Influential People

This week I read the Time 100 most Influential people and sadly I really didn't know that many of them.  That is just kind of my life though.  It maybe terrible but I'm simple, I can't comprehend or follow all of what is going on in the entire world or daily news.  Unfortunately if it just doesn't interest or directly concern me I find it hard to focus on and pay attention to.  Doesn't mean that I don't think they are important I just didn't know about them.

This rightly got me to thinking about last year and who were the influential people in my life.  I know I won't have a list of 100 I couldn't even think of 100 people who were influential in my entire life.  Let's make it simple and start with just 5.

1. My Niece Hera.  Yes I am starting off with my 6 year old niece because she is intelligent beyond her years and watching that little nugget growing up and learning has impacted my life greatly.  It's made me wonder about that large questions in my upcoming soon to be married life such as, "How will I raise my kids?"  She has also been testing my limits of love and remember the most classic thing my Dad would say to me growing up, "I love you but that doesn't mean I have to like you".

2. Andy. My fiancee.  Well how could he not be such a big influence on me?  We live together and do most all our activities together.  We've been together for over 7 years and now with all the wedding planning we are still learning and growing with each other through this process.  I feel like planning this wedding is going to be similar to how we react and plan for things as a family unit eventually.  He's a trooper in patience and compassion towards my insane and negligent tendencies of things that aren't fun.  He's also pushed me to be a bit more domestic so that our house doesn't resemble my college dorm room.

3. Kilala. That's right I am naming my deceased cat.  In the last of her days she showed me the same unquestionable love that she always did.  She was in pain but even more she was trying to comfort me from feeling bad or sad about her pain.  This little creature had more love in her then most humans that I know.  It was never possible to sit, rest or sleep without her by my side.  She was unquestionably the best cat I've ever had hells best pet and companion ever.  To be chosen and loved by such a creature is an amazing gift.

4. My Dad.  He is a Grumpy old Korean man but a fighter.  He's a survivor of some serious colon cancer and currently battles diabetes and a wonky thyroid gland that has him on all sorts of meds.  He manages to still give me shit about everything with a smile and be as supportive of my upcoming marriage and life choices.  He is an old school in Korean traditional values but isn't embarrassed to tell me how proud he is of where I am in my life.  Through all the hardship in the past few years he has come out a better person and more understanding.  Even in his near 70's he's learning and adapting to the world around him.

5. My Mom. I'm extremely lucky to have two parents both heavily vested into my life.  Some people might think it is a pain but I am thankful.  My mom as always in my life is a wonder woman.  She deals with my Dad's grump daily as well as his whines and new strange dietary requests.  She is also not afraid to continue to be an adventurer and learn new things as well.  She started to happily join this Humana Senoir center and take classes in Card making, Scrapbooking, Zumba, Tai Chi, Square Dancing, among many more things.  On top of all this she is still super mom to me when I am sick or in need of an errand I have no time for myself and The world's Best Grandma to my Niece. 

There are a few other people I can think of that are not related to me but I need to ponder this a little more and make a new post just for them.

I have a dream....... I have Goals...... I will make this Happen.

Even though nearly a month has passed I thought it quite important to share that I do have all of the above and it will be happening.

Obviously there is my Kilala Meows DIY Classes that will hopefully turn business.  I also have a short list of other things that I intend for the year of 2010.

1. More Blog followers and better Blog over all.  I responsibly invested in Gala Darlings Love and Sequins #7 about blogging and I am so glad that I did.  Not only entertaining but super informative.  It's also kind of like listening to an old friend or so I feel since I have been following her for several years now.

2. Being active in Weardobe and having better OTD's (which includes finally getting that digital SLR that I was woefully cheated out of due to fiscal circumstances)

3. Seriously making more of my own clothes and wearing it out.  Trying to get back to my original project to no longer buy into lesser brands and only invest in designer pieces that I feel are worth it.

4. Reading more business books, and studying for PRAXIS certification for K-12.  This goal is just reading though not necessarily taking the PRAXIS.  I looked at the study books at Barnes and Noble the other day and nearly had a anxiety attack.  I want to teach as much as I want to make fashion but there is so much more in there then Child Psychology like MATH!  I hate math, math hates me and that is our understanding.

5. Living out my inner Alice.  Meaning having fun, dressing up and being more polite to everyone I meet and hopefully it will spread.

