Always the Forest

Runway Show!

2012-01-27T09:32:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday was the Workroom 1.0 event. Local fashion designers set up booths to showcase and sell their designs, and there was also a runway show. This was my first time doing a runway show with hair, makeup, and all that fancy stuff. It was quite an experience!

Backstage was hectic and crazy, but it all came together for a great show. Some of my favorite designers were there, and I got to meet hair and makeup artists, photographers, models, and a lot of other people I don't normally meet inside my sewing/design bubble.

Here are some photos of the event, most of them are by Laur Nash Photography (website and facebook). Laur is a talented photographer and she's really nice and down-to-earth, which is something I really appreciate in people!

Always the Forest

Always the Forest - by Laur Nash Photography

Wound Menswear - by Laur Nash Photography

Backstage - by Laur Nash Photography

My display - by Laur Nash Photography

Fotoula Lambros Design - by Laur Nash Photography

Always the Forest

Workroom 1.0 Event Tonight!

2012-01-19T10:59:00.000-05:00

I'm one of the designers participating in the first Workroom event event tonight! We'll have tables set up to sell our collections, and there will be a runway show too. It's in the TechTwo building, which is the former Dagleish Cadillac Building. There is also free secure parking next to the building, so come out and shop, meet the designers, and enjoy the runway show! It's a free event, door at 6:00, runway show at 7:30. See you there! More info here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/321148141252896/

Goals for 2012

2012-01-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

2011 was a really interesting year. Even though I took a little hiatus from designing and producing the line in the beginning of the year, there was a lot of growth and learning that happened during the final months of 2011.

Let's recap: At the beginning of the year, I was super busy with music teaching. I just got a job teaching piano at a studio (love!), and it was my first year taking on a high volume of accompaniment jobs for our districts Solo and Ensemble season. So I decided to put Always the Forest on the back burner for a little while so I could focus on music and do a really good job.

Then, over the summer, I began working on the line again. My goals for 2011 were:

1. Pricing - Done! The time had come to develop a pricing formula and stick to it. I had to put my own feelings aside about how much I would actually pay for something, and price clothing items according to a standard formula. It also meant realizing that I myself might not necessarily be my target customer, and that's okay.

2. Get my line in more stores - This one took a different turn- I got my own pop-up shop! I had my very own mini-store at 71 Pop in Midtown. It was awesome because I had a physical place to direct customers to when they wanted to try something on to see if it fits. It was a really neat experience. I also decided that consignment might not be such a good deal, and I should look into doing wholesale instead.

3. Focus on online sales - My poor little online shop was dead, dead, dead. I updated the front page, and events, but that was about it. That will be priority this year.

4. Balance all of the above with my teaching job - Well I didn't really balance it, the scales definitely tipped in favor of piano teaching, and I'm totally fine with that. And this year I'm starting competitions with my students, so fitting in enough time for Always the Forest might be a little perilous, but I'll make it happen. I have some friendly competition in the hard work department, Billy is working 40+ hours a week, going to school full time, and doing maintenance/administrative work for his auto wash. So I'm in good company!

Goals for this year:

1. Maintain the online shop - Post new items regularly, and get rid of items that are no longer in stock. I set up a dedicated product photography space in the sewing studio, so this should be a little easier. But I'm making this one top priority this year. People are getting more used to buying things online, even clothing, so it's important that I keep up with this.

2. Work more with other local designers - There are quite a few designers in the Detroit area that I really admire, and watch their progress to get an ideas of how to grow my business. I'd like to participate more in the growing number of group events, to support the local industry and learn from others. I already have one event on the calendar: I'm participating in the Workroom 1.0 Pop-Up, and I'll post more info on that soon, but I'm super excited about it!

3. Look into doing wholesale - This has been on my radar for a while now, but my main obstacle is how to make a proper line sheet for a store to make orders from when my fabric selections are always changing? This whole recycled fabrics deal is the foundation of my line, and I need to figure out how to make it work properly.

So that's what I have planned for 2012, but we'll see where it actually takes me!

Holiday Break

2012-01-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not the best gift-giver in the world, aside from my very close family and friends, everyone else that gets a gift from me gets the same thing: delicious homemade treats. Actually, maybe that does make me the best gift giver! This year, I made candied orange popcorn and elderberry syrup. I got the idea for gourmet popcorn from Luxirare, and the elderberry syrup recipe was from Mountain Rose Herbs. The popcorn was really easy, just coat it with a mixture of brown sugar, water, orange zest and roll in poppy seeds. I followed the elderberry syrup recipe exactly, except I used sugar instead of honey so it would last longer. For the labels, I used the mitten and branch graphics from Julia Rothman's gift tags (free download at Design Sponge), and added my own text. Designing the packaging is almost more fun than making the food itself. I ended up making about 25 of the elderberry syrup/candied popcorn gift sets, and I felt like Santa packing up the five(!) bags of gifts for the five(!) family events that we went to on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Then we hosted our fifth annual formal New Year's Eve party. I made my dress from a Burda Style pattern. I used their Strapless Gathered LBD pattern #117, and it was super easy to sew up. It's for two-way stretch fabrics, and that saved me from a big sewing mistake I made: the pattern doesn't include seam allowances and I forgot to add them in! Thankfully, it ended up not being a problem since the fabric was so stretchy.

I also wore a vintage cardigan, and neon bow and arrow earrings from Scarlett Garnet as a necklace. I wore black shoes earlier in the night, but changed to these Polish slippers from my grandma's house. Billy wore his thrift store suit and an arrow tie from Cyberoptix Tie Lab. It was purely coincidental that we both wore arrow things around our necks, I didn't even notice until just now!

Now I'm all refreshed and excited to get back to teaching and sewing. I'll be participating in a fashion event in a few weeks that I'll write about soon, and I have a ton of new items that I need to get photographed and put up on the website. And I need to do that before I upgrade my computer from Tiger (haha, I know, I'm terrible) in case the upgrade goes wrong and I have to spend a lot of time putting everything back on my computer. Wish me luck!

Detroit Urban Craft Fair 2011 Recap

2011-12-14T11:14:00.000-05:00

I only did two shows this year, and I was lucky enough to be able to participate in my two favorite craft fairs. One of those is the Detroit Urban Craft Fair. This year, it was in a new space, Detroit's Masonic Temple. The space was big and open, us vendors had plenty of room to stretch out. And the Masonic has a ton of character too! When Billy first got up to the room, he looked at the floor and asked, "Do people roller blade in here?" The Drill room happens to be where the Detroit Derby Girls practice. There was a ton of amazing architectural detail throughout the building, but I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of that.

There were a ton of shoppers, I heard we had over 3,500! I noticed that there were a lot of people from out of state, either just as visitors, or as recent transplants to Detroit. A family I met had just moved here from Portland, and the mother brought her two daughters to DUCF to show them that Detroit has cool stuff like Portland does. I would say she definitely brought them to the right place! A girl from Toronto came up to me and said that her and her friends took the trip to Detroit that weekend and used my guide to the city to plan their visit. I was so happy about that!

I turned my booth space into a mini-boutique, I loved all the space I had. There were a lot of creative displays this year. All the vendors got a free Square credit card reader in their vendor bags, so I set up an account with them to give it a try, and it is so much easier than using the old knucklebusters!

And finally, all the stuff I got! Official DUCF poster, Hell Yeah Michigan t-shirt from Alisa Bobzien, lip balm from Aromaholic, birch bark cardinal ornament by Bettula, and cast iron pan handle protectors from Tourist Park.

I had an awesome time seeing all my returning customers, meeting new friends, and catching up with my crafty friends. I can't wait for next year!

The Small Craft: pop-up craft shop and skillshare

2011-12-09T17:36:00.000-05:00

Last month, I went to the first-ever Small Craft pop-up shop. Started by Amy of My Marigold, Small Craft is donations-based craft store. That means it's filled with a bunch of awesome vintage supplies, but also some really nice things (like super fancy yarn and silk noli) too. Until they secure a retail space, they're doing a once a month pop-up at the Trumbullplex Theater. Along with setting up shop, there is a skillshare hosted every month. Last month, it was learning how to knit. I stopped by to participate in the skillshare, and I bought some vintage library book return pouches.

This month, the skillshare is sewing draft-blockers made from ties, to go under drafty doors. There will be cupcakes, coffee and tea. The pop-up shop runs 12-6pm, you can rsvp and get all of the details here.

The thing I really like about this is the variety of supplies they have. You can go to a big chain craft store, but the stuff there is always the same. At The Small Craft, I can get vintage stickers, sewing patterns, library return pouches and other bits of ephemera. And there are the mainstays too: fabric, yarn, etc.

The cozy knitting skillshare last month. We were serenaded by a string duo!


Photo by Anne of the Handmade Gift Guide

This is me trying very hard not to mess up my knitting....and failing! Melissa was a very patient teacher though. My knitting project is now sitting neglected, I think I'll stick to sewing.

The website is http://thesmallcraft.com/, I definitely recommend checking out this little shop for some awesome/random/vintage craft supplies!

Things to do in Detroit before/after DUCF 2011

2011-11-28T07:38:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Urban Craft Fair is this weekend!!! It's at the Detroit Masonic Temple this year, in the Drill Room on the thirteenth floor. There will be 80 different vendors, weaving demos, and the traveling Trumbullplex Zine Library.

This is my third annual guide to Detroit for those who are coming to the Detroit Urban Craft Fair. This one is going to be especially grand because of two things: a lot of new shops/restaurants/fun places opened up this year (we got three new coffee shops over the summer!), and I am one year older, and have had one more year to find this stuff. People are traveling to DUCF from Cleveland, Chicago, and maybe even farther, so I'm adding overnight accommodations and more evening events to the guide this year. And as always, your ideas are welcomed and encouraged in the comments.

Places to eat:

Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes - I mention this place every year, because it's so awesome! Sweet and savory crepes, filled with ingredients like boursin cheese, spinach, brie, nutella, brown sugar, and fresh fruit. But check out the menu for yourself.

Motor City Brewing Works - Pizza place with local beers in a really cozy place. They have these delicious herbal sodas, but I'm not sure if that's a regular thing.

Traffic Jam & Snug - A little more expensive, but definitely worth it. Aside from being a restaurant, they're a bakery, a brewery, and Michigan's smallest licensed dairy. The inside is really neat too, lots of different rooms, and an upstairs level.

Honorable mentions: Mudgies (three different kinds of root beer!), Le Petit Zinc (french food), Majestic Cafe, Avalon International Breads(sea salt chocolate chip cookies!), Russel St. Deli.

I tend towards places that use locally grown/made ingredients. Detroit has a lot of great burger places, coney islands, mexican food, but that's not my specialty. If you know of a place that should be mentioned, post a comment!

Coffee shops:

14 East - I ordered a mocha latte here, and they put actual truffle shavings directly in my coffee. Pretty fancy. They also have locally-made macarons and other pastries here. In the same building as Leopold's Books. Open 8 - 4.

image via Crain's Detroit

Astro Coffee - More fancy coffee, right by Slow's BBQ and the old train station. Open 8:30-6pm.

Thistle Coffee - Simpler coffee, friendly staff. When Billy asked if they could scoop some ice cubes in his cup of coffee, they didn't look at him like he was nuts. This place is also open late, until 9pm.

Cafe Con Leche - This one has been around for a while. Espresso drinks + traditional latin drinks. Mexican hot chocolate, and of course, cafe con leche. Located in southwest Detroit, open until 6pm.

Things to do around town:

Noel Night - Noel Night is like a giant open house for over 60 Midtown venues, go to the website and download the schedule, there's a billion neat things going on Saturday night. Highlights would be: horse-drawn carriage rides, the Reindeer Run (a photo scavenger hunt), but seriously, just check out the schedule, there's a ton of stuff going on.

Image by Corine Vermeulen.

Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit - open 11-5, you can check out the current exhibition, Considering A Plot (Dig For Victory), examining victory gardens and urban farming.

Pop Up Detroit - an art exhibition that transforms The William Boydell House with the works of over a dozen local artists. Opening reception on Saturday from 5 - midnight.

Detroit Institute of Arts - I heard the Detroit Revealed photography exhibition is worth a trip, museum open 10 - 5.

Live music: Breathe Owl Breathe is playing at the Scarab Club, 8pm Saturday.

Places to stay the night:

Hostel Detroit - For $23.00 a night, you can get a single bed in an open room, plus a city orientation by the staff. Gated parking is available, make your reservations online.

Honor + Folly - This one is so brand spankin' new, that this will be the first weekend this bed and breakfast is open for business. Located on Michigan Avenue right by Slow's BBQ, Astro Coffee, and the Sugar House Bar, you can rent the entire apartment for $165 a night. The space is decorated with goods made by Detroit and Midwest-based designers and artisans, and you get a fully-stocked kitchen, wi-fi, and bikes to ride.

The Inn on Ferry Street - This is another bed and breakfast, for $160 a night, you can stay in one of the four impeccably-maintained Victorian houses, and they provide shuttle services.

If hostels and bed and breakfasts aren't your thing, you can stay at one of the fancy hotels downtown, like the Greektown Casino Hotel ($99), Motor City Casino Hotel ($125), or get really fancy and stay at the Westin Book Cadillac ($219).

For more things to do and places to eat, check out my 2010 guide and 2009 guide. See you at DUCF!

November News from Always the Forest

2011-11-27T19:42:00.000-05:00

A lot of good stuff has been happening recently at Always the Forest headquarters. This is the last week for my pop-up shop at 71 Pop, so if you haven't been by the store to check it out, now is your chance! It's located at 71 Garfield, right across the street from MOCAD.

The Detroit Urban Craft Fair is one week away! It's this coming Saturday and Sunday (12/3-4), at the Detroit Masonic Temple. I'll be posting my annual guide of things to do in Detroit, so if you're looking to plan a weekend in the city, check back here tomorrow for a nifty guide. Event details and RSVP here.

Speaking of craft fairs, Amanda of Dang Argyle wrote a guide to Michigan indie craft fairs in the month of November and December. There is literally one or two every weekend for eight weeks! Check out the guide here.

I finally got my dedicated photography corner all set up, so the webstore will be up and running the week after DUCF, finally! I got my white backdrop installed in a part of the studio where the natural light is pretty consistent, and I picked up a nice dress form to display the clothing. I got my dress form from Detroit Store Fixture on 8 Mile and Livernois. They had everything from gridwalls to price tag guns, if you wanted to get a little bigger with your craft fair display, this would be the place to visit.

Things I am loving right now: homemade egg nog (fresh cream from the dairy down the road, egg yolks, maple syrup, vanilla, and fresh nutmeg; the best!), rush shipping (but not the price), our new Brother printer (not an ink hog!), epsom salt baths with lavender, cardigans (I'm making a ton of them for DUCF), and having a local sewing machine shop that can do emergency repairs on my machines (and the how the ladies scold me for having too much lint in my machines.)

If you're looking for some interesting things to read, some things I've been enjoying lately are: Curbed Detroit (brings me back to our house-hunting days), the new HuffPost Detroit, Fashion Incubator (for the technical side of fashion design), the No Trash Project, and this craft fair poster collection.

I'll leave you with a picture of my dog Emmett, who just turned one year old. He like to wander upstairs to the studio and look out the window.

Detroit Design Festival!

2011-09-24T22:27:00.000-04:00

There is a ton of really neat stuff happening in the city this week for the Detroit Design Festival. Tomorrow, I'm having a trunk show at Goods. All my new fall designs will be there, plus a sample sale section. The samples will be some awesome deals, I'll have dresses and tops going for $15-25. Mark Heggie will also be there with t-shirts, posters and paintings. The event goes from 2-5pm, and it's at Goods, in the Park Shelton in Midtown.

And since you'll be at the Park Shelton, I would check out the new coffee place, 14 East, and Leopold's Books. A list of all the DDF events happening on Sunday is here.

