to work on a cycle, allotting only a few short months to some departments. This will not always be the case, but for now – it is our only option.

As Fall is approaching, we are diverting our attention to more creative aspects of the job: Photography, Design and Planning.

Before I started this company, I was a photographer only. Working several days a week doing various shoots, I was really able to expand and explore. Just like muscles, if you do not work them out, they will grow weaker. I am excited to really gear up our shooting, but I realize that first – I need to “work out my muscles.”

It is not always an easy task….to step back and look at a bigger picture. To gain a creative perspective of what next and exciting things we can showcase on the bikini front – creation is merely a reflection of what your are absorbed in at that time. Peoples “inspiration” can only reach as far as they are looking. This may seem too irrelevant and blah to make sense to you – but as I type it – it is clear to me…and at the end of the day – this blog is my outlet.

It is hard to believe that we are going on 3+ years of developing TeenyB from a mere idea into a business. One thing I have been really missing lately is a mentor. Someone that I can learn from and look up to. I have been working diligently, reading books, learning by mistakes and just trying new things…all of which are great and have much success, but it is not always enough. I am really craving an opportunity to learn and watch from other people. Being the “owner of the company” people look to you for the answers, and the fact of the matter is – I do not always have them. I am a leader, yes. I know what I want and envision, yes. But sometimes, it is good to realize just how small you are, and just how little you know. (I know this is true, inherently – that I have so so much to learn…but when you are not around people who can teach you on a regular basis, you tend to become focused on what you do know – and only that.) Back to the POINT of this post.

This week – I finally get a chance to play with my photographer friend, Bobby Turi. He is the best. I love working with him, and I know he feels the same about me. We challenge each other, and amazingly don’t seem to step on each other’s toes either….much.

But this week, and maybe even the next few weeks will not be filled with JUST bikini photography. No – while it is necessary for us to shoot bikini stuff – it cannot be my only source of creativity. I have to expand further, to really fall back into my creative flow.

Our model is here today getting ready. Bobby and I are setting up the lights. We are very excited to flex our muscles today!

On a pathetic note, I do not even have a picture to post of us together – because we are always behind the camera. A shame – but something we will have to work on.