Otherworlds Sci-Fi Boutique

Hello and Happy May!

I'm happy to say that we're (boyfriend, dog, sewing machines & me) all settled into our apartment in Wallingford, an adorable neighborhood in Seattle. It's perfect proximity to a row of shops and bars, great parks, and there's a notable lack of hobo (which is a big plus moving from the Bay Area!). 

I've been busy taking bellydance & yoga classes, making hats which I hope to have photographed soon, and finishing my line of clothing for my Patternmaking Certification from Apparel Arts. Phew!

Meanwhile, I'm happy to announce that La Petite Menagerie is May's Featured Consignment Seller at Otherworlds in Edmonds.  As they put it, "In Edmonds, Washingron, a small store devoted to fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, and vintage horror. Used books, games, fashion, and sundry captured with methods from pipe dreams to our patented Time Machine." I couldn't say it better myself.  

Check them out if you're in the Seattle area!

Brenna's Wedding Dress

I'm writing this as a retrospective, since it's already 2013! (Whoa! How did that happen?!) Brenna's custom wedding gown was the largest undertaking of my sewing career, let alone 2012! And the wedding was in July!  Yeesh.

Having been a sewer since I was 7, my sister and I always knew that I would make her wedding dress. It was a part of the story from the beginning.  "...and then Shelby's going to make my dress...."  And then when she and her fiance got engaged, it struck me that, "Shit! I'm going to make a wedding dress!" It was all of the sudden real and felt like a sort of scary-big deal.

My education at Apparel Arts in San Francisco provided me with all of the skills I needed to make B's pattern.  Take her measurements, draft her sloper and draft her dress pattern from the sloper.  Still with me?  Then fittings with mock-ups 1 & 2, and a Skype fitting for mock-up #3.

Meanwhile... I ordered a bolt of silk from the manufacturer because it was a lot cheaper that way.  It was a 100% silk double sided satin in ivory.  Gorgeous fabric with a lovely weight.  I also ordered a roll of 100% silk organza for the flounce, Habutoi silk for the lining, and a roll of crinoline for the, uh, crinoline.
And I cleaned my sewing space since I was about to convert it to white silk land. And that is a scary clean place.
                                                 
By the time I cut and assembled the dress, it was actually the 4th time I had done so because of all the mock-ups.  It went together really smoothly, and as always it looks so much better in silk than in muslin!

I mailed the dress to her, and we didn't open it until a few days before the wedding.  It was a bit of a wrinkled mess, and I had only a small hand steamer to try and hang/steam the wrinkles out!  But where there's a will there's a way.

      

think she looked gorgeous on her wedding day. It's true that a seamstress's job is never done. I felt like there were always more things I could have done or worked on, but at a certain point it's done and it's beautiful.  And she loved it!

Oh Yeah, and I made my dress, too!

Veils veils veils!

They're up! They're up! Now available on Etsy are my beautiful new birdcage veils.

I love the vintage styling of these veils, and wanted to do a modern take with all the fun and bright colors of veiling that are available these days!!
Take a peek, and if there's a color you're not seeing that you're looking for, it might be available soon!  The Russian veiling is available in more colors!
Click here!!

***Photo Credits***
Photographer - Christopher Mackessy; Clothing - La Petite Menagerie; MUA - Lindsay Saier; Model - Anneliese Marie Yang

Weekend Veil Shoot

Anneliese and Chris making magic

Greetings! I've been a flurry of productivity over the last 6 months!
I've fluctuated between working 4 -2 days a week at Dark Garden in San Francisco.
I've learned so much there, as well as just experienced the production sewing world again. It's a whole different experience from being a home sewer!  I'm primarily the stock cutter, but I also work as the finisher (grommeting and lacing).
I'm going on a year and 3 months of being the hat builder for Topsy Turvy Design.  I've loved making hats for Kim! And it's given me the opportunity to hone my skills and indulge my inner perfectionist.  And Topsy Turvy Design has gotten some great feedback about the quality of their hats from Etsy customers, which I can't help but smile at!
La Petite Menagerie has been incubating.  I had a shoot last weekend with the gorgeous Anneliese and Chris, who I really enjoyed working with before.   I made a series of 12 birdcage veils in a wide spectrum of colors. Most are dotted with color matched Swarovski rhinestones, though one has vintage chenille dots. I'm hoping they'll be a hit with Offbeat Brides, and cool people in general.
I'm shooting with Chris again soon with a few new corset and hat combinations.
And of course, the projects that take precedence above all, are the wedding dresses. Yes, plural. Well, not really.  I'm making my sister's weddig gown, as well as my MOH dress,which is technically two dresses because of the slip. Yowza.  Luckily the MOH dress is almost done, and I'll take more photos as I go so I can post them here soon.  The wedding dress design is a secret so I can't include any photos, but let's just say it's based off an Oscar de la Renta gown and it's going to be a statement. 

