Manic Pop

So after about 6 months of on-and-off working on this fall jacket I finally found fabric I wanted for it!  I had a chance to stop by Textile Discount Outlet again on Tuesday in Pilsen (dummy me had gotten zippers that were just slightly too short for the mix 'n' match dress measurements, but I was feeling absolutely awful the day I picked up zippers.) If you're in the Chicago area and looking for cheap fabric, it's highly recommended you check this place out. Wandering around almost-aimlessly, and not expecting to find my fabric there for that jacket at all, I wandered into the upholstery fabric section. I did find a bunch of beautiful, ornate brocades but none that would really work with these knitted pieces that I made, according to the jacket design from a 70s craft book. Thinking back, I perhaps should have used a solid color for these since it would have made my fabric decision a lot easier but then... ta da! I found it! Perhaps yes, the fabric is...

I didn't mean to wear 2 dresses in the same color, but I guess that's what I was feelin' today. The temperature severely dropped and when I got home I put on something a little warmer. I love how flowy this dress is. I often find myself twirling in it. The color also makes me feel like a cupcake. I consider this a good thing. This dress is from 2 years ago, but it keeps getting hidden in my closet because I have sooo many other dresses. Percy was battling me in these photos which is why they're blurry. That, and he messed up the camera setting as I was bringing him and the camera outside. You can see him struggling to get away in most of these. It was his 2nd time outside ever (as they're not outside cats) but sometimes I like to let him look around. He usually has a leash on, but I was holding him a majority of the time. He did NOT like it. 1st outfit - Dress: BKI Shoes - Franco Sarto Necklace - Chicago's Chinatown 2nd outfit: D...

I'm beyond excited to finally announce that Brooklyn Industries is releasing a t-shirt with my beloved Arthur featured on it! They just started arriving in the New York stores today and will be available nationwide and online within the week. Baby Bud is a star! Arthur is the top 2 cat heads on the t-shirt which was taken from a photo I had of him posing on the arm of the couch. See the blog about Arthur and his life with us here . Special thanks to Darleen for making this happen. She's an amazing woman and I can't thank her enough. A bit more about Arthur: Me and Brian always joke that Arthur was a man trapped in a cat's body as he was very particular about EVERYTHING, very communicative, and was a total weirdo. (I estimate that I have had close to 40 cats over my lifetime and none have come close to Arthur.) One of my favorite funny memories of him was when Brian had to put the cone on him (Arthur of course scratched himself somehow) and then subsequently ...

As promised, Holga photos! This was an entire roll of 120 film I used during my visit to Fruitport, Michigan for Old Fashioned Days. I actually took two rolls - one had already been started with who-knows-what photos on it (maybe winter photos?). That one is in the process of getting developed currently, so watch for those photos soon! Each roll of 120 film you can get 12 photos out of (or 16 if you change your mask, but I never do). These were the best ones only from that roll.   This one is a double exposure of the carnival and this place in downtown Fruitport called "Food and Ice Cream" - the most generic name ever. They have GIANT ice cream cones as evidenced by this ridiculous photo Max took with his camera.   

The sewing room has been quite out of season lately as it's super-warm upstairs so apologies for the lack of updates, but that's why. (I've also been working on some art and have some Holga photos developed with some more new ones on the way so those are things to look forward to!) Meanwhile, I cooked up an idea about how to use almost ALL of my scrap fabric from the past 8 years I've lived in Chicago. This fabric has traveled with me to different apartments - some have been part of projects from my first year in fashion design school, some are fabrics I've inherited (thanks Mom), fabrics I rescued from thrift stores, or leftover fabric from recent projects. I hereby present my Mix n Match dress! This idea is so simple, it really isn't an idea at all.... but you get what I'm doing. The idea is to have a super-simple design block with an array of variations. Most designers do this anyway - save patterns of a few basic design blocks then manipulate ...

Day 3 was really just us driving the 3 hours back to Chicago from Michigan. My mom will be excited about these photos since she's the one who planted all the flowers nearby the old chicken coop in our backyard. They really have flourished over the past few years.  You've seen this skirt here as it once was a pair of weird shorts that I found at a thrift store.   Showing Max how to eat the little bit of sweetness you get from a honeysuckle.   Driving back to Michigan. Max had to stop at pretty much ANY antique mall we saw signs for along the way (mostly his idea!). Below is a janky Instagram photo of me in one. He also was thrilled about buy one get one fireworks in Indiana. Haha.  Top, skirt, belt - all thrifted/DIY edited from the same thrift store. Glasses - Vintage on Etsy Shoes - Steve Madden

Day 2 consisted of Old Fashioned Days Memorial Day Parade!  As a kid, we didn't go to this too much because everyone in the parade would end up driving down the road we lived on after they went down the parade route, so we got to see most of it.  I think my favorite part of the whole parade might be the fact that they have antique cars throughout the entire parade.  Here I am snapping photos with my Holga. I have 2 rolls to get developed of 120 film, so those will be up within the next 2 weeks if they turn out alright.   Pomona Park. They had a petting zoo!    Max's high-flying plane.   Or not.   Jerry was adding some more wood to the fire to make s'mores later on. It rained, but not for long. We had a nice flicker of lightning going on above us the whole time we ate s'mores later on in the dark. As kids, me and my sister rode this ...