North Melbourne Market – tomorrow!

February 19, 2011

I’ll be at the North Melbourne Market tomorrow, and if you’re around, I highly recommend you come along to check out heaps of cool designer threads, accessories, vintage goodies, and both figurative and literal deliciousness. Drop by and say hi if you’re free!

Addictive

When I first followed this link, I had no choice but to watch all 5 episodes. Beware.

I have no idea why it took me so long to discover this doco, which follows the development of Chanel’s fall/winter couture collection for 2004/5. While Karl is prevalent, the real stars of this series are those who work behind the scenes – Mme Martine & Mme Cecile & their gang – the incredibly talented (and patient) seamstresses, who take visions on paper and turn them into intricate, wearable pieces of art.

There are also excellent diversions following various eccentric helpers – Monsieur Massaro, who treks dutifully between Chanel HQ and his shoe workshop, patiently crafting the smallest changes to the collection’s shoes, and the 75 year old Madame Pouzieux – hand picked by Coco Chanel herself, and the only person in the world considered competent enough to make the famous tweed trim for their jackets (many an intern has failed to learn).

It’s a fantastic documentary, and pretty much the best insight I’ve ever seen into how a couture collection is created.

Luckily for us, the entire series is available on Youtube, link below.

Why hello there,

January 25, 2011

Well, looks like I’ve been quite the negligent blogger of late. It’s been a mixture of being away, the Christmas break, and then the general rush of preparing for the most recent North Melbourne Market on January 23rd.

As usual, the market was lots of fun, and I met lots of lovely people! There were perhaps less visitors than usual, but you can’t really blame people for wanting to stay outside on what was one of the few warm and sunny days Melbourne has had all Summer.

It’s a little hard to get good photos inside, as the lighting can be a bit dim, but here are my best efforts.

Love Squared

November 18, 2010

I rarely play favorites when it comes to my little creations, but I have to say these new dresses have captured my heart, and immediately become wardrobe staples.

They’re identical, while being totally different. I have literally worn them every day since I sewed their final stitch. I love that they’re comfortable enough to wear lounging about the house, and equally cute to wear out to grab a coffee. Now that I’ve selfishly acquired the first two for myself, I’ll be making a few of these for the next North Melbourne Market (December 5th). They’re the perfect addition to my wardrobe – a summer essential.

Here are a few more photos:

I think I love the back the best.

Now in the Etsy store.

My new old chair

November 5, 2010

A couple of months ago, I happened upon an old, ratty looking chair, which I suspect is from about the 50s or 60s. It’s a simple armchair – with wooden armrests, and basically, two pieces of foam, covered in tweed. There is a surprise when you sit in it though – it reclines! The base and back of the chair is a simple spring frame, which is levered on the two armrests to slide forwards when you push on the back.

It’s fairly common to see them out in people’s hard rubbish, or pick them up in op-shops for next to nothing. I grabbed this one when I saw it, as a weekend experiment to see if I could make it come good.

Here’s an example of another one I picked up recently. This one is in significantly better condition than my first was, when I found it. Still, it’s the same idea.

To restore it, I took the chair apart – which was fairly easy as it was falling apart anyway, sanded each wooden piece of the chair, and put a couple of coats of stain and varnish on it. I was going for a clean, smooth finish, but not too shiny. I like the feel and look of natural timber.

Next, I ripped the cushion covers off the foam, and decided to get some new foam for it, which was easy enough to get cut to size at Clark Rubber. This is not strictly necessary if the foam is still in good condition – soaking it may be enough to clean it, and get rid of any musty smells.  Then I made new covers for the cushions with some heavyweight fabric, which basically involves laying your foam on your choice of fabric, and tracing around it for each side, and sewing all your rectangles together.

The way this chair is constructed would make it a little difficult to seal the edges of the cushions with zips (as the metal spring backing actually sits inside the cushion covers). So, I used bits of velcro instead, to keep it all stable. Finally, I spray painted the spring frame to keep it from rusting, and re-assembled the chair, using a bit of wood glue in the holes to keep it all solid.

And here it is!

Other than being streamlined and generally delightful to look at, it’s amazingly, incredibly comfortable! Best armchair ever.

