Felting

This is my felting. It is quite ecclectic and a little bit folk-ish. I think that this was a good idea and a fun design but I should have executed a bit better. I should have used better fabric, more neutral base color and chosen the pop colors of felt and the way that I applied them more carefully. I used copper thread and gold discs to bring in a metallic element which I do like but in general it is not my favorite...I would love to try the technique again.

Surface Treatment

Here is the draped version of my foiled fabric. I took silk organza and used gold foil with stencils and bondaweb (something that allows you to iron fabrics together). Also for the final after I took these photos I used photoshop to place the draping on a model to help someone see the way that I would be using the fabric.

Where I am in the World Right Now

Here is a map of France with a circle around the city I am in.

Givenchy Sweaters

In the Givenchy Resort collection most recently shown there were these wonderful not even half sweat more just sleeves. I love them and with some time on my hands and a limited amount of wool this seemed like the perfect project. I want to use orange and pink because those have been big colors and are yarns that I happen to have. I have come up with a triangulation pattern that I may change based on the amount of wool I have and because I think it is a little too random and I want something that is more of a general repeat. But here is the work in progress and the image of inspiration for the shape.

Soluble Project- Surface technique finals

So for our surface technique final we had to drape the fabrics that we came up with and create a fold out or booklet showcasing the fabrics. Over the next few days I will post what I draped of the fabrics and some pictures from the booklet. This is the soluble project. The first is the shape of the fabric I cut out, a mix of gears and floral like lace and then I sewed over it with black and copper thread mimicking a computer hard drive, like I did with the batik. I draped it as a back piece as it is partially see through and this is how I imagined using this technique.

Face Sweater

So back in April I posted the design for a new sweater with a contour drawing of the face. By the time critiques came I was more than halfway finished and well into the back of the sweater. Here is a pic of my two sweaters together for the critique. Although I love them both, I am partial to the face one. The color combination is more subdued than what I normally do but with the maroon, navy, the stripes and the fact that it is a giant face make it interesting and fun for me.

Kickin' it old schoool

Here is an old picture my brother posted on facebook of me...I just thought that the sweatsuit was pretty sweet...the geometric pattern of bright color blocking with a pair of what looks to have been my favorite pink high tops is a pretty rockin' outfit and the fashion designer in me is a little proud of my 6 year old self for the look.

Here is a picture of my drawing class. I am not the best at fashion illustration but I really enjoyed this class. This day our fabulous teacher brought in high-end dresses such as this Dior one that the model is wearing. For our final critique we photoshopped some of the drawings just so that there could be more shown on a page and this is one the of scanned finals, meaning these were not originally drawn together in this scale but I placed them like this.

Check this Out

So my new favorite blog that I discovered is the Man Repeller...it is absolutely hilarious. There are two categories of dressing most people say: some women dress for other women, some women dress for men but I think some women just dress for themselves... and happen to repel men sometimes with their funky style. This blog is dedicated to funky outfits and trends that happen to turn guys off usually inadvertently but this blogger decided to poke fun a bit at this fact. I often dress in "man-repelling" ways but it is what I like and feel confident in and so I can "pull it off". It is all about the attitude and this blogger's writing is witty and entertaining and makes me laugh out loud which is great because I look at blogs just for the pictures.

This is her definition
MAN·RE·PELL·ER1  [MAHN-REE-PELLER]
–noun
outfitting oneself in a sartorially offensive way that will result in repelling members of the opposite sex. Such garments include but are not limited to harem pants, boyfriend jeans, overalls (see: human repelling), shoulder pads, full length jumpsuits, jewelry that resembles violent weaponry and clogs.
–verb (used without object),-pell·ing, -pell·ed.
to commit the act of repelling men:
Girl 1: What are you wearing to the party?
Girl 2: My sweet lime green drop crotch utility pants!
Girl 1: Oh, so we're man repelling tonight?
*DISCLAIMER: the above conversation is not a dramatization, took place in this room 5 minutes ago.
Origin:
2009-10; < repellius (ptp. of repellia to eliminate male attention), equiv. to L repel- (s. of repellix) unattractive, celibate, paris fashion week, M.C. Hammer + -repel -ler1


—Related forms
man·re·pell·ant, noun

http://www.manrepeller.com/

Whoa it has been a while....

