Daydreaming and... Coming soon to caustic threads...

So, I have been doing more sewing and designing the past few weeks and as much as I REALLY LOVE screen printing, it is very revitalizing for me, as designing has been a long time passion. Soooo I have been daydreaming about making some investments that I think would really help me make more of a business out of my designing.

I want to buy two adjustable dress forms in addition to the designers dress form that I already have. I CAN grade (or size) Patterns, but I do not trust this method fully and would like to have SOMETHING to fit my clothing on. Since my business is an Internet business I usually don't get to fit the item directly on the customer (which is ALWAYS Preferred). So I think an adjustable dress form is the next best thing. I need two because they come in sizes sm/m and m/l.

The other thing I want is to either get my industrial overlock machine going OR try to resell it and buy a household one. I am hoping to find all of these things used, but I have a few ideas for coming up with funds if I cant.


I finally got back to this dress, it has been sitting in muslin, really just waiting to get ruined, so I finally made the pattern for it. This is what it looked like in muslin : http://acrylicandsteel.blogspot.com/2010/03/from-workbench.html

I was able to cut and sew most of the pattern this weekend, and I think it is SOOO cute. The problem is that I don't know if I can get this fabric again, so it may be one of a kind.

It has some really interesting details at the top that I just love...


And this Too Cute print in the pocket for a little interest. It helps that I love this shade of green I am sure, and I just swoon over Japanese prints. There are several variations of this dress that I have swirling around my brain, so I hope to get a chance to sketch them out and make the patter pieces soon. On this one I just need to do a little finishing on the inside on the neck and then install the zipper and do the hem for the outer skirt. It is fully lined.

I also want to offer this dress in several basic colors and fabric choices that I know I can always find, and do a version where the halter part of the dress is in a sheer fabric.



I burned two new screens this morning, this is a sample of one of them, of course the real thing will not say caustic threads across it :) the other one is a fox. I am trying to think up some cleaver text to print along with the fox but I haven't come up with anything yet. I am going to print this screen tonight to see how it turned out! I cant wait!


I also made two shirts like this. I whipped one up for autumn pretty quickly and had just enough fabric to make one to sell, so I decided to make another.



and... a bonus picture of Adam and autumn for family, fans of Autumn (fans of Adam???) and anyone else who likes cute kiddo's.

I'll be back late tonight to do my treasury of the day!

Take care!

Xoxo

Erica

Handmade Wedding: Custom Wedding Dress FINAL PICTURES.

So, For those who have been watching the progression of this custom wedding dress, here are the Final pictures (which also means that if you are tired of looking at it you will be glad to know that it is finished! ) You can see the original sketch for this dress here:



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05e1QuaYI3IZwxG7sD1ndJ07eU7yGxmi5VhBFiqeCNgaxsAeairFCvH9BVtS7ICa9ZdT6haYaK_3mxsC7ut17Fl8Nsiu1oVVZppgdS1fgz3VlYrLfNBA851ooogN24XvQAeywUm18rjY/s1600-h/TarasDress1.jpg



This project ran so smoothly I can hardly believe it is over... I keep thinking I MUST HAVE MISSED SOMETHING- but at this point it really just needs to fit, and most minor changes I would expect the customer to have done locally by a tailor, and we used a muslin fitting garment so I expect the fit to be pretty good.



This dress is Designed By me, the patterns are made by me and it is entirely sewn by me as well, including some beautiful hand sewn details. This is a finished project that I am very proud of. I knew I could do it of course, but sometimes you have to DO something to convince your knowledge of your capabilities to overcome your insecurities.





I was also commissioned by the same person to make this birdcage veil and facinator:

The facinator which can be worn without the veil

The veil, which can be worn without the facinator too, of course.

The dress is very versatile and has four pieces, a bolero, a top which is fully boned, an underskirt with alencon lace details, and an over skirt with an inner tie up system that adjusts the length of the skirt (and then several pin on flowers)

That means it can be worn like this:

(this is the alencon lace underskirt)

Or like this:

(this is the over skirt when it is all the way down)

(This is the back, it has a very small train)

A few detail shots:

(The bottom of the dress worn as it is intended)

(this is to show the detail of the pleating on the bolero)

And this is how it is meant to be worn:


I took these pictures in old town in Albuquerque, New Mexico

We got a lot of comments about how beautiful the dress is, which means a lot to me, because they see a LOT of dresses as it is a very popular place to get married and get wedding pictures taken, so the shop owners there see a LOT of dresses.

I should have taken some business cards :)

For future reference... (you know, like market research...but less organized and targeted)

I have a question for YOU...

How much would you pay for this handmade custom designed wedding dress?

What about the veil and Facinator?

