Manic Pop

Ahhh! I'm nervous and excited all at once. The Manic Pop Etsy shop is now live!  This is just a soft opening for now - much more to make by official launch date in September but I wanted to get these rolling! Thanks to everyone who has been excited and patiently awaiting the opening of this. Initially, I started the blog to attract attention/get people to see my work. Over the years I had really suffered from a lack of confidence in both design and construction but as most artists are, I had been severely overly critical of myself.  Buuuuuuuuut.......! I already have had one sale! The Sweetheart dress in the last post was shipped off this morning to Florida and is rumored to be worn in a decades-themed wedding soon! Aww! I'm still working on kinks to policies/shipping so if anyone has tips and tricks it would be greatly appreciated! I'm new at this guys!  I'm definitely no stranger to running a business/shipping/customer service as I...

Before I get my sewing day started today, I wanted to update with progress on some designs I'm working on . I'm actually almost done with my first run of the Sweetheart Dress which from here on out, will be only in other prints as I only had about 3 yards of this vintage print. This design will be available on Etsy in September but with another fun print I have not yet found. Currently, only the front is pinned to the dressform just to check. The waistline will be more gathered once I get the elastic in it. This is an original design by me. I completed the patterns in about 3 hours on Sunday, cut the fabric, and went into sewing it all on the same day. That's technically a lot of work, but I work fast now!  The side here needs additional pressing, but you get the idea. I went ahead and used the orange/yellow with the pink combo instead of using only pink like everyone was directing me about a month or so ago. I LOVE it. No regrets about it!  So I haven't ...

It's been a while since I've done a little outfit post but that's because I'm gearing up for my Etsy shop ! Preview some of the items I'm making in different sizes here .   Yes, yes... I opened the account on there in 2008 but I really didn't know what I was doing with it, how to gain attention, etc. It still could go either way as Etsy sites go, but I've been super-excited to make a bunch of new, cool things. The line sheet isn't really a true, cohesive collection (pretty sure I would have gotten yelled at in school for it) but it's totally my aesthetic. Patternmaking for it all should go by pretty quickly. I went thrifting to see if I could find any unique vintage pieces that made its way to the thrift store as I have amazing luck with one place in particular and I did find a few fun things that will also go up for sale soon. I found this dress and immediately loved the print, but I decided to keep this for me because it's definite...

Hey everyone! I'm starting sewing patterns for my Sweetheart Dress pictured in the last post tomorrow and/or Tuesday, but I wanted to throw out a tentative line sheet I was playing with the other night of 5 designs I have in the works for the upcoming Manic Pop Etsy site! The idea behind these are simple yet fun dresses that will be fairly easy to sew and make into other sizes. I'm thinking of making them on the first go'round one size (the size of my pattern blocks which are roughly a US size 2). During ordering, you may specify custom sizes though colors may slightly vary due to fabric availability. I'm still working out exact details on that all, but I suppose it will be a trial and error sort of thing. Also items I will be offering because I have patterns made already: The Judy Dress ( some with handmade from scrap fabric mushroom appliques!) Sunrise Panel top  Mix n Match Dress A sleeveless version of the Castle Dress Short and long variations of t...

Time for another installment of What's in my Sketchbook!  Note: I draw my flats by hand, Micron them so my scanner scans them efficiently, then I color/add patterns in Photoshop. I really *technically* should use Illustrator for flats, but... forget it.    This design has been in my head for some time now. Remember that beautiful psychedelic print I found at a boutique that was going out of business? This is the right dress for it! Only now, I must decide on a colorway with the stripes part. What do you think? I'm partial to the orange/lime version but that's just because I like loud things. Fabric sample. Coming soon! Also, while I was on the train to NYC and flipping through my InStyle magazine, I found a dress that I loved by Chloe in their fall collection. However, can I really afford that dress? I didn't even hunt down a price on it, but it's fantastic. (See dress on right.) Then I found this other version of it online -  So this...

Somehow within my busy week, I still found time for another Manic Pop original sample garment. I spent all day Thursday working on patterns and then sewing this skirt which is really just a practice of me making side seam inside pockets (complete success.) It's good to work on your skills from time to time. To clarify: Patterns took about an hour to make, cutting/sewing took about 4-5. I wanted to take photos outside, but Chicago weather is NOT cooperating yet again! It's only about 60F out there and rainy. (About 16C for you Celsius peeps.) :)   Facing and all! I did run into a few minor problems with this skirt - obviously, because I didn't make a muslin and I didn't take certain things into consideration. I think this skirt makes me look slightly wider than I actually am, mostly because I didn't take the time to play with the shape of the skirt pattern, I just used my regular ol' skirt block. That's my own dumb fault. Another thing! I no...

I'm back!  I took a nearly week-long vacation to New York and Connecticut and I finished making a new dress 1am, the night before we left! Me and Max wandered around on Tuesday, one of the stops being Belvedere Castle located in Central Park West. It's pretty much just a lookout point disguised as a castle but fun nonetheless.  Many people might not know, but Connecticut is actually my homeland. My family all lives in a quaint, New England town in Southern Connecticut about an hour and 45 minutes outside of New York City. In 4th grade, we actually made a field trip to the Statue of Liberty. I remember forcing my mom to come to the top with me, as at that point you could go up to the crown (they might have reopened the crown by now.) I think memories like that make me want to become a New Yorker, though only time will tell really. I know it's cliche for anyone to live in NYC, but as a fashion designer it's quite difficult to do anything...