So it has been a long, long time since I posted but I am going to start again despite the fact that I am no longer a Paris but have in all this time been back to Amsterdam, to Berlin, to Belgium (for about a MONTH) and am now back in France but in the South in Pilat or Arcachon where there is a beach with a 100 meter sand dune, yes that is correct 100 meters (not yards...been in Europe so long that I have converted to the metric system)! I will start to post some of my goings on in the past month including end of the year projects, my trips, and my whereabouts right now. I of course brought some Fashion oriented projects and always am checking other blogs so expect posts again and I apologize for the long hiatus!

Window Displays at Selfridges in London

I love window shopping, the set up and display and the mood and ambience a store creates around it's clothing can be so interesting. While in London and passing by Selfridge's I snapped these pics of their windows.

Installation Art in Paris

My time here in Paris is waning and I just found this on a blog I follow...and now reaaaaallly want to run into one of these on the streets. It is potholes filled as Art Installation by Juliana Santacruz Herrera . TOO COOL...love stuff like this because it shows all the scraps of fabric that we cut and sometime throw out if small enough could be put to use creating something. (took these pictures from the blog Honestly WTF...but maybe I will see this somewhere and get pics myself!)

Finally finished this Monstrous Sweater!

Crazy and funky and everyone keeps asking me if I am going to wear it...which the answer is of course obviously yes! When I am cold in the studio in Syracuse next year I will put it on and lovingly think of Paris.

London Town

Just a few pics from London. I was there for the mayhem of the wedding!!

Can't say enough!

So these are just a few things that my Mother loves and I could go on forever about the things she has taught me, in fact this blog is kind of a tribute to all the things that I have learned from her, baking, sewing, creativity, teaching, individuality....a little bit of her shows through in each post. She is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G so HAPPY MOTHER's DAY to Jeannie Brown and to all the Mom's out there!

Pearls

Pearls are something that my mom and I share a love for. Here is the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn wearing pearls looking so chic. My Mom loves simplicity and classics within fashion.

RED

So my Mom's favorite color has always been red and what a great choice...such a powerful and beautiful color. It always makes a statement. Here are some dresses from the Met Gala honoring Alexander McQueen. My favorite dress is the one on Doutzen Kroes (first pic).

Gardening

My Mom loves to garden and is so enthusiastic about it that although none of her kids have a particular propensity towards gardening we always get persuaded to go help her in her garden. She grows us delicious vegetables to eat and always says she wants to be a pumpkin and raspberry farmer when she grows up. This is a quote from the movie Joe Dirt that is not my Mom's type of humor (a bit crass and stupid) but she loved the quote so much that she almost stenciled it in our kitchen and we of course though this was hilarious!

Hard Work

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned from my Mom is the value of hard work. This quote was hanging on our fridge all of high school and after to look at everyday and I made this in a class for Photoshop when we had to pick our favorite quotes.

Mothers's Day

So I have not posted in a bit but had to post today as it is MOTHER's DAY and my Mom's first day without her kids. There is a line in the movie Spanglish that always resonated with me and made me think of my Mom as I live here in Paris so far away. The Mother in the movie asks her daughter what she called the basic question of life, "Is what you want for yourself is to become someone very different from me?" And I think all kids wonder if they will turn into their parents and I have to say that I happily have adopted so much of who my Mother is and can only hope that I continue to learn and grow from her. I would say that I am proudly not so different from my Mother and actually become more and more like her each day. The following posts are going to be dedicated to her and the amazing things she loves and has taught me!

This first image is a Photoshop Poster that I made for her with her favorite quote and a person she admires (Coco Chanel.

Loving this art by Mark Chadwick...would love to translate it into a pattern some how...printed, knitted or dyed.

Nail Polish Trend

So I liked my funky pink and navy blue nail polish that I last posted so much I painted my nails super funky again with kelly green and a purpley magenta with sparkles over the magenta. Just a little spring time fun!

New Blog

So while catching up on some of the blogs I follow I found this new blog. Pink Horrorshow. With a pension for Animal Skin and amazing chunky heels I have serious closet envy. I loved this post of her neon and cheetah print heels, two elements that I have a magnetism for as well but never though to wear together. And I love this quilted bench in a cake shop that she photographed with all the different buttons.