TILT- Useful Tools

This Thursday I want to dedicate it to some useful tools for me on the internet that are also keeping me sane.  They are inspiration boards, organizational tools and editing.  I should also call this my shameless promotion TILT except that I'm not endorsed by any of them.  These are my top 3 things I use almost daily.

1. Evernote - I can never gush too much about how useful this has been for me.  I keep all my important documents such as my CCAD classroom handouts and knitting/sewing patterns on here.  It can store word docs, pdfs, jpgs, some video, links, etc. It doesn't need admin rights to download it to a computer and best thing is that isn't limited to your computer either.  I put this on my Kindle fire, Droid X-2 so I can always have access to it.  On my phone I can easily take pictures of things and port them directly into my Evernote for later.  It's free but I opt to use the paid version so I have more space and can use functions like text searching through out all my notes.  Even things like receipts and written notes that you took a picture of can be searched with the paid version.  Paying isn't even that bad it's only $5 a month out of pocket and it auto pays off of my Paypal.

 You can see this sampling of my Evernote above.  I like the style with the thumbnails and descriptions and being able to organize my notebooks however I like.  When Delicious failed on me during their transition off of yahoo I felt panicked that I would lose all my links.  Evernote was like the shining beacon of light that I needed to fill the gap.  It does so much more for me then Delicious ever did.

2. Pinterest - This has been my back up for inspiration if I don't see something I want in my Evernote inspriation files.  It has also allowed me to add new things to my Evernote files.  I feel like it is blog reading on Crack.  I see the most interesting pictures of a tutorial or something and then I click further to get to the real meat and bones blog or website that it originated from.  It can be however another rabbit hole to fall into and a big time suck.

I love using it so much that I have 14 different boards.  It's also a good way  to keep inspiration at your fingertips since you can also access this anywhere and on anything that has internet access. 

3. Delicious -Even though it quite on me before and made me angry, once they fixed it all up I'm happy to be back on it.  As much as I love my Evernote it doesn't keep a slick profile of links the way that Delicious now does.  It also allows me to put my links into different "stacks" of categories make it much more simple for me to do my weekly or monthly blog catch ups in certain areas.

For me it's like the pinterest of blogs and links of things I already had.  For whatever reason I never got into using any of those blog readers out there and I just like to keep my links here on Delicious.

The Cheese Has it

No, not a fashion post.  Really this is just about Cheese.  It seems silly but it is something I love and the rows of them were a bit mesmerizing.  Just like in fashion and knitwear I love repetition of pattern in many things.  The refrigerator of all the different cheeses was oddly inspiring.

 I see the wedges and think of graphic shapes that could be formed  in fabric such as small leather paillettes sewn to a garment

 The round bins make me think of knitting in the round and filling the space with other shapes or embellishments.  Perhaps it's just me and my wild imagination.  It's funny that I really live and breath fashion and ideas in everything I do and see.  I guess this is what it means to be fully dedicated to your craft.  OK, I guess I lied and this wasn't all about cheese since I can't seem to diffuse fashion from anything in my life.  Let me tell you if you get a chance to get this cheese is is highly delicious. 

A clutch of Eggs

With all this crazy wind and rain my fiancee felt our hanging ferns out front were going to get knocked down.  Being the proactive guy that he is with things pertaining to the house he went to bring them down before the weather alert started.  We knew we had a nest in one of them but didn't realize both of them had nests.

 The nests are so tiny and delicate.  The eggs look so small and dainty as well, almost like they aren't real but porcelain.  I loved the way the nests are woven and shaped together.  It gives me some ideas for prints or manipulations I'd like to try in fabric.  It's a very cool concept of having something so drastic and opposite looking nestled inside something else.

The Second Nest is below which also contained an egg that did not belong.

TiLT

This week I'm going to flood you with pictures of things I love instead of the usual list of five.  For my list of five I will tell you things that will be happening in my near Future that I am excited about.

1. My first Tattoo.  Saturday is my appointment at 3pm.  We will see what kind of pain I can bear on my wrist and how well I can hide it from my family this Easter Sunday!
2. Making Easter Baskets for my Niece, Nephew and Fiancee (yes he still get's an Easter Basket).  It is one of my favorite things to make all year for my niece and nephew.
3. I'm trading in a cleaning out a lot of old video games, my DSi, & Andy's DS lite for a 3DS!
4. Making a new skirt for myself this weekend with a Yoke waistline.
5. Finalizing the guest list for the wedding.