On Tuesday, 71 Pop is having a party! Come check out my pop-up shop, there will be food, music and lovely fashions from 2-9pm. More info and RSVP here; 71 Pop is located in Midtown, just behind MOCAD.

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago '11 Recap

2011-09-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm just going to say it: if you missed the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this year, you should be really bummed! RCF has always been top-notch, but this year was exceptionally great. I couldn't make the rounds all in one day because there were so many booths that I wanted to stop and take a look at. I ended up getting: a tank top from Make it Good, two RCF event posters by Mat Daly, neon arrow/feather earrings and lotus necklace from Scarlett Garnet, a sea urchin spine necklace and a silk rope necklace from my awesome boothmate, Yellowgrey.

This year, vendors has the option to be paired up with another vendor and share a booth. I decided to do that this year, and the Renegade organizers did a great job matching me up with Yellowgrey. The colors and aesthetic of our items went together really well, and we had a lot of similar display elements. Plus, Kristina was an awesome girl! This was her first show, and I was really impressed with how prepared she was.

Billy had the idea of bringing a wagon with us so we could haul our stuff to the car quickly, without having to wait for a super close parking space. He is seriously the best helper. I had framed some fabric in embroidery hoops to use as booth decorations, but forgot to add loops of fishing line to hang them up with, so I had Billy tie them on while I was setting up. A lady stopped by while he was working on them and told him how great it was to see a guy doing embroidery. Then he started telling people that he was the one who sewed all the clothing!

Besides all the crafters/artists, my favorite part is the food. Frozen kefir from Starfruit, breakfast/lunch/coffee from the Milk & Honey Cafe, sesame kale macro bowl from Native Foods, and iced horchata from BigBite Catering. So good!

September Events!

2011-09-02T11:22:00.000-04:00

September is going to be an amazing month for Always the Forest this year. I have a lot of great events scheduled, and my own pop-up shop!

I'll have my own pop-up shop at 71 Pop for the entire month of September. It's located at 71 Garfield (in the brick building behind and across the street from MOCAD). So I have my own little store set up, complete with decorations and all that good stuff, I'll post some pictures of it later. It's open Tues-Sat 11:30-7. There are four other artists sharing the space with me, more info at http://71pop.com/. We'll be having a wrap party on September 27th, from 2-9, more info on that to come.

The Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago is next weekend! I'll be there sharing a booth with Yellowgrey, who makes some awesome jewelry. It runs Saturday and Sunday from 11-7.

On Sunday, September 25th, I'll be having a trunk show at Goods (it's in the Park Shelton, right by the DIA). I'll be set up with all my new fall designs, plus some really great deals on certain items.

I'll post more info about each of these events as they near, but if you want more updates, follow me on twitter and facebook.

How Craft Shows Helped Me Find My Way Around the City

2011-07-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

Back in 2007, one of the very first craft shows I did was the Handmade Detroit Holiday Market at the Magic Stick. I still didn't know the city very well, the only slice I was familiar with was the strip of Woodward between the DIA and the Majestic Complex. (I was only 18, give me a break!) My mom was helping me out at the show, and after the show we wanted to get something to eat. My mom grew up in Hamtramck, and we would visit every so often to go to the Polish Market and Kopytko's Meat Market. And of course, we'd eat dinner at Under the Eagle, an awesome Polish restaurant. But we wanted to try something new.

Luckily, I had some awesome booth neighbors. My neighbors were Emily and Andy, and they make household items decorated with maps of Detroit for their business, City Bird. They are both lifetime residents of the city, so I knew they would be the perfect people to ask. Andy asked us what kind of food we liked, and we said "everything!" He went above and beyond our request and drew us a map with all these awesome places to eat. It was like a sheet of gold for two people who love food but were unfamiliar with the city.

I kept a copy of the map in my wallet for a long time, it's pretty neat to look at it almost five years later. Some of the places have since closed, and now I can add a lot more places that I found out about later on. The crazy roads also make a lot more sense! So go to a craft show. The Rustbelt Market is open every weekend. Emily and Andy have since opened up their own storefront in Midtown. Try a new place to eat. Talk to the vendors and learn something new!

Handmade Fridays: Origami

2011-07-01T11:59:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I wrote about how listening to different types of classical music can help you to really focus on your work. Now I'll share my coping mechanism for when my work is driving me nuts. Like when developing a pattern is giving me trouble, or trying to figure out the best construction technique for a garment, or when I have a million photos to edit and resize.

Origami! This art of paper folding is repetitive enough to un-irritate me, but you also end up with something cute in the end. I keep a stack of origami paper at my desk, and when I get frustrated with my work, I'll go pick out one of the pretty paper designs and fold a bird or two. The only thing I ever fold is paper cranes, I haven't really found any other design that I like as much. They will eventually be hung from the ceiling of my sewing room once the walls are re-done. You can find some really neat origami papers online, or you can use any sort of thin scrap paper.

Maybe I've got a bit of the spring cleaning bug, but I've been on an organizing spree. I tackled the monster task of cataloging all of my piano sheet music and teaching materials, which is awesome because I don't waste any more time digging through stacks of music to find the materials I need for piano lessons. My fabric stash is next...

Also! I'll be a vendor at the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this summer, more info on that as the date draws near.

Handmade Friday: Skirt from Vintage Linens

2011-06-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

I wrote a guest post last week over at the Reware Vintage blog. You can check it out here, it's a tutorial for how to make a skirt out of vintage tablecloths, sheets, curtains, etc. I also photographed some of my best vintage linens, and wrote about where the best places are to find them. And while you're over there, check out the Reware Vintage store. Bethany, the owner, scours Michigan estate sales and a bunch of other secret places to find awesome vintage items, and sells them for really reasonable prices.

And a public service announcement for all you laptop owners: back up your hard drives! Regularly! I had an external hard drive all set up and backed it up regularly for years, but recently I lost track...then my hard drive crashed and I lost six months worth of pictures and music and work. So if anyone has some good tricks for restoring data (I already tried running it in an external enclosure), let me know!

Summer clothes!

2011-06-17T23:36:00.000-04:00

I'm really excited about the new designs I'm introducing this summer. I'm glad I finally get to use my collection of vintage woven fabric. The website will be getting updated gradually next week, and then you'll be able to purchase the new designs when I put them in the store. And as always, the fabric is either vintage or reclaimed from remnants, and most of the supplies and notions used to produce these pieces are purchased from local supply stores.

I'm also going to continue making the designs that people really seem to like, timeless classics that stay up front in your closet for years. Those are the best kinds of clothes anyways!

This is a fitted racerback tank top. The edges are bound with matching knit binding, but the really neat park of this top is the back.

The back has an inlay of vintage fabric!

And of course, I'm still making the wrap skirts with the bow, in lots of new fabric.

And my first dress made entirely of wovens! It has a comfy elastic waist and the fabric is awesome! Can you tell I'm really excited about getting to use my vintage wovens?

I kept one of these for myself.

Knit wrap dress.

I'm bringing back the Willow tops, and the wrap skirt again.

There will also be silk screened half-slips added to the shop, those are awesome for wearing under any skirts, especially if you're wearing tights or leggings underneath. And I would like to get some sort of short-sleeved cardigan that has a vintage fabric inlay in the back, but I haven't got one worked out yet that I like. I'll be adding these to the store as I get more sewn up, and select pieces are available at Goods in Detroit.

Handmade Fridays: S/S 11 Preview

2011-06-03T13:10:00.000-04:00

Here's a sneak peak at one of the new dresses for this season. I've been doing knit dresses for the past few years; this is my first woven dress for the line and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I've accumulated all this great vintage fabric and most of it is wovens, so a lot of the clothing I make this year will showcase all that lovely vintage fabric. The fabric I used for the sample isn't vintage, it's from my own stash and I don't remember where I got it from. But I seriously want three of these dresses for myself to wear all summer.

The dress has an elasticized waist, and I found the softest elastic ever. You know how some elastic is just really crunchy and hard? I definitely didn't want that. The back has a keyhole closure and and snap to keep it shut.

I just have to grade this pattern into the other sizes, and it will be ready to go up for sale. I'm thinking that I'll release the different designs as I finish each pattern, instead of waiting for them all to be done. I'm behind as it is, so we'll see how this goes!

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm taking a break from sewing to spend the day doing home improvements with Billy. He served in the military (Army) for 3.5 years. He's pretty awesome. We're going to paint the upstairs bathroom and plant our garden today.

This week's Handmade Friday will feature a new dress for summer that will be up for sale very soon. I'm making this dress in three different colors for myself, and it's what I'll be wearing all summer when I'm not wearing my cut-off jeans.

Aaaaannd in case you're looking for something crafty to make today, here are some pretty good ideas:
-White Rabbit Ginger Ale @ Meals for Moderns - Perfect drink for hot summer days.
-DIY Bow Belt @ Elegant Musings - I'm planning on making one of these for myself in black.
-Oregon Rail Dress @ Burda Style - On my verrrrrrry long list of dresses to make.
-Pennant Rubber Stamp Roller - Pretty much explains itself.

Handmade Fridays: Awesome Chair

2011-05-27T10:38:00.000-04:00

I bought this chair last summer in Ann Arbor at Blue House's craft show. I was a vendor there, and my booth was directly across from the booth of the artist who made it, so I got to stare at it all weekend. Whitney Crutchfield is the designer, and she makes all sorts of amazing textiles. She had mostly raw textiles for sale, but also a few things made with them, such as pillows and some reupholstered furniture. I loved the shape, and of course the fabric, so I ended up taking it home with me. It looks perfect in out music room, and really stands out against the teal walls. Whitney's website is here and she also writes for the Blue House blog; this post in particular has a bunch of her awesome prints.

Handmade Fridays: Hair Powder

2011-04-29T08:04:00.000-04:00

Readymade Magazine posted a recipe for hair powder that uses horsetail powder, kaolin clay, and arrowroot powder. If you don't know what hair powder is, it's a powder mix that you sprinkle on your hair to keep it looking fresh in between washes. I also like the texture it gives my hair. The problem with a lot of store-bought powders is that they contain talc, synthetic fragrances and colorings; none of which I would want to be inhaling on a weekly basis. They're also pretty pricey, I can buy all the ingredients to make many batches for the price of one store-bought bottle.

Horsetail powder is rich in silica, which promotes healthy hair growth, kaolin clay is absorbent, and arrowroot powder is a safe alternative to talc. Essential oils add safe fragrance, and depending on which one you use, could have medicinal properties as well. All the ingredients are from mountainroseherbs.com, they're a good, reputable company to buy from. I put the mix in an old spice jar, made a snazzy label with some stamps, and it's good to go! If you want to make your own, the recipe is here.

Handmade Fridays: Easter Dress from the Built By Wendy: Dresses book

2011-04-22T17:14:00.000-04:00

I got the Built By Wendy: Dresses book for my birthday last year. I didn't intend for this to be an Easter dress, but that's when I finally had the time to finish it. This Built By Wendy book was another great addition to my sewing library (I already had Sew U and Sew U Knits by the same author.) The Dresses book goes into more detail about pattern alteration, though it is by no means a pattern drafting book. It comes with three simple dress patterns, and step-by-step directions to alter those patterns into 25 different designs. I found that this was a really easy project, but I have a little background in pattern drafting.

Both of the materials I used for this dress are vintage; the yellow is from an estate sale, and the green is from my grandma's basement. I might go back and line the skirt to give it a little more body. One of my favorite details is the little pink button I used to close the back keyhole. I went to my grandma's house looking for a white one, but when I saw the pink, I decided I liked it better. This dress zips up the back, and I think the next dress I make will have an elastic waist since those are so much more comfortable!

One of the dresses in the Spring/Summer '11 line has an elastic waist, and I just sourced some really soft elastic for them, so they will be super comfortable. As soon as I work out how I want the back to be finished, they will be done!

Handmade Fridays: Cleaners!

2011-04-08T09:04:00.000-04:00

I decided to change "Style Fridays" into "Handmade Fridays" so I would actually have something to regularly share. I kind of rotate the same dozen outfits week after week, and haven't made myself anything new in a while. I'm too busy making clothing for everyone else! (Which is no problem, I enjoy having a tiny wardrobe.)

For this first installment of Handmade Fridays, I'm sharing my arsenal of homemade, natural cleaners. Most of these are ridiculously easy to make. And waayyy cheaper. Almost all of them are some variation of vinegar, baking soda, water, and essential oils.

-All-purpose cleaner = 1 part vinegar + 1 part water + 10 drops of any anti-fungal/viral/bacterial essential oil (lemon, tea tree, lavender).
-Fabric softener = gallon of vinegar + 20 drops of any essential oil.
-Glass cleaner = 1 part water + 1 part vinegar (though I realized I can use the all-purpose cleaner to do the same job).
-Air freshener/"Febreeze" = 8 oz water + 7 drops of any essential oil.
-Hardwood floor cleaner = Bucket of warm water + big splash of vinegar + 3 drops lemon essential oil.
-Spraying vinegar and then hydrogen perioxide on a surface will disinfect most surfaces.
-Dish soap = castile soap + anti-fungal /viral/bacterial essential oil (lemon, tea tree, lavender)
-The recipe for the shower spray/mold and mildew preventer is from The Naturally Clean Home, which is a handy little book with a bunch of natural cleaner recipes to use everywhere around the home.
-The recipe for the automatic dishwasher detergent can be found here, and it's easier to make than a pot of macaroni and cheese. All you do is combine the ingredients together and heat it up.

I found the awesome label outlines here, at the Just Something I Made blog, and I customized them to match what I was making, using the Diehl Deco font. Then I printed them and taped them on the old (thoroughly washed) cleaner bottles with clear packing tape.

So it was an easy project, and although it was a little time-consuming in the beginning to figure out the recipes and ingredients I could replace my traditional cleaners with, I enjoyed doing it. And making more of each cleaner is super easy and very fast. Plus, not breathing in mystery chemicals and not paying a premium for advertising and fancy packaging is a big bonus.

Social Crafting

2011-03-31T13:26:00.000-04:00

My main craft is making clothing. It's not a very portable craft. In order to do it easily and efficiently, I generally need at least two different sewing machines, a large cutting table, an iron/steamer, plus a lot of small equipment. Needless to say, I don't take my sewing with me to many social crafting events away from home. The project I bring along is this cross-stitch pattern I've been working on for two years. It came from a set of French patterns, there is a scene for each season. I figure I'll have the entire set done in ten years, if I only work on it at crafty get-togethers and road trips. Speaking of crafty get-togethers, I went to Handmade Detroit's Social Circle last week and had a lot of fun. I worked on my cross-stitch, and made cute labels for my homemade cleaners. This month, it was held at i3 Detroit, which is a member-supported, volunteer-run, art and technology cooperative with shared work space, tools, classes and workshops. These crafting events are held at a different location each month, if you want to know when the next ones are, the best way to do it is here.

Last week was totally a week of social crafting; I went out with my friend Sam to get some fabric from the Fabric Warehouse and Haberman's. Some great fabric and super-soft elastic was picked up, and delicious coffee too. I finished my last piano accompaniment event of the season last weekend, so that means I have time to get sewing now! Hopefully I'll get new stuff for spring up on the website mid-April.

Goals for 2011

2011-02-28T12:35:00.000-05:00

My goals for 2011 are quite a bit different than my goals for 2010. I took note of what worked for me last year, and what I need to change. My goals last year were:

1. Update the blog more - In 2009, I made 1.5 posts a month (haha). In 2010, I made about 3 posts a month. I was aiming to post twice a week, but I realized that blogging isn't something I should be spending a lot of time on. I'll definitely continue with at least three posts a month, but I'm a designer (and a piano teacher!), not a blogger, so I don't feel the need to post multiple times a week.