To Kick this all off I have chopped off my hair and dyed it yet again!  I also needed to do this anyways for my OHAYOCON Costume.  I cut off on my own one morning about 3-4" all around.  Cutting your own hair is always an adventure.  Especially when you don't have a double mirror and can't see the back.

Rush for the Holidays

If you haven't noticed I have been working hard on updating my Etsy.   It's very hard time of year because after all those craft shows and events you just want to let your guard down and relax.  Unfortunately for me the colder months are my best selling months.
~BUT~
Finally I have finished all my updating on Etsy!  it only took me 3 days including taking photos, editing and posting of over 30 items.   Well worth it though.  Hopefully I will make some last minute sales before the holidays.

The process is longer then I would like but it's a one women show especially when I don't have time for interns when I am scrapping by myself.  I'm very happy with how it turned out and borrowing a Digital SLR made a HUGE difference in the quickness of the updates.  I had much less photo editing to do then I normally do and didn't even need to take a second batch of photos because everything looked brilliant the first time around.  It especially helped that I took my time to practice the week before getting accustomed to the camera's settings and playing with lighting.  Also helpful that my cat was a willing muse.

Pondering Validity

After today I just once again have to ponder my worth as a designer out here in the midwest.  I find it so much more difficult then Chicago or NYC not at all because of competition but more the lack of.  At least when I lived in those other cities it was a struggle in the fashion competitions that was worthwhile.  Here in the OH it feels more and more like a crap shoot.  Of all the contests I've entered I feel there is less then half the people who actually design on the same level as me.  Perhaps all my work is just too Avant -garde for this town.

I feel like I do the best when I submit things for the Gallery shows then I do for anything else.  At least there I don't feel like I need to dumb down anything or worry about the resale is.  I do well at the Craft shows but that is a lot of trickle down from what I really love to do design wise.  Also my underwear does pretty decently at Undone but once again not my main forte'.

It seriously breaks my heart a little to think that my love of fashion is one-sided with the public here.  I'm not alternative, not goth, not trendy, what in the world am I?   Somedays I feel like giving up and retreating to nothing more then my "PINK" sweat pant suits and calling it a day for getting dress.  I've less and less reasons to bother with my makeup.  Lately I'm just happy to cover up blemishes as opposed to how I used to make sure my face was the purest matte porcelain looking mask with impeccable liquid eyeliner cat eyes.

In better news I hope that my new position as the Fashion Editor for the "The Artists Interview" Newspaper will help shape and open up the eyes for this town I call home.  There is a lot of good fashion here it just needs to be strained away from the OSU Buckeye Scarlet and Grey.   I have high hopes for turning this into an ultimate creative outlet for myself and reinventing some local lives.

Clientale

This is a abstract top that I had done originally as a small project for myself out of some scraps and it was decent so I posted it on Etsy never intending to make a pattern or re-sale it as a multiple. Funny how things work out. Originally it was out of a creme polar fleece and meant to be just a vest to help keep my back warm in winter with maximum comfort and mobility while being layered.

Well it turned out several weeks ago I got an e.mail from a girl in Singapore who wanted this but had a million questions and demands and for something that started out as just a $20.00 trial piece turned into this huge project that left me much un-enjoyment. It was the first thing in a VERY long time that I took absolutely no pleasure in re-creating. It was for sure a test in patience and client relations no matter how little money I made of it. There was for no reason whatsoever why it should of taken 39+ e.mails to do such a simple custom order where all that was needed was a change of fabric. She continually asked the same questions and it was very hard to continue to be polite but I think I managed it well. I mean honestly she was trying to haggle the prices with me for something already super cheap and original in design. Also trying to get me to discount shipping even. People always seem to forget that shipping is not just the mailing but also what items are mailed inside. Boxes and Brown paper or bubble wrap do not grow on trees!

I feel the final product turned out better then expected and made a second just so I would hopefully never have to do this again. The pattern is made and fixed but for something that was once so fun for me it truly became a pain.

In other news the cat, Kilala has a new favorite place to sleep. Simply of course a wicker basket that we emptied out from all the fliers that we recycled this week. For the past couple days we haven't been able to use it as all as the silly creature has claimed monopoly on it.

Today I recieved a wonderful couple of packages from UPS, which Andy's mother so kindly brought inside the house for me while I was at class. So this is what it looks and feel like to be able to order all the yarns of my dreams! It was approximately $1200 worth of yarn and notions all to be used to make sweaters for the fashion show. I needed to get it very early so that I can begin knitting everything as soon as possible. I nearly have one Navy sweater done.

