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Wednesday night, February 2nd, Tasty will be hosting another of their fabulous trunk sales, complete with pink champagne and a new art show!
I've been selling my line of recycled necklaces at Tasty for about a year, but for this special event I will be selling the best items from my Etsy store at tempting discounts!
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Watching The September Issue I was surprised to find this tall, dowdy, red haired lady pulling my focus and interest sharply away from the main subject. Who is she? Why hasn't this talented artist, model, photo stylist and crazy cat lady gotten more attention over her nearly 50 years in fashion? It is likely very cold for Grace Coddington in the shadow of Anna Wintour. Although they started their careers at Vogue Magazine on the same day, Anna has risen to such respected and feared heights that Meryl Streep played the fictionalized version of her in The Devil Wears Prada.
Since I first learned her name, I've discovered hundreds of references to Grace Coddington, the Creative Director of Vogue Magazine; her work, her influence, her life. I'm a little late to the party, but still very inspired by her existence. Lucky for me, in 2010 she announced plans to write a memoir. Soon we'll have the rest of the story.
Her out-of-print book, Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue (Hardcover) is going for $1250 - $3000 depending on the condition. There's even a tee shirt with her image on it, but you can't buy one because they're sold out. There's the Vogue fashion spread where supermodel Karen Elson (Mrs. Jack White) portrayed Grace...
And there are the dolls...
But it's truly her photographs that are amazing. The following images are from the pages of Vogue Magazine.
I think you'll find a bit of Grace in my spring 2011 collection.
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...are you sitting down?
launching on Valentines Day... sign up online for emails. I'm really excited to see what comes from this as I've always been a fan of Anthro. Even more inspiration for me to make my first wedding dress... launching soon!
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have you heard?
Do you have what it takes?
Fashion Feud is a live fashion design competition. Designers are given a mystery bag of Mood Fabrics, a live model, a hair and makeup team and an hour to create a design.
The finished designs are presented by the models to a live audience and then voted on by both the audience and a panel of local industry judges. The winner from each round advances to the Finals in each city to compete for the title of best designer in their city.
The first Seattle event is happening on Thursday, February 10 at Citrus. Can you imagine? Four events over four months... designers competing head to head in front of a live audience. Awesome.
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This project was really a "re-design" of a decent garment I found at the thrift store. I often find a piece that is 90% what I'm looking for but I need to swap out that 10%. This sweater dress has a lot going for it: V-neck, kimono sleeves, black and gray... but the teal doesn't work for me. It will have to go! Here is the before shot.
The bulk of the dress is great, right? I decided to cut the teal off right on the line at the sleeves and hem and add to extend the length I added 6" of black faux suede from a skirt. Then, for a pop of color, I added scrounged up some scrap red cashmere to create a spiral flower on the shoulder. Here is the "after."
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I am really grateful to be part of the fashion-crafting-style blogging community, and to be recognized with the Stylish Blogger Award by Breeanna of A Brilliant Melody is just the icing on the cake this month... Thanks so much! We share a great many interests, including music, photography, vintage and working with our hands. This whole community is filled with people who enjoy the same things. We all follow our passions alone in our sewing rooms and studios, but when we log on to the world wide web, we discover that we have thousands of virtual friends who share the same desires in life. Pretty cool, eh?
Here are the rules for participation:
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I discovered the website for Paumes Galerie & Shop through Suzy at Frock Shop and had to share some of the images. It's so colorful and creative and full of inspiration. The company is from Japan and although I wasn't able to translate the page, it looks like there is a brick and mortar gallery space, and they host pop-up shops on a regular basis. They have a blog, sell books and illustrations and have been around since 1997. Below are a few of my favorites. Take a look!
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After only two classes, the concepts behind patternmaking are really coming together in my head, filling in the holes of my knowledge about how to translate design into fit. There are a lot of rules! but, as my teachers always say, "you need to know how to follow the rules, before you can break them."
