first sneak peek

Here's an idea of some of the textures in my collection, all by hand of course!

two weeks left...

hands full of... dirt and problems

I have problems. I received a package yesterday with the wrong fabric. My infamous soy fabric continues to haunt me. The company sent me hemp instead of soy. How did this happen? I would love to know. My low-impact dyes have not arrived yet and neither has my organic cotton jersey and hemp/silk charmeuse. I feel like I am at a stalemate.

I have two more garments that need to be sewn, but I have no fabric for them to be made from. Though, yesterday I started knitting socks out of cashmere, yum! so soft!

I did, however, stop by my high school today to see my old art teacher. I now have some clay for my jewelry. I hope they will get done because I need to return with them dry and have them fire them in the kiln, THEN glaze them and fire them again. Can I do this in the next four weeks? I also had someone there cut out some wood pieces in the wood shop which now need to be sanded.

I need to go get my hands dirty!

spring break(?)

So it's finally spring break!! While normal people are going to Palm Beach, I am spending my time getting to know my sewing machine and dress form a little bit better. I currently have about 13 garments put together. I HOPE to have the last 4 ready by the time we go back. That week we will have a fitting, then a presentation rehearsal on Wednesday. We are supposed to have six looks done by then... meaning EVERYTHING, but I have seven. I need to bust my ass this week. 

Since I am 'eco,' I am sourcing a lot of my fabric through companies on the internet; fabric stores in the city don't have anything organic. I have a whole binder of swatches at this point. I wanted to use an alternative fiber in my lining fabric for my coat, like milk protein or soy. I want one special fabric. I know it's just lining, but that is essentially what a person will feel when she wears this coat. I found ONE company that has soy jersey and it is mixed with organic cotton. No one sells milk fabric. The soy is extremely soft and is actually good for your skin. Soy fibers are made from soy waste product from the making of tofu. I just received their swatches and ordered what I needed and the color I wanted is out of stock. FABulous. I was forced to order a crazy color, I hope I can dye it to a color that will work. 

Other than finishing up, I want to make wooden and clay jewelry and closures. I have contacted my high school art teacher and he is going to help, hook me up with clay, and let me use their kiln and wood shop. I will be hand carving the closure pieces. I gathered pieces of birch in the woods a couple of weeks ago. I love the look of birch, it reminds me of Sweden, it is really beautiful. I hope it works out because I have never carved wood before!

I love being eco!

London vs. NY

Compared to London, I think that in a lot of ways New York is more about business. I feel that British designers and others from Europe can be more innovative and take more risks in that way. It seems sometimes that New York plays it safe in order to roll in the money. You see a lot more bizarre shapes, fabrications, treatments, and drama in European shows. New York is more about runway to retail to street. This season, I did not see anything out of the ordinary coming from New York. Isn't New York supposed to be THE fashion capital? Does that mean we make the most money or make the most fashion?

BBC clip

Check me out on BBC, I'm the girl all the way to the right. Unfortunately they didn't quote me, but it was fun anyway!

New York is...

New York is a crazy city. You get a taste of everything from the many different cultures. It is a lot like a collage of old and new. I like to look at the buildings and their history. Many old buildings have been refurbished and are now used for something else. Others have been built right over old structures. Everything is literally on top of each other. For me, it is more interesting to look at these old buildings, rather than the new.

It is interesting to see how people use these spaces. Many things and places end up being used for multiple things. With the high population and the limited living space, people make use of what they do have in order to call it their own. I also think this explains a lot of New York’s fashion. There are multiple cultures and influences piled on top of one another to create one.