2. Have cohesive S/S and F/W 2010 collections - I did a Spring collection with a lot of new designs, but I didn't have a final collection for Winter, just some random designs that I was experimenting with. I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with that format again this year, because I would like to carry some pieces from year to year. I don't design super trendy items, I try to make clothing that a person can wear for years. Creating two whole new collections every year is the type of wasteful fast fashion I'm trying to avoid contributing to.

3. Contact newspapers/bloggers/etc. - Nope, didn't happen. I kept saying, well it's not good enough, I'll wait for fall, or wait for next year, ect.

4. Set a proper pricing formula - Still working on this.

Overall, 2010 was a great year, if only for me realizing that I was pursuing the wrong things and figuring out what I need to focus on in 2011. Which is:

1. Pricing! - The idea of creating an inexpensive clothing line that is produced with ethically sound materials and practices is nice in theory, but I don't think I can sustain my line with the way I have my pricing set now. If some poorly-made knockoff from the mall that is destined for the landfill six months from purchase has a higher price than one of my designs that is made from ethically-sourced fabric, sewn in good conditions, and will last a long time both style-wise and construction-wise-- then my pricing is not fair.

2. Get my line in more stores - I focused on doing a lot of craft shows last year, they were super fun and I gained invaluable product feedback. Not to mention the comradery with other crafters, and being part of the community there. As much as I want to do all the shows this year, I decided it would be best for me to do only a few shows this year. (The Craft Revival application was just up last week, and it was so hard to resist applying!) Craft shows have been a great way to start out, but I think it's time for me to focus on getting my line in more stores. But I will definitely be shopping at all the indie craft shows still, and participating in other crafty social events, so I won't miss that feeling of community.

3. Focus on getting more online sales - I hardly update my website. That's so bad! Terrible! I would like to post new things a least weekly.

4. Balance doing all that with my teaching job. I just got a job teaching piano at a studio, so I got a bunch of new students in addition to the ones I already had. I love teaching piano, and will continue to take on new students throughout the year, so it will be a lot of work, but worth every minute.

I can't imagine what my future self in 2012 will be thinking, looking back and 2011 with all the new knowledge that I gained throughout the year. It's exciting!

Snow Day!

2011-02-03T07:54:00.000-05:00

Lemon pudding cake from Cauldrons and Crockpots

Lately, I've been super busy with my other job, teaching music. I just got a job teaching piano at a studio, so in addition to the students I have already, I have a bunch of awesome new kids. And on top of that, I've been doing piano accompaniments for our district Solo & Ensemble, so I have quite a few rehearsals every day, and then the events on Saturdays.

Yesterday we had a snow day, and I was super excited to shuffle around the house and do whatever. Billy also had a snow day, so it was fun hanging out with him when he wasn't out plowing snow from driveways. I made a lemon pudding cake that was really good. And we have a new puppy, so we hung out with him and watched River Monsters on Netflix.


Our puppy Emmett; we got him from the shelter last weekend.

I want to get my Spring 2011 designs up on the website by February 15th, and I definitely think I can make that happen. My music stuff will slow down a bit after this weekend since all my accompanying jobs will be over. I have a huge collection of vintage woven material, and I kept that in mind when designing for this collection. Prior to this, my designs were only knit materials, so I'm changing it up a bit. I'll post pictures here as soon as I'm done!

New Year's Eve Dress Reconstruction

2011-01-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

Every year, for the past four years, Billy and I have hosted a formal New Year's Eve party. As part of my goal for 2010, I couldn't go out and buy a dress, I had to make one myself. There wasn't enough time for me to make one from scratch, so I decided to reconstruct a vintage dress I had in my attic.

The dress came from a garage sale of one of my friends in town. She had gotten the dress from our high school's theater department, they were throwing it out. I could definitely tell it was from the theater department, it looked like it had many last-minute alterations done it it. Before I could start making design changes to it, I had to fix a few of those hastily done alterations. The straps had been folded and tacked up with heavy-duty thread, and there were a few snaps that didn't seem to have a purpose. The skirt needed a ton of ironing too! The dress fit me almost perfectly, I just had to take in the waist a little. Then I lowered the neckline, added some gathered black tulle, and made a black satin belt. A pretty easy reconstruction that I thought turned out pretty well!

This ended up being one of only three articles of clothing that I made for myself this year. I did great with the not buying any new clothing part of my goal, but I didn't do too well with the sewing part. I'll just have to try again next year!

Detroit Urban Craft Fair 2010 Recap

2010-12-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

The 5th annual Detroit Urban Craft Fair was last weekend and I was so happy to be a part of it. This is the fourth DUCF that I've participated in, and I have to say, I got super sentimental! Maybe it's because it's the end of a decade, but from talking to other vendors and organizers, I could tell that I wasn't the only one getting a little reflective.

Back in 2006, I was reading the entertainment section of the Free Press, looking to see what bands were playing as usual, when I saw that there was going to be an indie craft fair at the Majestic. Stuff that was actually handmade, not windchimes produced in a huge factory overseas like you would find at so many other craft fairs. I had been crafting and sewing clothes all throughout high school, so I was super excited to check it out. When I got there, I was so impressed with the quality, creativity, and innovation of the work that was there. But most importantly, I realized that there was a venue for me to get started with my own clothing business, which I had previously thought impossible without moving to another city.

I started my business a few months later, and here I am today! I still have a long way to go, a lot of goals I want to achieve, but it's been super fun so far. There is a great crafting community in this city that has grown a lot since the beginning, and I'm proud to live here!

The Fillmore was packed with crafters and shoppers. Aside from the DUCF volunteers (who were awesome), I had some great help. Billy and our friend from Oklahoma came to visit me the first day, and my mom and sister came the second day. And it's our tradition for me to take my helpers out to eat after the show, otherwise I would have stayed for the afterparty.

The venue was so beautiful inside. All the fancy, super-detailed ornamentation everywhere was pretty amazing. I felt like I was in some sort of fancy palace. Did anyone else notice that the balcony had no visible support beams? How does that thing stay up?

Amazing times!

Things to do in Detroit before/after DUCF 2010

2010-11-30T09:41:00.000-05:00

The 5th annual Detroit Urban Craft Fair is this Saturday and Sunday at the Fillmore! This year, the fair has been expanded it to two days, Saturday 10-7 and Sunday 11-6. They've also partnered with the Night Move for free shuttle service on both days. For more info about the fair and shuttle service, go here.

Now of course, the Detroit Urban Craft Fair is reason enough to make a trip to the city on it's own, but just in case you need more reasons, here are some ways to spend your entire day in Detroit:

FOOD: For an awesome lunch, go to Mudgie's Deli. They use local ingredients whenever possible, and their food is super delicious. They also have really good Michigan-made root beer. Mudgie's is open Saturday 11-9 and Sunday 11-4. Last year's lunch recommendation, still very good: Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes. For dinner, check out Motor City Brewing Works. Fancy pizza and they brew their own beer, some of it with hops from Greenfield Village! I'm not sure what their hours are, but I think they're open pretty late. Last year's dinner recommendation was Slow's BBQ, also very good.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zebuladesign/

MUSEUMS/ATTRACTIONS: The Detroit Institute of Art has their Fakes, Forgeries and Mysteries exhibition going on right now. They also have Drawing in the Galleries for youth and adults together on Sunday, they provide all the supplies for this. Ice skating at Campus Martius Park is open 10am-midnight on Saturday and 12pm-8pm on Sunday, and will only cost you $7. And then there's the 38th Annual Noel Night from 5-9:30pm on Saturday. If you're looking for something a little out of the way, check out Hamtramck Disneyland. It's this wild creation in a backyard filled with carousel horses, little planes, and a giant Mikey Mouse head! The address is 12087 Klinger St and it's in the alley between Klinger and Sobieski.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wellohorld

For a list of crafty places and other things to do in Detroit, see last year's post. And of course, leave a comment if I missed something!

Design Define Detroit

2010-11-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

I attended Design Define Detroit at 5e Gallery last Saturday, and was really happy about all the people that showed up to support Detroit fashion. The discussion panel on creating a garment district in Detroit was my favorite part. The panel was made up of fashion designers, stylists, business consultants, and a city council member; all with important things to say. My favorite part of the discussion was when Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh implored all designers, photographers, stylists, etc. to learn all aspects of their business. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. You'll never be able to produce a successful line just by drawing sketches all day. I wish they had talked more about learning opportunities in Detroit. Besides doing an internship, I don't know of anywhere else where you can learn about producing a line. (A great online resource is fashion-incubator.com.)

It was discussed how Detroit used to have a garment district back in the 50s. My grandma talks about it sometimes, all the fabric stores and seamstresses that were there, I wish I could go back in time and see it! My grandma was helping me fit a dress for myself and I was telling her about Design Define Detroit and she said "A long time ago, we used to dress up to go to the city. There were so many fabric stores; Michigan Woolens on Broadway, and Zemco Textiles...it was a big deal!" It will be interesting to see what kind of fashion district will form now, I'm so excited to be a part of it!

Style Friday: Necklace Edition

2010-11-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

I never really had any interest in wearing jewelery until this year. I think it's because I've started wearing more than just jeans and t-shirts...fancy! And what better place to pick up some great jewelery pieces than an indie craft fair! Here's what I scored:

From Maker Faire Detroit: This treated copper necklace is by Courtney Fischer. I really like the colors, it reminds me of an oil spill, in a good way.

From the Detroit Urban Craft Fair: This birch bark necklace by Bettula was a custom piece. After wanting one of her necklaces for over a year, I finally asked her if she could make one for me in that shape. That's another reason why working with an independent designer is so great.

From Maker Faire Detroit. This crocheted necklace from Muggy Tuesday used to be a pair of earrings. They made it into a necklace for me right at the show!

From the Shadow Art Fair: This is the first piece of jewelery I bought at a craft fair, and it's still my favorite necklace. It's a set from Glass Action, the upper and lower peninsula of Michigan made from recycled stained glass. Sometimes I wear the upper peninsula alone, and people think it's a bat.

From the Renegade Craft Fair: Adjustable balsa wood necklace from Greenola. I also bought this in red.

If you noticed the unfinished dress on my mannequin, it's what I'm wearing to Design Define Detroit tomorrow. If you're interested in seeing a discussion panel on sustaining Detroit's fashion industry, you should definitely check out this event.

Baroque Music for Better Focus

2010-11-08T14:21:00.000-05:00

I was listening to CBC Radio 2 this morning, and they mentioned how Baroque music really helps you concentrate while you're working. I was immediately interested, because I often have trouble focusing and staying on task while I'm in the studio (one of the hard things about being your own boss). It is thought that the simplicity and order, as well as the fact that most Baroque music is set at 50-80 beats per minute, calms and focuses the brain. All those are reasons that I dislike that type of music! I find Baroque music boring, stuffy, too much like a musical math problem, but I decided to give it a try. I listened to it all day while I was working in the studio, and it worked! If you have trouble focusing, I definitely recommend making yourself a Baroque music playlist. Here's what I recommend:

Bach's Cello Suites, The Goldberg Variations (especially as played by Glenn Gould), and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5 in F Minor. Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

Pros and Cons of Working from Home

2010-10-27T09:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was such a great day to be working from home; there was a storm brewing outside, and the house was so cozy inside. It got me thinking about how lucky I am to be able to work from home. Then as I was daydreaming about cups of loose-leaf tea, and sleeping in; I realized one major disadvantage to me working from home. A disadvantage that I could probably fix. But first, here are the pros:

-Flexible schedule. If there's an event going on, I can almost always schedule my working hours around it. Even last-minute stuff.

-Being an emergency contact. When my little sister was in school, I was listed as her first emergency contact. Since our mom worked a half hour away, it was way easier for me to rescue her from school when she got sick.

-Sick days. I don't have to worry about the whole "am I sick enough to stay home, or should I go in...hmmmm" thing. Even if it's something little like maybe I needed an extra hour of rest that day, I can do that, as long as I make up the lost time at the end of the day.

-Fancy food! Since it's just a walk downstairs to my kitchen with many, many options for lunch that day, lunch is my favorite. I end up eating a lot healthier too. And, I can make as many cups of loose-leaf tea throughout the day as I want.

-The job. I get to design, draft patterns, sew, network, graphic design, sew some more, (and teach piano lessons and music class) every day. I couldn't have asked for a job I like more.

When most people list the disadvantages of working at home, one of the most common things is loneliness/feeling isolated. That doesn't really apply to me, since I teach piano lessons Monday-Friday, and I mostly teach at the student's home, so I see quite a few students and their parents every day. And with the amount of people I often see on the evenings/weekends, I really enjoy the alone time! My major problem with working at home are the distractions:

-Stuff that needs to get done around the house. Cleaning is the obvious one, but we just moved into this house a few months ago, and there are a million improvement projects to be done, which are often really fun (and super distracting).

-Piano. Since I teach it, I have to keep up on my skills, so daily practice I something I have to do. Daily practice is also really fun, and has a tendency to go on for much longer than I plan on.

-Sleeping in. I wake up every day at 5:50 with Billy, but some days, if I convince myself I reeeeeallllly need the extra sleep, I'll go back to bed until 8. Which is fine every so often, but not too much or I really cut into my working time.

-Blogging/Twitter/other social networking things. For my field of work, it's something that must be done. When I first started, I really wasn't into any of those things. I thought Twitter was useless, blogging was just self-important, and all those social networking things were just a huge waste of time. I quickly learned otherwise, with all the opportunities I would find out about, and all the people I connected with and knowledge we shared. And it's really fun. But it can be a huge time-eater.

-Working on projects that aren't urgent. Store order = urgent. Designing new tags = not so much. But one task might be a little easier than the other, so I'll do that one to procrastinate.

What I figured out is: I need to make a work schedule and prioritize my tasks. That sounds like corporate speak, but I don't have a boss, so I gotta step in and make it happen!

Fashion Week Detroit 2010

2010-10-25T12:05:00.001-04:00

I attended Fashion Week Detroit last weekend and really enjoyed it. My mom and I went down to the Motor City Casino for the days runway shows. I had never been to a live runway show before, so it was a pretty neat experience. There were six shows that day, with a wide variety of styles, and designers from Detroit and all over the world.

Femilia Couture was the first show, and the show I wanted to see the most. They're based out of Ferndale and use natural fibers in their designs. I'm pretty sure they try to employ zero-waste design whenever possible, meaning pattern pieces are cut into shapes (like squares or triangles) that leave very few scraps of fabric behind. I was impressed with what they did with those squares though!

A surprise favorite was Moosejaw. I wasn't really looking forward to seeing activewear/outerwear, but the way they styled the show was amazing. They had break dancing models, neon headbands, and Chuck Taylors and bright colored socks as footwear. For a minute, I could imagine myself in puffy jackets and fancy sweatpants, even though that's not my style at all.

Prophetik by Jeff Garner featured a live banjo for part of their soundtrack. I also loved the styling of this show, with messy braids and huge mud boots. My favorite designs were by Heike Jarik (a German designer with great taste in fabric), and Femilia Couture (local favorite!). It was a great day of fashion, and I felt that the event was done really well. I'll be looking forward to it next year!

Style Friday: Grumpy Out West Dress

2010-10-22T09:01:00.000-04:00

Ensemble details: dress- made by me, belt- thrift store in Ventura, CA, belt buckle- flightpathdesigns,

Just kidding, it's not a grumpy dress. And believe it or not, I'm not grumpy either...that's just the face I happened to make for the shot, whoops. I'm actually really excited about this dress, it's made from the first woven dress pattern I drafted. Last winter, I took a pattern drafting class at Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak. I learned so much from it, but one of the most useful things I got out of it was a personalized sloper. A sloper is the basic pattern you start with, and you can alter it to make different styles. My sloper was a fitted bodice, a straight skirt, and sleeves. To get a full skirt from straight skirt, I slashed and spread the waist darts on the skirt to close them up top and transfer them to the bottom of the skirt. To get the yoke on the bodice, I rotated the waist and bust darts up to the yoke and turned them into a dart-equivalent seam. I do this whenever possible, I hate darts! It's tight in the shoulders because I messed up the seam allowance, I either forgot to add it on, or I may have subtracted it. But this was just a practice dress, hence the weird fabric combo (that I ended up really liking!).