And, much to my delight, last week I found the un-restored one pictured at the top, which is almost identical to the grey one! Yay for matching chairs

I never…

October 26, 2010

I never thought I would see Alexander Wang in collaboration with UGG Australia. Together, they’re making slightly fancier, (expensive) versions of the shoe which you should not wear out of the house in Australia unless you’re willing to undergo a certain level of public ridicule.

However, they are the epitome of cool pretty much everywhere else, and I have seen lines of people snaking down the very cool streets of Soho, NY outside the UGG store, hoping to snag them in pre-Christmas sales.

Also -

Gilles Bennsimon at the tents, courtesy of the Sartorialist

Enough said.

So, love them or hate them, here they are – Alexander Wang for UGG Australia.

Priced from £417 to £583. I sort of like the studded ones. Is that wrong?

I also had a fantastic time at the Thread Den North Melbourne Market on Sunday (with some pics to come), but had to write about this as soon as I saw it.

Party Sparkle

October 20, 2010

I have never worked with sequiny, shiny fabrics, ever. But, when I saw this tiny little remnant in a fabric store, I snapped it up in a second. It combines my love of stripes with a slightly sparklier aesthetic!

It had since sat in my fabric stash for months, until I decided to bite the bullet, and turn it into a loose little singlet top. I think it adds the perfect amount of sparkle to a party outfit!

The pattern is about as simple as they come, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t break 3 (yes 3) needles stubbornly thinking I could sew over sequins. Even my hardy industrial machine hates the little buggers.

The extremely small amount of fabric I snatched up means that apart from this top, I only have enough for one more! (and I might keep this one….)

Dreaming of lace

October 19, 2010

There are many things I love: lace, sneaky peeks of skin, comfort, and versatility. I’m pretty happy that my latest piece incorporates all those things. It’s the kind of dress you can wear to work with a jacket, which you can slip off at night to go for cocktails and dancing.

I created the pattern as a fairly simple black slip, with a moderate v-insert in the front, and a much deeper lace insert to show off your back. Here it is!

I’m fairly enamoured already, and can’t wait to wear it out. It’s handmade of the softest cotton/viscose/spandex blend, and is so incredibly comfortable (and flattering) to wear.

Here’s a little more black lacey inspiration from other designers. Forever classic, and divine.

Stella McCartney

Oscar De La Renta

Pondering Creativity and IP

October 18, 2010

I know the issue surrounding the extent to which creative ‘inspiration’ and ‘copying’ overlap has been dealt with pretty comprehensively on the blogosphere. From the blatant and opportunistic here, to the more ambiguous question here, to the fairly common home-sewer re-creating a design from a particular label – even an entire blog dedicated to home-grown versions inspired by the top end of fashion.

No doubt trends tend to emerge at the top, through the  high-end fashion houses which release seasonal collections. These trends trickle down every consumer level, down to high-street retail. Of course, this process now happens more quickly than ever before, and Forever 21 or Sportsgirl can have cheap version of a Roland Mouret design selling off the racks before the real version even comes out.  There is a fine line between thievery and inspiration, but for the time being, it seems quite fluid.

Anyway, without weighing into the debate in any serious way, I’ve come across a pictorial story about ‘inspiration’ in my travels on the web which was too good not to share.

Original inspiration:

The original designs are from Burberry’s Spring RTW 2010 collection. This then spawned the now famous DIY knockoff from Anywho.

Clever, innovative, and great looking. It has no doubt inspired thousands of girls around the globe to try their own versions (such as this great one by Angie).

But to me, the most intriguing part of this story is a dress I recently spied on Modcloth.

Ummmm….hmmm. Definitely inspired by Burberry so many seasons ago, don’t you think?In this case, I think the apple has fallen sufficiently far from the tree. And, probably not in a good way.

Absent but not idle

October 14, 2010

I’ve been quite madly experimenting lately, a desire probably brought on by the knowledge that I should probably be sticking to what I know (and have already designed, tested, and made) to prepare for the upcoming ThreadDen North Melbourne Market. Alas, I am drawn by my desire to create new and inventive things, so I expect there will be a number of pretty new pieces for the market.

Some of them may involve sequins.

Anyway, see below for some information on the market. It’s been running for about a year now, and is always chock full of amazing independent designers – clothes, jewellery, cards, you name it, vintage clothes and wares, and (importantly) delightful treats for the tummy (…cupcakes…)

This is my first market (obviously), and I’m looking forward to it! Come along for a fun, inspiring, relaxing day!