Happy Sewing!!

Love is in the air...

It's bridal season at La Petite Menagerie, where I'm building a custom wedding gown for the lovely bride, Brenna.  3 fittings and 3 mock-ups later (yes, this is the custom clothing model!) the final garment is being cut and sewn this week!! The final design is of course a secret, but inquiring minds will be thrilled to see the result in July! Can't wait to share!!!

October

Life is keeping me very busy with little time for interesting blog posts. Sorry! But not really! Life is fun when it's busy!

I've started working part time at Dark Garden: Unique Corsetry in San Francisco. It's great, I'm working as one of their cutters right now and we'll see what other task get thrown my way! Sewing in a production setting is fast paced and precise! I've already learned a lot, and have only been there 3 days!!!

Voting is in full swing for the NxNW Design competition. Voting will be going on until November 13th, and the website it none-too-clear about how often voting can happen, so I say, VOTE, VOTE AWAY! At least ONCE A DAY! :) My passport thanks you. Check out my last entry for a link to the voting.

New photos up on Etsy from my photoshoot with Christopher Mackessy! The above photo is credit to him, and a features a new hat by me!

Hope everyone is well out in internet land!!

NxNW Fashion Competition - Vote for me!

Voting starts tomorrow!!! Please vote for me in the People's Choice category - If chosen, I win a trip to Iceland!

Thanks for your support!!!

http://www.nordicfashionbiennale.com/nfb/competition/

Silk Shrugs

I've made two of these now, and I think they've turned out just precious! I think that they could dress up any half-way fancy outfit into something spectacular. I'm hoping to make it to the fabric store to get more shades of Dupioni silk so I can make these in a range of colors. That will have to wait until I deal with my stolen debit card... but that's another story.

So, here's a few pictures and links to the Etsy listings -

Let me know what you think!

This is the Pink and Taupe listing, and This is the gold!

NxNW Entry

Hello internet world!

For your viewing pleasure today I have a few shots of my hats which I entered in the NxNW Fashion Competition, hosted by the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle. My hats will be displayed at the Museum in conjunction with the Nordic Fashion Biennale exhibition this fall, from September 30 to November 13, 2011. I'm thrilled to go with my family when I'm up visiting before Thanksgiving!

There will be two winners, a Judge's Choice and a People's Choice, the later of which will be an online vote open to the public. I'm already asking for your support! I have my fingers crossed that I'm the only Milliner who entered, so my entry will stand out even more.

The two hats together are one entry, as they are a Man and woman's companion hats. I call them The Fisherman and The Huldra. The point was to design a piece that was inspired by Nordic Heritage, with the past influencing the future. My 100-word design statements reads,

"The Fisherman is a dapper men's Wellington top hat made of lambswool and features fish leather and an antique fishing net. It channels traditional materials of the seafaring working man into a modern, sophisticated topper.

The Huldra, its ladies counterpart, is inspired by the Scandinavian folkloric seductress who lives in the woodlands and lures men to their demise with her dazzling beauty. Rich, forest green velvet is adorned with a bird wing, leaves and ribbons, and ends with a tassel, reminiscent of the Huldra’s revealing tail and also inspired by the iconic tassel of the Icelandic National Costume’s tail-cap."

There you have it! Any feedback?

Charlie Bones Inc. Photoshoot!!

I'm thrilled to be able to share some shots from a recent photoshoot with Sweet Carousel Corsetry, shot by the fabulous Charlie Bones Inc.

I was contacted by the model to make a little something to go with her corset for the shoot - and I think that despite never seeing the corset in person it was a great color match! And an adorable tricorn!

Click here to see more shots, and view the item on my Etsy page!

Strawberry Shortcake Pillbox!

I'm up in Washington visiting family and going to my partner's sister's wedding - Lot's of summer fun around here!

In honor of the season, the Burlesque Etsy Team of which I am a member hosted a summer challenge, and I created an adorable Strawberry Shortcake pillbox hat!

I think it turned out really cute! Proper photos to come soon!

Steven Jones Millinery Competition

Vote for me! Ok, so I may be 500 votes away from being in the top 10, but I'd love it if you could vote for my hat in the Steven Jones Vogue UK Millinery Competition - the winner would receive a 2 week internship with the man himself! Swoon!! I've got a few other friends with their hats in the ring, so take a trip over and check out the great creations!

NxNW Fashion Competition

I'm so excited to announce that I'm a finalist for the NxNW Fashion Competition, hosted by the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, WA! Charged to design a garment or accessory, where Nordic past influences the future, I created two beautiful companion hats. Pictures and design concept to come, but please wish me luck as two lucky winners will receive a trip to Iceland, and a pass to an amazing fashion event! Cross your fingers!

Painting by Richard Barham

Blog Feature - Millinery Marvels

I'm honored to have been featured in the craft blog "Elephunk's Trunk", in their Millinery Marvels series. Please click here to read it!

