Dixie Dixon, Magpul and Fashion?

Fashion and Magpul products just don't go together...at least not until Dixie Dixon gets involved!

Yesterday we recorded the next episode of Weekend Wisdom, scheduled to air on March 29. My guest was good friend, Dixie Dixon, who over the last few years has become very well known in the fashion world. Keeping within the format of all the Weekend Wisdom programs we stuck with one topic, Dixie's amazing non-stop effort to build her brand in the fashion world.

During the interview she mentioned two of her favorite projects to date, one of them the calendar for Magpul Industries.

So, here's what makes it such a kick - Magpul is one the leading manufacturers of firearms accessories/enhancements. Fashion, unless it's camouflauge green, just isn't normally in their vocabulary.  On their site they explain the name...

Magpul was founded in 1999 with the intent of developing a simple device to aid in the manipulation of rifle magazines while reloading under stress. The company’s name comes from this original product called the Magpul®. Over the last decade Magpul has continued to grow and develop using much the same mission and process with a focus on innovation, simplicity, and efficiency. 

Dixie's creativity knows no bounds, especially when she's having fun. If you've met Dixie you know she's rarely not thoroughly into whatever projects come her way and that might well be one of the leading keys to what's built her reputation in such a relatively short time. She loves the journey that started close to ten years ago and never misses a beat to take it another step further. This is one artist who ALWAYS has fun!

Along with the video above, Magpul wrote the description of the shoot and it's far better than anything I could write this morning.

For this year's calendar we opened up the armory and hired best in the fashion industry to push the boundaries a bit of what is expected for a Magpul Calendar. To be honest we weren't too sure how it was going to turn out, but as the photo shoot progressed we started to realize that this calendar was something special.

The guns looked good and the girls looked great, but there was a sophistication to the photography that had broad appeal beyond the regular "girls with guns" calendars we had done in the past. From a gritty warehouse shot is a shady part of town with the Ronin Motorcycle to an ultra modern house with backlit plastic walls, all the photographs were shot on location. No studio shots with added backgrounds were used in this Calendar.

Even the cover photo, our model, wearing a designer dress while holding a vintage 1921 Colt Thompson sub machine gun, actually walked down a closed off downtown Dallas street to get the shot. The result is a calendar with some unexpected visual and artistic elements exhibiting the Magpul touch, presented in a package with broad appeal with timeless iconic photography.

Check back in next Saturday for Weekend Wisdom with my guest, Dixie Dixon. It's a terrific interview with a lot of great tips on brand-building, fashion and networking. In the mean time, Dixie needs to be on your radar. Check out her site and stay in touch with things she's working on. 

There's also a Dixie section her at SCU. Her videos, which started out as purely a way for her to get clients to know more about her work, have now turned into a solid component of her product line. She offers a behind-the-scenes video, which every client now wants and uses to promote their fashion images. Great photography, contemporary music and cutting edge production values.

Sweet!

PS There's a terrific sidebar - a portion of the money raised from the 2014 calendar went to the USMC Reconnaissance Foundation. "The foundation provides assistance to wounded Reconnaissance Marines and Marine Reconnaissance families. Last year's calendar raised over $20,000 for charity. We hope to far exceed that amount this year. Calendars are availible for purchase from magpul.com."