This is my favorite belt; I got it at a Ventura thrift store when we lived out in California. It looks like one of those girl scout leather stamping projects, and it says PENNY on the back. The buckle is one I've had my eye on for a while, I saw them at the first Renegade Craft Fair that I did. I didn't buy it right away because it was a little expensive, but I only need one, and it's better than the box store alternative.

When I get some time, I'm going to start working on some winter dresses. I've been super busy with store orders (not that I'm complaining) but I can't wait to start making some dresses for myself!

Renegade Chicago/DIY Street Fair 2010 Recap

2010-09-28T12:47:00.000-04:00

Billy watching my booth at Renegade Chicago, during one of the rare times it was (almost) empty.

What a busy September! I had two great back-to-back weekend shows, The Chicago Renegade Craft Fair, and the DIY Street Fair in Ferndale. Both fairs were awesome, there were a ton of people in attendance, and the vendor selection was top-notch. I was honored to be included amongst so many awesome artists.

Renegade was awesome as usual, and my booth was right across the street from Starfruit! I had frozen kefir evvveryday and it was amazing. This was the first big show Billy has helped me out with, and he was pretty impressed with it too. He also realized how tiring they are! My mom came to visit, but only for fun and shopping, no working vacation for her this time. I saw a lot of old friends, and made some new ones. One of my new favorites is Laura Fauna. And oh man, did I buy a ton of handmade goodness. But I'll save that for another post. I also indulged myself in one of the temporary tattoos from the Renegade booth. This year's design was so good, I couldn't resist plastering it on my forearm!

Billy was such a great helper! Parking my car, carrying heavy stuff, watching my booth while I went walking around, and even rigging up this contraption to carry my set-up back to the car.

The DIY Street Fair in Ferndale was also a great show. This was my first year doing it, and I thought it was run very professionally, and they sure brought a lot of people in! One of the great things about this show is that they provide you with a tent. Another great thing about this show is all the great bands they had lined up to play. I didn't have any helpers for this weekend, and I was pretty bummed that I didn't get to walk around and check out what everyone else was doing. This was the first show that I successfully built a changing room, and it was a big hit. I'll definitely be including a changing room in all my future displays.


I loved the twinkie car at DIY!

I love doing shows, but it's true that there can be too much of a good thing! I'm glad to have a bit of a break from the city, and work on shenanigans, bonfires, and painting our house. But give me a month, and I'll be super-stoked about the next craft fair, no doubt!

Style Friday: Plaid Beatrix

2010-09-10T09:10:00.000-04:00

This top is one of my new Fall designs. It wasn't originally meant for me, it was supposed to be for sale at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend. But...I made a huge mistake on it! I cut out the pieces with the grain going the wrong way, so it stretches along the length of the body instead of the width. I couldn't sell it like that, but it fit me fine, even with the backwards stretch. It was a happy end to a sewing mistake.

This top is a good transitional piece for Fall, since it has longer sleeves and the material is a bit thicker. When it gets colder in the evening, I wear my grey zip-up over it, and I'm good to go! And my ubiquitous cut-offs too. I wore this top almost every day last weekend (it was a four-day weekend too, haha) It's pretty much perfect!

I named it the Beatrix Top, continuing with the old-fashioned lady names. I think I'm going to switch to old Detroit-area street names now, I'm running out of ladies names, and some of the older street names are really cool. Any street name suggestions? They have to be old, and from the tri-county area.

braid detail at the neckline

Renegade Craft Fair this Weekend!

2010-09-08T20:27:00.000-04:00

The 8th annual Renegade Craft Fair is this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 11am-7pm). Each year gets better and better! For a full list of what's going on, check out http://www.renegadecraft.com/chicago. Here are some of the things I'm most excited about:

-Wood St. has been transformed into "Craft Alley" with crafty documentary screenings, hands-on activities and workshops.
-Marching bands and DJs from Reckless Records.
-How cute is this: a bicycle parking lot!
-Reallllllly good food everywhere.

But really, there's so much more going on, so definitely make sure to check out the above link for more awesomeness. I'm putting the finishing touches on my Fall designs, they'll be for sale. I'll be booth #241, see you there!

Pretty Packaging

2010-09-07T14:50:00.000-04:00

I love getting packages in the mail. It's even better when they're in super cute boxes. But what I love even more than that is putting packages in the mail. There's a path at the back of my house that goes through the woods and ends up right by the post office, and it's like a little adventure every time I go there. I've been working on perfecting the packaging I send my Always the Forest clothing out in. The boxes I use are 100% post-consumer waste, and recyclable. And they're made in Illinois! I can't use these boxes when shipping internationally (booo!) but I still decorate the bags I use for those orders.

I package the clothing item in these awesome newsprint bags. I bought a huge bulk package of them a few years ago, and that place has since gone out of business. I'll be so sad when I run out! I got that awesome Always the Forest stamp custom-made by http://www.etsy.com/shop/AsspocketProductions, and the other stamps are also from Etsy.

Invoice, business card, and a little note from me.

And done! I need to figure out some sort of water-proofing solution, just in case a package gets left out in the rain. I'm thinking a small plastic bag for the garment itself, I just need to find a good supplier.

Maybe it seems like a lot of effort to stamp and sticker the bags and boxes, but it really doesn't take that long, and I think it's important for the package to be as nice as the clothing inside. Plus, stamping things is fun for me anyways!

Style Friday: My Favorite Wrap Skirt

2010-09-03T11:37:00.000-04:00

So I've been doing good with the whole not-buying-anything-new part of my goal this year...I only bought one pair of pajamas from target. Anything else has been made by me, or another local, independent designer.

In the summer, I basically rotate through the same few clothing items. If I'm going to be working, getting dirty, or exploring, I wear cutoffs and a t-shirt. If I'm teaching, I'll wear a skirt and a plain shirt.

But! The more fancy clothing I make for myself, the more I get to dress up! Which is kinda fun. I made this skirt a while ago, and I wear it so often. It's the first Hattie wrap skirt that I made. It's super comfortable, but looks really fancy. I was working in it today, that's why it's wrinkled.

My next project is going to be making some plain tops for myself. I bought the ones in the picture last year, or maybe two years ago, probably from Target. They're getting a little worn out, and I'd like to make some that are a little better in quality.

Close-up of my shoes, they matched the fall leaves. I can't wait for tights and sweater season! But that's probably because I'm an old lady at heart.

While I was on Vacation....

2010-08-31T11:27:00.000-04:00

Billy and I took a trip up to Torch Lake with a bunch of our friends last week. It was nice to get away for a little bit, but I was worried I might get behind on my sewing. My mom called me up during my trip and tells me she found a ton of remnants in really great fall colors, and should she pick some up for me? I was pretty excited about that, since I was running low on fabrics that would be good for this season. She calls me again a few days later and said, "I designed a dress, and Grandma made a pattern for it." My mom is a pretty stylish lady, so I didn't doubt it would be a great dress. When I got home, she showed me the dress, and I was totally floored! It's a mock wrap dress, with a cascading ruffle down the side of the skirt. It's so pretty! And my grandma presented me with a bundle of homemade pattern pieces, plus another dress pattern that they made!

All I have to do now is double-check the pattern and grade it. And sew a ton of dresses! I am super excited about the fabric too, my mom picked up a lot of really unique, beautiful pieces. The Renegade Craft Fair is in two weeks, and the DIY Street Fair is the weekend after that. I can do this!

This Summer in Craft Shows...

2010-08-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

Marching band at the Shadow Art Fair

This has been another exciting summer filled with amazing craft shows. Since we bought a new house, I've been stocking up on awesome handmade housewares too. Ahhh the shopping is so good at these shows! But you probably don't need me to tell you that... The Shadow Art Fair in Ypsilanti was goofy/weird/interesting/and filled with wildly entertaining excellence as usual. A marching band suddenly came through about mid-day, and startled me! And this year I was finally of age to try the Shadow Brew, and it was delicious. It's a 12-hour fair, noon to midnight, and I don't know how they keep it packed full for all 12 hours...oh wait, I know, because it's a great fair!

Shadow Brew!

Mitten Made in Ann Arbor got rained out! I think Ann Arbor got record rainfall that weekend, and a few tornado warnings. So we moved inside the Blue House and I had a great time talking with the wonderful crafty ladies there. Plus the Blue House is sooo cute!

Maker Faire was the next weekend, and I was so impressed. I began to unload my car, and five or six people gathered around my trunk and unloaded it for me! They even set up my booth while I parked my car! Apparently the Henry Ford is fulled staffed with assistants, and that wasn't out of the norm. Awesome! There were so many interesting things happening outside of the Craft tent, like the Life-Sized Mousetrap, or the crazy bicycle contraptions running around. I wish I could have gotten out to see it all, but I think I'd need an entire day.

My booth set-up at Maker Faire

My booth neighbors were Worn Magazine and Burnt Desserts. I was also next Carrie of Burnt Desserts at Mitten Made, and she is the sweetest person who makes the most adorable miniature food items like sushi hair clips. At both fairs, when I would get really hungry, I would lean over to her booth and tell her how cute her stuff was but it would be way better if it was real food, haha. The ladies at Worn Magazine came all the way from Toronto. I've been getting their magazine for the past few months, and I definitely recommend checking it out, if you're looking for a non-traditional fashion magazine.


Part of the Life-Size Mousetrap at Maker Faire Detroit

But craft show season isn't done yet! I'm looking forward to Renegade Chicago (9/11-12), and the D.I.Y. Street Fair in Ferndale (9/24-26) and hopefully a few more in the fall and winter.

Crafty Books for My Birthday

2010-07-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

Last week was my 22nd birthday, and it was great! I got some awesome sewing books, and a box of really good chocolates (in super cute packaging) made locally in a town near mine.

I got the third book in the Built by Wendy series, this on is all about dresses. I already own Sew U and Sew U: Home Stretch, and this one looks just as good as the first two. Which I highly recommend for both beginning and experienced seamstresses. It also comes with full-sized patterns for you to use!

Alabama Studio Style: More Projects, Recipes & Stories Celebrating Sustainable Fashion and Living is full of gorgeous projects with an emphasis on hand sewing. I want to make the red tank dress first, it's so beautiful. Hand sewing will also allow me to have a project that I can take anywhere. Machine sewing isn't exactly a super social craft...it's kind of hard to lug a big machine around with me to craft nights, so I'm really excited to finally have some portable projects.

This weekend is the Maker Faire, and last weekend was Mitten Made, so things have been really busy around here. I'm going to start working on Fall 2010 designs next week, and if all goes well, I'll have that collection out late August/early September.

p.s. If you like the feather fabric in the background of the above picture, it's being made into dresses this afternoon, and they'll be available at Maker Faire!

Summer Show Schedule 2010

2010-07-07T13:00:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about summer (besides swimming, ice cream, and fireworks) is all the craft shows I get to do! I love meeting my customers, especially the happy repeat ones (you guys make my day!) And of course, the other artists and crafters. So if you've been wanting to see my designs in person, and maybe try something on, come check me out at one of these shows!

7/10 Shadow Art Fair, Ypsilanti - This show is awesome! It's in Ypsilanti, at the Corner Brewery from noon-midnight. This year, they have a vegetable oil-powered Shadow Shuttle Bus that will be running from the Corner Brewery to a few other locations in Ypsi that have more parking, and other activities (an art race at Spur Studios, performance art at the Dreamland Theater, and more music at the Savoy) going on. The full schedule is here. And, of course, there's the special Shadow Brew. This year, it's a Penumbra Blackberry White Ale brewed with chamomile, lavender, strawberries, jasmine, pink rose buds, blackberries, and a bunch of other stuff.

7/23-24 Mitten Made, Ann Arbor - This is a two day show at the new crafty venue/studio in Ann Arbor, Blue House. It runs from 10-5pm on Friday and Saturday. Artist sneak peek is up on their website. Though not on the same weekend, their summer class schedule is pretty awesome. Check it out here.

7/31-8/1 Craft Faire, Dearborn - Craft Faire is part of Maker Faire Detroit, at The Henry Ford, 9:30-8pm. Craft Faire is outside, in the Henry Ford parking lot.

9/11-12 Renegade Craft Fair, Chicago - Huuuuuuuge, amazing craft fair, definitely not one to miss. From 11-5pm along Division St. in Wicker Park. The selection of vendors is always top-notch, and the restaurants in the area are sooo good!

I'm super excited for all these shows this summer, hopefully I'll see some of you there!

Moving!

2010-06-29T11:57:00.000-04:00

What a week! We moved out of our cute downtown apartment, up the street a few blocks to this awesome house on almost an acre of land. Billy has a huge, two-story barn to work in, and I have the entire upstairs for my sewing room. I really like how we're so close to the city, but it feels like we're in the country.

Our friends and family are the greatest. They helped us out so much, from cleaning, to moving a piano down a flight of stairs. And all my fabric and sewing machines! The rest of this week will be spent unpacking boxes and organizing the house. I don't even know where to start with my sewing studio, I have so much more room now. If anyone has any pictures or links to blog posts about cute/practical studio spaces, please share them in the comments!

Quilting for Funzies

2010-06-02T15:04:00.000-04:00

I really, really enjoy sewing. But when it's both your hobby and you workday, it can get a little tiresome. The reason why I like quilting so much is because it's very different than the design and production sewing I do for my clothing line. For my line, I'm usually doing six things at once, and learning a seventh and an eighth at the same time. There's a lot there that can go wrong! But that's what I love about this job. There's not much repetition. I'll bounce from pattern drafting to serging seams, to ironing, to resizing photos on the laptop, to going on a supply run...all within the course of a day. This is something that I thrive on. I have to plan and decide what I do next, there's no instruction sheet for me to follow. Butttttt....I have times where I just want some structure, some repetitive task to sort of zone out to while creating something pretty. That's where (simple) quilting comes in*. I'm making a strip quilt right now with my sister. She's doing the same design, different colors. The only time I need to make a decision is in the very beginning when I'm picking out the fabrics and colors. After that, it's cut out a bunch of the same sized strips. Sew together a bunch of the same sized strips. Cut a bunch of the assembled strips in three. Sew them back together. It's sooo relaxing. I can abandon the quilt for a month and pick up right back where I started.

The next quilt I want to make is the Cathedral Window Quilt. It will be a really neat way to showcase scraps from other projects as the "stained glass" windows. Since it involves origami-like folding, there's no need for backing or quilting. The tutorial for this quilt is here: http://hyena-in-petticoats.blogspot.com/2007/08/cathedral-window-quilt-tutorial.html and photo credit goes to http://www.flickr.com/people/paperstringcloth/.

Another quilt I want to make is the adorable Little Forest Quilt. I really like the asymmetrical placement of the trees on the quilt. Tutorial here: http://www.purlbee.com/little-forest-quilt/.

I also like making these silly little yo-yo things. You can make many different things out of them, or just use them as decorations on clothing and bags. I like the idea of making a blanket out of them. I've also seen some really cool necklaces made of four or five yo-yos of varying sizes. Here's a good tutorial on how to make them: http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/hbyoyotutorial1.html

And if sewing just isn't doing it for me, I'll go play the piano!

Seven Craft Show Tips

2010-05-25T14:35:00.000-04:00

Summer is almost here, and craft show season is in full swing. This will be my third year of doing these shows, so I thought I'd share some helpful tips for those of you who might just be starting out.

1. When deciding to apply to a show, make sure you research it first! The best thing you can do is be a customer at the show the year before. Check out what types of vendors are there, and how well the show appears to be run. If you're selling quality, handmade items, you probably won't do well in a show filled with bargain imports. Ask how the organizers are promoting the event as well.

2. Promote! The organizers should also be doing this, but it helps out a ton if you also spread the word. Send out an email to your mailing list with your craft show schedule. Utilize social networks. Tell all your friends! If fliers are available, put them up around town.