Enjoy the eye candy

Laser Cutting

 In Columbus we are fortunate enough to have this wonderful workshop called the Columbus Idea Foundry.  Basically it is a metal and wood workshop where members pay a monthly fee to use the space and the equipment.  Some of the equipment of course costs more due to consumables used such as welding, laser cutter and so on.

I took the esteemed Laser Cutting Class on the 60 W Epilog laser cutter with a 12″x24″ bed  by Paul.  It was probably some of the best $25 I have spent in a long time.

 

These are some examples of what it can cut, plexi glass with etching, leather, wood.  All these materials can be at the maximum thickness of 1/2".  The only things that this will not cut are Metal and PVC.  

 

This is the machine opened up

Below is a full photo to show you the scale. It really wasn't as big as I thought it would be but still impressive.

 

This is Paul explaining the rotary attachment that makes it possible to do the etching and cutting on circular objects, such as tubes and drinking glasses.

 

This was one of the optional beds to put under your materials as you are cutting.  I love how it has a history where you can see the shapes from the things that other people have cut into it.

 

This is just before the start up.  You can see that tiny red dot is where the laser will be cutting at.

 

Here is the best photo I could take of the laser at work.  Since it is cutting plexi glass is it burning off this fine plastic powder.  It is all enclosed in a case with a vacum sucking up the air and dust particles so when it is running you don't need to keep a mask on.

 

This is some plywood that was repeatedly cut.  You can see the scorch marks from the Laser.  Essentially you are rapidly burning through whatever material so you will get a burning smell and sometimes small sparks and flashes depending on the material that you are using.  Since the laser is so precise you can cut super to close previous cut marks without worrying about the material making a bend or distorting it.  Imagine how a craft punch can do the same shape over and over and all the way to the edge of the paper as long as there is room.  That is just how close the laser cutting can be for these projects.

 

These were two sample cuts out of thick leather about 1/4"  Seeing this made me smile and instantly I was all about the possibilities for fabrication with this machine.  I will be coming back with some samples of different fabrics to add to their tester community chart.  I can't wait to see what it can do to my silk organza and micro super mesh spandex.  Apparently there is a company in Columbus that does large sized laser cutting of fabrics called Laser Cut Fabric (surprised?).  They actually did a lot of work with NYFW designers and that right there is darn tooting special and good mark on the C-Bus map for me!  You can Check out their Article on laser cut dresses for Zak Posen here.

Son Jung Wan

For NYFW I watched and kept track of all the big names but I think I enjoy the less well known names much better.  Maybe it has to do with my affinity of independence and small businesses.  I think since they are fresher and trying to make an impact they take design in a different approach which I can appreciate.  Sure that is a great pant suit by Ralph Lauren and another beautiful bedazzled dress by Badgley Mischka but how is it that much different then previous years collections?  I think with the bigger houses, design firms they get stuck into what they know and sells instead of presenting something truly innovative.

Anyways below are my favorite selections from Son Jung Wan a Korean Designer that showed at NYFW.  Th things that struck me about her collection was the calm and easy color pallette, the fantastic Knitwear and combination of textures.  Also her mix of proportions that made it appropriate for any women of any style and age.

 

She started the show with this simple but clean piece. A practical wool dress with cropped turtle neck sweater and super fun fur covered platform heels.

A close up for the simple but elegant cropped sweater turtle neck

At first the bustier top caught my eye with all the those chains of beading coming across then I noticed the gorgeous knitwear pants.  That is no easy feat to make a pair of knitwear pants that looks upscale and not casual.  They are also very hard to fit with the stretch usually being so severe.

A Close up of the Bustier and all those rows of Pearls

Even the sexy silk charmeuse dresses were well covered and tasteful.  Sometimes designer can really whore themselves out when it comes to the evening wear dresses especially a designer trying to get attention.  It's like a teenage girl acting out in high school when they do that.

The wonderful knit pants make another appearance in dark brown with a cute fur trimmed jacket

I really like these shorts for being as short as they are it's not hoochie just cute like bloomers.  Paired with those draping layers you hardly notice how short they really are.  The entire ensemble just works so well.

Yes it is a poncho but isn't if fabulous?  using the different lengths of the fur to make it have this chevron pattern and how it dips longer in the back to give it a little more shape and flow as well.

Another great and simple wool dress combined with another cropped turtle neck sweater.

 

Just a detail shot of the how the delicate and mazing the pieces must actually be up close and in person.  The rows of paillettes, beading and fur are just so luscious.

All photos are obviously from Now Fashion