I'm taking pattern-draping and pattern-making at the same time. I was worried at first that I would be confused by the different ideas presented, but each one is feeding into the other. After 4 classes, I totally get it! All I need to do is create my lines on the form, drape the muslin, then create my pattern pieces. The next step is grading to sew different sizes, and then I'm there. It's also really fun learning on these little doll-sized patterns.
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When I saw Burda Style's open call talent search for The Next Sewing Star I thought, "Why not?" I've been improving my sewing skills over the last 5 years and have had sewing knowledge for over twenty-five years since my mom taught me all the craft arts. Surely, I am a sewing star!
According to the official rules, the entry video must showcase my skills, using their script which was centered around The Charlie Reusable Grocery Bag. Although I hadn't made the Charlie Bag before, I had seen many of the 163 other members' posts of the bag and their variations (a couple of great versions HERE and HERE), and I knew it was a very simple pattern. I can always use another grocery bag, so before focusing on a video entry, I downloaded the pattern & basic instructions, as well as the instructions for the serger version, and got to work.
The Charlie is such a simple pattern with clean lines. Although I'd never actually made a bag before, I was motivated to try something new. As I worked my way through the construction steps I had visions of the final product and imagined applying an iron-on logo to the front or adding some trim to the edges, or maybe giving the bag a contrast lining. I could make one for each member of family with their initials embroidered on the front or modify the design and create a glam.spoon tote for customers! My mind was racing as I cut out the pattern pieces and then the fabric. I decided to use my serger for the whole project because it would be so quick, and it was. 40 minutes from downloading to stuffing it with groceries for a photo shoot!
I filled my new Charlie with groceries and hung it on the coat rack, then took a step back and looked at my creation. Hmmm. Why would anyone want to put their arm through the holes lengthwise? That doesn't seem right. I took a few photos and then removed the groceries and attempted to turn the whole thing inside out and pack it up neatly in its little pouch again. Hmmm. I guess I was supposed to sew the pouch with right sides facing so that when the bag was inside the pouch, you'd actually see the right side of the fabric.
I went back to the pattern and instructions, looking a little more closely this time, and then I took a second look at photos of other people's Charlie Bags. In my haste, I sewed the wrong pair of handles together (which is why the bag looks like a tee shirt with the bottom hem sewn shut). Not a huge deal, but still a tiny blow to my ego. I consoled myself with "It was my first try, after all."
For my entire life, I have forged ahead with mere intuition, flying by the seat of my pants and thumbing my nose at rules and instructions. When I was learning to knit as a child, I would sit right next to my mother on the couch, our needles clicking away and my mom would periodically inspect my work. If I had dropped a stitch or purled when I should have knitted, she'd see it immediately. Then she'd say "You'll have to take those last 9 rows out and fix that before you go any further." To which I'd reply, "That's OK, I like that it's different."
I can't explain my resistance to re-doing something or fixing a flaw, but I've come to accept the fact that THAT is exactly who I am. A non-conformist of the most harmless kind. I don't even see these deviations as mistakes, but rather, as opportunities for inventive design. Sometimes it doesn't work, but more often than not, it does. I end up with something I might not have dreamed up had I not sewn the seams inside out or used the wrong thread color. It's no surprise that I am more of a designer than a sewing star, but I'm OK with that.
If you think YOU'RE the next sewing star, I encourage you to click over to BurdaStyle and enter the contest yourself! Submissions are due by January 24th.
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Would you believe, of all the emails I receive, all the design and shopping newsletters I sign up for, of all places... I opened an Overstock.com email this morning to find these fancy chandeliers. Talk about unexpected!
I've been looking for the perfect chandelier for our home entry way for 7 years now. These beauties simply won't do. Our home is not of the glamorous and fancy persuasion, but more of a minimalist and modern type with clean lines. Someday, if dreams really do come true, I will own a little shop of my own, which will lend itself quite nicely to glamour and all things fancy. Here are a few more glimpses of hanging inspiration I pass by in my day-to-day travels.
pink & white chandeliers at Frock Shop
the gorgeous and massive chandelier at Bastille Cafe & Bar
Lucca European Home & Garden, Ballard Avenue Northwest
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