Hatties!!

I'm so excited to post photos of these hats!

Today I finished the first of four hats of my design that are due to premier through Topsy Turvy Millinery in time for Halloween.

The spade pillbox is handmade with love out of buckrum and wire, covered with leather, adorned with rhinestones, and lined with satin. Rhinestone dotted veiling ices the cake. I love it, and can't wait to see them all together!!

Next is my Burning Man hat, whose feathers are now adorned with rhinestones. This is my last effort to chronicle it before taking it to the playa, where it will be subjected to some intense elements.



It's been hot here in Oakland - I hope everyone is staying comfortable!

Renaissance Bodice

In honor of it's Etsy sale, here are a few photos of a Renaissance bodice I made last year.


It's made with a woven floral thick cotton brocade on one side, while the other side and bias tape are both made of a dark navy blue wool. Each piece is stabilized with with Rigaline boning and top-stitched with Navy cotton thread.

It is completely reversible, composed of four mirrored pieces which lace up the sides through brushed gold grommets. Can be worn as a solid color/design, or you can choose to reverse only one panel.

I'm so happy that it has found a loving home!

Teatro Zinzanni

I've spent the last ten months interning two days per week and Teatro Zinzanni, San Francisco's premier Circus Dinner Theatre! From a very young age, I've been in love with clowns and the circus, and I think my family was less than surprised when I took up learning circus arts and costuming.

My internship involved getting my hands in many aspects of the costume shop: from sewing with gorgeous beaded fabrics, to buying coffee for THE Joan Baez, to rigging in "manties" (man panties) out of powernet that I attatched to dress shirts for actor's quick changes. But, the little girl in me becomes ecstatic when handed a rhinestone project, such as the one I received on my last day of work.

The madness of the costume shop hours before opening.

The current show which opened last night is all about Egypt, or, the fantastical Egypt that the fabulous costume designer Beaver Bauer conjured. Our lady Cleopatra is a bit of a clothes horse, changing six times into six equally breathtaking embodiments during the 3 hour show. Yesterday I was charged with adorning her micro-mini act costume (what she wears to perform her tissue act in) with thousands of rhinestones.

Each lotus petal was specifically designed, with each having a pattern of gems that needed to be copied symmetrically on the other cup. That alone took about four hours!

Having completed my internship, I feel only what I can equate to a kid on the last day of school. A sort of, "Whoa, what a whirlwind" paired with, "Now what?".

After returning from Burning Man, I'm going to start at Apparel Arts, a sewing trade school in San Francisco that has a industry certification program for Pattern Making. Classes start Sept. 11th, so wish me luck!