Warm Weekend

Happy Monday! This weekend so was jam packed with events I was smart enough to take my camera around with me everywhere.  There wasn't a single day and hardly any hours where I could just sit down and relax. Let me give you a little summary of my weekend before I get into the nitty gritty of my outfit.

Friday: Work then home. Senoir Thesis show for my TA Tosha Stimmage. Dinner at Ted's Montana Grill then Movie at Arena Grand of Hanna.

Saturday: Filling a prescription then meeting with Mom to run errands. Went to Michaels & Joanne fabrics to get craft stuff for wedding and use up some coupons.  I saved over $70 thanks to my teacher discount and coupons. Hopped over to Filene's basement where I got two new pairs of gold shoes, one dressy for my best friends wedding and the one's below to fill my chunky platform void.  Late lunch at Charley's Steakery, then home to get ready for Tiger Tree's 4 year Anniversary Store Party at Josh & Nikki's House.  My friend Beth joined me for that.  After that party proceeded to a Fashion Photography industry mixer at Matthew Roharik Studios where Beth and I picked up my old Intern Emily to come with us.  Capped off the night with beer and acting like Idiots Playing Kinect at my house.

Sunday: Woke up went to Palm Sunday Church Service, Jetted over to Polaris to take measurements for the band whom I am making dresses to wear at the Wedding Reception.  Met up with my friend Patty to shop around and use up some more Coupons at Polaris.  Tried to go home but got lost on 270 ended up on 161 then got home to wrap presents for my friend Steph's birthday BBQ.  Hung out in Clintonville for the BBQ, on the way home stopped into OSU for Andy to pick up some things from work and then home for the rest of the night.

Honestly my weeks are more relaxing then my weekends. Below is the outfit I wore Sunday, it was a gorgeous day out with a little chill from the high winds but otherwise quite pleasant.

Cape is from Voodoo Denim Lounge in the Short North

Silky tunic blouse from Anarchy Street

Esley cropped grey pants from Need Supply

Chunky Platforms from DSW/Filene's Basement on Sawmill by BCBGeneration

I was absent from blogging last week but this week I have mounds to share and I promise I won't fall behind.

Brain Dead

OMPHF!  For whatever reason this week I have been totally brain dead.  Some people view it as a bad thing but sometimes it can be good to have a forced peace of mind. I attribute this to the numbing task I have right now working on a production order.  Not the normal kind of sewing I would ever do.  I also would never normally take a job such as this especially for production.  530 pieces of sewing I need to complete by Thursday, that is a tall order.  I am about halfway done and feel like a total zombie.  It is amazing how little movements can make your entire arm or body fatigued over long hours.  It's not difficult work just taxing.  Also I derive absolutely not pleasure from doing this kind of sewing. 

The nice thing about production is that because it is the same daunting task over and over again I can be brain dead and not worry to much on the details.  I'm only responsible for one part of this entire project.  I'm also getting in a lot of good time with my Ladies from Desperate Housewives.  I have put in a lot of time with them in fact an entire season watched this past week in getting this work done.  I feel like what I am doing now it is a task that Bree Van De Kamp would excel out with her compulsive cleaning and perfection personality. 

It is a little strange and disturbing that after watching the show for hours back to back I am starting to Identify myself with Bree more and more as well.  My living habits seem to reflect a more Susan style but the way my mind works is most assuredly like Bree.  That streak of confidence that follows the decisions that I make and being able to make hard decisions with a near iron facade. Yep that's about as thoughtful as I have been all week.  Nothing but sewing and TV comparisons on my brain while I finish up this production project.

Little Houses

Today I want to talk about this strange little obsession I have with little houses and buildings.  No I'm not into Doll houses, those are too large and most of the concern is the interior and decorating it.   I like mine with clean lines and simple.  Today Craftzine presented me with this image in my e.mail today and I just swooned.  My favorite is the full Cardboard one.

This is an installment of my favorite that I pulled from the Artist's website,  Nina Lindgren

This is a better view of another one by Ana Serrano and the close up below.

 

 This is a Plush representation of Paris and NYC I believe that I had been saving in my inspiration folder.  Unfortunately I don't remember the source for the original image.  One day I am going to make my own version of this for my guest room.

This little house ring has been on my Etsy Favorites forever from J Davis Studio.  It is just simple and modern.

 

Like I said before I'm not much for the interiors of doll houses but if I was this would be the perfect thing. Little cardboard furniture from a book on Etsy.  Which is also from Muiji.

I'm not sure what it is or why I am drawn to such architectural shapes. Even when I do my little personal water color projects I always seem to be enthralled with depicting a skyline or building features.  It is never based off a real city just my little imagination.

