News
Liv Warfield to Unveil Designer Handbag Line
Local singer is adding fashion line to her rapidly growing list of accomplishments
Bruce Poinsette
Of The Skanner News
I
t’s been an eventful few years for Liv
Warfield. She released her debut album
in 2007. She joined Prince’s New Power
Generation. Now she’s entering the fashion
business.
Warfield will be unveiling her Liv Collec-
tion by BD503 line of designer handbags on
Dec. 12.
“For me, I just want women to know
when you carry these bags, whatever you’re
attracted to, whatever style you’re drawn to,
it has a meaning for you,” she says. “These
bags are edgy. They’re sassy.”
The handbags, hand-crafted in Portland,
are made from repurposed leather and are
designed to fit women’s personal styles,
says the singer.
According to Warfield, the idea for the
line came about while she was attending
FASHIONxt, one of the largest fashion
shows in the nation, for a performance. She
happened to meet designer Bianca Pettinari
while looking through some of her hand-
bags and they hit it off.
“We talked about how we see the normal
handbags but there’s no funk, no sassiness
to the handbags,” says Warfield. “But we
also wanted to carry a meaning with that.”
“For me they mean to live bold, live loud
beautifully, live free. I want the women who
carry these bags to feel like they’re person-
ally made for them.”
This is Warfield’s first endeavor into the
world of fashion.
She’s been busy, to say the least, with her
music career.
As an independent artist she is constantly
working to not just perfect her craft, but be
her own promotion machine. The industry
is changing, she says, and going independ-
ent is the best way to define one’s self musi-
cally.
“Social media has taken on this huge,
huge role,” she says. “There are no limita-
tions for artists right now.”
“Being independent for me, is not having
a label saying, ‘You’re this. You’re neo-
soul.’ I hate that. I hate that word basically.
I am soul period. I’m soul rock. I’m soul
jazz. I’m soul electric. I can be any of those
things. Independent for me defines that.”
Warfield first began honing her skills in
the early 2000s on Portland’s karaoke
scene.
Most of her early life was spent focused
on athletics. She was a gymnast for 13-14
years and ran track. Originally from Peoria,
IL, she moved to Portland after receiving a
track scholarship from Portland State Uni-
versity (PSU).
Warfield didn’t sing as a child but while
she was in a process of finding herself, she
decided to take a risk and sing at the city’s
karaoke bars. Initially, she would perform
with her back turned to the crowd because
she was so nervous. It’s strange to look back
on it now, she says, as she remembers being
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at the bars from 8:00 at night to 4:00 in the
morning Wednesdays through Sundays.
She soon discovered she had talent but
things didn’t get serious until a friend took
her to see Linda Hornbuckle. Warfield was
blown away and stared at the legendary
singer for hours on end. She would go to
watch Hornbuckle every week and eventu-
ally the singer invited her on stage.
“Linda brought me up on stage and my
back was turned to the audience,” says
Warfield. “She told me, ‘Next time you sing
you have to turn to the audience.’
“I would just keep going there. Linda was
and still is a big inspiration for why I was
just so motivated.”
Hornbuckle even convinced Warfield to
start her own band. She never considered it
until the legend floated the idea to her.
Shortly after, she put fliers up all over the
PSU campus, looking for interested musi-
cians. She says things progressed gradually
and she began getting regular gigs.
In a relatively short period of time,
Warfield found herself sharing the stage
with big name artists like B.B. King, The
Roots and Floetry.
This culminated in the release of her
debut LP Embrace Me in 2007.
The moment that has stood out to her the
most in this run is when she got the call
from Prince, inviting her to join the New
Power Generation.
“I never even thought ever that I would
get a call,” says Warfield. “Ever. It’s kind of
mind blowing.”
Warfield is quick to acknowledge that her
success has been the result of a lot of people
helping and giving her opportunities. She
says the key to helping more local artists
break through is working together.
“Portland has a big, amazing community
of amazing musicians and singers,” says
Warfield. “I think it’s important that we
work together to help each other out and
LiV Warfield with BD503 bags
promote each other.
“There was a time in Motown where they
were all in a bus. They had their own differ-
ent types of style of music but they all made
it work. We don’t have that anymore. The
touring isn’t there. To me, touring is impor-
tant. Everybody can have access to your
music but I think now people want to see
you live. Create those groups now and trav-
el together, that’s how you create your buzz.
That’s how I would do it.”
Warfield and Pettinari will be holding a
launch party for the Liv Collection by
BD503 at the Olympic Mills Commerce
Center on Dec. 12. Her group The Liv
Warfield Xperience will be performing at
the Alberta Rose Theater Dec. 13. She
encourages people to bring toys, which the
group will be donating to the Fox 12 Toy
Drive.
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Page 6 The Seattle Skanner December 12, 2012