I like velvet and have been on the lookout for it lately. This antique jacket came with the bonus of owly eye buttons. Lots of them. There are 6 on the back as well. You can click the image for a better look.
It looks like it has come for a visit – lounging on the couch. My BRAND NEW couch that I will go on and on about later, it’s been a saga ( you can see a bit more of it here). I like the lining fabric too – there is some wonderful mending I will preserve however I use it.
This wonderfully tattered and incredibly fragile antique dress arrived last week. All the silk is shattered, but beautifully shattered – almost as though it’s transforming itself.
I visited the Fortuny showroom earlier this week to talk with Mickey Riad ( creative director) about creating some of my creatures with Fortuny fabrics. I think it ‘s a fabulous idea and I’m looking forward to experimenting. We talked about bats and spiders and owls and maybe some new things inspired by the exquisite patterns and colors as well as the history.
Like the fabrics, the new showroom in the D and D building is almost overwhelmingly beautiful. I took a couple photos but they don’t do it justice – you can see much more here and on the Fortuny blog.
I’m excited about the possibilities and I’ll share progress photos with you when I get started.
P.S. – You’ll find the green bustled spider crawling among the bolts of glorious fabric in the first photo here.
Cover – ana serrano – wonderful.
Juxtapoz Handmade is in stores now.
I’m flattered to be included with so many of my favorite artists :
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Souther Salazar, Saelee Oh and so many others. I love the book. Love it.
I made halloween costumes for a couple of my smaller friends this weekend, a humpback whale and a starfish. It was a sewing marathon, seat of the pants sort of effort – fast – no do-overs, no obsessing ( a little obsessing ), good spontaneous fun for my typically compulsive and too tightly wound self.
And the fabulous little fellows who wore them brought them to life in ways I could never have imagine.
( there is a video of the humpback whale on the move here)
This edwardian ballgown arrived recently – it’s incredibly fragile and delicate – much of it disintegrates when I touch it but there is still tons of usable and inspiring stuff. I spent the better part of a day photographing and examining it and then taking it apart. I found a label in the sleeve that says B. Altman & Co. NEW YORK; it is one of my all time favorite garments and reminds me of the very first antique gown, or really pieces of a gown, that inspired my very first birds. I didn’t photograph the gown, I so wish I had, but I still have two of the birds and I’ll show them to you soon.
I’m making a havisham spider from it today, if I finish it before the light goes I’ll post another picture.
I had a lovely time this morning with coffee, chet atkins and a big box of Japanese textiles. Stephen Szczepanek of Sri sent over another surprise box of wonderful things.
When stuff like this shows up I can’t think fast enough or sew fast enough. Thank you Stephen!!
And the beginning of the new spider system . Spiders take me forever to make and that’s mostly fine, I like making spiders, but it isn’t practical. As I make more I get better at it and things begin occur to me that speed up the process; having the wire cut to length for each part makes a big difference and next I need to make jigs for forming the leg shapes . I’ll probably need help with that.
I’ll show you more highlights from the Sri box later and maybe some new things in progress – I’m finishing some things over the weekend that will be in the shop early next week – some spiders, an owl or two and some little birds, if you would like to be notified when the new things are available please check back here or join the mailing list at my shop.
*p.s. -I’ll also be spending some time this weekend getting caught up on email and if you’re waiting to hear back from me thanks for your patience*
Cloudy days are nice for taking pictures here and I’ve been meaning to show you that antique jacket for a while. It has great military style details.
Mudlarking – I like the word very much, I first encountered it here. That’s me in the photo below, mudlarking my ass off at Dead Horse Beach. I’ve been getting wonderful little bits and pieces found there from the bottle man at the park slope flea market for years, last Saturday I finally got out there myself with my friend Craig. The history of the place is fascinating, you can read more about it here and there is an article about the Barren Island fire of 1906 here.
photos by craig duff
We were there when the tide was out revealing a crazy blanket of old glass bottles and all sorts of other things – everyday sorts of things – old timey trash.
Thanks to everyone who turned up at last weeks shop update ( part 2 later this week) -things went quickly and if you were disappointed there will be more very soon, I’m already working on several new owls and spiders and bats including another bad owl.
He’s made from the backing of an antique crazy quilt I’ll show you later on and bits of several garments.
I’ve gotten several really old black garments lately.
I think the lace cuffs are going to be spiders.
I love it when there’s a label.
I’m curious about Mrs. F. C. Brown and what she was up to in 1917. Her skirt is very sensible with pockets and a modest train. The fabric is fabulous.
* note on the photo- I’m not giant, the chair is mini – I got it at the flea market a couple weeks ago.
It was fun to try on and I was surprised by how good it felt, the way it moved, the pleasant weight of it and how the little train felt behind me, it isn’t in wearable condition though, and I probably shouldn’t add “wears period clothes” to what I already have going on anyway. I’m going to make a collection of things from it, the first is a mrs. brown spider.
Everything I make starts in a box and then lives there until it’s done. The boxes are for organization – keeping the many little bits for many little projects together and they are also a thinking tool and most importantly a way to start, it is very easy to put things in a box.
I love Twyla Tharp’s book, The Creative Habit. Here’s a little of what she has to say about boxes:
“The box makes me feel organized, that I have my act together even when I don’t know where I’m going yet. It also represents a commitment. The simple act of writing a project name on a box means that I’ve started work”
I have different sorts of boxes for different sorts of projects. You could also make your own box or use a basket – project bags are great too.
