An Unlikely Pairing?

Metropolitan Museum’s 2010 Costume Institute Benefit Gala (Image courtesy of the Vogue Influencer Network)

This is a party I would LOVE to dress for!

Happy Rainy/Sleet/Crap Day!  (Go dream of parties to come!)

Yours truly,

Alex

Mood Boards (Parsons Project)

Hi Nomads,

Here goes!  This is my first hands-on project of the semester...Mood Boards.  What do you think?  (Please be honest!)

Please leave a comment below!

Yours Truly,

Alex

77th Annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair

Here's the loot I picked-up at the 77th Annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair at Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH.  I don't remember ever having gone to this fair before, but I will never miss a year now if I can help it.  Had I not just taken out all those school loans for my year at Parsons, I would have brought as much cash as I could have and bought all my birthday and Christmas gifts for family and friends for the next year.  But as it was, I had to extremely limit myself to three vendors that I just couldn't walk away without something in hand (and which I could actually afford!)!

My first purchase was from the Cheryl Kumiski Glass Studio in Booth 307 - 13 hand-made buttons!  (I might make a bib-like necklace which I am seeing everywhere now!!!)

(I love the circuit board, square button!)  Cheryl was unbelievably nice and super-talented.  My mother also purchased a few things from her - namely a new necklace that she wore for the rest of the day (and we stayed for 6 or more hours!)  [Please note: I tried to link to her website, which you can try to google, but I got a malware warning, so I can't recommend it to you.  However, she will be at the Newport Arts Festival on August 28 & 29, 2010 with her glorious stained glass and ephemera.]

Just a few tents away, I found Bar Harbor Classics in Booth 107 and purchased this amazing embossed, calf-skin bag:

I love the unusual shape (plus, it folds flat!) and John Milligan was so kind to me.  I truly hope I get to work with him in the future, he seems like a genius!  Check out these two photos I took in his booth:

I loved the yellow stingray leather in the middle - what a great eye for color!  And my last purchase of the day was the photo cards from Seacoast Impressions by Neil Troost in Booth 208:

They have unbelievable depth and the color is truly wonderful.  I can't wait to either frame these or send them to family in England (wish they could be here to enjoy Lake Sunapee!).  I also got to try out a few techniques since there were wonderful craftsmen (and craftswomen) there to teach!

Here I am learning how to weave a pattern with the NH Weavers Guild in Tent Z (thank you for being so kind to me!):

I love how you can see where people have stopped and started - this piece will certainly tell a story!  I also spoke to Beth Lux in Tent U about pleating, smocking, embroidery and our favorite Fabric Manipulation book (on Amazon HERE):

That second photo is this fantastic, little pleating machine that looks incredibly hard to set-up!  Look at Beth's amazing smocking in the last photo - beautiful!  And lastly, but one that absolutely blew me away, was Faith Fellows fine hand-beaded designs in leather, basketry & fiber in Booth 413:

Here are some closer images:

(Aren't those belts stunning?!)  I unfortunately could not afford any of these items at this time, but she had low prices considering the time and effort in each piece.  I almost imagined little faeries running around helping her pick-out beads for each design.

Whew!  That was a long post, with lots of images that I hope will load quickly and show their work well.  It truly is the most amazing experience and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

Happy hunting!

Yours Truly,

Alex

Old Spice | NEW COMMERCIAL!

Thank you World Cup Final - perfect commercial to make me smile during this horrific fouling game of tag.

Here's to SCORING!

Yours truly,

Alex

True British - Temperley London

There she is - Alice Temperley - the amazing mind behind Temperley London and the newest collection; True British.  At her show at Milk Studios in NYC this week, Alice used mannequins once again to show off her collection.  I have to admit that I was confused at first.  As I was helping to dress the mannequins, I kept wondering why she wouldn't want to use models to show the movement and wearability of her beautiful designs.  But after struggling to get the clothes on to the clumsy, awkward (and obviously stiff) life-size dolls, I realized that she is a genius.  The more I stared at these clothes the more I fell in love with them.  They are so well made and designed that if a model just walked past me (and as quick as they do), I'm not sure if I would have appreciated them as much!

On the day of the show, when I was actually in Studio 4 helping to do the final set-up, I also learned about her inspiration; Norman Parkinson.  It seems a family friend happened upon a whole series of Norman's photos this past year.  Alice was so inspired by the photos that she based her entire collection around them and showed them to the world 20 years after his death.  The canvases hanging behind the clothes are directly inspired by Norman and taken in the same style.  In fact, I believe I was told that some of the models were the same models Norman shot in the 60s!  You wouldn't believe it by how vivacious they all looked!

After the canvases were initially made they were sent to India to be hand embroidered and beaded in the same manor as the dresses and leather jackets.  Some of the canvases were made "life-sized" so that the same exact beads could be used in the same proportion as the clothing on the canvases.  It was unbelievable to see the stitching on the back (especially loving to hand bead things as I do and I know how much work goes in to them!).  The reason so much time was spent on the canvases?

Yup, that's Annie Lennox!  She's a friend of Alice's and a huge supporter of Oxfam.  This summer, those canvases are going to be auctioned off with all proceeds going directly to the large organization.  A perfect pairing if you ask me.  (And I'd pay big bucks for the Lily Cole piece!)

Well, I've written too much and I'm terrible at editing - so I know I should stop here.  To see more photos, please visit my Flickr site.  Otherwise, good night and arrivederci, I shall speak with you soon.

xoxo,

Alex