TiLT

WOW this week kind of went by fast.  It has been a struggle for me to make and think of new and exciting content.  Having a blog is sometimes like homework, you feel the need to do something everyday to give your readers something but at the same time certain posts can be a drag.  I like to try and keep up and make it a mental exercise in writing and being thoughtful on my life and projects.  I'm so happy today is a Thursday.  I have so many things to be thankful for that I am loving and want to share!

1. Being a part of an awesome group, The Columbus Crafty Cotillion.  Not only do they sponsor and hold amazing events throughout the year we are personal.  As a group we support each other in the good and most importantly the bad and dark times in business, craft and life. Being a part of this wonderful circle of ladies (and a few gents) is like having this super awesome dysfunctional family that get's along and get's things done.  During my tribulations this week on a fashion business level these people were supportive and on the forefront helping me to get that resolution and legal advice.  I truly feel lucky to be a member of such a elite force here in Columbus.  You can get to know the group more here!

2. Speaking of events that people in the Crafty Cotillion are participating in I am so excited for the Midwest Craft Caucus!  It is going to be a wonderful first time event in Columbus where we are having professionals from all over present to our audience here in the Midwest about setting up your business, etsy, legal issues, applying to craft shows, etc etc.  It will be full of information and fun!  The events after the daily lectures will include things like the craft show death match, make and take booths as well as a myriad of other local events going on that weekend.  I am beyond excited for this event!

3. Final Adoption.  We did it, we officially adopted our foster kitten Rambo.  We went in and did the paper work over at Cat Welfare. My heart skipped a beat when Andy mentioned that maybe she was on a waiting list or something for people to adopt (total lie he was just freaking me out).  Afterwards we bought her a new collar for all her tags and some new toys to celebrate the happy day!  Above is the hat we force all new kitties to wear.  Below you can see her with her official forever family.

4. Spring colored makeup.  This tease of warm weather here and there has gotten me excited about spring but with the weather the way it is I feel the only way to project my love for colors is going to have to be in my eyes for now.  Makeup used is Lime Crime magic dust shadows, Toki Doki liquid eyeliner from Sephora

5. Fresh made Takoyaki.  Seriously nothing beats fresh made foods especially the delicious Asian varieties.  Today was the soft opening for Foodie Cart at the Mickey's Late Night Slice Short North location.  You can actually see the Miss at work through the window tirelessly turning and checking on the little round morsels.  This was the main reason my TiLT was so late to post today.  I wanted to make sure I could hit them up and really make today fantastic!

Getting back in the Groove

 I know I haven't done an OTD in a while.  My excuse is that I am totally done with Winter clothes but here in the Midwest that damn groundhog cursed us with an extra long snap of cold.  I have been surviving although begrudgingly.  Layering is my best weapon to stay fashionable in these random rain, hail, snow, sun conditions.  My hair has also lengthened quite a bit over this winter, you also may have noticed there are no fun colors in my hair lately.  The lack of color is due to a promise I made my best friend, that I will have "normal" colored hair for her wedding as her Maid of Honor.  Let me tell you that is a lot of love right there.  I'm not even sure I would do that for anyone else in this world. 

 

I am wearing

Mossimo Grey Striped Shirt - Target $15 on sale

Black tulle dress (re-draped by moi) - $15 on sale

ReRock Skinn Jeans - Express $25 with 50% coupon

Betsey Johnson Tartan Heels - DSW $79.99

Curiouser & Curiouser Necklace - Untamed Menegarie on Etsy

Random Swarovski Crystal earrings - made by me

 

I found it sort of amusing that the most expensive thing I am wearing are my shoes which would cover the least amount of my body aside from the accessories.  The dress I am wearing is normally just a straight A-lined skirt.  It had these ties to cinch the back which I found kind of pointless since it is an entirely elastic smocked back.  I use those ties and hiked up bunches of the tulle into a nicely draped bundle and set them in place with a bow.  Amazing how a little pinching and propping can change the look of an entire garment.  I took the cue from some of Style Rookie's own personal wardrobe outfits.  Amazing what these young kids can still teach and remind us in fashion.

Ponderings on Fashion as Art

Recently I have been dealing with some of the dark side of the business.  I will not get into details here because I want to make this a positive and thoughtful place.  Not an angst ridden rant.

That being said these bad feelings have made me more thoughtful on why I do certain things, the way I do them and how I feel about my personal work.  Truth be told I'm not doing all this to make big money.  Would it be nice, of course!  I'm into fashion because I love it, I love every single miniscule aspect of it, from the design sketch, patterns, muslin up till that final photo shoot where it shines.

