so happy together

Today, I reunited with a good old friend. A friend that I had been missing for quite awhile, and didn't realize just how much. We parted ways when I left Portland, and I'd assumed that that was just our fate. Until now. 

Stumptown, how could I ever forget you or try to replace you?! I even gave up coffee after a few months in NY, because even at it's best, it would never measure up to you. Today, when I saw that the cafe down the street was displaying their "Now proudly serving" sign in the window, my heart skipped a beat. 

I'd heard rumors and even read that Stumptown was opening a roastery here, but being the purist and skeptic that I am, I just somehow never thought it would be like the good stuff I know and love. Boy was I wrong.I don't even remember because I am still on a magical 3 hour buzz, but it is quite possible that I skipped and danced all the way to the office today. 

Stumptown, you are not even coffee; you are pure liquid magic. You make me feel like superwoman, a creative visionary genius, and a hummingbird all at once. You practically design all my clothes for me. Stumptown, you complete me.

I know I probably sound like I've got a problem here, but I know to keep it under control and promise not to overdo it. And I know that likely in an hour, I will be found curled up in a pile of bamboo jersey when I crash big time. 

But, sweeeeeeet joy, I am one happy, happy, dancey girl right now!!!

P.S. Portland human-friends, there is no replacement for you guys, so you will also need to relocate here as well.

 

(Photo credit: www.pinballpublishing.com)

Season 6 designers

Yay! It's so exciting to see the new crop of designers for the next season. I really hope they have a great experience with it. (Though I know it's completely done filming). I'm excited for them, and excited to watch! I need to order cable now, I suppose. 

I'm gonna go ahead and give my early favorites (even though I'm having trouble viewing the portfolios on the site, and many of their websites are under construction). I'll have to

 investigate a little more, but just based of of quick first impressions and limited research, I think ones to watch will be:

Gordana and Shirin (I love their very feminine aesthetics)

Louise Black (I remember her from her Etsy shop, and think that she has a really cool and unique point of view. And yay for Etsy designers!)

And Rodney: (I think he's got an edgy, never know what to expect thing going on, which could be fun to watch)

These are just very early impressions, and I'm sure I'm bound to develop other favorites. Good luck to all of them and I hope they enjoy every minute of it.

This is a very un-related ball of mess on my floor, but I thought it kind of looked like an art installation, so I took a picture.

today in my studio

In a fairly clean state. (That's unusual; I make big messes when I work!)

advice

Edited 6/27/09. My main intention in this post was to inform and help others in similar situations.

To any young designer, or any person running their own business, make ABSOLUTE certain of one thing: At the end, know EXACTLY how much you will be making in the deal. Never assume. Never estimate. And don't be afraid to say NO early in the beginning. Don't be afraid of making others unhappy. Definitely, get everything in writing (as one commenter mentioned). Just make careful decisions.

People probably think that fashion designers make a ton of money. But in reality, for the majority of us, that couldn't be farther from the truth. (even if we're one of the lucky ones that "makes it" so to speak.) We spend more than we bring in. We're lucky when we break even. And we're one of the select few if and when we turn a profit. I'm still not there yet. 

Long Live Etsy: I'm a huge proponent of marketplaces where you can buy directly from the designer. It ensures the designer actually gets compensated for their work. I still realize I have so much to learn about this industry. And I'm learning, one mistake at a time.

summer

Ah, it's been such a busy past month, with no time to post! I've been hard at work on the Bluefly collection, which should be launching at the end of the month (fingers crossed that nothing else can go wrong and hold it up at this point). I think every possible production problem that could have happened has already, but every time I say that a new crisis or fabric shortage pops up. Yikes! 

It was my first hand at doing production, and it has been quite a valuable learning experience. Next time will go much more smoothly! Still, even with the frustrations, it's so nice to be able to hire someone else to make my clothes and to do it here domestically in New York so I can check up on everything and smooth out the kinks. It sure beats staying up all hours of the night trying to do everything myself!

Additionally, I have a few things currently on my Etsy page available and a dress on my website, with hopefully more to come soon! I'm ridding myself of some past samples on Etsy every now and then for ridiculously cheap, too.

Yesterday, marked one year from when I flew out to start filming the show. It's insane how fast this past year flew by! It seems like it was literally just weeks ago.

Photo by Nicholas LaClair (yes, that's Karalyn!)

Fall09

I spent the warmest day of the year so far editing photos and finally completing my lookbook for Fall. My computer is overheated, and so am I sitting in our toasty top-floor apartment, but I'm happy with how it turned out. 

Ahhhmazing!

I just received some of the photos from the shoot last Friday.  Caitlin Bellah, is so talented and a prodigy photographer and only twenty years old. I love the way she captures emotion in her photographs. Simply amazing beyond words. 

This was a shoot that I had not really planned too much for originally, but welcomed Caitlin to come and shoot around my studio while she was visiting from San Francisco.  She undoubtedly has such an incredibly bright future ahead of her. I look forward to seeing her work in Italian Vogue someday!

This is the short, eco-friendly wedding dress that I created recently.