I made the order with one of my most favorite yarn stores online whom I had been ordering from since college so many many years.
Kaleidoscope yarns

From everywhere that I have searched aside from going whole sale I have found they carry the largest variety, speedy shipping and reasonable prices of anyone else I have looked at. I waited till they were having a free shipping day and also ordered some sale/discontinued yarns. The communication I had with Barb regarding such a large order was amazing.

MEOW!

CIMG4000, originally uploaded by tornangel012.

Oh man....... this has been tough to try and blog everyday. I'm not sure I can get that accomplished but I am still trying. I have another 2 weeks to get into the full swing of this. I've been good about taking the daily photos just not about posting them. This little gem of a photo is of my cat Kilala. For those who don't know her she has quite the personality. She was whining for treats when I took this picture.

Following are some photos from my college Preview Class.

This last one is of my Teaching assistant and Intern Teresa trying on a dress we bought to deconstruct.

Finally this picture is from my outfit from two days ago.

Armani Exchange Army green button down shirt and sleeve buckle detail

Striped Harem pants made by me

Toki Doki "I love LA" watch

Zigi Soho Watch

Octopus and Bat necklace made by me with fresh water pearls

Tomorrow I promise some test shoots from the Cincinnati photo shoot and today's Outfit plus whatever I end up wearing tomorrow.

Another Quick Update~!

Finished this week First Etsy Custom order!  I am beyond excited for this because it will 

be the first 

LARGE piece I have sold probably since I lived in Chicago.  I just hope I can get some good exposure for it.

To the left are the full scale pics of my striped Harem pants.  I'm super happy with how they turned out and now I have a great pattern for stretch fabric pants also!  

It was a bit tough to make sure all the stripes matched at the seams but well worth it!  If I had thought a little better they would of made an excellent Jump suit with boob tube top or halter but oh well.  Maybe I will make it still since there is still so much of this fabric left at the store.  I can think of a Million things to do with Stripes!

I did make this awesome Jumpsuit this week with a halter type top modeled after this vintage jumpsuit that I saw Gala Darling wearing in her NYC photos.

The Lakehouse Trip was awesome!  Lot's of good relaxing and I did get a lot of Crochet done.  Nothing I am willing to share this moment since I am still mid project.

Below is a flash photo of the Custom order I did.  You can see my bubbles really well in this photo.  I wish people could touch them though, they really are amazing little things to play with.  It's almost 

like having this HUGE bubble wrap skirt that is soft and never actually pops!

To Top it all off here is a picture of Kilala caught in a rare moment.......... Sleeping in his FISH!

I am terrible at sketching............ But I thought I would put something up that I was thinking of making. I was messaged twice this week inquiring on custom pieces. I have yet to hear back from either of them. I am trying really hard to not get overly excited. I will probably make one of the ones I have sketched here and post it at the price I quoted the one person. We shall see if it will incite them to get it or if it is the wrong size to go through with the Custom order.

I have been busy terrorizing everyone making bubbles. I have small callouses on my fingers from this. It will all be worth it just to make some sales and get something out in the world again. I get a lot of ohh and ahhh's still but that's all. I need to get it together and really get cranking on this collection. My deadline is now Before the end of October to present it to different boutiques in the area. Maybe even only 8 looks is too ambitious, but a lot of the things I have in mind just need to be reshaped from women's or men's into the opposing sex and sizes. As long as the first pattern is done and samples complete then I can grade to larger sizes later.

I put up another couple of knitted copper items on Etsy. Some rings that have always sold really well at the school art sales. They probably had the most traffic of anything else after I had just put it up the night before.

OH last night was terrible. To the left is what I should of looked like, completely passed out with Kilala in my arms but nope......... I had the creative jitters and just had to make more bubbles and work on clearing my space for this weekend to be able to pattern. I very nearly started to pattern the jacket I draped last week but stopped myself. 3AM is NO time to start a several hour draping and truing project.

This weekend nothing is stopping me from staying up all night to get at least ONE sample done which includes pattern and muslin. Maybe even time to alter a pattern from a previous collection into women's wear for this new one.

Yes, I sleep with many stuffed animals and somehow my boyfriend does still have room in the bed unless Kilala decides no one else can sleep in the bed (silly kitty).