Fashion or more specifically for me garments as an art is a very tricky and difficult path.  I am making things that I want to stand alone and draw attention and invoke a feeling.  Similar to how a wrong frame can compromise a great painting so can a myriad of elements do to a garment.  Just one element out of place, out of balance can cause utter catastrophe and the focus escapes where it should be. I feel like clothing as art can be the most easily misrepresented thing due to those elements.  This is why I personally am extremely selective with whom I work with in styling, photography, makeup and hair.  I have my own artistic image to preserve.  I don't just willy nilly allow anyone to rent from my collection racks either.  It may seem stuck up but that is just how much I care about my craft and image as a designer. 

I like to create garments that are sculptural so that when a person wears them it transforms them into a walking beauty.  It makes people do a double take and think wow that is amazing or interesting.  That my pieces alone can stand out and make an original impression.  I like to be on just the cusp of costume and Avant Garde.  I like my photos plain and crisp in terms of background and makeup.  I like to have hairstyles that reflect the feeling of the clothing but nothing too exaggerated or with a lot of extensions. 

My background is mostly in draping.  I view it as another form of sculpture.  It was really difficult in college for me to decide if which direction I wanted to head in either Sculpture or Fashion.  It was too much to try and do them both.  My deciding factor was that fashion could potentially be a career where as much as I love sculpture and especially stone and woodwork I could never make a career out of it.  Funny how life pans out because I haven't exactly made a living career from fashion either.    That doesn't mean I love it any less or that I will quit at it anytime soon. 

 

My preferred way to show my work are through photo shoots but also on all white mannequins at gallery events.  With the photo shoot's that I arrange I have control of majority of the elements and I chose to work with photographers that are going for the same style as I am, or who focus on the clothing being the main attraction rather then the model.   In gallery settings I always use a plain white mannequin so that everything can be displayed with the least amount of distraction from the clothing and details.

Just as I take great care in making the garments I take as much consideration and care in presenting them as well.  I think that all goes into what makes a great collection and a great designer.

All Photos taken by Adam Leigh-Manuell

Models are Rianna Topper and Amanda Tempel (Miss Ohio 2010)

Makeup by Riquina

Hair by Tosha Stimmage

Garments are all from Torn Angel

Wedding Dress Sagas

So the work on my wedding dress continues.

I have finished the embroidery for the bodice top of the dress.  It was a total pain and I admittedly cried several times when there were snags or mishaps in the positioning and hooping.  Just like in regular embroidery you have to hoop the fabric for machine embroidery.  You want everything to be perfect and precision. The embroidery itself only does a set of two flowers at a time,  There was a lot of trial and error to figure out how to hoop over previous embroidery without making the frame pop out of the hoop.  I also started with no stabilizer and a single basting stitch down the length.  Both were bad calls.  After the first two sets were done I knew I needed at least a tear away stabilizer to help keep the hoop from popping out against the slippery organza.  Then I also added rows of horizontal basting stitches across the first length wise basting stitching to give the two layers of organza more stability.  After that it was all about marking and repositioning before the next set of flowers.  One time my heart stopped as I was working on it and the boy didn't realize I was there and turned the lights off which also turn the power off in the studio.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, now I just need to remove the rest of the tear away stabilizer and the basting stitches.  I've decided to use cotton sateen for lining of the dress.  I've still got a long way to go
 like figuring out my closure if  I want it to be hook and eye tape, invisible zipper or what.  Also since this is strapless how to keep it up.  I think I am going to use a combination of lingerie elastic that has the slightly sticker side like on strapless bras and maybe retro fit a strapless bra into it as well.

I've also finished one row of the three rows of pleats for the bottom.  This is the middle section of pleats, they are 1" knife pleats, above them will be 1/2" knife pleats and below some 1" rufflles.  I made these pleats using a "Pleater" board that I made which I will follow up with a tutorial on how I made it and how to use a little later.  The black stitches are just basting to hold everything together before the final sewing.  I like using a darker thread so that I can see where i needs to be pulled out more easily.

 

The full dress so far and I really am not that tall!  It had been so long since I tried to put my pieces together I forgot the end of the inner layer of organza was the hem bottom and the pleats needed to be about 8-12 inches higher.  but you get the idea.  I also tried on the extra crinoline that my cousin got at her wedding to see the fullness for once I am done.

 

Lastly I got this fantastic gem in the mail!  It is my replacement for a veil, I am going to attach a birdcage type veil to it and hotfix Swavorski rhinestones to it.  You can buy it already blinged out on Etsy but I knew I could do that and didn't want to pay that full price.  In honestly I could of done the entire thing myself but it felt dirty to copy someone else's work even if it was just once for the wedding.  I felt I needed to at least buy the base and help support another artist out.   This headpiece can be found here!