Kule + The Gang
Work imitates life during quarantine for this Carpinteria family
Written by Madeleine Nicks | Photographs by Dewey Nicks | Styled by Deborah Watson
When COVID-19 swept the nation, schools closed, travel plans halted, and our family, like many others, was stuck at home. But instead of confining ourselves to days filled with nothing but Zoom meetings and disinfecting groceries, we found joy in the beauty of Carpinteria. We started each morning with low-tide beach walks, took local hikes filled with vibrant wildflowers, biked through Summerland, held family tennis matches and mother-daughter ballet classes. All at once we fell back in love with a community we had taken for granted. Every sunset and sunrise was magical, and every new activity we stumbled upon was a chance for exploration. A few weeks after the quarantine officially started, my dad, Dewey Nicks, was catching up about life in the time of Corona with his longtime friend and stylist extraordinaire Deborah Watson. Upon hearing what we’d been up to, she suggested a long-distance fashion shoot centered around Nikki Kule’s namesake brand, KULE. The timing for an introduction worked out perfectly, as Nikki had recently reposted a cover of Yolanda Edward’s magazine, YOLO Journal, which my dad had photographed. Soon we received a huge box filled with KULE clothing. Opening the box felt like Christmas morning in the beginning of May, with all of us digging through the packages and excitedly trying on all the pieces. And because KULE’s clothes are so versatile, everybody in our family found multiple things they loved. Debra styled us over Zoom, mixing and matching the bright colors, classic stripes, preppy sweaters, T-shirts, pullovers, and blouses. Our family spent the next week hitting our favorite spots in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, and Montecito, changing outfits along the way. When my dad saw a spot he liked or light that interested him, we would pull over, and he’d shoot. The places we found the most comfort in during quarantine also gave us the most inspiration to be creative, to find new ways to use our home, and to change our perspective on how to be artistic within the limits of our changing world. And, yes, we all still wear our KULE clothes every day. •
