Summer Styles

For many years I painted silk.  I read about the technique when it was just starting to become popular.  I had always love surface design so, with the limited resources at the time (before internet) taught myself how to do it.  It was a great learning process.  I still love working in that medium, but there came a time when I just couldn’t make any more scarves and need to make some products that could be more easily reproduced for my wholesale line.

I also love combining different fabrics for the texture it creates.  I am working on some new larger wraps, with ties and buttons, that can be worn in many different ways.  Here is one of the summer looks. Silk Dupioni and organza, with jersey knit ties-from re-purposed tee shirts.

What do you think?

I like how it can be made into a hood type wrap and how the extra ties drape all around when not in use.

Friday Fashion

It is so busy here for the beginning of summer, and no vacation in site.  I a preparing for the BMAC  wholesale show in Baltimore and that means many things.  Besides all the products(they have added a retail day) I have to always tweak my booth display and.. finding/creating something to wear.  That is the thing when you work in a fashion and home accessories, people always expect you to wear some of your own designs.  So I am in the middle of sewing new and remaking old items for my summer wardrobe.  I find summer the trickiest season for clothing.  It is really too hot to be covered but there are things that need to be covered.

Here sre some of my current inspirations.

The first two are from Ocelot clothing, had dyed naturals, in California.  Knits area always great for travel and I love the colors.

The cool casualness of linen in the summer works so well.  These are from Crea Concept a French designer.

I hope I can get some photos of my pieces as soon as they are done.   So many skirts so little time.  What do you find interesting with summer fashion this year?

Fashion and Style

It was a busy weekend for us here, we were out and about more than usual.   I had a chance to do a little window shopping.  I really wanted to find something to wear this summer.  This is the worst season for me to find interesting things to wear. It is so hard to shop in the stores available in my area.  They all have the same thing, and it seems like everyone shopping there wears the same thing.  I just really do not want to buy another tee shirt and carpi pants are  everywhere.  We do live in a casual/beach type area, and there are just no unique boutique type clothing shops, everything is a chain.   I really do not care what the latest “real housewife” or so called fashion star is wearing.   I never understood why someone would want to copy some and look like everyone else.   So I am working on a new pattern and withe my upcoming travel, I hope to find some independent designers.

What are you looking for this summer?

The photo below is from Belgium designer Dries Van Noten (a pretty big  name designer),  I just love all the color and casualness of this look.

Changes

It seems like things come full circle. I am back to blogging, I miss it so much. With all that has happened in the last two years I am glad to have a new direction in my life. Still creating but in a different way. Just finishing an order to ship. I hope you will follow me in this crazy creative life.

Fabric Friday and Focus

It has been a busy day.  I am working on several deadlines involving several different projects.  I have been thinking about color as well.  I seem to work in a random way and my focus now has been to try and create themes in color and design.  To make it easyier on myself in production as well as my personal life.  A I have been updating my studio and sorting through boxes and all it is surprising all the work I have created.  But what I also find is a kind of hodge podge of finished work.  This makes marketing harder and we tend to waste a lot of time changing directions.  I see a lot of people on blogs and forums taking about this all the time.  We all love to create and there is so much inspiration available, it is hard to get down to work with a focus.
I found this beautiful fabric by jajasavage at flickr today and it goes along with the clothing designs from yesterday as well as my current color pallette for my fall collection, so here is the Friday inspiration.

So Much Fabric

Since, I am back to creating my own fabrics again, I need more space and have so much fabric that I no longer need. My boys are older and I do not make children’s items and as with life in general we grow and change in our styles so much of my older fabrics and supplies I we probably never use. So, I have set up a destash shop at Etsy. Please check it out often, as I will add things as I sort and finish my new studio. I have even included an idea sheet for all those small little bits that are too lovely to throw away.

Invitation to Print

In all the research on screen printing and other fabric design processes, I can across Spoonflower. It looks like a great idea still in Beta stage. I am happy to say that I have been invited to have some of my designs printed to check out the new system. Now to get to work one of all those ideas in my head.

Design Letting Go

I am in the process of updating this blog and it is interesting to rethink what I want it to be and do. It has a lot to do with the new products I have been designing. I am incorporating my team (the Boys at home) to add some small furniture pieces as well as remaking old furniture. We have been collecting old “junk” pieces and over hauling them for our home and the studio display. I love this idea of using old design and putting my touch with our fabrics and other details. It interesting letting go of more parts of the work since, I have always done a lot of the work myself. But in order to grow this into a family business it has to be done.
This is an antique fireplace screen, I think it originally have some kind of old lace fabric that was destoyed by the time I got it.