3. Bring a helper. Although not totally necessary, having someone to help you out is such a wonderful thing. And they don't have to be present the entire time either, just someone you can call to bring you food, or give you a bathroom break, or to help you out with customers during the busy times of the show.

4. Double-check to make sure you packed everything! Make a list of everything you need to bring, and check it at least twice. Add to the list as you get more experienced. As I did more shows, I discovered little things that were really useful, so I added them to the list for next time.

5. Be friendly to your customers. Crafts shows can be grueling sometimes, but make sure you're still smiling and friendly to the people who come into your booth, or you might scare them away! Think of things you can tell people about your craft that might not be obvious from just looking at them. Half of the time, people don't realize that I make the clothing I'm selling from scratch (huge compliment on my part :D) so I make sure to tell them. I'll also mention that all the clothing is made out of recycled materials, and what those are and where they come from. But sometimes customers don't want to be bothered, and you'll be able to tell who those are, so don't inundate those people with info.

6. Be nice to the organizers. Organizing a craft show is stressful business, so be kind to them! Don't be rude if there is a mix-up of some sort, or if the weather is bad, or if something doesn't go your way. When you pack up, make sure you leave your area as clean as it was when you arrived.

7. Most importantly, have fun! Craft shows are one of my favorite things to do in this business. I get to meet so many nice/awesome/interesting people. Make sure to walk around and talk to your fellow vendors. If you're not a local vendor, take some time before or after the show to explore the city.

I am so looking forward to this summer and fall and all the awesome craft shows I'll get to do! I'll be sure to keep you all posted as soon as I get some show dates finalized.

Natural Makeup - Blush from Beets!

2010-05-18T15:53:00.000-04:00

I'm not a fussy person when it comes to hair and makeup and all that sort of stuff, but there are a few products that I use every day. One of those was liquid blush. I used Benefit's "Benetint", but after learning a little bit about cosmetic ingredients, I realized that two of the ingredients in Benetint, when combined, make formaldehyde! And then there's the whole not wanting to support an industry that preys on womens insecurities, but that's a whole different post. Either way, I didn't really want to buy Benetint anymore.

I realized that beet juice was almost the exact same color as my old Benetint, so I decided to do some kitchen experimenting. I put about 2 or 3 tablespoons of vegetable glycerin in a small pot over medium heat, and added half a chopped organic beet. I let it simmer until I got the color concentration that I wanted, and after it cooled, I funneled it back into the old Benetint bottle. In my opinion, it's the exact same color as what I was using before. It's a really subtle color that works well with a variety of complexions. And it smells a little bit like beets, which I actually like, but if that's not your thing, you can probably add some fragrance. I've been using it for about 3 months, and it's just been sitting out on my dresser. The vegetable glycerin is a preservative, so the beets shouldn't rot.

And here's the finished product! You can vary the color intensity by using more or less of it on your face. You can also use it as lip color. It will cost you about $4 for the vegetable glycerin, and $1 for the beet, plus about a half hour of your time. Compared to the $20+ for a bottle of the store-bought stuff, that's an amazing deal!

Sewing Machine Reviews

2010-03-31T11:38:00.001-04:00

I use three different sewing machines for making clothing. They are: a serger, a coverstitch, and a regular sewing machine. They're all home-sewing machines, so they definitely have their limitations, but they do a fine job for now, until I have the space to upgrade to industrial machines.

Machine #1- New Home Decor Excel II HF5024. I got this machine when I was a junior in high school. It is now six years old, and still runs really well. This is my basic sewing machine, I use it for topstitching, and most of my alterations work that I do outside of Always the Forest. It takes a bit of coaxing to go over many layers of thick material (e.g. some difficulty going over the side seam while hemming a pair of jeans) but if you sew slowly, it will make it through. It does a good automatic buttonhole. One trick I learned was to use the specific Janome bobbin (New Home is made by Janome) otherwise it doesn't sew as well. I used a generic bobbin or a singer bobbin for a year and was frustrated by poor quality in the stitches, but when I switched to using a Janome bobbin, the quality was soooo much better. I don't remember the original price of this machine, but I got it for $299 because they used it for a class once. Look for machines that were floor models or used for a class, and you can get a really good deal.

Machine #2- Janome MyLock 644D. Oh man, the day that I got a serger was the day that my sewing got ten times better. If you don't know what a serged seam is, look at the inside seam of any t-shirt. This machine is essential for anyone making knit clothing. I use this for all seams. It cuts, sews, and overcasts a seam all in one really fast movement. It can do a rolled hem and 2, 3, or 4 thread overlock. It's pretty easy to thread. The one drawback is that it has difficulty going through more than four layers of medium-weight fabric, and more than two or three layers of thick fabric. But other than that, it makes really nice, professional-looking seams. One thing to keep in mind when using a serger: don't run over pins! The bottom blade is a carbide blade that should last for a decade, but running over pins puts dents in it and it won't cut fabric smoothly after that. This one was originally $799, but I got it for almost half of that from my local sewing machine dealer when they were having an awesome sale.

Machine #3- Janome CoverPro 900 CP. This is my coverstitch machine, I use it for hems on stretchy fabrics. If you don't know what a coverstitch looks like, look at the bottom hem of most t-shirts, you'll see two lines of stitching, and the raw edge of them hem is overcast in back. The coverstitch machine does that all in one movement. It also does a chain stitch, but I don't use that very much. It has a free arm, so hemming sleeves isn't a problem. Some sergers have the ability to do a coverstitch, but I recommend getting two separate machines. It's about the same price, but you save so much time not having to switch the machine from one function to the other. I don't remember the price of this one, but I think it was a little less than the serger.

I also have a blind hemmer that needs some adjustments before I can sew with it. That would make some of my alterations work a total breeze.

On my wish list: all industrial machines! They're fast and powerful. The drawbacks of using home machines are that they're kinda slow, and they have difficulty sewing through many layers of fabric. Not so with an industrial. Drawbacks of industrial machines are: size, noise, and price. The noise wouldn't really bother me, but we have no space for them in our apartment right now.

Another thing on my wish list is some sort of way to apply bindings to the necklines of knit clothing. I can do it with my regular machine, but it's slow, and hard to get it perfect. I'd like a solution that can fold it and sew it in one movement. I know such a thing is out there, I just don't know what it is! If anyone has any ideas or other sewing machine recommendations, let me know in the comments. Tell me about your sewing set-up!

Organizing Paperwork

2010-03-25T11:17:00.000-04:00

I got this super cute hanging file box over the weekend, it's a sturdy, spacious little case covered in a Liberty of London print. Prior to this, I had this flimsy little expanding file that was getting over stuffed with documents.

Everybody organizes their business paperwork differently, but there are a few categories most people will use. The categories I use are Expenses, Sales, Licensing, Bank Info, Press, and Miscellaneous. Another common category is Taxes, but for me, those get filed in our personal case.

Expenses: This is a category most everybody will need. This is where my receipts go for supplies, materials, advertising, postage, etc. I put this one right up front so I can just drop my receipts in it. At the end of every month, I input them into my accounting excel spreadsheet, and file them in an envelope labeled with the month. It makes for much less work at the end of the year. Depending on how many receipts you accumulate, you may want to do this more or less often. At the end of the year, I take all 12 months of receipts, put them in a manila envelope labeled with the year and place them in the back of the file case.

Sales: This is another category most everybody will need. This is where my sales receipts go. I treat these sales receipts just like I do with my expense receipts.

Licensing: This is where I keep all of my business documentation like sales tax licenses, EIN number registration, all that fancy stuff.

Bank Info: I stopped getting paper bank statements sent to me a while ago, you can access and print out anything that you need online. I keep a statement in this file so I have my account number, and the bank's phone number if I need it. I keep my business checks in here, since I don't use them all that often.

Press: Pretty self-explanatory, cut-outs of magazine and newspaper articles that I've been featured in.

Miscellaneous: Non-essential items that don't fit anywhere else but I still want to keep. Business cards from other crafters go in here too.

Getting your business paperwork organized is probably simpler than you imagined, and it saves you so much time and frustration at the end of the year when you're doing you taxes. You don't have to stick with a plain filing case either, make it fancy if you want!

Photoshop Actions: A Super Timesaver

2010-03-19T13:59:00.001-04:00

It used to take me forever to update the shop portion of my website. There is one main image per item, plus at least 3 detail images. The three detail images have to be in two sizes, the full size detail view, and the 100x100 thumbnail. The main image needs three: a full size detail, a smaller "main view", and the 150x200 thumbnail that goes in the "browsing" part of the store. Needless to say, that's a lot of resizing! I had known about Photoshop actions for a while, and I knew I would probably benefit from using a few, but I kept putting it off because I thought they would be difficult to create. Finally, I looked into it, and discovered how easy it is!

An action is a recording of a set of commands, usually really mundane things that don't require that much human brainwork. Once you've recorded a set of commands, you can apply that to any image, with just one click. To create an action, first make sure your "action" toolbar is visible. You can do this under the Windows menu. Open an image that you'll be able to apply all the steps you want. Click the "create new action" icon at the bottom of the toolbar (kinda looks like a little piece of paper). Give your action a name. Then click "record" and begin editing your image as you want. The recording isn't timed, so take your time and get everything right. Finish all the steps you want to include, save it in the folder you want, and close it out. Then hit the "stop" button on the bottom of the toolbar (the square). Some parts of your action might need manual input, for mine, I need to name the file when it's being saved. If you want a prompt to appear during a certain step, click the check box next to that step in the actions toolbar (not boxes with the check marks, but the one next to that). You can test your action out on another image to see if everything works out. You might need to go back and edit or delete some steps. But it's super easy to do, and saves you so much time!

(And I'm no Photoshop expert, so if anyone has any other tips or a way to do it better, let me know!)

Getting ready for Spring

2010-03-13T07:52:00.000-05:00

Things have been quiet over here for the last week, since I've been sewing up the final designs for spring and summer. Photoshoot today, updating site tomorrow. They will be available this Monday, yay!

Since I have nothing else to write, I will leave you with this happy little animated .gif of our dog sledding adventure last weekend. Michigan adventures are great!

New store in Milwaukee! Project M opens this Monday.

2010-02-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

I had decided earlier this year that I wasn't going to do anymore wholesale or consignment, and sell only directly to my customers through my website and craft shows in order to keep my designs affordable. And if that meant that Always the Forest wouldn't have a presence in brick-and-mortar stores, that's fine. E-commerce is booming anyway. But when the owners of Project M in Milwaukee emailed me asking if I would like to sell my designs in their store, I was intrigued by their business model. Bree Rose Bower and Kelly Strosser are both independent designers in their early 20s, and created Project M as a network for Midwest designers. Project M is set up more like an art gallery, the designers pay a flat monthly fee and keep 100% of their sales. I am so excited that these ladies are doing something different then the usual high-priced boutiques that are a dime-a-dozen, and instead, offering a supportive network for local designers. I spent all this week working on clothing to send there for the opening, the picture is a snippet of what will be there. Project M is located at 801 E. Center St in Milwaukee, and the grand opening is this Monday. I can't wait!

Shy Girl Hesitates to Respond to E-mails and Sets Out to Fix the Problem

2010-02-19T14:47:00.000-05:00

Today, I was lamenting my inability to respond to emails in a prompt manner. It's awful. I'll check my email (both personal and business) and not respond to new emails for waaay too long. It could be a thank you note or a question about materials. Short answers and long answers. I don't do it all the time, but I do it often enough to feel bad about it. And I really did feel awful about it, first because it's rude, and second, I could potentially be losing customers due to this bad habit. I gave it some thought, and came up with two possible causes.

1. I put too much thought into my responses. I labor and agonize over crafting the perfect response. It has to be witty, professional, and have perfect spelling and grammar. It has to perfectly convey the message while perfectly representing my personality. Well, I think I should save that type of writing for the penpals, because I'm pretty sure most people want a quick response more than they want a beautifully written masterpiece.

2. I'm shy! Not as shy as I used to be, but still shy enough to be a little scared to talk to certain people. And that whole idea of "everyone is ten feet tall and braver over the internet" doesn't apply to me. When I do craft shows, I don't have a problem talking to people that come up to my table. Over the internet, not so much. Ridiculous, I know!

This problem ends now! I didn't include this issue in my goals for 2010 because I wanted to pretend it didn't exist...but I'm ready to tackle it now. This might be one of my most important goals this year!

Experimenting with Screen Printing Methods

2010-02-16T13:13:00.000-05:00

Earlier in the year, I had said I wanted to do more screen printing in my work this year. It's always been something that I've really enjoyed doing. My passion for screen printing started my junior year of high school, when I began to feel the limitations of freezer paper stencils. You know that freezer paper stencil craze on craftster.org and _thestencilry or whatever that livejournal community was called, where you would painstakingly cut out your intricate design with an x-acto knife, then iron the freezer paper to your t-shirt or whatever you wanted to stencil, paint it with fabric paint, and then throw that intricate stencil away because freezer paper is one-use-only? Yeah, I made dozens of those, and my closet was filled with enough stenciled hoodies and t-shirts to make me a walking billboard of my political views, haha. But stencils really limit you in the detail of your designs, and you have to mind your bridges too. Ahhh I hated those! When I learned it was possible to DIY screen print, I jumped headfirst into learning it. I decided to jump straight to learning the photo emulsion method, and skip the film method since that was too similar to stenciling. I was done with cutting out tiny shapes! I checked out books from the library and scoured the internet to figure it out. One resource I found to be particularly helpful was a zine called The Gospel of Screenprinting. But anyways, five years later, four laundryroom-converted-darkroom set ups in two different states, and over two dozen screens burned and printed, I decided it was time to try something a bit different. Painter's tape!

I know, so high-tech! But I really like how it turned out. Cutting out thin strips of painter's tape to make bold, geometric prints, and all without a plan for a design. I just started laying down strips, and it was so neat to see what would come out of the negative space when I taped off one shape. The design just sort of came alive as I kept taping. My only concern is that it won't hold up very well over multiple printings. I got the "no bleed edge" kind of painter's tape, so I'm hopeful, but I guess we'll see. This print is going to be in a lot of my designs for Spring and Summer this year, which are all coming along nicely, so you can expect some previews soon!

Style Friday - Cheat Week

2010-01-29T11:21:00.003-05:00

Style Friday! This is going to be a weekly series documenting personal style. My resolve for this year (and forever): To not buy a stitch of brand new clothing. If I want something, I have to make it myself, out of recycled materials. It's kinda shameful how many pieces of clothing I own that are from Target or some other unethical offender. I know, I know, you're probably thinking "but Stephanie, you make all the clothes you sell out of recycled materials. How is that possible!" It's my secret, frivolous vice! I know how wrong it is, I know the harmful and far-reaching, earth-devastating, worker-devastating effects...I'm awful! I'm putting a stop to it right now. This first week is a cheat week, I didn't make anything in this outfit, it's just stuff I owned already. Next Friday will feature something I made.

And don't worry, I'm still going to be mostly writing about behind-the-scenes designing/sewing stuff. I'm not becoming a fashion blogger by any means, but I do think it's neat to see other people's styles every so often and thought I'd offer up my own once a week.

Outfit details:

Necklace- I put it together from another necklace and a belt I got at a garage sale.

Dress- Grey knit cowl neck and bubble hem dress, TJ Maxx

Cardigan- Mustard Lace, Rodarte for Target

Tights- Grey lace tights over teal tights, Parisian

Shoes- these are by far the coolest part of this outfit. My grandma gave them to me, she got them from Poland.