Miss Indigo Blue Treasury Challenge

As a Washington native, I'm very proud of the newly crowned Miss Exotic World, Miss Indigo Blue from Seattle! The Burlesque Etsy team, of which I am a member, has hosted a challenge for Miss Indigo Blue inspired designs, and we're honored to have the Queen herself be our judge!

Click here to see the treasury, with all the competing items!

Click here to see my brand new mini-tricorn!!

Wish me luck, as she'll be reviewing the entries this weekend!

Dress for Lara

I just finished this dress for Lara, which is made out of some gorgeous Nigerian blockprint cotton she gave to me to re-purpose. Well, I almost finished it, because it still needs its zipper, which I'll pick up next time I'm at a fabric store!

This is the fabric and it's finishing from before - I wish I had snapped a photo of the actual dress! It would have been a great before and after!

I used Vogue pattern #8469, which I had gotten on impulse during at 10 patterns for $10 sale at JoAnns. It's in their "Very Easy Vogue" line, and I thought it was simple and straightforward in it's construction. There's a bit of handsewing, though, in the slip-stitching of the midriff lining and armhole lining, so it took a bit longer than I had expected.

I ended up using some seafoam lining I had on hand, and I think it makes for a cute color combination. Since the cotton is so stiff, I used a really lightweight woven interfacing on the midriff.

Used my new double needle for the first time!! Two needles, two spools, one bobbin - easy and a clean finish! What's not to love?!

I'm looking forward to putting the zipper in, and giving the dress to Lara - though really I just can't wait for her to wear it!

I have a new hat being photographed by Charlie Bones this weekend, and I'm so looking forward to seeing the images!!! And of course, sharing them with you.

Happy Fourth of July!

Bernie Dexter shoot

Hi there internet world! As promised, here are a few shots from the photoshoot with Bernie Dexter, by Levi Dexter! Bernie is the iconic pin-up gal of our time, so I was thrilled when she agreed to shoot a few of my pieces. The fascinators and pasties are mine, the rest of her ensemble are from her own collection.

To see the rest of the photos, please check out my etsy listings -

Green & Black Silk Fascinator

Green Silk Pasties

Red & Gold Brocade Pasties

Red & Gold Brocade Fascinator

Light Pink Brocade Fascinator

Light Pink Pasties

Wedding hairpiece

My future family in laws are getting married this summer, and I was thrilled when Liz asked me if I would make her a hairpiece to wear on her wedding day. To view her beautiful blog, and a post about my creation you can check out her blog at A Homegrown Wedding.

For her hairpiece, I used some silk flowers that she sent, and opened them up to remove all the plastic and metal hardware. I then stripped some white duck feathers, and filled out the flower with feather petals. It was a whim, but turned out to be a really beautiful effect which is really delicate and whimsical. Liz also included some gorgeous wax flowers that belonged in her Grandmother's wedding veil, and I mounted those in the center of the flowers, and spotted them with clear Swarovski rhinestones. Trimmed in russian veiling and mounted on a leather pad with an alligator clip, this little lady is ready for her big day - Oh, and I'm sure the bride will be ready too. :)

Jimmy Dean!

Introducing... Jimmy Dean! The new wiener in my life. :) What started as a foster situation, blossomed into love and here he is, in his forever home!

His favorite thing to do (besides sit on a lap) is go for a walk, which we do at least 4 times a day! Living next to a beautiful lake makes it so easy to go outside. Ah, I love Oakland.

Not to be misleading, this photo is in Golden Gate Park, not in Oakland!

In other news, I have three sets of Fascinators & Pasties which are being photographed by the wonderful Dexter duo of Bernie and Levi. I can't wait to see the photos, and I'll be sure to share them as soon as they arrive! To see some other Bernie Dexter and Levi Dexter's other work, go to berniedexter.com.

Pasties!

The BF and I moved to a new apartment in Oakland - a two bedroom with an entire room dedicated to my business! I am thrilled to finally have space, and not have to worry about spreading my stuff out and make a mess. Not that he cared, but it definitely compromised my sanity to live amongst my projects as my last workspace doubled as our living room.

I've been making a lot of hats for Topsy Turvy Design, and can't wait to share some exciting new that should be coming sooooooon! But until then, I've finally listed on Etsy my adorable pasties, which are made to coordinate with corresponding fascinators. Check it out below -

Pasties can be attached to your ta-tas with toupee tape or spirit gum, whichever you choose. Many pasties out on the market are lined with felt which leaves residue on your bits and gets gunked up with spirit gum FAST. Luckily, my pasties are lined in faux-leather, which allows for a durable and long life, and clean nipples for you!

Pasties and fascinators are available in my Etsy store! Go to lapetitemenagerie.etsy.com to get a closer look, see all the sizes, and more colors.