Consider it a guessing game. I will tell you in a few days how much I charged for this dress, as long as it is known that I will never ever make a dress like this for that price again ;)

that is...unless, I just feel like designing, or you are my good friend, or....

I really loved making this dress because the customer had some ideas but she really let me design it myself, and that is important to me, but I know I underpaid myself by a pretty long shot.

Thanks!

Xoxo,

Erica

PS- if anyone is interested in a custom wedding dress, veil or facinator, feel free to contact me either by email: ericahvoges@yahoo.com or by convo in etsy http://acrylicandsteel.etsy.com/

Vogue Collections is Awesome.

Hi all! I am very excited that I received a blog award from T over at www.poppyplacepdx.blogspot.com because I just adore her! I am very grateful that I have had a chance to get to know her through her blog. She is sweet and caring, and has taken the time to send me thoughtful personal e-mails during times when I really needed it. I am very glad to know her, even just through the blogosphere, and am so honored to have received a blog award from her.

That is all I will be saying about the blog award for today, I will be thinking hard about 7 things you may not know about me and also deciding who to give the award to myself and writing a full post on this later this week. It is hard for me to pick because I follow so many wonderful blogs :)

hmmm...

What else?

I am feeling pretty well, very tired usually, but in very little pain.

Also, Just in case any designers, or fashion lovers are not aware of it's existence one of the most wonderful fashion references available in media form is by far Vogue Collections. It is a $35.00 magazine, which is an excellent price for what it is. Vogue Collections is a periodical that comes out twice a year (fall/winter and Spring/Summer), has very few ads, and is basically just pages and pages of runway collections from top designers in Paris, London, Milan, and New York. I wait for it to come out every season, and everywhere I have ever gone I have been told "I have never heard of that magazine" or "we don't sell that" and usually a few weeks later I see a stack of them in their fashion section. It is an amazing tool for inspiration, laughs (it is amazing what gets sent down runways), and I think as time passes they will be an exemplary historical fashion reference as well.

As I said, This is a magazine well worth the money for any designer, or fashion fanatic! It will absorb many heart stopping, studious hours of "oh, that's cute" "I hate that" "I almost like that" "no, honey, most people CAN'T actually afford ANY of this" "the draping on this is phenomenal" Etc.

Of course if you are me, you will probably say " I could do that better" embarrassingly often for someone who is making no attempts at this time to be a full time designer.

I am going to be making this dress! YAY

After a few convo's and a little tweaking I got the bid to do this wedding dress. I am spending over half of the price that I bid on supplies and am going to get paid much less than minimum wage for my time- but I am madly in love with this dress and am SO excited to get to make it. I guess that is how I know I am a designer. I do it because I love it, and it is more important for me to have the opportunity to make something breathtaking than it is for me to make money off of it.

Initial sketches

I am hoping to get to make another wedding dress!
These are the initial sketches for the bid. The client wants a petal hem and a scoop neack or sweetheart neckline, but I am not a fan of sweetheart necklines, so I could not bring myself to do one, scoop neck it is!

Monday RANT: Couture? Oui or Non...

SO, I have always been amazed by what is called couture. I decided to punish myself one day and look up what people tagged as couture. As expected I was annoyed, surprised and amazed by what was tagged as couture.



When I was in school I was taught that only if you are an approved couturier are your dresses couture, and anything that was not approved by the french government but applied couture techniques should be refereed to as "couture style" or something that made it clear that you are not an approved couturier. No wonder I am so annoyed when people throw it around.




I just looked up the definition of couture and I actually am more understanding of how it could be misused. The web definitions are very vague, running the gammot from simply "High fashion" to "all fashionable dresses" (WHAT?!? that is just inaccurate) To the definition that I was taught which is available on wikipedia .













(Couture Christian Dior Spring '07...which I believe was still John Galliano)





There are many lovely items on etsy that I totally take no offense to being tagged as couture, but I expect a few things of the items tagged as such.


1-I am very disappointed when something tagged as "couture" is not made out of very fine materials (you know, it shouldn't be made out of $1 a yard poly)


2-If something is a mass produced item with embellishments i do not think it should be tagged couture, especially if those embellishments are made with a bead dazzler or an embroidery machine.


3-I expect to see hand sewn details...beading, draping, pleating...something


These are Totally Acceptably Tagged as couture, and are really stunning pieces!

This is from Toolgrrl

Those are gloves. amazing!

This is from atilladesign

The had detail at the hem is lovely!

So I guess here are a few hints, if it can be easily mass produced, you can charge less than $200 for it(and pay yourself for your time- once I made a dress that would have cost about $2000 if I were paying myself for my time but I only charged $200 for the dress) , or it is made with cheap materials... it is NOT couture.

IT's FINISHED

SO, the wedding dress I made is FINALLY finished. It took longer than I expected, but I am generally happy with it. It has tons of intricate details. Check it out.