The Fit Conundrum

2010-01-25T17:10:00.001-05:00

Most everyone I know has some issue with how ready-to-wear clothing fits them. Pants gap at the waistband, shoulders fit too tightly, tank top straps too long. Billy's dress shirts fit him perfectly all over, except they won't button at the neck. For me, it's always the bust. If it fits everywhere else, it's always too tight in the bust. I used to say, "oh, I'm just disproportionate". I used to think the problem was with me, and not the clothes in the stores. Most people think this way, and are even unhappy about their bodies because of it. The truth is, most manufacturers make those clothes to fit an average. And the people who don't blame their bodies for the incorrect fit blame the designers for making clothes that don't fit well. Neither one of those viewpoints is quite right, and this year, I want to attempt to come to some sort of middle ground.

When I started my line, I had no formal training or experience in pattern making. Because of that, I've always been very conscientious about proper fit. At that time, I knew that I wasn't doing a good job, but I didn't know how to fix it either. The only thing I knew how to do was make clothing that fit me. When I went to sell at my very first craft show, I had garments mostly labeled "small", and then a few "mediums" which I squeaked out from my "small" patterns by adding a little to the width and the length of the patterns. Oops. So I got a lot of feedback. People were so nice about it too! And they totally didn't have to be, since fit is often a touchy subject. The overwhelming response was that my sizes (the two that I offered, haha) were too small. So armed with the knowledge that my sizing was quite a bit off, I set out to correct it.

I've taken pattern making classes from the local community college, and I'm taking another pattern making class right now. I've pored over the Fashion Incubator forums and studied The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing. I don't ever think I'll know all there is to know about pattern making. But I can try! And that's only half the battle. I want to design clothing that will fit and flatter a variety of shapes and figures. Is that even possible? I've been toying with the idea of adjustable clothing. Like a wrap skirt and a wrap dress are kind of adjustable, sort of that idea. After a week of thinking about that, I couldn't think of a way to make any place but the waist adjustable. Adjustable shoulders? Adjustable bust? How? So I think I'm going to try and make designs that are flattering to a variety of figures. I have to be realistic, I don't think every design will be able to fit every figure, but I'd like to make it so it can fit more than just one body type. The safe, rational part of me says, pick a target market, and tailor your sizing for that one body type. But this fit conundrum is important to me, and I would be so happy if I could make clothing that women of many shapes and sizes could feel confident in.

Sewing Soundtrack

2010-01-22T13:03:00.002-05:00

Listening to music while I'm sewing often saves me from getting bored, especially during long stretches of doing the same thing. I found that when I'm working, I don't listen to the same music that I do when I'm just listening for music's sake. I pick more upbeat stuff when I sew. I'll also listen to WDET 101.9 (Detroit Public Radio), and certain shows really make the time go by.

I'm a sucker for anything lo-fi. I really like Wavves right now, their album reminds me of summertime. I also realllllllllly like Sleigh Bells, their song "Crown on the Ground" is so good. The White Stripes, Black Lips, and MGMT are also on my sewing playlist.

Music with unusual instrumentation or intricate compositions. Beirut, Olivia Tremor Control, Of Montreal, The Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear. Neutral Milk Hotel is one of my favorites....the singing saw is absolutely amazing.

Super upbeat, poppy stuff. Matt & Kim, The Seeds, Rogue Wave, Peter Bjorn and John, Belle and Sebastian, The Unicorns and Coconut Records.

Bands with good singers. Sondre Lerche, M. Ward, Blind Pilot, Elliott Smith.

Classical music. Satie, Khachaturian, Chopin, Beethoven, and Gershwin are some of my favorites. Anything for the piano or french horn.

Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and The Shins. These bands get special mention, since they were what I was listening to when I first started discovering indie craft shows and everything d.i.y. So they will always make me think of my first crafty days. Awww.

What do you like to listen to when you craft? I'd like some new tunes, please!

Ephemera Collection

2010-01-18T15:12:00.001-05:00

Over the years, I've collected many bits of papery goodness. Craft fair fliers, show fliers, stickers, business cards, magazine cut-outs, old pamphlets, notes, scribbles, you name it. If it has a neat design, or sentimental value, I'll put it in this big old vintage suitcase with the rest of my collected ephemera. Here are some of my favorites:

I got these at an amazing estate sale. The bedroom dresser contained all these great pamphlets and a ton more. The "Rules and Regulations for the Control of Communicable Diseases" is from March, 1937 from the Michigan Department of Health in Lansing.

Samples of my grandma's handwriting, and one of her customer's notes.

Table markers and a vendor bag from Detroit Urban Craft Far 2007 and 2008. I told you I keep everything!

Craft show fliers and stickers.

More fliers, and two maps of good places to eat in Detroit that my boothmates from City Bird were kind enough to make me.

Favorite restaurant in Barstow, CA/Favorite restaurant in Spokane, WA

I love the design of these old National Park Service posters.

CCS stuff.

Old bag from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

More craft show fliers and stickers.

VG Kids are screen printers from Ypsi, and the crass side of me loves their slogan. Show fliers, more stickers. Spokecard from the first annual Romeo Alleycat.

Vintage wallpaper, and scribbles from when I was designing a logo for Always the Forest.

Cut-outs from old Time magazines, something from CCS, and a picture of goose-man from my 10th grade biology book that I liked so much, I tore it out and ironed the image onto a shirt. Come on, the geese are nibbling at his hair!

Crafty Decorations for a Crafty Room

2010-01-08T19:22:00.001-05:00

I did a picture tour of my studio a while ago, but it didn't really show all the little details and crafty touches. My studio has a sort of cluttery-cute aesthetic going on. I think all of my decorations are from garage sales or things I've made. So here's a detailed picture tour!

I found these cartons at a garage sale. They used to hold old phonograph cylinders, now they hold my pens, pencils, brushes and knives.

Another garage sale find: a vintage magazine cover cross-stitch. The date on the back says 1970.

Using embroidery hoops to display fabric. Hung with twine.

The whole line of them.

Nooks and crannies: old blank scrapbook I found at a garage sale, amazing record cover with no record inside.

Lampshade covered with negatives. It looks pretty spectacular when the lamp is lit up.

I was so excited when we moved here and had shelving built into our walls. An area solely for displaying things! How about that. I was stoked. Billy's cameras, my pyrex.

The rest of the shelving. Cameras, yarn, and vintage thread.

Old thermostat, now a tape measure hanger. Tip: hang up your tape measures instead of rolling them up. They won't get all crinkled and worn that way.

More embroidery hoop fabric displays. That wall used to be the outside of our building, and the hoops are hanging from where the ancient power lines used to connect to the building.

And because what sewing room isn't complete without some sort of mess...here is my current fabric pile. Looks like I need to get sewing!

Goals for 2010

2010-01-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

So this is the third year that I'll have made a list of goals for Always the Forest...but this is the first year I've actually made those goals right away in January, not March! If 2008 was the year of learning, 2009 was the year of just jumping in and doing things, and 2010 is going to be the year of hard, focused work. I have a feeling this is going to be a good year. Let's see how I did with my goals from last year:

1. Update the blog more - Slight improvement here...I made an average of 1.5 blog posts a month, which is a little better than the 0.9 I made last year.

2. Do a fashion show - DONE! I did a small fashion show last May, and it was a great learning experience. I'm not going to make it a goal to do another one this year, because I don't know how much it actually helped me, it was just more of a fun thing to do.

3. Continue to do more shows - DONE! I did nine this year: Craft Revival, Detroit Urban Craft Fair, Flint Handmade Spring Market, Bang to a Different Beat, Maple Days Art Fair, Movement, Renegade Chicago, Renegade Holiday Fair, and the Shadow Art Fair. I want to do even more next year! Doing shows is one of my favorite things. I love seeing repeat customers again, meeting new ones, talking to other vendors, explaining my work...just the whole socialization part of it! Interacting with crafty people is awesome.

4. Get my clothing in more stores - Not done, but I've been doing a lot of thinking on this topic that needs a post all of its own. So more on that later.

Goals for 2010:

1. Update the blog more - Yep, I'm gonna give it another try this year. My specific goal is at least once a week. I have so much I want to share, and writing about it isn't that hard.

2. Have cohesive S/S and F/W 2010 collections - I'm going to attempt a legit collection this year, instead of a few scattered pieces. I also want to stay true to myself this year when it comes to design. I listened to too many other opinions last year, and I didn't like a lot of the designs I came up with. I'm giving this one a deadline: end of March for S/S collection, and mid-August for F/W.

3. Contact newspapers/bloggers/etc. - This is the goal that I'm really dreading this year. I need to promote myself more and try and get some press. And that means actually emailing those guys, which I am so not good at! But this is a really important goal this year, so I'd better stick to it!

4. Set a proper pricing formula - To determine my prices, I've just been setting them at whatever I thought was reasonable. I've had a ton of people tell me my clothing was underpriced, and very few complain that it was overpriced. I've read about pricing formulas, like cost of goods + cost of labor + a bit of profit, and I think I need to get one in place so I can finally feel good about what I charge for my work.

I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a good year. I'm so excited to get to work!

Clothing Care Labels

2009-12-28T12:28:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to do a post on the topic of labeling requirements for for a few months, first because it's important, and second, look how cute they are! But first, a disclaimer: I'm not a professional law interpreter, this is just what I figured out by reading the guides published by the FTC (here) and (here). So if you know better than I do, and spot any misinformation here, please let me know!

When I first started making labels to put inside my clothing, they just had my business name and logo on them. They were nice looking, but I suspected that I might be required to do more. After all, every single garment I saw in stores had care labels in them. So I did a little research, and found two really helpful guides: Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts and Clothes Captioning: Complying with the Care Labeling Rule. My suspicions were confirmed: even though I wasn't making thousands of dresses and only selling at craft fairs, I was still required by law to have care labels in my garments. I really recommend reading through both of those guides if you're looking for how to word your own care labels, because it could be very different, depending on what you make. It's a lot to read, but it's written understandably. I'll explain what I needed to include on mine.

All clothing labels need four things: manufacturer, country of origin, fiber content, and care instructions.

1. Manufacturer: Pretty straightforward here. I put my business name, Always the Forest.

2. Country of origin: You need to disclose two things here, where the materials are from, and where they are assembled. So if your materials are all from the US, and everything is assembled in the US, all you have to say is "Made in U.S.A.". If your fabrics are imported, you would say, "Made in U.S.A. of imported materials. In my case, since my fabrics are all thrifted or remnants, I usually can't say for certain where they are from, so I would have to write "Made in U.S.A of secondhand materials"

3. Fiber Content: If you know what your fiber content is, you need to be pretty specific here. I had a slight "ahhhhh oh no oh no!!!" moment when I realized that I had no way to determine the fiber content of my fabric. Upon further reading, I found that you can simply disclose the fact that you don't know the fiber content. I put "fiber content unknown". Much easier than I thought.

4. Care instructions: There are many different things you might have to include here, depending on your materials. If it's not "dry clean only", you need 1) washing instructions (like water temp, gentle cycle), 2) bleach info (yes or no), 3) drying instructions (temperature) and 4) ironing instructions (temperature). Also, if there are trims or decorations that need special care, you need to include that as well. For my labels, I wrote "handwash cold, no bleach, lay flat to dry, warm iron".

After I waded through all that information, and figured out what I needed on my labels, I had to figure out how to get them made. I looked online for some label making options. Most companies I found had high minimums (at least 1,000), and at the time, that seemed like wayyy too many. On etsy.com, there were a few places that had low minimums, but I didn't see any that I liked. I didn't really care much for the look of woven labels, and the printed ones seemed like they would be too stiff. So I decided I would find a way to screen print my own. I made a screen that had rows of my label image, front and back. Then I found soft ribbon to fit, and aligned them under the images on the screen. After I printed the images on the ribbons, I cut them apart, and ironed them in half. Then they're ready to be sewn into the garments. So if you know how to screen print, or have a friend that does, you can make inexpensive and professional-looking care labels to keep your stuff legit. If you don't have those resources, you might want to experiment with using iron-on paper on the ribbons. I've also heard about printing directly on fabric, but you should test it out in the wash first, because on of the requirements is that the labels have to last though washings. If you make your own labels, share how you do it in the comments. I love seeing handmade labels, it's so neat!

Renegade Holiday Sale Chicago '09 Recap

2009-12-12T10:44:00.002-05:00

The Renegade Holiday Sale in Chicago was awesome last week. The Pulaski Park Fieldhouse was packed both days. I got to catch up with some people I hadn't seen since the last show, and I met a lot of great new people too. I also scored some awesome stuff! I got a show poster from Mat Daly, a bar of face soap (a staple of mine) from Biggs & Featherbelle, squalane oil from Rinse, the Handmade Nation DVD from the craftster.org table, and an awesome jacket from Elsie Q. Oh yeah, the food vendors downstairs were excellent as well. Treat restaurant for dinner, and Tipsycake cupcakes (red velvet and lemon raspberry) for dessert. So good!

We had a pretty good time enjoying Chicago in the off hours of the fair as well. We stayed with our friends Mike and Justin, who have a cute little apartment in Bucktown. Their downstairs neighbor was really nice and we played lots of Rock Band (I kicked butt on the drums). Friday night, we got to Chicago really late. Everyone went out to the Flat Iron except for me. Not a huge fan of bars, big fan of sleep. Oh come on, it was 3am! So I was semi-rested forRenegade the next day. It was a great craft fair day, and when it was all done, we went to eat at the Earwax Cafe. The food there is so good, every time we come to visit Chicago, we eat there at least once.

The other night at the Flat Iron, somebody told Justin about an "art party" in a loft in West Loop. So we decided to check that out, for kicks and giggles. I still don't get why it was called an art party. We got to go on the roof of the building, which had a pretty neat view. And people don't close their curtains! It was like watching little movies through people's windows. So excellent craft fair, excellent adventures, but I was so excited to pull into my nearly deserted parking lot in downtown Romeo and relax in the small town calm.

Things to do in Detroit before/after the DUCF

2009-11-17T09:59:00.007-05:00

You could probably spend hours at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair, but just in case you are on the fence about driving a long distance for one (awesome!) event, I've put together a list of ways to spend an entire day in Detroit!

FOOD: My first pick is Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes. Yes, a creperie! They have sweet dessert crepes, and savory crepes filled with meat and cheese that would be more suitable for lunch. Not only is it my most delicious lunch pick, but it's probably the most budget-friendly too, with a big crepe for $3-5. Open 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. If you want something more substantial, but just as tasty, then Slows Bar B Q is just the thing. Mouthwatering sandwiches, soups, salads, and everything you would expect from a BBQ. Open 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. Cafe Muse is not in Detroit, it's in Royal Oak, but this is for you fabric store junkies who are going up there anyway(see below). It's a fancy/cozy cafe that does breakfast and lunch, but the food is seriously amazing. They have the best grilled cheese sandwiches, and vanilla bean waffles, and egg scrambles, and ahhh I could go on and on but the food is seriously just that good. They're only open from 7:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. so make it a breakfast or lunch rather than dinner.

CRAFTY STOPS: There is a comprehensive google craft map of metro detroit here, listing craft and art supply shops, fiber and fabric shops, places to buy handmade items, and other misc. D.I.Y. locations...but I've picked a few of the best ones here: Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak. Fine (and I mean really) fabrics, patterns, and notions. If you have a sewing question, just ask, these people know their stuff! Oh yeah, a ton of Merrimekko fabrics! Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. The Fabric Warehouse (technically in Warren) is one of my favorite haunts. And it is what it sounds like, a huge fabric warehouse. All fabric is $3.49/yd. Great quality fabrics, they get new stuff in all the time. Make sure to wear a coat, it gets a little chilly in there. Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. And for you knitting people, City Knits is a cozy little yarn shop that also has a good selection of knitting/crochet books. Also open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

MUSEUMS/ATTRACTIONS: The Detroit Institute of Arts is currently showing the Avedon Fashion Photography Exhibit. If fashion photography isn't really your thing, there will surely be something else there for you. The DIA is the best! If you've already been there, done that, head across the street to the Detroit Historical Museum. It's so fascinating! I even loved it as a little kid. John K. King Books is a bookstore, but I think it fit better in this category, rather than shopping. Four floors crammed with used books, and there is even a vintage sewing patterns section. The Heidelburg Project, named for the street it spans, is the work of Tyree Guyton, who has been turning abandoned houses on this street into art for over 20 years. You'll find a house covered in stuffed animals, a lawn full of vintage vacuum cleaners, and other strange things as you take a look down Heidelburg St.

HANDMADE SHOPS: The DUCF should be more than sufficient for your handmade needs, but in case you still want more, here's a quick list: City Bird, Bureau of Urban Living, Naka(Ferndale), Lost and Found Vintage(Royal Oak).

If anyone has other suggestions, leave a comment letting us know!

Photo credits:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathanmcintosh/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karlasfotos/ / CC BY 2.0

Upcoming Shows...Detroit and Chicago

2009-11-16T18:57:00.000-05:00

I have two really great shows coming up this season, in Detroit and Chicago. First off is the Detroit Urban Craft Fair. This was actually the very first show I did back in 2007, and I can say that this one gets better every year! This year, there are 50+ awesome vendors. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on November 21st at the Majestic Theater. There will also be a DUCF Tweetup the night before (Friday) from 7-9 p.m. at the Majestic Cafe.

Next up is the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale. "Over 150 of today’s finest indie-craft and contemporary design talents will be setting up shop at the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale on December 5 + 6 from 11am – 7pm at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse! Over 150 of today’s finest indie-craft and contemporary design talents will be setting up shop at the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale on December 5 + 6 from 11am – 7pm at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse!" And ooh, this is neat: there will be free trolley rides between the Fair and a few places in Wicker Park, so you can stay out of the cold.

Both fairs are free to attend, and all vendors are handpicked, so you'll be sure to find something awesome.

AVFF (Awesome Vintage Fabric Find)

2009-10-27T12:51:00.000-04:00

The other day, my friend's mom called to let me know about this awesome estate sale with a ton of fabric and crafting supplies. Fabric finds at estate sales had been pretty sparse this year, so I dropped what I was doing and went to check it out. I got to the house and was going through the yard looking at all the neat stuff (they also had a bunch of musical instruments!) but not seeing any fabric, when one of the homeowners came up to me and asked me how I was doing. I asked about the fabric, and he said, "Ahhhh, now that's in the basement, and there's a ton of it!" So I scrambled down to the basement to find a treasure trove of fabric and crafty goodness. Yards and yards of awesome vintage fabric, all sorts. Tons of craft stuff too! Purse handles, ribbons, wooden forms, tiny birds, macrame, everything. The woman's niece was in the basement, and she explained to me that her aunt used to teach crafting classes from her home, and that's why the basement was set up like a store. So I picked out my fabric (all 70+ yards of it) and brought it back outside to pay for it. It ended up costing only 83 cents! The whole family was eating lunch outside, and they were all so sweet and said, "Well since you're such a good customer, why don't you have lunch with us?" Best estate sale ever! So I sat and talked with them for a bit, and then one of the guys helped me take all my fabric to my car. What a great find.

Here's some more of the fabric I got. My favorite piece is probably the 13 yard bolt of Waverly Fabric in the "American Primitive" print. Some pieces still had the original price tags on them, and it was really neat to see where they came from. One tag read "Andrew Foltyn, Inc. 13144 West Seven Mile Detroit, MI". I looked it up, and that store was started in the 60s, but doesn't seem to be around any longer. Speaking of old fabric stores in Detroit, who remembers Zemco Textiles? It was on Washington Blvd. between Grand River and State St., and sadly, it's not there anymore. Does anyone remember any other old fabric stores in Detroit?

I'm on vacation!

2009-09-25T22:59:00.000-04:00

Billy and I have been on vacation for the past two weeks. He just got out of the army, so we're celebrating by moving his stuff back home to Michigan the long way. I've been chronicling it over on my livejournal, but we've spent time in Spokane, Yellowstone, and Denver so far. And all the places in between! It's been a pretty awesome trip. We're staying at his cousin's house in the mountains of Evergreen, CO right now, and our next stop will be to visit some friends in Chicago. I've been sloooowly updating the website whenever there's a lull in adventure, so some links are not working, and I still need to put the measurements up. It'll be fully updated once I get home, which we're thinking will be sometime next week. So thanks for your patience everyone!

p.s. go to Yellowstone National Park if you get the chance, it's like another planet!

Renegade Chicago 2009 Recap

2009-09-18T16:23:00.001-04:00

The Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this weekend was awesome! This year, the weather was awesome, and the selection of vendors was even better. There were a lot more handmade clothing vendors, and I was really excited about that. Sunday evening, I got a chance to walk around and chat with some of them. I talked with Marie from Les Enfants Sauvages about traveling to far away shows, visited the jo clothing booth to check out some cute underwear and chat about Brooklyn, dished about being Polish with Pierogi Picnic, and was totally inspired by how Lesley of Squasht by Les runs her business. I'm so glad I had my mom as my booth helper so I could get a chance to walk around.

And we can't forget about the excellent loot I procured. I traded a top for a cashmere sweater from Elsie Q, got this year's and last year's poster for the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago from Mat Daly, a little glass to hold my bobby pins from Mary Ink, and two cute balsa wood necklaces from Greenola. We ate very well, with yummy breakfast and lunches from the Milk and Honey Cafe, and frozen kefir(!) from Starfruit. The only bummer was that I got a parking ticket, but that was nobody's fault but my own. I'm definitely really happy that I got a chance to do this fair again!

Canopy Weights!

2009-09-11T03:16:00.000-04:00

With the Renegade Craft Fair coming up this weekend, I knew I needed some weights for my canopy. Last year, I used gallons of water on each corner, and that wasn't enough. My mom, sister and I had to anchor ourselves in the corners so the canopy wouldn't blow away! Granted, that weekend we had extreme rainy and windy weather, but still, it's always good to be prepared. So I looked online, and found a lot of expensive, ugly and cumbersome weights. Then I happened upon this site, which detailed how to make sleek-looking 35-b weights for about $60. Basically, you just cap off one end of 2.5' of 4" PVC pipe, put an eye hook through that, and fill it with concrete. Billy's helped me make these (and by helped, I mean did most of the work, mixing concrete is hard!). They seemed to work pretty well when I tested them out today, so hopefully it will be the same this weekend. It's recommended that you use about 40lbs per leg to keep your canopy secure. A gallon of water only weighs 8lbs!

Studio Tour!

2009-09-08T09:28:00.004-04:00

I always love seeing other artist's spaces, so I thought I would do a quick tour of mine. I live in an apartment above a gags 'n gifts store. There's always something going on outside, between the bars and the music venue next door, so there's always something to ~~spy on~~ watch while I sew. This is the fourth sewing space I've had. The first was a corner in the basement of my mom's house when I was in high school. Then Billy and I moved to California, and my sewing space was half the living room. Then we moved again in California, and I got a whole room for sewing. This is my favorite space so far.

Lots and lots of natural light during the day.

My sewing machine station: general purpose sewing machine, coverstitch machine, and serger. Billy refinished that really nice sewing table on the left; I built the really goofy table on the right out of a scrap piece of wood and some milk crates.

Turn to the right, and you'll see my sitting area. The clothing rack is for my alterations work.

Rack of finished items, dressform, storage.

Bookcase made of milkcrates!

And if you're wondering where my cutting table is, it's in my mom's basement! So I use the kitchen floor for cutting and screen printing. The room behind the kitchen is the music room, and behind that is the bedroom and bathroom.

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago 2009

2009-08-27T21:11:00.003-04:00

Always the Forest will have a booth at the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago next month. I’m really excited for this one! From renegadecraft.com: “Over 300 artists are traveling from all over the country to participate and sell their handmade goods: from clothing and accessories, to stationery and concert posters, with everything from bath-products, ceramics and housewares in between! This FREE TO ATTEND DIY craft, art and design extravaganza occurs in one of Chicago’s liveliest neighborhoods, on its busiest block!” Last year, it was apparently monsoon season in Chicago, but so many people still came out despite the pouring rain. That’s how good this fair is. I have a lot of neat new stuff for fall that will be ready in time for the fair. Previews to come shortly!

I'm Back!

2009-05-24T21:05:00.000-04:00

I was visiting my husband Billy in California (he’s stationed there for the military, but not for much longer now!). It was a great time, and awesome to see him. I also got to go fabric hunting in the L.A. Fashion District. 90 fabric stores in 4 blocks. Yes, you heard right. Wowie. But this past week, I’ve been preparing for two shows, and a fashion show! Hence, the lack of site updates.

Movement 2009. May 23-25 Detroit, MI. I’ll be joining Handmade Detroit there this weekend with some select items, in a huge 20×20 tent right by the entrance. I changed my fabric up a bit for this event, expect lots of neon and black.

Maple Days Art Festival. May 25, 9am-4pm Walled Lake, MI. I’ll have my own tent set up here, with a full stock of clothing. This is also where my fashion show is going to be. Come and check it out!

Next Show - Flint City Handmade Spring Market

2009-05-01T21:01:00.004-04:00

This is where I’ll be tomorrow, in the Lunch Studio. Three buildings of lovely handmade goods. I have an item in the raffle, one of my Michigan-themed shower curtains. Hopefully I’ll see you there!

Craft Revival 2009 Recap

2009-05-01T20:55:00.004-04:00

Handmade Detroit’s Craft Revival was great! They gave me a big open space, I had a lot of room to spread out. I even got two clothesracks in there! It was a little dimly lit, and you can’t see it in the picture, but it gave this dramatic glow to my display. I had people comment that it felt like a fortune teller’s booth or a seance, haha. But that was okay. One of the reasons I really like doing these shows, aside from the sales and the compliments, is talking with customers and other vendors. I like getting direct feedback from the customers, and the vendors are usually really nice and it’s fun swapping stories. My mom was my booth helper, and after the show, we went downstairs to eat at the Majestic Cafe. I liked the contrast of the many memories of late night shows and shenanigans at the Magic Stick, and then eating downstairs with my mom. The food was super terrific. I hope they decide to do this show again next year, I really enjoyed it.

The Importance of Pre-washing Fabric

2009-04-15T20:53:00.003-04:00

Last year, I started pre-washing all of my fabrics. The reason I do this is because knit fabrics tend to shrink a lot once you wash them. So I would rather pre-shrink the fabric myself, than have an item shrink on a customer. Also, the dyes in some fabrics will bleed, and I would rather find that out in the beginning! I use an all natural laundry detergent that is biodegradable and doesn’t have any perfumes or dyes. The largest fabric pieces I get are no more than 10-15 yards, so putting them in my washing machine isn’t a problem. Now this won’t work if you need to shrink fabric that is a hundred yards long. In that case, there are ways to draft the patterns to allow for shrinkage after they are sewn. You have to test a square of the fabric by washing it and calculating what percentage of shrinkage occurred on the straight grain and the cross grain, and then factor that into your pattern. Since I use so many different fabrics, that’s probably not something I would want to do, so pre-washing is the best option for me.

Works in Progress...

2009-04-07T20:49:00.002-04:00

Tonight, I’m finishing grading the patterns for my Spring/Summer ‘09 collection. This year, there will be consistent sizing throughout all the styles. Today has definitely been one of those the-more-you-learn-the-more-you-realize-how-much-you-don’t-actually-know type of days. I recommend that anyone who is serious about clothing design and manufacturing take a look at www.fashion-incubator.com. On my breaks today, I was poring over the blog archives, learning the right way to go about business, and I would like to summarize my conclusions here, but I don’t have any yet! I need to mull things over for a bit. So I’m going over to my mom’s house, and we’re going to make a delicious blueberry cheesecake, and hopefully the cooking and eating will be good for my brain…

Spring Sale!

2009-04-02T20:46:00.003-04:00

I’m having a spring sale at Always the Forest until April 15th. 25% off everything on the site. Robin Dresses: originally $48, now $36, Robin Tops: originally $38, now $29.50, Willow Dresses: originally $38, now $29.50, Willow Tops: originally $24, now $18, and Robin Hoods, originally $28, now $21.

New items for spring and summer are coming soon!

Craft Appearance: Craft Revival, Detroit

2009-03-25T20:41:00.001-04:00

“Handmade Detroit presents Craft Revival, a spring indie craft fair
featuring 30+ DIY makers, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 18th at the
Magic Stick. Celebrate the end of this brutally cold winter with the
freshest goods from Detroit’s busy and growing craft scene. Free
admission. All Ages.”

That’s where I’ll be on April 18th, selling my new items! I have new dresses, tops, and skirts, all with a healthy dose of ruffles. Also…Michigan-themed shower curtains! I am making them myself from fabric remnants bought locally, and screenprinting Michigan imagery onto them. Hope to see you there!

Goals for 2009

2009-03-17T20:35:00.004-04:00

Now it’s already March, but I’ve been pondering and reflecting my goals since January. But before we do that, let’s see how I did on meeting my 2008 goals:

1. Accept credit cards - DONE! I set up an account with ProPay in July, and my sales have more than doubled.

2. Streamline our products - DONE! (sort of) I have limited the collection to a few designs, and this has allowed me to offer sizes XS-L. I also cut out all the vintage offerings. But…this year I am also going to be doing Michigan-themed shower curtains…not exactly keeping with the desire to streamline. I think I’m okay with that for now.

3. Do more shows - DONE! I did six shows last year, surpassing my goal of four. This year, I would like to do even more than that, maybe make it to ten?

4. Update the site and blog more - FAIL! I made a whopping 11 blog posts in 2008. That’s not even once a month! How embarassing. And it’s not due to lack of content either, I have a huge list of things to write about. I need to stick to a schedule.

Overall, I feel like 2008 was a very good year, full of growth and productivity that went above and beyond the goals I made. When I started off in 2007, I had no idea that I would be doing one of the Renegade Fairs the next year, or have my clothing in a store. Now onto 2009:

1. Update the blog more - Seriously, like I said above, I am awful at updating this thing. This year, I will set a schedule for myself, and try my very best to stick with it. I am going to blog every Tuesday, and if I really get the hang of it, maybe every Tuesday and Friday. I have a list of things I want to write about, and even if it’s just a craft show announcement, I feel like there should be no problem in meeting that goal.

2. Do a fashion show - I have seen a few other indie fashion designers that have done this, and I’m not quite sure how to go about doing it myself. I know waiting for an invitation is never a good idea, but I’m at a loss where to even start. But that’s how most of my endeavors start off anyways, so I will just have to figure it out.

3. Continue to do more shows - I did really well with this goal last year, and I’m going to try and do even more this year, maybe ten?

4. Get my clothing in more stores - Currently, my clothing is for sale in only one store. I need to start contacting more stores, but that’s the hardest part for me, putting myself and my designs out there. It’s something I will have to work to overcome this year.

I’m on the right foot, this is my first Tuesday blog of the year. Stay tuned for another blog next Tuesday, and hopefully you’ll see my goal-achievement in action!

Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale 2008

2008-12-04T20:33:00.000-05:00

Always the Forest will be at the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale in Chicago this year! It’s at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, December 6-7, 11am-7pm. There will be over 150 vendors in 5 rooms, great music, food, and goodie bags. More info can be found at www.renegadecraft.com /holiday.

New at this show will be the hooded shawls that I have yet to name. They’re made from super cozy, think knit fabric, and can be dressed up or down, depending on where you want to wear it. They will be in an assortment of neutral colors, so you’ll be able to wear it with a lot. I will also have more Robin Dresses, Robin Tops, and Weekender Bags. This will be my first solo show, so come visit me!

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago Recap

2008-09-23T19:49:00.000-04:00

The Renegade Craft Fair was lots of fun, and well worth the trip out to Chicago despite all the rain and wind. Chicago got the most rain ever in recorded history that weekend! My mom and sister came with me to help, and I am so grateful they did. It went very well, even for my first outdoor show. The canopy I got off craigslist held up extremely well, even against the torrential rain. The only problem I had was lack of weights, and that was all my fault. I only used one gallon of water per leg, and apparently you’re supposed to have 40lbs per leg! Now, obviously it won’t be a problem if you’re out on a nice calm day, but on the second day, the wind picked up and the canopy almost took flight. So for the rest of the day, my mom, my sister and I sat at opposite corners of the canopy to brace it against the wind and rain. Yikes. But that was really the only problem. None of my merchandise got damaged by the rain, nothing blew away, and sales were good. Well, my poor little rug that was meant to look warm and inviting looked soggy and sad by the middle of Saturday, but that’s a minor issue, haha. I was amazed at how many people came out. I had never seen such a large collection of umbrellas and rainboots before. Thanks to everyone who braved the rain! And at the end of the fair, there were people that came around and took our rented table and chairs for us. That was awesome, because I realllllly didn’t want to take them all the way back. So a big thanks to you, Renegade helpers! I would definitely do another outdoor fair like Renegade again, the rain didn’t scare me away.

Flint City Handmade Spring Market

2008-05-02T19:44:00.002-04:00

Billy and I will be manning a table at the Flint City Handmade Spring Market this year. I’m pretty excited, since this is our first show of the year. So if you’re a local, or just in the area, head on down to the Lunch Studio and the Brown Sugar Cafe this Saturday between 10-4 to check out hundreds of unique, handmade items. And, goodie bags will be handed out to the first 50 shoppers who arrive at the Lunch Studio starting at 10am. There will also be a raffle to win one of 25 items donated by the vendors.

Getting Ready for Craft Show Season

2008-04-09T19:41:00.000-04:00

Craft show season is almost here, and we’ve been very busy with production. We have some great new designs coming soon. In the picture on the left, I’m hemming one of our new dress designs, which still has yet to be named. So to keep things moving right along, I’ve given myself a working schedule, lunch breaks and everything. I’m the type of person who works well within a schedule, and it doesn’t make crafting/sewing/designing any less fun.
Our new clothing tags came in, and they look pretty spiffy. Designing the little things like promos, business cards and clothing tags is one of my favorite parts of this business. This year I decided not to print and cut them all out myself, that took way too long last year. I ordered them through kittycrossbones.etsy.com. She has a wide variety of promo items, including stickers, buttons, scratch-offs, and mirrors. The prices are pretty reasonable as well, and buying indie is also a plus!

Review: Business Cards from Vista Print

2008-04-02T19:38:00.005-04:00

We just received our new business cards from www.vistaprint.com and I am really happy with their service. I went with 250 Premium business cards, and the grand total was $19.69. They arrived quickly, even thought I chose the cheapest shipping option (21 days! but arrived way sooner). The colors were also accurate. I have heard some people say that the colors on their orders were off, but I think if your design is CMYK compatible, you should be fine. For more info on CMYK colors, check out www.printingforless.com/rgb-cmyk.html. Vista Print offers free business cards, but you have to use one of their images, and the paper quality is not as good. I uploaded my own image, but there is a fee for that. They also sent me a bunch of offers for free postcard printing, brochure printing, and 80% off my next order of business cards, so I will definitely be taking advantage of those. Vista Print has good prices and good service, so I will definitely use them in the future.

Goals for 2008

2008-03-19T19:34:00.001-04:00

So we’re already well into March, but I figured it would still be a good idea to outline my goals for Always the Forest this year. I would say 2007 was a good first year. We did two shows, made some sales, started an online store, started a blog, and learned quite a bit along the way. So now that we have a better idea of what we’re doing, it’s time to improve!

1. Accept credit cards - Currently, our website goes through PayPal. So customers can use their credit cards to order, they just have to go through PayPal, and a lot of people don’t like to do that. By accepting credit cards, we would probably increase our online sales. Also, accepting credit cards at shows would almost certainly increase our sales.

2. Streamline our products - Right now, we sell a large variety of things from purses to skirts to leggings to paintings to vintage finds. By narrowing the selection, it would allow for faster production, because we wouldn’t have to design something new every time we made something. It would also allow for more clothing sizes because I could easily grade patterns of say, five designs, instead of doing twenty one-offs.

3. Do more shows! - First of all, craft shows are fun. I really enjoyed the ones we did last year. I like meeting the other vendors and shoppers. Second of all, we make a lot more sales in person. People like to see the item up close, feel the fabric, and ask questions. I would like to do at least four shows this year.

4. Update the site and blog more - Nobody likes to see a site/blog that hasn’t been updated in forever. It probably even feels a bit sketchy to them. Well, we’re definitely not sketchy, just bad at updating. And that needs to be fixed, pronto.

So I’m going to start off on the right foot and get right to grading the lovely dress pattern I recently made!

Thing-a-Day

2008-02-22T17:34:00.000-05:00

Thing-a-day is almost over! If you haven’t heard of it, it’s basically a collective blog where artists and creators of all types and backgrounds make one thing per day and share it online. It’s a pretty neat idea, and there are some pretty cool things floating around on that website. And the fact that it’s just plain fun to participate in. You have to sign up for it before February, so if you missed it this year, you have to wait for next February.

From Thing-a-Day.com:

“This project was started as a class thought by Ze Frank at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program in the Fall 2005. Every day, the twenty something grad students of this class has to post something new. In February 2007, inspired by the Ze Frank effort, we created the thing-a-day platform and opened it up to the public.”

Some of the items I made, starting at the top left, are: stitch art, whole wheat bread, a needle case, a portable/flexible tripod, fabric flower pin, painted chia herb planters, blueberry-frosted cupcakes, and homemade veggie stew. To see the rest of it, my thing-a-day page is here.

Our Blog Has Moved!

2008-02-06T10:14:00.000-05:00

9/7/09 ETA: I moved it back here again! Technical difficulties.

Intentionally, of course. I moved it over to www.alwaystheforest.com/blog. I won't be updating this one anymore. All the old posts, links, ect. have been transferred, and the blog has been spiffied up a bit. So keep your eye on it for more interesting awesomeness!

Grading Patterns

2008-01-27T01:04:00.002-05:00

Pattern grading: making sets of patterns to fit a range of sizes, the next step in the design process. Ever since the 1950's, there have been machines that will do this for you. But, having your patterns graded professionally can cost a lot. Luckily, grading one manually is not too difficult. The website www.burdastyle.com has some great tutorials on grading all different kinds of patterns.

Burdastyle has a ton of great free patterns, as well as a sewpedia, a comprehensive tutorial section, and a place for members to showcase their creations. It's definitely a site worth checking out, and maybe spending some time there learning a few new things.

Grade a skirt and pants pattern
Grade a sleeve pattern
Grade a bodice pattern

Places to Buy Fabric Online

2008-01-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

I'm fortunate to live in an area that offers a variety of fabric stores other than the usual Jo-ann Fabrics and other craft store chain giants. Those are nice for getting basics like lining and thread, but if I want something unusual and unique, I go to one of those other independent fabric stores. There are also some really neat fabric shops online, in case you don't have a local fabric supplier. Here are some of my favorites:

www.reprodepot.com - great source for vintage reproduction fabrics.
www.kitty-craft.com - really, really cute japanese-inspired prints.
www.kiitosmarimekko.com - great source for buying Marimekko fabrics, my favorite design company.
www.melinamade.com - neat vintage inspired prints.
www.denverfabrics.com - lots of everything.
www.purlsoho.com - a ton of really nice fabric, and you can search by the type of print. Good resource for yarn as well.
www.wazoodle.com - great prices on knit and jersey fabric.

And if you're still looking for more places, craftster.org has a whole directory here, with about 85 listings! If anybody knows of more places, feel free to post them in the comments.

Business Essentials

2008-01-23T21:16:00.001-05:00

There are a few things that help the business end of Always the Forest run smoothly, I call them business essentials. Not to be confused with craft essentials, which would be the obvious sewing machines, fabrics, thread, etc. They are:

1. Computer with internet access. I use my MacBook all the time for ATF related activities. I used it to build the website, and then to edit photos for the site and blog. With 24/7 internet access, I'm notified of orders as soon as they come in. I can also keep track of the latest craft shows and opportunities.

2. Shipping center. I have my very own shipping center in my hall closet. Inside, I keep bubble wrap, packing tape, postage labels, and different sizes of shipping bags and boxes. I also keep promo buttons, stickers, and business cards in there. When I get an order, I can go straight to my shipping center, package everything up, and it's ready to be sent out. I ordered all of my boxes completely free of charge at www.usps.com. I didn't even have to pay for shipping!

3. The Switchboards. The forum at www.theswitchboards.com is a wealth of information ranging from legality issues to website help to helpful hints from other indie businesses. It has proven to be indispensable whether I'm baffled about taxes, business insurance, suppliers, and most every other aspect of running an indie business.

Pledge Handmade

2007-11-29T15:10:00.001-05:00

"I pledge to buy handmade this holiday season, and request that others do the same for me."

That's the handmade pledge from www.buyhandmade.org. I took it yesterday, and as of today, more than 8000 people have taken it as well. The three reasons the site gives for buying hand made are: it makes for better gift giving, it's better for people, and it's better for the environment. For the complete list, click here.

I plan on making most everything I give away as gifts this year. I'm thinking of doing plastic bag holders for the kitchen this year. Natalie bought quite a few presents at the Handmade Detroit Holiday Market. My stepmom has been making gift baskets of handmade bath salts, bath bombs, and chocolate-covered spoons along with crocheting everyone mittens, scarves, or slippers! Making things may be more time consuming, but making things with your friends on craft night is far more rewarding than getting packed into the mall spending tons of money.

Always the Forest Around the World

2007-11-27T20:17:00.001-05:00

I check the stats on our website all the time. My husband Billy does too. We think it's the coolest thing ever, but we're just kind of silly like that. One of the neatest stats is the world map that shows the people who visit our website. The US, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Thailand, and more! The one visit from Kuwait is Billy.

All those visitors got me thinking. We get quite a few hits on our website, but not so many buys. Why? I think it's because of the very nature of what we sell. People want to see it in person, to touch it, try it on. Buying things over the internet is tricky because you're never sure that the picture is a totally accurate representation of the product. I strive to take pictures that accurately represent the product, but people won't always know that. I think sizing is another issue too. I definitely need to make some more sizes. Improvement is a very good thing.

New Studio for Always the Forest

2007-11-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

This is our new location, right in downtown Romeo. It's the perfect place because it's not too far from the city and not too far from the beautiful countryside either. Great area for garage sales as well. There's an active venue for shows on one side of us and a tavern/club on the other side but somehow our apartment stays pretty quiet through all of that.

The apartment has a lot of character. It's painted olive green and mustard yellow, but not in a tacky way. It has a stamped tin ceiling in the dining room, and stairs to get to the bathroom, just like an old steam room. We also have our own laundry room! And tons and tons of storage for our craft/sewing supplies. You can get the complete tour here at my livejournal. It's going to get so productive around here!

Handmade Detroit Holiday Market

2007-11-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

We're going to be at this year's Handmade Detroit Holiday Market! The Handmade Detroit Holiday Market is a two-day, juried DIY fair featuring 30+ vendors on Nov. 16 and 17th at Detroit’s Magic Stick.

This year’s fair features a VIP shopping night on Friday, Nov. 16, with music by Scarlet Oaks and SSM. This special night of shopping and entertainment is $5 to enter. Get first dibs on the best handmade items, arrive early to pick a special goodie pack and stay late to hear some great local music. 18 and up after 10 p.m. Seniors over 60 and kids 14 and under are free.

Saturday, Nov. 17, features a “traditional” DIY fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All ages! Free to browse, though a one dollar suggested donation is gladly accepted to help Handmade Detroit continue to produce DIY events in and for our city.

It's going to be a really great show, so come check us out support the growing DIY community!

On the Road

2007-10-21T09:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I began my journey from California to Michigan. My mom, Billy's dad, and step-mom are helping us move. We loaded up the u-haul with all twelve or so of my fabric bins, sewing table and the rest of our house stuff. My bins of fabric weigh 25-30 pounds each! Me and Billy are so lucky to have such super family. My mom and I are driving my car back, and Billy's dad and step-mom are driving the little u-haul truck. My mom has never seen the Grand Canyon, so we're stopping there, along with the Petrified Forest and hopefully the strange gas station with the attacking chickens! Then Billy is flying back to Michigan one more time before he leaves. Living in the middle of the desert was a great experience, but I'm glad to be going back to the homeland. Billy found me a great apartment above a store downtown, and it's going to be a great studio for Always the Forest. I'll be in one place for at least a year, so that means I can crank out a ton of stuff for Always the Forest.

Goals for now: make stuff for and super-turbo promote Always the Forest, find a bunch of piano students and start teaching lessons.

Clean Your Machine!

2007-10-05T01:31:00.001-04:00

Whether you sew every day or every once in a while, cleaning your sewing machine on a regular basis is a must. Most minor problems can actually be fixed by cleaning! I use my machine almost every day, so I clean it once a week. That might seem like a lot, but if you saw all the lint and thread I pull out of it every week you would understand. If you don't use your machine a lot, just clean it our after each use, then it will be ready for next time.

First, remove all spools and bobbins. Oh, unplug it as well, to prevent those finger-sewing accidents! Then wipe the outside of your machine from top to bottom. Open all the parts that you can and brush the lint out of them with the little brush that probably came with your machine. Tweezers are also handy for pulling out those rogue threads. Some people use a can of compressed air to remove the lint, but it's not necessary. If you have an older machine, you need to oil all of the moving parts. While you've got your machine all opened up, look for loose screws. I have one trouble screw that will unscrew itself every so often and it would be quite terrible if it fell out!

If your machine is really gunked up, you may want to tie a few knots in a piece of string, dip it in rubbing alcohol and pull it between the tension discs to clean them. I use this technique on my serger, and it works very well.

Change your needle! Yes, it makes a huge difference! Dull needles lead to skipped stitches, puckered seams, and mad frustration.

Once you get in the habit of cleaning you sewing machine on a regular basis, your sewing will go much more smoothly.

Fabric Swatch Portraits

2007-09-28T14:43:00.001-04:00

I was browsing through my craft folder today and I came upon this nifty project I had saved from www.thepurlbee.com earlier this year. I think it's such a neat idea! You take some of those lovely swatches of fabric you have laying around and stretch them through embroidery hoops of all sizes. It makes the perfect decoration for a sewing/craft room, but I could definitely see it working in a living room or bedroom. Now I just have to scour garage sales for everyone's unwanted embroidery hoops!

In design/sewing news, Billy will be going to maintenance school for about a week in a few days, so I will be sewing up a storm while he's gone. I've been working on perfecting my new patterns and they're almost done. I think I'm going to have to clean up my sewing room before I begin, it's really messy. And by messy, I mean fabric everywhere! I find that when I have a neat and clean sewing room, the ideas come so much easier.

Our very first online sale!

2007-09-24T22:31:00.000-04:00

Last night around midnight, me and Billy finished watching a movie. For some reason, I felt compelled to check my email. I grabbed my macbook and quickly checked for new mail. There, in my inbox, was our very first online order! I was so excited. It was for two Always the Forest Aeronaut tees and one Weekend Bag (pictured). I told Billy right away, and he was super happy. For the past couple of months he would always bug me: "Hey, did you sell anything yet? Did you? Did you?" and finally I did! Then I called up Natalie, who was three hours of time distance away, but I had to tell her the good news even if it was 3am in Michigan. She was also excited, and not asleep, for she is a night owl! Billy said we better send it out right away, because whenever he orders anything online and gets it the next day, his head just about explodes with glee. So I made up a fancy invoice and emailed it to Natalie, and she went to the post office the very next day and sent the goods! So hopefully if all goes right with the postal service, the package should arrive tomorrow. And thus begins our good streak of excellent customer service, hooray!

Now I'm off to finish sewing some more fall/winter stuff.